April 11-15

Hello Families,

Happy summer day!  I hope you are all enjoying some nice summer activities.  Report cards should have come home with your child on Friday.  I am so proud of the progress the students have made this year.  We are in such a good groove with our learning, I suspect this last stretch of the year will be smooth sailing.  Here’s a recap of our last week in and out of the classroom.

LITERACY

This week we read the story Jalapeno Bagels by Natasha Wing.  

                                           
Jalapeno Bagels is a story about a boy who has to decide what to bring to school for International Day.  His parents own a bakery so he agrees to help them bake something for him to bring.   In the spirit of his mother’s Mexican heritage they bake Empanadas de Calabaza.  In the spirit of his father’s Jewish heritage they bake Challah bread.  The boy was not quite satisfied with these two options.  It wasn’t until his father baked jalapeno bagels that he finally decided what to bring.   The jalapeno bagels were a mixture of both his mother and his father’s cultures.  It was the perfect choice.

In honor of this story, students were served Jalapeno bagels as a snack before our field trip on Friday morning.  

Thank you Ms. Janson!

WRITING

The students are making strong progress on their persuasive writing pieces.  Some students have grown so comfortable with the writing process that they have already completed their first persuasive essay and have begun working on their second.  

We will continue working on persuasive writing this week.

MATH

This week we concluded our Fraction Unit with a look at mixed numbers...

                   

                  

a Jeopardy-style quiz show review...

              and a two-part Unit Assessment.

Overall, the students did a fantastic job on these assessments.  The results of this assessment will appear on the 4th quarter report card, but you will see them come home sometime next week.

SOCIAL STUDIES

This week we continued our readings in our “Portland, Our Community” text to learn about the early events that took place in Portland.  After reading about each event, we created a page for our illustrated timeline.

From our reading, we learned that long ago, the clearing along the Willamette River, became a gathering place for the Multnomah Indians inhabiting the area.  They used the Willamette River for transportation, food, water, and safety.  The gathering of people at the clearing gave early roots to our city.

                         

To illustrate this early event, we added teepee structures to our individual map pages shown above, as well as to our large classroom display.

The story then continues with the arrival of Lewis and Clark in 1806.  

 
We made a page for our illustrated timeline...

We also added Lewis and Clark to our display.

After arriving at the clearing, the two explorers began a friendship with the Chinook-Speaking Indians, establishing the beginnings of a long trade relationship.  Lewis and Clark sent word back east, and eventually many immigrants followed, hoping to build a new life in this wonderful land. 

Many years later, Captain Couch was the first to arrive by ship. 

He sailed down the Willamette River to the clearing, which he then decided would make a fine seaport.  

Some of his sailors liked the area so much they stayed and settled the land. 

With the arrival of immigrants came the need to build houses.  They began cutting down the thick forest surrounding the clearing, so they could have wood and space to build cabins.

This week we will continue learning about the early settlement of Portland and how Portland got it's name!

Run Llewellyn

The students completed their laps on Wednesday morning.  Please collect those pledges and return them to school.

FIELD TRIP 

Friday's field trip to see The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was a success.  The wonderful adaptation of the book was performed in a "theater in the round".  Several students commented on the unique stage--with mixed feelings.  I personally thought it was beautiful.  Ask your child what they thought.

Ms. Janson tells me they did fantastic on TriMet..

...whereas, I was able to catch a ride downtown where I met up with the class at the corner by the theater.  They greeted me with excitement and hugs!

They are so sweet...

Thank you for the craft supplies!

We got started on our books on Friday afternoon!

   

Knighting
Mr. Galati recognized several bucket fillers from our

classroom this month.  Alex Easton, Lily Lockwood-Keil, and Charlie Bolger were all celebrated for being bucket-fillers.  So many students in our classroom are deserving of this recognition.  Congratulations Alex, Lily, and Charlie!

                      IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday, April 19 - Foundation Meeting 7:00 pm
Wednesday, April 20 - 10:00 AM Late Start
Thursday, April 21 - Art Show 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Friday, April 22- Ms. Janson's last day (heavy sigh)
Tuesday, April 26 - Spring Picture Day
Friday, April 29- Downtown Walking Tour Field Trip
May 2,3,4 - Smarter Balanced Language Arts Test
May 18,19,20 - Smarter Balanced Math Test