Classroom News for the Week of December 16th

Notices and Reminders:

* Over the break, students should continue to read daily. Students who have not yet reached level 4 of Multiplication Madness, should be practicing their multiplication and division facts daily. Also, a social studies assignment will be assigned this week. It is not due until January 24th, but some of you may want to take advantage of the long break to get it started or done. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog for a description of the assignment.

* 4th and 5th Grade Holiday Luncheon -Wednesday, December 18th at 11:30 a.m. Please sign up to bring a dish for the feast!

* Mt. Washington Holiday Program - December 19th at 10:30 a.m.  Grade 4 will be performing 

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Students should wear dark pants/skirts and white or light colored shirts. Please avoid any shirts with large logos/designs/wording. Holiday dresses are also acceptable.

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

More With Fractions: Decomposing Fractions, Multiplying Fractions by Whole Numbers

Fact Practice: "Multiplication Madness" (daily, 1 min. multiplication fact practice). Please work with your child to help him/her memorize facts x1-x12.

Writing:

Making our own "Year in Review" posters.

Reading:

This week students will be reading and rehearsing a play in small groups. Also, we will be reading and discussing a Scholastic News article "2013 the Year in Review".

Greek and Latin Roots Homework:

This week's prefixes (multi, poly = many ) and roots (cap, capit = head)

capital
capitol
capillary
capsize
captain
multipurpose
multimedia
multitude
polygon
polyhedron

Social Studies/Science:

Spanish Exploration of California; Birth of the Missions

Physical Science: Electricity and Magnetism

P.E.

New Design Challenge: Design an NBS Way to Exercise.  Games will presented Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Social Studies Project

Dear Students,

The social studies project for the second reporting period will be a written reflection on the California Missions. This paper will be due on Friday, January 24^th. Some of you may want to take advantage of the long winter break to get a start. You will need to:

1.    Visit a California Mission. You can choose any of them, but there are two that are very close by: the San Gabriel Mission (www.sangabrielchurch.org) and the San Fernando Mission (www.missiontour.org/sanfernando) OR you may visit the Huntington Library (www.huntington.org) and tour the exhibit “Junipero Serra and the Legacies of the California Missions”. Please note this exhibit closes on January 6^th, 2014. Please visit the website for admission fees and hours (the missions’ entrance fees are mush less than the Huntington).

2.    Write a one to two page, typed reflection of your visit. Your reflection should explain what you learned. Talk about what interested you and why. What surprised you? Why? What unanswered questions did you have? There is no single format for your writing. The goal is for you to spend some time at the place and: read, think, and reflect on your learning.

3.    Your reflection should be in 12-point font and double-spaced. Make sure to include your name, the date of your visit, and create a title. You should do your own typing.

4.    On a separate sheet that is stapled to your writing, please include 2 to 3 photographs from your visit. Make sure that you are in at least one of the photos.