Classroom News for the Week of September 10th

News and Upcoming Events: 

Hello, Rm. 12 Families!

We continue to have many students late to school each day. Students trickling in, even a few minutes late, is a disruption when the class is already underway. Please make sure your child is in line and ready to start the day by 8:06, so we can get to class and begin by 8:11.  On Wednesday our drama class with Ms. Beret began with 8 students missing. Thank you for your help!

In addition, multiple students are coming to school without math books, homework logs, Bridge  books, etc. Please help your child develop a system to ensure needed materials are at school every day. Your help with this is truly appreciated!

9/10 Unassigned Day - School Closed

9/11: Please make sure your child return's his/her (empty) Friday Folder.

9/19: Unassigned Day - School Closed

* If you have not already, please turn in your $35 field trip donation check asap. Thank you!

URGENT - Help us secure JPL field trip: 

If you are able to be in front of a computer Monday (9/10) morning, tour dates for JPL trips in February become available at exactly 9 a.m. Over the past two years these have booked up by 9:04. Mrs. Paz and I could really use parent help to secure a better field trip date (we are currently scheduled for a Tuesday afternoon trip, but is not ideal since we won't get back to school until about 4 p.m. We are hoping to secure another dat and cancel the trip we have.)

This is the link:    https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/tours/views/

1.  Select "educational group tour" and "80" for number of visitors and wait for the tour dates to go live. 
2. Wed., Thurs., or Friday 9:30 tour times are optimal, but we will take anything and make it work! (Monday, Feb. 18 is a holiday). You may use my email address (slc5001@lausd.net) or your own. You will be asked for the school name, address, phone number, and number of buses (1). Don't worry about the details-just fill in the form as fast as you can. Once we get a confirmed date, we will be able to edit and correct the information if needed. 
3. Please let me know if you were successful by sending me the confirmation number. If by chance we get multiple dates, I will cancel the extra tour. Thank you and good luck!

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

Rounding word problems; Cognitively Guided Instruction; Accelerated Math

Reading:

Chapters 10-13 of Katherine Peterson's Newbery-award winning book,  Bridge to Terabithia (realistic fiction). Our focus will be on drawing conclusions and making inferences about characters based on their thoughts and actions and identifying plot conflicts. 

Students will take the book's AR quiz this week and begin a culminating project.

Genre Blackout: Students are challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. Ask your child about his or her progress.

Writing:

This week we will begin our first unit of Writer's Workshop: The Arc of A Story. This unit focuses on the skills and concepts young writers needed to craft realistic fiction stories. Lessons this week focus on brainstorming: Imagining Stories from Ordinary Moments; Imagining Stories We Wish Existed.

Spelling & Vocabulary:

This week's prefixes are super, supr, sur (above, over, more) and pre (before). 

1. superhuman
2. superabundant
3. superb
4. supervise
5. surplus
6. prehistoric
7. predict
8. prejudge
9. precaution
10. premier

Students should study both the meanings and spellings of these words. They will bring a study guide home on Tuesday. We will also complete activities and a pre-test in class to help them prepare for the quiz. The quiz will be Friday.

P.E.:
P.E. collaborative project: the Never-Before-Seen (NBS) Dance 

Social Studies/ Science:

World Geography (Absolute Location, Longitude and Latitude, Hemispheres and Tropics) ; Rock Formation and Layers 

Arts:

Drama with Ms. Beret on Wednesday- Workshopping our play

Visual Arts- Students will be introduced to the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS). This is a way to look, think, and critically discuss media.

Reminders:
Contact me: slc5001@lausd.net

Birthday Celebrations: If you would like to send treats to celebrate your child's birthday, please email me a day or 2 in advance so that I can make time in our schedule for it. Treats must be something small and easy to pass out. Donuts, cookies, muffins, and mini cupcakes all work great. We currently have 33 students in our class. Your child will distribute them at the end of the day as his/her classmates are leaving the room.

Donations: If you would like to make a donation to our class (this allows me to turn in receipts for purchases I have made for the students), you can write a check to "Mt. Washington El." In the subject line write, "Donation to Room 12". Any amount is appreciated! Thank you!

Tardies:

Please make sure your child is at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. We try to start the school day at 8:11 promptly. Thank you for your help!

Homework:

Please check your child's Homework Log nightly and sign or initial after the work has been completed. Remind your child that completed homework and the HW log are due in class daily.

Classroom News for the Week of September 3rd

Thank you all for attending Back to School Night, and welcome to Ms. Lopez, TA for room 12!

News and Upcoming Events: 

9/3 Labor Day - School Closed

9/4 Students, this week we will be decorating the covers of our Writer's Workshop Notebooks in preparation for our unit opener. Please bring in quotes (handwritten or typed), photos, and drawings that inspire YOU to write. Bring them in an envelope with your name on it, and make sure to have them at school no later than Thursday.

9/7 Field Trip Donation: Please turn in your donation of $35 by this Friday 9/7, if possible. The $35 covers costs for buses and entrance fees. Checks may be made payable to Mt. Washington Elementary. In the subject line write "Field Trip Donation Grade 4". Thank you!

9/10 & 9/19 Unassigned Days- No school

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

Rounding numbers in isolation; Practicing expanded form

Fluency with Math Facts

Reading:

Chapters 7-10 of Katherine Peterson's Newbery-award winning book,  Bridge to Terabithia (realistic fiction). Our focus will be on drawing conclusions and making inferences about characters based on their thoughts and actions and identifying plot conflicts. 

Genre Blackout: Students are challenged to read books from 9 different genres in the first reporting period. Ask your child about his or her progress.

DIBELS reading assessments begin

Writing:

This week we begin our first unit of Writer's Workshop: The Arc of A Story. This unit focuses on the skills and concepts young writers needed to craft realistic fiction stories.

Spelling & Vocabulary:

This week we begin studying Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots. This week's prefixes are sub (below, under) and trans (across, over). 

Our words are:

1. subway
2. subject
3. submerge
4. subset
5. subterranean
6. translate
7. transfer
8. transform
9. transparent
10. transplant

Students should study both the meanings and spellings of these words. Orally practice composing sentences with the words. Students will bring a study guide home on Tuesday. The quiz will be Friday. 

P.E.:
P.E. collaborative project: the Never-Before-Seen (NBS) Dance 

Social Studies/ Science:

Our first rotations for social studies and science begins this Friday. Topics: World Geography; Rock Formation and Layers 

Arts:

Drama with Ms. Beret on Wednesday- 

Visual Arts- Students will be introduced to the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS). This is a way to look, think, and critically discuss media.

Reminders:
Contact me: slc5001@lausd.net

Birthday Celebrations: If you would like to send treats to celebrate your child's birthday, please email me a day or 2 in advance so that I can make time in our schedule for it. Treats must be something small and easy to pass out. Donuts, cookies, muffins, and mini cupcakes all work great. We currently have 33 students in our class. Your child will distribute them at the end of the day as his/her classmates are leaving the room.

Donations: If you would like to make a donation to our class (this allows me to turn in receipts for purchases I have made for the students), you can write a check to "Mt. Washington El." In the subject line write, "Donation to Room 12". Any amount is appreciated! Thank you!

Tardies:

Please make sure your child is at school and in line by the 8:06 bell. We try to start the school day at 8:11 promptly. Thank you for your help!

Homework:

Please check your child's Homework Log nightly and sign or initial after the work has been completed. Remind your child that completed homework and the HW log are due in class daily.