We really enjoyed seeing the special art exhibit at Reed’s Cooley Gallery yesterday. Students were excited to see the works of Faith Ringgold after working in class to imitate her style in “Tar Beach”. It was a treat to see such an interesting variety of pieces, including African American historical works and contemporary art...
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This week students in Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Leakes classes are working on music to accompany their upcoming drama production. Students in Kindergarten and 1st grade are being introduced to the basic concept of canon. During circle time we are working on some basic 4 beat “echo” canons. In movement students are in pairs...
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***OK…This first comment has nothing to do with school, but for all you dog lovers out there, I wanted to pass this along. Last week on the radio, I heard about a website to go to if your pet is lost or stolen. It is www.findtoto.com. It is like the amber alert for lost...
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This week, we will continue to learn about various community helpers, including mail carriers, firefighters and sanitation/recycling workers. Children will participate in reading, discussing, art, science and writing. Tuesday marked the 100th day of school, which was celebrated in many ways. The children brought in baggies filled with 100 items, which are hanging on...
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Last Wednesday, Gregory MacNaughton gave the third graders a preview of our fieldtrip to the African American art exhibit at Reed College. He showed the students slides, and he held a lively discussion about the possible social and cultural meaning of the art pieces. Yesterday, we walked over to the Cooley Art Gallery at...
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Tuesday was our 100th day of school. I hope you saw the necklace your child made with 100 beads. We also drew pictures of what we will look like when we are 100 years old. Be sure to ask your child about what we did. During the next few weeks, I will be doing...
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Last week we had a celebration for the 100th day of school. Students each counted and gathered 100 of an item. Examples included pebbles, play money dollars, blocks, toy animals, peanuts, and crayons. We also practiced counting to 100 throughout the week. We played a game of rolling dice and coloring number grids to...
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It is hard to believe that March is around the corner. Last Friday our class attended an informative Metro workshop entitled “Household Hazards.” The point of the workshop was to inform children of dangerous chemicals that they should be aware of in their households. The presenter gave many useful suggestions about how use less...
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This week students are planning and carrying out their own “variables” investigation. Students are investigating flippers, swingers, planes, and boats from the fifth grade science kit. In the midst of all this fun (and work) each student is creating a science work sample that will be scored; scores are reported to the state. Also...
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A full lunar eclipse is a rare treat, one that was shared by many of the first graders with their families.  The next morning their excitement was so high, using oil pastels on black paper they drew a memory of the eclipse.  We’ve had many compliments from visitors to our school.  Also in the...
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In room 5, the students will soon begin working on statewide assessments. The assessments they take are called the Scaffolded Extended State Assessments. These assessment tests the students’ ability to communicate their academic knowledge based on the Oregon Department of Education State Standards. The areas that will be assessed are: reading, writing, math, social...
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Last week we celebrated our 100th day of school this year together! Wow, what a great year it has been for me and I hope you and your children too. We celebrated with several special activities that day. We counted out 100 snack foods including ten craisins, ten peanuts, ten mini marshmallows and ten...
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This week is a bit calmer after Valentine’s Day week. We had a lovely Valentine’s Day party- lots of cards, excitement and friendly love. In drama, children have been given scripts and are working on putting together a performance of Arthur’s Sleepover. I cannot wait to see the show! I will keep you updated...
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***A giant thank you goes to our classroom volunteers who have been helping with a secretive stitchery project for the auction. Our extraordinary parent helpers Anonda (Hanna L’s mom), Eve (Micaela’s mom), Jen (Oliver’s mom) and Kelly (Max’s mom) have worked with each child in our class to give them an opportunity to be...
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Tomorrow we will be visiting the Cooley Art Gallery at Reed College during the afternoon; parents who have had a background check are welcome to go with us! We will be leaving school at 12:30 p.m. Last Friday we had an exciting auction, and fifth graders used their Gould Gold to “buy” special items...
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Last week in music class students were asked to create an original movement piece to accompany their classroom instrumental piece. This week classes are working on more traditional dance pieces in either line or circle formation. Some of the dances are quite complicated with multiple steps and partner switching. This week in technology students...
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Thank you all for your support and help with Valentine’s Day. We had a fabulous party, shared our cards, and ate mostly healthy snacks. Friday, students worked to count all the pennies that had been collected for Pennies for Peace. We used mats with 100 numbered squares. It took 2-3 students at a time...
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Mrs. Lundeberg is telling us stories about famous African American children who grew up with a dream.  We’ve learned about Martin who loved to listen to his father preach sermons at church and Ruby who was the only first grader in her class.  Ask your child what they think it would be like to...
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Thanks to all who helped make our Valentine’s Friendship Celebration fun and yummy! The children were so proud of the cards they addressed and delivered plus, what great purposeful reading and writing practice! I hope your President’s Day was relaxing, 61 degrees! As we turn the corner on February and get closer to spring...
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Last week many of the read-aloud stories featured silly word rhymes, like Dinosaurumpus, Hiccupotamus, Llama Llama Red Pajama. For our weather unit, we continued to compare and contrast different types of weather, and learned the expression “raining cats and dogs”. We have also been tracking the morning and afternoon temperatures and finding the difference....
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Last Thursday our class was a splendid example of a learning, supportive family. If you could of seen our third graders taking care of their kindergarten buddies as they collabratively performed short alphabet poems with actions, you would of been so proud. The third graders’ patience was certainly commendable. Later in the morning, they...
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I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing President’s Day. The weather was beautiful, so hopefully you were able to do some fun activities out in the sun. This week the children will begin a Social Studies unit on Community Helpers. The children will be involved in various activities, including math, literacy, science...
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