***Our class really enjoyed last week’s puppet show, “Mother’s Garden.” The children learned alternate ways to care for flowers and vegetables in their at home gardens. Good music. Good message. Lots of fun! ***By the time you read this, we will have attended our first Poetry Slam! We’ve been invited to Ms. Wieand’s classroom to hear...
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***Today we began a new unit in Physical Science called Balance and Motion. We will be observing and comparing how things balance, spin and roll and communicating about what we discover. The ability to observe and compare are important thinking processes that your child will be using during our investigation of these interesting characteristics...
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***Wow! Are we ever feeling appreciated! Thank you so much to the Lewis families for spoiling us with treats and a wonderful luncheon! Rarely does the staff get to eat and chat together, so it was a real event! ***We’re all wrapped up in Charlotte’s Web, so to speak. The children are loving hearing about...
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This week we began our all important end of the year assessments. We can already notice the great improvements that each student has made throughout the year. Your student has probably already told you that last week was our last spelling test of the year. This also means that we will have...
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***I wanted to say many thank you’s for our Art Night. I’ve been involved with putting it together for about 23 years because it is a passion of mine. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the work of our students and to bring our Lewis community together. ***First of all, thank you to the teachers...
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This past week our class had a great time going to the Oregon Ballet performance of Duets, at the Newmark Theatre. Our class wants to give a huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers, Collin Murphy, Julie McGinnis, and Dominique Lam. We were very fortunate to have two tickets come available at...
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Sixteen Japanese teachers from the Institute of International Education will be visiting Lewis Elementary on April 28th to observe our gardening program. They are here to study Education for Sustainable Development here in the United States. Our class will be participating by helping to show the teachers from Japan what gardening is...
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Last week students finished their places and businesses in Woodstock and the map on our wall looks great. They all did a very nice job building our community. This week, each student will make their own map of Woodstock that includes a title, compass, and legend. In writing, we are beginning...
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***Last week students finished up their final copies of their community roles and many students shared a couple of their facts. This week, we will be talking about places and businesses in the Woodstock neighborhood and create a frieze on our wall in the classroom. Be sure to come in later this...
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***Last week students worked hard to create good arguments for their persuasive writing topics. They will write persuasive letters this week and take part in writing conferences with me. We began our unit on communities by discussing what a community is and what they are made up of. Ask your student...
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***Welcome back! I hope everyone had a nice spring break. I am very excited to begin teaching full time in our classroom. This week we begin units on reading comprehension strategies, persuasive writing, and the Woodstock neighborhood. In addition to our homework due Friday, students will receive homework for our neighborhood unit. I encourage...
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***It’s finally here! We’re heading downtown for our field trip to the Winningstad Theatre on Thursday. I sent a one page information reminder sheet on Tuesday, so please refer to that for all the details. It lists which children ordered lunches, times we will be gone, parent helpers, etc. Everything you needed to know...
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And the Oscar goes to… ***Congratulations to our wonderful student actors! Both our class and Ms. Davis’ third graders did a wonderful job presenting their Shel Silverstein poems to the school in the afternoon and their families in the evening. The music and the acting were delightful! ***Today we met with our new artist-in-residence, Rodolpho Serna. His family...
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***We really enjoyed the water conservation assembly, “Where’s Rosie?” I learned it takes about 5 gallons of water a minute to take a shower, 17 gallons per load to run the dishwasher and approximately 45 gallons to run the washing machine. ***Many days, while one group is at drama class, I’ve been using the time...
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****We celebrated “100’s Day” today! Along with two other classes, we got a lot of exercise by working our way through a variety of stations, such as “Do 100 jumping jacks” or “Run 100 yards!” Luckily, we had a beautiful sunny morning to pull off our event. It is hard to believe that we...
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***We had such a wonderful time at our Valentine’s party! The room and tables were colorfully decorated and the treats were plentiful, thanks to all of you. The children were so excited to have their turn in the Valentine’s chair, hold up their heart folder and receive all the beautiful cards and wishes. It...
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***What a gorgeous, sunny Monday afternoon to be writing these notes. Here’s hoping it still is by the time you read this on Wednesday! Our Drama residency started today and will last four weeks. Right now, I’m hearing that the children will be doing their little performance on March 4th, both for the school...
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***Please check out our large bulletin board display at the end of the Primary hall. We learned about the artist Kandinsky and created paintings in his style. Each painting shows a lot of emotion! The students are really proud of their creations. ***On Monday, I sent home a three page packet describing our upcoming Valentine...
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***We had quite an exciting day on Monday. FIrst, choir friends of mine Ros Bell and Dick Heijdeman came to our class to teach us about a particular style of dancing. They are folk dancing experts and taught us ones from all around the world. We danced the Hashual from Israel, Zemer...
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***We are completing our unit on Martin Luther King. The children seem to have a good understanding of that important time in our history…the bus boycott, the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, the marches. It is so interesting to have these conversations with open hearted children that have no doubt that ALL people...
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***Well, we are strongly “back at it” in 2010, filling the day with academics, good discussions, lots of activities and plenty of laughter to round things out. ***Dr. Carol Smith, the Superintendent of Portland Public Schools and Greg Baker, Deputy Superintendent came to Lewis School last Friday. When they visited our class, we sang a...
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Soursdey Chhnam Tmei (Cambodian) ????,  Xin Nian Kuai Le (Chinese) Chuc Mung Tan Nien (Vietnamese) Feliz Ano ~Nuevo (Spanish) ***No matter the language, it all means the same…Happy New Year! Wishing you all a year of prosperity, happiness and good health. ***Thank you again for all the last day of school in 2009 surprises and good wishes. I am...
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