Students will be dissecting owl pellets today--an opportunity to think about and discuss the food web, animal adaptations, and vertebrate skeletal systems. Students will learn a lot from the activity. We will, once again, have parent volunteers coming in to help keep the activity going smoothly, and I thank them for their time and support!

We have been spending extra time with the last 2 math chapters, discussing and practicing word problem strategies. The pace will go back to normal with the next math chapter. It is vitally important that students practice at home by doing their math homework carefully (and without the use of a calculator), making sure that if they don't understand a particular problem or concept that they ask questions and get clarification in class (or after school or during recess).

Our class won the latest boxtops collection contest and got to pick the charity to which the money earned would be donated ($203). Each student brought in their suggested charity and told the class why they thought that charity was the one the class should pick. What a wonderful, thoughtful variety of worthy causes! The class had an interesting discussion, and after a few votes, the decision was made to donate half to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the other half to the Delta (Stockton area) Humane Society. These students demonstrated what truly thoughtful, caring individuals they are. I was very proud of them.

Just in case you want to set your calendars...our class will be going on a field trip to the Tiburon Audubon Center on Wed., March 4. We will need drivers, so please let Marianne Hill know if you are interested. Also, although students will not be going to Walker Creek until the end of May, the parent meeting about Walker Creek (to answer all your questions and give parents an idea about what students will be doing while at Walker Creek) is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, at 6 P.M., in the multi-use room. Also of possible interest: our Valentine's Day party will be on Thursday, Feb. 12, from 1:05-2:05 (students have PE from 2:05-2:50, and there is no school on Friday, Feb. 13). Contact Lorena Garbarino if you are interested in helping.

Have a great weekend.

Students had a great morning last Friday, participating in Native American activities. It was wonderful to have so many parent helpers; thank you! Students were able to make their own staves game to take home, as well as a cornhusk birdie (used like a hackysack); they got to play lacrosse, have popcorn (yes, Native Americans ate popcorn, although not prepared in a microwave), create sandpaintings, and winter counts. A morning well spent.

Just a reminder: For parents interested in having their child take the upcoming (March) GATE test, you must complete the district form (available on the NUSD website) and return it to me no later than January 29. If you have any questions, or if you need help getting the form, please let me know.

The Scholastic book order is in this week's Friday folder and is due back to me by Friday, Jan. 30.

We are busy preparing for the upcoming science test. The test will be given on Monday, Feb. 2, and will cover almost half of this FOSS module: cells, their structures and the function of those structures, and cellular respiration; and the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary (excretory), and skeletal systems. Students need to understand the purpose of each system and be able to identify the major organs in each system (they do NOT need to learn specific names of the bones of the skeletal system--just the main purposes of the skeletal system). They have many resources to study: the science book, their science journal, various worksheets completed, and study guides (I-Checks and vocabulary/concept lists).

Students will be dissecting owl pellets next Friday, Jan. 30. A few parents have already volunteered to help out (Thank you!), but we could use a couple more. Very interesting activity!

And speaking of parents, it was fun to have some stay on Tuesday to watch the inaugural ceremony with us. Truly an amazing event--and a healthy reminder that everyone can get nervous, make a mistake, and then correct it later!

Remember, there is no school for students on Monday. I'll see everyone back on Tuesday!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break. And now it is back to work! To finish our study of Native Americans, we'll be having a "Native American Day" next Thursday, Jan. 15. We'll spend the morning playing Native American games, making "birdies" and cornhusk dolls, trying sandpainting and creating winter counts. The morning will go more smoothly with parent helpers (I'd love to have 3 or 4 helpers), so if you are available Thurs., Jan. 15, from 9am until lunch (or any part of that time), please let me know.

And speaking of days when I could use parent helpers...as part of our study of body systems, the class will be dissecting owl pellets (skeleton). The activity always goes more smoothly with extra helpers! I'm planning to do the activity in the morning (8:45 - 10:35) on Friday, January 30. Students will work with a partner and dissect sterilized owl pellets. They will use charts to try to identify the various bones they find. It is a great activity and a lot of fun. If you can help, please let me know.

Today is the first day of our Youth in Arts class, Mixed Media (Thank you PTA!). Students will get 1 hour of art--painting, clay, watercolor, drawing--each Friday afternoon (1:05 - 2:05) for 6 weeks. It should be great!

The cold season is definitely upon us. If you have an interest in donating to the classroom, I would love to have a few more boxes of tissues--we have emptied 2 boxes this week already! Thanks!

As of the end of 2008, I am taking a new approach with missing homework. At the beginning of the year, students who forgot their homework were benched and had to complete their homework at school. The result has been that there are some students who are not unwilling to give up a recess to do homework--not the desired effect. From now on, I will be giving students who don't turn in their homework a homework alert, which will need to be signed by a parent and returned the next day. The student will still be benched, but they will have to complete the homework at home. Students who receive more than three homework alerts in one calendar month will face greater consequences. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Happy 2009! Have a great weekend.

I hope you had an opportunity to visit the State Fair on Wednesday. Students did a wonderful job of sharing information about their states, and visiting teachers have reported back that their students came away with interesting facts and questions. I was impressed by the knowledge shared and the energy and enthusiasm displayed throughout the morning. I know students are anxious to find out their grade, but it will take me a significant amount of time to carefully go through all the boards. Students will receive their State Fair grade when they return from the December break. Partners have been asked to decide among themselves who will get to keep the board, although I am available to help with the decision process (a picture of the board is a nice way to "keep" the board).

I appreciate all the help from Kristin Mercurio (working hard at the food table) and other parents who helped with the State Fair. Rancho parents are wonderfully supportive and helpful.

A final note on the State Fair: Jessie's dad, Dan Edblom, made a wonderful 3-4 minute slide show of the State Fair (accompanied by the wonderful song, "This Land Is Your Land"). The students saw it yesterday and really enjoyed seeing themselves and their friends. Thank you Dan!

The language test scheduled for this past Tuesday never happened, and has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 8. We will also get back to weekly spelling assignments, daily math and the Friday quiz, and geography packets when we return in January.

For parents curious about GATE and GATE testing, be sure to attend NUSD's Jan. 15 GATE Information Night. The meeting will take place at the district offices, from 7-8:00 P.M. And if you still have questions about Walker Creek, plan to attend Walker Creek's January Open House on Jan. 21, from 11:15-12:15 (with an optional hike from 10-11). RSVP at 415.491.6602, by Monday, Jan. 19. For more information, go to www.walkercreekranch.org.

In anticipation of another wonderful effort by parents, thanks for creating a great end of the year (2008)/winter solstice/holiday party for the students of Room 14.

It's hard to believe that 2008 is coming to an end. I hope everyone has the December break they want--relaxing, exciting, quiet, fun-filled or a combination of all of these things! I look forward to students coming back energized and ready to get back to work. Have a wonderful 2 weeks, and I'll see students back on Jan. 5.

The class had a wonderful time on Monday's field trip. Their decorations looked great, they enjoyed sharing the experience with Mrs. Dees' class, and they were well-fed at the lunch. A huge "Thank you!" to everyone who made the day possible--the Thomson family for initiating the field trip, our drivers (Mrs. Gutierrez, who got a rental car because her own car wasn't working properly; Mrs. Garbarino, who volunteered to drive at the last minute to make sure all the students in Mrs. Dees' class would have a ride; Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Leonard, Mr. McKay, Mrs. Mercurio, Mrs. Hamilton-Tsao, and Mrs. Thomson), and the other parent chaperons (Mrs. Kwong, Mrs. Ding, Mrs. Wedrychowski, Mrs. Clark, and Mrs. Thomas) who helped out on the ferry and with the luncheon. Thanks as well to everyone who sent in food to the potluck. Rancho parents are fabulous! We could not have gone without parent support. I hope you'll have a chance to ride the Larkspur Ferry sometime during the holidays to enjoy the decorations.

A huge "Thank you!" to all the parents driving and chaperoning our Chabot field trip today as well (Mrs. LoVetri, Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Garbarino, Mrs. Gutierrez, Mrs. Clary, Mrs. Buckley, and Mrs. Mercurio). I know there will be other parents coming along to help with the day, and I thank all of you as well. This has always been a very fun and educational field trip, and I expect it will be again today.

Reminders about the State Fair:

• the date is Wednesday, Dec. 17; it will begin at 8:45 A.M. and end at noon.
• Students are strongly urged to dress in some way that is representative of their state (farmer, businessperson, historical figure, fictional figure, state animal, an athlete on one of the state's college teams or professional teams, etc.). Please do not go out and buy a costume; just use what you can find or borrow.
• Students should bring in 2 or more artifacts that are representative of their state (a Frisbee, if the Frisbee was invented in their state, a golf club if there is a well-known golf course where professional golf tournaments take place, 1 or 2 apples if the state is known for producing apples, etc.) Again, no one needs to go out and buy things; use what you have on hand or can borrow.
• Students MAY bring food to share. IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT REQUIRED, and will not impact their grade. Each year several students bring in small samples to share (bite-sized!). For example, if your state is a major wheat-producing state, a student might bring in a loaf of bread, cut each slice into multiple cubes, and then let State Fair visitors have a cube to taste. If you have ANY questions at all, please contact me.

Just to reiterate: the State Fair shouldn't cost any family any money at all--we even provide the boards! Have your child use his/her imagination to come up with a "costume" for the day, and look around the house for simple things (artifacts) to represent significant activities or events associated with their state. Most of us love food, so students are allowed to bring food, but they are most definitely not required to do so. FYI: All food that has been brought in to share will be on one long table (with a card identifying the state and the food) that State Fair visitors will go to just before leaving the multi-use room. The State Fair will be great.

Our class will have a party on Friday, Dec. 19, from 1:30 until the end of school. Everyone is welcome to come and help out. Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Garbarino are organizing the afternoon, so please contact them if you have questions or would like to help.

Have a great weekend.

Important announcements first:
1) We have enough drivers for our field trip to decorate the ferry--thank you parents!

2) The date of our State Fair has changed to Wed., Dec. 17. Please mark your calendar accordingly (our original date was Dec. 18). The State Fair will take place all morning, beginning about 8:45am and ending about noon. Parents (and any other interested folks) are encouraged to visit. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Lots going on as we make the most of the few weeks before the December break. Students will be working with their kindergarten partners today, making decorations for Monday's field trip. The class has been working on multiplying decimal numbers, and will take that chapter test on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The next geography test is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 11. We will have a language test the following Tuesday, Dec. 16. We are continuing to read The Sign of the Beaver and discuss both the story and the wonderful use of language. We will also begin practicing narrative writing. We have begun working on the next science unit, Living Systems.

Our initial focus in science is on cells. Although a typical "ideal" cell contains other organelles, we'll concentrate on the following, in order to understand cellular respiration and photosynthesis: both plant and animal cells have a cell membrane, cytoplasm, a nucleus with a nucleolus where the chromosomes and DNA are located, multiple mitochondria, and vacuoles, but only plant cells contain chloroplasts and have cell walls. We spent time yesterday on an investigation of diffusion and osmosis (diffusion across a living cell membrane). We'll move on to body systems and plants.

Just to keep parents informed...the state note-taking guide must be completed no later than Wed., Dec. 10. As soon as students complete their state note-taking guide (and some are finished or nearly finished now), they can begin working with their partner on creating their State Fair board. The assignment sheet students were given lays out the requirements, and I'll be working with each group to help them decide which partner is responsible for which parts of the board presentation.

Again, many thanks to those parents making our field trips next week possible. The students are also looking forward to the potluck lunch on Monday, when we get back from the ferry. Just to remind everyone: on Monday, Dec. 8, we'll leave Rancho by 8:45am. Students need to dress warmly and in layers. We'll be back by about noon. On Friday, Dec. 12, we'll be gone all day. We'll leave Rancho as soon as possible (8:30am) so students must arrive at school on time! We'll be back by the end of the school day (2:50pm). Each person going to Chabot must bring a bag lunch and drink.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Conference week is almost over as I write this Friday morning, and it has been a great week. Students enjoy the early days, and I enjoy the opportunity to speak with parents and students about student progress. The support that parents at Rancho provide to their children, as well as to teachers, is a big part of what makes Rancho a wonderful and successful learning community. Parents, thank you for all you do for your child and our classroom.

Students have been working on their state note-taking guides, in preparation for the State Fair. They have specific assignment sheets, to remind them when particular parts of the state note-taking guide must be completed. Once students are done, they will begin working with their partner on their State Fair presentation. The State Fair itself will take place on Thursday, Dec. 18. Parents and other interested adults are encouraged to attend. Students will be displaying their work and discussing their state all morning, beginning at about 9:00am. There will be more information as the date approaches.

We spent this week on multiple digit multiplication and are beginning the unit on multiplying decimal numbers. Most students did well on yesterday's math chapter test, but the test yesterday was a wake-up call for a few students who either have not yet mastered their math facts or are not paying enough attention to detail (not only must you multiply correctly, but you must also add and regroup correctly). These skills, along with similar, related skills in division, will be necessary for the remainder of the school year (and beyond!) as we work with fractions, decimals, ratios, and percents. Please help your child practice the necessary skills.

Even though students return from Thanksgiving break on Dec. 1, any student may take an AR test on Monday and have points earned apply to their November goal--all they have to do is tell me. Of course for students who have already met their November goal, any AR tests they take on Dec. 1 will apply to their December total.

We are continuing to read The Sign of the Beaver. We are using the book to work not only on reading strategies, but also to enhance our writing skills as we study the wonderful use of language by the author. It is difficult to not read ahead, but this is one book I want students to savor, and read together. We may not finish the book until after the December break.

As I look forward to a week with my family, I think of all the things I have to be thankful for, and without a doubt being part of the Rancho family is one of them. Have a great break!