Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a volunteer form. I am putting together the puzzle of schedules and will contact you as soon as I have it figured out.  :)

We are working on projects for the upcoming Digital Citizenship Week (October 19-23). In order to gather data for one of the projects, I am asking students to keep a record of their online activity for one week. I will give them a notebook tomorrow. Whenever they go online on any device (computer, phone, iPad, gaming console), they should write down the date, the name of the website, and what they did on the site (played a game, read an article, looked at pictures, etc...). More information about what we are learning will be shared with you later, but here is a link to Digital Citizenship Resources for the Home: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/digitalcitizenshipweek/home

We said goodbye to Opal on Friday. She and her family moved to Calabasas. I was moved by the things each of my scholars said to her during our goodbye powwow.

I added some new pictures to our Class Pictures page.

There are a handful of people who haven't signed up for a parent teacher conference. Please do so here: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0E4FAFAD29A4F85-october1

We will not start a new list of word parts this week. Instead, we will be using Notability and Explain Everything to make visual vocabulary cards for the word parts we learned so far. To those who did not score 100% on the Nike and Poseidon word part quizzes, I am offering a chance to retake them on Friday, Oct. 2. 


This week's homework assignments, due October 5:
1. I'd Rather Read log and paragraph:

• The paragraph should be written about the book you are reading at home. Be sure to include the name of the book and the author in the first sentence, just like we practiced in class.

2. Math:

• Problem solving tasks 1 and 2. Read, draw, write!
• Practice sheets

3. Online Activity Log:

• Record your online activity each day for one week. Write the date, the name of the website, and what you did (played a game, watched a video, emailed or messaged your parents/friends/cousins/etc..., read an article, etc...). This includes activity on computers, smartphones, iPads or other tablets, gaming consoles.

4. Super Science:

• Read the article, "Robot Redesign" on pages 14-15. Please bring back the SuperScience reader because we will use it again.
• Complete the sheets, "Robot Redesign," "Out of Order," and "Get a Grip." You will be given two craft sticks so that you can complete the activity listed in "Get a Grip." The cardboard strip does not have to be exactly 2-foot-by-6-inches, but please measure it and record the length on your paper. You should also measure the height of the textbook. Draw a picture of your ramp and label it with your measurements. You may borrow a ruler or measuring tape as long as you promise to return it!
• Optional: Visit http://biomimicry.org/biomimicry-examples/ for more examples of biomimicry.

5. Think Like an Engineer:

• Complete the sheet. First, choose one or both questions based on the "Get a Grip" snowboard activity and think like an engineer. Use materials that you have at home to redesign your snowboards. 

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Have a great week,
Christina Polay

Hello everyone,

Thank you for the birthday surprises! You went above and beyond and it was very sweet. I also really appreciated the great turn out on Back to School Morning! If you filled out a volunteer form, I will be in touch soon. 

Sacramento trip information went home Friday. The initial deposit is due by October 15. Parent chaperones will be chosen in December. 

LADWP will speak to our class on Tuesday morning about the drought and water conservation. 

The fourth graders are lucky to have the opportunity to learn basic violin from UCLA students. They provide us with violins to practice on at school. We will start this week with short classes once or twice a week through December 4. There will be a short presentation for parents on December 4... More information on that later! 

Please sign up for a parent-teacher conference: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0E4FAFAD29A4F85-october1
 
Homework assignments (due September 28):

1. I'd Rather Read: Students do not have to write the response this week. They should only record their reading on the log. 80 minutes instead of 100, due to another short week!

2. Math: 

• Problem solving tasks 1 and 2. Read, draw, write!
• 1 1/2 practice sheets - rounding using a vertical number line (what fun!) and addition.

3. Wonders:

• Read "California's First People" on pages 114-115 and answer the questions on the sheet (not the questions in the book).
• Read "Salmon Run" on pages 116-117 and answer the questions on the sheet (not the questions in the book).

4. Poseidon Set: 

• Study for the quizzes on Friday, September 25 (word part meanings, vocabulary match, spelling dictation). Use the Poseidon concentration cards from this Monday's class to help you study.
• Optional: One activity from the spelling menu.

5. Computer Lab Assignment: Think of three clues for "Who am I?"

Have a great week,
Christina Polay

Hello everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. Happy New Year to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah. 

Back to School morning is this Wednesday. My door will open at 8 and I will begin speaking at 8:15. I hope to see you all there!

On Friday, we started our science unit, Rocks and Minerals. Please try to keep absences to a minimum (sicknesses only), as most of our inquiry-based program cannot be made up at home. We will visit the science lab with Ms. Taylor four more times during the unit, but much of the learning occurs in the classroom (I teach the 100 minutes of required science per week.) We will read and discuss concepts as a follow up to the investigations, but the initial learning comes through hands-on investigations instead of a book...Thank goodness!

This week, we will begin a new word set, the Poseidon Set. This will include ten more word parts, along with a new spelling and vocabulary list. Our quizzes will be on September 25. You can access the word parts and spelling/vocabulary lists by clicking the Language Arts link on my homepage. From there, click "Reading Olympians: Spelling and Vocabulary." 

This week's homework assignments, due September 21:

1. I'd Rather Read! 

• This week, students will keep the log and write the paragraph at home. Respond to only one response question.

2. Math: 

• Problem Solving Tasks 1 & 2
• Practice sheet

3. Science:

• Read pages 179-181 of Science Resources and answer the questions on the sheet (not the questions in the book).
• Read pages 80-81 of Wonders and answer the questions on the sheet (not the questions in the book).

4. Reading Olympians: 

• Poseidon Set Journal
  

Have a great week,
Christina Polay

Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoyed your super-long weekend! I know I did. :)

I have updated our classroom pictures page. It can be found by clicking "About Us" in the navigation menu. There you'll find "Classroom Pictures."

This week, we will not begin a new word part list, so there will not be a new set of spelling/vocabulary words.

We will begin to gather ideas for our first project-based learning inquiry on the drought. Students can post resources and ideas on our drought page.

Back to School Morning for grades 3-5 is on Wednesday, September 16 from 8:15 - 8:45. I hope to see all parents!

This week's homework assignments, due Tuesday, September 15:

1. Math: Problem Solving and Practice Sheets.
2. I'd Rather Read: Click here to learn more. Again this week, we will write the paragraph in class so that students can learn my expectations. Students are only responsible for completing the log at home (100 total minutes). Next week, they will do both at home.
3. Poem of the Week: "74th Street" by Myra Cohn Livingston. The assignments are assigned per day as a guide, but are all due Tuesday, 9/15. Click here for more information.
4. Bring in two resources about the California drought. This could be news stories (online or print), magazine articles, advertisements, public service announcements, etc... 
5. From your resources above, learn two new things about the drought. Write your two facts on the, "Did you know...?" paper.
6. "You Can Grow Your Intelligence": Read and answer questions.

Have a great week,
Christina Polay