posted Feb 17, 2012 11:33 AM by Cynthia Friedman
Volunteer Reminder
We would like to thank our fantastic families for their ongoing volunteerism in the classroom and in the Ridgeline community. We would also like to remind you to track all those hours! There is a log book in the office, or you can now click directly on the following link:
Volunteer Time Tracker.
We would like to extend a special thanks this time around to parents Elin and Starr for reading with students in the morning. Kudos to Chazz who has been helping with writing in the afternoon. Also, a special thanks to Cherri for working with the OBOB kids three times a week! We are so lucky to have all of you!
Kung Fu Reminder
Speaking of fantastic volunteers, parent Rachel Pereza is looking forward to teaching Kung Fu starting as early as next week. However, we have received less than half of the release forms. Please sign and return the waiver as soon as possible. If you need a new form, let us know. If for some reason your child is not going to participate, we're going to need to know that too!
|
posted Feb 9, 2012 1:14 PM by Cynthia Friedman
Ancient Egypt
Travel back in time with us to the heyday of ancient Egyptian culture. We are reading about Egypt, learning hieroglyphics, and getting ready to do some nonfiction writing projects. Our studies will culminate in an Egypt Day, and the projects will be on display at the project fair in April. Thanks to the families who have already started sharing books and resources about Egypt!
Valentine's Day
Our class will exchange Valentines next Tuesday, February 14. If your child chooses to bring Valentines, please make sure that there are enough for everyone in our class of 29. Many children enjoy writing their classmates' names on their cards. A list of names was sent home last Friday. No candy with the Valentines, please; however, “treats” like pencils, stickers or tattoos are fine.
Mush!
Next Friday Ridgeline welcomes the Alaska Husky Spirit team for a whole-school assembly. Dog musher and sled captain Lorraine Temple will bring two of her sled dogs and teach the kids about dogsledding and Alaska.
OBOB update
Oregon Battle of the Books preparations continue, and the third grade kids are zipping through their reading list. It's great to see so many motivated readers! Alyson and parent volunteer Rob Foltz keep OBOB club meetings fun for kids whatever their reading level. The OBOB club is open for 3rd graders and meets Friday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:00. |
posted Feb 3, 2012 11:30 AM by Cynthia Friedman
One World
This month, Ridgeline has a project display at the Eugene Public Library. Our class has works that include samples of the Chinese lanterns and Chinese calligraphy that the students created during our Lunar New Year celebrations. You will also see research posters including various animals and a study of the Titanic! We contributed a collaborative piece entitled One World. It is a project that stemmed from our continuing Peace Education studies. It also pays tribute to our recent learnings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Check it out!
Indoor Shoe Reminder
As we continue into winter, it is especially important that students have a pair of indoor shoes for our classroom. Please check in with your child. Do the shoes still fit? Can he/she still find the pair? We would also still like to encourage rain shoes/boots for the playground. The campus field is extremely wet and muddy even as we have had some beautiful and sunny days.
Valentine's Day Celebration
The classmates of Room 1 will be celebrating this special day with a Valentine exchange. Please send Valentines to school on Tuesday, February 14th. Make sure to include a Valentine for everyone. No candy please. A class list will be distributed in Friday Folders. |
posted Jan 25, 2012 9:30 AM by Cynthia Friedman
|
Chinese New Year
On Thursday afternoon room 1 had a special visit from Helen Liu, a former Ridgeline art teacher. Helen shared some of the traditions of the Chinese New Year and brought pictures from Taiwan to show the kids. She then gave an amazing Chinese calligraphy lesson and students worked in small groups making their own symbols with special brushes and ink.
To prepare for our celebration on Monday, we also made Chinese lanterns and red envelopes (hong bao). As the color of red is meant to bring luck and prosperity for the new year, we are inviting everyone to wear red to school on Monday. 新年快樂
Rain, rain, and more rain
As our Oregon winter ensues, the field at school where the children play has become very slippery and muddy. Because of the heavy amounts of rain falling this last week, the kids had indoor recess everyday. On select days, we are able to reserve the lower gym for use during this time. Otherwise, the time has been spent in the classroom.
As an attempt to get the kids outside to get fresh air and exercise, we would like families to send in outdoor gear (raincoats, rain boots, etc.). We do plan to take the kids outside in a drizzle and we want them to be comfortable and dry when they return to the classroom. Also, this is an important time of year for indoor shoes so please make sure your child still has a pair at school.
Read-a-thon Prizes
Again, thank you to all who participated in this year's first annual Ridgeline Read-a-thon. On Monday, every student will be given and sent home with a brand new book to read!
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
|
posted Jan 13, 2012 9:30 AM by Cynthia Friedman
Happy New Year families! From what we've heard around the classroom, everyone enjoyed their time together over the winter break. We too enjoyed ourselves, but it's great to be back with the kids and we have lots of exciting learning in store for the new year.
End of Read-a-thon
Pledges are due this Friday, January 13th but of course we will continue to accept pledges after this date. Each student will receive a book to take home (from the Toys for Tots donated books) on Friday, January 20th. We hope to share the total minutes read and money raised that same day. Thank you so much for participating with your child and sharing the love and joy of reading!
Hooo...Hoo.....Hooo's been dissecting owl pellets?
We have! As an extension of our bird studies, room one has been busy dissecting owl pellets. Students have been constructing skeletons out of their findings. Discoveries thus far have included the bones of mice, rats, voles and even a few shrews!
Lunar New Year
Chinese New Year begins according to the Chinese calendar which consists of both Gregorian and lunar-solar calendar systems. Because the track of the new moon changes from year to year, Chinese New Year can begin anytime between late January and mid-February. This year, the new year begins on January 23rd, and it is the year of....the dragon!!! We will be learning about the holiday and celebrating the Chinese New Year with stories, song, food and dance. Crafts will include lantern making, scrolls, chinese calligraphy, and all things dragon.
Come Read With Us
We are again looking for volunteers to read with individual students in the first half of the day. If you are available please e-mail Emily. We would also like to have a few reading “coaches” to help facilitate literature circle groups for the 3rd graders in the afternoon. If you might be available for this half of the day, please contact Alyson.
|
posted Dec 16, 2011 10:54 AM by Cynthia Friedman
|
Read On!
Thank you to everyone who has been keeping track of reading at home! The kids have been so proud to share their reading successes with the class. Our daily silent reading time has been adding up - already we've logged 8 hours! Make sure to add that time in to your reading log at home.
We'll be tying ribbons again this Friday, so please send in your tracking sheet so we can total up our times. Keep up the reading over break - Read-a-thon ends on January 4.
Colonial Day
Life was sure tough in 1711! For Colonial Day, our classroom looked a bit different. The kids sat at benches in rows of chairs, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. Rules were strict: no talking, no laughing, no crossing your feet... Children who had good manners and learned their lessons got to move to the front of the classroom, closer to the heat of the fire. We had no pencils or schoolbooks, no chalkboard, and no lights. The children learned by reciting from their horn books, and practiced writing with a quill pen and ink. If you haven't asked your kids about Colonial Day already, please do so! I think they'll surprise you with all that they've learned.
Water Bottles
Starting in January, we are asking that each student bring a WATER BOTTLE to school, not a cup or mug. Water bottles stay cleaner and are easier for us to store. Remember to label your child's water bottle! |
posted Dec 9, 2011 10:19 AM by Cynthia Friedman
Raptor Reminder
Brr! Remember to bundle up those kiddos for our field trip tomorrow. A warm jacket is not enough to keep them warm - they will also need extra layers, a hat and gloves. Colonial Day
Next Tuesday we enter the Montessori time machine and visit the 1600s. Dressing up is encouraged! Colonial girls wore a hat or covered their hair with a bandanna or kerchief. They wore long skirts with an apron or overskirt and a button-down shirt or jacket. Leggings, tights or knee highs would work well as hose. Colonial boys wore pants that reached just below the knee. Rolled up pants with long socks would help replicate this look. Boys also wore button-down shirts and buttoned jackets. Brimmed hats were often worn as well. Both girls and boys had “pockets,” pouches that were attached to a belt. We'll be sewing colonial pockets next week, so a belt would be a great addition to your child's colonial outfit. We will play colonial games with George in P.E., write with quill pens and ink, and have class according to colonial rules. That means that girls and boys will be seated separately. At lunch we'll use our colonial manners and sample some hasty pudding (corn mush) with molasses. Post Office Visit
Today we walked over to the post office to send the first batch of letters on their way. Soon letters may start coming back in reply. If your child receives a letter, we'd love to share their excitement and show the rest of the class some more examples of letters. This project truly helps show the children the power of the written word!
|
posted Dec 2, 2011 12:43 PM by Cynthia Friedman
|
December Field Trip
Next Friday, December 9th, we will be visiting numerous birds of prey at the Cascade Raptor Center in Eugene. The visit will begin with a 45 minute presentation while viewing different types of raptors on a glove. Afterwards, children will take a tour of over 60 resident raptors. We will return to school for lunch. Permission slips will be sent home Friday. If you are interested in chaperoning this field trip, please let us know.
Read-a-thon Ribbons
As a way to make our reading more “visible” to the community, our class is tying ribbon to the fence at the drop off/pickup area. Each ribbon represents 30 minutes of reading. Thus far, we have been tracking minutes read at school. We would like to add all of the minutes that have been read at home. To do this, please send your child's tracking sheet to school on Friday. Be sure to add the minutes we read at school each day (20 minutes). We will return it the same afternoon with folders. Oh and, keep reading!
Book Exchange
Ridgeline is participating in a school wide book exchange. Starting Monday and continuing through the week, students are invited to bring a used book from home. Then next Friday, we will visit the “library” of books and everyone will be invited to pick out a “new” book to take home and enjoy!
Pajama Day
Wake up, roll out of bed, and come to school! Room 1 is having a Pajama Day on Thursday, December 8th. Of course, please be mindful of the weather when choosing Pj's for school. |
posted Nov 18, 2011 11:04 AM by Cynthia Friedman
Stone Soup
The annual tradition of Stone Soup is next Wednesday, November 23rd at 1:30. Students will eat their “regular” lunch in the classroom earlier in the day. On the Tuesday before the feast, students are asked to bring a vegetable from home for slicing (no mushrooms please). We are looking for a volunteer that can assist with the chopping Tuesday morning. Please contact Emily or Alyson if you are available.
Also, please send your child with a bowl and spoon from home on Wednesday morning.
Wayte Family Entertainment
How much fun can we pack into one day? Let us tell you! On the morning of Stone Soup, the school will attend a Music Appreciation Assembly at 9:15. Alice’s mom will be performing Opera Music!
|
posted Nov 14, 2011 11:10 AM by Cynthia Friedman
|
Mail Call!
We are continuing to collect the address sheets that were sent home during conferences. Thank you for working with your child to complete and return the form. We will mail our first letter next Friday so keep the addresses coming!
Speaking of mail….
We are going to need lots of stamps! If you are able to contribute a book of stamps for the classroom, please send them in.
Animals and birds and bats… oh my!
Next Friday, November 18th, our class will be performing a skit during the book fair at Barnes & Noble. The skit is based off a book entitled The Great Ball Game, which is an interpretation of a Native American folktale about a disagreement between those with teeth (the mammals) and those with wings (the birds). Where does the little bat fit in? Find out at the book fair. It starts at 6:00 and our class performs at 6:15. Hope to see you there!!
Let the reading begin!
November 18th is also the kickoff to Ridgeline’s first annual Readathon. Pledge forms will be sent home on that Friday and the event will continue through winter break. |
|
