Hi All,

Thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful treats in honor of Teacher Appreciation and my birthday! It's been such a celebratory week, and I feel very grateful to be a part of a community that is able to support teachers so thoroughly. 💗

This week, we are returning to a "regular" schedule. The kids are reading historical fiction books as part of self-selected book clubs. The book clubs have set up weekly schedules, and your child is responsible for keeping up with the assignments so that he/she can participate thoughtfully in the Friday meetings. They also came up with various ways to respond to the literature (jots, question, character webs, etc.) We are also reading a lot of non-fiction history as kids work to research their final writing topics. They are all working on various subjects in California history-- from Native Americans to the Donner Party to the Golden Gate Bridge. Once again, their topics are self-selected.

In math, we are shifting to a measurement unit, and will also be reviewing a few of the geometry concepts addressed before state testing began. Kids will take one more short geometry quiz. In science we are having a lot of fun on a Mystery Science unit entitled "The Birth of Rocks" and began with learning about the "Ring of Fire" and 2 types of volcanoes.

This Thursday is Open House from 6-7. Please come any time within that window to check out the classroom and your child's work. On Friday, we are "Jogging for the Arts". Information and the sponsor form went home on Monday.

Next week, we have one more round of testing ( MAP) which is mandated by the district and gives more real time data than the state testing that is not reported until late summer. The MAP will not be nearly as time consuming as the CAASP, but still puts the kids on Chromebooks for a couple of hours at a time. Thanks for your support with all of this data collection! In that vein, there is also a survey posted on the school Homepage, and there is a parent version in which you can share your views. The kids will be taking the student version here at school, and I have already completed my teacher form.

I will also be sending home permission slips for our End-of-the-Year party next Monday.  All of 4th Grade will be going to Green Valley Cinema to watch a movie! Each year, the entire 4th Grade class votes on a video (that we bring from our collection) to screen at the theater. Kids also enjoy popcorn and a drink. The theater charges us $7 per kid and $3 per adult chaperon, so we will be asking for contributions to the cost as well as drivers to ferry the kids to the theater. This all happens on the last Wednesday of the school year, from approximately 9:30-12:30. Save the date!

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer