Hi All,
I hope you enjoyed our rainy weekend!

This week, our big event is the field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. On Thursday, kids should bring lunches, including beverages. They will not need money, and will not be allowed to purchase food or items in the gift shop. We will be visiting the aquarium, and also participating in a lab. We do not expect to return to Rio Del Mar until approximately 2:30, so kids that ride on the bus will need alternative transportation. Those who attend Afterschool will be able to join the class when we return.

Aside from the field trip, kids are working hard finishing up the MAP test mandated by the district. We've begun a new Social Studies unit in California history, and continue to work on fractions in math. Our RTI classes are reading By the Great Horn Spoon. 

Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you had a great weekend!

Last week, we started out slowly, after a long Thanksgiving vacation, and finished with a bang!  On Friday, our 2 Fourth Grades, and one Fourth/Fifth Combination class had our second writing celebration. The kids all visited other classrooms, and got to read and comment on fellow students' informational writing. We also got to read some from our home rooms, and will continue the sharing by reading our work to Kindergarten buddies on Wednesday.

The kids then got to attend their first Big Spin, which is an upper elementary celebration of students' positive behaviors and work habits. Two kids were recognized from each class in categories including reading, overall effort, citizenship, and sportsmanship. In addition, there was a random drawing for all kids with good behavior (no blue or pink slips during the first trimester. ) Those kids picked in the drawing got to spin a wheel for prizes such as ice cream coupons and movie passes. It was a fun celebration of the kids' efforts during the first term.

In math class, kids are working hard on fractions. We have been making various models of fractions, but this is an especially important math unit to practice at home. There are many real life applications of fractions, especially in measurements. Encourage your kids to notice everyday fractions, and to take note of their relationship to benchmarks, such as 1/2. For example, what's the fraction of the carton of eggs when you have 8 left? Can it be named in more than one way (8/12, 4/6, 2/3).   Is it closer to a half a carton or a whole? When a recipe calls for 1/3 of a cup of oil, is that more or less than 1/2?  And always--how do you know? Fractions are a challenging concept and lots of practice in a variety of applications will really fine tune their understanding.

Finally, I have received many report card envelopes, but not all. We use them over the entire year, so please send back the signed envelope. I'm also waiting for several permission slips for our field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Take care, and have a good week,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

It was great to meet with you all last week and have the opportunity to discuss your beautiful children!  Report cards will come home this Tuesday, along with the kids' first writing project. Please use the writing and report card as an opportunity to set learning goals with your child, if you haven't already done so as the result of our conversation last week. Each new term is a great time to reflect on what's working, and what needs to work better.

I am not giving the kids a Homework handout this week, as we only have 2 days of school!  However, that doesn't mean that they can't read, and work on whichever homework activities your family has determined to be the best for your kid's growth.

Have a joyous, and peaceful Thanksgiving.

Warm regards,
Carroll Mayer

Looking forward to seeing you all at conferences this week!

Hi All,
Happy Halloween -- almost!  I imagine many of you have begun your celebrating. We will have the traditional parade at school tomorrow, at 10:30. Your Room Parents, Karrie and Laura, have planned a great lunch party immediately after the parade. Thanks to all who are helping with this party, and to those of you who've sent in contributions for party expenses. At home, I encourage you to have your kids sort and count any trick-or-treating candy; it's a great math activity! Also, please keep candy at home during this week, as the kids are pretty excited without adding in the extra sugar.

In class, we are working hard on our Information Writing. Kids are focusing on learning how to organize and write this kind of paper without the added stress of research, so they're writing about topics they already know a lot about.  Later in the year, they'll write a research report. In math, we are continuing to work on double digit multiplication, and story problems that call for it. However, the kids are learning many conceptual ways of addressing this sort of multiplication, rather than the standard algorithm we all learned but didn't necessarily understand. Ultimately, they will learn the standard algorithm as well! Kids are also learning about food chains in science, and will wrap up this science unit with a food chain art project.

Finally, I still need a few more volunteers if we are to go on our field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Right now I have drivers that can take about half the class. The aquarium limits us to 1 chaperone for every 4 students, so people that can take lots of kids would be ideal. In addition, you must have volunteer clearance from the district, which means a TB test and fingerprints on file with the office. Just to be clear, we are not simply visiting the aquarium, but will be participating in a lab in their classroom space as well.

Have a great week, hopefully with the right amount of rain, at the best times!

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

Thanks to all for your response regarding conferences. Just about all students have conferences scheduled for the week the district sets aside for these meetings. I will send home a reminder with your time 1-2 weeks prior to the actual date.

I am also sending home some important information this week. First of all, our field trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium is scheduled for December. We will not be able to get full authorization until I have the necessary drivers and insurance information formally submitted to the office. We are now required to attach your insurance information to our Field Trip Auhorization Forms.

 In addition, I'm sending home information about MobyMax. Our class membership has been generously sponsored by a family in the class, so your kids will now have access to this program at school and home. MobyMax can be accessed through a link on my blog. The kids began the math last week, and will work in other content areas in the near future. This program allows each kid to work on the skills they need, at any grade level!

Finally, thanks in advance to those of you who are able to help with our Halloween festivities, or are supporting them through your donation to the classroom "FUN'd".  The kids look forward to these special days. In addition, a reminder that there are many terrific at-home math activities associated with Halloween, such as counting pumpkin seeds and sorting candy!

Have a great week,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you enjoyed this "bonus" 3-day weekend!

This week, we will begin our second writing unit. Our first step will be Immersing, by reading various examples of informational text. By week's end the kids will begin thinking about subjects they find interesting, and then they will choose their "expert" topic.

We are also wrapping up our Social Studies unit on California regions, and then will be moving into a  
Science unit about the transfer of energy.

Finally, please contact me if you haven't yet scheduled your child's conference.

Take care,
Carroll Mayer