Hi All,

Happy spring!

We are entering our final week of Biography in RTI. When we return from Spring Break, we will have a brief 2 week Unit focused on Point of View and Author’s Purpose. After that, RTI will end, and reading instruction will be done in home room. We will be doing historical fiction book clubs, and using Esperanza Rising as our mentor text. Right now, the class is loving The Wild Robot Escapes as a Read Aloud. In math, we are focused on Geometry, and are also reviewing multiplication strategies. We are wrapping up our Social Studies chapter on the Missions, Pueblos, and Presidios, and the Hyperdocs have been homework for a couple weeks. Children have begun research for their California Report, which will be done in class over the next several weeks. If you haven’t heard, ask your child what topic they’ve selected!

While the rains have been welcome these past few weeks, the combination of spring fever and rainy day recess (inside) has pushed problem student behavior over the edge. Please remind your child of your expectations regarding behavior. One problem that has been coming up a lot is teasing. Please remind your child to be respectful to their classmates, and to be aware of others’ feelings. I am seeing hurt feelings escalate into other inappropriate behaviors, especially when the kids feel unheard by their peers.  On that note, this Thursday afternoon we will be having “The Big Spin” awards assembly that recognizes students with exemplary effort and behavior in Reading, PE, Citizenship, and Overall Academics. All kids with no pink slips are included in the Spin part of the assembly.

Finally, on Monday I am sending home the corrected Unit 4 Math Tests. For those interested in improving their results, there is a “Revise, Reflect, Review” form attached to the test. On it, I ask students to identify the problems on which to retest, revise them, reflect on the “why” of their error, and then review the type of problem so they can improve their understanding. Please return the test with form attached on Wednesday, in order to retest on Thursday before Spring Break.

Take care,

Carroll Mayer

Hi Parents,

A few things that are coming up this week:

• Field trip to Cabrillo on Friday. I am still missing 8 permission slips! 
• Math test on Monday, March 12th. The kids will bring home a Review Sheet on Friday. Important ideas are: Subtraction and Addition to 6 digits, Rounding, Elapsed time using a timeline, and story problems applying metric units of measurement.
• Trimester officially ends on Tuesday, March 6th. Report cards will go home on Friday, March 16th.
• The auction fundraiser is this Saturday. If you haven't bought tickets, there's still time to purchase them. It is going to be extra fun this year, and raise a lot of money for Rio del Mar kids!

Have a great week!

Carroll Mayer 

Hi All,

I hope you’re enjoying a 2 day weekend; hard to squeeze it all in without 3!

Tomorrow, student who retested on portions of the fraction test will bring home their work. Everyone improved!  For some kids, fractions continue to be very confusing. I encourage you all to reinforce practice informally with cooking and construction projects, and formally on Moby Max and other web-based programs, and in the homework book.

The trimester ends on March 1st, and most of the class has met, or nearly met their AR goal. The kids have had many reminders in class, and lots of opportunities to read and to take AR tests throughout the term. There is still time to finish a book or 2 before March 1st, but I discourage kids taking tests on books they completed several weeks or months ago. It is rarely successful, and lowers their comprehension data if they fail. Kids in 4th Grade are expected to read daily outside of class, as it’s a key component of our weekly homework. If your child is struggling with meeting their AR goal, feel free to get in touch with me so we can address the problem, and put procedures in place for the final term.

Kids are also bringing home a permission slip for the next 4h Grade field trip, to Cabrillo College. We will be attending a presentation on the various STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, art, math) opportunities at Cabrillo College. County-wide, all 4th Graders visit Cabrillo College to promote College and Career Readiness. In later grades they visit 4 year colleges and universities. Please return both portions of the permission slip, as Cabrillo College has a separate one from PVUSD. Thanks to the 4 volunteers who have already volunteered to chaperone. Since we are riding the bus, that will be enough adults.

In addition, please plan on attending the upcoming —March 10th—Rio Del Mar Spring Auction. The organizers of this year’s event have worked hard to shake things up a bit, and make the evening fresh and fun.  Order your tickets now!

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi Parents,

Just a few quick updates!

Field trip on Friday, February 2nd to the Wetlands. We will leave at 8:45 and return about 12. Kids will eat lunch at school, but should have a snack to take on the trip. Drivers are: Kessler, Christie, Caris, Redle, Stanford, Fields , Sigur, Klein, Dutra, and Maguire.  Please let me know if I left you out or if you are unable to drive.

Next Monday, February 5th, the kids will have their Fractions/Decimals unit test. We are doing a review sheet now, and students will bring it home on Thursday.

Finally, thanks to all the parents who came on our trip to the mission last week. It's an iconic 4th Grade Field trip, and very interesting! We appreciate your support so that we can continue to go.

Regards,

Carroll Mayer

Hi Parents and Kids,

This week we will get back to our regular routine.  The Homework Choice Board will go home tomorrow and be due on Friday. The kids are also bringing home a permission slip for our field trip to Watsonville Wetlands, on February 2nd. That makes field trips on 2 Fridays in a row, as we will be visiting Mission San Juan Bautista this week. Please make sure that your child returns permission slips for both field trips; I’m still missing a couple for the trip this week. We should now be in good shape regarding drivers for both trips, and many thanks to all who have volunteered. Please make sure your information is fully updated in the office.

In writing, we are beginning work on Opinion, and developing  a well-supported piece on a topic of their choice. We are reading a couple of nonfiction selections over the next couple of weeks in RTI, and finishing up our math unit on fractions and decimals. Finally, in science we are completing our study of energy.

Have a great week,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

Happy New Year!  I hope you are getting 2018 off to a great start!

I have been reading a lot, and wanted to share some terrific books with you!

I began vacation by finished the second book from the Unwanted series, on loan from Vincent and his mom, Audrey. They are well into the series, and loving it! This series is for a mature reader at our grade level. The blurb on it compares the series to Hunger Games crossed with Harry Potter, and I think that's pretty accurate. The main characters are teens, and there is magic and war in this book.

After Unwanted, I read Refugee. This is another book for a more mature reader. It's historical fiction, and follows the journeys of 3 different refugee children, and their families. The 3 stories, which begin in 1939 Poland, 1994 Cuba, and 2005 Syria, are told in alternating chapters. At first it's hard to shift between characters, but as you go more deeply into the stories it helps build the comparison the author is making. This is a great book for readers of historical fiction, and an engaging way to build knowledge of 20th Century history.  I loved this book, and will have a copy available in class.

Next, I read Rain Reign!  Ann M. Martin, the author of this book and the Babysitter's Club series, will be at Bookshop Santa Cruz this month, on our first day back in school. Rain Reign is a fantastic realistic fiction book. For the kids that love Wonder, Tiger Rising, Because of Winn-Dixie, Crenshaw.  The narrator of the story is a girl on the autism spectrum, and Rain is her dog. I think this will be our next Read Aloud, after we finish Island of the Blue Dolphins. 

The last kid book I read is The War I Finally Won, a sequel to The War That Saved My Life. Both books are available in class. These books are historical fiction, set in England during WWII. The narrator of this book is a young girl who saves herself from a life of abuse and neglect. The time period adds to the book, but there are many more emotional and physical challenges beyond the war. The two books can be read on many levels.

I have one more kid book to read this break, but first I'm going to read some grown up books, so I might not get to it. Remember to make some time for reading during your vacation too!

Carroll Mayer

I'm copying the note I sent before break. I'm not sure all of you read/ received it!



Hi All,

Thank you for the many wonderful food treats and kind gifts; I feel very fussed over!  I will enjoy the gift certificate to Cafe Sparrow from the class as well. 

In addition, many thanks to our fantastic Room Parents, Carole-Anne and Allison!  They put on a terrific party-- well-paced, engaging, and yet relaxing!  Thanks, also, to all the parents who were able to stop in and keep the party going smoothly!

Sorry to veer to business, but I forgot to mention that we have a field trip on February 2nd to the Watsonville Wetlands, as well as the January 26th trip to the mission. I am looking for drivers for both trips, although several have volunteered for the mission trip. 

But that's a few weeks away...

In the mean time, have a peaceful, joyous break with friends and family!

All the best,

Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

This week 4th Grade will be celebrating the second writing project, our "Expert" Informational Writing. The kids will have a chance to read and celebrate work from all three classrooms, about the topics that interest them the most. In the last 2 weeks before break, our class will do a short fiction writing unit.

In math, we will continue working on Unit 3: fractions. Kids that are using the workbook at home can do any pages from the first 2 units, as well as the first couple of pages in the fraction section. Students also brought home their Unit 2 test last week, and can decide with parents if they wish to retake a portion of the test on Wednesday. Directions for the retake are attached to the test, which must be returned to me.

Stick it to Hunger is happening this week, and it's an exciting event, for a good cause. Kids are also adding any loose coins to a collection container in our classroom.

Have a great week. This is an exciting and stimulating time of year!

Carroll Mayer