Hi Families,

It’s a busy time of year!  This week, the kids are excited to present their Artist Wax Museum on Thursday, June 1, from 10:30-11:30. Students will be practicing their short speeches at school, but please check in with your child at home to be assured that their speech is memorized. In addition, please support your child in putting together a dress-up style costume for the wax museum.

We will also be having our final math test this week, on Friday. The focus is solving story problems using multiplication and division strategies. I will send home some practice problems on Tuesday, but feel free to make up your own.

The AR test deadline is June 1st (not set by me), so encourage your child to finish their books, if possible, and to plan on taking the AR test by that day. Your kids have had several reminders throughout this term, as well as personal check-ins regarding their AR goals.

Permission slips and money are also due for out End-of-the-Year Celebration, and we still need 1-2 more drivers. You may drive if all your volunteer paperwork is in order in the office. Also, make sure that insurance information and CDL are up-to-date.

Finally, it’s been a great pleasure to work with your kids this year. If I don’t see you personally, please know that I have had an interesting and fun year, and have appreciated all the support you have given to your kids, and the greater Rio del Mar Elementary community.

All the best,

Carroll Mayer

HI All,

Thank you so much for all the special gifts and acknowledgements for Teacher's Day and my birthday! It was a fun week, capped off by Mother's Day. I hope you all enjoyed a special time with your family as well.

This week we expect to complete the state testing. Many kids will be done tomorrow, and others will finish up on Wednesday or Thursday.

When we're not testing, the kids have begun a short research project on a famous artist. I'm pretty flexible about their artist choice, and they can research using websites, as well as books I have in the class.  They will be writing a "first person" speech that is 8-10 sentences long, and then saying their speech during a Wax Museum. The speech has to be short, because they will repeat it many times as various students from other classes come to listen to them talk. We will be in the cafeteria on June 1, from 10:30-11:30 if you'd like to attend. As homework, kids need to memorize and practice their speech, think of a beginning pose, and put together a dress-up style costume to represent their artist.

Some kids are also bringing home a note attached to their weekly homework Choice Board notifying you that they have not completed their Social Studies Hyperdoc. Please discuss this with your child, and encourage them to work on this assignment at home. (This work is web-based, so let me know if your child needs hard copies of the work due to technology problems.)

Finally, I am sending home the Geometry test. Kids will have the option of retaking portions of the test if they are unhappy with their outcome. Please be sure to clearly mark those portions that were unsatisfactory and have your child return with the original test. Also, please have your child review the problem areas prior to taking a new test version.  I will only give retakes on parts of the test to kids who have returned their original. We will do the retake next Monday.

Have a great week!
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

What a terrific weekend! I hope you enjoyed this gorgeous weather. It felt like it began early with the festive Jogging for the Arts event. Thanks to all who donated and/or came out to support our kids!

This week students are wrapping up their California Reports (in class). At home, everyone should be well into fun projects on their topics, which are due on Wednesday. They will be presenting to classmates on Wednesday and Thursday.

In math, we are completing our Geometry unit and will have our Unit test on Friday. I will send home a study sheet, but kids should be able to identify all types of quadrilaterals, each type of triangle, and estimate and measure angles. They should also know how to calculate area and perimeter.

Finally, Open House is this Thursday from 6:30-7:30. I look forward to seeing you all then!

All the best,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

Just a head's up for the week!

First of all, the kids are bringing home a handout explaining the California project they are working on as this week's homework. In case the information gets misplaced, I'm copying it  to the bottom of this post. The goal is to work creatively on a project applying the information gathered for the written report, which we are doing at school.

Secondly, Jogging for the Arts is this Friday. It's a favorite fundraiser, and a great opportunity for the kids to support the school through their efforts.

Have a great week!

Carroll Mayer


California Research Project

You have worked so hard in class to write an amazing research report on a topic related to California. Now it’s time to make the report come alive by creating a visual aide that supports your report!

This visual aide will be done at home and will replace the homework choice board. There are several ideas so we know there will be something for you. If you have an incredible idea that is not on this list, just let your teacher know and we can add it to our list so future students can benefit.

If your visual aide requires the use of technology be sure to communicate with your teacher on the best way to share it with the class. If you can find a way to get it onto your Google Drive then it will be super easy to share with the class.

Visual Aide Ideas

Diorama - Find an empty shoebox and create a scene that represents your topic
Brochure - Create a tri-fold description with visuals that teaches us about your topic
Photo essay - Share important images about your topic with captions explaining their importance
Google Slides - Include photos, graphics, diagrams, text, and more to teach about your topic.
Video - Make a video about your topic! Get creative and we’ll sit back and enjoy.
Board game - Design your own board game that is related to your topic - Come up with rules, game pieces, game board, and anything else needed to play the game
Painting - Paint something that is inspired by your topic
Puppet show - Create a puppet show that dramatizes your topic
Song or dance - Create an original dance or song inspired by your topic
Skit or play - Partner up with some friends who chose the same topic and create a short skit to teach us about your topic
Mobile - Create a hanging “sculpture” to display in class
Sculpture - Use modeling clay or any other materials to create a sculpture about your topic
Game show - Create a game show and invite us to participate during your presentation
Coloring book - Draw several illustrations that we can color in - just like a real coloring book
Poster - Create a poster that displays some important information about your topic
Float - Decorate the outside of a shoebox in a way that is informative and creative

Any other ideas, ask your teacher!

Important Dates
Monday, April 24th - Project description goes home

Wednesday, May 3rd -  Visual Aid due

That’s 9 days to work on your project! Get started early and have fun!

Hi All,
How time flies!  I trust you've all had a terrific week off, and are rarin' to push through these next couple months of school!

In RTI we are beginning a poetry unit. The kids are all very excited. They also did a terrific job during our biography unit, and seemed to learn a lot about the genre, as well as many significant people.

In math, we are continuing with geometry, which has many vocabulary words. Many kids find this topic to be extremely interesting, but encourage your kids to put some time into Moby Max, BrainPop, or the workbook ( up to page 102 this week.) This will help with all the new and vaguely familiar words!

In writing, kids are working on a California research report. I'm excited to read about topics as diverse as the role of Chinese-Americans in Ca, the state government, the transcontinental railroad, as well as old favorites like the missions and California Indians. All research and writing is taking place at school, although kids who have fallen behind might be given work to complete at home. I'll send an email if your child is in that category.

Finally, in Social Studies we are learning about the period leading up to California's statehood, from the ranches of early California, through the Bear Flag revolt, and including the Gold Rush. It's a big, exciting topic!

Take care, and have a great week,
Carroll Mayer

  Hi All,

A few updates for this week:

First, we will be celebrating “Pi Day” tomorrow, 3-14. Ask your kid what we did and what Pi is all about.

Second, we are having a Unit 4 math test on Friday. I’m sending home a blank copy of the pretest as a tool for review. The final test is formatted in the same way as the pretest. I’m attaching the answers to this post, so if you have any questions, please feel free to refer to the answer sheet.

Third, report cards will go home on Friday. Please return signed envelopes next week so that we may reuse them for the last report card in June.

Fourth, we will be reading biographies for 3 more weeks, including this one. Encourage your child to read several books, and about different people. 

Finally, have a great week. Enjoy the daylight!
Unit 4 Pretest

Regards,
Carroll Mayer

Hi All,

I hope you've had a great weekend!

First of all, thanks to our chaperones, David, Heather, Victoria. We had a great field trip to Cabrillo College and some terrific examples of the educational opportunities this great school has available.

This week the kids will begin a biography unit in RTI. Each student will be reading their own biography, many more than one. I have quite a few in the classroom, and our school library has more.  However, your child may want to visit the public library or purchase other alternatives. This unit will continue for 4 weeks.

On that note, I'm also sending home a Scholastic book order. There are biographies available through Scholastic, as well as many other great books!

We will be working on our current math unit, addition and subtraction of big numbers, for 1-2 more weeks. Then, we'll be moving into Geometry.

Our trimester ends this Wednesday, March 8th, and report cards will go home on Friday the 17th.

Take care,
Carroll Mayer