Field trip photos

Thank you to parents who came along on our field trip to University of Oregon Museum of Natural History.  Students heard about the geology of Oregon, touched fossils, played a game with the rock cycle, and more.  Here are a few photos of our trip.

Canoe Island (Outdoor School):

For those not familiar with the trip, Canoe Island is our 5th grade outdoor school experience, located in the San Juan Islands in Washington state. There are two meetings scheduled in February and March for planning:

— Thursday, February 21, from 6:00 – 6:30 pm in Room 1. Please come to this meeting if you are interested in volunteering to help organize parts of the trip.  This is not a meeting for potential chaperones.  

— Tuesday, March 19, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Room 1.  Every family is invited to this information session to learn more about costs, expectations, and outcomes for students. Please make every effort to attend — you’ll learn all about the trip!

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with our principal, Mme Courtney, if you have specific questions.

Homework:

Mme Shelli’s Class:  Students will have nightly word study homework.

Mme Jana’s Class:  No homework in French this week. Next week we’ll do vocabulary to coincide with our science unit.

Important Dates: 

Monday, February 18 – No School (Presidents Day)

Tuesday-Friday, February 19-22 – OBOB battles during school! With the final round being at an assembly on Friday. (time TBD)

Thursday, February 21 –  Canoe Island Meeting, 6-6:30 pm, Room 1 (see above for more info)

Friday, February 22 – Mardi Gras 5:30 pm

Sunday, February 24 – The Little French School presents French Night Out from 5-8 p.m. Help support the school!  French Night Out

Thursday, March 7 – Science Fair! (after school)

Friday, March 15 – No School  (Professional Development)

Tuesday, March 19 – Canoe Island Meeting, 6-7 pm, Room 1 (see above for more info)

March 25-29 – No School (Spring Break!)

Mme Jana’s News  (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu) 

FLA (French Language Arts): This photo, which I’ve named Bangladesh, is our current “J’observe…” writing activity. This photo is on the Turag River. We’re spending more time working on detail on this activity.

We still did not do our second dictation, but will squeeze it in this week. We also still need to conjugate special verbs that end in –ir, like finir (to finish) and choisir (to choose). We did reading groups just once this past week because of a number of factors, but will get back to doing it twice a week once our schedule gets back to normal! (That means after OBOB is over.) Your children also took their vocabulary quiz and a two-sentence correcting quiz, which will come home on Tuesday along with last week’s homework.

We had a fun time making and signing Valentine cards, and I hope you got to see your children’s beautiful creations. I have found glitter everywhere since Tuesday. 

Les sciences:  We have still not yet gotten out onto the Charlemagne campus (too cold/snowy/rainy) and selected several soil types, but will do so on the next weather-appropriate days. I understand the science field trip was interesting to most. We worked on understanding physical weathering last week and briefly discussed the three big mountain ranges of the United States: the Sierra Nevada Mountains (les montagnes Sierra Nevada), the Rocky Mountains (les montagnes rocheuses), and the Appalachian Mountains (les montagnes appalaches). We also did a fun experiment where they predicted what would happen when a glass bottle full of water is sealed and put in the freezer overnight. It demonstrates nicely how freezing water expands and, when in the cracks of rocks, adds to physical weathering. This next week, we will begin looking at chemical weathering.

Mme Shelli’s News (hopper_s@4j.lane.edu)

English Language Arts:  We will begin a three unit integrated language arts & social studies unit which continues the story of Oregon history by looking at early European and Americans who explored Oregon.  We will read a biography of Lewis & Clark and listen to a historical fiction narrative from the point of their dog, Seaman.  Students will hopefully enjoy some of the hands-on activities we will do such as learning some Native American sign language and trying our hands at writing with quill pens.

Math: Students will bring home a quiz on unit 6, Decimal Notation.  Overall, students showed a good understanding of the topic.  On the parent signature page, I will highlight skills if your child needs more practice. 

This week, we begin a two week unit that will focus on measurement conversions using the metric system. Students will begin to use their understanding of decimals to convert grams to kilograms or centimeters to meters.

Congratulations

The following students’ artwork will be displayed at the UO art museum as finalists in the Oregon student art contest.  Come to the museum Feb. 20-April 28 to view these and many other students’ art depicting Oregon.

“Smith Rock” by Annabelle 

“Smith Rock, Oregon” by Lillian

“The Painted Hills” by Adelaide 

“Smith Rock” by Kepri 

“The Wallowas” by Elena