Thank you, parents! Our class had over 90% participation rate in the school survey! Our students are excited because we qualified for an ice cream party! Obviously, we also appreciate your input on what our school does well, and ways that we could improve!
Our field trip to Hidden Villa will be on Wednesday, 3/30. Please take a few moments to review the "No Garbage Lunch" that was sent home in Friday folders last week. We discourage things such as "lunchables" since everything that is not eaten must be packed out when we leave - no garbage or recycling cans there! It is projected to be a warm and sunny day (finally!), so hats and sunscreen are encouraged.
We will send home "Gold Rush volunteer" forms in this week's Friday folder - we need parents to help out in the following areas: videotaping activities, preparing and serving our Gold Rush lunch, and helping out in the classrooms. We also ask each parent to donate $5 toward the cost of the lunch and other needed items. This is one of 4th grade's "big events", so we appreciate your help!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Parent Survey Reminder!!
There are just 4 more days left to take the parent online survey! Our class will receive an ice cream party if at least 85% of our families take the survey. Remember, you should complete a different survey for every child who attends Dilworth. Our class is getting closer to our goal, but we are still asking everyone to take ten minutes to let us know how we are doing as a school and a class! Thank you!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Week of March 15
Our shorter week was packed with many activities and educational experiences! Just a few highlights:
*Report Cards went home today - please review the report card with your child and let me know if you have any concerns. Please sign the envelope and return that to school in their Friday folder on Monday- enclose a note if you would like to meet with me regarding any questions/concerns.
* Our class started a donation drive for the people of Japan - it is called "Socks for Japan" - we are hoping to get many contributions from you and your children for clean, white (new) socks for both adults and children. Almost 500,000 Japanese people are homeless in the midst of a cold winter. We will collect all the socks and ship them to Japan with caring letters to let them know we are thinking of them!
* We started our new science unit this week - "Environments". Students took the pre-test for this unit and we formed our science groups. This is a great unit to have in the spring because we must grow plants and care for isopods and goldfish! We have two field trips which will enrich and support the science material, including one to Hidden Villa in 2 weeks, and another to the Open Space Preserve at Russian Ridge in May.
* Scholastic book catalogues were sent home today and orders (either online or paper) are due by Friday, March 25. As a reminder, your child was given a coupon(letter) for a free book worth $5.00 or less during the holidays. Please encourage him/her to use this coupon with this order or the next one in late April, which will be our last order for the school year.
*Report Cards went home today - please review the report card with your child and let me know if you have any concerns. Please sign the envelope and return that to school in their Friday folder on Monday- enclose a note if you would like to meet with me regarding any questions/concerns.
* Our class started a donation drive for the people of Japan - it is called "Socks for Japan" - we are hoping to get many contributions from you and your children for clean, white (new) socks for both adults and children. Almost 500,000 Japanese people are homeless in the midst of a cold winter. We will collect all the socks and ship them to Japan with caring letters to let them know we are thinking of them!
* We started our new science unit this week - "Environments". Students took the pre-test for this unit and we formed our science groups. This is a great unit to have in the spring because we must grow plants and care for isopods and goldfish! We have two field trips which will enrich and support the science material, including one to Hidden Villa in 2 weeks, and another to the Open Space Preserve at Russian Ridge in May.
* Scholastic book catalogues were sent home today and orders (either online or paper) are due by Friday, March 25. As a reminder, your child was given a coupon(letter) for a free book worth $5.00 or less during the holidays. Please encourage him/her to use this coupon with this order or the next one in late April, which will be our last order for the school year.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Update for Past Week
* We had an action-packed week in our class! Our field trip to History San Jose on Friday took students into the past to explore the immigration stories of different ethnic groups who make up San Jose's rich cultural heritage. We learned about different immigrant groups such as the Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Mexican people who have such strong cultural ties to the San Jose community.
* Don't forget to move your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night as we return to Daylight Savings time! It is important to gradually "wean" your children into the time change, especially if they have trouble getting up in the morning. Try getting them to bed a half hour earlier on Sunday night, and then another half hour earlier on Monday night. Remember, there is no school on Monday, so it gives them an extra day to adjust to the new time!
* Our annual Parent Survey is posted online on the Dilworth home page - if you have not already taken the survey, please take a few minutes to do so in the next 2 weeks. Your input as parents is important to us! Tell us what we do well, and what we could do better! Our class will also receive an ice cream party if at least 85% of our parents take the survey.
* Report Cards will be sent home next Friday - please review them with your child, note areas of improvement and those that need extra work, and return the signed report card envelope to school next Monday.
* Don't forget to move your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night as we return to Daylight Savings time! It is important to gradually "wean" your children into the time change, especially if they have trouble getting up in the morning. Try getting them to bed a half hour earlier on Sunday night, and then another half hour earlier on Monday night. Remember, there is no school on Monday, so it gives them an extra day to adjust to the new time!
* Our annual Parent Survey is posted online on the Dilworth home page - if you have not already taken the survey, please take a few minutes to do so in the next 2 weeks. Your input as parents is important to us! Tell us what we do well, and what we could do better! Our class will also receive an ice cream party if at least 85% of our parents take the survey.
* Report Cards will be sent home next Friday - please review them with your child, note areas of improvement and those that need extra work, and return the signed report card envelope to school next Monday.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Update for Week of March 7
Dear Parents,
Just a few updates for this week:
* Our field trip to Kelley Park for "Immigration Experience" is on Friday. Thank you to parents who signed up to be chaperones. Just a reminder...if you offered to be a chaperone when sending back the field trip permission slip, please try to keep your commitment. I had three out of five chaperones tell me they couldn't make this trip for various reasons. If you have a job outside of the home that requires you to be available for meetings, etc. most of the time, it would probably be best if you didn't volunteer. If you volunteered for the Hidden Villa trip on March 30, and can't make it, please let me know at least 2 weeks in advance.
* Dilworth is looking for a new Home and School Club President for the 2011-2012 school year. If you are interested in learning more about this great opportunity to become more involved in your child's school, please contact Ms. Matala to get more information about the duties involved in this position. Our Home and School Club does some great things for Dilworth!
Just a few updates for this week:
* Our field trip to Kelley Park for "Immigration Experience" is on Friday. Thank you to parents who signed up to be chaperones. Just a reminder...if you offered to be a chaperone when sending back the field trip permission slip, please try to keep your commitment. I had three out of five chaperones tell me they couldn't make this trip for various reasons. If you have a job outside of the home that requires you to be available for meetings, etc. most of the time, it would probably be best if you didn't volunteer. If you volunteered for the Hidden Villa trip on March 30, and can't make it, please let me know at least 2 weeks in advance.
* Dilworth is looking for a new Home and School Club President for the 2011-2012 school year. If you are interested in learning more about this great opportunity to become more involved in your child's school, please contact Ms. Matala to get more information about the duties involved in this position. Our Home and School Club does some great things for Dilworth!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Upcoming Week in Room 17!
It has been a great week in Room 17 - students did a wonderful job on their STAR writing tests and we began literature circles for "The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson".
Here are some upcoming events or announcements:
* WE NEED BOXES OF FACIAL TISSUES! There has been alot of colds in the class lately, with much sneezing and nose-blowing! We have run out of tissues and would greatly appreciate your donations of tissue boxes to our class! We are also in need of more glue sticks - any donations are appreciated!
* Our annual Parent Survey began today and will run through March 25! Please go to the Dilworth Home Page (like you do when you read the paperless Dispatch) and the link to the survey is on the top of the page. We are hoping most parents will participate - it should only take about 10-15 minutes of your time. We take your feedback seriously, so let us know what we're doing well and areas where we need to improve!
* We will be going on our field trip next Friday to History San Jose - this will be an all day field trip and students will need sack lunches and drinks. You may also want to apply sunscreen in the morning as they will be outside for much of the day.
* We have resumed our Drug Education program "Too Good for Drugs" - look for "home workouts" from your child to encourage you to discuss these important issues with them. It's never too early to start having these important conversations!
* Just a reminder - report cards for the second trimester will be sent home on Friday, March 18. Be sure to read the report card carefully - keep the report card, and send the envelope back to school with your signature.
* Remember that Monday, March 14 is Staff Learning Day - no school!
Here are some upcoming events or announcements:
* WE NEED BOXES OF FACIAL TISSUES! There has been alot of colds in the class lately, with much sneezing and nose-blowing! We have run out of tissues and would greatly appreciate your donations of tissue boxes to our class! We are also in need of more glue sticks - any donations are appreciated!
* Our annual Parent Survey began today and will run through March 25! Please go to the Dilworth Home Page (like you do when you read the paperless Dispatch) and the link to the survey is on the top of the page. We are hoping most parents will participate - it should only take about 10-15 minutes of your time. We take your feedback seriously, so let us know what we're doing well and areas where we need to improve!
* We will be going on our field trip next Friday to History San Jose - this will be an all day field trip and students will need sack lunches and drinks. You may also want to apply sunscreen in the morning as they will be outside for much of the day.
* We have resumed our Drug Education program "Too Good for Drugs" - look for "home workouts" from your child to encourage you to discuss these important issues with them. It's never too early to start having these important conversations!
* Just a reminder - report cards for the second trimester will be sent home on Friday, March 18. Be sure to read the report card carefully - keep the report card, and send the envelope back to school with your signature.
* Remember that Monday, March 14 is Staff Learning Day - no school!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
STAR Test Writing Update!
After several months of preparation, the day finally arrived for our STAR writing test. Our students did a GREAT JOB of focusing on the writing prompt (a summary), creating pre-writes to organize their ideas, and putting forth their BEST EFFORTS to write a good summary! We had a popsicle party in the afternoon to celebrate a job well done! The score from this test will be included on the STAR assessment report you receive next August, along with the other STAR scores for the tests we will take in late April.
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