The Holiday Season is Upon Us!

December always brings along some of my favorite projects with the students. Take a look at the cute Santa Stamps the kids created, as well as the logic problem they had to solve involving the song "The 12 Days of Christmas." Students had to figure out how many gifts were given at the end of the 12 days. The results were much larger than any of them anticipated.

Native American Folklores

For the past month, our class has been working on creating digital storybooks of our Native American folklores using the website, Storybird. The finished products are pretty awesome, and I hope you'll check them out. The kids all worked really hard on their individual books.

You can find all the projects in the Class Projects tab at the top of the page, or by clicking on this link.

Native American Folklores

Our very first BYOD was a success!

Today, our class participated in our first ever Bring Your Own Device day! The students were excited to use them all day long as an additional resource in the classroom.

Students used them:

• To look up words during vocabulary time
• To find better diagrams of the respiratory system during science
• To practice coding, and participate in the Hour of Code by using Lightbot & Tynker
• To learn more information on important historical figures like Chief John Ross, Sequoyah, Chief Logan, President Andrew Jackson during social studies.

In fact, BYOD day went so well, we've already got our next one planned! Wednesday, December 18th will be our next BYOD day.

Can Food Drive

During the week of December 9-December 13th we will be collecting cans of fruit, as part of a school-wide Can Food Drive. If you have any cans of fruit in your pantry at home that you are willing to donate, please send them to school next week.

Video Lessons

We have a fun new feature as a part of our website! Along the top of the page you should see a new tab titled...

Video Lessons

On this page you will see a series of videos that have been created as a quick refresher for lessons we've done in class. So far, I've only made 2 math lessons, but I hope you will find them helpful. I will be continuing to update this page as the year progresses, and you might see some of the students making videos as well.

Important Dates

December is going to fly by for us in Room 11B! We have many exciting projects that we're working on, as well as a few tests before we head out for Winter Break. Most of these projects will be done in class, but you may see your students working on them at home as well.

Friday, December 6th
Spelling Week 10 Test
Body System Video Notes

Friday, December 13th
Spelling Week 11 Test
Topic 10 Math Test

Monday, December 16th
Native American Folklores (Storybird)

Thursday, December 19th
Social Studies Unit 3 Test

Friday, December 20th
Spelling Week 12 Test
Body System Project & Poster

The Tree of Life

We just completed our watercolor paintings in the style of Klimt, called The Tree of Life. Students used sharpies to create a swirling tree, and then painted the background in a variety of fall colors with their water colors. The results are beautiful and it's added a great focal wall in our classroom.

Explorers Presentations

Over the last several weeks, students have been working in groups to research and inform the class on a European Explorer as part of our Social Studies unit. This week the students are presenting their information in front of the class, for their first speech. The presentations have turned out beautifully! Take a look at all their hard work.

The Adventures of John Cabot

by Adelric & Zachary

Amerigo Vespucci

by Simona & Sathya

Christopher Columbus

 by Nikita & Noelle

Ferdinand Magellan

By Emily & Shivani

Jacques Cartier

By Dante & Akanksha

Hernando Cortes Pizarro

By Vasuki, Dalynn, & Connor

Francisco Pizarro

By Kina & Sarada

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

By Andrew & Anvita

Henry Hudson

By Vaishali & Paolo

Hernando de Soto

By Julian & Kendall

Juan Ponce de Leon

By Div & Alicia

Marco Polo

By Sri & Esha

Robert La Salle

By Victoria & Cody

Samuel de Champlain

By Joey & Maille

Vasco de Gama

By Meron & Aashritha

Conferences and Thanksgiving Break

I'm looking forward to meeting with all of the parents this week for Report Card conferences. All the students are doing such wonderful work, and they should be very proud of themselves. There is a lot to talk about!

Important information to keep in mind:

Thanksgiving break is from 11/25/13- 11/29/13. We will resume school on Monday, December 2nd.

Students are currently working on their Body Systems Video Notes which are due on Monday, December 2nd when they return from break. Students will be using this information for a Human Body System project that they will learn more about in December.

Native American Regions Presentation

Over the last week our class has been creating a Native American Regions Presentation by using Google Presentation on our school's Chromebooks. While in the classroom we were researching and collaborating, sharing ideas and pictures, and ultimately creating a wonderful slideshow of all our hard work.

Native American Regions Presentation

I encourage you to take a look at what your students were able to create! They should be very proud of themselves. 

Advice from Nature

Over the last few weeks we've been working on giving advice from the point of view of something in nature. Students worked on creating puns that fit their nature item.

Today, we finally finished our project, and the results were great! Here's a few samples of what everyone was able to come up with.

Digital Citizenship

Today in the Computer Lab we began our "Digital Citizenship" lessons. Students will be learning what it means to be a good citizen in the digital world.

I welcome all parents to take a look at what your students are learning, HERE. They all have a log-in and password to access this site.

It should open up good conversations to have with your students about using the internet, as well as their new PUSD gmail accounts. We will be using these accounts throughout the year for a wide variety of uses through Google Apps, such as Documents, Presentation, Form, Spreadsheet... and much more! Your students will become experts in the many ways they can use Google Apps in school.

Hatchet- An Interactive Journey

Hover on the image above to explore all about our upcoming novel, Hatchet. Click on the blue circles above to access new information!

Band & Strings

REMINDER

Tomorrow, Tuesday September 21st, is the official start to Band & Strings. Students should bring their instruments and music books to school tomorrow.

Information regarding Band can be found here: 
https://sites.google.com/a/pleasantonusd.net/pleasanton-beginning-band/
Teacher: Jason Borris, jsborris@pleasantonusd.net

Information regarding Strings can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/a/pleasantonusd.net/pleasanton-strings/
Teacher: Martie Muldoon, mmuldoon@pleasantonusd.net

Homework

Please remember that the homework will be posted on the "Crew Calendar" every day but that you should be relying on yourself to copy down the homework as we discuss it in class. You may also contact a friend if you are unclear about an assignment.

Use this calendar, but do not rely on it!

On Monday, September 9th we will be starting the regular homework program.

Welcome!

Welcome to our class website!

This site has been designed as a resource for both students and parents.

If you'd like to subscribe to the site, which would allow you to receive updates straight to your email, type your email address into the box on the right hand side of the page.


Click on the "November Conferences" tab above to be taken to the website where you may select your conference time. I encourage every parent to sign up as soon as possible.