This week we finished our novel Number the Stars. I hope your child enjoyed it as much as I did. We will be taking a break from novels for about a month. During this time, we will be reading out of our anthology book. Our next novel will be Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Next Tuesday is Valentine’s Day! Please remember that if students bring valentines, they should bring them for each member of the class. Here is a list of names: Cesar, Michael, Bella, Yaireth, Mik, Cory, Katie, Corey, Dean, Raul, Jessa, Denver, Brian, Natalie, Rebecca, Priscilla, Emily, and Ivana. Thank you for signing up to bring ingredients for our ice cream sundaes.

Our Sacramento trip is coming up in a few weeks. Those of you going on the trip will receive a packet of information about it in next week’s Friday folder. If your child is not going, please let me know if they will be in school those days, March 1st and 2nd. I will find another class for them to be with if they are here.

The spelling list for next week is list 20. The test is on Thursday as usual.

We will have a language quiz on Monday. It will cover the subjective, objective, and possessive forms of nouns. There is a chart on p. 159 of the language book. Students will need to be able to fill in blanks on a chart just like that. They will also need to pick the correct pronoun to fill in a sentence. We had a surprise language quiz Wednesday, and the class did great! We had all A’s and B’s with 10 A+ scores! Way to go! The next language test is next Thursday the 16th. It will cover plural vs. singular pronouns, the spelling of possessive pronouns (there is NEVER an apostrophe), the pronoun chart on p. 159, using pronouns correctly in a sentence, and plural nouns.

Tuesday is our history test on chapter 6. Students should know the following: what happened to most Native Americans after the missions closed, the name for the land Mexico gave away, the nationality of most vaqueros, the main export from California, and the definition of Manifest Destiny. You should also know the following people: John C. Fremont, Jose Figueroa, Miguel Hidalgo, Jedediah Strong Smith, and Bernarda Ruiz. There will also be a section on reading a time line. The two short answer questions are: 1) What country threatened the rancheros, and why was Vallejo worried? 2) Explain why the U.S. went to war with Mexico, how the Mexican War affected California, and why the Californios lost to the U.S.

Don’t forget that the coffee can report is due on Wednesday, February 22nd!

Keep working on our memory verse, 1 Samuel 15:22. It will be on the next unit test on Thursday, February 23rd.

Remember that Monday, February 20th is a holiday.

God bless,

Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

This week started off with some fun uses of technology. We watched two high energy history videos, one about the missions and one about California’s four regions. We also used a fun new tool we have- a small handheld microscope that connects directly to a computer through a USB port. We looked at some mineral samples as well as other objects like our fingers, an eraser, fabric, etc. We are starting a science unit on rocks and minerals. If you child has a rock or mineral to share, they may bring it to school. I cannot guarantee they will be able to share it the day they bring it, but within a few days I will make sure they are able to share.

The book fair is next week! There are several papers in your Friday folder about that. Make sure to check them out. We will be going once as a class. I am aiming for Wednesday. If you want your child to purchase books then, send them with money. That will be our one class trip. Otherwise you will need to accompany your child to the book fair before or after school.

Keep working on your coffee can reports. You have two and a half weeks left until they are due on Wednesday, February 22nd.

In your Friday folder you should be getting back the science test, math test, spelling test, the compare and contrast writing score, and possibly the language test. Please look for those.

Next week’s spelling list is 19. We are skipping 18 which is a review lesson. The test will be on Thursday.

We will be finishing our novel Number the Stars on Monday. We will take some time during the week to review the main characters and concepts. The final test will be on Thursday.

Please review the math test with your child. There are some concepts that haven’t sunk in yet and may need to be reviewed more. I have put upcoming math test dates on the calendar. Those are tentative. We may need to go slower in order to make sure everyone is caught up with the concepts we have learned so far.

I put a sign-up sheet on the door for our Valentine party.

Monday, February 20th is a holiday. Enjoy the time off!

God bless,

Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Wasn’t Thursday’s Walk Through California event amazing? The kids did a great job. Thank you for working with them on their expert cards and their costumes. Come take a look at the pictures outside the classroom door. Congratulations to the Green Valley team: Katie, Corey, Jessa, Michael, and Mik for coming in first place!

I need to make a change in the information about the fourth grade musical. Ms. DeLeon just changed it to Wednesday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, April 20th in School Family.

Next week’s spelling list is list 17. The test will be on Thursday as usual.

Remember to have your child keep reading their biography book and working on their coffee can report. It’s due on Wednesday, February 22nd.

We will have the next math test (lessons 71-75) on Thursday.

Our next language test is next Friday, February 3rd. It will cover finding a complete sentence vs. a fragment or run-on, punctuation, capitalization, finding the subject and verb of a sentence, and proper vs. common nouns.

Valentine’s Day is coming up. Remember, if you bring valentine items (cards, treats, etc.) you need to bring one for each student. We have 18 students total in the class. If you have any ideas for the party-games, food, activities, or are interested in helping please let me know this week so we can set it up. Thanks!

If you are planning to order from January’s Scholastic catalog, please send in your order by Monday, January 30th. Remember to write the check to Scholastic.

Thursday, February 9th will be our Number the Stars test.

God bless,

Miss Schenk

This was a short week anyway, but it went by fast! On Tuesday we watched a short movie about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and we looked at some videos of volcanoes.

Thank you for sending in your coffee can books for approval. If you haven’t done so yet, please do that as soon as possible. Make sure your child starts reading so they have plenty of time to complete the project. If you have questions about it please let me know.

Today was the last day of the quarter. Grades are now final. You will get the report cards next week in the mail. If you child struggled with missing work, emphasize to them that the new quarter is a fresh start and encourage them not to get behind.

Remember that Monday is a non-student day. We will see you on Tuesday.

Next Thursday is Walk Through California. Please make sure your child has their green expert card(s) memorized and that they have found the answer to the question on the card. I am planning to check their memorization on Tuesday so we are ready for Thursday. Parents are invited to attend. Remember that no children are allowed no matter what age. You are welcome to take pictures or to video tape the portions your child is in, but we are not allowed to video tape large sections of the performance due to copyright agreements. It will be held in the art gallery, across from the arboretum, from 9:00-11:30 on Thursday morning. Remember that costumes are optional, but they add a lot to the experience.

There will be no spelling list next week because of the non-student day and Walk Through California. Enjoy the break.

We will have a language quiz on Tuesday when we return. It is very short, and it covers common and proper nouns. Common nouns are non-specific people, places, things, or ideas like boy, tree, school, church. Proper nouns are always capitalized and refer to specific people, places, things, or ideas like Bill Smith, Crystal Cathedral Academy, and California.

Our next science test is next Friday, January 27th. We corrected the chapter review this week. Use that to study. Here are some other things to review. Know the following vocabulary words: continental drift, mantle, fault, fossils, erosion, magma, mass movement, deposition, plate, volcano, core, crust, Pangea, landform, earthquake, and weathering. You will also need to know: how water weathers rocks, how mountains are formed (including examples of each kind), why the center of the Earth is solid, how fossils help scientists learn about the past, the Ring of Fire and its relationship to earthquakes, how volcanic pressure builds an island, and what kinds of landforms are made by water and wind.

Upcoming Dates:
Thursday, February 2nd: Spelling Test list 17
Friday, February 3rd: Language test on unit 8
Wednesday, February 22nd: Coffee Can Reports due

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Did you hear about our peanut butter earth lab on Monday? It was a hands-on and edible way to learn about the layers of the Earth.

Thank you for turning in all the extra credit by today’s deadline. Remember that any missing work from this quarter is due by Wednesday. I cannot accept it after that.

Monday there is no school in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. See you Tuesday!

If you have not already done so, remember that Tuesday is the deadline to get your coffee can biography book approved. Remember it needs to be at your child’s reading level and must be at least 90 pages.

We have a Bible test on Tuesday. Sorry that it’s the first day of the week, I know that many of you prefer not to have Monday (in this case) Tuesday tests. I try not to, but it happens sometimes. Your child got a study guide in class yesterday they should use to prepare for the test.

Next week’s spelling test on list 16 will be on Thursday as normal.

Make sure your child is memorizing their Walk Through California cards. They should have come home before Christmas. If you are missing them, please see me for replacements. They need to be memorized by the 26th. You should also be thinking about costume ideas if your child is planning to dress up.

Our next math test covering lessons 66-70 will be next Friday, January 20th. That same day we also have a history test on chapter 5. The test will cover things like: who founded the first Spanish missions in California, where is the first mission, what were the Spanish forts called, why many Native Americans died, and what happened if a Native American can away from a mission. It will also cover these people: Toypurina, Juan Crespi, Fermin Lasuen, Jose de Galvez, and Francisco Reyes. There will be two sections based on skills we have covered in this chapter. One section will ask questions about cause and effect. The other will cover primary and secondary sources. The essay questions are 1) How did Spain’s fear of Russia help lead to the creation of missions in California? 2) Describe at least three ways in which Native Americans’ ways of life in Spanish missions differed from their traditional ways of life.

Upcoming Dates:
Monday, January 16- No School
Tuesday, January 17th- Coffee can books due for approval AND Unit 6 Bible Test
Wednesday, January 18th- All missing work due
Thursday, January 19th- Spelling Test list 16
Friday, January 20th-End of 1st semester AND Math test (66-70) AND History Ch. 5 Test
Monday, January 23rd: Non-student day
Thursday, January 26th- Walk Through California
Friday, January 27th: Report cards mailed AND Science test on unit B1
Wednesday, March 28. 7:00pm (Call time is 6:00pm)-4th grade musical (mandatory attendance)
Friday, March 30th. 8:30am (Call time is 8:00am)-4th grade musical at School Family

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Welcome back after vacation! I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year’s Day. We have had a great week this week starting a bunch of new units.

During the break I rediscovered a neat website that I had forgotten about. It is www.freerice.com . It is a website that allows you to do educational activities and at the same time feed hungry people around the world. Each time you get an answer correct, you give 10 grains of rice. The rice is purchased with the ad money from the site. There is no cost to sign up. I have an account and have been playing it a lot. I showed it to the students for two reasons.
1) There is a multiplication activity that would be a great review for those still struggling with their times tables. 2) It would be a fun (and free) activity that could be part of our class mission project. Feel free to play at home or at school. Please let me know if you have any questions.

This week we started our next novel Number the Stars. It is about two girls who are living in Denmark at the time of Nazi occupation. The book talks about war and some of the things that happened to the Jews during that time. There are some serious things that might come up, but we will talk about them at age appropriate levels. For this novel, the class has been divided into three reading groups. Students have been grouped according to how quickly the finish work, not “smart” or “not smart”. I have grouped the students this way so that students will be able to work at the same pace. The groups will meet during class time and read together, have literary discussions, and complete some assignments together. It is very important that your child stays up to date with their reading. The assignment book will show which chapter has been assigned for the day. If the group is unable to finish reading it in class, it is each person’s job to finish it on their own. The students have been told there will be random pop quizzes to make sure they have done the reading. We are also working on asking higher level questions. I gave students a copy of a website that takes Bloom’s taxonomy and breaks it down into different types of questions. Ask your child what they have learned about that.

I graded the mission reports over the vacation. Overall I am very impressed with the final products the students turned in. I am sending home the score sheet in this week’s Friday folder. I am keeping the report itself to be displayed with the mission at Open House later this year.

Remember that all extra credit for this quarter is due by Friday, January 13th. I will not accept work after that day for any reason.

Our next book report will be a coffee can biography. I explained it in class today, and there is a flyer about it in your Friday folder. Your child must bring in the book to get approved by me on or before Tuesday, January 17th.

Our next math test, covering lessons 61-65, is on Wednesday, January 11th. We have now covered two digit division (only using multiples of 10) and three digit multiplication. Please make sure your child understands. If they don’t, please have them ask me for help.

Next week’s spelling test on list 15 will be on Thursday as usual.

Friday, January 13th will be a descriptive writing test. We will be talking about it more next week. There is nothing the students need to study in advance. They will be writing a short essay in class that is similar to the types of writing we have done this quarter. It will count as much as a normal final draft.

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, January 16- No School
Tuesday, January 17th- Coffee can books due for approval AND Unit 6 Bible Test
Wednesday, January 18th- All missing work due
Thursday, January 19th- Spelling Test list 16
Friday, January 20th-End of 1st semester AND Math test (66-70) AND History Ch. 5 Test
Thursday, January 26th- Walk Through California
Wednesday, March 28. 7:00pm (Call time is 6:00pm)-4th grade musical (mandatory attendance)
Friday, March 30th. 8:30am (Call time is 8:00am)-4th grade musical at School Family

Dear Parents,

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy the holidays with your family. I hope you will take time to read the Christmas story as a family. We have been reading it together as a class and having some great discussions. Thank you for attending the Christmas program. It was a great night.

In today’s Friday folder you will find some inserts with important information. One paper will tell you about extra credit opportunities for the second quarter. If you lose it, you can also find it on my blog page. Another flyer is about the mission models. I want to give you the information so any of you who want to start early will know what to do. Don’t panic! They aren’t due until mid-May, the day before Open House. There is also a flyer about Walk Through California which is a fun, interactive day in January. Please see the note for information about costumes and expert word cards. Most students have two expert cards. A few people have either 3 or 1 to even out the number of cards on each team.

Thank you for turning in your mission reports. You will receive the grades for those after the break. I will be keeping the actual report until the end of the year so they can be displayed with your mission model at Open House.

Look for graded tests in the Friday folder. I graded as many as I could of the ones we took this week. You will get the rest back after vacation.

If you want to order a DVD of the Christmas program, make sure your orders are in by January 6th. See the flyer in your Friday folder.

I will see you in the new year. School starts again on Tuesday, January 3rd. I will give you a January calendar the first week back to school. In the meantime here are some important dates.

Our next spelling test on list 14 will be the Friday we get back, not Thursday.

Upcoming Dates:
Tuesday, January 3rd: First day back after vacation
Friday, January 13th: All 2nd quarter extra credit due
Monday, January 16th: No School
Friday, January 20th: End of the 2nd quarter
Thursday, January 26th: Walk Through California

God bless,

Miss Schenk

P.S. Here is a Christmas quote I really like.
“The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.” Stuart Briscoe

History:
Complete one of the “Think and Write” exercises on p. 100. It must include details.

Language:
Pick a page from a chapter book. Write or type the page. Underline each verb on the page two times. It must be 80% accurate for full credit.

Math:
Complete any four of the following supplemental lessons: 41, 47, 53, 57, 58, 59.

Reading:
1. Read for one hour. Write a one page summary of what you read.
2. Read for one hour. Draw a picture of one of the scenes you read about.

Science:
Complete one of the labs on page A 157. Please do not bring in the actual experiment. (You may send in a picture if you wish.) Complete the written part and bring that in.

Spelling:
1. Use all of the words from one list in a story.
2. Write every word from one list 5x. (This cannot be done on computer.)

Writing:
Write either a character sketch or poetry review. (Make sure to follow the guidelines in the rubric.) This grade will replace your lowest grade this quarter.

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday! I will be absent tomorrow, but the students know what to expect tomorrow, and it should be a good day. Remember that the math test is tomorrow. We took the pretest on Wednesday. Use that to help your child study. The next math test, on lessons 56-60, will be on Friday, December 16th.

Progress reports will be home soon. I only sent them if your child had a C or below in any subject. If you didn’t get one, your child has all A’s and B’s. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Our Christmas party will be next Friday after recess, around 10:15. The party will last until noon when school is out. You will be able to sign your student out early if you wish. I will have a sheet to do that in the classroom so you don’t need to go to the office. We are going to be decorating gingerbread cookies. There will be a sign up sheet on the door. The class voted to do a gift exchange. Please have your child bring a wrapped gift in that is $10 or less. If you are unable to do so, please let me know and I will do my best to provide a gift for that child. If it is especially for a boy or a girl, please note that on the outside of the gift.

If you want to order from the December Scholastic catalog, please turn in your order to me (or do it online) by December 14th. I will send in the order before vacation, but we will not get the delivery until January. Please remember to send a check made to Scholastic, not cash.

Remember that there is no spelling next week. Enjoy the time off from that!

Monday is the Christmas program. All students are required to attend. Please make sure your child checks in with me in the back before the program starts.

Remember that your mission report final draft is due on Monday. The rough drafts looked great. I’m excited to read the final projects.

The winners of the game truck will get to enjoy that opportunity on Tuesday afternoon.

Next Wednesday, December 14th is our next science test on chapter 5. It will include matching the following vocabulary words to their definitions: succession, pioneer plants, climax community, pollution, acid rain, conserving, reduce, reuse, recycle, reclamation, and wetlands. Students should also know the following: at what stage lichens grow, what grows during each stage of primary succession, the difference between primary and secondary succession, the causes of air pollution, why wetlands are important, the steps on reclamation, how forest fires are helpful, the three R’s, how we benefit from a healthy ecosystem, and how to compare reclamation to secondary succession.

We have a language test on unit 7 on Thursday December 15th. It will cover drawing a vertical line between the subject and predicate of a sentence, identifying the verb(s) in the sentence, writing a sentence with a compound verb, and distinguishing between action and helping verbs. We will also be taking two short quizzes that week on Monday and Tuesday covering the same concepts.

The next Bible test is on Thursday, December 15th. It will cover the book of Ruth. We are reading almost the entire thing in class since it’s a short book. I also recommended to the students that they read it one time on their own before the test as a review. The whole test is short answers. There is no multiple choice, matching, or true/false. Most of the questions are the same as the study guide. However, I don’t want students to memorize the study guide answers and write it on the test. They need to explain it in their own words.

Remember that your final Travel Teens payments are due December 19th.

See you Monday night at the Christmas program. 

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday! I will be absent tomorrow, but the students know what to expect tomorrow, and it should be a good day. Remember that the math test is tomorrow. We took the pretest on Wednesday. Use that to help your child study. The next math test, on lessons 56-60, will be on Friday, December 16th.

Progress reports will be home soon. I only sent them if your child had a C or below in any subject. If you didn’t get one, your child has all A’s and B’s. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Our Christmas party will be next Friday after recess, around 10:15. The party will last until noon when school is out. You will be able to sign your student out early if you wish. I will have a sheet to do that in the classroom so you don’t need to go to the office. We are going to be decorating gingerbread cookies. There will be a sign up sheet on the door. The class voted to do a gift exchange. Please have your child bring a wrapped gift in that is $10 or less. If you are unable to do so, please let me know and I will do my best to provide a gift for that child. If it is especially for a boy or a girl, please note that on the outside of the gift.

If you want to order from the December Scholastic catalog, please turn in your order to me (or do it online) by December 14th. I will send in the order before vacation, but we will not get the delivery until January. Please remember to send a check made to Scholastic, not cash.

Remember that there is no spelling next week. Enjoy the time off from that!

Monday is the Christmas program. All students are required to attend. Please make sure your child checks in with me in the back before the program starts.

Remember that your mission report final draft is due on Monday. The rough drafts looked great. I’m excited to read the final projects.

The winners of the game truck will get to enjoy that opportunity on Tuesday afternoon.

Next Wednesday, December 14th is our next science test on chapter 5. It will include matching the following vocabulary words to their definitions: succession, pioneer plants, climax community, pollution, acid rain, conserving, reduce, reuse, recycle, reclamation, and wetlands. Students should also know the following: at what stage lichens grow, what grows during each stage of primary succession, the difference between primary and secondary succession, the causes of air pollution, why wetlands are important, the steps on reclamation, how forest fires are helpful, the three R’s, how we benefit from a healthy ecosystem, and how to compare reclamation to secondary succession.

We have a language test on unit 7 on Thursday December 15th. It will cover drawing a vertical line between the subject and predicate of a sentence, identifying the verb(s) in the sentence, writing a sentence with a compound verb, and distinguishing between action and helping verbs. We will also be taking two short quizzes that week on Monday and Tuesday covering the same concepts.

The next Bible test is on Thursday, December 15th. It will cover the book of Ruth. We are reading almost the entire thing in class since it’s a short book. I also recommended to the students that they read it one time on their own before the test as a review. The whole test is short answers. There is no multiple choice, matching, or true/false. Most of the questions are the same as the study guide. However, I don’t want students to memorize the study guide answers and write it on the test. They need to explain it in their own words.

Remember that your final Travel Teens payments are due December 19th.

See you Monday night at the Christmas program. 

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Welcome back from Thanksgiving vacation. I hope you had a nice holiday with your family. We have just a few weeks between now and Christmas vacation. I am in the process of deciding what to do for the Christmas party, if you wanted to do something specific for the party please let me know by Monday.

This week you turned in your mission report rough drafts. I hope to have those back to you in your Friday folder. If you did not get yours, you will have it by Monday. Remember that your final draft is due on Monday, December 12th.

Next Friday, December 9th, progress reports will be mailed. I will be absent that day, but they will be in the mail by then. Look for your Friday folders next week on Thursday since I won’t be here in school on Friday.

Our next spelling list will be list 13. The spelling test will be on Thursday as usual. However, the next week we will not have a spelling list. It’s the last week before Christmas vacation. It gets busy with the Christmas program and other tests so we will skip spelling that week.

The Christmas program is on Monday, December 12th. Remember that students are required to attend. Please check in with me at the back before the performance. I will be taking attendance

The next math test, covering lessons 51-55, will be on Friday, December 9th. We will be doing lesson 55 and the pretest on Wednesday the 7th. Then we will do lesson 56 on Thursday before Friday’s test. It is a little out of the ordinary to do another lesson before the test, but we already have two tests that day so I want to spread it out a little.

Our next history test on chapter 4 is on Thursday, December 8th. The chapter review is due on Monday. We will spend time on Tuesday studying for the test. Here are some key things you will be tested on.
• Who captured Moctezuma II
• Why Cabrillo explored California’s coast
• What Francis Drake did at Point Reyes
• Why Vizcaino explored California
• Know the following terms: Monterey Bay, New Spain, Tenochtitlan, Northwest Passage, Manila
• Be able to use latitude and longitude to find a point on the map (We played a great review came on www.abcya.com . It is under fourth grade and scroll down the page until you see it.)
• Be able to compare Drake’s interaction with the Miwok to Cabrillo’s interaction with the Chumash.
• Explain by Spanish and English explorers who came to California only explored along the coast. Give examples.

Be aware that the week before Christmas vacation, December 12th-16th, we will have a lot of tests. I want to finish up any units we are working on and test the students on them before they forget everything on vacation. I tried to spread them out during the week, but it is still a lot. Here are the dates so you can study in advance.
Monday, December 12th: Mission Report final draft due
Tuesday, December 13th: No tests. This is the game truck day for Jessa,
Cory, Yaireth, and Ivana.
Wednesday, December 14th: Science chapter 5 test
Thursday, December 15th: Language Unit 7 test AND Bible Unit 5 test
Friday, December 16th: Math Test lessons 56-60

God bless,

Miss Schenk

Psalm 100 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Dear Parents,

We have made it to Thanksgiving vacation! Enjoy the whole week off next week. I’ll see you again on Monday, November 30th. I hope you get to enjoy lots of family time and remember to thank God for each blessing.

This week we did a lot of silent working. It seemed like more students got their work done in class rather than having homework. Please let me know if your child had less homework this week.

Remember that your mission report rough drafts are due to me on Monday, November 28th. I have already graded and returned a few that look really good.

Friday, December 2nd is the last books of the Bible test. It will be Genesis-Revelation. Students can choose to say or sing the books.

Next Thursday, December 1st, is the chapter 4 science test. Students began work on their chapter review today. They can work on it over the break if they want, but they will get a whole period on Monday, November 28th to work on it. It will be due on Tuesday, November 29th. The test will cover the following vocabulary: open-ocean zone, biome, estuary, intertidal zone, climate zone, near-shore zone, taiga, and permafrost. Students should know the order of the ocean zones from shallowest to deepest. They should know why the rain forest floor has little plant life. They should know two examples of freshwater ecosystems. Know the biome with the greatest diversity of life. Know why the tundra only has low plants not tree. Know why large herbivores like bison would live in grasslands rather than the tropical rain forest. Know how dew helps preserve life in the desert. The last section is a fill in the blank chart on the 6 biomes. Students should be able to give one example of a plant and one example of an animal from each zone. Students should also know whether each zone’s rainfall is high, moderate, or low.

Our next Bible test is coming up on Friday, December 2nd. You child should have received a study guide in their Friday folder. The test will cover the characters of Ehud, Jael, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, Delilah, Barak, Sisera, and Deborah.
Here are some things that you will see on the test. These are clues to the identity of a person we have studied. Students will match the clue to the name.
• She was the only woman judge who served Israel.
• She has the hair of a strong man cut off.
• He was killed by a tent pin while he slept
• He was dedicated to God as a Nazarite.
• He made a foolish vow to God while asking for victory.
• He set himself up as a city-king.
• He made use of the fact that he was left-handed to kill a king.
• He overhead a dream in the Midianite camp.
• Samson fought against these people.
• These people were dedicated to a life of serving God.
God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

This week went by so fast! Thank you for sending in the homework surveys. I read each one, and I am going to try to make some changes I think will help. One change is that we will be cutting the math lessons in half. From now on, your child only needs to complete the odd numbered problems (1, 3, 5, etc.) If your child is a fast worker and you would like them to complete the whole problem set, you may by all means require your child to do that. I have also been having no talking work times rather than quiet talking work times. I think that is boosting our productivity a lot. Please observe how long it takes your child to do homework for the next few weeks. Let me know if it is still taking hours or if it has improved. Let me know of any other questions, comments, or concerns about the homework anytime. The best way to do that is by email.

Remember that tomorrow is a day off! Enjoy your three day weekend in honor of Veteran’s Day.

Today we took a test on our Native American unit in history. You will get those back next week. In class we had a Native American pow-wow and created rock art. Ask your child about their tribal art.

The mission report rough draft due date has been pushed back to Monday, November 28th. Make sure your child isn’t leaving all of it until the last minute. This week I printed out information for each child about their mission. It was from a website, but if you need another type of source you can count it as “information from teacher.” I have VHS tapes on each mission if you want to check them out and watch them. Since so many people are doing Mission Santa Barbara, I will be showing that one during class time on Monday.

Next week’s spelling test on list 11 will be on Thursday as usual. I got a suggestion on the homework survey to have spelling due later in the week than Tuesday. I will now be accepting spelling 3 x’s each until Thursday morning just before the test. If it is turned in after the test it will be late.

Our next math test is on Tuesday, November 15th. It will cover lessons 41-45. Watch for a corrected pretest to come home on Monday. Use that to study.

Next Friday, November 18th, is the next books of the Bible test. Students need to be able to say (or sing) 1 Timothy-Revelation.

Remember that the week of November 21st-November 25th, students have the whole week off for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

We will be having a small Thanksgiving celebration next Friday. I will put a sign-up sheet by the door. Feel free to add your own treat to the list.

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Dear Parents,

Thank you for a GREAT Spider Day on Monday! It was very fun. Thank you for the moms who helped with the cupcakes. They turned out great! I forgot to take pictures of the finished cupcakes. If someone could email me some, that would be great. We made $116 to donate to Yesenia. I put the PIP points up for that. If I missed you let me know.

I sent home a homework survey in your child’s Friday folder. Please fill it out and return it by Monday, November 7th. Students who return it that day will receive a homework pass.

This Monday, November 7th, is picture retake day. I sent everyone forms in the Friday folder. If you don’t need it, just throw them away. Anyone taking pictures must be in full Friday uniform.

Report cards should have been mailed home today. Please let me know if you have any questions.

The science test on chapter 3 is on Monday. Use your study guide as a review. Here are some other concepts your child needs to know.

Know the following vocabulary words and be able to place them in a paragraph: individual, niche, habitat, ecosystem, population, community, producers, energy pyramid, food chain, food web, decomposers, consumers, symbiosis, competition, threatened, endangered, and extinct. Study the drawing we made in class of how individuals make up a population which makes a community, etc. Know the terms population density, interdependent, and the two types of symbiosis (mutualism and parasitism.) Know the percentage of energy passed on at each level of the food chain. Be able to put the following organisms in a food chain: coyote, green plant, vulture, mushroom, and rabbit. Know the natural causes of population decline.

We will have a language test on Tuesday, November 8th. It will cover capitalization rules, end marks, types of sentences, the parts of the friendly letter, punctuating a letter, and writing a thank you note. Students will be asked to write a thank you note to their cousin’s for spending the weekend. Remember that all five parts of a friendly letter also appear in a thank you note. Practice with your child how to write an address.

Line 1- The person’s name
Line 2- The number and street
Line 3- The city, state and zip code

Sorry about any confusion over this week’s spelling review list. Next week’s test on Thursday covers list 10 which is a regular list. The results of this week’s test were a lot lower than average. I usually throw out one low test per quarter so this will be that test for many students.

Next Thursday, November 10th, is the history chapter 3 test. Students should know the following: where the first Californians came from, which Native American group is in the Northwest culture area, the main food of the Chumash, the importance of the Colorado River to the Yuma people, and why the Miwoks set fire to their land. Students also need to know the following vocabulary words: artifact, ancestor, tomol, shaman, and granary. The second part of the test will be creating an outline. Please review pages 78-79. The main idea is that in an outline you pick the topic of the section (on the test the sections are paragraphs) and you identify the main idea as the first Roman numeral and the supports facts under it are letters. If a report was on a student it might look like this:

I. Birth
A. City where they were born
B. Birthday
C. Names of their parents

II. Education
A. What elementary school they attended
B. Awards won

III. Hobbies
A. Something they like to do ex. read
B. Something else they like to do ex. play basketball

The last section has two short answer questions. 1) California has nearly four times as many reservations as New Mexico but only twice the number of Native Americans. Why do you think California has so many more reservations than New Mexico? (hint: think diversity, culture areas) 2) Describe the cultures of two Native American groups in California to show how their lives were affected by their environment and their resources.

Remember that we have next Friday, November 11th off in celebration of Veteran’s Day. Enjoy a three day weekend!

Keep working on your mission report rough draft. It is due on Monday, November 14th. Please let me know right away if you have questions or need help.

The next math test on lessons 41-45 will be on Tuesday, November 15th.

The next books of the Bible test is on Friday, November 18th. It will cover 1 Timothy through Revelation.

Upcoming Dates:
No School all of Thanksgiving Week November 21st-November 25th

God bless,
Miss Schenk

Yesterday we added a new student to our class. Please welcome her when you see her.

We had a great Red Ribbon and Spiritual Emphasis week! We wore our red shirts this week to remember not to use drugs or alcohol. We had a special School Family on Wednesday and heard about Zacchaeus from Pastor Jeff. Thursday in class we talked about a few object lessons that have to do with our faith. Ask your child about Post-It notes. Today we enjoyed a Rob Biagi concert. What a week!

Don’t forget that Monday is Spider Day. Your child may dress up as a spider or with spider webs. (Spiderman is not allowed.) Please keep in mind your child will need to be able to move around easily in their costume without things falling off. We will be selling our spider cupcakes that day and enjoying the movie of Charlotte’s Web.

Thank you for turning in missing work and extra credit. Today was the last day to turn things in. Report cards will be mailed at the end of next week.

Our Charlotte’s Web test will be on Tuesday, November 1st. I will be out that day on our make up Catalina trip with the high school volleyball team. I will not have email access that day so please ask time sensitive questions you may have in advance.

The next books of the Bible test on Friday, November 4th will cover Matthew through 2 Thessalonians. Keep singing the song as practice.

We have two quizzes and a test coming up in language. The quizzes will be on Tuesday, November 1st and Friday, November 4th. The quiz on the 1st will cover the part of a friendly letter. Students should be able to match the description of the part to its name. There is also a letter with mistakes in it and the students will need to find the 9 mistakes which are capitalization or punctuation errors. The second quiz is about capitalization and punctuation. It will include things like underlining titles of books and names of ships. Our next language test will also be Tuesday, November 8th. It will cover capitalization (review the rules in the textbook), end marks, types of sentences, the parts of a friendly letter (in order), punctuation, and writing a thank you note.

Remember that Friday, November 11th is a day off for Veteran’s Day.

Our next science test is on Monday, November 7th. Look for a study guide to come home soon.

Today we talked about the mission reports. Your child should have a packet about it for you to look at. The rough draft is due November 14th. That’s not much time so get started right away. The biggest thing to watch out for is coming words or sentences straight from the book/website/etc. Please make sure your child explains the ideas in their own words. I know what each child sounds like when they talk. I want their reports to be a reflection of their unique style.

God bless,
Miss Schenk