Dear Families,

Last week threw us a little curveball with the abrupt cancellation of school on Tuesday, but thank you so much for your understanding. At the time the event occurred, I was one of four teachers in the school prepping for the day. We hastily made sure the doors were locked then left promptly. At first I was certainly annoyed, but after driving through a police checkpoint in order to get on the highway, I realized that this was an extremely smart decision to make. I’m thankful it occurred when students hadn’t arrived yet and really appreciate the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office focus on student safety!

Our Land Art field trip to Oxbow Park has been rescheduled for this Monday. We’ll leave around 11:40am and return by 3pm. Unless you ordered a lunch for your child on the permission slip, please make sure they bring a lunch! Monday’s forecast looks to partially cloudy with highs in the low 70s. Please make sure your child wears comfortable shoes.

Since we didn’t have school on Tuesday, we were not able to continue our second week of our spelling words. This will be pushed back until this upcoming Tuesday. At the end of next school week, I plan on emailing you a list of your child’s spelling words so that they can study them over the weekend.

We began a new unit studying Native Americans of the United States last week. I realize that that sentence is, in some ways, oxymoronic, so allow me to start over. Before the United States was the United States, hundreds and hundreds of Native American tribes lived throughout North America, from the Arctic region of Northern Canada to Mexico, and farther south. These Indians lived in various regions and their lives varied depending on where they lived. The Indians that lived on the coast of the Pacific Northwest were avid fisherman for seals, whales, and other creatures of the sea, while the Indians that lived in the Plains of what is now the United States relied on buffalo for food, clothing, and other uses. Throughout North America, the lives of these Indians were forever changed when the age of Exploration started and explorers, and eventually settlers, moved to this “new” continent en masse. We’ll be studying what their lives were like based on what region they live in.

In writing, we will be starting to type our small moment stories while we work on revising and editing. We plan on hosting a Writer’s Celebration when our stories are published. You’ll have an opportunity to come in and check out your child’s story, in addition to stories other children have published. Once I know more, I will let you know when that will be held.

Lastly, don’ forget to fill out those reading logs for reading done over the weekend. Students either brought home their pink log on Thursday, or you can fill it out this online reading log. The expectation is that students read for at least 30 minutes a day

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Mr. B

Idiom of the Week: Don’t Give Me Any of Your Lip!

Vocab of the Week: Sprawled, Fiercely, Gulp, Wondrous