Dear Families,

We’re jazzed for our Writers’ Celebration next Thursday, October 25th. It’ll start at 8 am and end at 9 am. Feel free to come in anytime between then and check out the beautiful stories your children have published. There will be refreshments and some good brunch goodies to nosh on.

As a sneak preview of the writing you’ll experience, here are some excerpts from students’ writing to enjoy. Please remember that we’re still in the process of editing and revising them, so we’re ironing out the wrinkles, specifically sentence structure.

Earlier in the day,I kept thinking about the game in the restaurants because it was so close to start the game but my mom and her friends were kept talking and talking and talking……..on and on!!! ~ Johnny

One beautiful sunny day I was inside my house gazing outside of my window asking myself if I should ask my mom if we could go to the pool while tapping the window, “Tap, tap, tap”. ~ Italia

He is really awesome, but anyways, when Josh (my sisters husband, well now..) said to my mom and dad that he wanted to marry my sister,  “you gotta go threw me first bud” I mentioned, but I approved, because he seemed like a pretty cool guy. ~ Kamryn

Pets are better than toys, because they have life, they respond to you, and most important of all, they love you as much as you do. ~ Dempsey

then i went to the slide  i zoomed down the slide and i smacked into the water and swam to shore to do it again and when it did my mom cried it time to go ~ Patrick

It was steaming, but it was freezing in oregon america. It was winter in oregon. It went no more than 89 degrees In Mexico, so first off I saw the pool from my balkany, and I didn’t see the beach so I yelled there’s a beach ~ Chase

One happy day, I had to go to the bathroom, and I announced to my teacher, “Can I go to the bathroom?” And guess what? She sternly replied, “No.” ~ Jacob

After morning meeting was over, my friend miguel ‘’says bro that was hilarious’’, I could tell by his face because it looked like he was going too cry from laughter, he also added, that I should lip-sync Careless Whisper next year,I gasp and add bro that is the most perfect song ever. ~ Kevin

Fourth grade, I think as the bus grumbles and starts moving. After what seemed like      hours, the bus finally stopped. I got off and slowly walked through the door. ~ Anand

“Oh my gosh.  I can’t believe this happened at school ! In front of everybody!!” I angirly complained to my mom as I lay on the couch in my living room, holding an ice pack to my head on a tuesday morning ~ Natasha

We finished our read-aloud book Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. For those of you that love reading, and are finding yourself looking for a book that’ll warm your heart and fill your soul with a dose of solid goodness, I highly recommend you read it!  

Students are putting final touches on slideshows they created after researching information about Native Americans. Each table group read about a specific region in what is now known as the United States. Regions include the Northeast, Southeast, Plains, Great Basin, Southwest, and Plateau. We also learned about a famous Native American and a legend that was shared over many years from each region.

Coincidentally, we started this unit on Columbus Day. We were sure to discuss the rich irony that comes with a holiday named after a historical figure who is credited with “discovering” an area he didn’t really “discover.” Plus, the lives of the Native Americans were forever altered when the Age of Exploration commenced. History isn’t always kind.

As we wrap up learning about Native Americans and writing personal narrative stories, we’re setting our sights on cartography, journalism, and reading nonfiction. Have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you at our Writers’ Celebration on Thursday.

~Mr. B

Idiom of the Week:  Costs an Arm and Leg

Vocab of the Week: Precious, Clutch, Grateful, Troublesome