SEPTEMBER 27, 2007

THURSDAY...Today was a busy day! The students watched The Bridge to Terabithia, a movie based on the fantastic book we have been reading in class. It's a story written by Katherine Paterson, and was a popular mainstream movie last summer. If you haven't seen it, it's a beautiful tale of friendship, amazing imaginations, and the beauty of creativity. A definite "must see" on your Netflix list!

Tomorrow we will be welcoming a new teacher to Sutro. Ms. Yvette Van Doren will be teaching in Room 11 on Fridays. Everything is explained in detail in the letter that was sent home today with your kids. Please read it, and feel free to contact me with questions. Ms. Van Doren is a fully credentialed teacher with experience in many different grades, including elementary and middle school. I am sure she will be a wonderful addition to Sutro and hope you will all welcome her with open arms!

Great job this week, students! See you tomorrow!

Homework for September 24

Room 11 Homework for September 24-October 1

This is your homework for the week. You have Monday through the weekend to finish it. Go at your own pace, but be sure to complete everything by Monday or you will be docked one grade point. You are responsible for your own work. Make sure you double-check your answers and write neatly and clearly. Use extra paper when necessary. USE YOUR BEST HANDWRITING!

1. Spelling List
-Copy and spell
-Word study page
-Edit for spelling
-Skip “Spelling Dictation”

2. Daily Academic Vocabulary

3. Paragraph editing

4. Daily Math practice

5. Daily Word Problems

6. Daily Language review

7. Daily Handwriting Practice

8. Daily Geography
-Read the page carefully.
-Answer the daily questions.

9. Choose your own book and record in the reading log.

10. Internet Hunt
-Search on http://www.askforkids.com for the planet Mercury.
-Write a four paragraph journal essay about the planet.

California Coastal Commission Art and Poetry Contest!

Fuel your child's inner creative writer and artist with this cool contest being held by the California Coastal Commission! If your kid likes art and/or poetry, this may be a great activity to introduce him/her to! Wouldn't it be amazing if a Sutro kid actually won a prize? With this year's class, I wouldn't doubt it one bit!

UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS

I've been trying to secure most of the field trips for the year early on so we have less of a chance of being refused due to full schedules. Here is an overview of what's ahead for the upcoming school year.

October 18
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Docent led tour and MOMA student activities starting at 10:00.
Leave the school at 8:40 to catch MUNI.
Return at 1:30
COST: FREE

November 13
San Francisco Asian Art Museum
Docent led tour and museum lesson on brush painting beginning at noon.
Leave the school at 10:45 to catch MUNI.
Return at 2:30.
COST: FREE

November 29
The DeYoung Museum
Docent led tour of museum.
Leave the school at 9:45 by Laidlaw school bus.
COST: FREE

December 14
San Francisco Academy of Sciences
Docent led tour of the Academy starting at 11:o0.
Leave the school at 9:45 by Laidlaw school bus.
COST: FREE

January 9
The Golden Compass Movie (movie theater not determined)
This will be in addition to reading the book in class.
We will be taking MUNI to the nearest theater. If the theater is unreachable by bus, this trip will be canceled.
COST: $8.00 per student.

February 12
The Monterey Bay Aquarium (depending on fundraising for charter bus)
Self-Guided tour of the aquarium beginning at 12:45.
Leave school at 9:00.
COST: FREE (except for bus donations, which are gratefully accepted in any amount.)

April 4
San Francisco Zoo
Leave school at 9:45 by Laidlaw school bus.
Return to school by 1:30.
COST: FREE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2007

Opera in the Park? I'll do you one better...Opera in the BALLPARK! If you haven't exposed your kids to opera yet, this is your chance. Pac Bell Park is hosting a large-screen live simulcast of the San Francisco Opera production of Samson and Delilah on Friday, September 28 at 8pm (gates open at 7pm.) And here's the kicker...IT'S TOTALLY FREE!! You'll get to sit in the stands, behind home plate, or anywhere on the lawn of the ballpark and soak in some of the culture that makes San Francisco such a fabulous city. Don't miss this great opportunity...who knows...your kids may actually love opera!

Register at www.sfopera.com/giants if you're interested.

Homework for September 17

Room 11 Homework for September 17-24

This is your homework for the week. You have Monday through the weekend to finish it. Go at your own pace, but be sure to complete everything by Monday or you will be docked one grade point. You are responsible for your own work. Make sure you double-check your answers and write neatly and clearly. Use extra paper when necessary.

Spelling List
-Copy and spell
-Word study page
-Edit for spelling
-Skip “Spelling Dictation”

Daily Academic Vocabulary
-imply, implication, contend

Paragraph editing
-Edit: “Editorial-Pizza Thursdays”

Daily Math practice
-FRIDAY question is a bonus Cub Buck.

Daily Word Problems
-North is up, South is down, East is to the right, West is to the left

Daily Language review

Daily Handwriting Practice

Daily Geography-A Map Grid
-Read the page carefully.
-Answer the daily questions.

Choose your own book and record in the reading log.

Internet Hunt
-Who is Galileo Galilei and what is he famous for? Why is he important to us now?
-Write a four paragraph journal essay.

Sutro Open House Tomorrow Night!

Just a quick reminder about tomorrow...we are having an open house from 5:30-7pm! Feel free to bring your family, and be sure to check out all the classrooms to get a feel for what Sutro is all about. We look forward to seeing you!

Homework for September 10th

Room 11 Homework for September 10-17

This is your homework for the week. You have Monday through the weekend to finish it. Go at your own pace, but be sure to complete everything by Monday or you will be docked one grade point. You are responsible for your own work. Make sure you double-check your answers and write neatly and clearly. Use extra paper when necessary.

1. Spelling List
-Copy and spell
-Word study page
-Edit for spelling

2. Daily Academic Vocabulary

3. Paragraph editing
-Edit: “Summer Solstice”

4. Daily Math practice
-Do NOT do question 3 on Monday, or question 4 on Tuesday.
-FRIDAY question is a bonus Cub Buck.

5. Daily Word Problems

6. Daily Language review

7. Daily Handwriting Practice

8. Daily Geography
-Read the page carefully.
-Answer the daily questions.

9. Choose your own book and record in the reading log.

10. Moon Journal
-Every night, look at the moon. Draw what you see in the box for that night of the week. Make observations.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

TUESDAY...Welcome back to everyone! I trust you all had a restful and relaxing three-day weekend. School started off again with a bang! We had a visitor to class, Bongo the corn snake! The kids loved it, and are now asking me for a class pet. I think I'm in trouble!

But other than the visit from Bongo, and the lesson on "what happens to a mouse when you squeeze it" she taught us while feeding, the students fell right back into the curriculum and got straight to work.

Everyone has been doing a terrific job, and has managed to wade through the craziness of the first days of school without so much as a complaint. As your teacher, I'm very appreciative of all the hard work and effort I've seen in the last week. Keep up the good work, students!

Oh, and Angela or Victorio, if you ever need a job as a snake handler, you've definitely have my recommendation!

We'll be playing a little bit of catch-up in math today and tomorrow, so be ready for some intensive lessons on comparing and chart reading.

Also, we will be covering a non-fiction story on El Nino and tornado chasing in reading. If you have access to a computer, please do a little research and tell us what you find out about El Nino!

And for those of you who didn't hear me explain homework...which I hope is no one...it's due on MONDAY, and you do NOT need to complete the math questions on fractions since we have not covered that in class this week. You DO have to write out your reading logs, however. One entry a day for the entire week, including the weekend.

Have a great day and see you tomorrow, students!

AUGUST 31, 2007

FRIDAY...We continued with Harcourt's first chapter in math. Today's lessons focused on comparing, which lends itself to comprehension and reading skills. The students are all voracious readers, and love the books in the classroom library. But how much detail do they really soak up from those books? That is the true test of a good reader.

The math and reading connection keeps the kids on their toes, making them very aware of the details of every chart, number, and graph they see on their math book pages. This helps in retaining information that they will need later on when problem solving and reviewing.

We also began our journey into science today, with a huge topic...THE SOLAR SYSTEM. The kids loved the first part of this series of lessons, which was about stars, hydrogen, super novas, and how they made the universe (and every living thing in it) possible. The very real video footage of the very first hydrogen bomb being tested surprised the kids, especially when it was explained just how much hydrogen was needed to level a huge field of shacks and old autos...just enough to fill a balloon.

We will be continuing our lessons on The Solar System next week, when we review what we saw on Friday. I'm hoping the homework wasn't too taxing, and helped the students review what was learned during the week.

Good job this week, students! Enjoy your long weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday!