The kids recently pointed out a couple things that are apparently bugging them as much as they’ve been bugging me. The first one has to do with our fitness program. As you know, the kids run for about 15 minutes each morning. When a student is sick or injured, parents can call the school or send in a note saying the student cannot run that day. But you know kids…sometimes they exaggerate their condition so that Mom or Dad will give them an excuse not to have to run. When we get to PE, though, and we’re playing their favorite game, they miraculously heal up and are ready to go. Know that our policy is that if a student isn’t healthy enough to do fitness, he or she also isn’t healthy enough to participate in PE. Additionally, we prefer a written note (phone calls necessitate a disruptive intercom call into our classroom). A couple of our students got together and assembled the following standards for the note (and an example, which appears at left): The note should include: 1. a date (some kids use the same excuse note over again); 2. a parent or guardian’s signature (some kids may write their own note); 3. an excuse (if an excuse is just “my child can’t run,” that is not good enough; 4. child’s name (if we don’t know who it is, that’s too bad); 5. a phone number (so we can call to see if the note is real). The kids added some consequences, too, which you can see by clicking here. Note that we cancel the fitness run for all students when the temperature is below freezing, when there is visible precipitation falling, and when the air quality reaches the “red” level.

A second issue that has been drawing groans from the kids is the frequency in which students are departing school early. Early departures cause a disruption in class, both with an intercom call and the process of gathering items the student needs to take home. We may be in the middle of a recital, a read aloud, or a science experiment when we get this buzz from the office and have to stop what we’re doing to send the student on his or her way. (Plus, often times the student doesn’t want to miss what we’re doing.) Lately, it seems to be happening almost every day, and sometimes within ten minutes of the end of the day. We know it gets crowded out there in front of the school, but we’d all appreciate it if you would try to time that doctor’s appointment a bit better. Thanks!

In class this week, the most significant item of note is that we’re now attempting to tackle multiplication with multi-digit factors, such as 67 x 4812. This is one of the toughest math sections of the year, so the kids are likely going to feel frustrated and need extra help at home. Here’s the homework for this week: Monday, Jan. 5; Tuesday Jan. 6 (#3-7 only); Wednesday, Jan. 7 (#1-12 only); Thursday, Jan. 8 (#26-39).

Our Room 15 kids picked up more than 21 pounds of trash on Hopkins Street last Thursday. This is the beginning of our fifth year participating in the Adopt-a-Street Clean-up, and while trash duty may seem lowly and dirty, it never gets old. The kids compete as table group to see who can collect the most. When they return to class, they estimate the weight of their haul and then use scales to arrive at the actual measurement. Congrats to the “Werewolves,” the winner if this competition, but kudos to all the kids along with Mrs. Bender, Mrs. Bugarin, and Mrs. McCarty for doing such a great job on this important community-service event.

The kids concluded the week with the annual Harvest Fair, our only Halloween-oriented activity of the year. Special thanks to Mrs. Kilbane, Mrs. Bender, Mrs. Foster, Miss Dumore, and Mrs, Qualls for supervising our booth.

In class this week we’re wrapping up our Roadl Dahl Book Clubs, practicing our new plays, and learning about the variety of explorers who came before and after Columbus. (Ever wonder why we’re not living in North Columbia?  Ask your child later this week.) In math class we’ll be having a test on Friday of this week. Here’s the math homework: Monday, Oct. 20th; Tuesday, Oct. 21st; Wednesday, Oct. 22nd; Thursday, Oct. 23rd.

Finally, the 40th annual Sams Valley Mini-Marathon is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31st (Halloween). This is a part of the District’s elementary physical education program, so all students are expected to participate. This year, thanks to the support of Dr. Ravissipour and the people at Oregon Smiles, there’s no cost to participate. For more information about the Mini-Marathon, click here. To see pictures from previous marathons, click on the links at right under “Special Events.” 

CPE kids rock! Though every teacher will tell you that standardized/state test scores are overrated when it comes to identifying quality schools and quality classrooms, it’s none-the-less gratifying when we do well. State test scores were just released and CPE–once again–outperformed its neighboring schools (and by a wide margin). Great job, Roadrunners! A summary of the scores will be sent home soon.
In class this week students are going on their first Adopt-a-Street field trip. We’ll be leaving the school at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday to clean-up Hopkins Street, stopping by Van Horn Park for a recess break on the way home. These clean-ups are a lot of fun. The class is divided into competing groups, which turns the event into something like and Easter egg hunt–but for trash. Consider joining us. We need a few chaperones to pull this thing off!
Also this week, students will be embarking on a new set of class plays. They’re to read and reread their lines at home every night as part of their homework reading. Kids enjoy doing plays, but the real science behind them has to do with the way kids become fluent readers when they’re still preschoolers–by repetitively reading. The brain research behind it is profound. Here’s the math homework for this week: Monday, Oct. 13; Tuesday, Oct. 14; Wednesday, Oct. 15; Thursday, Oct. 16.

Though the 3+ mile hike was grueling for some, the kids were GREAT during Friday’s Crater Lake excursion. We climbed Garfield Peak, stopping just shy of its 7,976 ft. summit. The students had incredible views of the fifteen-story tall Phantom Ship, the legendary Llao Rock, and even Old Man of the Lake (the ancient floating tree stump–not the accompanying educator). That’s Phantom Ship over Symphony’s right shoulder (at left). For more pics from the trip, click on the picture–and stay tuned for the next episode of CPETV for more!

I’m proud of out students for doing such a good job both on the bus and at the park. I’m also appreciative of the excellent group of adult-chaperones who joined us. Thank you to Mr. Wood, Ms. Casillas, Mrs. Bugarin, Mrs. Wyatt, Mr. Qualls, Mr. Joy, Mr. Liles, and Mr. Kilbane!

Our next event is the Adopt-a-Street Clean-up on Thursday, Oct. 16th. This is a fun trip. To get an idea, check out these pics and videos from previous years. We’ll need at least a couple chaperones, and if anyone works at an organization that buys nitrile gloves in bulk, we could use a donation of approximately 150 pairs. Contact me if you have questions. More details about the Clean-up will be released later this week.

In class this week we’re resuming our Roald Dahl book clubs, wrapping up our independent novel reading presentations, and continuing our sometimes-challenging study of Place Value in math. Kids will also be getting back their most recent math exam and vocabulary test. Here’s the math homework for this week: Monday, Oct. 6; Tuesday Oct. 7; Wednesday, Oct. 8; Thursday, Oct. 9. Note that there is no school on Friday, Oct. 10. This is the old Federal Columbus Day holiday. Finally, Walk-and-Bike to School Day is this Wednesday, so be sure to help your child dust off his or her bicycle and meet us at Van Horn Park or American West Bank for the ride to school.

The big events this week include the Jog-a-Thon on Thursday and our Crater Lake field trip on Friday. At Crater Lake, rangers will be leading us on a challenging hike up Garfield Peak as we study some of the geology of the lake. Meanwhile, in class we’ll be learning a bit about the history surrounding the lake. Students must turn in their permission slips and $3 bus fee by Thursday. Adults who plan on attending need to make sure they’ve completed the volunteer application (e-mail me if you have questions).

Also in class this week the students will be continuing their Roald Dahl book clubs, uncovering how bats locate their young in camps of a million (or in our case, 25), and taking their first vocabulary exam (on Thursday). For the vocab exam, students need to be familiar with the definitions and know how to spell all 11 words. We’ll be completing several in-class activities to help, but they should be studying at home each night. Students should also be prepared this week to do a brief presentation on the independent reading they’ve been doing at home. In math, we’re starting a unit on Place Value. This tends to be a challenge for many students, so support with homework is crucial. Here’s the homework sheets for this week: Monday, Sept. 29; Tuesday. Sept. 30; Wednesday, Oct. 1; Thursday, Oct. 2nd.

A special thanks to all the adults who joined us for the Lava Beds trip! Having such a large number of reliable chaperones helped make it a great experience for the kids. For those of you who didn’t attend, know that the kids were GREAT! I hope they came home with lively stories about getting stuck in lava tubes, seeing the Modoc’s warrior pole, or perhaps babbling about cinder cones and lava fields.

In class this week, the students will be getting their first list of vocabulary words, which are themed around the Modoc Wars. They’ll work with the words for the next ten days or so before being tested. Our vocab program goes beyond merely spelling and instead focuses on using prefixes, suffixes, and roots to break down words for meaning. This week we’ll also be continuing our study of bats, starting new reading groups, and trudging through multi-column subtraction, culminating with their first chapter test on Friday. Here’s the math homework for this week: Monday, Sept. 22; Tuesday, Sept. 23; Wednesday, Sept. 24; Thursday, Sept. 25.

Two final items of note: Tuesday is our first assembly of the year. We’ll be identifying our Students-of-the-Month for September. Also, there’s no time to rest; our next field trip is just two weeks away! On October 3rd we’ll be heading to Crater Lake. Permission slips and info sheets will be sent home soon.

There are a number of big events happening this week. Back-to-School Night is this Thursday (Sept 18th). Please join me for one of two short presentations about what to expect from this year at 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. in Room 15. The Lava Beds trip is this Friday (see the post below for important details). And, the kids are starting to collect sponsors for the upcoming Jog-a-Thon PTO fundraiser (there’s a reason CPE has an electronic whiteboard in every classroom, security cameras protecting our kids, and a ton of field trips every year). In class, students are studying bats, the Modoc Wars, the concept of “theory,” and multi-column addition and subtraction. Here’s the math homework for this week: Monday, Sept. 15; Tuesday, Sept. 16; Wednesday, Sept. 17; Thursday, Sept. 18.

The first weeks of school always include a ton of time learning procedures, going over rules, and reviewing old material, but CPE has developed a reputation for excellence by jumping right into the fire. We’ve been emphasizing all those doggone rules while simultaneously rolling out a host of academics. This week the kids are learning their mini-plays, selecting a chapter book to read at home, drafting their first set of Super Sentences, learning about the concept of “theory” in History, reviewing addition concepts, and more. Each night the kids are expected to read for at least 20 minutes and complete the homework review sheet. They also need to get their Assignment Calendar signed. The kids carry in their binders the homework sheet and Assignment Calendar, but the homework can also be found here: Monday, Sept. 8th; Tuesday, Sept. 9th; Wednesday, Sept. 10th; Thursday, Sept. 11th.  Also note the Back-to-School Night is Sept. 18th and our first field trip, this one to Lava Beds National Monument, is Sept. 19th. If you have any questions about either, please feel free to contact me at mack.lewis@district6.org. Thanks for sending us such a great bunch of kids!

Welcome back to CPE. Thirty-five kiddos new to 4th grade are filling Room 15 with a ton of energy each day. The first week is all about learning routines and reacquainting ourselves with such academic concerns as thirteen take-away six. It’s slow going at first. Students already have homework, which includes 20 minutes of independent reading and a math review sheet. They also carry with them an “assignment calendar,” which is designed to keep them organized. Their math homework can also be found here, on The Daily Platypus. Here it is for this week: Tuesday, Sept. 2; Wednesday, Sept 3; Thursday, Sept. 4th. Finally, if you haven’t seen my September Letter to Parents, please take a look at it here.