4th Grade is Off on Their 1st Field Trip of the Year

     


We went on our first field trip on Jan. 21st.  As you can see from the picture above, there was a bit of enthusiasm generated.  The theatrical performance exceeded our expectations. Excitement filled the air as we settled in to watch the production.  Once it was underway everyones eyes were on the stage. Back at school all the students received the Geronimo Stilton story that mirrored the play.  One of the standards that 4th graders are working on is learning how to explain the differences between prose and dramatizations.  Having seen the play and now having the book in their hands allows for a perfect venue to teach this standard. 

FIELD TRIPS

January 11, 2016

Dear Parents,

We are very excited to announce several upcoming field trips!  We love the opportunity to take kids to various off-campus sites.  In attending these locations in the past, it is fantastic to see such great hands-on learning taking place.  We know that the students will appreciate these extra opportunities.

At the beginning of the school year, you already signed a permission slip for your child to attend all school field trips.  Should you want to volunteer to accompany us and help chaperone on any of these trips, you must be sure that you let us know ASAP and indicate this on the bottom of this form.  We need to secure enough seats on our busses and in some cases, you may be asked to drive behind our very full bus! J  You also must be sure that you have filled out the on-line application to be approved as a Hillsboro School District volunteer.  To access this website, simply go to:                     www.hsd.k12.or.us

Then, go to the drop down menu of “Parents” and find the “volunteers” tab.

Here are the dates for the upcoming trips:

January 21^st Oregon Children’s Theater production of Geronimo Stilton (Newmark Theatre-PDX)

February 8^th Oregon State Capitol Field Trip, Salem, OR

February 10th Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Concert

March 4^th Tillamook Forestry Center

March TBD Fort Vancouver

March TBD Hagg Lake to release baby trout that we hatch

May 12^th Oregon Historical Society (Portland)

Also, we must know now if your child needs to have a lunch packed by our kitchen staff for these field trips.  Please indicate this on the lines below if your child needs a lunch.

Finally, please be sure that your child comes prepared for these field trips.  This includes a sack lunch, some snacks, a warm coat, and appropriate shoes.  These day long trips are fun, but with Oregon weather, we want everyone to be comfortable and to have basic needs met.  Also, we ask that you leave expensive game systems and electronic devices at home.

Kim Harrington                         Diane Dow & Jill Golay

harringk@hsd.k12.or.us             dowd@hsd.k12.or.us  & golayj@hsd.k12.or.us

4th Grade December Newsletter

“Hot Cup of Cocoa"

This is the title of the song that the fourth graders will sing on Friday at 9:00 in the gym for the annual Holiday Sing-a-long.   The fourth graders have had fun singing this song, and it would be great to see you there!

We will be celebrating the holiday with a small party on Friday afternoon.   If you would like to send in some cookies or a box of Capri Sun drinks, that would be great!  Thank you!

Gift Ideas

Many of the fourth graders would benefit from the gift of new pencils, scissors, and colored pencils.  Please consider these items as gifts for our students.   Thanks!

Special Holiday Greetings From Mrs. Golay, Mrs. Harrington, Mrs. Haskell, and Mrs. Dow!

We sincerely wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Holiday.   We hope that your holiday is filled with special times and happiness.

                                      Holidays Stories

Our fourth graders are doing a great job writing holiday stories.  They are busy writing their ideas to help Santa or the snowman solve their untimely problems!  We’re seeing some very creative solutions!  We will be sharing them in class this week.  

Canned Food Drive!

The fourth graders did an amazing job showing their generosity and holiday spirit bringing in hundreds of cans and food items to share with those less fortunate.  Our students were so happy to give, and they experienced the wonderful feeling that we get by helping others share the spirit of the season.

Thank you for your help!

See you in January!!

State Representative Joe Gallegos Visits Free Orchard's 4th Graders

Last week we had an Oregon State Representative Gallegos visit our 4th grade.  He read the book Tomas and the Library Lady to the whole class. Representative Gallegos had a similar story to the Tomas in the book.  They both grew up in families that were migrant workers.  Tomas became a teacher.  Joe become a college professors and then a state representative.

We have just started learning how write a paragraph to compare and contrast topics.  Mr Gallegos' visit gave us a perfect lesson on how to compare two people looking at what these two men have in common.  We also explored what their differences are. We will be working on comparing and contrasting throughout the rest of this school year. Representative Gallegos visit was a perfect launch for this key skill that 4th graders need to learn.

Rep. Gallegos reads to all of the 4th grader

Students Start on Shoebox Speaches

Today we started a speech project.  Each student will be creating a speech that highlights who they are and what makes them unique.  They are to choose 4 facts about themselves and put those ideas together to create a 2-3 minutes speech.  The students have been asked to bring in 4 small items to share that go along with their speech.

For example, if a student is a dancer, they might bring in a dance shoe.  If they played soccer they could bring in a small trophy or soccer team shirt to show during their speech.   They could also bring in a photo or two or draw a picture of something that they like or someone they are close to.  Their items should fit into a shoebox or a small bag.

Below Mrs. Harrington has modeled a speech to give students an idea of what they could include in their own speech.  The next few days, when the kids have no school, would be a good time for the students create and practice their speeches.

The students started today putting their ideas in a graphic organizer and then worked on putting their introduction on an index card.  They will continue working on their cards and will be asked to take them home for homework over the holiday and conference break.

Students will practice their speeches at school as well.  They will partner up with a peer who will video them so they have an opportunity to self reflect and receive peer mentoring on how they can improve their presentation.

Superhero Day at Free Orchards

  Mrs. Harrington as "Bat Woman", Student Teacher Mr. J as Batman, and Mrs. Haskell as "Spider Lady".  Superheroes spiced up our day last Thursday.  Once a month we have a themed day at school. We had all sorts of heroes at school.

Learning to Write a Great Paragraph

Students use their right brain to reinforce left brain work on writing a great paragraph.