Hello Families,

Last week was full of investigations, creations, and questions.  Peek at the pictures below to see what we have been up to.

The field trip is on THURSDAY, November 14th.   The note I put in Friday folders had a typo, my apologies.  Jackie sent a detailed email about our new BART travel plans today. We will review the expectations and details with the class throughout the week.   Please have a brief conversation with your student about traveling etiquette on BART and let us know if they need extra attention to feel comfortable and supported.

We started the week with a See, Think, Wonder thinking routine as we introduced our new unit about the Ohlone Native Americans.  Students put together a puzzle of the eight Ohlone language group’s territory.  We will continue our study throughout this week with a trip to the Oakland Museum and observing our unique artifacts from home.

In Science, we are finishing up our study of plants.  We investigated various fruits to see how many seeds were inside.  We talked about how seeds are dispersed by animals, wind, attachment, planting, water.  Students worked in teams on a seed dispersal design challenge. We will make modifications to the designs later this week.

Rocket Write this week had two options.  One, kids could write about their weekend.  The second prompt read, “In your opinion, what is the hardest job?”  Kids are really into having the chance to share with their peers at Author’s Circle afterward.

We had a visit this week from Master Wood Carver Jesus Sosa from Oaxaca, Mexico. Afterward, the students made careful, pencil drawings of the alebrijes on display.  They painted with acrylic paint on small pieces of wood.  We love it when this special day arrives, and we get to see Jesus’ artwork!

Math night was some good ole’ family fun.  Seeing the joy on our student’s faces as they taught you games and explained their math thinking was very rewarding.  Thank you for stopping in for a game of SKUNK too!

In community,

Emily and Jackie