1st and 2nd Grade Picasso Faces

We recently completed our winter art block. Here are a few examples of our Picasso faces. I am always impressed with the level of work 1st and 2nd grade students can create!

Community Time Engineered Marble Tracks

At Camas Ridge Community School we have a very unique class. Four times per week 1st - 5th grade students work together during our 'Community Time' block. Recently the room 13 community class completed a STEM activity. We designed and created our own marble tracks. Students worked in teams of two or three children from different grade levels to create a marble track. Then teams had to work together to engineer their individual tracks to work with tracks from other teams.  Below is the result!

Classroom News; November 21, 2016

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of November! Picture retakes are tomorrow, Tuesday November 22^nd.  Also, we have Thursday and Friday off of school this week for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 

In class we are very busy indeed!  Our writing projects include writing acrostic poems for Thanksgiving and beginning expository animal reports.  Please look for the poems to come home on Wednesday.  It is a great time to talk about everything your child has to be thankful for.  The animal reports are a long-term project.  Students are researching an animal of their choice.  The report will include a drawing of their animal, basic facts, interesting facts, all put together on a decorative poster. 

Math is very exciting, as we have started a geometry unit covering 2D and 3D figures.  Math vocabulary includes words such as quadrilateral, prism, vertices, area, and symmetry.  At home to support our unit try and find everyday objects and/or situations when you can use these words and concepts. The more students hear and use these words, the easier it will be to learn the concepts. We are also working hard on our math facts.  Nearly half of the students have mastered their addition facts & are moving on to subtraction. We also have about 6 students who are working on their multiplication facts!  Keep practicing at home. It is important to get the basics so more complex problems are less challenging.  

In reading our focus last week was story development.  We are learning how to identify characters, setting, and plot.  Students are also spending a lot of time happily reading self selected books. December 7^th is our Camas Ridge Book Fair. If you need new books, this is a great time to purchase ‘good fit’ books.

A big thank you to the families who are able to donate snack.  We are getting low again. If you have not donated snack this year please feel free to send in items such as pretzels, plain Cheerios, goldfish, saltine crackers, etc...  Our hungry tummies appreciate your kindness.

Finally, we started art block last week.  The art walk is December 15^th.  Please save the date. The art walk never disappoints!

 Have a wonderful week and always if you have any questions feel free to email me,

~Donna