Botanic Garden Trip Postponed

Dear Strawberry Creek Families,

The Botanic Garden staff have canceled due to the chance of rain. If it rains they are unable to provide the program we are going there for. Artifacts and materials used are not able to be out in the rain.

We are in the process of rescheduling. Possibly for 10/12 or 10/13.

I will be in touch,

Jeff

Reminders: No school on Friday or Monday!

Homework:

• Reading chapters 7 and 8 of Island of the Blue Dolphins, and reading log (due tomorrow)
• Fourth grade math homework (due Tues., 10/11)

Fort Ross Costumes: Today we visited the Fort Ross website as a class to view costumes and related images. Many students took notes and made sketches to bring home. There are examples of basic costumes at the website "www.fortrossstatepark.org/". To see student versions, scroll down the side bar and click on, "Environmental Living Program." From there you will see a section called, "More Costume Ideas" and a link to student versions. Many of these are simply adult button down shirts with collars cut off, a rope sash, pants (no jeans) or skirts, rubber boots etc.

Math:
Fifth graders spent considerable time again today on the problem of the week, some students working toward an algebraic expression of how to find the number of squares in a given grid. They continued their work on division with multiple towers. Look forward to a unique mathematics activity tomorrow as they explain their thinking and learning through an online tool called Voicethread.

Fourth graders counted around the class today by 2's and then by 6's. Then they found all the factors of 100, using different methods--some students found thinking about money was helpful. We started finding the factors of 200 and 300, which we will continue tomorrow.

Social Studies: The students are continuing to work on their Native Californian tribe research project. Next week they will begin the process of creating PowerPoint slide shows to demonstrate their work connecting the past to the present.

Science:
Students have been making observations of their lima bean seedlings, and the gardening group for our Fort Ross trip planted some of these today with the help of parents Cathy MacNeal and David Hoffman today (thanks very much!). We have also been learning about photosynthesis, and today talked about food chains, and the different roles living things have in these. Students coded living things as producers or different kinds of consumers, and are creating their own food chains.