Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Weekly Newsletter               

April 18, 2018              

Upcoming Dates:
Apr 19- Bottle Drop pick up 845am
Apr 20- Plant order pick up 3-5pm
Apr 21- Garden Fair 9-Noon
Apr 26- Be Smart Presentation 6pm
May 2- Coffee Talk with Emily 845am
May 2- Spring Picture Day
May 3- Art Night 630pm-8pm

Message from Ms. Glasgow
And, finally, the sun is shining and it's starting to feel like spring! With spring, comes many events and busy calendars. This weekend, I encourage you to drop by the Garden Sale on Saturday morning. And, I hope you have Art Night in your calendar on May 3rd. It has been amazing to watch our teachers and student prepare for this big annual event--the deep teaching and instruction around artists, art techniques, and creative expression happening all around the building is beyond anything I've seen before at the elementary level. Yet another reason to deeply appreciate what it means to get a Lewis education!

Music Notes from Mr. J
Two weeks until Art Night! All groups are rehearsing this week at their regular times. 5th Grade Band Tuesday & Thursday from 3:00PM -4:00PM. 3rd Grade Recorder Club will meet Thursday from 8:00AM - 8:40AM. And The Boomin’ Beats will meet on Friday from 3:00PM - 4:00PM.

Searching for Lewis Green Team Leader for 2018/2019 School Year
Are you passionate about recycling and conservation? Lewis is a “Green” school because of our recycling and conservation efforts.  We’re looking for someone to lead a group of volunteers next year to coordinate Lewis’ green work.  If this is something you might be interested in, please email me at kgagnonwitter1@pps.net.  Thanks- Kathleen

Spring Picture Day
Spring Picture Day and our All=School Photo will be on Wednesday, May 2nd.
Spring Photos are fun, Spring themed portraits.
Students will ONLY get their picture taken if they have an order envelope with payment on picture day.
The All-School photo will also be available for purchase.
Order envelopes will be sent home on Wednesday, April 25^th

Art Night
Lewis School’s 29th Annual Art Night is right around the corner.
Thursday, May 3rd at 6:30pm
Part of the Lewis Art Night tradition is our Paint Brush Café`, where you can purchase a slice of a gourmet dessert and sit down to enjoy music performances from our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students.
We need your help to make this happen!
We need donations of store bought, gourmet desserts (these will not be needed till the day of Art Night), and we need volunteers to run the Café’. 

Time slots are quick and easy 30 minute increments so you will still have plenty of time to stroll the halls, take in all of our amazing art presented by our student docents, and listen to the music performances.

Proceeds from the Paint Brush Café` support our art program.
Here’s the link to our Sign-Up Genius to sign up for a time slot:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a44a9a82ea31-paint
Questions?
Please contact Tracy in the school office 503-916-6360 or tgiordano@pps.net
 

Artwork Fundraiser 2017-2018 Continues!

Shop your child's artwork by April 25th and it will be delivered by Mother's Day!
https://shop.silvergraphics.com/
username: Lewis
password: L3wis2017
Go to your teacher and find your child's artwork.  33% profits still go to Lewis PTA!

Enrichment at Lewis
Check out the extracurricular and enrichment activities that are happening at Lewis!  STEAM, Spanish, coding, basketball, and more! Read all about it at  https://www.lewispta.org/enrichment"

Bottle Drop Update
BottleDrop has raised over $1000 so far for Lewis PTA! We’ll be collecting blue bags twice a month now: the first and third Thursday of every month. The next drop off will be Thursday, April 19th. Pick up a blue bag in the office, fill up with clean returnable bottles, drop off in front of Lewis before school.

Did you know you can turn the blue bags in yourself? Fill a blue bag, go by any Bottle Drop location, including the one only 2 miles from Lewis at SE King and Linwood!  Use the barcode on the blue bag to scan open the drop off door, throw the bag in, and Lewis gets the money!

Check out www.BottleDropCenters.com for a full list of locations and for details on what containers are worth $.10 each for Lewis.
 

Be SMART presentation
Thursday, April 26th, 6pm
Come join us at this PTA sponsored educational event on how to prevent child gun deaths. Be SMART is a non-political presentation for adults about how we can keep our kids safer from unintentional shootings and suicide by introducing basic steps to parenting and everyday life. Learn more at the presentation and at besmartforkids.org.

EARTH DAY FAIR April 21st 9AM-12PM!
GARDEN FAIR
Saturday, April 21st 9AM-12PM

This year's Garden Fair is going to be full of fun activities and treats, including:
An I Spy scavenger hunt through the Lewis garden
Kid’s crafts
Expert advice from gardening gurus - bring your most challenging gardening questions!
Italian sodas, pastries and hot beverages for sale
Plants galore and more!

We still need some volunteers to help prep the event on Friday and staff it on Saturday. Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-garden

And if you can donate STORE BOUGHT pastries or baked goods for the pastry table, please sign up at this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-garden1

We're still looking for plant donations! Now is the time to pot up those extra plants to donate to the sale. If you need pots, you’ll find some in a wagon near the office, and if you have extra pots, leave them in the wagon for others. We'll be collecting the plants the morning of Friday April 20th at drop off and again in the afternoon at pick-up.
*Drop off plant donations Thursday at drop off and after school, and Friday at drop off and after school.  Drop off those plants at the SE Glenwood entrance.

Learn more about the Garden Fair at the PTA website: https://www.lewispta.org/earth-day-fair

And most important: Bring friends, share on social media, and come and by plants for an amazing and bountiful gardening season!

April 22, 2018 - Sellwood Middle School Foundation 5K Run/Walk for Education.
All proceeds benefit the SELLWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION which raises funds to support the amazing Elective Programs at Sellwood Middle School. Race registration is $25 and t-shirts will be available for purchase on-site. Raffle tickets for great prizes from local businesses are $5 each or 5/$20. To register online or for more information, please go to https://sellwoodmiddle.ejoinme.org or contact Lemmy Cooper with questions at lemmy.cooper@gmail.com

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...

April 18, 2018

Notes from Ms. Allen - Kindergarten
Ms. Allen will be sending her classroom notes with her students soon.

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten
Hello Room 4 families! Ms. Connolly and I were so impressed with the most recent batch of Weekend News entries. Children have so much to share and now have a whole host of tools to help them be successful. Students know to collect all their writing supplies, including their personal dictionary and Word Ring, and get settled to write. They are doing a beautiful job of extending their thinking beyond one or two sentences. We’ve even seen labeled illustrations that really add to the work. Please encourage your child to write at home. It can be a personal narrative, a how-to piece, or something about unicorns. Unicorns are an especially popular topic this spring. We learned that the narwhal tusk was once thought to be that of the illusive unicorn, when in fact it is a giant tooth! Last week, several students took their K’nex pieces into the hallway in order to measure 10 feet, the length of some of the biggest narwhal tusks.

Speaking of measurement, this month’s calendar follows the pattern of time, weight, temperature and length. Each day shows a different method to measure a variety of common things: a wristwatch, a grocery scale, an outdoor thermometer, a ruler. The wooden cuckoo clock had quite a few people stumped. That isn’t a very familiar item unless you watch The Sound of Music!

The exciting news of the week has to be that we are all going on a field trip to the Oregon Children’s Theatre! Around 10:30, everyone will be having the first part of their lunch in the classroom. After a bathroom break, we’ll board the school bus and be on our way at 11:00am. The bus will be packed with 63 kindergarteners and their teachers. Thank you in advance to the brave volunteers who are joining us! You are encouraged to meet outside the classrooms and carpool to the theater. Please be at the Winningstad Theatre on 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205 by 11:20. From 11:30am-12:30pm, we’ll be seeing The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. “Eric Carle's iconic creatures from four different stories crawl from page to stage with the help of a marvelous menagerie of 75 magical puppets.” If you weren’t able to join us for the afternoon performance, the presentation continues through May 20th. Click on this link to buy tickets http://www.octc.org/hungry-caterpillar

In the meantime, we continue our Words Their Way study, as well as Reading Workshop and Math. Every day we try to add another element to the art work that is being created for the fabulous Lewis Art Night on Thursday, May 3rd. When my children were in kindergarten and first grade, they loved to dress up for the event: crowns, capes, clunky jewelry, fancy hats and
shiny shoes. You might want to start looking through the dress-up box pretty soon!

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!
 

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten
Hi Families!
Here are some exciting things happening in Room 2:

Mystery Science - We are having a blast exploring and learning with Mystery Science.  This is a program that provides ready-made science mysteries for elementary school students.  Each lesson contains a central mystery, discussion questions, supplemental reading, and hands-on activity.  We are currently working in a unit called Force Olympics. This unit helps students develop their first concept of “force” and the idea that by playing with forces and thinking about them, we can accomplish surprisingly big things.   Last week our mystery asked the question “How can we protect a mountain town from falling rocks?” Ask your student about how they placed their push pin towers to prevent the ping pong ball from knocking over their town.

Technology - This week in Technology we learned about Google Slides.  Students partnered up to make a slideshow about themselves. They learned how to make a title, type in slides and insert a picture. 

Writing - This week we have been working hard on our handwriting skills.  We are reviewing how to form each letter correctly and concentrating on using lowercase letters in our writing.  Follow this link for a document explaining the language we use in the classroom around handwriting.  I encourage you to practice with your student at home!

Art - Last week we learned about the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who is best known for his abstract paintings.  We then used tempera paint and oil pastels to create our own Mondrian style painting. Make sure to check them out at Art Night on Thursday May 3rd!  We will have student Docents there to explain our art during Art Night. I will be sending more information about how to be a docent and where to sign up home soon! 

Field Trip - We are so excited for our field trip to the Oregon Children’s Theater this Friday.  Chaperones will need to meet us there since there will be no room on the bus. I encourage you to meet at school beforehand and carpool over! 
 

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade
Teacher Dana will resume classroom notes when she returns.

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade
Last Friday was a busy time for teachers preparing third quarter report cards. For me, it is an awesome opportunity to look at your whole child and observe the growth that has happened this year. This is one of the many reasons I love to teach First Grade!

In math this week, we continue to study penguins and build on our understanding of inches, pounds, comparisons and of the places penguins live around the world! In science, we have finished our Pebbles, Sand and Silt Unit and  are now embarking on our final science unit, Insects! Students are excited and come with a lot of background knowledge to further enrich our studies! Our "Science Lab" has factual books, magnifying glasses, journals, painted lady caterpillars, crickets and individual containers of meal worms for each child to observe and keep care of. We will record changes, do scientific drawings and learn the body parts of insects, (there are three of them!).

The annual Lewis Garden Fair takes place April 23th and it is a wonderful celebration and fundraiser for Lewis. Through out the year, many people work hard to make our grounds more beautiful and healthy and thanks to to our Garden Coordinator and Teacher, Kathleen Witter, we are able to host this fundraiser! Please plan to attend and purchase plants and garden art. Monday, April 23 is our Field trip to Tryon Creek State Park. If you have not returned your signed permission slip please do so as soon as possible.

Hoping to get more volunteers in the classroom this final quarter of first grade! Please remember to let me know when you can volunteer. We need you, no matter the duration, organize books, classroom supplies, wipe down surfaces, encourage and connect with students, play at recess, help during P.E. or library. If you have any questions, please contact me at abuckley.pps.net and check out classroom photos at mrslogue.wordpress.com
Twitter@AnneAbuckley

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade
April seems to be flying by, which means there are a lot of things happening in the coming weeks! We will be off to Tryon Creek on Monday morning, April 23rd. Most of the permission slips are in - but if you haven’t returned yours yet, please do so ASAP. We will taking a 45 minute hike in the woods - so please help your student dress for the weather. Although it may be as warm as 70 degrees, we will be in the woods, so long pants are recommended. We will be eating lunch there- picnic style. Please send a drink (with lunch) as there are limited drinking fountains and the kids are sure to get thirsty. We will be looking closely at insects and plants, as well as talking about adaptations. It’s always a lot of fun!

Up next is Art Night! Lewis will be hosting our annual Art Night on Thursday, May 3rd from 6:00- 8:00. Each year students present their art to the community. So plan on getting dressed up and head on over to view  the fantastic art projects done by students throughout the school. Don’t miss the music performances and dessert happening in the cafeteria! I will be sending home a student docent sign-up next week.

Finally, in the classroom we continue to read and write nonfiction. Some of the kiddos are having a difficult time coming ups with ideas for All About books. It would be super helpful if families could talk through possible topics for All About Books. This can be on just about anything (although I’m really trying to steer kids away from video game topics) from family, to places you’ve traveled to, to special interests like animals, music, games, people, toys, etc… Thanks so much!
Cheers! Ms. Sarah
 

Notes from Ms. Murphy - 2nd Grade
We have had an exciting couple of weeks.  Last week, OMSI came to our class with an interactive lesson called COWABUNGA CHEMISTRY.  The students learned about a Polymer, which is neither solid or liquid.  Can you guess what we made? You got it!  Slime! 

Last Tuesday, we were invited to see the Talent Show rehearsal. Three of our classmates were actually in the show and they were all fabulous!  I hope everyone enjoyed the actual show last Thursday.

Writing:  Each student published their favorite poems last week.  Students have learned how poets use line breaks, repeat words, use certain vocabulary to help the reader visualize and we are learning to read out poems to an audience as well.  The class revised and edited their poems before they typed their first publish piece.  We are hoping to get the up in the hallway soon.

Math:  We have started our fifth unit!  This unit is focusing on larger numbers, problem solving, and the number line.  This past week we have been solving story problems using addition, subtraction, finding the difference, half, twice as many and three times as many.  The kids will be creating their own story problems involving presents and parcels this week!  We are continuing to work on telling time.  Please support this at home as well!

Reading:  The past few weeks we are getting ourselves ready for starting our next unit on Series Book Clubs.  The mini unit we are focuing on now involves brushing up our skills as reaers by using expression, reading in longer phrases, reading to the mood and reading like the characters.  It has been so much fun for the kids to share their reading with their partners and then with the group.  We are also trying to spend more LEXIA in class.  I want to invite you to do LEXIA at home as well.  Please email me if you need login information to do LEXIA at home.

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade
There is nothing that we as adult readers like better than to pick up the latest book by our favorite author.  Children are the same. Whether your child is a fan of the characters in the Magic Bone, Owl Diaries, or Stink and Judy Moody, it is almost impossible not to fall in love with these characters when they find themselves in challenging predicaments over and over again. This week, we begin our next Unit of Study called Series Book Clubs. Children will welcome the opportunity to read a lot of books about a favorite old or new character.  Series books provide a safe, supportive context for thinking about characters and the author's message. They also allow children to do some break through work with reading skills. As children become more familiar with the characters, their thinking will become more insightful. Readers will challenge each other to compare and contrast information they've read about the characters as they read across the series. Look for your child to choose a series  to read and share their insight about the characters with you.

Writing About Reading is our next Unit of Study in writing.  This unit works well with the Series Book Clubs reading unit.  Children will learn to write about beloved books in ways that persuade others to love the books as much as they do.  Students will have opportunities to share their opinions about characters as they write letters to their classmates. The goal of this unit is to help children learn to state clear opinions and support these ideas with evidence from the text.  Writers must introduce the book they are writing about, supply reasons that support their opinions, and provide a concluding statement or section. This unit brings a renewed energy to the writers' workshop because students can't wait to convince classmates to read their books.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Weekly Letter               

April 11, 2018              

Upcoming Dates:

Apr 12- Talent Show 6:30pm
Apr 13- No School for Students, Teacher Planning Day
Apr 18- Late Start- Monochromatic Day
Apr 19- Bottle Drop pick up 845am
Apr 20- Plant order pick up 3-5pm
Apr 21- Garden Fair 9-Noon

Message from Ms. Glasgow
It was wonderful to preview the many talents of our students this week at the Talent Show dress rehearsal. I encourage you to come be wowed and entertained by the songs, dances, and jokes of our kiddos Thursday night at 6:30! This week at the PTA meeting, I shared a short presentation on our Balanced Literacy model (the way we teach reading and writing at Lewis). If you were not able to make the meeting, but are interested in taking a peek at the presentation, you can access it here. Also, please remember that there is no school for students on Friday—it is a Teacher Planning Day. This Friday, teachers will be working on completing 3rd quarter report cards. The report cards should come home with students on Friday, April 20th. After reviewing your child’s report card, if you have any questions about his/her progress, please do not hesitate to contact your teacher for more detailed information.
 

Enrichment at Lewis
Check out the extracurricular and enrichment activities that are happening at Lewis!  STEAM, Spanish, coding, basketball, and more! Read all about it at  https://www.lewispta.org/enrichment

Bottle Drop Update
BottleDrop has raised over $1000 so far for Lewis PTA! We’ll be collecting blue bags twice a month now: the first and third Thursday of every month. The next drop off will be Thursday, April 19th. Pick up a blue bag in the office, fill up with clean returnable bottles, drop off in front of Lewis before school.

Did you know you can turn the blue bags in yourself? Fill a blue bag, go by any Bottle Drop location, including the one only 2 miles from Lewis at SE King and Linwood!  Use the barcode on the blue bag to scan open the drop off door, throw the bag in, and Lewis gets the money!

Check out www.BottleDropCenters.com for a full list of locations and for details on what containers are worth $.10 each for Lewis.
 

Be SMART presentation
Thursday, April 26th, 6pm
Come join us at this PTA sponsored educational event on how to prevent child gun deaths. Be SMART is a non-political presentation for adults about how we can keep our kids safer from unintentional shootings and suicide by introducing basic steps to parenting and everyday life. Learn more at the presentation and at besmartforkids.org.

Congratulations, Welcome and a big Thank You to our PTA Board Members~
We want to send a huge note of appreciation to our 2017-2018 PTA Board members, Ellen, Claire, Sarah, Dan, Kendyl, Foy, Zicra and Derica, for all of their efforts on behalf of our students and community this year.

And we would like to welcome our 2018-2019 PTA Board Members~

Co-Presidents: Claire Giesige and Kendyl Watts
Vice President: Cyndi Redmond
Secretary: Jen Barnes
Treasurer: Sarah Buckley
Auditor: Derica Waller
Fundraising Coordinator: Tracy Giordano

Thank you to everyone for all you continue to do!

Nominate your Teacher as Educator of the Year - Click here to learn more!
https://www.lewispta.org/we-love-lewis-teachers

EARTH DAY FAIR April 21st 9AM-12PM!
This year's Garden Fair is going to be full of fun activities and treats, including:

An I Spy scavenger hunt through the Lewis garden
Kid’s crafts
Expert advice from gardening gurus - bring your most challenging gardening questions!
Italian sodas, pastries and hot beverages for sale
Plants galore and more!

We still need some volunteers to help prep the event on Friday and staff it on Saturday. Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-garden

And if you can donate STORE BOUGHT pastries or baked goods for the pastry table, please sign up at this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-garden1

We're still looking for plant donations! Now is the time to pot up those extra plants to donate to the sale. If you need pots, you’ll find some in a wagon near the office, and if you have extra pots, leave them in the wagon for others. We'll be collecting the plants the morning of Friday April 20th at drop off and again in the afternoon at pick-up.

Learn more about the Garden Fair at the PTA website: https://www.lewispta.org/earth-day-fair

And most important: Bring friends, share on social media, and come and by plants for an amazing and bountiful gardening season!

SCIENCEPALOOZA! Lewis Family STEAM Night – postponed until October 2018

Lewis Shops, and Fundraisers, at Sugar Threads!
Lewis parent Jo Sampson, owner of Sugar Threads, is giving back to Lewis!
Sugar Threads is a local clothing boutique offering comfortable, affordable clothing for women and kids!

Date: Sunday, April 15^th
Hours: 11-3
20% of purchases donated to Lewis Elementary

Address: 6021 SE 72nd Ave
www.shopsugarthreads.com

April 22, 2018 - Sellwood Middle School Foundation 5K Run/Walk for Education.
All proceeds benefit the SELLWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION which raises funds to support the amazing Elective Programs at Sellwood Middle School. Race registration is $25 and t-shirts will be available for purchase on-site. Raffle tickets for great prizes from local businesses are $5 each or 5/$20. To register online or for more information, please go to https://sellwoodmiddle.ejoinme.org or contact Lemmy Cooper with questions at lemmy.cooper@gmail.com

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...

April 11, 2018

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

April has been an amazing month so far in room 16!

What are we up to?
Reading: We just wrapped up our Reading to Learn nonfiction unit. Now we are starting Character Studies which focuses on deep comprehension skills related to paying close attention to characters and their thoughts/motivations/actions.
Writing: We are publishing our information writing!
Social Studies: our Vanport unit continues. We just finished thinking, discussing and writing about 6 different images from Vanport. We will be moving to notetaking and watching a documentary on Vanport next.
Math: 2nd graders are working on Unit 5. They are focused on multi-digit addition and subtraction, place value, and money. 3rd graders are focusing on multiplication and division strategies.
Science: We are finishing up our Changes unit where we will explore the scientific concepts behind changes we see everyday. We’ve been discussing states of matter and experimenting with different solids and liquids.

Reminders
3rd graders are taking their Smarter Balanced tests over the next few weeks. Please send them to school rested and ready to do their best!
Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a sign up sheet posted by our classroom door.

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

In March we launched an in-depth unit on Vanport, an important -- but often overlooked -- part of Portland’s history. The unit explores Vanport through six lenses: the shipyard, Vanport City, the people, life in Vanport, the flood, and the aftermath. The focus of the unit is to build understanding around how multifaceted the people and life of Vanport were and sheds light on Portland’s racial past, bringing awareness to redlining, segregation, and exclusionary practices.

Our initial work focused on a rich collection of historical photographs and prompted some great discussions and inquiries. Many of these questions led us to OPB’s video, Oregon Experience: Vanport. This 60-minute video is a great resource and provided the kids with opportunities to deepen their understanding while practicing note-taking and paraphrasing skills. In the coming weeks, we’ll extend our learning through the analysis of song lyrics, in-depth readings, and letter-writing. If you haven’t seen the Vanport video and are interested in checking it out, you can find it on OPB’s website: https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregonexperience/segment/vanport/

Later this month, on April 21, Multnomah County’s Midland Library will host a free performance of Our Story: Vanport, the Musical. Your child will bring notice home this week. Information can be also be found on the Multnomah County Library’s website.

Finally, this week marked the start of the State’s Smarter Balanced Assessment in English Language Arts. We’ll continue testing throughout the week (and possibly next) until the students finish. Please make sure your student receives a good night's sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, and is at school on time each day.

We spent a little time last week going through the practice site to familiarize them with the testing format and give them a sense of what to expect. We’ve also talked with them about doing their best work, without putting any undue pressure on themselves.

Thank you. Please reach out if you have any questions. Jill

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

This time of year always amazes me because it seems to fly past so fast. There is a lot we will be packing into the last two months of school. There was a lot of energy in the class last week, which resulted in assigned carpet spots, among other changes. We had big talks about being respectful and doing their best to make sure they, as well as their classmates are able to do their best learning. This week has gone much smoother. Thank you to everyone who has help to reinforce the high expectations I have for them, as well as our school rules.

Writing: This week we are doing final edits and then publishing our non-fiction pieces. From black holes to Larry Bird to the Titanic, these kids have taught me a lot with their writing. April is poetry month, so after the long weekend, we will be doing a mini poetry unit.

Math: The kids have become whizzes at adding and subtracting large numbers using multiple methods, including the traditional algorithms. Up next, we will be working on fractions.

Social Studies: We watched a fascinating OPB documentary last week on Vanport and worked on note taking and then turning those notes into complete sentences. Ask them to teach you a little about the city and what happened to what was once a thriving community.

Science: We took a break from science, but hopefully, will be working to wrap up some more experiments on states of matter within the next week or so.

Art: Art Night is May 3rd and we will be working to complete several lovely pieces. It is such a special night, I can’t wait to see all of the installments.

Testing: We started the first round of our state testing yesterday and the kids did great. Thank you for making sure they were all at school on time, well rested, with full tummies. Next week we will work on the ELA performance task and then the math portion will be given the first part of May.

Reminders

No school this Friday as it is a teacher planning day
Walking field trip to Reed College on May 4th.  Please return the permission slip I sent home regarding Scratch accounts.
I’m excited for these last few months with these amazing kiddos.

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

Students are finishing up the ELA CAT (Reading) portion of the Smarter Balanced Assessment this week.  Next week, students will take the Writing Performance task which asks them to read several articles and do a longer writing piece about them.  We will examine the practice test online to get our minds prepared for the task ahead.

In math, we are taking a deeper look at geometry by measuring angles with protractors, and learning some of the unique properties of triangles.  Protractors can be a tricky tool, but students have been having a lot of fun with them so far!

In writing, students are revising, editing, and getting ready to publish their persuasive essays.  Get ready to be persuaded!  There are some very convincing arguments being crafted in here.

Our field trips are approaching soon!  We will walk to Reed College on Friday, April 20th to take a tour of the campus, see the reactor, and look at the fish ladder.  On Monday, April 23rd, we will take a school bus to the Oregon Historical Society to tour the Oregon, My Oregon exhibit.  If you signed up to be a chaperone, look for an email from me later this week!

Finally, we are gearing up to launch our Japanese American unit next week!  We will be doing a lot of creating during this unit, so if you have popsicle sticks, empty spools, foil, beads, pipe cleaners, or any other odds and ends lying around, please send them in!

Thank you for all that you do!  Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

I hope you and your family had a lovely and restful Spring Break!  Here's the news from Room 22:

Math:  We began our new geometry unit last week.  Students have been learning about how to measure angles with pattern blocks and with a protractor.  Next week, we will be studying the interior angles of triangles.  Times tables quizzes are now twice a week.  Please help your child be successful by having him/her practice for ten minutes each evening.

Reading:  This week and next week, students are taking the English Language Arts portions of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.  Please make sure your child is arriving to school on time and well-rested.

Writing:  Students are currently working on rough drafts of their persuasive essays.  They are adding in more evidence and revising their writing prior to typing final drafts next week.

Social Studies:  Last week, students presented their timeline markers about Black History in Oregon.  On Friday, we watched a documentary on OPB about the same topic.  We will be starting our Japanese American unit next week.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on our field trip to the Oregon Historical Society today!  The History Hub is a fabulous exhibit that is all about Oregon's diverse history. 

Next Friday, April 20th, we will be taking a walking field trip with Ms. Elissa’s class down to Reed College.  We will be taking a campus tour and visiting science laboratories.We will leave Lewis at 9:00 AM and return around 1:30 PM.  Students will be bringing lunches with them and eating on the college campus.

The trip is free and we can bring as many chaperones as we want!  As we will be divided into two groups, the more adults the better.  If you would like to join us, please email me at arotwein@pps.net to let me know. 

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Greetings!

We had an absolutely delightful time at outdoor science camp at Camp Trickle Creek last week. The weather cooperated nicely. We hiked. We did nature activities. We had a lovely campfire and songs. All in all, it was an outstanding outing. I hope you heard the stories. Here are some photos from camp (bit.ly/sci-camp). Back at school, kids shared their favorite episodes from camp through a creative dramatics activity called freeze frame. Thank you to Mrs. Zimmerman for teaching our fourth graders while we were away. They were abuzz with stories of art activities, science, and circuits when we returned!

Looking ahead, we have a number of field trips scheduled…so have your team t-shirt ready! We are off to see the Portland Youth Philharmonic at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall this Wednesday. Then we head to the Oregon Historical Society on the 20th. You are welcome to join us for a Reed College campus tour on Tuesday, April 24th, sponsored by the folks at Reed Science Outreach. They will show us some chemistry demonstrations, we’ll get a tour of the nuclear reactor, check out some of the biology labs, and get a campus and dorm tour. We will leave Lewis at 9:00 a.m. and return after eating lunch on the campus. We should be back to Lewis at around 1:30. We will need a couple of chaperones to make the trip a go. Please RSVP to let me know if you can attend by Monday, April 16th. A fourth trip is for the fifth graders to visit Sellwood Middle School on Wednesday, April 25th. Please also have this permission slip signed and returned by Monday, April 16th. They will be welcomed in the gym and then head out on tours led by middle school student leaders.

The first of four rounds of state standardized testing will begin next week. Please have your kid to school well rested and with a good breakfast in them. We are working through some practice tests as a team so that kids have an idea of how the first tests will be administered and formatted and what sort of questions to expect. If you are planning to opt your child out of state standardized testing, you may get a form from the school office or via this link (bit.ly/SBAC-OPT-OUT). Opt out forms must be turned in by Monday morning. Kids who have opted out will be working on some alternate activities during our testing time.

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for photos and regular updates!   Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Science Camp was a complete success and we had a blast!  The weather was great and the scenery was beautiful. We hiked, explored nature, and experienced engaging science lessons.  Thank you to everyone for fundraising and working hard to make this all possible. Don’t forget to send camp tuition checks my way.  Please make checks payable to Lewis Elementary or pay online.

For these last few months of school I will try to keep you updated each Wednesday with upcoming events. Find these updates on our classroom blog...

-We are scheduled to begin the Smarter Balanced Assessment this week.  Please contact me with questions, comments, or concerns.

-No school this Friday, April 13th.  It is a teacher work day since we are at the end of our 3rd quarter.  Report cards will go home next week. If you still have the report card envelope from last quarter, please make sure you sign and return those.  I am only missing a few

-We also need volunteers for our upcoming walking field trip on Thursday, April 26th. We will visit Reed College for a campus tour. We’ll get a tour of the science labs, the nuclear reactor, and the dorms.  A few of our Reedies volunteered to show us a few chemistry demonstrations too! We will leave Lewis at 9:00am and return after eating lunch on campus.  We will be back to school by 2:00pm. Please let me know if you are able to join us.

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday to you all! First, let me say what a wonderful time we had at camp. It was so great to see the learning and fun that was had! It was also so nice for us to bond as a community and to be able to play together, sing and be silly! Thank you all for doing your part to make it happen. Today we went on another adventure, which was a lot of fun! We journeyed to the Portland Youth Philharmonic and it was great! Such talent! This week we also got to see a preview of the Talent Show, which was terrific! Hopefully you can come see the show on Thursday night at 6:30. We started state testing this week. We began with the science portion this week. We will continue next week and throughout the coming weeks, until we are finished. If  you have any questions about testing, or the testing schedule, please let me know. Speaking of assessments, we have will be working on report cards Friday, so there isn't school that day. I want to let you know about an upcoming walking field trip we have next week. Thursday, we will be walking to Reed College to visit the campus and do a tour. You are welcome to join us. I will send a note home soon with specifics. I know we are going in the morning, but don't have the time, yet. Also, look for a permission slip coming home about a trip 5th grade is taking to visit Sellwood. We will be going on April 25th. We need to have that slip signed and returned right away. Man, is there a lot happening! Thank you all for everything you do. I love working with this group of kids!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

During Share Time this week, students are sharing their passages about their favorite kind of weather. They also made rainbows and drew pictures of something they like to do in their favorite weather, and these are on display on the bulletin board at end of primary hallway. For Math, we are working on a story problems unit, plus doing end of grading period assessments. For Writing, students are working on High-Frequency Words, Edit-It packets, and Grammar and Writing Practice. For Science, we have continued to graph the high and low temperatures and the type of weather each day. We also have been checking our rain gauge, and over the stormy weekend it rained two inches! This week for Science, students worked in groups of two to draw outlines of shadows in the morning and afternoon, then look at how the length and direction changed. For Reading, leveled groups are reading books about our new unit, “Something has Changed”, which explores the positive and negative changes people make to the environment.

Last week the fifth graders went to outdoor school at Trickle Creek near Salem. On Thursday, Mr. Post took the fifth graders from Room 7 down there for a day trip. When we arrived, we found their schoolmates finishing an activity, then joined them for lunch. After lunch, we hiked around on the trails and saw a pond, birds, banana slugs, and newts. Then it was time to do some life science activities, including playing an animals and resources game, observing the bones of herbivores and carnivores, and learning about the adaptations of beavers. After that, we got in the van and had some snacks on the way back home to Portland.

Music News from Mr. Jamesbarry

Welcome back 5th graders! I’ve been checking in with the 5th grade group and it sounds like it was another great camp experience.

With the first week of April in the books, we get that much closer to Art Night on Thursday May 3rd. All three groups will be performing for the event. The this first performance so close, every rehearsal becomes that much more important. This week I’m asking for all band members to come to both Tuesday and Thursday rehearsals. Boomin’ Beats will meet on Wednesday after school this week as there is no school on Friday. Recorder Club will meet at it’s usual time, Thursday before school. Remember, daily home practice is crucial at this time of year. A student practicing just 10-15 minutes a day can make tremendous improvement.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School  Weekly Letter               

April 4, 2018                

Upcoming Dates:

Apr 5- Bottle Drop Collection 845am
Apr 6- Walk and Roll
Apr 10- PTA Meeting 6:30pm
Apr 12- Talent Show 6:30pm
Apr 13- No School for Students, Teacher Planning Day
Apr 18- Late Start- Monochromatic Day

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Welcome back from what I hope was a restful (or at least fun-filled) Spring Vacation)!
We have settled right back in to the swing of things at Lewis. I want to give you a few reminders for the upcoming weeks:

SBAC Testing:

Our 3rd-5th grade students will be starting statewide Smarter Balanced testing next week. As a reminder, here is the general schedule for testing (exact dates and times will vary by class):

Students will only be testing during specific days/time windows during each of these designated weeks--your classroom teacher may provide you with more details about your classroom's schedule. Our teachers have done a great job preparing students with the knowledge they need to navigate these assessments. The best thing you can do to support students with SBAC testing over the next few months is to ensure that they are at school on time every day, well-fed and well-rested. If you would like more information about the SBAC tests, you can go to this link. If you have chosen to opt your children out from the SBAC assessments (and have submitted opt out paperwork), we will provide alternate work and space for your children during assessment periods.

PTA Meeting & Literacy Workshop:
Also, the PTA's monthly meeting will be held next Tuesday at 6:30 pm. At that meeting, I will provide a mini-lesson on our school-wide Balanced Literacy curriculum for those of you who would like to better understand the way we teach reading and writing at Lewis. 

Wishing you a happy rest of the week and eventual spring sunshine!!
Emily
 

Bottle Drop is this Thursday before school!
Pick up a blue bag in the office, fill up with clean returnable bottles, drop off in front of Lewis before school tomorrow.

Did you know you can turn the blue bags in yourself? Fill a blue bag, go by any Bottle Drop location, including the one only 2 miles from Lewis at SE King and Linwood!  Use the barcode on the blue bag to scan open the drop off door, throw the bag in, and Lewis gets the money!

Check out www.BottleDropCenters.com for a full list of locations and for details on what containers are worth $.10 each for Lewis.

Music Notes from Mr. J
I hope everyone had a fantastic Spring Break. If you stuck around Portland, I know the weather wasn’t the greatest, but we did have a couple of nice days there towards the end. Now that we are back, we need to turn our attention to Art Night. Yes, that is just around the corner. In fact Art Night will be Thursday May 3rd from 6:30PM - 8:00PM. The Recorder Club, 5th Grade Band and the Boomin’ Beats will be performing. I will send out the performance schedule later this week to families and post it by next week outside the music room. With the upcoming performance, it means that all remaining rehearsals become that much more important. Please try to have your student attend all scheduled rehearsals. This week all 5th grade Band members will only meet Tuesday from 3:00-4:00PM. Thursday Recorder Club will meet at 8:00AM. And the Boomin’ Beats will meet Friday from 3:00PM-4:00PM (tired 5th Grade campers are excused of course). See you in the Music Room.

Nominate your Teacher as Educator of the Year - Click here to learn more!

https://www.lewispta.org/we-love-lewis-teachers

EARTH DAY FAIR April 21st 9AM-12PM!

We need volunteers, STORE BOUGHT baked goods (PPS no longer will allow homemade goods to be sold on school property), and plant donations.  Learn more about this here: https://www.lewispta.org/earth-day-fair

Signup genius for this event: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-garden

Now is the time to pot up those extra plants to donate to the sale. If you need pots, you’ll find some in a wagon near the office, and if you have extra pots, leave them in the wagon for others.

And most important: Bring friends, share on social media, and come and shop!

The SafeOregon Tip Line Aims to Increase Student Safety

In keeping with our commitment to student safety, last October PPS joined school districts across the state in using the SafeOregon Tip Line. We want to remind you about this important resource.

SafeOregon was funded by the Oregon Legislature as part of a statewide effort to improve school safety. It provides a secure means for anyone to anonymously report suspicious or imminently unsafe situations, such as threats of violence, fights, drugs and alcohol, weapons, bullying, harassment, intimidation or self-harm.

Anyone, from students to parents to community members, can access the system in a variety of ways, including:

The “Report unsafe behavior” button found on every PPS school’s website

The SafeOregon website

A live call/text (844-472-3367)

An email to tip@safeoregon.com

The mobile app that can be downloaded from your Smart Phone via iTunes or  Google Play

Trained staff are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to respond.

Please be sure to share this information with your friends and family. Remind your students: If you see or hear something, say something – immediately.  Let’s work together to keep our community safe.

Lost and Found & Clothes Closet
Please check the lost and found, there are a lot of jackets hanging up right now.  We also could use some help taking lost jackets down to the rack and hanging them up each week.  If you can help us out, please see Tracy or Kathleen in the office.  Lewis also keeps an assortment of clothes in a closet for kids who need a change of clothes.  If you can help us with organizing that closet, we could use your help.
 

Come join the Lewis PTA Board!

PTA Board elections are coming up April 10th and we are looking for a few good people who want to support and guide the great programs our PTA sponsors.  From funding arts and technology in the classrooms to fun community events, this is a wonderful way to make a difference for all the kids at Lewis!

In particular we are looking for a PTA President or two CoPresidents, a Fundraising CoCoordinator and a CoTreasurer, although all positions are open to those interested.  For more information about Board position descriptions and frequently asked questions, please go to the PTA website at

https://www.lewispta.org/current-leadership for the FAQs and to

https://www.lewispta.org/nominations-for-leadership for the position descriptions.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please contact Derica Waller at Dericawaller@gmail.com
 

SCIENCEPALOOZA! Lewis Family STEAM Night

A new free event is coming the evening of May 15th!  SCIENCEPALOOZA! is a celebration of the sciences and scientific inquiry. The PTA sponsored event will feature interactive STEAM based activities for parents and students to explore together. There will be stations with interactive projects led by Lewis students, parents, and local area scientists. STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics.

Calling 4th and 5th graders! We invite you to help run interactive project stations at the event. To learn about the projects and prepare, you will have the opportunity to work with Science Mentors from Reed College at a workshop prior to the event. Sign up forms will be available in the main office.

We also need parent volunteers to help make this a successful event. Sign up to run a station during the event, help with Science Mentor workshops, event advertising, set-up/clean-up, and more! If you are you a scientist, an artist that collaborates with scientists, know of local scientists or organizations we should invite to run a station, or simply want to be a part of this great event, we would appreciate your help!

Want to volunteer, run a station, have ideas or questions? Contact Susan Rosenkranz: susan.rosenkranz@gmail.com

Mike’s Pruning & Tree Care gives back to Lewis!
For parents of students at Lewis Elementary School they will donate 10% of each job they do for a Lewis Parent to Lewis School.  Just show them a Lewis t-shirt, calendar, etc.
541-680-2777
Mike offers tree removals with free permits, tree pruning, hedge trimming, wind thinning, as well as 24/7 emergency services.

Lewis Shops, and Fundraisers, at Sugar Threads!

Lewis parent Jo Sampson, owner of Sugar Threads, is giving back to Lewis!

Sugar Threads is a local clothing boutique offering comfortable, affordable clothing for women and kids!

Date: Sunday, April 15^th
Hours: 11-3
20% of purchases donated to Lewis Elementary

Address: 6021 SE 72nd Ave
www.shopsugarthreads.com

April 22, 2018 - Sellwood Middle School Foundation 5K Run/Walk for Education.
All proceeds benefit the SELLWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION which raises funds to support the amazing Elective Programs at Sellwood Middle School. Race registration is $25 and t-shirts will be available for purchase on-site. Raffle tickets for great prizes from local businesses are $5 each or 5/$20. To register online or for more information, please go to https://sellwoodmiddle.ejoinme.org or contact Lemmy Cooper with questions at lemmy.cooper@gmail.com

 Notes from Ms. Allen- Kindergarten

Ms. Allen is out ill, and will send home notes this Friday.

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

Welcome back everyone! I hope your Spring Break was full of rest, relaxation, and reading. We are settling back into our kindergarten routine in Room 4. As an added bonus, we now have Ms. Connolly in the classroom five days a week! The plan is for Ms. Connolly to take over more of the teaching as I provide support during the day. This is a cooperative teaching arrangement, and I think we will all benefit from it!

With the start of a new month, students are selecting new Reading Partners and received a new set of leveled books for their book tubs. It is very rewarding to hear the sentences that students can now read. We are using all of our reading powers to tackle words and figure out their meaning. Please continue to practice at home, even if it means reading the same book over and over again :)

After evaluating recent assessments, students have been placed in new Words Their Way groups. There are four groups, each one with a different focus and target skill. You can help your child with these spelling patterns by going over the work that comes home, as well as writing as often as possible! During Writing Workshop, we have begun a study on whales. Students watch videos about the creatures, then turn and talk with their shoulder partner. They discuss observations and ask questions. One of the things we’ve learned so far is that there are two types of whales: baleen and toothed. Students are filling in personal whale books with facts and illustrations.

In Math, we continue to add and take apart bigger numbers. We have been working on looking at the pattern that odd and even numbers make, and figuring out that any number with an even number in the one’s place must be an even number!

As Art Night approaches, you may wonder where all of our weekly art projects have gone. I am holding back on hanging up artwork so there can be a big reveal during Art Night. If you are new to Lewis, I think you’re in for a real treat on Thursday, May 3rd.

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

Welcome back families!

I hope you all had a restful and relaxing Spring Break.  I am happy to see more healthy faces back at school and hope we can remain germ free until the end of the year!

At this point in the year, students gain independence in reading and writing and it has been amazing to see the progress they have made in the last couple months.  In writing we are becoming authors and creating books to share with the class. In reading we are becoming avid readers who can’t stop reading!

Our new math centers include a bucket of frogs and building with polydrons.  The students love using their imagination while building and sorting. We will begin working with math story problems.  Both solving and creating story problems is a fun and challenging math activity on the horizon.

We have been doing some fun activities in technology with Mr. Mark.  We explored with Scratch Jr. which is a visual programming language designed to introduce coding skills to children.  This program helps children learn to think creatively and reason systematically. Another fun program we have been exploring is Chrome Music lab.  This is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments. Check it out at home!

We are looking forward to our April 20th field trip to the Oregon Children’s Theater!  We will be reading lots of Eric Carle stories to prepare for The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show.
 

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

Hello Room 3 Families. There is so much news to catch up on. I hope you all had a fun and restful break. Mine certainly was! I wanted to shares some photos of things from the past few weeks.

Please check out this info with attached photos at teacherdana.wordpress.com

We did our final science lesson for our unit on the work of water. This unit helped students develop the idea that water is a powerful force that reshapes the earth’s surface. Students learned  that water isn’t just something we drink. It carries sand to create beaches, carves out canyons and valleys and, as ice, scrapes entire areas flat. In our experiment on erosion we learned how water creates canyon using cornmeal.After this lesson, we culminated the unit with a wonderful presentation from Peyton's dad, John on the structure and design of bridges. We then got to design and build our own toothpick and marshmallow bridges. It was so much fun!

In Writer's Workshop, we did our final unit celebration by sharing our book series with our buddy class. The kids were so incredibly proud of their work and I was so proud of them. They really took this so seriously and got so much out of the sharing of their work.

Another big event we shared along with all the students at Lewis was our March for Peace and Kindness. It was an incredibly emotional and powerful day. My emotions that day ran the gambit from anger to empowerment, from despair to hope but at the end of the day, just a lot of love for these kids and this community we call Lewis. It was great to have parents and other folks from the community come out to support us and to march with us. Thank You!

Notes from Ms. Logue- 1^st Grade

I hope you had a wonderful Spring Break! I spent time with my family visited with friends and did a lot of "Spring Cleaning":) I am very happy to see the students again and look forward to our next three months together! This week we welcome April with it’s blustery skies and the return of buds and blossoms everywhere. Our 6 and 7 year olds are noticing the Spring changes in their environment and will soon enjoy more visits to the Lewis Outdoor Classroom and our upcoming field trip to Tryon Creek State Park. Insects under rocks, buds and plants growing such as the pussy willow branches and cherry blossoms in our classroom Science Center. We are reminded to use our senses to make discoveries! What can you learn when looking, smelling, or touching? On Monday, the students started the day writing accounts of their holidays and it sounds like they connected, relaxed and made memories! Your First Grader has been working hard to be responsible for their learning. In math we are in the middle of our Penguin Measurement Unit and are continuing to explore connected Work Places, (math games). Delving into explorations in geometry is our next math focus, fractions for First Graders:) This week students will begin learning about writing nonfiction books and reading nonfiction books with writing elements to explore. It is awesome to have such beautiful, spring weather and we are taking advantage of it with "short but sweet" brain breaks at least twice a day. Room 6 First Graders love to play make believe, throw and catch balls, climb monkey bars, blow bubbles and make daisy chains. We could use some more bubble liquid, wall balls and/or soft balls if you would like to donate any or all:) Thanks for all you do!
CLASSROOM PHOTOS: twitter@AnneAbuckley
mrslogue.wordpress.com
 

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a fun-filled and restful Spring Break. It’s hard to believe we are just a few months from the end of the school year. The spring will be busy with lots of math, writing and science. We have switched our literacy focus to nonfiction and informational texts. We will be reading lots on nonfiction books with the goal of getting really smart about all sorts of things. In addition to the reading, we will be writing nonfiction or teaching books. We have been brainstorming topics, planning our writing across our fingers (ask your student to show you how!), writing our headings, and now we are finally getting to the best part - writing all of the things we know!

We have a field trip to Tryon Creek State Park coming up on Monday, April 23rd from about 9:30 - 1:30. Permission slips will be coming home soon. We can only have a limited number of chaperones on this trip, so if you’re interested in going let me know asap. We will have at least one more field trip in May to a play. I will work to make an equitable choice.

Last call for volunteers! All are welcome to come work with readers, writers and mathematicians. I will put a calendar/schedule up outside the classroom door. Please sign up - just 30 minutes can be really helpful to students.
Cheers!  Ms. Sarah

Notes from Ms. Murphy - 2nd Grade

I just wanted to start out by asking you all to start following our class on Twitter!  We are @MurphyRoom5.  I try to take photos and share what is going on in our classroom a few times a day.  It is fun to take a peek into our day and especially exciting when you can see your own special child working hard. This is also a great way to start a conversation with your child about their day. 

Writing:  We worked very hard on our Nonfiction stories the past month!  I am keeping copies of their final nonfiction books they created until after the next report card.  I will send them home as soon as I have assessed them all for the next grading period.  This week we started poetry.  On Monday, the students decorated their very own poetry books using images and words from magazines.  On Tuesday, we used natural objects to inspire our first poems!  Students compared objects to other things like animals and went from there.  We shared our favorite lines from our poems in a “symphony share”.  Please feel free to send your child to school with a natural object as we will continue using these items as inspiration for the next week.

Math:  Our last unit on Geometry has concluded.  Students worked hard on their Math Work Places.  I sent home their last workplace packets yesterday.  So please take some time to look through them and have your child share what they worked on!   This week we launched Unit 5: Branching into Larger Numbers, Money and Place Value.  Students will be working extensively with numbers above 10.  We will work with money, groups of 10 and 5, adding and subtracting using a variety of strategies, story problems and we will write story problems as well. 

OMSI will be coming next week!  I will be sending a permission slip and asking for the fee.  Please get that back to us by Friday!

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

This week we continue our investigation of Weather. Shortly before break, students learned about the water cycle. We built on the information we knew about how clouds developed to come up with the parts of the water cycle.  We knew that the sun warms up the water and evaporates it. We learned that water then changes into a gas form and rises into the air. From our recipe for a cloud, we knew that as water vapor rises, the it condenses and droplets mix with dirt and pollen to form a cloud.  When the droplets cool, the fall from the sky as precipitation. Precipitation can be rain, snow, or a wintery mix.  Finally, all of the precipitation soaks into the ground as run off and flows to the local water sheds, like Johnson Creek. The sun warms up the water and the cycle begins again.

After students were familiar with the cycle, we linked our new knowledge with the nursery song, The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  We identified which parts of the Water Cycle went with which parts of the song. Then we were ready to make our own water cycles in a baggie. Students drew the cycle on a baggie. They put a Dixie cup in the bag to represent local lakes and added water to the cup. Student noticed that the water in the cup evaporated and rose into the air as a gas or water vapor.  When the water vapor warmed up, it condensed at the top of the baggie and formed a cloud.  We saw that when the droplets cooled, it began to rain. The water collected in the bottom of the baggie and they observed the runoff portion of the water cycle.

Next week, the 2nd grade classes in Rooms 5 and 12 will work with OMSI in a science inquiry based lab. OMSI brings their lab to Lewis to help the classes make predictions, create a hypothesis, experiments and then share their observations or results with the peers.  Students will perform amazing chemical reactions as they measure and mix ingredients and discover substances with the strange and surprising properties of polymers.  They will make two different slimy concoctions for big time chemistry fun. Students will learn about chemical reactions, states of matter, polymers, and procedures for running a safe lab.

Lewis 2nd graders will experience an adventure in science without leaving the classroom. OMSI  will come to each classroom for $6.00 per student.  Please send your check made out to Lewis or cash by next Wednesday.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               

March 21, 2018            

Upcoming Dates:

Mar 22- Bonus Bottle Drop Collection 845am
Mar 22- Talent Show Auditions 3-5pm
Mar 26-30- Spring Break

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Wow!! So much CRAZY HAIR today! Once again, I was blown away by the creativity and spirit of our community. There were so many amazing 'dos today that we couldn't stop short at just one winner. We selected three winners per grade level. Winning students will be coming together as styling squads to fashion crazy hairdos for me later this week (K-2 winners on Thursday/3-5 winners on Friday). Thanks for your help supporting this fun day at home!

On a more serious note, I am wrapping up our staffing plan for next year and wanted to keep you in the loop on how things are looking for 2018-19. The overall news is that Lewis, like many schools in the district, is facing a reduction to our overall full-time equivalency (FTE) allocation next year. This reduction is a result of two major factors: (1) a new staffing allocation formula used by the district and (2) shifting demographics in our Lewis community. This reduction will result in larger class sizes in grades 2-5 (ranging from 27-31 students) and a decrease to supports outside of the classroom. While classes of this size would not be our preference, the current PPS staffing model allows for very little discretion at the building level. Allocations for homerooms, specials, and student supports have, in our case, all been centrally-designated. Here is a more detailed look at what will stay the same and what will change:

Homerooms: We will continue to have 3 kindergartens, 3-1st grades, 2-2nd grades, 1-2nd/3rd grade blend, and 2-3rd grades.  Next year, we will have just 2-4th grades and 2-5th grades.

Specials: We will continue to have a full-time music teacher, a full-time PE teacher, and a fully- staffed library (1/2 time Media Specialist & 1/2 time Media Assistant).

Office: We will shift from 2.0 secretaries to 1.5 secretaries. Ms. Kathleen will be reducing her hours to half-time. We are working on a plan to maintain our garden program in light of this reduction--we may be soliciting parent/community help with this priority.

Student Supports: We will still have a full-time counselor and our special education and ESL teacher allocations will remain the same. We will not be able to fund the additional support of a Reading Intervention teacher and an Educational Assistant that we funded this year. We will be able to keep Mrs. Zimmerman on-board three mornings a week to do math support for our blend and reading intervention for identified students. We do not yet know how many paraprofessionals will be allocated to our building to support students with special needs in general education classrooms. The staffing of Mr. Post's room will remain the same.

Coaching: We do not expect to have the in-house support of a Literacy Coach next year. We will still have a half-time Tech Smart coach.

If you have questions or concerns about the information presented here, please feel free to reach out. We are committed to ensuring that, despite reductions, your children continue to receive all of the academic instruction, support, and enrichment that they currently receive at Lewis. I have already started a conversation with the PTA about how we might be able to maximize our tremendous pool of parent volunteers to help support large classrooms and support programmatic gaps.
 

Talent Show auditions are tomorrow, Thursday, March 22, from 3:00- 5:00 in the cafeteria. Your child may leave after they audition with either a note giving permission, or you signing them out! Plan to send a snack along. We are looking forward to a great show!
Contact Sarah Kohn @ skohn@pps.net, if you have any questions.

Oregon Battle of the Books A big congratulations to the Ink Archers team that competed on March 10 at the regional OBOB competition! Way to go, Beckett, Billy, Jaxinn, Joe and Airamay! They worked so hard! While they did not advance to the state level, they did a fantastic job and had a lot of fun! We will be acknowledging their efforts later this week, as well as the accomplishments of each participant in OBOB this year. Next year's selections will be posted soon, so it's not too early to put a team together for next year!

Pre Garden Fair Plant Sale
Plant orders are due today, WEDNESDAY, 3/21. 

Lost and Found & Clothes Closet
Please check the lost and found, there are a lot of jackets hanging up right now.  We also could use some help taking lost jackets down to the rack and hanging them up each week.  If you can help us out, please see Tracy or Kathleen in the office.  Lewis also keeps an assortment of clothes in a closet for kids who need a change of clothes.  If you can help us with organizing that closet, we could use your help.
 

Staff Appreciation Dessert Extravaganza
The PTA is changing up staff appreciation this year. Rather than one intense week of celebration, we're celebrating on days throughout the year.

Thursday, March 22nd is the dessert extravaganza, when we shower the staff with love through chocolate (and other sweet treats). Bring in a dessert for the staff to enjoy throughout the day. Please include a note with any common food allergens in your treat.  Thanks!  Ellen

Come join the Lewis PTA Board!
PTA Board elections are coming up April 10th and we are looking for a few good people who want to support and guide the great programs our PTA sponsors.  From funding arts and technology in the classrooms to fun community events, this is a wonderful way to make a difference for all the kids at Lewis!  We must have a full board to have a PTA...

In particular we are looking for a PTA President or two CoPresidents, a Fundraising CoCoordinator and a CoTreasurer, although all positions are open to those interested.  For more information about Board position descriptions and frequently asked questions, please go to the PTA website at

https://www.lewispta.org/current-leadership for the FAQs and to

https://www.lewispta.org/nominations-for-leadership for the position descriptions.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please contact Derica Waller at Dericawaller@gmail.com or come to the March 13th General PTA Meeting.  We'd love to see you there!

SCIENCEPALOOZA! Lewis Family STEAM Night
A new free event is coming the evening of May 15th!  SCIENCEPALOOZA! is a celebration of the sciences and scientific inquiry. The PTA sponsored event will feature interactive STEAM based activities for parents and students to explore together. There will be stations with interactive projects led by Lewis students, parents, and local area scientists. STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics.

Calling 4th and 5th graders! We invite you to help run interactive project stations at the event. To learn about the projects and prepare, you will have the opportunity to work with Science Mentors from Reed College at a workshop prior to the event. Sign up forms will be available in the main office.

We also need parent volunteers to help make this a successful event. Sign up to run a station during the event, help with Science Mentor workshops, event advertising, set-up/clean-up, and more! If you are you a scientist, an artist that collaborates with scientists, know of local scientists or organizations we should invite to run a station, or simply want to be a part of this great event, we would appreciate your help!

Want to volunteer, run a station, have ideas or questions? Contact Susan Rosenkranz: susan.rosenkranz@gmail.com
 

Mike’s Pruning & Tree Care gives back to Lewis!
For parents of students at Lewis Elementary School they will donate 10% of each job they do for a Lewis Parent to Lewis School.  Just show them a Lewis t-shirt, calendar, etc.
541-680-2777
Mike offers tree removals with free permits, tree pruning, hedge trimming, wind thinning, as well as 24/7 emergency services.

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

March continues to be a wonderful month in Room 16!  What are we up to?

Reading: We are continuing Reading to Learn, our nonfiction unit. Students have been working on summarizing and solving hard words.
Writing: We are continuing The Art of Informational Writing. Students are drafting and editing their informational books.
Social Studies: Our Portland unit continues. We are beginning our discussion of Vanport.
Math: 2nd graders are working on Unit 5, which covers problem solving and multi digit addition and subtraction. 3rd graders are focusing on multiplication and division strategies.
Science: We are continuing our Changes unit where we will explore the scientific concepts behind changes we see every day. We’ve been discussing states of matter and experimenting with different solids and liquids.

Reminders:
Thank you for all of your kind words! I appreciate your support, I’m so lucky to be at Lewis!
Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a signup sheet posted by our classroom door.
I’m sending home a daily compliment to one family via email or Remind. Look out for one coming your way! 

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Hey all,  we are doing a lot of new fun learning.  We are winding up our study of persuasive writing and I am so gratified by how many different ways students have chosen to frame their messages to change the world.  We have poster campaigns, intellectual treatises, celebrations and philosophical dialogues, all intended to shape your thinking about how the world should be.  Look forward to a digital compilation of pieces coming your way.

Jill has been piloting a fascinating new set of curricular materials about the history of Vanport in the bigger picture of Portland's story.  The story of Vanport plays an important role in the changing face of Portland's commitment to fairness and diversity.

Soon we will have our last lesson with our Reed College mathematicians.  They are hoping to host us on their home ground for a celebratory wrap-up.  We are still settling on a final date but stay tuned for an invitation to join us.  We would greatly appreciate any adult who could join us for a walking field trip down to Reed.  Thanks, as always, Mark

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

We have been working hard to wrap up a lot this week prior to leaving for Spring Break. We finished our Unit 4 Math assessment

Monday we will be celebrating the completion of our nonfiction reading unit later in the week. Our expository writing process has moved into the revising and editing stages. Look for those to be published the first part of April.
Speaking of wrapping (or sewing) up, the students have been doing a great job sewing their quilt squares. My goal is for them to be done this week, so I have some time to piece it together over the break. If you can spare a few minutes Thursday or Friday of this week, please let me know as it would be great to have a few more grownups to help get them finished.

We started our new unit on Vanport this week, which I am very excited about. This is an area of Portland’s history, which I only became aware of quite recently, as an adult, and I feel lucky to be able to introduce and explore the topic with the kiddos.

Third grade marks the first year students participate in the Smarter Balance state testing. The first round, Language Arts computer adaptive test, is set to take place the week of April 9th. As this is the students’ first exposure to the testing, we will spend some time the prior week looking at the testing site and going through a practice test to familiarize them with the process. If you are choosing to opt your student out, please make sure you get the appropriate paperwork filled out and returned to the school office before April 9th.

Reminders:
Please help your student remember to bring a water bottle to school each day. Having a water bottle in the classroom helps to cut down on trips to the water fountain. They are welcome to leave it here throughout the week.

The afternoon of April 13th we will be having a walking field trip to Reed College for our last session of Reed College math with Sarah and Miranda. I will send more information as we get closer.

Art Night is May 3rd! Leading up to the event, I will gladly accept help with getting art finished up, matting it, and eventually hanging. Please let me know if you’re interested. More information to come.

I hope you all have a wonderful break! Please make sure your little ones are continuing to read each day, as well as taking some time to get outside and enjoy the nice weather that is expected. I definitely plan to do the same! See you in April!

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

We wrapped up our unit on fractions and this week I am sending home students' post-assessments.  Students did well overall, with a class average of 82%! Please take the time to review the test with your child, noticing where they were successful and what they still need to work on.  This particular assessment required a lot of labeled pictures and many students lost points for not labeling or explaining their sketches clearly.

When we return from break, students will be starting multiplication fluency checkups twice a week where they are asked to solve 40 problems in 2 minutes or less.  Last week, we took some time to see what it would feel like to attempt this feat and students made flashcards to practice.  Please support your child in memorizing these facts with regular practice for 10-15 minutes at a time.  We aim to have all facts through 12 mastered by the end of the year.

This week, students are completing their second natural disaster research project.  This time, students focused on strategies to compare and contrast information between their first and second topics.  We also practiced using a rubric to self score our work before submitting it to be graded.  It gave many groups a chance to make important changes independently!

In writing, students are outlining a second persuasive essay.  After spring break, students will choose which outline they would like to take through the rest of the writing process and publish. 

In social studies, we are covering Black History in Oregon.  We are using an article from the online Oregon Encyclopedia to build up some background knowledge on our state's historic laws and policies that deterred Black people from immigrating here.  Later this week, partners will take a closer look at specific individuals or events and create timeline markers for our giant timeline in the hall.

I hope you all have a delightful spring break!  Don't forget to read!-  Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

We are spending this week wrapping up work ahead of Spring Break.  Here's what we are up to in Room 22:

Math:  The Unit 3 Post-Assessment went home with students on Monday.  Students certainly improved their understanding of fractions!  Last week we did a mini-unit on measurement conversions.  After the break, we will start Unit 4, which is on geometry.

Reading:  Students are finishing up their second extreme weather research projects.  This time, students are sharing their learning by creating a slide show on Google Docs.  Ask your child to show you at home what he/she has been working on!

Writing:  The last two weeks, students have been creating outlines for persuasive essays.  They have been learning about writing to a specific audience and choosing strong evidence.  When we come back from Spring Break, students will choose one of the outlines to turn into a completed essay.

Social Studies:  Last week, we began our unit on Black History in Oregon.  Students learned about the history of exclusionary laws and policies, as well as individuals and groups who challenged those policies and made a positive impact on our state.  This week, students are doing research and presenting timeline markers to their peers.

Upcoming dates:  We will be taking a field trip to the History Hub exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society on Wednesday, April 11th.  I will send home permission slips on the Monday after break.  If you would like to come along as a chaperone, there are five spots available and they are first come, first serve.

I've noticed an alarming amount of absences and tardies lately.   We do so much work in the 4th grade, and even a few hours of school missed is hard for kids to catch up on.  When children get to school late, they start the day behind and out-of-sorts.  Please help your child be successful by getting him/her to school at 8:40 every day.

I hope you have a lovely Spring Break, see you in April!

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Greetings!

We have been busy and productive in room 20. We celebrated Women’s Day on March 8th with a whole day learning about how women have changed our world. We began with a focus on kids as change makers, learning about Malala Yousafsai and Mari Copeny. Then we shared our own interview stories about important women in our lives. We began this sharing by facetiming with my Grandma about what school was like for her and how women’s rights have changed during her lifetime. Kids then shared in small groups and in a circle as a whole team. Thank you for supporting your kid with completing their interview. I loved hearing their stories! During the afternoon, kids read books about important women in history from the Lewis Library and the Multnomah County Library. We finished our day with an art activity; kids wrote a takeaway and added watercolor. You can see the collection from all third, fourth, and fifth grades on display between rooms 16 and 17.

On March 14th, our school held a March for Peace and Kindness (bit.ly/team20-peace). We gathered as a school for a short assembly during which some kids from Team 20 and other intermediate grades shared their hopes for peace and kindness. We then joined together in a song led by Mr. Jamesbarry before walking out to the playground by classes carrying signs that we created to share our hopes for peace and kindness and walking two loops of the yard.

Congratulations to the many Team 20 members involved in the wonderful Lewis School Play. My family enjoyed Thursday night’s performance. Twyla returned home from the show and did an interpretive dance and then balled herself up on the ground and said she was a rock. Norah Lee pretended to take a nap on the couch and said she was dreaming of dragons. I think that the school play is part of the heartbeat of Lewis. I am always struck by what an amazing opportunity the play is for kids each year. Thank you so much to Ms. Tori, Mr. Jamesbarry, Mr. Colvin, Ms. Angela, Levi, and families for making this possible.

For Oregon History, we completed a mini-unit about Westward Expansion. We watched a National Geographic and a PBS video on Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail while taking some notes.

Thank you for returning the field trip form for our April 20th Oregon Historical Society trip and our April 11th Portland Youth Philharmonic trip. Thank you, too, for returning the overnight/wildnerness permission slip for Fifth Grade Science Camp. If the school has not yet received your Science Camp payment, please send in a check or pay online using SchoolPay. The full cost of camp is $160. Information about using SchoolPay for this was sent home some time ago. If you have questions about using SchoolPay, please call the office at 503-916-6360. We are so excited for camp!

An email about state testing was sent from the school this week. It looks like testing will now begin after spring break. If you are planning to opt your child out of these standardized tests, a state testing opt-out form is available in the Lewis office and at this link: bit.ly/SBAC-OPT-OUT. The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be on a panel at The Children’s Book Bank about why all children need books featuring diverse characters. I enjoyed hearing the panelists and sharing the work being done by Team 20 and at Lewis on this important topic. This thread (bit.ly/BooksOpenMinds) includes a link to a nice write up about the evening and links to a couple of great articles that were mentioned during our talk.

We will have a read-a-thon this Friday! Kids will be able to enjoy a full day of reading in our room. For this reading event, kids are welcome to bring a few things to make them comfy while reading. They may bring a pillow, a blanket, and wear pajamas.

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for photos and regular updates!
Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Spring break is only days away and we have a busy week!  A few weeks back we began preparing fabric for our classroom quilt.  Yes, quilt! It’s an ambitious project but the kids and I are very excited!  The first week, students planned, measured, and cut the fabric for each of their quilt blocks.  This is a fun and relevant way to integrate math and art. Last week students used a stem stitch to hand sew their quilt blocks.  Stay tuned for photos and reports from your children. This completed quilt will be displayed at Art Night on May 3rd. Once again, thank you to my two volunteers that are making this all happen!

Also, coming up this week, is a Reading Marathon.  This will take place Friday, March 23rd. Students may wear pajamas and bring their favorite cozies.  Students will need to have shoes with them to wear out to recess and to put on for bathroom breaks :) Please encourage students to bring favorite books to share.

We leave for camp the week after Spring Vacation. We will be heading to camp on Wednesday morning, April 4th, soon after the second bell.  Students should arrive at regular time. Don’t be late!! All clothing, bedding, and equipment should be in labeled bags.  These labels should include your child’s full name, school, and teacher. (example--Lily Roberts-Lewis- Nat) I would suggest using masking tape and a permanent marker in case it gets wet. We will return from camp on Friday, April 6th at approximately 1:30pm.  Students may be picked up at this time or they can wait inside of the classroom until 3:00pm.

Please make sure you review the supply list and let me know if there is anything you need.  Students should pack a variety of clothing because the weather may be warm and/or rainy. I recommend bringing multiple pairs of socks and other clothing that may get wet.  Don’t forget that students are not allowed to bring any type of digital device, not even for the bus ride. Please make sure they leave all devices at home so we don’t have to take them away. 

I will send home another copy of the ‘Clothing and Equipment List’ on Friday so you have plenty of time to pack over break.  *We are hoping to collect all camp tuition by Spring Break so please send that in when you can. Checks should be made out to Lewis Elementary and feel free to use SchoolPay if that’s easier. Have a fabulous Spring Break and I’ll see you in April!

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday! I think I speak for everyone when I say we are all excited about the upcoming break! It has been a really busy time and everyone seems like they are tired. We had a meaningful gathering and march for Peach and Kindness last Wednesday. It filled my heart to see the sentiments on posters, listen to the children sang, and witness the beautiful poems! The drama performance was amazing! Tori Paddleford does such tremendous work with the kids and everyone shined! This week we are wrapping up loose ends. We are finishing up our opinion pieces, some of which will be mailed to our president, or delivered first hand to our representatives in Washington D.C. next week! In math we are working on multiplying fractions. We will finish our fraction unit with diving fractions, which we will learn right after break! We are also wrapping up our work with non-fiction this week. We will be ready to start fresh after break! Speaking of after break, we are heading to camp when we get back. I still have a handful of families who need to get their camp payment turned in. Please either send in a check, or use SchoolPay to take care of that right away. Keep an eye out for packing sheets to come home. Please remember to mark all items with your child's name and do NOT overpack. Space on the bus is limited. We are only gone for 2 nights! Permission slips for our upcoming trip the the Portland Youth Philharmonic were due today. If you have not yet returned that, please do so right away, also! This coming Friday we will be having a 5th grade Readathon in our rooms! We will spend the day immersed in books and reading. Kids are welcome to wear their jammies! If they would like to bring one small pillow, or a blanket, they are welcome to do that, as well. They will go outside for break and recess, so they need to have appropriate shoes! Finally, 5th Grade will delay the science portion of Statewide Testing until after we return from science camp. If you are planning to opt out your child for testing, those forms should be returned before testing begins, if possible. You can either download a form through the PPS website, or pick one up from the office. I wish you all a wonderful break. I hope the sun shines, you get some time to play and make some wonderful family memories!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

Last week our class designed and made beautiful signs for Lewis School’s “March for Peace and Kindness” On March 14th we had an assembly and students followed Miss Glasgow’s lead to do sound effects that simulated a rainstorm. Then Mr. Colvin lead a sing-along of “Building Bridges”. After that, classes brought their signs outside and we chanted and marched around the field with families. When we returned to Room 7, we had a snack and a chat about it. During Share Time this week, each student is performing a puppet show of their fairy tale. For Math, we are finishing a unit on fractions and also doing some work with reading time and determining elapsed time.

For “Our Changing Weather” unit, each student is writing about his or her favorite kind of weather and what they like to do in it. Final drafts will be typed up on their Chromebooks and shared with the class. For Reading, leveled groups are working on Reading A-Z books and literacy packets about weather and climate. For Science, we have been graphing the high and low temperatures and the type of weather each day. We also have a new rain gauge that we set up outside of our window, and shouldn’t have to wait much longer to get enough rain to measure! For Art, we are going to do a “Signs of Spring” project that will be on display on the bulletin board at the end of the hallway in April. Last Monday, Miss Kathleen took groups of students to go observe the sprouting flower bulbs they planted last month, and the cilantro and spinach they planted last week.

Music News from Mr. Jamesbarry

I first want to acknowledge the wonderful 4th and 5th graders who had a part in this year’s play.

Their work was exceptional and inspiring. Over the four performances Wednesday through Saturday one could not help but notice the growth and confidence from each of these fine young artist. I was lucky enough to work directly with the musicians who learned nine pieces for this show and played them all with great musicianship. Congratulations to all.

We have 2 more days until Spring Break. And this week all before and after school music groups return to their regular rehearsal schedule. Band members will meet either Tuesday or Thursday at 3:00 PM. 3rd Grade Recorder Club will meet at 8:00 AM on Thursday. And the Boomin’ Beats will meet at 3:00 PM on Friday.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               

March 14, 2018            

Upcoming Dates:
Mar 14- Lewis Dines Out- Laurelwood Public House
Mar 15 & 16 - Drama Production, 6:30pm
Mar 17- Drama Production 3:00pm
Mar 21- Late Start- Crazy Hair Day
Mar 22- Bonus Bottle Drop Collection 8:45am
Mar 26-30- Spring Break

* Talent Show Permission Slips Due Tomorrow 3/15

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Door Opening and Closing Schedule:
All doors except the door to the back parking lot are open in the morning from 8:30-8:45am, and 2:55-3:15pm.
The door by the back parking lot is only open at dismissal time from 2:55-3:15pm.  The YMCA door is now the door to the playground between the gym and the cafeteria.  The front door is the only door open during school hours.  It is open from 7am-430pm, and visitors must check in at the office.
 

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Wow! I feel humbled and inspired by this morning's March for Peace and Kindness. What an amazing display of community, creativity, and student leadership! And, what a powerful message of peace, kindness, and hope! Thank you to all of our staff members and family members who supported our students' preparations for today and came out to join the march. For those of you who were not able to make it, you can view pictures of the assembly and the march at this link and on our Lewis Facebook and Twitter feeds. I'm proud to be a part of such a vibrant and caring community!

Talent Show Permission Slips Due Thursday!
The Talent Show is coming! Now is your chance to be a part of this great event. If you want to sign up, you need to pick up a permission slip in the office and have it returned by Thursday, March 15th! Each participant needs to turn in a signed permission slip. This year there are a couple of changes. Participants are welcome to be in one act only! Also, if you are in a group act, please submit your applications together, stapled.  Try-outs will be held, Wednesday, March 21st from 3:15-5:00. So grab your friends, dust of those dance shoes, tune your instrument, or warm up your singing voice and join in the fun! Try-out and rehearsals will be in the cafeteria! Finally, the talent show could not happen without the help of our parents! If you are available to help, please drop me an email, or stop by and let me know! I promise it is easy! I will absolutely need one parent to greet students as they arrive and get them signed in, as I won't be able to be there until a few minutes after 3:00!
If you have questions, please contact Sarah Kohn@ skohn@pps.net

Lewis Drama Production presents…
WRITTEN IN STONE
THREE SHORT WORKS

- OR -

THREE STORIES IN WHICH
STONES ARE CARVED, BOILED,
CLIMBED OVER, SHIMMIED
AROUND, DESPISED, LOVED
DREAMED ABOUT, AND
LISTENED TO

Ticket Prices:

Adult: $5

Children under 12: $2

March 15th @ 6:30 pm

March 16th @ 6:30 pm

March 17th Saturday Matinee @ 3:00 pm

Follow the link below to purchase tickets.  Seating limited to 175 seats per production.

https://pps.schoolpay.com/parent/mip/Mc62

**Please Note: Online ticket sales close 3 hours before curtain time

We want all that wish to see the production to attend.  Please see Tracy in the school office if the cost of show tickets would present a financial hardship.

Music and Tech Notes from Mr. J
There are some big changes this week to the before and after school music classes. There will be no 5th grade Band either Tuesday 3/14, or Thursday 3/16. Also there will be no 3rd Grade Recorder Club before school on Thursday 3/16. Finally, Boomin’ Beats will not meet after school Friday 3/17. “Why?”, you might ask. Well, the Lewis school play is in production week starting Monday. This means I’m in production week too, as I’m heading up the play’s orchestra. If you have time, please come out to see the great work these Lewis 4th and 5th graders are doing. They will give 3 performances. Thursday 3/16 and Friday 3/17 at 6:30PM. And a final show on Saturday 3/18 at 3:00 PM. You can get tickets online through School Pay. Hope to see you there. Here is the link- https://pps.schoolpay.com/parent/mip/Mc62


Pre Garden Fair Plant Sale
Order forms are went home last week for our pre-order plant sale.  Plant orders are due on March 20.  View plant selection at www.newleafgreenhouse.com.
 

Lost and Found & Clothes Closet
Please check the lost and found, there are a lot of jackets hanging up right now.  We also could use some help taking lost jackets down to the rack and hanging them up each week.  If you can help us out, please see Tracy or Kathleen in the office.  Lewis also keeps an assortment of clothes in a closet for kids who need a change of clothes.  If you can help us with organizing that closet, we could use your help.
 

Donations to the Oregon Food Bank will continue to be collected on Drama Production Nights this week!
Lewis is once again hosting Project Second Wind, the Oregon Food Bank’s annual food and fund drive.  Please consider bringing a donation of food or funds (checks made payable to The Oregon Food Bank) to the collection box on production night.
 

Staff Appreciation Dessert Extravaganza
The PTA is changing up staff appreciation this year. Rather than one intense week of celebration, we're celebrating on days throughout the year.
Thursday, March 22nd is the dessert extravaganza, when we shower the staff with love through chocolate (and other sweet treats). Bring in a dessert for the staff to enjoy throughout the day. Please include a note with any common food allergens in your treat.  Thanks!  Ellen

Come join the Lewis PTA Board!
PTA Board elections are coming up April 10th and we are looking for a few good people who want to support and guide the great programs our PTA sponsors.  From funding arts and technology in the classrooms to fun community events, this is a wonderful way to make a difference for all the kids at Lewis!

In particular we are looking for a PTA President or two CoPresidents, a Fundraising CoCoordinator and a CoTreasurer, although all positions are open to those interested.  For more information about Board position descriptions and frequently asked questions, please go to the PTA website at

https://www.lewispta.org/current-leadership for the FAQs and to

https://www.lewispta.org/nominations-for-leadership for the position descriptions.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please contact Derica Waller at Dericawaller@gmail.com or come to the March 13th General PTA Meeting.  We'd love to see you there!

SCREENAGERS DOCUMENTARY -GROWING UP IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Thursday, March 15th - 7pm Sellwood Middle School Gym

The Sellwood Middle School PTA is very excited to bring the movie Screenagers to our community. SCREENAGERS is an award-winning documentary that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts messy struggles, over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through surprising insights from authors and brain scientists solutions emerge on how we can empower kids to best navigate the digital world.

The cost to attend will be $5 per adult and FREE for children. Please pass this along to any family and friends that you think would be interested. We are inviting the whole community to join us.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the movie please follow this link:  https://impactflow.com/event/presented-by-sellwood-middle-school-pta-6902

Spring Spanish Classes- 
Spring term Spanish begins April 4th.  K-1st Grade classes are held in the mornings before school on Wednesdays and Fridays,  2-5th grade classes are held after school on Tuesdays.  More information available in flyers found in the office literature rack.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...
March 14, 2018

Notes from Ms. Allen – Kindergarten

Happy Wednesday! Today we had our March for Peace & Kindness; It was absolutely beautiful and powerful. I have lots of pictures in case you were not able to attend.

Literacy: Reading and writing workshops are going well, it is has been nice seeing the kindergartners grow so much academically.

Science: I forgot to mention that the Tree Lady visited our classroom on March 1st.  Your child participated in a Talk About Trees program and made paper.  Everyone should have brought home their very own handcrafted paper. We are in the beginning stages of working on our Animal research project. This has been very exciting for all of us. It has been fun seeing your child do their own research. Please ask your child what animal are they researching.

Math:  We will continue working on a variety of math skills. During calendar for the month of March, we will continue to identify pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters by name and worth. We will also describe and extend simple growing patterns, and identify ordinal positions through the 31st. 

Reminders: On April the 20th we will be going to the Very Hungry Caterpillar show. We sent home permission slips last Friday, please return them back at your earliest convenience.  Also, please continue to send your child to school with a full water bottle from home each day. Don’t forget that spring break is the week of March the 26th.

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

Thank you to all the dedicated volunteers and participants who made Saturday’s school auction such a success! There are so many components that go into making this type of event possible. The teachers and students at Lewis truly benefit from your efforts, and we are grateful for the tremendous support.

Last Friday, we finished up two weeks of bear study. The final booklets were filled with charming drawings of eight kinds of bears! The final page was reserved for writing and illustrating a new bit of information learned during our unit. One thing that really stuck is that a polar bear can stand 11 feet tall, while the sun bear is only the size of a large dog.

In Literacy, March Reading Partners have been sharing new sets of books. In individual book tubs, students now have a higher level of reading material. It is so exciting to listen to conversations about books, and hear them helping one another to figure out tricky words. When your child stumbles over a word and reads it incorrectly, one question to ask is, “Does that make sense?” Reading has to make sense. I am just amazed at the amount of independent reading that is going on in Room 4. Confidence is booming and the excitement is contagious!

On Monday and Tuesday, students at Lewis created personal signs for today’s school-wide walk. We talked about what the ideas of peace and love mean to each of us. Then we made our signs to be bold and easy to understand during a march. After a whole-school assembly this morning, we paired up with our Reading Buddies and walked around Lewis. I have been at Lewis since 2001, and there has never been an experience like this before. It will be a powerful moment for all.

Later in the afternoon, we once again met in the cafeteria for a school performance of the annual drama production. We have quite a few kindergarteners with a flair for the dramatic, so I expect to be seeing them on stage in several years!

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!
 

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

In Reading Workshop this week we went book shopping.  The students filled their book tubs with just right books in preparation for a new reading unit.  Our new reading unit is called, Becoming Avid Readers. The goal of this unit is for the students to continue developing their interest and enthusiasm for reading so that reading becomes a lifelong love that extends beyond our school walls.  Yesterday we began by exploring the question, “What is an avid reader?”. Avid readers read a lot, find places everywhere to read, keep stacks of books waiting and more! Right away I saw students diving into their new books with some barely even looking up when I rang the bell to clean! It is so fun to see their excitement about reading grow! 

In Writing Workshop I have noticed students writing more and more.  I love seeing how excited they are to get their Writing Folders out and continue a story they were working on the day before.  Students are allowed to use the student stapler to put together books they’ve created. We are working on reading our work and putting the pages in the correct order before stapling pages together.  Our classroom is filled with creative authors!

In math we are working on coin value.  Both our calendar pieces and math games are centered around learning the coin names and values.  As an extra challenge can your student begin to add coins together?

Yesterday we made signs for our March for Peace & Kindness.  It was heartwarming to see the messages and symbols they chose to add to their signs.

Reminder:  Field trip form went home on Monday.  Our field trip isn’t until April 20th, but please try to return the forms and money ASAP.  We only have tickets for 5 parents per class so I took the first 5 to turn in their form.

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

We had so much fun celebrating Read Across America day last week. The kids have really become so independent at Readers Workshop. We also got to spend time with our buddy class and get to hear their presentations about weather. Wednesday is our march for Peace and Kindness. It was so much fun making our signs and really thinking about what makes a kind and peaceful community.  We are also getting an opportunity see a short of the Lewis School play. We are really looking forward to seeing the production and seeing some of our buddies and siblings in the play.
This week we are finishing up our unit about the Work of Water. We are so excited... Peyton's dad is coming to do a presentation/lesson on bridges as the culmination of the unit. We will get to build bridges with toothpicks. Stay tuned on the blog for photos.
In math we are starting a unit with a focus on Penguins. There will be many fun math activities based around penguins. We will be making folders to hold all of the work we will be doing. We will be creating our own tape measures and passports for our adventures.

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

I am surprised to see it is already the middle of March 2018! Signs of Spring are beginning to find their way through the chilly mornings and up through the soil. Among the welcomed signs are pussy willow buds, bulbs blooming, primroses and Chester, our classroom guinea pig, now able to go outside to nibble on the sweet green grass with our help during recess. Our art focus this week is capturing some of our favorite things on large black canvases with boarders like those seen in the art of local author Nancy Coffelt’s book, Dogs in Space and Tar Beach Author, Faith Ringgold. We are starting our "Pebbles, Sand and Silt" science unit and our new math unit on penguins, (lots of measurement!). We will “travel" together to the Antarctica, and other penguin friendly places, learning about the penguins that inhabit it with mock passports, poems and data to inform our studies. In writing workshop we continue creating different adventures for our characters in a series and in reading, focus is on series written by different authors. Thank you for all the non- perishable food items you are able to donate to help with the food drive and thank you to our volunteers for your consistency and kindness:) Also, for your continued support on reading daily with your child! It is so apparent and a huge factor in the progress I see daily in the classroom.

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

On Wednesday we will be participating in the all school Lewis March for Peace and Kindness. To support this movement we have been reading books about friendship. We have been talking about the importance of kindness and understanding that everyone has something in common with others on which we can build friendships. On Tuesday we made signs with our favorite words of kindness to hold during our march. We are all looking forward to being a part of this historic day!

As for the rest of our week:

We are wrapping up our realistic fiction units in reading and writing this week. We will be putting the finishing touches on our favorite stories this week and sharing them with our Buddy class on Friday. The class has written some super fun stories and they are excited to share.

In reading we continue our work looking for fortunes, lessons, morals, and messages in our stories. We are sharing the lessons we find with others by putting fortunes into books to be found by others. It’ always a special treat to find one!

In math, we are starting a new unit called Penguins: Measuring, Sorting, Computation, and More. We will be learning about several kinds of penguins through comparing and contrasting, measuring, and lots of new math games.

Finally, our new science unit Pebbles, Sand, Silt has been a big hit. We have been looking closely at rocks through hand lenses, describing rock, and looking at what happens when we rub them together.  Cheers! Ms. Sarah


Notes from Ms. Murphy - 2nd Grade

We have come a long way together since I came back three weeks ago!  The students are becoming masters at our classroom routines, procedures and jobs.  Please remember to empty out folders every evening and then return them in the morning.  Please follow our class on Twitter! @MurphyRoom5

Writing:  We are very busy working hard on our nonfiction writing unit.  Last week we started using very descriptive words to help the audience picture what we are trying to teach them by using adjectives and comparisons.  This week we are focusing on editing and fixing misspelled words. Students are encouraged to reread their work and circle words that they are not sure about. Then they will use a variety of strategies to find the spelling!  One of our tools is called “Have-A-Go”. This encourages students to use a variety of spelling strategies and vowel combinations. Please ask your child what “Have-A-Go” is! Feel free to request a “Have-A-Go” to use at home too if it sounds appealing.  We are also correcting flipped letters. PLEASE encourage this at home too!

Math: All 6 of out Math Work Places are out and the students are busy working on completing all of them.  We have learned what area means and using a variety of tools to measure area; such as triangles, squares and other shapes.  Later this week we will learn more about the different types of triangles and how to describe them using mathematical language.

Reading:  Students have worked hard on organizing our class library and are learning how to keep it organized and where books go when they are done.  Our library consists of leveled books, books of various genres and many chapter book series. Please reach out to me if you would like ideas for reading at home or would like to know what particular books your child is reading independently. 

Science:  Last week our focus was the water cycle.  We learned key vocabulary such as; evaporation, precipitation, condensation and water vapor.  The students each made a diagram of the water cycle and then shared it with our kindergarten buddies.  This week we have started talking about wind and the Beaufordt Scale and how to categorize wind. We will then talk about various types of clouds and end our study on different types of Wild Weather.

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

These past weeks we have been working on the Study of shapes.  Exploring Shapes and Number is a unit on geometry.  Children are using geoblocks, pattern blocks, and geoboards to investigate 2-and 3- dimensional shapes, symmetry, fractions, and area.  First, we looked at the attributes of geoblocks. We sorted the blocks into rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, cubes, and pyramids.  We described shapes by their characteristics and properties when we talked about their faces, edges, and corners or vertices. Students had a chance to combine blocks to create a larger shape. They discovered there were over 20 ways to combine blocks to make the "R" shaped rectangular prism. They also learned there were only 1-2 ways to make some of the triangular prisms.  We used pattern blocks to talk about the area of a shape. We saw that there are 6 triangles in a hexagon shape, 3 triangles in a trapezoid shape, and 2 triangles in a parallelogram.  When we created a picture using a variety of shapes, we all had a consistent way to talk about the area of the shape by figuring out how many triangles were in the shape.

In Art, we learned about the work of Paul Cezanne. We read his biography and talked about how he was famous for his 'still life' compositions.  Last week, we worked with parent Gina to draw our still life shapes. This week, we learned how to add value to our art using oil pastels. Gina showed us how to add white to one side for the light source and black to the opposite side. Then she showed us how to fill in the middle with a red, blue, or green pastel before blending that color across both the white and black. Next week, we will use what we learned about value to color our still lives.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Newsletter               
March 8, 2018              

Upcoming Dates:

Mar 7-  Coffee Talk with Emily 845am
Mar 10- Lewis PTA Lucky Luau
Mar 13- Connect to Kindergarten 530pm
             PTA   Meeting 630pm
Mar 14- Lewis Dines Out- Laurelwood Public House
Mar 15 & 16- Drama Production, 630pm
Mar 17- Drama Production 3pm
Mar 21- Late Start- Lewis 

Message from Ms. Glasgow

Hello Lewis families. This week, I have three invitations to offer you:

Classified Appreciation: This week is Classified and Non-Represented Appreciation Week. This is a time set aside in the busy year to give appreciation to our secretaries, classroom assistants and paraprofessionals, custodians, transportation workers, and nutrition service workers. I invite you to join me in stopping to acknowledge the many amazing classified employees who love, support, and care for our students every day!

PTA Auction: This Saturday evening, our PTA is hosting its first (in a long time) auction--The Lucky Luau & Silent Auction. Tickets can be purchased on-line. I invite you to join us in a night of fun and celebration in support of Lewis students!

March for Peace and Kindness: As many of you know, March 14 has been highlighted as a day for students and educators across the nation to honor the lives lost in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. Our staff--like staffs across the country--has come together to plan a developmentally-appropriate community event to join in the national movement. On March 14, we will be holding a community-wide March for Peace and Kindness. Prior to March 14, students will be talking about peace, kindness, and personal hopes for our school and the world. They will be making signs reflecting their hopes to be used in our march. Primary classrooms will keep a focus on broad themes of community, inclusion, and kindness. Upper grade classrooms may bring in age-appropriate information about Parkland, Florida, and the tragedies inspiring this movement. On March 14, students will come together for a morning assembly in which upper grade students will share their hopes and we will join together in song. Then, at 10:00 am, students will walk with their buddy classes out of the building and join in a community march around the school. I invite families to join us on our march at 10:00 am. If you'd like to join the march, you can meet your child's class near the basketball courts as they exit the building and head out around the school. Students and adults are encouraged to wear their Lewis t-shirts/Run for the Arts t-shirts to demonstrate solidarity as a community. We hope you’ll come be a part of the movement!!

Lewis Lucky Luau

Tickets are on sale now! Tickets are $10 each or 2 for $15 if purchased in advance. The Moose Lodge has a maximum capacity of 100 people so don't wait to buy your tickets or you may miss out. Visit https://www.lewispta.org/copy-of-lucky-luau-2018 to purchase yours today! Tracy also has tickets available for sale in the office. Each ticket includes snacks, soft beverages, and your first raffle ticket. We have an amazing assortment of silent auction items including summer camps, event tickets, home services, restaurant gift cards and more. Don't miss this chance for an adults-only night out with friends in support of our favorite school!

"As of 3/7/18, there are only 40 tickets remaining for this event! Please buy yours today if you plan to join us!"

We are also still looking for volunteers to help with this event. Click here to learn more and sign up for a shift! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4cafa72ca3ff2-thelewis

March Milk Carton Recyclers Needed-

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E094CACAB28A31-march2

BottleDrop collected 31 bags of recyclable containers last week, which made over $150 for Lewis PTA! Thanks to Sue who jumped in to bring a car full to drop off when we filled the first 2 cars, we made it all in one trip.  This program has made over $800 since we started in the fall and it’s picking up speed. Grab a blue bag in the office, add ALL drink containers that are marked with OR $10c Deposit, mix glass, plastic and cans in one bag, and bring these to Lewis on the first Thursday of every month. The recycling team very much appreciates when the bags are dry and properly filled with beverage containers only!

Check out BottleDropCenters.com for a list of everything with Oregon deposit. You can also drop off your blue bags yourself at any Bottle Drop location, including one just 2 miles from Lewis at Linwood & King in Milwaukie. 

Lewis Drama Production presents…

WRITTEN IN STONE
THREE SHORT WORKS
- OR -
THREE STORIES IN WHICH
STONES ARE CARVED, BOILED,
CLIMBED OVER, SHIMMIED
AROUND, DESPISED, LOVED
DREAMED ABOUT, AND
LISTENED TO
Ticket Prices:
Adult: $5
Children under 12: $2

March 15th @ 6:30 pm

March 16th @ 6:30 pm

March 17th Saturday Matinee @ 3:00 pm

Follow the link below to purchase tickets.  Seating limited to 175 seats per production.

https://pps.schoolpay.com/parent/mip/Mc62

** ONLINE TICKET SALES WILL CLOSE 3 HOURS BEFORE EACH CURTAIN TIME 

We want all that wish to see the production to attend.  Please see Tracy in the school office if the cost of show tickets would present a financial hardship.

Pre-Garden Fair Plant Sale
Order forms are going home this week for our pre-order plant sale.  Plant orders are due on March 20.  View plant selection at www.newleafgreenhouse.com.

Lost and Found & Clothes Closet
Please check the lost and found, there are a lot of jackets hanging up right now.  We also could use some help taking lost jackets down to the rack and hanging them up each week.  If you can help us out, please see Tracy or Kathleen in the office.  Lewis also keeps an assortment of clothes in a closet for kids who need a change of clothes.  If you can help us with organizing that closet, we could use your help.

Spoon and Fork Drive
We need your extra, random forks and spoons for our students at lunch time.
If you have any, please drop them off in the box in the school office. Thank you!

Donations to the Oregon Food Bank are being collected at the school from March 5th – 9th AND on production nights

Lewis is once again hosting Project Second Wind, the Oregon Food Bank’s annual food and fund drive.  Please consider bringing a donation of food or funds (checks made payable to The Oregon Food Bank) to the collection box on production night.

Please consider donating healthy, low fat and low sugar products from this list of most wanted foods.
·         canned meats (i.e., tuna, chicken, salmon)
·         canned and boxed meals (i.e., soup, chili, stew,  macaroni and cheese)
·         peanut butter and other nut butters
·         canned or dried beans and peas (i.e., black, pinto, lentils)
·         pasta, rice, and cereal
·         canned fruits and vegetables
·         100 percent fruit or vegetable juice (canned, plastic or boxed)
·         cooking oil
·         shelf stable milk

Please no glass, unlabeled, perishable, homemade, or open items, and no soda.
Fund donations checks made out to Oregon Food Bank will also be collected in the school's office.

Connect to Kindergarten

We have rescheduled our Connect to Kindergarten event that was cancelled on February 20th due to poor weather conditions. The new date is:

Tuesday, March 13th at 5:30 pm

After this event, our monthly PTA Meeting will start at 6:30 and you are welcome to stay for that.
After the informational kindergarten meeting, tours of our school will be provided.

Please note that your attendance at our Connect to Kindergarten is not mandatory to enroll your child for the 2018-2019 school year.  Registration packets are available in our school office.  Office hours are 8:00am – 4:30pm.

Childcare will NOT be available during the Connect to Kindergarten event, but children are welcome.  If you would like to stay for the PTA Meeting, there will be free childcare provided.

Please contact the school office if you have any questions.  Thank you

Come join the Lewis PTA Board!

PTA Board elections are coming up April 10th and we are looking for a few good people who want to support and guide the great programs our PTA sponsors.  From funding arts and technology in the classrooms to fun community events, this is a wonderful way to make a difference for all the kids at Lewis!

In particular we are looking for a PTA President or two CoPresidents, a Fundraising CoCoordinator and a CoTreasurer, although all positions are open to those interested.  For more information about Board position descriptions and frequently asked questions, please go to the PTA website at

https://www.lewispta.org/current-leadership for the FAQs and to

https://www.lewispta.org/nominations-for-leadership for the position descriptions.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please contact Derica Waller at Dericawaller@gmail.com or come to the March 13th General PTA Meeting.  We'd love to see you there!

See's Candy - Easter chocolate orders due March 12

See's Easter chocolate sale!  There are FIVE styles available for either $5 or $6 each.  Lewis earns 20% profit back on all orders!  Please return the attached completed order form with payment to the school office by office close on Monday, March 12 and the orders will be ready for pick up on Thursday, March 22. Questions?  Contact Genevieve Benner at  vivapalmer@yahoo.com
See's Easter Order Form 

BOX TOP COLLECTION UPDATE

If you recall, the classroom that collects the most Box Tops will receive a popcorn party at the end of the year!  The current top three are:  Ms. Dana at 511 (wow!), Ms. Cyndi at 491 (close race!) and Ms. Leake at 357 (just had a big surge!)  Keep your eyes peeled for Box Tops on items you have purchased, clip them and place them in an envelope or baggie with your child's teacher's name on the outside. Bring them to the collection box in the school office. If you like the "official" Box Top collection envelopes or using the Box Top collection sheets, extras are available in the office. Remember, each Box Top is worth 10¢ and they don’t need to be clipped perfectly... just make sure each one has the full label and expiration date.  Expired Box Tops don’t count toward our earnings.  Good luck and keep clipping!  Questions? Contact Box Tops Coordinator Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com

BottleDrop collected 31 bags of recyclable containers last week, which made over $150 for Lewis PTA! Thanks to Sue who jumped in to bring a car full to drop off when we filled the first 2 cars, we made it all in one trip.  This program has made over $800 since we started in the fall and it’s picking up speed. Grab a blue bag in the office, add ALL drink containers that are marked with OR $10c Deposit, mix glass, plastic and cans in one bag, and bring these to Lewis on the first Thursday of every month. The recycling team very much appreciates when the bags are dry and properly filled with beverage containers only!

Check out BottleDropCenters.com for a list of everything with Oregon deposit. You can also drop off your blue bags yourself at any Bottle Drop location, including one just 2 miles from Lewis at Linwood & King in Milwaukie. 

The Talent Show is coming!

Now is your chance to be a part of this great event. If you want to sign up, you need to pick up a permission slip in the office and have it returned by Thursday, March 15th! Each participant needs to turn in a signed permission slip. This year there are a couple of changes. Participants are welcome to be in one act only! Also, if you are in a group act, please submit your applications together, stapled.  Try-outs will be held, Wednesday, March 21st from 3:15-5:00. So grab your friends, dust of those dance shoes, tune your instrument, or warm up your singing voice and join in the fun! Try-out and rehearsals will be in the cafeteria! Finally, the talent show could not happen without the help of our parents! If you are available to help, please drop me an email, or stop by and let me know! I promise it is easy! I will absolutely need one parent to greet students as they arrive and get them signed in, as I won't be able to be there until a few minutes after 3:00!

If you have questions, please contact Sarah Kohn@ skohn@pps.net

SCREENAGERS DOCUMENTARY -GROWING UP IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Thursday, March 15th - 7pm Sellwood Middle School Gym

The Sellwood Middle School PTA is very excited to bring the movie Screenagers to our community. SCREENAGERS is an award-winning documentary that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts messy struggles, over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through surprising insights from authors and brain scientists solutions emerge on how we can empower kids to best navigate the digital world.

The cost to attend will be $5 per adult and FREE for children. Please pass this along to any family and friends that you think would be interested. We are inviting the whole community to join us.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the movie please follow this link:  https://impactflow.com/event/presented-by-sellwood-middle-school-pta-6902

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

News and information from our classrooms...

March 8, 2018

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

March is off to an exceptional start in room 16!
What are we up to?

Reading: We are continuing Reading to Learn, our nonfiction unit. Students have been working on analyzing the text for the author’s perspective, and then talking back to that perspective.

Writing: We are continuing The Art of Informational Writing. Students have been researching their topics and trying out different structures like cause/effect, pro/con, problem/solution, and compare/contrast  in their writing

Social Studies: Our Portland unit continues. We’ve studied Portland’s boom up to 1900. Soon we'll be learning about Vanport!

Math: 2nd graders are finishing up Unit 4 which focuses on Geometry. Next they will begin Unit 5 which focuses on money and multi-digit addition and subtraction. 3rd graders are focusing on multiplication and division strategies.

Science: We are continuing our Changes unit where we will explore the scientific concepts behind changes we see everyday. We’ve been discussing states of matter and experimenting with different solids and liquids.

Reminders

Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a sign up sheet posted by our classroom door.
I’m sending home a daily compliment to one family via email or Remind. Look out for one coming your way!

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

In Reading, we continue to work on our Mystery unit.  The kids have been honing their comprehension skills as they power through our large collection of mysteries.  Up to this point, our comprehension work has really focused on understanding the individual mysteries we’re reading: identifying the suspects, clues, and solutions — and trying to solve the mystery BEFORE the detective does! 

This week we started to broaden the work by shifting our focus to the larger genre of mystery.  We read and analyzed a number of shorter mysteries as we set out to test our theories and identify the patterns and common elements that occur across most mystery stories.  The end result was a powerful list of characteristics that will raise the level of our reading.  As kids develop knowledge of how a particular genre works, they sharpen their awareness of the nuances that deepen their understanding of all fiction.  Educator Lucy Calkins puts it best: “Ultimately, the expert mystery reader is an expert reader of fiction itself, which is a goal we want for all students.”

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

The kids and I were amazed when we looked at the March calendar this week and realized that we really only have about three months left of school. We have a lot to pack into those three months. We’ve had several talks this week about being almost 4th graders and that I expected to see them doing their best everyday...showing me they were ready. Here is what we are working on:

Social Studies: Our Portland unit is in full swing. One of the favorite activities so far has been the journal writing they have done as if they are a Native American child in the early 1800’s of what is now Portland and then as a pioneer child in the 1850’s. I am very excited to be piloting, with the other third grade teachers, a unit on Vanport, which we will start after we get through “Portland - the Early Years.”

Writing: Students have been working hard to organize their nonfiction pieces, with the help of their peers. They are checking to be sure that each topic sentence is followed by details that support that idea/fact. It has been tough for many of them, but I’m very proud of their perseverance.

Reading: We have shifted our nonfiction focus away from expository texts to that of narrative nonfiction, specifically biographies. Students have really enjoyed reading about different people of notoriety. One student came up at the end of reading last week and said, “Yesterday I had never even heard of this woman, and now she’s someone that really inspires me.” I’m excited to discuss more inspiring women with the group on Thursday (more below.) It’s also has allowed us to talk about how one person, or one small act can have a huge impact. This is a great way for them to see themselves as changemakers.

International Women’s Day is this Thursday and we will be spending the day celebrating women. We will be reading, writing about, and discussing the accomplishments of the famous as well as the unsung heroes. It was a powerful day last year, which the kiddos really enjoyed. Students will be sharing the interviews they did with an important woman in their life and doing a related art project. Thank you for helping them get it in by tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, March 14th: Please be sure to read Ms. Glasgow’s note in today’s newsletter about an all school activity we will be participating in next Wednesday morning. We would love to have families join us if you are able.

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

This week we are wrapping up a math unit, starting a new writing unit, and beginning a second study of a natural disaster topic.

In math, we have completed Unit 3 on fractions and division.  Students will be taking the post-assessment on Wednesday and I am looking forward to seeing their growth.  Next, we will do a mini-unit on conversions before heading into Unit 4 which covers new aspects of geometry and measurement.

In writing, we just launched a new persuasive writing unit.  Students learned to turn a personal opinion statement into a persuasive argument and will work to give evidence and personal stories to back up their claim.

In literacy, our research teams are launching into a comparative study of a different natural disaster topic.  This time around, students are thinking about how their second topic is similar to or different from their first topic and use that as a jumping off point to build greater understanding.

Last week in social studies, we watched a video about Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery.  We took notes on the wide array challenges the Corps faced as they traveled from St. Louis, Missouri to the Pacific Ocean.  Some student takeaways were: "They would have been super strong when they made it back!" and "I can't believe more people didn't die along the way."  This week, our class will learn about the Oregon Trail and the trials and tribulations that arose when traveling with a family across the U.S. in the 1800's.

This week is also Project Second Wind Food and Fund Drive at Lewis.  There is a box outside of our room where you can drop off canned goods and shelf-stable foods.  Please help our school make a difference!

Take care, Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

As we roll into March, we are as busy as ever in Room 22.  Here's what is going on:

Math:  Students will be taking their Unit 3 post-assessment on Wednesday.  They will show their knowledge of different fractions models and how to divide up the remainder in a division story problem.

Reading:  Students completed their research posters about extreme weather and landforms last week.  Their projects are hanging up in the hall outside our classroom, come check them out!    This week, students are working on researching their second topic.

Writing:  On Thursday, students finished their 5-paragraph essay writing samples.  On Monday, we began our new unit on writing a persuasive essay.  We will be practicing writing a strong, persuasive thesis statement.

Social Studies: The last two weeks have been a mini-unit on Westward Expansion.  Students have been watching National Geographic and NPR videos on Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail and taking notes about their learning.

Thursday is International Women's Day.  We will spend the day learning about female activists, celebrating women, and talking about gender inequalities that still exist.  We think it is important to both learn about the past and learn about young women who are challenging the status quo today.  Thank you for helping your interview a woman that is important in their life.  Students will be sharing their interviews and doing a related art projects on Thursday as well.  You are welcome to pop in and join us at any time that day!

On Friday, Ms. Elissa and I won't be at school as we have been asked to present the work we have been doing around social studies and social justice to current graduate students at Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling.  We hate being away from our students but are excited about the opportunity to share with new teachers ways to integrate social studies and social justice into their classrooms.

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Greetings!  Standardized state testing is on the horizon. These tests, called the Smarter Balanced tests, are very different from the former OAKS tests in their size and scope. A state testing opt-out form (bit.ly/SBAC-OPT-OUT) is available in the Lewis office. If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to the Lewis office before actual testing begins. Lewis plans to schedule tests to begin in late March and run into May. The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask.

We have had another busy and productive week in room 20. Project Second Wind Food and Fund Drive to benefit Oregon Food Bank continues through Friday. Team 20’s colored pencil and watercolor signs are next to every door in the school to get the word out as are posters that we made with our first grade buddies. Here is more information (bit.ly/PSW-2018), including a list of most wanted foods. I recently read an article titled Five Ways to Help Teens Think Beyond Themselves about helping kids find purpose in their lives and connect to something larger than themselves (bit.ly/team20-purpose). Our food drive, I think, is a good way to model empathy and for us to contribute as a team to our own community. Our Lewis Book Drive for Lewis’s Little Free Library and the Children’s Book Harvest for The Children’s Book Bank had similar functions, as did the Street Roots Vendor Drive that many classrooms throughout our school participated in during December.

Looking ahead, we will celebrate Women’s Day as a fourth and fifth grade on Thursday. Thank you for helping your kid complete their interview with an important woman in their life. We will share these interviews during our celebration and connect them with an art activity. During language workshop, we have been working on persuasive writing and learning to organize an argument. We began reading Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. Several Team 20 kids are in the upcoming school play, Written in Stone. Here’s more information about the production and tickets (bit.ly/written-in-stone). I am looking forward to seeing the Thursday performance.

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for photos and regular updates!  Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday! We are only a few weeks away from Spring Break and we are busy trying to complete several new units. We are currently drafting our argument essays in writing and will have those edited and published within the next two weeks. Ask your child about their topic because they all selected and researched interesting subjects. Some of the topics include; self-driving cars, banning the use of tobacco, school uniforms, the production of plastic, and making the school week shorter :)

In math, we are wrapping up our second fraction unit. Students are labeling base ten models with a fraction and then converting the fraction to a decimal or percentage. We are moving into fraction story problems at the end of this week so we can take the end of unit assessment next week.

The kids are excited because they selected a new read aloud novel, The Hatchet. We are doing read aloud every afternoon during art. We currently have two art projects going that will both be displayed at Art Night in May. Students are using watercolors to create a small series of Mandalas and they are beautiful. We are super excited for our newest project...a class quilt. I love to incorporate a sewing project every spring and we are very fortunate to have a master quilter joining us. Make sure you mark Art Night on your calendar because you won’t want to miss our display. Art Night is on Thursday, May 3rd.

Other updates… *Students need to bring their completed Women’s Rights Interview to school tomorrow. *We are hoping to collect all camp tuition by Spring Break so please send that in when you can. Checks should be made out to Lewis Elementary and feel free to use SchoolPay if that’s easier. *Don’t forget to clean out your pantry and pick up a few other canned goods to donate to Oregon Food Bank. We started accepting collections earlier this week.

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday and happy March! We are in a smooth groove in Room 23! Last week we met with our buddies in Room 10 and shared our writing and a bit of reading time. It is always such fun to spend time with our friends! We are continuing to have gardening once a week on Tuesdays. Please make sure your child dresses for the weather, as it is all over the place, and I want them to be comfortable. We are wrapping up our math unit on fractions, decimals and percents. We will have an assessment on that portion at the end of the week and then focus on multiplying and dividing fractions. In writing, students are continuing to work on their opinion pieces. Each student has chosen something they feel strongly about. I am excited to see how they turn out! We started our F.L.A.S.H. unit on Monday. We set our guidelines and discussed topics. Students will be bringing home homework assignments throughout the unit, so please check in with them. This is a wonderful opportunity to have conversations that aren't always easy in a structured way. As camp gets closer, please make arrangements to send in payment. That can be done either with a check, or via SchoolPay. I sent home an information sheet on how to use that service. If you need additional help, please contact Tracy in the office. Thanks for all you do to support what we do here at school and all you do to support your child at home. These are challenging days for your children, with all that has been happening in our country and they are carrying it around each day. Let me know if I can offer you support. I am here for you all.

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

Now that it’s nearly spring, we are starting a new Unique Learning unit called “Our Changing Weather”. In this unit, we are learning about the four seasons and different kinds of weather. We are starting by learning about the purpose of rain gauges and how they work. We will also do a round of Vocab Bingo this week to introduce some of the important vocabulary. For Reading, leveled groups will work on Reading A-Z books and literacy packets about weather and climate. For Math, we did some work last week with coordinate grids, and now we are focusing on fractions.

For Writing, students have been working hard on their fairy tales, and now they are typing them up, making final edits, and getting them ready to publish. For Art, students have painted watercolor settings and are making paper puppets of their characters. Then each student will perform a puppet show of their fairy tale. Miss Kathleen has been taking our class out to do gardening on Monday afternoons, and this week they planted cilantro and spinach!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School
Weekly Newsletter                  
February 21, 2018       

Happy Snow Day Everyone!!!!!

Upcoming Dates:

Feb 23- Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance 630pm
Mar 1- Bottle Drop pick up- 845am
Mar 2- Walk and Roll

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Hello families. Thank you for scrambling to get your students on time in response to this week's Early Release. I know how challenging it can be to make unexpected schedule changes. Your partnership allowed students and staff to get home safely. Hopefully, the weather will even out this week so we can continue on with everything else as scheduled. I am, in particular, looking forward to my first "Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance" this Friday night--another special Lewis tradition. Hope to see you there!
Emily

Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance
Friday, February 23, 6:30-8pm
Proceeds from the dance go toward bus transportation for the fifth grade science camp. Support a Lewis tradition and have a great time all in one evening.
Admission is a suggested donation of $2/person or $5/family. Pizza and other refreshments will be available for purchase.
Community events are run by volunteers. We need your help to make the event a success--volunteer for a short shift during the evening.
To sign up go to http://bit.ly/2BJixMe
For more information visit https://www.lewispta.org/lonesome-trio-dance-2018

PTA Community Events Survey
The PTA is beginning to plan community events for the 2018-19 school year and we need your help! As your PTA, one of our main goals is connecting Lewis community members to create a welcoming and thriving environment for all children. We want to make sure the events we plan are fun, relevant, and accessible to all.
This survey should take you 10 minutes or less to complete and we'll be sure to share the results in an upcoming newsletter. All responses are confidential. Please respond to the survey by February 27.

Take the survey at https://goo.gl/forms/8UZDAnem6gTq1sMv2

Project Second Wind, the Oregon Food Bank’s annual food and fund drive, will come to Lewis the week of March 5th through March 9th.
Each classroom will have a collection box. Fourth and fifth grade students will empty these boxes each day to record and box up each classroom’s collected food items. Please join Lewis and the Oregon Food Bank to provide a “second wind” of hunger relief after the holidays in our community.

Please consider donating healthy, low fat and low sugar products from this list of most wanted foods.
·         canned meats (i.e., tuna, chicken, salmon)
·         canned and boxed meals (i.e., soup, chili, stew, macaroni and cheese)
·         peanut butter and other nut butters
·         canned or dried beans and peas (i.e., black, pinto, lentils)
·         pasta, rice, and cereal
·         canned fruits and vegetables
·         100 percent fruit or vegetable juice (canned, plastic or boxed)
·         cooking oil
·         shelf stable milk
Please no glass, unlabeled, perishable, homemade, or open items, and no soda.
Fund donations checks made out to Oregon Food Bank will also be collected in the school's office.

Lewis Lucky Luau
Tickets are on sale now! Tickets are $10 each or 2 for $15 if purchased in advance. The Moose Lodge has a maximum capacity of 100 people so don't wait to buy your tickets or you may miss out. Visit https://www.lewispta.org/copy-of-lucky-luau-2018 to purchase yours today! Tracy also has tickets available for sale in the office. Each ticket includes snacks, soft beverages, and your first raffle ticket. We have an amazing assortment of silent auction items including summer camps, event tickets, home services, restaurant gift cards and more. Don't miss this chance for an adults-only night out with friends in support of our favorite school!

We are also still looking for volunteers to help with this event. Click here to learn more and sign up for a shift! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4cafa72ca3ff2-thelewis

2018 Smarter Balancing Testing:
If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Forms are available in the office.  Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing will begin in March.

Spring Youth Basketball
Registration is open now until February 22nd!  Calling all interested boys grades 3-8th, space is limited!  Please visit Cleveland Basketball for details and registration here:  www.cleveland-warriors.com

Girls on the Run
Registration is Open for the Girls on the Run Team at Lewis Elementary
We're thrilled to share that Lewis Elementary will have a Girls on the Run team this spring. Girls on the Run inspires girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. Trained coaches lead small teams through our research-based curricula which includes dynamic discussions, activities and running games.
Over the course of the ten-week program, girls in 3rd-5th grade develop essential skills to help them navigate their worlds and establish a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K event.
Practice Days:
Mondays and Wednesdays from  3:15PM - 4:45PM
Where: Lewis Elementary
Season Dates: March 5th - May 21st
Registration is limited to 15 participants.  Learn more and register:
www.girlsontherunpdx.org/Program-Registration
Questions? Email mckenzie.miller@girlsontherun.org

Meriwether Lewis Classroom Notes
News and Information from our classrooms                    
February 21, 2018

Notes from Ms. Canales - 2nd / 3rd Grade
February continues to be a fantastic month in room 16!
What are we up to?

Reading: We are continuing Reading to Learn, our nonfiction unit. Students are learning how to rev up their mind for nonfiction reading and how to summarize what they’ve read.

Writing: We are continuing The Art of Informational Writing. Students are writing about topics they are experts on. We will be transferring what we’ve learned about nonfiction reading into our writing.

Social Studies: Our Portland unit continues. We’ve learned about the early history of Portland before it was founded. Students created a journal entry from the perspective of a Native American child in 1850. Next we will be discussing the founding of Portland and the Portland Penny.

Math: 2nd graders continue Unit 4. Unit 4 is focused on geometry skills (while still practicing computation and number sense everyday). 3rd graders are finishing up their geometry unit and moving to the next unit, which will focus on multiplication and division strategies.

Science: We’ve begun our Changes unit where we will explore the scientific concepts behind changes we see everyday (like ice melting). We will dig into the states and properties of matter in this unit.
Reminders:
-Thank you for a wonderful Friendship Party on February 14!

-Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a sign up sheet posted by our classroom door.

Notes from Ms. Redmond - 3rd Grade
I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend...and the extra two hours yesterday afternoon and this morning. Hopefully, we’ll be back
to normal tomorrow. This is what we’re up to:
Math: Students have been working with different multiplication strategies to solve multiplication and division story problems. Moving forward they will write some of their own for their classmates to solve.
Reading: Readers have been devouring their nonfiction texts. They have had some great conversations with their partners about the different topics they are reading and I have learned a ton from conferring with them during their reading. Knowing that they are responsible for teaching what they’ve read to someone else has made them read differently. It has caused them to think more critically about what they are reading and how they are responding to the text.
Writing: Our authors are continuing to add what they already know to their expository pieces. We will also start doing some additional research to help fill in gaps they have, which are important to teach their audience. Much to their pleasure, sub days have allowed for some creative free writing sessions as well.
Science: Students are really enjoying our new unit on Changes. Coming up, we will be experimenting with mixing and separating solids, as well as liquids.
Social Studies: We will be starting our unit on Portland later this week.
Reminders: With the colder weather, please make sure students are coming to school dressed warmly with plenty of layers.  
As always, thanks for all of the support you provide your amazing kiddos and me.

Notes from Mr. Hansen / Ms. Brenan – 3rd Grade
Hi all, Thanks for rolling with us on this shifting weather.  We took advantage of the excitement about snow to do some scientific observations outside.  I put some black paper outside so that it would be nice and cold.  When the kids got back from music, I showed them how to use a jeweler's loupe to examine things up close.  We went outside with our winter gear, loupes and cold paper to try to catch some snowflakes. They were so serious about trying to zoom in and see the tiny hexagonal spokes.  After, we warmed up with a video about how flakes form and their fascinating emergent properties.  

In Math we are wading into the fun world of multiplication with bigger numbers.  We've dipped our toes into the world of fractions and are eager to go deeper.  I am still sending homework on a regular basis but the exact day may vary slightly so that I can make sure the kids have had some experience before they bring it home.  Know that I am always flexible on when homework returns: it is homework so do the work in a way that makes sense for your home!  Best, and thanks for your great kids.  - Mark

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade
So much for that early spring that was predicted... The snow sure is pretty, though.
This week in literacy, students are crafting a poster presentation with their natural disaster research groups to share the information they have learned.  They have worked hard to improve their nonfiction reading, summarizing, and synthesizing skills as they research.
In writing, students are completing a writing work sample as an assessment on how they are progressing on their 5-paragraph essay writing skills.  They chose a topic, completed an outline, and are working to write out their essay to show off their talents as a writer.  
In math we are taking another look at division and how it relates to fractions.  This week, we are figuring out how to solve division with a remainder.  Students will look at the different ways a remainder can be handled in different situations.  13 cookies divided between 4 people looks very different than 13 people divided into 4 groups.
We are continuing our studies of the history of the Klamath River Basin.  How water in the basin should be used is a long and ongoing conversation between Native People, ecological groups, farmers, ranchers, and others.  Students are working in pairs to research specific events related to the use of water in the basin, creating a timeline marker, and will share their research with the class.
Stay warm out there!
Ms. Elissa

Notes from Mr. Richner - 4th/5th Grade
Greetings!  What a wintery week we are having! On Tuesday, we took some time to enjoy the snow as a team. I hope everyone enjoyed some snow time at home, too. My own kids loved being pulled through the snow on a sled. This whole snow thing is still pretty new for them. One of them, gazing out at the dark morning sky last Saturday, remarked, “It raining pretty hard.” When I explained that it was snow, they were so happy! All in all, the kids have done an excellent job settling into routines lately and, to no one’s surprise, it turned out to be a very busy and productive week!
We are continuing our learning about salmon, people, and dams in the Pacific Northwest with a look at the restoration of the Elwha River using some resources from Olympic National Park. We are finishing up reply letters to our pen pals and doing some peer conferencing. During Reed Science, we are learning how an object’s mass affects its relationship to gravity and completed an air resistance design challenge. During our language workshop, we are working with some strategies for approaching nonfiction and working with how we orient ourselves to more complex nonfiction. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we made mailboxes and delivered mail. We met up with our buddies in Mrs. Logue’s first grade. We are designing signs for Oregon Food Bank’s Project Second Wind Food and Fund Drive, which begins at Lewis on March 5th. More info: bit.ly/PSW-2018. Fifth graders will begin FLASH, a family life and sexual health unit, in a couple of weeks, joining either Ms. Natalie or Ms. Sarah’s class. A green flyer went home today with more details. Last, but not least, thank you for your help with returning Science Camp forms. I am looking forward to camp!
Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for photos and regular updates!
Mark

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade
Hope you had a nice three-day weekend and you are staying warm in this cold weather! Here's what we are up to:
Math:  Students are learning about dividing up the remainder in a division story problem.  For example, if each friend gets two cookies and there is one cookie leftover, how would the remaining cookie be divided up by three friends?  How would that be different if it was one dollar instead of one cookie?
Reading:  Last week, students finished research on their first weather topic.  They are currently making posters to share their learning.  Next week, they will begin research on topic number two.
Writing:  Students are currently working on a writing sample to see how well they can organize and write a five-paragraph essay without teacher support.  The homework outlines are really improving, thank you for supporting your kids in that area!
Social Studies: Students have been discussing and debating why different invested parties have different opinions on how water should be used in the Klamath Basin. We watched some news clips about the fight for water rights in that region, and students are currently reading and summarizing the series of events that took place in that region.  They will turn their research into timeline markers and present them to the class next week.
Science:  Reed Science began up again two weeks ago.  Students will be learning about different forms of energy.
Please make sure you are sending your child to school in a coat and warm layers!  We try to get outside as much as possible to get the wiggles out so we can focus on learning when we are in the classroom.  Thanks!

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade
I thought Spring was just around the corner!? Until then, bundle up and enjoy the snow! I want to thank all of you for being patient during our early release yesterday. It’s important that we follow procedures when checking out students on days like that. This reminds me-- it’s also very important that you enter the building through the door nearest the office during school hours. I know it’s tempting to knock on the door closest to your location but it’s unsafe for children to let people in the building. It’s also important that you check-in at the office and wear your badge in a visible location. Once again, this is for our safety. Thank you for being understanding and cooperative.
A quick update on our content areas…Math- We continue our work with fractions. We are learning how to convert a mixed number into an improper fraction and a improper fraction into a mixed number. Next up is adding and subtracting these mixed numbers. Reading- we are exploring and unpacking the features of nonfiction texts (getting them ready for middle school). Writing- Students are currently brainstorming topics for a persuasive writing piece. Science- Reed College Science started back up so that put our Microworlds unit on hold until next week.
Reminders-- Camp forms were due Tuesday so please send those in ASAP if you missed the deadline. --Look for a letter introducing our FLASH health unit that will begin the beginning of March. --I’m still missing a few report card envelopes so don’t forget to send those in. Hope you have a wonderful week and stay warm!!

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade
What a crazy week! Your kids were champs yesterday with all the adjustments to the schedule. I am happy to say that despite all the white stuff, we got some good work done! Last week we had a fun celebration of friendship. Thank you for sending in items for our party! In writing, we are working on persuasive opinion pieces! We are beginning the unit by using chocolate milk at school as a sample for learning many important writing strategies. In math, we have focused a lot on fraction work. We have learned how to find equivalent fractions and are now converting fractions into decimals. We will also be learning how to convert from fractions into percents and decimals into percents, as well! Finally, we still have coming multiplying and dividing fractions! Those are all concepts you can check in with your child about. In reading, we continue to explore non-fiction texts. We are learning strategies for tackling more complex text features; which include vocabulary and main idea. Camp forms were due on Tuesday. A big thank-you to all who turned in their signed form! If you haven't yet gotten that back, please do so right away. Payment can come in now, or later. If you like, you can send in a check, or use Schoolpay. Ask Tracy if you need help with that! This Friday is a fun-filled Lewis tradition that will also help with camp transportation costs. The Lonesome Teacher Trio is performing for a lively Lewis Family Dance! I hope you can make it to this event. You have such lovely children and I feel so lucky to be their teacher! Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or any wonderful stories to share!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7
Our current unit is “Cultures influence Communities”. In this unit, we are learning about different cultures and how they come together to form communities, states, and nations. We started off the unit with a round of Vocab Bingo to introduce some of the important vocabulary. For Reading, leveled groups are working on their Reading A-Z books and literacy packets about different cultures around the world. They are also reading and listening to fairy tales and folktales.  For Math, we are wrapping up our multiplication and division unit, and now we are working on money skills, time, and coordinate grids. The work with coordinate grids helps students with map-reading skills.

For Writing, students have been using graphic organizers to plan out retellings of their favorite fairy tale or folktale stories. The organizer helps with important elements like good characters and bad characters, setting, problem, solution, and magic. Next they will draft their own versions of these tales and illustrate them as well. For Science last week, we made color wheels, then predicted what they would look like while spinning. Students did an extension the next day, where they made different designs of color wheels and made more predictions. For Art, students are making paper lanterns for Chinese New Year. They also made Valentine cards for their families, which are currently on display in the glass case for the month of February.  We also did some fun activities on Valentine’s Day, including making graphs with candy hearts, reading romantic fairy tales, playing “musical hearts”, and of course exchanging Valentine cards. On Tuesday before the early release, everyone enjoyed going out and playing in the snow during recess!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               

February 14, 2018         

Upcoming Dates:
Feb 19- Presidents’ Day- No School
Feb 20- Connect to Kindergarten 630pm
Feb 21- Late Start- Crazy Hair Day
Feb 23- Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance 630pm

Message from Ms. Glasgow

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  While, as my son reminded me this week, this is not a "real holiday" to most, it is always a nice day to step back and give appreciation to those we love and care for in our community. One person I want to give public appreciation to this week is Mrs. O'Dea. She has been covering Mrs. Murphy's maternity leave in 2nd grade since the beginning of the school year. Since Mrs. Murphy will be returning to us next week, this will be Mrs. O'Dea's last week in Room 5. Mrs. O'Dea has put in countless hours to plan and care for our 2nd graders this year--please join me in sending her off with love and appreciation! And, of course, a warm welcome back to Mrs. Murphy!! On another note, I wanted to share that--given some other pressing agenda items--our workshop on talking with your children about race got cut short at last night's PTA meeting. So, we will be re-visiting this topic in greater detail at next month's meeting (March 13). If you are a family raising a student of color, you should also be looking for a mailing inviting you to a families of color listening session in early March. I am excited about these upcoming opportunities to bring families into the staff's ongoing dialogue about issues of race and equity in our school community.

Lewis Lucky Luau

Tickets are on sale now! Tickets are $10 each or 2 for $15 if purchased in advance. The Moose Lodge has a maximum capacity of 100 people so don't wait to buy your tickets or you may miss out. Visit https://www.lewispta.org/copy-of-lucky-luau-2018 to purchase yours today! Tracy also has tickets available for sale in the office. Each ticket includes snacks, soft beverages, and your first raffle ticket. We have an amazing assortment of silent auction items including summer camps, event tickets, home services, restaurant gift cards and more. Don't miss this chance for an adults-only night out with friends in support of our favorite school!

We are also still looking for volunteers to help with this event. Click here to learn more and sign up for a shift! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4cafa72ca3ff2-thelewis

PTA Community Events Survey

The PTA is beginning to plan community events for the 2018-19 school year and we need your help! As your PTA, one of our main goals is connecting Lewis community members to create a welcoming and thriving environment for all children. We want to make sure the events we plan are fun, relevant, and accessible to all.

This survey should take you 10 minutes or less to complete and we'll be sure to share the results in an upcoming newsletter. All responses are confidential. Please respond to the survey by February 27.

Take the survey at https://goo.gl/forms/8UZDAnem6gTq1sMv2

Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance

Friday, February 23, 6:30-8pm

Proceeds from the dance go toward bus transportation for the fifth grade science camp. Support a Lewis tradition and have a great time all in one evening.
Admission is a suggested donation of $2/person or $5/family. Pizza and other refreshments will be available for purchase.
Community events are run by volunteers. Help make the event a success by volunteering for a short shift during the evening. To sign up go to http://bit.ly/2BJixMe

For more information visit https://www.lewispta.org/lonesome-trio-dance-

2018 Smarter Balancing Testing:

If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Forms are available in the office.  Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing will begin in March.

Connect  to Kindergarten

It seems kind of early, but registration for the 2018-2019 School Year will begin soon.
If you have an incoming kinder, it would be very helpful if you could let us know by emailing Tracy (tgiordano@pps.net) with their name and date of birth.
Also, if you have neighbors with incoming kinders, could you please share with them that our Connect to Kindergarten is coming up?

Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 pm

Childcare is NOT provided, but children are welcome.  After the informational meeting, tours will be provided.
Registration packets will be available at our Connect to Kindergarten events, and in the school office after February 9th..
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.
Thank you

Spring Youth Basketball

Registration is open now until February 22nd!  Calling all interested boys grades 3-8th, space is limited!  Please visit Cleveland Basketball for details and registration here:  www.cleveland-warriors.com

Girls on the Run

Registration is Open for the Girls on the Run Team at Lewis Elementary
We're thrilled to share that Lewis Elementary will have a Girls on the Run team this spring. Girls on the Run inspires​ girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. Trained coaches lead small teams through our research-based curricula which includes dynamic discussions, activities and running games.

Over the course of the ten-week program, girls in 3rd-5th grade develop essential skills to help them navigate their worlds and establish a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K event.

Practice Days:

Mondays and Wednesdays from  3:15PM - 4:45PM
Where: Lewis Elementary
Season Dates: March 5th - May 21st

Registration is limited to 15 participants.  Learn more and register: ​

www.girlsontherunpdx.org/Program-Registration

Questions? Email mckenzie.miller@girlsontherun.org​

Lewis Elementary School Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...

February 14, 2018

Notes from Ms. Allen - Kindergarten

Today we celebrated Valentine’s Day by having a friendship party. Thank you all for bringing in snacks last week, and thank you for coming today to help with our party. We had some of the snacks for Valentine’s Day and saved some for the 100th Day of school celebration.

Language Arts: This week we will start a unit in reading workshop called Tackling More Challenging Books. This unit will focus on teaching students how to make sense of complex patterns in their books. In writing workshop we our working on making our writing more clear: writing in sentences and rereading our work as we write.

Math: We will continue working on a variety of math skills. For our calendar pattern this month we are looking at 3D shapes. The 3D shapes we are focusing on are sphere, cone, cylinder, and cube.

Upcoming Events: We will be celebrating the 100th day of school next week on Feb. 22nd.

Reminders: Please sign and return your child’s report card envelope. Also, please continue to send your child with a full water bottle from home each day because the nearest drinking fountain is out of order and the kids have a long way to go to the next closest fountain.

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

By the time you are reading this, we will have celebrated our much-anticipated Valentine’s Day party! We spent several artistic sessions in the beginning of the week decorating collection boxes for our goodies. Between the vast quantities of stickers and personal flourishes, it was a memorable experience! Thanks so much to the families who were willing and able to contribute treats and/or assistance in the classroom. You are greatly appreciated!

This Friday marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. We will be reading about many traditions and inventions from China. 2018 is the Year of the Dog, so you might get a few requests to visit the local animal shelter. At least sounds better than adopting next year’s animal: the pig!

Please continue to have your child read the Morning Message to you, a friend, a sibling, a spouse, a partner, a friendly neighbor… The more chances your child gets to read the same thing over and over, the more confidence they will gain. If anyone would like recommendations for books that are just right for your child, I am happy to share their levels with you. For the majority of kindergarten students in Room 4, you can’t go wrong with Level B and C books. These books can be read independently. Look for simple repeating words throughout the book and a surprise last page.

Next Monday February 19th there is no school. It is a national holiday to honor Presidents’ Day. In one week, on Wednesday, we have a Late Start. The first bell rings at 10:40, giving plenty of time to prep for Crazy Hair Day. That will be a fun day for portraits! Then, to top even that celebration, Thursday February 22nd marks Day 100 in Kindergarten! Can you believe it? WOW. I am speaking at a conference for two days, and will miss this milestone. Sad face. Perhaps there is a family member out there who would like to use my camera and document parts of the day? Please contact me if interested. Children will be rotating through all three kindergarten classes, creating items to celebrate this marvelous achievement.

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

Hi Families!  Here’s what’s new in Room 2:

Last week we filled our book tubs with new books.  The excitement around the room was contagious!  It was great to see students choosing books that were just right for them.  We have been asking ourselves two questions to check our reading:  Does it make sense? Does it sound right?  We have also been practicing talking about our books with our reading partners. 

In the last few weeks we have been practicing with different forms of writing.  We created riddles, wrote letters, and even practiced some nonfiction writing about penguins.  I am happy to see students remembering lowercase letters and punctuation in their writing!

In math we introduced a new game called Count and Compare Unifix Cubes.  Students are practicing counting with groups of 10’s and 1’s in this game.  We are also practicing identifying 3-dimensional shapes with our February calendar and taking a closer look at coins. 

I am looking forward to celebrating Friendship with our students for Valentine’s Day.  We decorated boxes for our Valentine cards yesterday.  I am also looking forward to our 100th day of Kindergarten!  It is a big day in Kindergarten where we celebrate all we’ve learned in our first 100 days of school.  Our 100th day of Kindergarten is next Thursday (February 22nd).  There will be all sorts of fun 100 day activities on that day.

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

We are having so much fun with our new literacy units.

In Writer's workshop we are totally immersed in writing realistic fiction series. I am encouraging them to invent a fictional character/s that will appear in multiple stories. We are working on creating problems and solutions, and having our characters go on lots of adventures. We will collect them all an put them in a box like a real book series. If you have any empty cereal boxes at home, please save them and send them to school over the next few weeks.

In Reader's Workshop last week we packed our imaginary suitcase and filled it with all of our reading strategies to go on lots of reading adventures. We have been focusing on comprehension strategies and also really honing in our predicting skills. We are also learning to synthesize the text, and rereading to think about how the different parts connect.  Reading and writing are very complex processes that take so many skills coming together all at the same time. Learning to read and write are incredibly empowering acts for 1st graders.

Last week we began our unit about how water shapes the earth’s surface. Our first lesson was called, “If you floated down a river, where would you end up?” We learned how water flows from high to low, and how many rivers start up in mountains or hilly areas, and ultimately flow out towards the sea.

You can encourage your child’s curiosity at home! If you know where your nearest stream or creek is, plan a trip to go visit it! If you’re not sure, look on a map. Once you get there, ask your child if they can figure out which direction it's flowing. Use a map to see if you can figure out where the water's headed.

I want to again thank all of  you parents for being such a supportive community. We truly have a unique school that nurtures all learners. It takes a village.

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

This week is full of new opportunities for learning about the world around us with Friendship day, (Valentine’s day), President’s Day next Monday, the start of  Asian Lunar New Year celebrations 2018 beginning this Friday, our 100th day of school and our new Math- measurement unit starting this week.  We enjoyed an awesome art lesson on Monday and made Valentine boxes Tuesday for holding the friendship notes your child created for their classmates. Whether "store bought" or homemade, Valentine cards bring joy to the giver and receiver! We also made a  "friendship salad" out of the fruits you donated, (not to mention the delicious toppings too:).  We gathered together on the rug and I brought a big mixing spoon and pot over. Families had donated a variety of fruits and each fruit added to our giant mixing pot was symbolic of the positive attributes of friendship we share in our classroom. I told the students that the mixing pot was like our classroom. The pears are the good help and friendship inside and outside of the classroom. We added mandarin oranges that represent the hard work and best efforts in all we do. The pineapple added; sharing and taking turns. Peaches are the kind, sweet words being said in our classroom, like please and thank you! Peaches represent words of encouragement, like "You can do it!." As we mixed the fruit I added a can of fruit cocktail representing the happiness we feel when we are in school together. The children "ooed and awed" and we talked about the yummy Friendship Salad we were concocting and how good it will taste. I then brought out very old and bruised banana and started to try and peel it. The students called for me to stop, "Don’t put that rotten banana into our salad, it will ruin it!" I told them they were right, this rotten banana might cause trouble in our happy classroom. It represents name calling, not sharing and being mean, etc. We decided not to put the rotten banana in our Friendship Salad! This was a great opportunity to talk about why we all try our best to be kind to one another and the importance of treating others the way you would want to be treated and also having good manners. It was very sweet to see several students with their arms around each other’s shoulders and commenting so kindly. Thanks so much to the parents for helping make the Friendship celebration go smoothly and also to families who donated to our Friendship Salad.
Students are practicing writing realistic fiction stories and beginning to explore rocks, silt, sand and soil during science time.
Next Monday, Feb. 20th is President’s Day and later this week we will be learning more about two Presidents in particular, Washington and Lincoln. Remember, no school Monday the 20th.
Keep up with us daily on twitter@AnneAbuckley
Photos and more; mrslogue.wordpress.com
Email: abuckley@pps.net

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

Happy Valentine’s Day! We had our friendship celebration this afternoon - exchanging cards and sharing Friendship Fruit Salad. We mixed together the different fruits - each fruit a symbol of part of our first grade experience - friendship, good manners, kindness, hard work, sharing, and happiness. We had a great time reading all of our valentines and spend time smiling and giggling.

The 100th day of school is just around the corner. We will be celebrating it this Friday, Feb. 16th by creating100-Eyed Monsters. It’s my favorite art project of the year. Look for it in the hallway next week!

We continue to read and write realistic fiction. We are working to identify the problem and solution, and noticing things about our characters as we read. In writing, we are working on making our beginnings and endings just right, including a problem and solution, and including proper punctuation and capitalization, of course. We will be working on writing from 9:30 - 10:20 for the rest of the year. I would love to have some classroom volunteers in to help out during this time. Let me know of you are available to help!

In math, we are wrapping up our work on equations and will be moving our focus to time and measurement for a few weeks. This is always a fun hands on unit. Finally, we will be starting our science unit Rocks, Sand, and Soil next week. Kids love rocks and often have collections. We will be sharing these midway through the unit. So if your child doesn’t currently collect rocks, they can be on the look out for some cool ones now!

Cheers! Ms. Sarah

Notes from Ms. O’Dea - 2nd Grade

As in cultures that celebrate the Lunar New Year, this week also marks the end Ms. O’Dea’s time with Room 5 and the beginning of Mrs. Murphy’s.

It’s been a great journey working with and getting to know all the children in Room 5. Each and every one of them is a good human being and have their own set of skills and gifts they bring to our community, and eventually to the world. I also want to give thanks to the families and Lewis community for their nurturing and support so that these children can grow and blossom and shine.

Sincerely, Ms. O’Dea

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

This week we continue on our journey exploring nonfiction.  In writing, we are finishing our first book. Our most recent mini lesson focused on squeezing extra information out of our brains to add to each page. As a class, we previewed student books and talked about next steps. Some students worked on adding headings and a table of contents, others worked on adding more information to their topic sentences. After writing yesterday, students met with their writing partners. Each student gave a compliment and asked for clarification or shared advice. Student comments were very specific and helpful.

In our Nonfiction Reading, our lesson this week focused on thinking and rethinking about how information is connected across books.  We looked at Tiger Turf in Laura Marsh's book, Tigers,  and did some good sharing about how tigers mark their territories.  Then we read a page in Amazing Animals: Tigers that talked about the different sounds that tigers make. We wondered how the information fit together.  We couldn't see the connection until we looked at the caption that went with the picture. It read:  Tigers roar to warn others to stay out of their territory. After the lesson, students had a chance to practice comparing information from two of their books.  First they chose a topic and found information in both books using the table of contents and the index.  Then they compared information from both books and shared what they learned with their partners. 

We are learning about our first element in weather: air. We read a book that taught us that air is all around us. We learned that you can prove that air is everywhere. Your child can help you prove this at home with a bowl of water, a cup and a napkin.  We also learned that air is heavier than you think.  The air in a classroom weighs about 75 pounds!!  Up next, we are going to make an instrument to measure wind and track wind for a few days.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School  
Weekly Newsletter               
February 7, 2018          

Upcoming Dates:
Feb 9-  Connect to Kindergarten 930am
Feb 13- PTA Meeting 630pm
Feb 19- Presidents’ Day- No School
Feb 20- Connect to Kindergarten 630pm
Feb 21- Late Start- Crazy Hair Day
Feb 23- Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance 630pm

Message from Ms. Glasgow

Hello. I hope you all have been enjoying the spring-like weather this week! It has been wonderful to watch everyone getting out to play! As you know, February is Black History Month. Across the building, classes have been studying black history and discussing issues of race and social justice. To loop families into the conversation, I will be leading a mini-workshop on talking about race with your children at the PTA meeting next Tuesday (2/13) @ 6:30 pm. If you are not able to make this meeting, or would like some pre-reading, here is one quick article that lays some foundation for the importance of talking about race with children and suggested strategies for doing so. As a principal and as a mom, I look forward to starting to engage in conversation about this important topic with some of you next week. I hope this will be the beginning of a more extended dialogue.

Lewis Lucky Luau

We are looking for help with this fun event! Volunteers are needed at the auction on Saturday, March 10th, and during the week leading up to it. Click here to learn more and sign up for a shift: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4cafa72ca3ff2-thelewis
https://www.lewispta.org/lucky-luau-2018

Vote for Lewis at the Advantis Credit Union grand opening!

​Advantis Credit Union is holding a grand opening celebration on February 9th and 10th at the new location on Woodstock. As part of the grand opening, they're going to be awarding a few small grants to local organizations and schools, including the Lewis PTA.

Help Lewis by visiting Advantis on Woodstock and voting for the Lewis PTA. Voting will kick off at the grand opening on February 9th and continue until 1,000 total votes have been cast. Each in-branch vote (including children) will equal $5.00 for Lewis.

Funds raised through the PTA are put back into the Lewis community to support all Lewis students. Want to learn more? Join the conversation about what we do for our community by coming to a PTA meeting. We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 in the Lewis library (free childcare provided). Can’t attend a meeting? Connect with us--

lewispta.org
facebook.com/ptalewis/
lewiselementaryptaor@gmail.com

Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance

Friday, February 23, 6:30-8pm

Proceeds from the dance go toward bus transportation for the fifth grade science camp. Support a Lewis tradition and have a great time all in one evening.

Admission is a suggested donation of $2/person or $5/family. Pizza and other refreshments will be available for purchase.

Community events are run by volunteers. Help make the event a success by volunteering for a short shift during the evening. To sign up go to http://bit.ly/2BJixMe

For more information visit https://www.lewispta.org/lonesome-trio-dance-2018

Rummage Sale/Garden Fair Update

The PTA recently learned from a PPS administrative directive that we are prohibited from hosting our annual rummage sale on-site at the school. This means, sadly, we must cancel the event.

If you've been accumulating unwanted items in your garage to donate to the sale, please consider reaching out to some of the organizations we've partnered with in the past to see if they can use your new or gently used, good quality items:

Transition Projects: https://www.tprojects.org/donate/items/

Dress for Success: https://oregon.dressforsuccess.org/get-involved/donate/

Portland Council PTA Clothing Center: http://www.portlandcouncilpta.org/clothing-center.html

And you should still save the date for the Garden Fair on 4/21 - order forms and more information will both be available soon! 

TAG Testing Update:

We have just been informed by the PPS TAG Office that they have changed the Lewis testing dates.  They will now be assessing students on Monday, February 12th and Thursday, February 15th.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

Smarter Balancing Testing:

If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Forms are available in the office. Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing will begin in March.

LGBTQ Resources for Students, Families, and School Staff

https://www.pps.net/Page/2488

Connect  to Kindergarten

It seems kind of early, but registration for the 2018-2019 School Year will begin soon.
If you have an incoming kinder, it would be very helpful if you could let us know by emailing Tracy (tgiordano@pps.net) with their name and date of birth.
Also, if you have neighbors with incoming kinders, could you please share with them that our Connect to Kindergarten is coming up?

Friday, February 9th at 9:30 am
Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 pm

Childcare is NOT provided, but children are welcome.  After the informational meeting, tours will be provided.
Registration packets will be available at our Connect to Kindergarten events, and in the school office after February 9th..
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.
Thank you

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

February is off to an amazing start in room 16!
What are we up to?

Reading: We’ve kicked of Reading to Learn, our nonfiction unit. Students are searching for main idea and supporting details as they read nonfiction.

Writing: Our Opinion/Persuasive unit has concluded! Each student has a published piece in the hallway! Come check them out. We are moving into The Art of Informational Writing. Students are writing about topics they are experts on. We will be transferring what we’ve learned about nonfiction reading into our writing!

Social Studies: Our Portland unit continues. We will be learning about Portland’s early history and founding, and students will be journaling through the lens of being a child in different time periods in historic Portland.

Math: 2nd graders just finished up their third unit. They are now moving on to 2nd grade geometry skills (while still practicing computation and number sense every day). 3rd graders are finishing up their geometry unit and moving to the next unit, which will focus on multiplication and division strategies.

Science: We’ve begun our Changes unit where we will explore the scientific concepts behind changes we see every day (like ice melting). We will dig into the states and properties of matter in this unit.

Reminders
February 14: We will have a Friendship Party. Students can bring Valentines and candy (to be shared with you at home later). I’m posting more info on this as well as a class list on the blog!

Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a signup sheet posted by our classroom door.

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

In reading we recently started a new unit, Mystery: Foundational Skills in Disguise. As the kids read self-selected mysteries, they deepen and hone a variety of strategies that are an important part of close, thoughtful reading.  For example, when readers work to identify clues in their mysteries, they read closely and
infer as they wonder, “What could this detail suggest?”  Similarly, readers dig deep as they think about the suspects in a story and consider each character’s traits and motivation. Mysteries offer a great opportunity to practice higher-level comprehension strategies at home as well.  I encourage you to read a mystery with your child.  Our local libraries offer a wide variety of mysteries or, if you prefer, your child is welcome to borrow one of our classroom titles.

Finally, we will honor our friendships with a small celebration on Wednesday, February 14, 2:00-3:00.  If you’re interested in donating a bag of popcorn (pre-popped, please), mandarin oranges, apple juice or napkins, a sign-up has been posted outside of our classroom.  Cards are optional, but if your child would like to bring cards to share please be sure that there is one for every student in the class.  A class list was sent home with your child earlier this week.  Please let us know if you didn’t receive it our need an additional copy.  -- Jill

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

It’s hard to believe that we are already through the first two quarters of the school year. Report cards were sent home with students on Monday. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me. Overall, I am so happy with the growth students have made this year and to have such eager and enthusiastic learners with whom to spend my days. Here is what your learners are working on...lots of new units!

Reading: Students are doing a great job pulling out the main ideas and supporting details in their nonfiction reading. We’ve spent a good deal of time pausing after reading chunks of text and thinking about what the section is mostly about and what the details to support that idea are. They organize their thoughts using boxes (main idea) and bullets (supporting details.) Ask them to show you how it works.

Writing: Persuasive pieces are finished and going up in the hallway this week. Now it’s on to some nonfiction writing as well. Yesterday we talked about subjects in which we are experts. Each student got to verbally teach a group of peers about one of those topics. Today we wrote fast and furiously, filling pages with everything the writers knows about the topic.

Math: Sarah & Miranda, our Reed College mathematicians visited yesterday. Hopefully, your student shared with you the logic puzzles they brought in. Finally, it’s time for Multiplication!!! Students have been building arrays as a way to talk about multiplication. Under Ms. Connolly’s direction, they constructed a (rather large) multiplication and division chart, which will hang in the classroom as a reference. They had great noticings as we looked for different patterns.

Science: We started our new science unit today. The unit focuses on various states of matter and the different changes that occur in matter. There is much anticipation around the “chemical reaction” experiments we will be conducting.

Art: Calling all sewers. We will be starting a project very soon that involves stitching. Please let me know you have any expertise in this area and would be interested in coming in to help.

Reminders:
February 14th - Friendship Party (look for a note coming home today)
February 19th - No School
February 21st - Late Start & Crazy Hair Day
February 23rd - Lonesome Teacher Trio Dance

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

February, here we come!  As we roll into the second half of the year, we are working on tightening up routines, pushing ourselves to our full potential, and being better all around.

Students are revising and publishing their five paragraph essays this week.  Soon, they will complete a work sample on a different topic which will allow me to assess their individual progress on writing in paragraph format. 

We are getting deeper into our study of nonfiction reading strategies.  This week, students are participating in a "summary boot camp" where they are learning to pick out an author's main idea and supporting details from a text and rewrite it in their own words.

In math, we are continuing our work with fractions.  Students will begin investigating improper fractions and learn some visual strategies for how to convert them into a mixed number.  We will also look at adding and subtracting fractions.

Last week, students worked in research teams to learn about a specific moment in Native American history.  Each team made a timeline marker to teach others about their topic.  You can take a look at what we have covered so far on our giant timeline in the hallway outside Room 24.  We will continue to add to our timeline for the rest of the year as we learn more about Oregon's history.

Report cards were sent home with your child on Monday.  Please review the report card, sign the envelope, and have your child bring the signed envelope back to school.  Please email me with any questions or concerns: edingus@pps.net

We will be decorating "mailboxes" and exchanging valentines next Wednesday.  If you have an empty shoe box/cereal box or two lying around, please send them in next week.  See the letter I sent home on Monday for more info as well as a list of student names.
Take care, Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

Here’s the news from Room 22:

Math:  We have been working on a variety of different models to represent fractions.  So far, students have learned: ruler fractions, egg-carton fractions, and clock fractions.  This week, students are learning how to convert between improper fractions and mixed numbers.

Reading:  We are deep into our non-fiction unit.  Students have been practicing identifying the features of non-fiction texts, using text structures to take notes, writing about the main idea, summarizing, and identifying the types of non-fiction texts.  Next week, they will begin a research project on a weather topic.

Writing:  Students are working on final drafts of their choice essays.  They will do a formal writing sample next week to see if they are able to structure a five-paragraph essay on their own after all the practice we have done.

Social Studies: Last week, students presented timeline markers on landmarks in Indigenous history.  We are now zooming in on the Klamath Region of Oregon.  On Friday, students will be taking on roles of invested parties in the fight for water rights in that region.  These roles will include: Tribal members and leaders, farmers, ranchers, government officials, salmon, and suckerfish.

Important Announcements:  Thank you for supporting students in the outlining homework that was sent home last week.  We will continue to alternate writing homework and math homework each week up to Spring Break.

We will be having our Valentine’s Party next Wednesday afternoon.  I have sent home information about Valentine’s.  Thank you to those that have signed up to bring treats, we have a few more open spots for people to sign-up to bring apples and juice to our party.

Report cards were sent home on Monday.  Please return the signed envelopes by next Monday, February 12th.  Thanks!

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Greetings!

Team 20 has had another very productive and busy week. Our art residency with Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway concluded. Kids shared their upcycled fashions through a museum tour, read their group’s artist statement, and had a go with some creative dramatics to reflect on the lifecycle of clothing. Finished pieces and artist statements are on our blog (bit.ly/RecFashions).

We are continuing to learn about Native American history. We connected to last fall’s salmon study by learning about how the construction of dams impacted salmon and the spiritual, cultural, and economic way of life for Native Americans living near Celilo Falls and elsewhere along the Columbia River. We were treated to a film screening of United by Water with director/filmmaker, Derrick LaMere. The film tells the story of five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago.

During Language Workshop, kids are truckin’ along on reply letters to our pen pals in Madison, Wisconsin, editing and revising letters in partner and with me. Our Black History biographies are completed and are on display as a Black History timeline in the hallway.

Looking ahead, we will celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom on Wednesday, February 14th. As was mentioned in last week’s pink flyer, we will make Valentine “mail boxes.” Paper, ribbon, markers and other art supplies will be on hand, and if kids wanted to bring a shoebox, cereal box, or other “construction aids,” they certainly may. Please be sure to include Patrice, a new student in our room, on your Valentine’s list.

Please continue to send kids with a water bottle from home each day. We have one drinking fountain that is shared by the five classrooms at our end of the building. I want kids to have access to water throughout the day and a water bottle is a big help.

Last, but not least, report cards went home this past Monday. Please sign and return your kid’s report card envelope by the following Monday.

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for photos and regular updates!
Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Spring is in the air! It’s hard to believe this school year is halfway over. Before you know it, we’ll be sending these sweet fifth graders off to middle school. We have a lot to squeeze in before the year end! Next week is Valentine’s Day and we are planning to celebrate on Wednesday afternoon. I sent home a copy of our class list so students can make their valentines. Please remind your kiddos to triple check the class list to make sure all students are included and names are spelled correctly. Students will need to decorate a v-day box at home and bring it to school on Wednesday. See the blog for more detail. We posted a party supply list outside of our room so please sign up to bring something. If you are interested in sending supplies but can’t make it in to sign up, just send me an email.

Other updates and reminders--

*If you have not filled out the survey regarding Science Camp tuition, please visit our blog  http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/

*We just began a new garden rotation with Ms. Kathleen on Tuesdays so please make sure your kiddos are dressed appropriately on those days

*Make sure report card envelopes are signed and returned by Friday

*Don’t forget to sign up to bring something for our Valentine’s Day Celebration. Thank you in advance!

*Stop by and check out our Black History Timeline

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy February everyone! With every passing month I am reminded of how quickly the year is passing and how far we have come in our learning! We are at the beginning of a new quarter. I hope you received your child's report card. Those came home Monday. Please keep the report card, sign the envelope, then send that envelope back to school, so I know you received it. Also, I will reuse that envelope next term for next quarter's report card. Thank you! We finished our art residency with Nancy Judd last week. Students enjoyed creating clothing and accessories using recycled and natural materials. Look for their finished designs on Twitter! In reading this week, we are working on Non-Fiction. We are seeing that our texts have become more complex and we need to use different strategies to understand our reading and persevere when the main idea is not always obvious! In math, we are beginning to work on multiplying and dividing fractions. If your child received a "N", or "B" on their last math assessment, (which came home yesterday) they are welcome to practice and re-take. My goal is that all students have a firm understanding of all concepts. We are finishing up our reports on Black History. All of the 5th grade classes have taken part in this  and those will be displayed on a time-line in the hall! There are so many wonderful folks who have made great contributions that we want to celebrate! Reed College Science starts up again this week. We are excited to welcome them back for another term! We also started a garden rotation with Kathleen this week. Students will get a chance to work in the garden each Tuesday for the next month, or so. Next Wednesday is Valentine's Day. Our class will have a celebration in the afternoon. I sent home a class list if your child would like to bring in cards. Please ensure there is one for each student on the list. Outside the classroom is a sign-up for treats for our celebration. Please stop by, or drop me an email if you are able to provide something off the list. Remember, we can only do store-bought items! I adore your children and love working with them each day!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

Last week we wrapped up our unit “Keeping My Body Healthy” with a review of the various body systems, and their functions. This week students are using “fitness tracker” sheets to keep track of how much exercise they get during recesses and PE classes. For Reading, students are finishing their Reading A-Z books and packets about the body.  For Writing, students finished passages about “What’s your favorite way to exercise?”  and they are presenting them to their classmates this week. These passages and illustrations are on display outside our classroom door. For Math, we are working on using various strategies for multiplication and division, including skip-counting, repeated addition, and arrays. 

For Art, we did the fourth and final session of our Recycled City project with teaching artist, Nancy Judd. We rolled out butcher paper on our green carpet to make a map of the lots, roads, parks, railroad tracks and river. Students placed their buildings on their lots, then drew more details on the map, like yards and street lines. We did a time-lapse video of this final session, which we will present on Art Night along with more images of this Art and communities project. Our next unit is called “Cultures influence Communities”. In this unit, we will learn about different cultures and how they come together to form communities, states, and nations.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter

January 31, 2018

Upcoming Dates:

Feb 1-  Bottle Drop Pick Up 845am
Feb 2-  Walk & Roll
Feb 6-  Lewis Dines Out- Reverend’s BBQ
Feb 7-  Coffee Talk with Emily 845am
Feb 9-  Connect to Kindergarten 930am

Message from Ms. Glasgow 
Hello families. This week, I enjoyed watching our artist-in-residence Nancy Judd complete her upcycled projects with 3rd and 5th grade. Thank you for all of the recycled objects you sent in to support these creative endeavors! As you know, our teachers had a planning day on Monday to work on your children's 2nd quarter report cards. Our plan is to send the completed cards home next Monday. We hope that your child's report card will provide detailed information about how your child is currently performing at school--I know that the teachers have been diligent and thoughtful about their completion. If you have any follow-up questions after reviewing your child's report card, please feel free to contact his/her teacher for clarification or more information. As partners in this work, it's important that we're all on the same page about how kids are faring in their educational journeys.

Thank you everyone from the Lewis Staff!
Thank you for the wonderful lunch on Monday during Teacher Planning Day.  We all enjoyed the food and the lovely tables.  Dishes are in the office if you need to pick
yours up.

School Site Council Vision Survey:
Thank you to the 26 parents/guardians who took time to complete the short survey sent out in last week's newsletter. The School Site Council's intent in distributing this survey is to gather family feedback on the school vision and mission statements that we are working to update/revise. We wanted to send the survey out one more time to see if we can engage more of you in this conversation. We promise the survey is short--only 3 questions! You can access the survey here. Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts!
 

LGBTQ Resources for Students, Families, and School Staff
https://www.pps.net/Page/2488

Lewis Dines Out Reverends BBQ

7712 SE 13th Ave
February 6th 
ALL DAY SALES
10% goes to the Proposed Class Project Funds and other important PTA items!
Dine In, Take Out (3rd party delivery does NOT count)
Be sure to thank Reverend's for their support!
www.reverendsbbq.com

Learn more at lewispta.org

Report cards will be mailed home on Monday Feb. 5

Keep Lewis Healthy

Please remember that if your child has a fever, they may not return to school until they are fever free for 24 hrs.  If your child is vomiting or has diarrhea, they must be symptom free for 24 hrs. as well before returning to school.

The Art Fundraiser was a great success!!

And YOU CAN KEEP ORDERING!  
The SilverGraphics Online Shop is still open and you can SAVE 20% on all orders placed by Valentine’s Day!
You can even UPLOAD NEW ART after you access our online shop.

https://www.lewispta.org/2017-art-fundraiser
 

Talented & Gifted Assessments

The TAG Assessments will be taking place at Lewis School on Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8th.  If you have nominated your child for TAG, please make sure she/he is on time and at school on those days.  If you have questions, please email-
Abby Rotwein, Lewis TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net.

Connect  to Kindergarten

It seems kind of early, but registration for the 2018-2019 School Year will begin soon.
If you have an incoming kinder, it would be very helpful if you could let us know by emailing Tracy (tgiordano@pps.net) with their name and date of birth.
Also, if you have neighbors with incoming kinders, could you please share with them that our Connect to Kindergarten is coming up?
Friday, February 9th at 9:30 am
Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 pm
Childcare is NOT provided, but children are welcome.  After the informational meeting, tours will be provided.
Registration packets will be available at our Connect to Kindergarten events, and in the school office after February 9th..
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.  Thank you

Lewis Auction Volunteers Needed!

Hey Lewis parents... The Lewis Lucky Luau auction is coming soon. Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 10th! It's going to be a fabulous event and great date night opportunity. The theme is Hawaiian, as the name suggests, and tickets are $10 per person or $15 per couple if purchased in advance. There will be plenty of food, beverages, and prizes to be had - invite your friends! A  link to buy tickets will be coming soon.

In the meantime, we NEED YOUR HELP to make this event a success! Do you own or work for a business that can donate an auction item, or do you have connections to a business you could ask for a donation? Do you have an hour to send a few emails using a pre-written message asking for donations? If so, contact Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com. This is our most time-sensitive need, but we also need volunteers to help with publicity, food, decorations, preparing materials the week before the event, and at the event itself. If you can help with any of these projects, please email Kendyl Watts at kendylann3@yahoo.com or sign up on the office windows and we will get in touch with you. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, we will be very grateful for your help!

PTA Clothes Closet

Monday Feb.12 is Lewis’ day to help at the PTA Clothing Closet.  Please consider giving some time to help provide clothing for PPS children in need.  Marshall Campus 930-130pm.  Sign up at office and/or email Claire-
Clairestar.g@gmail.com
If interested but unable to commit to the full time, please email about options.  We are also collecting clothing to take to the PTA clothing closet- new socks and underwear.
Other clothing in like new condition.  Teens are served as well, so all sizes welcome.  Look for a box in the hall by the office.  Thanks.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...                                 

January 31, 2018

Notes from Ms. Allen - Kindergarten

Language Arts: We have started a new unit in reading workshop called Bringing Books to Life. In writing workshop we have been working on how to write true stories, and how to write stories that people can read. Also, we have been working on reading our own writing, and going back to see if our writing makes sense.

Word Study: Our Words Their Way differentiated spelling instructions are going good. The kids are enjoying working independently in small groups. Please continue to help your child practice working on their word ring words.

Math: We our working on a variety of math skills: recognizing and counting quantities between 10 and 30, reading and writing numbers 11-30, exploring counting strategies and more.

Social Studies: Last week learned about Taiko Japanese drumming, next week we will start learning about why we observe and recognize certain days in the month. They will be learning about Chinese New Year, President’s Day, and Black history month. The kindergartens truly enjoyed learning about Dr. King, they were all very intrigued about his life and story.

Upcoming Events: We will have a Valentine’s Day party on Feb.14th @ 2pm. I will send home more details soon. Also, we will be celebrating the 100th day of school next month.

Reminders: Please send your child to school with a full water bottle. Also, we are getting low on class snacks. Many kids enjoy having class snacks available.

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

Phew! We made it through the long, wet month of January. There are so many different strands of illnesses out in the world right now, we were only able to bust out our morning Happy Dance several times. Here’s hoping for a healthier February!

Your child’s first report card will be coming home soon! There was a remarkable amount of growth over the first half of kindergarten. It was quite rewarding to look over the literacy data and know that those numbers translate into the making of little readers! Please keep reading to your child and have them read to you as well. Going over the daily Morning Message is one great way to build confidence and work on expression.

The writing samples collected each month also show impressive progress. Please encourage your child to draw an idea, label it, and write a few sentences about the action. If you have any questions or comments about the report card, don't hesitate to contact me. It is an honor to be a part of such a developmental year.

Valentine’s Day is on a Wednesday this year, and I would like to invite you to share the love with us. We will be gathering after Math at 2:15 to wipe down tables, dole out cards and sample treats. I will post a sign-up sheet outside Room 4 for helpers, snacks and supplies. Please have your child sign all their Valentine cards and add the name of the recipient. This list will be printed and sent home as well. Cards can be handmade or store-bought.

Kindergarten 2017-18 Class List by First Name

Addie
Alissah
Amara
Amelia
Anja
Avery
Cole
Ethen
Felicity
Finn
Idella
Julien
Malakye
Max
Megan
Miles
MJ
Ms. Kennedy
Olive
Penelope
Rowan
Rudy

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

I’d like to say a quick thank you to all of you for your support both at home and in the classroom.  I’ve seen so much improvement across the board and am grateful for all the support you have given me and your students. 

We had so much fun last week during our Taiko residency with Michelle and Toru.  We explored the art of taiko through hands-on learning and practiced the 3 main principles of Taiko: respect, cooperation and perseverance. We learned about Japanese culture through the exercises Michelle and Toru led us through and the language we used.  It was so fun to see our students express themselves in the performance last Friday! 

We are diving into our new reading unit and loving our more challenging books.  I have been reading individually with students and am so impressed with what strong reading skills they are building.  We will go book shopping soon to allow students to fill their book tubs with more books at their reading level and continue to strengthen our reading stamina. 

In math our games are focused on the numbers 11-19.  We are practicing identifying, writing, building and taking apart these numbers.  Please continue to work on reading and writing these numbers at home! 

Report Cards:  Report cards will be sent home on Monday February 5th.  Due to a technical error, quarter 2 grades were inputted into the Quarter 1 column.  PE and Music grades as well as Comments will be found in the Quarter 2 column.  Please see Quarter 1 for the rest of the grades. 

Valentine’s Day:  In Room 2 we focus on friendship for Valentine’s Day.  We will be celebrating with a Friendship Party on Wednesday (afternoon), February 14th.  I will be sending home a class list with some more information about how we will be celebrating.  There will be a sign up sheet outside our classroom if you would like to donate snacks for our celebration.

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

We had such a great experience with Taiko last week. The kids were very proud to present their learnings to an audience. Thanks for all the work getting donations for Run for the Arts. That made it all possible. We had a great trip to see Pete the Cat. The Oregon Children's Theater did not disappoint. The kids were enthralled! Thank you to the parents who volunteered. We couldn't do the trip without our chaperones! We will be going again in the Spring to see Frog and Toad. Stay tuned.

Report Cards will be coming home next Monday. If you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate ask. I am very pleased with the growth the kids are making.   We are now officially half way through the school year. It’s hard to believe. I told the kids this week and they were really surprised.

On another note, we are working hard on making our handwriting legible on a consistent basis. I’ve noticed  they all do a fantastic job when we are doing “handwriting” but then forget to use the skills learned in handwriting during writers workshop. Please encourage this at home when writing happens.

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

We had such a great experience with Taiko last week. The kids were very proud to present their learnings to an audience. Thanks for all the work getting donations for Run for the Arts. That made it all possible. We had a great trip to see Pete the Cat. The Oregon Children's Theater did not disappoint. The kids were enthralled! Thank you to the parents who volunteered. We couldn't do the trip without our chaperones! We will be going again in the Spring to see Frog and Toad. Stay tuned.

Report Cards will be coming home next Monday. If you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate ask. I am very pleased with the growth the kids are making.   We are now officially half way through the school year. Its hard to believe. I told the kids this week and they were really surprised.

On another note, we are working hard on making our handwriting legible on a consistent basis. I’ve noticed they all do a fantastic job when we are doing “handwriting” but then forget to use the skills learned in handwriting during writers workshop. Please encourage this at home when writing happens.

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

I hope you had a chance to see the Taiko performance in person last Thursday, or on my Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/SJamesbarry. The kids did a fantastic job. It was a wonderful experience and I think they learned a lot about team work, perseverance, and self control. I also hope everyone enjoyed the play. A special thank you to the chaperones, as I know it is a big job. We couldn’t do it without you! I am sorry to have missed the field trip - I heard the play was a lot of fun. I have been out with bronchitis these last few days, and hope to be back on Thursday.

The kids started an art project today that will be hung at the end of the primary hallway throughout the month of February. I will try to get it up as soon as possible. Any helpers are welcome! It will probably be ready to go up on Friday or Monday.

Our new literacy units have us reading and writing fiction. The kids are enjoying reading and writing made up stories.  In writing, our focus is on new craft moves to bring their characters and stories to life. In reading, we are focusing on retelling our stories. This involves remembering key details in order. One doesn’t want to tell everything (known as spilling the beans…) but just enough to give our listeners a good idea of how the story goes. Please have your kiddo retell some of their books at home, or even about their day, or past events. Retelling takes practice - so all hands on deck are welcome!

Finally, math assessments show we need to step up our work in the area of subtraction. We will be spending some more time on it in the coming weeks, as we also forge forward into working with equations and measurement. Cheers! MS. Sarah

Notes from Ms. O’Dea - 2nd Grade

Konnichiwa (a Japanese greeting) from Room 5. We have been learning some Japanese words and principles along with our Taiko (Japanese word meaning drum) lessons. We learned that the three most important principles of being a Taiko drummer are respect, perseverance, and cooperation. It was impressive how well and how much the class was able to learn and then demonstrate at the Taiko performance, all in four short days! Not only that, but the students (in partnerships) created and wrote a ten beat Taiko song on their own. It was a fabulous, engaging workshop and the class did a great job!

Something else new which has been added to our weekly curriculum is Guidance Class with our school counselor, Mrs. Sundberg. The topic we’re working on is titled, Zones of Regulation, identifying strong feelings and tools to deal appropriately with those feelings.  Mid-year is a good time of year to be refreshing and learning some new social skills strategies.

In reading, we continue to “grow” our knowledge on a variety of topics through our collection of leveled nonfiction books. In addition, during Technology the class has been implementing some of the nonfiction text features by creating their own documents, including titles, headings, images with captions and labeling a diagram. Mr. Mark does a fantastic job connecting content through technology!

In Math, we’ve been doing some reviewing and assessments, mostly on word problems, addition & subtraction facts 0-18, solving equations, telling time, measurement, reading graphs and some place value.

This week’s science lesson will be making twirlers and seeing how air resistance works.

Reminder: Check take-home folders for field trip permission slips to OMSI for a weather presentation (our next science unit) on Feb. 14, 10:45-12:45 pm.
Sincerely,  Ms. O’Dea

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

In reading we continue our nonfiction unit of study. Students are making predictions about words they might encounter in their nonfiction text. It has been fun to see students making predictions about the words or 'lingo' that will be found in their books based on their background knowledge on the topic as well as a quick preview of the front and back cover. 

Our most recent mini lessons focused on tools in the book that can help you with the meaning of new words.  Last week, we focused on captions, text boxes, and the glossaries in books.  We read a book on tigers and emphasized the notion that we may think we know the meaning of the word 'prey' but we need to look for context clues to see how the author uses it. After the mini lesson, students had a chance to practice that skill both with their reading partners and independently.

In Tech class with Mr. Hansen, students have been making Google docs on their favorite things.  During each session, students are showing what they know about nonfiction text features.  On the first page, students worked on making a heading to tell what the page was about.  After writing about their favorite thing, they copied and pasted a picture and wrote a caption to explain what was happening in the picture. Students needed to have one bold word and one word in italics. Then, students learned how to make text boxes and label parts of the object. Up next, students will make a key to explain what is happening on a map.

Please continue to spend 10 minutes a night working on the facts to 10 or 20 sheet with your child.  Your child should keep working on one sheet until he/she can orally complete it in 1 min.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter

January 24, 2018      

Upcoming Dates:

Jan 24- Sellwood Middle School Info Night-  Parents and Guardians ONLY 6-715pm
Jan 29- No School, Teacher Planning Day
Feb 2-  Walk & Roll
Feb 6-  Lewis Dines Out- Reverend’s BBQ
Feb 7-  Coffee Talk with Emily 845am
Feb 9-  Connect to Kindergarten 930am

Message from Ms. Glasgow 

This year, our School Site Council is engaging the community in the process of refreshing our school vision and mission. This process is not about creating a new vision and mission for Lewis; rather, it is about ensuring that our stated vision and mission accurately capture the Lewis community as we know it in 2018...and as we hope it will continue to grow in the future. In December, we gathered feedback from every student at Lewis through a guided art reflection process. I brought each class to observe a Lewis mural created in 1962. Students used this mural as a springboard to express their ideas about what is most important about our school community today. Now, we would like to add your ideas to the amazing ones already expressed by our students. We would greatly appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to complete this short survey. The School Site Council will be using the data generated by the students (via the mural activity) and by you (via this survey) to refresh our school vision and mission and--hopefully--to launch the creation of a new community-wide art piece.

5^th Grade Families

An Information Session only for parents and guardians of incoming 6th graders and new students who are starting at Sellwood in the fall of 2018, will take place on Wednesday, January 24th, from 6:00-7:15pm. This event begins in the gym for an overview of Sellwood Middle School, forecasting and orientation procedures and staff introductions. The evening will conclude with a guided tour of the building, and a chance to chat with Grade 6 teachers in their classrooms. Looking forward to seeing you!

Sellwood Middle School
8300 SE 15th Ave * Portland, OR 97202
Phone: 503.916.5656
www.pps.net/schools/sellwood

If your child will be attending another middle school, or if you would like to attend an open house at a lottery based school, please call the school for information.  School contact information is located at www.pps.net/schools

Keep Lewis Healthy

Please remember that if your child has a fever, they may not return to school until they are fever free for 24 hrs.  If your child is vomiting or has diarrhea, they must be symptom free for 24 hrs. as well before returning to school.

The Art Fundraiser was a great success!!

 And YOU CAN KEEP ORDERING! 
 The SilverGraphics Online Shop is still open and you can SAVE 20% on all orders placed by Valentine’s Day!

​You can even UPLOAD NEW ART after you access our online shop.

Go to this website to learn how:

https://www.lewispta.org/2017-art-fundraiser
 

Need Socks?

We’re still selling socks in the office to benefit 5^th grade science camp.  Come on in and pick up a pair- $6-10
 

Staff appreciation lunch--

The PTA is changing up staff appreciation this year. Rather than one intense week of celebration, we're celebrating on days throughout the year.

Monday, January 29 is a staff inservice day, and during a break in the action they will enjoy the annual staff appreciation lunch. Join in spreading the love by contributing a dish to the feast.

Going to be out of town for the long weekend and still want to participate? Leave a dish with a friend to bring in, or make a small cash donation for the PTA to purchase food. Lunch will be served at 11:30am, so plan on having your dish to school by 11. Please note any common allergens on the dish.

Help us plan for the meal by letting us know if you will contribute a dish. Go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-staff2 to sign up.
Questions? Email Ellen Kotler at ellen.yerkes@gmail.com

Talented & Gifted Assessments

The TAG Assessments will be taking place at Lewis School on Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8th.  If you have nominated your child for TAG, please make sure she/he is on time and at school on those days.  If you have questions, please email-
Abby Rotwein, Lewis TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net.

Connect  to Kindergarten

It seems kind of early, but registration for the 2018-2019 School Year will begin soon.
If you have an incoming kinder, it would be very helpful if you could let us know by emailing Tracy (tgiordano@pps.net) with their name and date of birth.
Also, if you have neighbors with incoming kinders, could you please share with them that our Connect to Kindergarten is coming up?

Friday, February 9th at 9:30 am
Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 pm

Childcare is NOT provided, but children are welcome.  After the informational meeting, tours will be provided.
Registration packets will be available at our Connect to Kindergarten events, and in the school office after February 9th..
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.
Thank you

Lewis Auction Volunteers Needed!

Hey Lewis parents... The Lewis Lucky Luau auction is coming soon. Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 10th! It's going to be a fabulous event and great date night opportunity. The theme is Hawaiian, as the name suggests, and tickets are $10 per person or $15 per couple if purchased in advance. There will be plenty of food, beverages, and prizes to be had - invite your friends! A  link to buy tickets will be coming soon.

In the meantime, we NEED YOUR HELP to make this event a success! Do you own or work for a business that can donate an auction item, or do you have connections to a business you could ask for a donation? Do you have an hour to send a few emails using a pre-written message asking for donations? If so, contact Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com. This is our most time-sensitive need, but we also need volunteers to help with publicity, food, decorations, preparing materials the week before the event, and at the event itself. If you can help with any of these projects, please email Kendyl Watts at kendylann3@yahoo.com or sign up on the office windows and we will get in touch with you. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, we will be very grateful for your help!

Message from the School Office   

We wanted to inform our families that there have been a few cases of lice in our school.
If your student is found to have nits (eggs) or live lice, we will contact you to advise you of the situation.

MESD/School policy states students with live lice must be treated. Students may return to school as soon as treatment is completed and live lice are removed. Continue the combing process (while hair is wet) daily, even if your child has returned to school to assure that all lice and nits are removed.

Please feel free to contact our school nurse, Bev O’Brien, at bobrien@mesd.k12.or.us if you have any questions.

PTA Clothes Closet

Monday Feb.12 is Lewis’ day to help at the PTA Clothing Closet.  Please consider giving some time to help provide clothing for PPS children in need.  Marshall Campus 930-130pm.  Sign up at office and/or email Claire-
Clairestar.g@gmail.com
If interested but unable to commit to the full time, please email about options.  We are also collecting clothing to take to the PTA clothing closet- new socks and underwear.
Other clothing in like new condition.  Teens are served as well, so all sizes welcome.  Bring donations to the office.  Thanks

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...                  
January 24, 2018

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

January continues to be a fabulous month in room 16!
What are we up to?
Reading: We’ve finished our Mysteries Unit! We discussed how to use the strategies we learned for reading mysteries to the rest of fiction. Now we are moving onto nonfiction!
Writing: Continuing our Opinion/Persuasive unit. Students are finishing up the final copy of their persuasive essays.
Social Studies: We’ve started our Portland unit! We are gathering information about Portland’s history and creating slides. We also spent a day studying Martin Luther King Jr. Come check out our writing and crayon mural!
Math: 2nd graders are comparing numbers and practicing using their skills to solve story problems. 3rd graders are finishing their geometry unit.

Artist Residency: Taiko has been fantastic this week! Kids are focusing on respect, self control and perseverance as they drum. Come to our recital this Thursday!

Reminders
January 25: Taiko Recital in the Cafeteria at 2:15 PM
Sign up to volunteer in room 16! There is a sign up sheet posted by our classroom door.

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Dear Room 10 Friends,

We are moving right ahead in our Urban Studies unit and exploring lots of new topics in Math and Writing.  Coming soon, kids will be writing opinion pieces about how we can make our city a place that works for everyone.  Today we had a brief conversation about what we think we should do to make our city better and the ideas kids shared were truly moving.  They showed a lot of compassion for people who are experiencing poverty, homelessness and addiction and expressed their hope for more resources and connection.  I'm excited to see how their thinking develops as Jill and I merge the opinion writing unit with our inquiry into city life. 

In Math we are wrapping up our study of geometry.  We focused on how different ways to think about a shape (sides, angles, parallel and perpendicular lines) give us tools for thinking about the spaces around us.  Coming up we will focusing on working with even larger numbers, fractions and multiplication. 

Another note on Math:  I took a break from giving homework but will be sending home some practice and review activities soon.  Thanks as always for your great kids and your support of our work,  Mark

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

I hope you’re all managing to stay healthy. We have had many kiddos out with a variety of illnesses over the last week and a half. We are washing hands, wiping down surfaces, and doing our best to stay healthy. Thankfully, yesterday marked the first day in quite a while that we were all back in class and feeling better...and with no tardies! Thank you for helping to get your little ones to school on time each morning and ready to learn.

Reading: We have completely shifted our reading to expository, or nonfiction texts. The kids are excited to be reading books, and other print materials, on a variety of true subjects. Each reading partnership summarized their first article yesterday and they did a wonderful job. We began the new unit by discussing common features of nonfiction texts and how those features help us better understand what we are reading and help to better organize the information in our minds. 

Math: Students took their Geometry post assessment and did great! They are so excited to finally be working on multiplication - a favorite of 3rd grade mathematicians.

Art & Social Studies: We had our third session with artist Nancy Judd this week and our city project is taking shape nicely. We have been discussing different components that make up a city and the different categories of land use such as residential, commercial, community, etc. I’m excited for the conversation that will take place after we’ve joined the different components together and reflected on if our upcycled city adequately covers all of the areas of need within a city.

Reminders: Please make sure your student is reading, or being read to, each night. I was surprised to read on so many of the reading partner interviews that kiddos aren’t reading when they are at home. Pets, younger siblings, and even stuffed animals all make great listeners.

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

Next week we will hit the halfway mark in the school year (which totally boggles my mind... I guess that's why they say "Time flies when you're having fun.")  We are working our way through our essay writing unit, getting into our fraction unit, and just starting a new nonfiction reading unit.

In writing, students have completed three different graphic organizers for different 5 paragraph essay topics.  Over the next week or so, students will choose one to take through the rest of the writing process: drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.  Writing a 5 paragraph essay is a major skill that 4th graders tackle, so we will get lots of practice this year.

In math, we are diving deep into fractions.  We did some explorations of fractions on a geoboard, a ruler, and this week we are using an egg carton to find new and different fractional parts.  There have been some great discussions so far and many AHA! moments for members of our class.

In reading, we kicked off our brand new nonfiction reading unit!  Students will be learning new strategies for how to read nonfiction more deeply before we begin a specific topic of study on the weather.  Students are practicing the strategies we cover in class with a reading partner in a book at their level.  Speaking of levels, we have just about wrapped up taking our end of the quarter assessments and I have been amazed at the progress that this class is making!  Keep reading at home - it is paying off!

In social studies, we are delving in to Oregon's history by taking a look back through time. We will be learning about human origins, why and how people move from place to place, Columbus and the discovery myth, and what has happened to Indigenous Tribes over time. Then we will reconnect to our salmon study from the fall as we learn how the construction of dams has impacted salmon and traditional Native American fishing in preparation for a film screening of United by Water at Lewis on February 1st at 1:30. The film, narrated by Sherman Alexie, follows five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago. OPB recently profiled the film (bit.ly/United-By-Water).

It's pretty soggy out and as you know, we almost always have outdoor recess.  Please send your child to school with a coat and shoes that can withstand the elements.

Thank you and take care, Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

It's hard to believe we are nearly half way through the school year!  At the moment we are in the midst of assessments and launching new units.  Here's what's going on in Room 22:

Math:  Last week, students completed the area and perimeter unit and took their post assessment.  On Friday, I did some more practice with students who struggled on the assessment.  The graded tests went home with students that afternoon.
We have begun our new unit, Unit 3, on fractions.  Students are practicing representing fractions with different models and are learning about equivalency.  This week, they are learning about the fractions of a foot model and the egg-carton model.

Reading:  Students are taking assessments to see how much growth they have made in their words per minute, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
We are starting our new non-fiction unit this week.  The focus is on "Reading the Weather" but students will have the opportunity to read about other non-fiction topics as well.  Students will have new reading partners for this unit.

Writing:  Over the course of the last few weeks students have written three, 5-paragraph essay outlines.  They are now choosing one of the outlines to turn into a rough draft of an essay.

Social Studies: This week we are doing more background work on Native American history. It is important that students have an understanding of the broader story before focusing on those groups native to Oregon. We will be learning about human origins, why and how people move from place to place, Columbus and the discovery myth, and what has happened to Indigenous Tribes over time. Then we will reconnect to our salmon study from last fall as we learn how the construction of dams has impacted salmon and traditional Native American fishing in preparation for a film screening of United by Water at Lewis on February 1st at 1:30. The film, narrated by Sherman Alexie, follows five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago. OPB recently profiled the film (bit.ly/United-By-Water).

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Our art residency with Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway is well underway. Kids have been busy working in groups to develop thumbnail sketches that detail the components and materials that make up their fashions and drafting artist statements to describe the message that they are communicating through their artwork (bit.ly/ART-RES-1). During our second session with Nancy, kids learned more about the hidden materials and people behind clothing and began making their fashions (bit.ly/ART-RES-2). I appreciate Nancy’s contemporary art approach with its focus on developing work that is rooted in concept. Kids are getting handier at threading needles, too!

Our study of Black History continues. Kids have been busy researching by reading, highlighting, and taking notes. They have used their notes to write a biography. Kids are currently editing and revising their drafts, adding references using APA style, and inserting an image. Our work with soon be on display as a Black History timeline alongside the work of kids from Ms. Natalie and Ms. Sarah’s classes.

This week we are doing more background work on Native American history. It is important that students have an understanding of the broader story before focusing on those groups native to Oregon. We will be learning about human origins, why and how people move from place to place, Columbus and the discovery myth, and what has happened to Indigenous Tribes over time. Then we will reconnect to our salmon study from last fall as we learn how the construction of dams has impacted salmon and traditional Native American fishing in preparation for a film screening of United by Water at Lewis on February 1st at 1:30. The film, narrated by Sherman Alexie, follows five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago. OPB recently profiled the film (bit.ly/United-By-Water).

We began a new reading unit by sorting books by genre and will begin learning more about the features of non-fiction reading and writing. We also made movie trailers (bit.ly/LMN-making), the final copy (bit.ly/LMN-trailer) of which played before Lewis Movie Night last Friday.

I have gotten some questions about opting out of the upcoming state standardized testing. These tests, called the Smarter Balanced tests, are very different from the former OAKS tests in their size and scope. A state testing opt-out form (bit.ly/SBAC-OPT-OUT) is available in the Lewis office. If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to the Lewis office before actual testing begins (ideally by February 1st). Lewis plans to schedule tests to begin in April and run into May. The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask.

Lastly, a pink flyer about Valentine’s Day was sent home today.

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

I can’t believe January is almost over! We are wrapping up a short math unit on fractions, and we are hoping to get to the post assessment this week. Students do not have school this coming Monday in preparation for report cards. Report cards will go home Monday, February 5th. In Social Studies we are creating a Black History Timeline. Students are selecting an influential person or event to research and document.  We are also starting a new Science unit called Microworlds.  Since we usually rotate between Science and Social Studies, we will sometimes integrate our Black History Timeline research into our writing block. We are halfway through our time with artist, Nancy Judd. Students are creating a clothing collection with a group of classmates. We will keep you updated on how we plan to display these upcycled creations.

We have another amazing experience for our students in the works. We are beginning to review the work students did with Salmon last year and then connecting it do a discussion of how the construction of dams has impacted salmon and traditional Native American fishing. Students will then take part in a film screening of United by Water at Lewis on February 1st. This film, narrated by Sherman Alexi, follows five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago. OPB recently profiled the film at bit.ly/United-By-Water.

 A few reminders-- There is an informational meeting at Sellwood tonight. The meeting begins at 6pm and is only for parents/guardians, no kids. Also, several of you have not filled out the survey regarding Science Camp tuition. If you have not filled out the form, please visit our blog  http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/ and you will find a link. Don’t forget to load up on Vitamin C and makes sure your kids are getting lots of sleep because there continues to be a variety of bugs floating around :(

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

We are busy as can be in Room 23! This week we are rolling out our new Non-Fiction unit in Reading. Students are going to be learning new strategies for how to approach and understand this genre. They are excited and some are already planning ways to share their learning! We had a unit test in Math today. I will get those scored and back in the next week. Also, we are doing our second round of Reading Assessments this week. Those scores will be noted on report cards, which I will be working on Monday. (Reminder no school!) Tomorrow we will have our 3rd session with artist, Nancy Judd. Along with exploring materials and their properties, they are understanding environmental impact of packaging and reflecting on what that know of Native Americans in the past and how they approached use of materials. Some teams are using only  man-made materials for their design and some are using both man-made and natural items. Each team has a message they want to convey in their design and I must admit, they are super cool! If you would like to join us, we have a session tomorrow 10:00 and then our final session is next Wednesday at the same time! In the next week we will reflect back to learning that happened last year with Native Americans and the work with salmon study from last fall as we learn how the construction of dams has impacted salmon and traditional Native American fishing in preparation for a film screening of United by Water at Lewis on February 1st at 1:30. The film, narrated by Sherman Alexi, follows five tribes returning to the Kettle Falls area where they had traditionally gathered to fish prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam 75 years ago. OPB recently profiled the film (bit.ly/United-By-Water). Students have been working hard on a Black History report. Some have brought theirs home to work on. The three 5th grade classes are all working on this project and we will be creating a timeline in the hall with these reports. Please stop by in February and have a read! It is sure to be impressive! Thanks to our helpers at Zenger last week. It was a wet, but wonderful day. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun, as well! We will have one more trip to Zenger in the spring!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

Our theme unit this month is “Keeping My Body Healthy”. We have been learning about the various body systems, and ways to take good care of our bodies to stay healthy. We have been practicing some simple yoga moves, and are learning how yoga is good for the body and mind. We talked about how yoga helps the body’s strength, balance and to breathe easy.  Yoga also helps the mind be calm, focused, and it improves memory. For Reading, students are finishing their Reading A-Z books and packets about the body.  For Writing, students have been working on Edit It pages and Grammar and Writing Practice. This week they started writing a passage to answer the question: “What’s your favorite way to exercise?” For Math, we are finishing our unit on word problems, then we will start working on skip-counting, multiplication, and division.  We are also doing various assessments for the end of the grading period.

For Art, we are in the third week of building our city out of recycled materials for the Right Brain Project with teaching artist, Nancy Judd. On the first week, students built transportation vehicles. During the second week, we brainstormed important elements of a city, which fell into categories like businesses, shopping, infrastructure, public buildings, and housing. The recycled materials students brought in formed our “junkyard” and students are each building a structure from the list we made. This week we mapped out where all the buildings should go, and finished the details and signs for each. Next, students will make people and homes for their town. Next week we will draw a map of the roads, parks, railroad tracks and river. Finally we will put it all together and form our recycled city!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               
January 17, 2018          

 Upcoming Dates:

Jan 19- Movie Night
Jan 29- No School, Teacher Planning Day

Message from Ms. Glasgow

This week at Lewis has showcased many sides of our students and staff--I've seen drummers and sculptors emerge through our Right Brain residencies, social justice advocates take voice through classroom lessons inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and super-cuddly kiddos connecting with friends in flannel on PJ Day. Looking forward, I hope to see many of you at the PTA Movie Night this Friday--I'm so appreciative that our PTA has brought Playworks into the plan for the evening and has arranged the event so that it is free and accessible to all families. It is wonderful to be part of a community so well-supported by our parent and community partners. Although we were anticipating sending you our School Site Council vision survey this week, we hit a slight delay--please look for the survey in next week's newsletter. We're looking forward to hearing how you define and envision Lewis.

FREE Food and Drinks at MOVIE NIGHT January 19th, 5:30PM!
Join us for FREE Family Movie Night, compliments of your BottleDrop donations and Mike’s Custom Tree Care!

Lewis Movie Theater (Lewis cafeteria), Now Showing: WALL-E
Come see a Playworks Presentation before the movie - have no idea what we're talking about?

Read more about it here! - https://www.lewispta.org/events
We need parent help for movie night- get involved here! https://www.lewispta.org/volunteer

> 5:30 - Otto’s hot dog dinner

> 6:00 - PlayWorks activity and info

> 6:30 - WALL-E on the big screen in the cafeteria and popcorn to enjoy.  
Students - bring your own blankets/cushions/pillows to keep comfortable on the floor mats.
Thank you to Laura Troxel, Betsy Kovatch, and Ellen Kotler for organizing this PTA community event!

Staff appreciation lunch--

The PTA is changing up staff appreciation this year. Rather than one intense week of celebration, we're celebrating on days throughout the year.

Monday, January 29 is a staff inservice day, and during a break in the action they will enjoy the annual staff appreciation lunch. Join in spreading the love by contributing a dish to the feast.

Going to be out of town for the long weekend and still want to participate? Leave a dish with a friend to bring in, or make a small cash donation for the PTA to purchase food. Lunch will be served at 11:30am, so plan on having your dish to school by 11. Please note any common allergens on the dish.

Help us plan for the meal by letting us know if you will contribute a dish. 
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-staff2
Questions? Email Ellen Kotler at ellen.yerkes@gmail.com

Talented & Gifted Assessments

The TAG Assessments will be taking place at Lewis School on Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8th.  If you have nominated your child for TAG, please make sure she/he is on time and at school on those days.  If you have questions, please email-
Abby Rotwein, Lewis TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net.

See's Candy - Valentine's Day pre-order

See's Valentine candy sale event has begun!  There are three styles available for either $5 or $6 each.  Lewis earns 20% profit back on all orders!  Short turnaround time however... Please return order forms with payment to the school office by office close on Monday, January 22 and the orders will be filled after Feb 1. Questions?  Contact Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com

Connect to Kindergarten

It seems kind of early, but registration for the 2018-2019 School Year will begin soon.
If you have an incoming kinder, it would be very helpful if you could let us know by emailing Tracy (tgiordano@pps.net) with their name and date of birth.
Also, if you have neighbors with incoming kinders, could you please share with them that our Connect to Kindergarten is coming up?

Friday, February 9th at 9:30 am
Tuesday, February 20th at 6:30 pm

Childcare is NOT provided, but children are welcome.  After the informational meeting, tours will be provided.
Registration packets will be available at our Connect to Kindergarten events, and in the school office after February 9th..
Please contact the school office if you have any questions.
Thank you

Lewis Auction Volunteers Needed!

Hey Lewis parents... The Lewis Lucky Luau auction is coming soon. Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 10th! It's going to be a fabulous event and great date night opportunity. The theme is Hawaiian, as the name suggests, and tickets are $10 per person or $15 per couple if purchased in advance. There will be plenty of food, beverages, and prizes to be had - invite your friends! A  link to buy tickets will be coming soon.

In the meantime, we NEED YOUR HELP to make this event a success! Do you own or work for a business that can donate an auction item, or do you have connections to a business you could ask for a donation? Do you have an hour to send a few emails using a pre-written message asking for donations? If so, contact Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com. This is our most time-sensitive need, but we also need volunteers to help with publicity, food, decorations, preparing materials the week before the event, and at the event itself. If you can help with any of these projects, please email Kendyl Watts at kendylann3@yahoo.com or sign up on the office windows and we will get in touch with you. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, we will be very grateful for your help!

Message from the School Office   

We wanted to inform our families that there have been a few cases of lice in our school.
If your student is found to have nits (eggs) or live lice, we will contact you to advise you of the situation.

MESD/School policy states students with live lice must be treated. Students may return to school as soon as treatment is completed and live lice are removed. Continue the combing process (while hair is wet) daily, even if your child has returned to school to assure that all lice and nits are removed.
MESD has resources and information available to you on their website: https://www.mesd.k12.or.us/Page/510

Please feel free to contact our school nurse, Bev O’Brien, at bobrien@mesd.k12.or.us if you have any questions.

PTA Clothes Closet

Monday Feb.12 is Lewis’ day to help at the PTA Clothing Closet.  Please consider giving some time to help provide clothing for PPS children in need.  Marshall Campus 930-130pm.  Sign up at office and/or email Claire-
Clairestar.g@gmail.com
If interested but unable to commit to the full time, please email about options.  We are also collecting clothing to take to the PTA clothing closet- new socks and underwear.
Other clothing in like new condition.  Teens are served as well, so all sizes welcome.  Look for a box in the hall by the office.  Thanks.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School
Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...                                 
January 17, 2018

Notes from Ms. Allen – Kindergarten
Dear Families,

We could not have asked for a better group of parents. Mrs. Janice and I appreciate everything that you all do to help our classroom run smooth.
We appreciate all of the parent volunteers. Also, we thank you for the wonderful gifts that we received. I apologize for the mushy tone, but we are so grateful! With that being said, Happy New Year!

Language Arts: We have started a new unit in reading workshop. This unit dramatizes their reading potential so that they can use their super powers and strength to help them read. Every week we set reading and writing goals so that we can become better readers and writers.

Believe it or not! Your child can actually read to themselves for 15 minutes. They love reading their leveled books, songs and poems. This week we will continue book shopping. Their new books will be a little more challenging, and they are very excited about the challenge and receiving new books to add to their book box.

Word Study: Last week we started our differentiated spelling instructions, Our groups are categorized by fruits: banana, watermelon and blueberry. Each group is working on a different set of skills, such as consonants, diagraphs, blends and vowel sounds.

Math: This week we are in the beginning stages of learning about money. We will start with recognizing pennies and nickels by name and value.

Social Studies: Last week they learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we read books about his life and legacy. I wish you all could have seen our discussion about Dr. King. (It was very heart-warming) The kids were so intrigued with his life and story. They also wrote about Dr. King in their writing journal, they wrote about topics that interested them. Also, we did an art project last week and everyone made a Dr. King portrait with construction paper.

Upcoming Events: Taiko recital is January 19, 2018 at 2:00 pm – 2:50 pm

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten
Welcome to a brand New Year! It has been a delightful start of 2018 in Room 4. We are revisiting the routines that make our days run efficiently. Students are expected to be able to follow directions the first time. The greater the on-task behavior, the more success children have in being able to work independently. There is so much more learning we have to do!

We have begun working in different groups in Words Their Way. There are three groups and each one focuses on a particular skill. Many students gained a level in Lexia recently. Thank you to the parents that helped that along! According to the Lexia experts, students should be finishing up Level 3 at this time. In Reading Workshop, we are starting a new unit of study: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles. In the first section, we will be tackling more challenging books. At home, your child can stack their books from simplest to most difficult, building confidence along the way. In Bridges Math we will be focusing on the numbers 11-19, taking them apart into ones and ten, and putting them back together. Please practice writing the numbers up to 20.

We have been revisiting the Lewis School rules: be kind, be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. If someone is not demonstrating these traits, I ask them what the rule is and why it is important we follow the rule. This provides the child a moment of reflection and an understanding of the importance of being a positive member of our school community. These guiding principles are being incorporated into our arts residency with Portland Taiko.

Starting on January 12th, we were very fortunate to begin our Right Brain Residency with Portland Taiko. https://portlandtaiko.org/ Founded in 1994, Portland Taiko “blends the tradition of Japanese Taiko drumming with a sense of Asian American identity, creativity, and empowerment.” This week, kindergarten classes each spend 45 minutes a day practicing drumming techniques! Having participated in this program several times, I am very impressed with the energy and patterns students pick up so quickly. Our closing ceremony is this Friday. You are encouraged to join us in the cafeteria from 2-2:50pm to witness the power of what we’ve been learning!

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

Welcome back families!  We have had a wonderful two weeks together since Winter Break and are easing back into our daily routine.  Here are some updates on what we’ve been working on for the last few weeks. 

Reading Workshop:  Have you noticed your readers using some of their Reading Super Powers at home?  Pointer Power or Picture Power?  Sound Power or Persistence Power?  Or maybe they have been practicing our most recent power, Book Talk Power.  If not, encourage them to share which strategy they find most helpful when reading challenging books at home.  This week we are finishing up our Super Powers unit and beginning a new unit called, “Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles”.  I am so impressed with what strong reading skills our students are developing!      

Taiko:  Starting on January 12th we began our Right Brain Residency with Portland Taiko.  Portland Taiko “blends the tradition of Japanese taiko drumming with a sense of Asian American identity, creativity, and empowerment.”  Each day this week we will meet for 45 minutes with our Taiko instructors Michelle and Toru.  We are focusing on the words Respect, Safe, Kind and Responsible while learning more about the traditions of Taiko.  Our closing ceremony will be this Friday from 2:00-2:50.  Parents are encouraged to join if you are able to! 

Words Their Way:  Last week we changed our Words Their Way routine and began working in small groups instead of whole group.  Each group is working on a different phonics skill or spelling pattern.  Groups will meet with me on Day 1 to learn about their new sort while other groups are working independently. 

Math:  Our calendar pattern for January is a growing pattern.  We are adding a triangle each day to build different shapes.  Students are practicing identifying and naming the following shapes: triangle, rhombus, trapezoid and hexagon.  Another component of our calendar is helping students to understand odd and even numbers.  Continue working on counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s at home! 

Social Studies:  Last week we focused our social studies learning on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the important work he did for our country.  While reading the story, Martin’s Big Words we defined words such as freedom, equality and peace.  We had important discussions about fairness and how to resolve conflict in a peaceful way like Dr. King.     

The transition back to school after a long break can be hard on our kindergarteners.  Please help them with this transition by making sure they are getting to bed early and waking up with enough time to get organized and to school on time.

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

Hello Room 3 Families,
Last week we celebrated all of our amazing accomplishments in completing our Opinion Writing unit by sharing our book reviews under the spotlight. The kids did an amazing job and convinced each other to read their selections. We also celebrated the completion of our Word Detective unit with a Read In. We had so much fun and most likely will do that again at the end of our upcoming units.

This week we started our Artist in Residence experience with Taiko Drumming. We are learning so many skills including recreating rhythms, following directions, and lots of important vocabulary such as self control, respect, perseverance and  safe body. Please join us on Friday at 2:00 for our performance.

We have begun our assessment cycle in preparation for report cards. It is so amazing to see the growth the kids are making. It is so wonderful to get the chance to sit down and reflect on just how far they have come both academically and socially and we are only half way through the year. Yay to Room 3 kiddos!

We will be starting a new Mystery Science unit next week called The Work of Water. This unit helps students develop the idea that water is a powerful force that reshapes the earth’s surface. Students see that water isn’t just something we drink. It carries sand to create beaches, carves out canyons and valleys and, as ice, scrapes entire areas flat.

We have been learning about the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and why we celebrate his birthday as a national holiday. We learned about Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges and the work of so many folks who fought for social justice. This is always a favorite time of year for me as I can't help but be amazed in the way 6/7 year olds are shocked by the inequities and how they feel a need to make the world a better place.

In Math we are continuing problem solving, adding and subtracting, grouping numbers and counting by 2's, 5's and 10's with a theme of Sea Creatures. We have learned several new math games which are in Math Workplaces. Our most recent addition is a game in which they are counting money, pennies and nickels and regrouping.

Looking ahead, we are so excited for our field trip on January 26th to the Oregon Children's Theater to see Pete The Cat. Please return field trip forms ASAP. Thank you. 

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

Welcome back to a full, but short, week here in Room 6! I hope you were able to celebrate the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with your child being inservice in some way this past Monday. Last week as we learned about the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I was struck by all of the insightful comments and realizations the children shared and felt energized and optimistic about the world they will help create as they grow older!

Last week we were also able to do a lot of writing and it was wonderful to see how the students have progressed in recording thoughts on paper. Spacing between words, capitals, periods and using word wall words are the norm now and most importantly, each child writes in their own voice which makes each written entry so meaningful.

 As the weather has been unseasonably warm and February approaches the students have been commenting on the tiny green sprouts they are starting to see in our gardens. This week in science, our beautiful amaryllis continues to work towards blooming and we are observing bulbs both edible and not edible. In the next few weeks, we begin a soil, sand and silt unit. In math, we continue to practice skills doing stations and working on addition and subtraction facts together. While doing math assessments this week, I realize you can never review enough counting by 10’s, 5’s and 2’s, counting forward and backward from random numbers, counting/recognizing coins and telling time to the hour and half hour. Numbers are all around us and creating story problems with meaning for your child is also very powerful. All of the Lewis Teachers are currently doing assessments to better understand and build on student’s strengths and to inform instruction. Report cards will be coming home in the next few weeks. I'm pleased with the growth made academically and socially and happy to know more about how to strengthen my teaching to continue this growth and connection to learning for each child.  Please be sure to help your child keep to eating and sleeping schedules as healthy routines make a considerable difference in your child’s academic and social experiences.

On Friday we are creating Russian Matroyshka nesting dolls using colored felt pen drawings and designs based on the traditional Russian styles we are exploring. Please volunteer to assist if you are available:) Friday: 2:15 pm. Next week we will be learning from our Artists in Residence: Portland Taiko and our field trip is Friday, January 26th. Please send in permission slips asap:)

Thanks and have a great rest of the week!
abuckley@pps.net

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

Today we reorganized out classroom library to ready ourselves for our next reading unit - Meeting Characters & Learning Lessons. The kids were so helpful and excited to help with this project. Our focus during this next reading unit will be on reading fiction - and especially series fiction. We will be following characters through various adventures to see how characters change and react to events, and lessons they learn along the way. Paired nicely, our next unit in writing will have students writing their own series of fiction. Each kiddo will make up a character and write several adventures for them. This is a fun unit and I can’t wait to read the upcoming stories!

In math, we continue to work on computation and place value  - especially in the context of problem solving and double digit numbers.  We have been working on counting by 5’s and 10’s and will begin to use this understanding for counting coins and telling time.

Finally, if you pick up from the playground take a minute to come inside one day this week to check out the amazing portraits the kids did in the hallway outside our classroom door to honor and celebrate the amazing work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cheers, Ms. Sarah

Notes from Ms. O’Dea - 2nd Grade

Here we are just about halfway through the school year and busy as ever!

Since winter break we have been working on……….

Reading: Thanks to all of you for participating in our nonfiction text/items collection and homework assignment, examining these items for information was a great way to start off our nonfiction reading unit.We’re looking at how nonfiction text is set-up and read differently. We even “read” a penny. You never know where a word or two will bring you. We’re coming across some interesting topics: Knights and the Middle Ages, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights Movement (That one started a lively,engaging conversation). Students also have a chance to choose from various topics in the reading bins. Love being able to witness second graders excitedly “grow” their knowledge.

On another note, I’ve sent home another reading log which is not due until Jan. 29. Please have your child reading every night, books of their choice (Does not have to be nonfiction).Then fill out the reading response on the back on one of those books or a chapter from a book.

Math: Unit 3 is about building computation skills for addition & subtraction facts to 20. I will send home a fact fluency worksheet or two. You could use these to have your child verbally give you the answer for practicing. There are also some measurement and word problem-solving activities in this unit.

Science: We’ve started into the topic of motion by building spinning tops using a shaft/axis (small strong straw) and a combination of small and large plastic discs. As one student succinctly summarized the activity by noting that the more weight the better the faster the spin. Next experiment: spinners.

Artist in Residence class:  Taiko drumming lessons will be daily, Mon- Thurs, Jan. 22-25.

It’s going to be a great experience! There will be a performance on Thursday, Jan. 25 @ 2:15 pm in the school cafeteria. All are welcomed and encouraged to come.

Ms. Murphy’s return date is Feb. 21. When the time gets closer, as I’m not trying to think about it too much yet, I/we will keep you posted about the transition.

Sincerely, Ms. O’Dea

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

In Math, we continue our Measurement unit in which we learned how to accurately measure objects using inches and feet.  You can help us at home, by finding authentic reasons to use measurement in your daily lives.  If you sew, students can help your measure fabric.  If you need to repair or build something, students can help you measure the length and width of the objects.  As you get ready to cover up summer lawn furniture, students can help you measure the length needed for the tarps etc. Keeping track of the height of members in your family or comparing the length of shoes could also be fun.

In class, we talked about the importance of matching the end of an object with the beginning of the ruler. We talk about using 'iteration' if the object is larger than 12 inches. It is important to get an accurate reading by matching the end of one ruler with the beginning of the next. If you are only using one ruler, it is important to make a pencil mark for the end of 12 inches and then start the second foot at that mark.

We also worked on strategies for facts to 20.  We began with +0,1,2 and talked about how they work. Anytime you add 0 to another the number stays the same. Anytime you add 1 to a number, it is the next number. Your child should be able to automatically tell what number comes before or after any number to 100.  The +2 strategy builds on the +1.  Think of it as 'skip counting'.  It is a plus 1 plus one more so 16+2 would be 17+1 more. 

Next, we focused on doubles and neighbors. Most students are familiar with doubles to 10.  So if 5+5=10 then 6+6 is two more etc.  Each number has two neighbor facts. One higher and one lower.  5+6 is one more than 5+5 and 4+5 is one less than 5+5. 

After that, we worked on Fast 10's and 9's. Most students are fluent on the idea that 10+ a number equals a teen number so 10+6=16.  We build on that strategy with the 9's. 9+6 is the same as 10+5 because you move one from the 6 and make the 9 into a 10.

Finally, we looked at Ten Buddies or two numbers that make 10. These are facts that should be automatic but many students rely on the 'counting on'. Many of these facts are included in the +0, +1. +2, doubles, neighbors strategies so there is just a handful that need to be memorized.  We also looked at a handful of 'left over facts' such as: 8+6 where you can think of it as a 10+4 or 6+6+2 more. 

How can you help at home?  During the coming week, start with the facts to 10 sheet (answers 10 and under). Have your child point out the strategies and then orally say (not write) the answers. Once your child can say the answers pretty automatically, time your child to see how quickly he/she can say the answers only.  Work on it a few minutes a night. Once your child can say the answers in 30-45 seconds, move onto the facts to 20 (answers 10-20).  Again, have your child point out the strategies and then orally say (not write) the answers.   Please focus on the addition strategies for the next week or two before we introduce the subtraction strategies in class.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               
January 10, 2018          

Upcoming Dates:

Jan 15- No School, MLK Holiday
Jan 17- Late Start/ Spirit Day- PJs
Jan 19- Movie Night
Jan 29- No School, Teacher Planning Day

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Hello everyone. This week, it has been exciting to watch our Right Brain Arts residencies kick off in 3rd and 5th grade. And, this Friday, we'll be welcoming our K-2 resident artists with a Taiko assembly for the whole school. It's wonderful to have guest artists in our building! Our School Site Council also met this week to continue down the road of our re-visioning process--please be on the look-out for a brief survey from the Site Council next week.

I recently spoke with our PTA about Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC). I have provided links to more information about our academic standards and our state assessment (SBAC) in this email--and have left information packets that were distributed at the PTA meeting in the Main Office if you're interested in reading more. One topic that came up during our PTA discussion was the right to "opt-out" from the SBAC assessment and the implications of opting out. The PTA felt that it was important for me to share with everyone the highlights of that conversation. In short, all 3rd-5th grade students are required to take the SBAC state assessment each spring in reading and math. All families have the right to opt their children out of this state testing. The process of opting-out entails returning an opt-out form to our Main Office (ideally by February 1st). While, as a school, we support families' right to make this choice, it is a choice that does have implications for the school community. The two primary implications are these: (1) the data we receive from the SBAC which is intended to inform our curriculum and program is limited in use, and (2) the failure to meet the required state participation rate of 94.5% impacts our state ratings. I know and appreciate that the issue of state testing is sensitive, personal, and political and that families choose to opt-in or opt-out for a range of reasons. If you are contemplating this issue and feeling like you would like to further discuss the benefits or costs of your child participating in state testing, please feel free to set up a meeting with me or your child's teacher to talk further. Our testing this year will likely occur in April and May--we will be sending home a more detailed schedule with 3rd-5th grade families later this spring.

FREE Food and Drinks at MOVIE NIGHT January 19th, 5:30PM!
Join us for FREE Family Movie Night, compliments of your BottleDrop donations and Mike’s Custom Tree Care!

Lewis Movie Theater (Lewis cafeteria), Now Showing: WALL-E
Come see a Playworks Presentation before the movie - have no idea what we're talking about?

Read more about it here! - https://www.lewispta.org/events
We need parent help for movie night- get involved here! https://www.lewispta.org/volunteer

> 5:30 - Otto’s hot dog dinner

> 6:00 - Playworks activity and info

> 6:30 - WALL-E on the big screen in the cafeteria and popcorn to enjoy.  
Students - bring your own blankets/cushions/pillows to keep comfortable on the floor mats.
Thank you to Laura Troxel, Betsy Kovatch, and Ellen Kotler for organizing this PTA community event!

Staff appreciation lunch--
The PTA is changing up staff appreciation this year. Rather than one intense week of celebration, we're celebrating on days throughout the year.  
Monday, January 29 is a staff inservice day, and during a break in the action they will enjoy the annual staff appreciation lunch. Join in spreading the love by contributing a dish to the feast.
Going to be out of town for the long weekend and still want to participate? Leave a dish with a friend to bring in, or make a small cash donation for the PTA to purchase food. Lunch will be served at 11:30am, so plan on having your dish to school by 11. Please note any common allergens on the dish.
Help us plan for the meal by letting us know if you will contribute a dish. Go to

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-staff2 to sign up.
Questions? Email Ellen Kotler at ellen.yerkes@gmail.com

Lewis after School Hoops by 1 On 1 Basketball
1 On 1 Sports is back, offering after school hoops for Grades K-2 and 3-5.  The fun starts Jan. 16.
Please go to the link below on our website to find the Lewis program:

http://portland.1on1basketball.com/portland/homepage

Spanish classes offered at Lewis
Elizabeth Etchepare is returning to teach Spanish Wed & Fri mornings for K-1, and Tuesday afternoons for 2-5^th grade.  Classes start the week of Jan 16.  For more information, please pick up a flyer in the office.

Late Start Spirit Days
On every late start day, we are having spirit days. 
Themes are as follows:

Jan 17-  PJ day
Feb 21- Crazy Hair day
Mar 21- Lewis t-shirt day
Apr 18- Monochromatic day
May 16- Favorite Book Character day

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

Hello 2nd and 3rd grade families! January is off to a wonderful start!
What are we up to?

Reading: Finishing up our Mysteries Unit. We’ve learned about red herrings and partner talk. Students are doing a great job recording their thinking in their Reading Notebooks!

Writing: Continuing our Opinion/Persuasive unit. Everyone has selected a topic for their thesis. Students are researching their topics and organizing their information.

Social Studies: We’ve started our Portland unit! We are gathering information about Portland’s history and creating slides.

Math: 2nd graders are practicing addition and subtraction computational fluency through a variety of games. 3rd graders are exploring geometry.

Artist Residency: Taiko! We will learn and practice traditional Japanese drumming later this January. We have our kick off assembly this Friday!

Reminders
​​​​​​​January 25: Taiko Recital in the Cafeteria at 2:15 PM

Our Rice Rocks & Minerals Museum trip was a big hit! Thank you to our wonderful volunteers!

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Earlier this week we launched our 4-week Right Brain Initiative residency with Nancy Judd, a public artist and environmental educator who specializes in the use of upcycled materials (http://recyclerunway.com).   After reviewing the properties of our different materials, as well as techniques for attaching them to each other, Nancy sent everyone off to tackle their introductory challenge: “Create a mode of transportation that could be used in a city”.   Working with upcycled materials can be tricky: Small groups cut up plastic clamshell containers, sewed paper towel tubes, and stapled yogurt tubs as they collaborated on their transportation sculptures.  After many trials and tribulations, each group had a fabulous creation to share.  Next week we’ll begin to design and construct a model of a city, in which each student creates a component of their choosing -- We can’t wait!  

Our work with Nancy is part of a larger classroom inquiry project on “cities” in which we explore how cities work.  Over the course of the inquiry the kids will identify the overlapping systems within a city (transportation, housing, safety, water, etc.), then plan and create a city that’s sustainable for people and the planet.  Although we plan to explore a wide range of cities around the globe, much of our work invites kids to take a closer look at the city of Portland’s systems and structures, past and present, and the communities they serve.  The next time you’re out and about with your family, whether it is in your neighborhood, or downtown, I encourage you to identify, experience, and talk about Portland’s systems, growth, and change.

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fabulous Winter Break. It has been so nice to be back together the past week. Students have done a great job getting back into our daily routines and remembering expectations.

Yesterday we had our first session with artist, Nancy Judd. The students worked in teams to design a vehicle of their choice, using only recycled materials. We had a city bus, cruise ship, sailboat, train, and even a hot air balloon. In our next two sessions with her, we will be focused on constructing other components to our upcycled city. Here’s what else we’re working on:

Reading: We are in the final few lessons of our mystery unit and will be starting a nonfiction unit next week. These kiddos have a great interest in nonfiction topics and I can’t wait to see them dive into the new reading material.

Writing: We continue to work on our opinion/persuasive writing. The class came up with great “seed ideas” to grow and develop into published pieces. Be sure to ask them about their idea. 

Math: Our quadrilateral riddles turned out great! The exploration we have done into 2 and 3 dimensional shapes has included tangrams, geoboards, and even some shape Bingo. Next up - multiplication!

Reminders: We have struggled with tardies of recent. Thank you for helping to insure that students are in class and ready to learn prior to that second bell ringing.

January 15th - No School
January 17th - Late start (& Pajama Day)
January 19th - Family Movie Night (free to all - hope you can join)

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

Happy New Year!  I hope your 2018 is off to a good start.  We are starting off the New Year by trying to wrap up some unfinished bits and pieces before moving into all new units.

In math, we are finishing up a mini-unit on area and perimeter before heading into Unit 3.  Your child's homework is all about area and perimeter this week.  Some students get the equations for these concepts mixed up, so your child may benefit from having a quick homework check before putting it away for the night.  Our next math unit is all about fractions and division.  Students will explore many different models for showing fractions: geoboards, egg cartons, rulers, clocks, and more.  Later in the unit, students will solidify their understanding of division and learn new strategies for dividing numbers.

In reading, we are spending a few weeks finishing up our book club books before transitioning into a non-fiction reading unit.  As students work their way through their books, they are responding in their reading journals each day, making predictions, comparing characters, noticing conflicts, and more.  Many of the book clubs have shown a voracious appetite when it comes to books!  We have some hungry, hungry readers in our class!

We started a new writing unit this week on composing a five paragraph essay.  Students are in the middle of preparing graphic organizers on three different topics: three favorite moments from winter break, three ways I would like the world to change, and a realistic fiction one about the worst day ever.  At the end of our planning sessions, students will choose one topic to take through the writing process into a published final draft.

The weeks ahead look quite rainy.  We usually have outdoor recess unless it is pouring so please make sure your child has appropriate outerwear and footwear for the elements.

Thank you!

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

Welcome back!  I hope that you and your family had a lovely Winter Break.  We've had a great start to 2018 in Room 22. Let me fill you in on what we've been doing:

Math:  We are currently doing a mini unit on area and perimeter.  Our goal is to transition students into using equations to solve their problems.  For example, rather than counting up the squares to find the area, students are learning to multiply length times width.  Students will be taking their post-assessment on Friday.

Literacy:  This week we are completing "Wonder." Students have been writing about major themes in the novel and about the author's purpose.  Our fiction reading groups will also be wrapping up next week, and students will be taking an assessment on the fiction reading strategies we have covered thus far this school year.  I will also be reading with each student individually to assess growth ahead of report cards.

Writing:  Last week, we began our unit on how to outline a five-paragraph essay.  Students practiced with the topic "The three best things about my Winter Break."  They wrote a thesis statement, topic sentences, and added in details.  This week, we are outlining an essay on "Three ways I want the world to change." 

Social Studies:  On Friday, we will be dedicating the morning to studying the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  As students are now in 4th grade, we will be giving more context to his story, starting with some background on slavery, reconstruction, Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and the birth of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement.  We will watch a portion of King's "I Have a Dream" speech and students will write a letter to Dr. King. 

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Team 20 returned from winter break well rested and ready to go. The kids were all smiles (most of them anyway) and filled with stories from winter vacation. As a matter of fact, we spent most of our first morning back together sharing stories using a creative dramatics activity called “freeze frame.” My stories were mainly about enjoying lots of play time with my kids. All in all, the kids did an excellent job settling into routines during the week and, to no one’s surprise, we are on our way to a very busy and productive week!

Team 20's salmon release field trip (bit.ly/team20-SR) was on the morning of our last Thursday together before break. We hopped on a TriMet bus right outside of Lewis with several zip bags full of baby salmon and alighted near Milwaukie Riverfront Park. After walking down to the Willamette River, we checked the water's temperature, which was a chilly 44 degrees, and the water's pH, which as a healthy 7. Kids each acclimated their cup with salmon to the chillier water before releasing them onto their next chapter in the river. A big thank you to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Salmon Trout Enhancement Program and the Lewis PTA for making this year’s salmon study possible.

As our Road Trip Project concluded, kids made and shared a virtual field trip (bit.ly/team20-VFT) using Google Street View to share some visual examples from their state or region of Oregon. We also took a look at OPB’s weekly news magazine, “Oregon Field Guide” (bit.ly/team20-OFG). This show looks at ecological issues and outdoor recreation across all of the regions of our state and is a way for kids to continue their learning.

Also during our last week, we had our annual read-a-thon (bit.ly/team20-READ) and met with our reading buddies in Mrs. Logue’s first grade (bit.ly/team20-BUD).

More recently, we began reading Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom (bit.ly/Turning-15) about Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s experience participating in the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. As topics come up during the reading, we have stopped to learn more about them, including voter registration laws (bit.ly/Voter-Regist), “Bloody Sunday” (bit.ly/B-Sunday), and the songs that the marchers were singing (bit.ly/Turning-15-Music). We also began reading and researching for our study of Black History. Kids have been busy highlighting and taking notes.

Looking ahead, we will begin an art residency through The Right Brain Initiative with artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway tomorrow. During the residency, students will learn about natural and human-made materials and how Native Americans have traditionally made items. They will learn about the hidden life and environmental and social costs of the clothes we wear. Over the four weeks, they will also create a fashion/costume. Thank you for helping to make this art residency a success by collecting and bringing in clean recyclables. I am excited for us to begin.

Lastly, a word about Lewis’s water situation. As you may have heard, the drinking fountain in the hallway is now open. This is good news. However, this one fountain is shared by five classrooms and our classroom fountain is still closed. So I encourage kids to continue to bring a full water bottle from home each day.  Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Hello families! I hope your Winter Break was both fun and relaxing. We are excited to be back at school, kicking off the new year. Our next few weeks are very busy here in room 21. 

This week we begin our work with the talented, Nancy Judd. During our time with Nancy, students will create a fashion item that reflects their experience with natural and human-made items. We will explore the environmental and social costs of the clothes we wear and the amount of garbage we produce. There are several ways you can help with this process-- 1. Please send cleaned recyclables to school with your children (visit http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/ for more details) 2. Volunteer to sort, clean, and process our collection of recyclables. 3. Sign up to join one of our lessons with Nancy Judd. If you are interested in volunteering, please email me nspeer@pps.net.

We are wrapping up our Graphic Novel Writing Unit. Students created their own graphic novels and we are excited to share them. We are planning to bind these novels as part of our publishing process. We would love to have a parent volunteer come help bind these beautiful graphic novels. If you have the time, we’d greatly appreciate your help. Email me if interested.

You may have noticed a theme here :) We have several trips/projects going on and we would love your support. Life is busy and many of you have work schedules that conflict with our school day. If you end up having some extra time, we’d love to see you.

Next Friday we travel to Zenger Farm to explore the farm during the winter season. Permission slips were due yesterday so please make sure that is in. We still need a few more parent chaperones. We will leave at 8:50am and return at 2:30pm. I will send home a reminder form next Wednesday.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely, relaxing break. It is great to be back. We had a tremendous week last week! It seems the kids missed school, as everyone was engaged and working hard! We are wrapping up our Graphic Novel unit and they are fabulous! Stop by to check them out, if you like! In math, we are beginning a new unit on fractions and will continue to work on division. It was great to see so many kids have retained a decent amount of base knowledge on fractions, so we will move swiftly through this unit. In reading, we are getting ready to begin a non-fiction unit. As we prepare, it has been fun to see kids already lighting up and delving into interesting topics. Some are thinking about how to compile their knowledge into a book of their own! Super fun to be a part of! I hope you all heard that we are beginning an art residency with artist, Nancy Judd. We will be looking at environment impact as we integrate Native people and modern use of materials. Thank you for sending in materials that kids will use to create their unique clothing item. Keep those coming! Also, if you are interested in helping during the residency, please drop me an email. We only have one parent signed up to help, so far! Permission slips for our next trip to Zenger Farm were due yesterday. If you haven't gotten those back, please do so right away. The trip is next week and I need to get all paperwork submitted. Thank you!
As always, let me know if you have questions, concerns, or just want to check-in.

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

During December, our Unique Learning unit was “It’s a Tradition”. We read about various winter holiday traditions, including Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Deepavali, and Japanese New Year. During the week before Winter Break, we read several versions of the Gingerbread Man folktale and compared how they are similar and how each is different. On the Friday before the break, students did a science experiment to see which kind of liquid melts gingerbread men the fastest: water, milk, or hot cocoa. Each table group did the experiment and had similar results; that the gingerbread men melted fastest in hot cocoa. For Writing, students wrote about their favorite winter holiday traditions they do with their families, such as decorating, cooking, or playing games. This week everyone finished their final drafts and are sharing them with the class.

In January, our new theme unit is “Keeping My Body Healthy”. We are reading and learning about the various body systems, including skeletal, muscular, digestive, respiratory, and nervous systems. We are also learning about ways to take good care of our bodies and stay clean and healthy. On Friday we did our monthly survey, and this time the question was “What’s your favorite physical activity?” The choices were walking, riding a bike, swimming, and dancing. Swimming received the most votes, and riding a bike had the second most. For Math, we are doing a unit on word problems, so students are identifying key words and phrases that determine which operation to use: addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

For Art, we started our Right Brain project on Tuesday with teaching artist Nancy Judd. We are considering what types of things make a city, and using recycled materials to make a model of a city. Tuesday’s focus was on transportation, so students made cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, helicopters, boats and a motor home! Nancy will join us each Tuesday this month to help us make each component for our model city. We are also looking at the impact that human-made materials have on the environment.

PE Notes from Mr. Williams

My first month at Lewis has been awesome! We're kicking off the New Year by reviewing the rules and procedures of our Physical Education classroom and outdoor/indoor recess. Once this is completed we are going to roll into a new unit! We'll learn new skills and practice them in small sided games!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School  Weekly Letter               
January 3, 2018            

Upcoming Dates:
Jan 3 – School Play Info Meeting 3-5:15pm
Jan 4- Bottle Drop pick up
Jan 5 – Walk and Roll
Jan 9- PTA Meeting 6:30pm
Jan 15- MLK Holiday- No School
Jan 17- Late Start/Pajama Day
Jan 19- Lewis Movie Night
Jan 29- No School

Message from Ms. Glasgow
Happy New Year! It was wonderful to see everyone back this week--we missed you! This month, we are excited to have a full month of school with your kiddos! In addition to digging into academics, students will be getting started on several different arts residencies this month--Taiko in grades K-2, visual arts projects in grades 3 and 5, and our 4th-5th grade drama production. Our School Site Council is continuing to build off of last month's mural discussions and will be seeking your feedback on our evolving school vision and mission--look for a survey next week. And, if you are seeking more information about Common Core State Standards or the Smarter Balanced Assessment, please join us at the PTA meeting next Tuesday (Jan. 9) @ 6:30 pm.

Help needed to rebuild raised beds in the Lewis garden
Our raised beds in the garden are falling apart and we need help to rebuild them before Spring.  If you have woodworking skills and are willing to help out, send me an email: kgagnonwitter1@pps.net

We are hoping to bring an amazing after school program to Lewis - Girls on The Run!
We are recruiting coaches for Girls on the Run for Spring (March-May).  This program is for 3rd-5th graders.  We are looking for volunteers who are dedicated to working with girls to empower them with valuable life lessons.  Coaches can be parents, teachers, school administrators, college students and community members.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A RUNNER! If interested, go to girlsontherunpdx.org, look under the volunteer tab - coach.  Make sure to specify Lewis. We still need 2-3 more coaches for Monday/Wednesday 3:15-4:45.  If you have questions, check with Susanna Cronen suscronen@hotmail.com.

Save the date and save your stuff!
The annual Lewis Earth Day Fair and Rummage Sale will be taking place April 21st. Before you toss all those white elephant or secret Santa gifts, remember you can gift them to the rummage sale. Don't forget - one person's trash is another person's treasure!

If you're interested in learning more about the Earth Day Fair and how you can help out with the plant sale, the rummage sale or the recycling extravaganza, please contact Zicra: zicralukin@gmail.com

Drinking Water is back on at Lewis
The District is pleased to let you know that water tests for Lewis have been completed.  These results show that the quality of the water coming from the drinking faucets is now better than the EPA recommendations for schools. Therefore, the district is turning the drinking faucets back on in your school’s common areas (hallways, cafeteria and/or gym).

Capri Sun Pouches
Bring your empty Capri Sun Pouches to the office and we will hand them off to be recycled into amazing bags.  Please drain the juice out and remove the straw before bringing them in.

PPS Child Care Survey
Please take a moment to complete this confidential online childcare survey:  https://ppsk12.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3eYZXDohqJVk9G5?Q_Language=EN
or go to pps.net, Departments, Child Care.

Your input is valuable. Survey results will be used as part of an annual program evaluation. Please complete the survey by January 19, 2018.

If you need a paper survey, please let your child care site director know.
Questions? Contact Nancy Hauth at 503-916-3230 or nhauth@pps.net

Lewis Community Cupboard is here!
Being a part of this community has been one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent.
Lewis families support each other, take care of one another, and help to make sure that every one of our children has what they need in order to succeed at school and at home. Sometimes life throws us curveballs, and there are moments when we need a little extra help in order to make ends meet, so in the spirit of care and commitment to each other, we’d like to introduce the Lewis Community Cupboard.
This simple wooden box will contain non-perishable food, toiletries, and baby care items that are available for anyone in our community who needs them. It’s a discreet, easily accessible resource for families who might be struggling and a way for us to keep our community strong. If you’d like to donate items, please drop them off in the main office.
Angie: 503-260-5525, Megan: 503-791-0143

Smarter Balancing Testing:
If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing schedule has yet to be determined.

Music Update from Mr. Jamesbarry
I hope everyone had a spectacular and restful winter break.  The Lewis music program is hitting the ground running in this New Year. This has been the biggest turn out ever for the Lewis 5th grade band, 45 members in all. It’s so big in fact, that we cannot all fit into the music room at the same time. This has forced me to be a little creative with the band schedule. I have decided to split the group in half to make a Tuesday Band and a Thursday Band. I sent out a couple of emails during break with which band your student has been assigned to. If there is a conflict, please let me know. But the new groups start this Tuesday! Also starting this week is 3rd grade Recorder Club. They will meet for the first time on Thursday morning  at 8:00 AM. And finally, on Friday the 2018 Boomin’ Beats will meet for the first time. Practice for the BB’s will be go from 3:00 PM to 4:00PM in the music room. I’m looking forward to it all!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               
December 13, 2017                                                             

Upcoming Dates:

Dec 13- Lewis Dines Out Bridge City Pizza
Dec 18- Jan 1- Winter Break
Jan 3 – School Play Info Meeting 3-5:15pm
Jan 4- Bottle Drop pick up
Jan 5 – Walk and Roll

*Please check the lost and found.  All lost and found items are now near the school office.  Items left over Winter break will be donated.

Message from Ms. Glasgow
I want to thank you all for welcoming me so warmly to the Lewis community this fall. My first few months with you and your children have been fun-filled and inspiring. I wish you all a safe, happy, and restful (or, at least fun) holiday and vacation. And, I look forward to bringing in a new year with the Lewis community in January!

Lewis School Play 2018
All interested 4^th and 5^th grade students should register online to attend the information meeting on Wednesday, January 3^rd from 3-5:15 in the cafeteria.  An information flyer including the rehearsal schedule will be distributed to students this week. 

Register to attend at:  http://bit.ly/2jtBrPP

Thank you for a very successful Season of Sharing!
We appreciate all of your generous contributions.  This year we were able to help 7 families.

Sock it to me!
Socks make great gifts!  Support 5^th grade science camp, and buy some fantastic socks.  50% of sales go to Lewis and they are available in the office.

Lewis Community Cupboard
Being a part of this community has been one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent.
Lewis families support each other, take care of one another, and help to make sure that every one of our children has what they need in order to succeed at school and at home. Sometimes life throws us curveballs, and there are moments when we need a little extra help in order to make ends meet, so in the spirit of care and commitment to each other, we’d like to introduce the Lewis Community Cupboard.
This simple wooden box will contain non-perishable food, toiletries, and baby care items that are available for anyone in our community who needs them. It’s a discreet, easily accessible resource for families who might be struggling and a way for us to keep our community strong. If you’d like to donate items, please drop them off in the main office. The box will be installed over winter break on the north side of the building.

Yours in health and gratitude,
Angie Toops and Megan Lee
Questions?
Angie: 503-260-5525, Megan: 503-791-0143

TAG Reminder
If your child is identified as TAG only in the category of Intellectual, please email Abby Rotwein, TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net, to let her know whether you prefer for your child to be in a TAG Math Group or a TAG Reading Group.

Lewis PTA- year end update & thank you
As we wind down and head into winter break, a huge thank you to all the volunteers and participants who played a role in the successes of the PTA this fall.

We've raised money through-
-Woodstock Gives Back and our partnership with First Cup Coffeehouse
-Lewis Dines Out at Dick's Primal Burger, Pizzicato, and Bridge City Pizza
-The art fundraiser with Silvergraphics
-The holiday bazaar, featuring many local vendors
-Bottle drop, Chinook Book, Scrip, BoxTops, Fred Meyer Rewards, and Amazon Smile

We've also had a lot of fun at socials, walk and roll, the harvest dance, and bingo night. These events are really important ways to build community and encourage fun for the whole family.

Curious about what we raise funds for? Want to learn more about getting involved? Join the conversation about what we can do for our community by coming to a PTA meeting. We meet the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 in the Lewis library (free childcare provided). Can’t attend a meeting? Connect with us-- lewispta.org
facebook.com/ptalewis/
lewiselementaryptaor@gmail.com

We are very grateful to everyone who joined the PTA in supporting all Lewis students this fall. We look forward to a successful spring.

Scrip = Gift Cards- Great for Holiday Gift Giving
Gift cards are available for purchase in the office for Safeway, Fred Meyer, New Seasons, Powells. 

Smarter Balancing Testing:
State testing opt-out forms were sent home last week. If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing schedule has yet to be determined.

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

Hello 2nd and 3rd grade families! December has been fabulous so far, thanks to your all-star students!
What are we up to?
Reading: Continuing our Mysteries unit. We are learning many comprehension strategies, and we’ve started to write in our Reading Notebooks everyday!
Writing: Continuing our Opinion/Persuasive unit. Students are coming up with thesis statements about things they’d like to change or bring recognition to in our community.
Science: Finishing up our Rocks and Minerals Unit. This week we will focus on the physical properties of hardness and magnetism.
Math: 2nd graders are practicing addition and subtraction computational fluency through a variety of games. 3rd graders are exploring geometry.
Reminders:
This Thursday, December 14th, is our field trip to Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Please make sure your student wears close-toed shoes (to climb on the rock pile). Also remember to send a lunch with your student if you marked that on your form. We leave at 9:15, so volunteers should be here at 9:00 (you can just stay after drop off).

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Hi all,  Our class has been busy with lots of projects this week.  In Math we launched our new unit on Geometry by doing some Math art that focused on angles.  You probably saw in the Math homework that we are developing language to describe the angles in shapes.  As your student brings home their Math art take a minute to discuss the different shapes, lines and angles you see in their work.  The window stars look especially beautiful when they are back-lit.

We are also wrapping up some of our informational writing projects, as well.  Students wanted to bring home what they have so far so I will be printing off drafts.  These will not be final drafts so know that they will include invented spellings and third grade punctuation!  Do take some time to give them some feedback on what they've done so far - what is working and how they might add to or restructure their writing.  It is pretty great stuff.

The new year will bring more great thinking and more beautiful growth.  As always we are grateful to work with your children.  Wishing you the best,  Mark

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

Our last classroom notes of 2017 - hard to believe! Here’s a look into how we’ve been spending our days:

Reading: We are continuing with our mystery unit. I introduced Reading Notebooks last week, which the students have really embraced. Mysteries can be tricky, but they are working on strategies to keep track of all of the information they are collecting. Retelling after each chapter, and jotting down the big ideas, are an excellent way to hold onto everything. I've also seen timelines and lists of clues, suspects, and their motive & opportunity.

Writing: Opinion writing is tough! We are taking a break from our independent pieces this week and they’re working together to write a piece trying to persuade Will and me to walk to school more often. The group has crafted a brave and bold thesis, are listing reasons why it’s a good idea, and taking into account possible concerns we might have, so they can address those. In January, they will choose their own idea to develop and publish.

Math: Our geometry unit has started. Tuesday we figured out some quadrilateral riddles and today we got to write some of our own. Have them share and see if you can identify the correct four sided polygon.

Science: This week we finished up and presented our independent slideshows on a subject related to Rocks & Minerals. Each student brought their own personality and twist to the presentations.

Art: After the new year, we will begin an art residency with a local artist. We are in need of a few recycled supplies with which to build. I will send a list of desired items, so that you may collect during the break. I will be looking for volunteers to come in and be part of the art, please let me know if you’re interested.

Reminders:This Thursday is our field trip to Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Please make sure your student wears close-toed shoes (to climb on the rock pile.) Also remember to send a lunch with your student if you marked that on your form. We leave at 9:15, so chaperones should be here at 9:00 (or you can just stay after drop off). Thank you to everyone who has donated to our Street Roots drive. There are still two days to go if you have something to contribute.

I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful Winter Break and I look forward to seeing your little ones (and you) in 2018! Take care! - Cyndi

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

I'm going to keep it short and sweet! We are finishing up our geography and math units this week before heading out for the break.  Students are working to finish up their regions brochures and will take a post-assessment on Oregon geography later this week. 

I hope you will be able to join us for one or both of the events we have planned this week.  Our writing performances will be this Thursday, December 14th, from 9:30-10:30 am.  4th and 5th Grade Family Breakfast is this Friday, December 15th, from

8:15-9:00 am.  Please remember to bring something healthy to share at the Family Breakfast.

I hope you all have a great winter break!  Do lots of reading and sleeping and have lots of fun.  See you in 2018!
-Ms. Elissa

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

With only a few days of school left before Winter Break, we are busy wrapping up units and projects.  Here's what we've got going on in Room 22:

Social Studies:  We are spending a lot of time this week on our Geography brochures.  Students are finishing rough drafts and then typing final drafts on Google Docs.  Once their brochures are printed, they are sketching a map of their region and decorating each section.

Students are also taking their post-assessment on Oregon geography this week.  The assessment is composed of two parts: a map portion where students label the major rivers, lakes, cities, and mountain ranges, and a short answer portion where students show their knowledge of the regions of our state, how to draw a compass rose, and so on.

Writing:  Anne Rutherford, professional actress and storyteller, has been helping us get our personal narratives performance ready.  We have had a blast acting out our stories.

Math:  Last week, students took their post-assessment on larger multiplication strategies.  I will get those back to you after the break.

Hopefully your child spoke with you about the work we have been doing around minimum wage.  Each child was given a budget and then had to figure out what items they would purchase in order to live and still save a little money.  They were shocked by how expensive it is to get by, and no students were able to make it work on minimum wage.  When the minimum wage was raised to $15/hour, students found that it was still difficult to make ends meet.

To that end, we have had a number of conversations about what the holiday season means for different people.  I have encouraged your children to take time to reflect on what they are grateful for and to think about those who do not have as much as they do.  Our Streets Roots Drive continues, there is a donation box outside of our classroom.  If your children are making a holiday wish list, I encourage them to add something onto that list to donate to someone who is less fortunate. 
We hope to see you at one or both of our events this week!

Personal Narrative Author’s & Actors Writing Performance: Thursday, December 14th, from 11-12 AM in Room 22
4th & 5th Grade Family Breakfast & Singalong:  Friday, December 15th, 8:15-9:30 AM, Rooms 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

It was a sunny and chilly week in Portland and busy and productive week in room 20. The kids did a great job maintaining their focus throughout the past week, despite “visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.”  All in all, we managed to get quite a bit done.

Our Road Trip Project concluded. Kids have been peer conferencing to edit and revise their writing, adding and adjusting images, creating consistent and pleasing layouts, organizing their references and including hyperlinks. We held our Road Trip Round Table Conference on Tuesday. Kids did a great job presenting about their state or region of Oregon.

Thanks for all of the donations that are coming in for our Street Roots Vendor Drive. We are collecting through Friday, so there is still time. If you are thinking about what to give, Street Roots has a nice list of things that help the vendors and the office out: bit.ly/street-roots-list. There is a collection box near our door.

We had a wonderful visit to Reed College’s Cooley Gallery (bit.ly/team20-reed-cooley). A big thank you to Gregory MacNaughton for having us over and getting everyone seeing, thinking about, and making art.

We have had more conversations about the salmon in our classroom tank (bit.ly/team20-salmon), specifically about their natural ecosystem, where they fit in their food chain, and their lifecycle. We played a salmon lifecycle board game and concluded that it’s really hard to be a salmon. Kids made slime during our final Reed Science of the semester. On Monday, kids were out in the Lewis garden planting flower bulbs with Ms. Kathleen.

Here’s a look ahead to what’s on tap for the next two days.

Tomorrow we will board TriMet with a couple bags full of baby salmon and head to Milwaukie Riverfront Park where we will send them swimming into their next chapter in the Willamette River. Since we will be outdoors and it will be mighty chilly, please help your kid be prepared with plenty of warm layers. And remember to wear your Team 20 t-shirt! A big thank you to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Salmon Trout Enhancement Program and the Lewis PTA for making this year’s salmon study possible.

Friday begins with the 4th/5th Grade Family Breakfast and Sing-Along. The 8:15-9:00 breakfast in room 22 and 23 is followed with a 9:00-9:30 sing-along led by Mr. Colvin in the cafeteria. For the buffet style breakfast, please bring a serving size of a store bought healthy breakfast item to share, such as pre-bought fruit salad or pre-washed small fruit, bagels and cream cheese, muffins, or granola bars. Please do not bring sweets, such as donuts. Teachers will provide drinks, dishes, and cutlery. Please come by when you can and stay for the whole event or part. A flyer came home two weeks ago and there is a reminder being sent tomorrow with more details.

Team 20’s third annual read-a-thon will be Friday. Kids will be able to enjoy a full day of reading in our room. For this reading event, kids are welcome to bring a couple of things to make them comfy while reading. They may bring a pillow and a blanket. Kids know to drop these reading comfort supplies off in room 20 and then head to rooms 22 and 23 for the Family Breakfast and Sing-Along to begin our day.

Last, but not least, a state testing opt-out form was shared from the school last Wednesday. If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Tracy in the office before actual testing begins. Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of. The statewide testing window for the Smarter Balanced tests will be sometime this spring. The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask.

I wish you a very pleasant Holiday season.  The kids have worked very hard since September.  They have much of which to be proud!  They deserve a break (and I wouldn’t mind either!)

Team 20 will reconvene on Tuesday, January 2nd.  See you then.
Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Thank you to everyone who sent in supplies for our holiday crafts! They turned out beautifully.  We are still needing some more tissue paper if you have any to spare. We are busy trying to wrap up several units of study and of course taking time to enjoy winter themed activities. Check out our classroom blog for details and updates. Don't forget to follow us on twitter to see photos of our winter festivities. *Reminder--4th/5th grade Family Breakfast this Friday. We hope to see you there!

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday! Boy, time has flown by and here we are finishing another year! I know everyone is ready for a break and eager for some relaxing time at home. This week we are busily finishing up several units of study. Students are so excited about our Graphic Novel unit and are working on their own short stories. We just finished our Unit 2 math assessment. I will send those home on Friday. We have been learning about the planets and kids are working on creating posters of the planets. I will put those up on display when they are done! In reading this term, we have been learning how to write about our reading and to pay close attention to details as we ask questions, make predictions and think about the characters. It has not been an easy practice for some kids, but slowly and surely, students are doing the hard work to monitor their reading and think deeply to gain better understanding. I am proud of them! I hope that you are all able to join us for our 4/5th Grade Breakfast/Sing-a-long! Please bring an item to share and stay for as long as you are able. I hope that you will have a lovely break and that you will help your child find opportunities to read, write and even do a bit a math, during the time away from school!

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

To wrap up our Living in Early America unit, students learned how to play some old-fashioned games, including Jacks, Marbles, and Roll the Hoop. During December, our Unique Learning unit is “It’s a Tradition”. We introduced some of the vocabulary by playing Vocab Bingo, and have been reading about various winter holiday traditions, including Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Deepavali, and Japanese New Year. For Reading, groups have been reading leveled Scholastic books about some of these winter holidays. For Writing, students are writing about their favorite winter holiday traditions they do with their families, such as decorating, cooking, or playing games. Last week students each wrote about what Lewis School means to them, what activities they like to do at school, people who are important to them, and how they feel about Lewis School. These passages have been published, shared with the class, and now are on display in the hallway outside of our classroom.

For Math, we have been working on a fractions unit, and this week students are doing math work relating to time and money. Later this week students will do a science experiment to see which kind of liquid melts gingerbread men the fastest: water, milk, or hot cocoa. For Art, we are making some holiday crafts, including “snow globes” and “tea-light characters”. These craft items will come home on Friday. During this Season of Giving, students are all buying Shadow Store items as gifts to give to family or friends. They have enjoyed thinking of who to buy for, and what to get as gifts. These gifts will all be wrapped and then brought home on Friday. We hope everyone has a great holiday break!

Music News from Mr. Jamesbarry

Like many I’m shocked that we’ve just about reached Winter Break. It feels like the first day of school was just last week. We’ve had an exciting time in the music room and tech room so far this year. 5th grade tech has welcomed a Reed College Computer Science outreach program that’s brought lessons in logic, sorting and binary. Both in 4th and 5th grade tech we’ve been working with the possibilities in the Scratch coding language.

5th grade band is going strong this year with 45 students participating. So many in fact that I’m not sure we can all fit in the music room at the same time! I’ll be sending out an email to all band families with an update to the schedule that will take place after winter break.

Both the 3rd Grade Recorder Club and The Boomin Beats have reached their registration capacity.  I will leave the registration open until the end of the week for those wishing to be on the waitlist. You can find info and a registration link for both groups here:

Recorder - https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/recorder-club/

Boomin’ Beats - https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/boomin-beats/

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School
Weekly Newsletter               
December 6, 2017      
 

Upcoming Dates:
Dec 7- Bottle Drop bag drop off 845am
Dec 12- PTA Meeting 6:30pm
Dec 12 & 13- Lewis Dines Out Bridge City Pizza

*No late start days in December

Message from Ms. Glasgow
I want to start by thanking all of you who participated in organizing and supporting the Bazaar last weekend! What a wonderful display of community! And, thank you to those of you who came to talk over coffee this morning--it's great to hear what is on your minds and to talk together about community issues. On a related note, I have very much enjoyed talking with your kids about what makes Lewis special through our mural reflection activity. I have met with over half of the classes and will be continuing these meeting through next week. I wanted to share one of my favorite quotes from one of our Kindergarten students: "This picture makes me think of love and care...and that's kind of what I'm all about...and it's kind of what Lewis School is all about." We'll share more as this process evolves--but, I love the way that our students are helping to inform the re-shaping of our school vision!

Lewis is holding our first annual Season of Sharing~
We are happy to share with others in our community.
If you would like to contribute, please stop by the office and check out our bulletin board.
Contributions are due by December 15th

Music notes from Mr. Jamesbarry
This is the week you can sign up for 3rd Grade Recorder Club & 4th/5th Grade Boomin’ Beats.
Recorder registration is open now, and Boomin’ Beats registration will open Friday.
You can find out more about each group by going to my blog.
For 3rd Grade recorder club go to: https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/recorder-club/ 
For Boomin’ Beats Info go to: https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/boomin-beats/

Sock it to me!
Socks make great gifts!  Support 5^th grade science camp, and buy some fantastic socks.  50% of sales go to Lewis and they are available in the office.

Holiday Bazaar 2017 was a SUCCESS!!!
We're still tallying the numbers, but we want to THANK ALL the volunteers (well over 30!!!) who came out throughout the week and the day-of to support this important fundraiser.  Congrats to Laura Morgan and her family for winning the Disney Raffle!!!
For more info on the bazaar, please go to https://www.lewispta.org/2017-holiday-bazaar
Learn more at: https://www.lewispta.org/events

Art Fundraiser Items COMING HOME week of December 11th
For important details on how to get your items, go to  https://www.lewispta.org/2017-art-fundraiser
Contact Candace Tutt at lewiselementaryptaor@gmail.com for questions

TAG Reminder
If your child is identified as TAG only in the category of Intellectual, please email Abby Rotwein, TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net, to let her know whether you prefer for your child to be in a TAG Math Group or a TAG Reading Group.

Save the date for the Lewis Auction - Saturday, March 10
That's right folks... the rumors are true.  The Lewis Auction is coming!  Get on the horn (do people still say that?) and line up a sitter because it will be a night out you won't want to miss!  Mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday, March 10.  Do you own a business, have a vacation home, make something unique or know someone who does?  Consider donating or asking family/friends to donate an item for the auction. Contact Brad Dorchuck (braddorchuck@hotmail.com) or Kendyl Watts (kendylann3@yahoo.com) if you are interested or have questions. Stay tuned for more details about the event.

Lewis BottleDrop Fundraiser!
Who wants to put returnable bottles and cans in those dirty machines?  Skip that and earn money for Lewis. It’s as easy as picking up a bag, filling it up with returnable bottles and cans, and bringing it in on December 7^th.

Scrip = Gift Cards- Great for Holiday Gift Giving
Pick up some gift cards for easy Holiday gifts.  Order forms in the office, along with a few scrip cards for purchase (New Seasons, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Amazon & Starbucks).

Smarter Balancing Testing:

State testing opt-out forms are being sent home today. If families choose to opt-out of state testing, they must submit this form to Kathleen in the office before actual testing begins. Please be aware that you must mark on the form each test that you want to opt-out of.  The district states that teachers can neither promote nor discourage participation in state testing; that opting out is a parent decision. However, if you have any questions about the tests, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.  Testing schedule has yet to be determined.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Classroom Notes

News and information from our classrooms...                                 

December 6, 2017

Notes from Ms. Allen - Kindergarten

Happy Holiday Season! Winter is around the corner. Please make sure that your child is dressed warm for school during this cold season. Kids have been complaining about being cold while playing at recess. I would like to thank, Henry’s mom, Chelsea, she brought in extra sets of gloves for our class, many of the kids want to wear them, but there isn’t enough for the whole class. We are outside for a total of 30 minutes each day.  

What we are learning about:  

Language Arts: Last week your child went book shopping, and was able to select leveled reading books (just right books) so that they can become stronger readers. This will allow them to build their confidence and fluency.  

Reading and Writing workshops have been a success, and the kids are becoming independent writers while utilizing their writing resources. Every day during reading workshop we read independently for 10 minutes. Our goal each day is to build our reading stamina so that we can read for longer periods of time. 

Word Work: Last week we completed our spelling assessments.  Each spelling inventory has helped me determine their strengths and next steps for their spelling so that I can individualize their spelling instructions.  This week and next week we will continue working on our Words Their Way (spelling program) rhyme sorts. In January, they will start working at their level.  

Math: We have been and will continue working on a variety of math skills: numeral writing, patterns, sorting, and skip counting. Last week we learned about graphing and how to use graphs. Last week we learned how to compare numbers with using the (alligator mouth) greater, lesser, and equal symbols. 

Upcoming Events: On Dec.15th I would like for the kids to have a pajama/holiday party. Please bring them dressed in their PJ’s next Friday. I would like to start our holiday party at 1:40pm. If you have any arts and craft ideas please feel free to let me know. I would like to have 4 tables, each with different activities, so the kids will be able to rotate to each table to do activities. I will need your help!  I will send home more details early next week. 

Lastly, my Mother in law peacefully passed away the morning of Thanksgiving Day, so I will be out Thursday and Friday so that I can attend her service. 

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

Welcome to the last month of 2017! I find it so impressive how much growth these kindergarten students have made since coming to Lewis. We recently read Your Fantastic Elastic Brain. The story details how we can all stretch and grow our own brain through trying, making mistakes and learning. It is an honor to be a part of your children’s journey.

Last week, we received a wonderful selection of puzzles and educational games through the generosity of DonorsChoose. Thank you to the families who contributed to our project. I wrangled my own parents and siblings into helping out, and my husband surprised me with a donation of his own. We are in the process of creating and sending thank you cards to show our gratitude.

And speaking of cards, the handmade kindergarten cards were an enormous success. Lewis loves its art and we were fortunate to sell out! The students of Room 4 reviewed many worthwhile options at Mercy Corps at https://gifts.mercycorps.org/ After debating the merits of each, and calculating our budget, we purchased the following items: a donkey, a hive of bees, a clutch of chickens, a community garden, a bag of seeds, and a soccer ball, plus we fed a child. It was a very rewarding experience from start to finish.

In Math, we have built a chart of ladybugs in order to practice skip counting. See how far your child can count by twos and keep going from there! In the word work portion of our literacy block, we are beginning different groups in Words Their Way. Please see the explanation that came home in your child’s folder today. Excellent gains have been made in our online literacy program, Lexia. Thank you for helping your child get their extra 10 minutes a day of individualized instruction. It is hugely beneficial. In Reading Workshop, we are working on building stamina and figuring out how to problem solve without adult input. The children know that when I put on my crown, I am the Queen Bee holding court and the group is not to be disturbed. You should try the crown at home, though quite often, one has to use the bad British accent for dramatic effect.

If we don’t chat in person, please know that I hope everyone has a peaceful holiday break, spent with those we love. I will sincerely miss spending my days with your children. They brighten my world and bring me great joy. See you in 2018!

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

Characters and setting have been the main focus of our read alouds for this week.  We have been reading some wonderful stories about a bear and his forest friends written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman.  Bear Snores On, Bear’s New Friend, and Bear’s Loose Tooth are just a few of the stories we’ve read.  Ask your student to tell you about more!  We will also be reading books about different winter holidays in these next few weeks.                                                                                                  

During Writing Workshop we are taking off as writers and illustrators.  Students are adding to stories and stapling pages together to make books.  It has been fun to see their interest in writing grow so much in the last few weeks. 

With our new month came a new calendar pattern.  Check with your student to see if they can tell you about our bear and box on the calendar.  

Next week we are focusing on Gingerbread stories.  We will read many different versions of the story and compare and contrast each one.  To prepare for next week, familiarize your child with the gingerbread story if they do not already know it.  We will be creating our own gingerbread stories, measuring a gingerbread person, decorating one and more!  As a culminating project students will get to decorate their own gingerbread house on Friday, December 15th (parent volunteers are welcome!!).  We would greatly appreciate donations towards this fun activity!  Please keep an eye out for our signup sheet outside the classroom for candy and other supplies.  

We will also need parents to help build gingerbread houses after school on Thursday December 14th.  We will use royal icing and graham crackers to build our houses and the students will decorate with candy on the following day. Looking forward to a fun filled week and a half before Winter Break!

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

We are learning so much in Room 3. Things are humming along and kids are working very hard. You may have had a chance to meet my new assistant Q. She is in the room part of the day to support all the students. It has been such a help to have another set of hands in the room.

 In Writer's Workshop the students have been working on a persuasive piece of writing. They are writing a piece that will become a television commercial selling something. They have learned to use strong voice and tactics to persuade. It has been a lot of fun. In Writer's workshop we are now official reading detectives. Students now have what it takes to solve tricky words. We are continuing to learn lots of strategies to help ourselves when things get tough when we are reading. We have also been learning how to identify different genres. We are beginning to learn the difference between realistic fiction, and fantasy as well has fairy tale and folk tale. In nonfiction text, we will learn about informational books, biographies and autobiographies. Also we will be reading nonfiction articles.

In math, we are continuing to learn to tell time on an analog clock. We are also really working hard on place value. This is helping us learn to add larger quantities.

 Our new gym teacher Mr. Williams started last week. If you see him in the hall, give him a warm welcome. He has been great with the kids and we are very excited to have him.

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

It's been 4 weeks since our last Classroom Notes connection but hopefully you have been visiting our classroom blog, mrslogue.wordpress.com to see photos posted daily/weekly of our learning together in first grade:)  Before Thanksgiving break, we did mini studies on Owls, Pilgrims, Native Americans and the abundance of change observed during the fall season. Clay owls and Leaf center pieces were created and students participated in activities to honor the tradition of sharing food by following a recipe to concoct pumpkin pudding and snacking on foods originally cultivated  by Native Americans! This is truly a season of sharing and giving and many of you supported your child in earning a donation to put into our Giving Jar for Meals on Wheels. We were able to contribute many meals for our local, housebound elders!  It was a great learning opportunity for students to experience the joy of giving instead of receiving during these winter celebration times. Thank you!

A big thanks to all who contributed to the annual Lewis Holiday Bazaar this past Saturday! It is incredible to see all the Lewis families, friends and teachers, past and present, also student and local artists contributing to this huge Lewis Community event. Thank you for all of your efforts, what a beautiful way to kick off the season!

This week during Writer’s Workshop, students are continuing to write about their collections. At the end of each session, we like to do a group share/ peer conference, ending with a mini writing lesson. On most Monday and Friday mornings, Journal Writing is a busy and purposeful time as the students work hard to capture personal stories around this exciting time of year and share their written pieces.

Our math focus is learning correct number formation and combos to 31, telling time to the hour and 1/2 hours, problem solving using sea creatures, such as sea stars and crabs to help us practice counting by 5’s and 10’s and putting together and breaking apart numbers also, working on story problems, creating graphs and quilts to support our number sense learning.  We now have 4 new learning games and centers and paper pencil investigations are off and running! Your child should know coin names and amounts, be able to say the months of the year and days of the week in and out of sequence and know their own birthdate. Give them a try at home:)

Over the next 2 weeks until Winter Break we will be exploring  celebrations  that take place during this time of year in our community and around the world. At the heart of all of them, light! This commonality includes Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Diwali, Winter Solstice, Christmas and Kwanza. Next week many versions of the seasonal Gingerbread stories will also be enjoyed.

We need volunteers especially during math centers, reader’s and writer’s workshops and art on Friday PM. We currently have several committed individuals coming in to support the students but would appreciate more help if you are able!  WE LOVE YOU VOLUNTEERS! 

Thanks so much for all you do!
Abuckley@pps.net
For Photos: mrslogue.wordpress.com

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

This high energy class is really starting to come together. I see friends helping each other and using kind words with each other; kiddos taking more responsibility for their actions in the classroom and on the playground, and many eager learners! Keep of the good work Room 8!

We have been working hard in Room 8 on number of things as of late. Our literacy work of being Word Detectives has us looking closely at word wall words or snap words. These are words that we need to know in a snap! Knowing these high frequency words can really boost fluency and one’s ability to make progress as a reader. (If you would like a word ring to practice at home let me know.) Lately we have been talking about how we can use these words to help us read new or tricky words by asking ourselves…”Does this word remind me of any other snap words I know?”

In math we have been working on our subtraction skills, building teen numbers, and number sense with our 100’s chart puzzles. This group of  kiddos love math and are always looking for a challenge! We will be working more intently on counting by 5’s and 10’s between now and Winter break.

Cheers!  Ms. Sarah

Notes from Ms. O’Dea - 2nd Grade

Is it really December?? Although we have not yet discussed it too much in class, it’s evident in the student’ weekend news writing that the holidays are here… “How do you spell: Christmas tree, ornament, decorations, bazaar, concert, tradition ?” Next week we will be reading a few a books about winter holidays, not only Christmas, but also Hanukkah, winter solstice, Kwanzaa.

Perhaps end that week with a celebration (stations with activities?). If anyone wants to help with an activity or craft that’d be great, just contact me.

Our science unit: Balance & Motion has been fun and engaging for everyone. Nothing beats hands-on learning. The first 2 lessons were about discovering balance by using an object (tagboard shapes) and clothes pins to explore and examine point of balance & counterweight to make the object stable. Each student has a science journal to record their experiments and results.

In Math, we’ve started our focus on story problems by looking at what information is important, what strategy to use and how to express/model that thinking on paper. We’ve been working together on some interesting ant problems with student’s showing and sharing their thinking/work in their composition books; along with finding out some fascinating fact about different types of ants. Next, each student will be working on crafting similar types of problems, and then solve each other’s story problems. We are also looking at combinations of 100, using a hundred's grid.

In Reading, we’ve been looking at how to solve “tricky” words, by using various word parts and context/picture clues. Does that word sound right, make sense?

Weekly reading logs (with a reading response on the backside) went home last Monday. Each week I will be sending a new one out.They’re racking up the minutes!

Stay well everyone, if not get better quickly! (There's an icky "bug" going around).

And HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Ms. O’Dea
modea@pps.net

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

Last week in Math, we began a three week unit on problem solving.  First, we read One Hundred Hungry Ants.  We worked with a partner and 100 unifix cubes to divide the cubes into 2, 4, 5, 10 and 20 rows.  After filling out a worksheet based on the story, we talked about the goals of our new unit.  Students need to understand what the problem is asking. Then students need to persevere or stick with it to solve the problem.  While we were looking at student work, we saw that you need to label your pictures with numbers to help explain what is happening in the problem.  Finally, we talked about writing an explanation that would tell exactly what strategies we used to solve the problem.

After reviewing how we show our work, students are ready to begin solving each other's problems.  Each day we will choose a different type of problem to solve. As a class, we will solve one problem together.  We will talk about 3 ways to solve the problem. Most students will choose to count on or count backwards, use a number line, or break the number into friendly numbers using our facts to 20.   After solving the problem, students will choose a second problem to solve. We will emphasize sharing different ways to solve problems and how to record your thinking.

It is important to note that at this time we are not introducing the concept of borrowing and carrying. We are doing a lot of foundational work showing students how to break numbers into tens and ones and use hands on materials such as: base ten pieces.

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Weekly Letter               

November 29, 2017       
 

Upcoming Dates:
Dec 1- Walk and Roll
Dec 2- Holiday Bazaar and Tree Sale
Dec 6- Coffee Talk with Emily 845am
Dec 7- Bottle Drop bag drop off 845am
Dec 12- PTA Meeting 6:30pm
Dec 12 & 13- Lewis Dines Out at Bridge City Pizza

*No late start days in December

Message from Ms. Glasgow

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and relaxing break from school. We are excited to have three FULL weeks with your kiddos before we break for another vacation. One of the projects we are doing during this stretch is an activity to engage students in the visioning process being overseen by our School Site Council. In the next few weeks, Mark Hansen and I will be working with every class to guide students in an art-based reflection on what is important in our Lewis community. Students will be observing a Lewis mural created in 1962 (between “the dip” and Rm. 15) and reflecting on what is the same and different about our community then and now. We will be taking notes on these discussions and sharing them back to the School Site Council and the larger community. Stay tuned for details about how you can also contribute your ideas to the visioning process! And, in the meantime, feel free to stop by and take your own peek at the mural to see what you think--maybe while shopping at the Bazaar this Saturday!- Emily

Family Survey Feedback Summary

Thank you to everyone who took time to provide feedback on the Family Survey sent out before the holiday. We wanted to summarize back to you some of the themes in the feedback:

79 parents/guardians responded to the survey. Of these, 60% said they were “very satisfied” (5/5) with their family’s overall experience at Lewis; 30% said they were “satisfied” (4/5) with their family’s overall experience at Lewis; and 10% rated their family’s overall experience at Lewis as “neutral” (3/5).

Some common themes in response to the question, “What is going well for your family at Lewis this year?”:
-Great teachers and staff--positive, engaging, caring learning environments.

-Strong sense of community (for kids and families)--many opportunities to get involved.

-Appreciate the focus on music and arts.

-Strong and effective communication systems in place.

Some common themes in response to the question, “What concerns and/or questions do you have about your family’s experience at Lewis this year?”:
-Concerns and questions with the school homework policy and use of technology in classrooms.

-Concerns about disruptive behaviors in child’s classroom.

-Questions about policies and practices around holiday celebrations at Lewis (i.e. no costumes on Halloween).

-Questions about certain areas of instruction (i.e. worksheets in kindergarten, standards-alignment of math curriculum).

We are glad to hear that so much is going well and are always in search of what we can do better. Our staff will be reflecting on the issues raised over the course of the year. If you would like to speak directly about your personal questions/concerns, please feel free to email Emily Glasgow (eglasgow@pps.net) to set up a meeting and/or attend our next Coffee Talk with Emily on Wednesday, December 6th @ 8:45 am.
 

Lewis Holiday Bazaar!

Lewis Holiday Bazaar this Saturday, December 2nd!

Share on Social Media, Bring a Friend, and SHOP!

The PTA continues to need volunteers - please go to https://www.lewispta.org/volunteer

Buy your raffle tickets online or the day of the bazaar for Disneyland/Disney California Adventure Park Hopper Passes.  Winner chosen at the end of the bazaar - you do not need to be present to win - https://www.lewispta.org/raffle

Swag Making! Thursday Nov. 30, 1-4

Lewis keeps 100% of funds from swag sales at the Holiday Bazaar.  Bring any beautiful greens from your garden and help make swags with some wonderful people.
 

Lewis is holding our first annual Season of Sharing

We are happy to share with others in our community.
If you would like to contribute, please stop by the office and check out our bulletin board.
Contributions are due by December 15th
 

TAG Reminder

If your child is identified as TAG only in the category of Intellectual, please email Abby Rotwein, TAG Facilitator, at arotwein@pps.net, to let her know whether you prefer for your child to be in a TAG Math Group or a TAG Reading Group.

Lewis Art Fundraiser

Your Online Shop is Still Open!
Online orders placed on or before
Dec. 6th will arrive before Christmas!
Art Fundraiser Flyer 

Save the date for the Lewis Auction - Saturday, March 10

That's right folks... the rumors are true.  The Lewis Auction is coming!  Get on the horn (do people still say that?) and line up a sitter because it will be a night out you won't want to miss!  Mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday, March 10.  Do you own a business, have a vacation home, make something unique or know someone who does?  Consider donating or asking family/friends to donate an item for the auction. Contact Brad Dorchuck (braddorchuck@hotmail.com) or Kendyl Watts (kendylann3@yahoo.com) if you are interested or have questions. Stay tuned for more details about the event.

Lewis BottleDrop Fundraiser!

Who wants to put returnable bottles and cans in those dirty machines?  Skip that and earn money for Lewis. It’s as easy as picking up a bag, filling it up with returnable bottles and cans, and bringing it in on December 7^th.

Scrip = Gift Cards- Great for Holiday Gift Giving

What is Scrip? Gift Cards for stuff you were going to buy anyway!

Check out this short video for more information - https://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=Qa-nklx3Wno  NOTE: #4 in the video (can labels) is no longer an active program.

Why? Costs you nothing extra & proceeds go to support Lewis PTA Programs, such as classroom support and Lewis Library book purchases. Use the cards for your grocery shopping, stocking stuffers, teacher gifts and more!

How? Purchase available cards in the office (New Seasons, Safeway, Fred Meyer Amazon, Starbucks and Powells Books) OR pick up an order form in the office (or use this link to the Personal Order form: https://www.ttsdschools. org/Page/1108) to purchase gift cards for shopping, gifts, groceries and more!  Please complete your form and give it to Tracy in the office with payment attached.  Orders placed by 5:00 Monday will be available for pick up after 3:00 Thursday.

eScrip - Visit http://www.escrip.com/index. jsp and you can earn more for Lewis in three ways...

1. Online Mall - Using this site and selecting a retailer will take you to your retailer’s website. Using this link means the retailer will donate a percentage of your purchase to Lewis! Easy as that! Some examples of participating businesses are Macy's, GAP and Columbia Sportswear.
2. Register your debit and credit cards. When you use your cards at participating retailers, the retailers will donate to Lewis!
3. Use the Benefit mobile app and Lewis earns too! Go to http://www.benefit-mobile.com/ and get the app (it's FREE!), then select Lewis Elementary School PTA (Group ID 500020229) as your cause. Set up your account so you can instantly purchase and redeem gift cards that give back!

Questions? Scrip Coordinator, Genevieve Benner (vivapalmer@yahoo.com)

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

Hello again families!
November has been a fabulous month in Room 16! Our 2nd and 3rd graders have been accomplishing a lot, and it was wonderful to meet with you all at conferences.
We finished up our first units for Reading and Writing Workshop, and we’ve moved into our second units. In Reading Workshop, we are digging into mysteries. This unit teaches students how to envision and predict. Our inference skills are developing as we work through this unit. In Writing Workshop, we’ve begun learning about persuasive writing. Students are currently developing speeches to share with Mrs. Glasgow encouraging her to allow Free Friday in the cafeteria for 2nd and 3rd graders. Ask your student about their speech!

The 2nd graders are in their second math unit. This unit focuses on addition and subtraction strategies and computational fluency. The will also practice with word problems and problem solving. Our 3rd graders continue to learn about geometry with Mrs. Zimmerman. On Fridays, the 3rd graders work with me on 3rd grade calendar skills, number sense and computational fluency.

Science is in full swing. We’ve moved to the mineral portion of our Rocks & Minerals unit. Students are creating mineral profiles of 12 different minerals. We’ve learned about light (transparent, translucent, and opaque) and streak color. Everyday students are experimenting with their minerals using pen lights and tiles to test streak color. Our unit will end with our field trip to Rice Rock & Mineral Museum on December 14th. Please make sure you have your field trip forms in by Wednesday, December 6th. We already have 8 parent volunteers, so unfortunately we are out of space. If you already turned in your form and marked that you wanted to volunteer, you are all set to chaperone!

Let’s have a fantastic December!  
Cassie Canales

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Our current reading unit, Reading to Learn: Grasping Main Ideas and Text Structures, has us digging into the world of non-fiction.  This work goes hand-in-hand with the non-fiction writing the kids have been doing with Mark and we’ve been excited to see all the cross-over and transfer in their learning.  

One of the first teaching points of our reading unit has been to “rev up your mind before reading non-fiction”.  As we tackle non-fiction texts and get ready to learn as much as we can about the world around us, there are a number of things successful readers can do.  Before reading, students use text features such as the table of contents, headings, and subheadings to make predictions about what the book will be about.  They also tap into what they already know about the topic, which can help focus their comprehension once they begin reading.     

Once we’ve previewed a text and made predictions, our goal is to figure out the main idea(s) and supporting details in a text.  Over the past three weeks the kids have been practicing a number of strategies to help them identify the main ideas (“boxes”) and key details (“bullets”) in their books. One of these strategies involves pausing after reading a chunk of the text in order to identify and think about the main ideas and details of that section, then jot them down as “boxes” and “bullets” on a Post-it note.  So often, young readers zip through a text without pausing to think deeply about what the author is teaching them.  By slowing down, noticing text features, and categorizing their reading into main ideas and supporting details, readers deepen their comprehension. 

Later this week your student will bring home a bookmark to use with their nightly reading.  The bookmark lists a variety of strategies we’ve discussed and practiced in class, and is a helpful reminder of what to do when reading non-fiction.

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

I hope you all had an enjoyable, restful long weekend. I got to spend lots of time with family...visiting, laughing, and generally enjoying each other’s company. It was great to have the break, but I’m happy to be back with the class. It has been awhile since we’ve had classroom notes and I realized that I haven’t had a chance to express my gratitude to you. In the spirit of the season, I want to thank you for all of your support, and for sharing your amazing kids with me - they are a joy to work with!

We are halfway through the first of our just three (full 5 day!!) weeks until Winter Break. We have a lot to fit into the remaining 12 days. We are working hard in reading; trying to solve our mysteries before the crime solvers do. Luckily, we have many strategies to draw on from our previous fiction unit.

Writing this unit is all about opinion and persuasive pieces. Prior to the break, students had a chance to write and present persuasive speeches to Ms. Glasgow requesting Free Fridays in the cafeteria for 3rd graders. It worked and this Friday we try it out! Almost all students included in their argument that they should only get it if they earn it the other four days of the week. I love the accountability! We have been working to generate ideas by thinking of a problem and imagining solutions. Before break we talked about thinking about problems we see out in the world, not just within our school community. I’m excited to hear their thinking about how they can create change for the better.

We will have our place value math unit wrapped up this week and then it’s onto Two- & Three-Dimensional Geometry...polygons, symmetry, congruency, oh my!

If you have not already returned the field trip permission slips and money, please do so as soon as possible. If your child will be gone that day, please let me know that as well. Also, I am looking for some volunteers to help with a crystal making project the afternoons of Thursday (11/30) & Friday (12/1.) Please let me know if you’re available to join us.

Finally, several Lewis classrooms have decided to do a holiday drive for Street Roots. If you are not familiar with the organization, they produce a weekly newspaper, which helps to provide a community-driven solution, to the problem of homelessness. We will be collecting items of need over the next few weeks and then families that are able to, are welcome to join us on the first Saturday of Winter Break to deliver the donations to their office. The things Street Roots’ vendors need most right now are: Little Hotties hand warmers, gloves, warm socks, (emergency) rain ponchos, Cup o'Noodles, and granola bars or other non-perishable items. Thank you for donating if you’re able. - Cyndi

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

Welcome back!  I hope you were able out carve out some time for yourselves this weekend to relax and get reinvigorated for the weeks ahead.  We have three full weeks coming our way and each one of them is packed full!

On Friday, we will be traveling to Milwaukie Riverfront Park to release our salmon fry into the Willamette River!  Thank you to all the chaperones who have volunteered to join us!  We will be outside for the duration of the trip and the forecast calls for rain, so please send your child with a raincoat and some sturdy shoes that can withstand the elements.

We spent some time on Tuesday talking about Thanksgiving myths.  Hopefully your children shared some of their learning with you during the holiday.

Students are beginning to research their chosen region of Oregon.  They will take notes a about their region’s climate, physical features, natural resources, and tourist attractions.  Next week, they will compile their notes into an informational brochure about their region.

Our book clubs are up and running in Room 24!  Students are reading books at their level and doing some sort of written response work each day with their group.  This is a time when some groups benefit from having a volunteer with them.  If you are available on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays from 10:15-11:00, please let me know – we would love to have you come in to support our learning!

In math, we have been working hard on mastering multi-digit multiplication arrays.  This week, we will also work on multiplying money.   Our class and Ms. Rotwein’s class will then do some social justice work around minimum wage and the cost of living in Portland.  Students will be posed the question:  “Can people working full-time at a minimum wage job afford to live in our city?”  It is an eye-opening, impactful lesson for many students.

In writing, students are working to type, revise, and refine their personal narrative stories.  Starting next week, we will be working with a professional actor, Anne Rutherford, to turn each student’s piece into a theater performance.  It is going to be tons of fun to see these stories literally leap off the page and into the real world.

Upcoming News:  Please mark your calendars for the following events…more details to come soon!

Personal Narrative Author’s & Actors Writing Performance: Thursday, December 14th, from 9:30-10:30 AM in Room 24

4th & 5th Grade Family Breakfast & Singalong:  Friday, December 15th, 8:15-9:30 AM, Rooms 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

It was a pleasure getting the time to speak with all of you at conferences.  I hope you and your family had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and spent some time celebrating the things you are grateful for.  We've got a lot going on in Room 22!

Science:  We will be releasing our Salmon fry during our field trip on Friday.  A big thank you to all the chaperones who have volunteered to join us!  We will be outside for the entire field trip and it looks like it will be rainy all day so please send your child to school in a raincoat and appropriate footwear. 

Social Studies:  We spent some time on Tuesday talking about Thanksgiving myths.  Hopefully your children shared some of their learning with you during the holiday.

Students are in the process of researching their chosen region of Oregon.  They are currently taking notes and writing rough drafts about their region's climate, physical features, natural resources, and tourist attractions.  Next week, they will type their work into brochures on Google Docs.

Reading:  We are in the full swing of book groups.  If you would like to come join us, we run them every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10:15-11:00 AM.  I would love to have some volunteers - you don't even have to contact me, just pop on in!It looks like we will not be able to go as a class to see the movie version of "Wonder" before Winter Break.  We may try to go see it in January, but for now, we are still loving the book!

Math:  Students have been doing lots of practice with multi-digit multiplication arrays.  This week, we will also work on multiplying money.  We will then do some social justice work around minimum wage and the cost of living in Portland.  Students will be posed the question:  "Can people working full-time at a minimum wage job afford to live in our city?"  It is my favorite math query of the year and I am looking forward to seeing what your children come up with.

Writing:  Students are in the process of revising and finalizing their personal narratives.  Anne Rutherford, the professional actress I told you about at conferences, will be joining us next week to help us get our personal narrative performance ready!

Upcoming News:  Please mark your calendars for the following events...more details to come soon!

Personal Narrative Author's & Actors Writing Performance: Thursday, December 14th, from 11-12 AM in Room 22

4th & 5th Grade Family Breakfast & Singalong:  Friday, December 15th, 8:15-9:30 AM, Rooms 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

It was great to see all of you at parent-teacher conferences. The kids of Team 20 have worked very hard. It was good to share their stories and their successes.  I learned a lot. I feel I know you and your child much better. Thank you! 

Our Road Trip Project continues. Kids are hittin’ the road as virtual tourists, using literature and the Web as our road maps. Earlier in the month, kids chose states (fifth graders) or regions of Oregon (fourth graders). From there kids worked in groups to highlight an informational reading and take notes. We had conversations about strategies for citing sources, paraphrasing, and plagiarism. More recently, kids have grown their research notes into rough draft slides and peer conferenced on their writing. Our next steps include some more editing and revising, thinking about layout design, and adding images.

The Children’s Book Harvest for The Children’s Book Bank concluded recently. School-wide we collected 215 books. After some good conversation, Team 20 chose to donate 285 more books from our Little Free Library book drive collection to make it an even 500 books donated from our school.

Last Tuesday, we spent part of our morning learning about the first Thanksgiving. We talked about how much of what is often told about Thanksgiving is not true. Afterward, kids shared their learning on mini-posters to help dispel Thanksgiving myths. If you have not had a chance to read it yet, this New York Times article about Thanksgiving is a good read: bit.ly/thanksgiving-myths.

Yesterday, we began making signs to advertise for a Street Roots drive that is being coordinated between several Lewis classrooms. The items needed in the drive are gloves, socks, hand warmers, and ponchos, which will be used by Street Roots vendors. There is an Amazon Wish List featuring these items: bit.ly/street-roots. We watched a video to learn more about Street Roots and their vendors.

In science news, during our last Reed Science, kids were making molecules. The eggs in our salmon tank have hatched and we are now caring for over 475 baby salmon. A field trip to release our salmon into the Willamette River has been scheduled for December 14th. A permission slip was sent home today and must be returned by Tuesday, December 5th. I am hoping that several family members will be able to join us as chaperones.

Our visit to Reed College’s Cooley Gallery is tomorrow. Please help your kid remember to wear their Team 20 t-shirt and gear for walking.

Our final day together in December begins with the Family Breakfast and Sing-Along. This event will take place on Friday, December 15th, beginning with an 8:15-9:00 breakfast and followed with a 9:00-9:30 sing-along. For the buffet style breakfast, please bring a serving size of a store bought healthy breakfast item to share, such as pre-bought fruit salad or pre-washed small fruit, bagels and cream cheese, muffins, or granola bars. Please do not bring sweets, such as donuts. Teachers will provide drinks, dishes, and cutlery. Please come by when you can and stay for the whole event or part. A flyer will be sent home with more information.

Last, but not least, it is time to start thinking about Fifth Grade Science Camp! Fifth graders will be going to Trickle Creek Outdoor School from April 4th to 6th (www.nwoutdoorschool.org/trickle-creek.html). Here are three important to dos. 1) Please look for the letter that was sent home today. 2) Please take a moment to fill out the following form so we know how to best approach fundraising: bit.ly/science-camp-tuition. 3) If you are interested in helping with fundraising, please add your name to this form: bit.ly/Lewis-science-camp. I’m looking forward to camp. We’ll have a great time!

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for regular updates and photos!
Mark

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break! We only have 2.5 weeks before Winter Break begins and our schedule is jammed packed. I want to use this opportunity to make a few announcements and give some friendly reminders…

Home Assignments: Students should be tracking daily moon phases on their ‘Moon Phase Calendar’. We will discuss our findings the day before Winter Break. Also, students should be completing their ‘Pursuing the Past’ assignment. The interview packet should be complete by December 7th.

Science Camp: We are excited to announce our Science Camp location and date--We will be going to Trickle Creek Outdoor School from April 4th to 6th (www.nwoutdoorschool.org/trickle-creek.html). You have 3 important things to do… 1) Read through the letter we sent home today. 2) Fill out the Camp Tuition Form that you can access on our classroom blog. 3) Get excited! And feel free to email me with any questions.

Family Breakfast: Keep an eye out for a flyer coming home on Friday. The 4th and 5th grade classes are inviting families to join us for a potluck breakfast and sing-along (December 15th).

Volunteers Needed: We need parent support for a craft project on Thursday, December 7th. Please email me if you are interested nspeer@pps.net

Enjoy the rest of your week! Don’t forget to check out our blog http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/ and follow us on twitter @LewisRoom21 

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

I hope this note finds you all well. I hope, too, that you all had a lovely break and were able to enjoy time with family and loved ones. I am glad to be back for the few weeks we have before our next break. Before break, we finished our Native studies. Students did such a nice job on their projects and learned a lot about the group they studied. We are beginning a short unit in writing learning about techniques used to create graphic novels. Once students have learned these techniques, they will get the opportunity to create their own graphic novel! They are so excited about this unit! I sent home a Moon chart on Monday. We are also doing an astronomy unit. Students should be looking at the moon each night and recording what phase the moon is in! Also, students should be working on the Pursuing the Past interviews. Those are due on December 7th.

I have exciting news to share regarding camp! We have solidified our science camp experience for this year! 5th graders will be going to Camp Trickle Creek for a 3 day/2 night experience. We leave on April 4th and return the 6th. More information came home with students today, so please check in with your child and ask to see that paperwork. Also, if you go to my blog, (mssarahkohn.wordpress.com) you will see a Camp Tuition Survey. Please log on and take this short, but important survey.

I want to tell you all that during this season of gratitude and thanks, I feel so grateful to work with this group of kids and you all, as well!

skohn@pps.net
503-916-6360

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

Earlier this month we went on a field trip to OMSI. Students enjoyed exploring all the hands-on physics activities in the Turbine Hall, including making paper airplanes to put in wind tunnels, building Lego towers on the earthquake tables, making boats, shooting bottle rockets, controlling robot arms and more. During the field trip, students identified simple machines all around them. We also explored the Life Sciences section which had an exhibit about the arctic. Back at Lewis, we wrapped up our Physics and Motion unit by doing a paper airplane challenge. Students either followed templates to make paper airplanes, or made their own designs. Then they took turns going into the hallway to do three throws and measure how far their airplanes flew. Students wrote down their data, and it was shared with the class.

During November, our Unique Learning unit has been “Living in Early America”. We introduced some of the vocabulary by playing Vocab Bingo, and have been reading about the Pilgrims and other early settlers from Europe. For Reading, groups have been reading leveled Scholastic books, as well as books about life in early America, and Thanksgiving-themed books. For Writing, students each wrote about five things they are thankful for. These are on display in the hallway. This week students are writing about what Lewis School means to them, what activities they like to do at school, people who are important to them, and how they feel about Lewis School. Next we will start writing about how each student would travel if they lived in America during Colonial times. For Math, most students have been working on multiplication and division, and now we are starting a unit on fractions. For Art, we made our classroom tie-dyed T-shirts for field trips and other special classroom events. 

Just before Thanksgiving, we had our annual “Feast” in the classroom. Students brainstormed typical Thanksgiving meal items like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, sparkling cider, and pie. On Tuesday afternoon, families joined us, and we served and ate all of these dishes in the classroom!

bpost@pps.net
503-916-6408
http://room7mrpost.wordpress.com/

Music News from Mr. Jamesbarry

This week I have been speaking to 3rd graders about Recorder Club, and 4th & 5th graders about  the Boomin Beats. Both groups will start up after right after winter break. Both groups will have online registration opening  next week. You can find out more about each group by going to my blog.

For 3rd Grade recorder club go to: https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/recorder-club/

For Boomin’ Beats Info go to: https://tonyjamesbarry.wordpress.com/boomin-beats/

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Weekly Letter November 15, 2017       

Upcoming Dates:
November 17- Family Bingo Night 6pm
November 22-24 No School
December 1- Walk and Roll
December 2- Holiday Bazaar and Tree Sale
December 7- Bottle Drop bag drop off 845am

*No late start days in November or December
 

Message from Ms. Glasgow

I hope you all enjoyed your time with teachers at Conferences last week. Thank you to everyone who brought in snacks to keep the staff nourished through their long hours! I appreciated reading the feedback some of you offered through the Family Survey I sent out last week. If you would still like to share your thoughts, the survey remains open at this link: https://goo.gl/forms/hSvGoOWt6MKJ8kSR2. Your insights on what is working well and what needs work help shape our continual growth and learning process as a school community.
Emily

Got Forks or Spoons?

The silverware is disappearing from the cafeteria.  Please check your silverware drawer and bring back any silverware that your child may have brought home by mistake.  If you have any forks or spoons that you don’t want anymore, you can bring them in to the office to donate to our supply.
 

Annual Lewis Holiday Bazaar!

It's that time of year again for the PTA's largest fundraiser of the year! 

When: December 2nd, 10AM-3PM
Where: AT LEWIS!
What: Local artisans, parents and students sell their goods.

You can also buy your Christmas tree, swag (wreath), burrito bowl lunch, and baked goods! This year there is a raffle for 4 1-day park hopper tickets for Disneyland! (Value close to $700!).  Sellwood Middle School Marimba Band, School of House Rock Band, and Renegade Rose will all be performing.

Cost: No entrance fee - just come to shop, eat, and enjoy this dynamic community event!

How can you support this important fundraiser?

1) VOLUNTEERS. As you can imagine, a lot of volunteers are needed for this event to be successful.  We raise close to $6500, most of which will be dedicated to our classroom support.  Without volunteers, this day just won't happen!  You can volunteer a little or a lot! Look for signups outside the school office.  Signup genius is being built, but we already have slots that need to be filled: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0C45A9AC2BA1F94-holiday

2) Bring friends and shop on December 2nd, 10AM-3PM!

3) Share this event on social media! https://www.facebook.com/LewisHolidayBazaar andTreeSale
 

Save the date for the Lewis Auction - Saturday, March 10

That's right folks... the rumors are true.  The Lewis Auction is coming!  Get on the horn (do people still say that?) and line up a sitter because it will be a night out you won't want to miss!  Mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday, March 10.  Do you own a business, have a vacation home, make something unique or know someone who does?  Consider donating or asking family/friends to donate an item for the auction. Contact Brad Dorchuck (braddorchuck@hotmail.com) or Kendyl Watts (kendylann3@yahoo.com) if you are interested or have questions. Stay tuned for more details about the event.
 

Bingo night, Friday, November 17, 6-8pm--

Join us for a fun night of bingo in the cafeteria. It's a favorite event of many families, so if you haven't been you should definitely check it out! Food will be available for purchase.
All of our events run on volunteer power, and we would love your help! Join us for a short 30-minute shift before, during, or after the event. Sign up here -- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-bingo
 

Portland Council PTA Clothing Closet volunteer opportunity, Monday, November 20, 9:30am-1:30pm

Do you have a few hours to help PPS students shop for much-needed winter clothes? If so, please join us at the PTA Clothing Center on Monday, November 20th from 9:30am-1:30pm!

This is one of the two days per year that Lewis is responsible for staffing this important community resource. Volunteers will meet students upon arrival and escort them through the center, helping them to find the items they need, then recording and bagging the items they choose.

Sign up here -- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-portland
 

See's Candy - Holiday pre-order

See's holiday candy sale event has begun!  There are two styles of 4 oz Mini Assorted See's Chocolates available.  Each box of chocolates sells for $6 with a 20% profit back to Lewis ... that's $1.20 per box!  These are great thank you gifts, teacher gifts, neighbor or coworker... or a treat for yourself!  Please return order forms with payment to the school office by November 21 and the orders will be filled by Dec 7. Questions?  Contact Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com
See's Candy Order Form 
 

Lewis BottleDrop Fundraiser!

Who wants to put returnable bottles and cans in those dirty machines?  Skip that and earn money for Lewis. It’s as easy as picking up a bag, filling it up with returnable bottles and cans, and bringing it in on December 7^th.
 

Lewis Art Fundraiser- Last chance!!

All orders placed by midnight tonight, Nov. 15, 2017, are ON TIME and will ship to your school. After today, your online shop will remain open for LATE ORDERS which will ship direct to the customer, with shipping charges added. Either way, proceeds benefit your school!

Parents can UPLOAD NEW ART and order even more!
How? Enter this year's Art ID # to access your school's online shop, then click the option, "Upload new art to this order."

Notes from Ms. Allen - Kindergarten

Our field trip to the Pumpkin Patch on Halloween was absolutely amazing! The day was dry and the sky was sunny and clear just for us. Thanks to the parents who were able to chaperone.

Last week, conferences went well and it was nice to have an extensive conversation with each of you about your child’s academic progress and growth. We have been in school for a little over 40 days, and it has been amazing watching them grow academically over this period of time. Also, I want to thank parent volunteers for helping us with our word rings, the kids also appreciate your time.

What we are learning about:

Language Arts: This week will be finishing Bend 1 (non-fictional) learning about the world books. Next week, we will start Bend 2 and we will be reading and learning about old favorite storybooks for the next few weeks. Also, we will continue working on our Words Their Way sorts (rhyming and categorizing). Lastly, during the mornings we will be working in small guided-groups so that I can differentiate instructions to meet the needs of all of my beautiful kindergarten students.

Word Work: This week I will be sending home a list of high-frequency sight words (from our word ring) so that you will be able to practice with your child. Please have your child to show you how we arm tap our words.

Math: We have been working on a variety of math skills: numeral writing, patterns, sorting, and counting by 5’s and 10’s. This week we learned about symmetry lines. Yesterday we finished our first integrated math and art lesson by using leaves that we found while gardening with Ms. Kathleen. Please check out our leaf symmetry project.

Technology: We have technology with Mr. Hansen every Thursday afternoon. He has been teaching the kindergartens different ways to use technology in the classroom.

At the end of the day we have free choosing time, and I would like to have a creation station so that your child can experiment and build objects from recyclables. I am asking if you could bring items such as, empty toilet paper rolls, paper scraps, bottle caps, foil, old wrapping paper, or anything that you think they could use while making inventions.
 

Notes from Ms. Kennedy - Kindergarten

Our kindergarten notes begin with a round of gratitude.

First, we had a superb time at Kruger's Farm. The weather could not have been better for hayrides and pumpkin picking! It was wonderful to have so many chaperones enjoy the day with us.

Secondly, thank you to all the art lovers who have purchased handmade kindergarten cards in support of our Mercy Corps projects. Here is the link to their link for gifts that change lives: https://gifts.mercycorps.org/ Perhaps your relatives would like to buy yak for a family in need!

And finally, a huge thank to all the families of Room 4 who took time from their schedules to meet with me during parent/teacher conferences. I truly enjoyed sharing our focused 25 minutes with you. It is incredibly rewarding to showcase the gains each child is making! If there are any future issues best discussed in person, I’m happy to meet with you before or after school.

This is one of those rare full five-day weeks in November. We are working on getting back into our routines and keeping our energy up. During our movement breaks, our goal is not only to have fun, but get the blood that was down in our feet up to our fingertips and back again. We are learning how to take our pulse!

Using Words Their Way, students are practicing rhyming and beginning sounds. During Reading Workshop, children are reading independently and with their new partners. One of our reading strategies is to look for repeating words. Often the title can be found throughout the book, or one of the characters uses a catch phrase. It is one of those magical moments in life when letters start forming words that we recognize and understand!

Our Thanksgiving holiday break begins next Wednesday. Please have your child work on Lexia for at least 10 minutes a day whenever possible. The data that comes my way is very encouraging and I can see that students are receiving targeted instruction outside of school. On top of that, I hope you read lots of books together, sleep in, and spend quality time with those you love.

Weekly photos posted https://mskennedyroom4.blogspot.com/ Thank you one and all!
 

Notes from Teacher Leslie - Kindergarten

Thank you parents for meeting with me during Parent Teacher Conferences.  It was so nice to see you all and chat about the amazing progress our kindergarteners are making.  

And another big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came to our first field trip of the year and helped it to be a huge success.  Farmer Don taught us all about the fruits and vegetables that grow on the farm and we got to meet a very big pig named Matilda.  The tractor ride was a highlight and the pumpkins for making pie were the perfect size. 

This week we began a unit in Reading Workshop all about our Reading Super Powers.  We will be learning new strategies (or Super Powers) to help us read bigger books.  Ask your students about what Reading Super Power we practiced today!  In Writing Workshop we wrote about what we are thankful for.  Peek in the classroom to see Thankful Writing hanging near our cubbies! 

Classroom Notes will be posted on our classroom blog (lewisroom2.blogspot.com) along with some pictures of our field trip fun!  As always, email me with any questions or concerns at ldillavo@pps.net.
 

Notes from Teacher Dana -- 1st Grade

Thank you all so much for such great parent teacher turn out! 100%. I so enjoyed getting a chance to share the amazing growth your kids are making.

This week we will be taking about gratitude and what that means. We will be creating a gratitude tree in our classroom acknowledge all we are grateful for as we enter the holiday season.

We have lots of new beginnings this week. We are beginning new units in Math, Reading and Writing. Our reading unit is called Reading Detectives. We got a letter from The Super Secret Detective Agency asking us to join the reading detective team. The class agreed we are up to the task. We know its going to be a lot of hard reading work, but we are here to help and solve tricky reading problems. We got our first mission assignment. It it so STOP when we come to a hard word and solve it! In Writer's Workshop, we started our Opinion Writing Unit. First we debated which makes a better pet, cats or dogs. It was a lively discussion that ended in writing an opinion piece to go with it.

This week we will begin our unit about the properties of light and sound. In our first lesson, your child will learn that not only are the characters in an animated movie created by artists, but so are all the sounds! There’s such a thing as “sound effect artists.” These artists make use of many different objects in order to make sounds such as rain, wind, thunder, robot voices, and more. Often they do this by creating vibrations, a back-and-forth movement. (There’s a scientific idea we’re laying the groundwork for: that vibrations and sounds are fundamentally connected.)

You can continue to foster your child’s curiosity by sitting down together and watching this short video about some of the famous sound effects artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSf8Er2gV_Q
 

Notes from Mrs. Logue - 1st Grade

Thank you families for attending Parent/Teacher Conferences last Wednesday and Thursday, Room 6 had almost 100% of our parents attend! Sharing your time and thoughts with me informs my instruction, my understanding of your whole child and makes for a solid community of caregivers for our Room 6 First Graders and they know it! Goals were set for each student’s individual learning and many questions were asked and answered. If you have any other thoughts or questions please do not hesitate to contact me! Your child works hard to learn everyday and the connection between school and family is precious and important in supporting them as they grow.

Through the end of November, our art/science learning will revolve around beautiful Oregon owls. We will also delve into “Thanksgiving/Harvest Before Winter”  including families/relatives, American Indians, and the history and meaning behind the feast we still celebrate. Ibimi/cranberries  currently growing in bogs in Oregon, will also be explored through science and math.

As a class, we talk about what it means to have caring hearts for ourselves, our friends, families and our earth. The Wampanoag Indians celebrated the Harvest Ceremony with a “give away” in which families gave away personal possessions to “others in need”. In the spirit of the season and of our caring hearts, we are collecting change, earned/donated to our classroom “Giving Jar” to donate to Meals on Wheels to feed Seniors in our community. Last year we raised enough money to feed 18 people Thanksgiving dinner instead of going without that day. By having your child do extra chores or something meaningful to help earn a coin or two to contribute, they are learning the importance of caring for and helping others besides themselves in a real way through tangible donations. My hope is your child will experience and internalize a greater sense of caring and community seeing others beyond themselves as important and worthy.

Our Literacy activities this month continue to be Reading and Writing Workshop and also Words Their Way word study program for individualized phonics, vocabulary and spelling practice.

In math, we are continuing our M.A.T.H. Center work and have a new math game featuring odd and even number pieces to help build a visual sense of numbers and how they fit together in arrays. We continue to work on writing our numbers without reversals, practicing our addition and subtraction facts and are learning more about shapes on our calendar.

Our writing focus is on writing reviews and in reading we continue our “ mission” to be great word detectives, using good reading habits to solve tricky words! Ocean creatures are featured in our Bridges Math Curriculum. We will be creating ten legged crabs for counting by tens and soon, sea stars for counting by fives. Our calendar has introduced us to a repeating geometric pattern and I am stressing addition and subtraction facts to 10 and reading the clock, (to the hour and 1/2 hour).

Thanks for all you do!
Abuckley
twitter@AnneAbuckley and don’t forget to LOOK AT PHOTOS FROM YOUR CHILD’S YEAR AT: mrslogue.wordpress.com
 

Notes from Mrs. Jamesbarry - 1st Grade

Thank you families for attending parent/teacher conferences last week. I appreciate your time, support, and insights concerning your child. It truly helps to inform my instruction and helps me understand your child better. Our teamwork helps your child get the best out of their day here in Room 8. As conferences go by quickly, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have more questions.

We are just kicking off new literacy units. We will be delving into writing opinions and reviews in the coming weeks, and diving a little deeper into strategies for solving tricky words in our reading, in the Word Detectives unit. In the coming weeks we will be reviewing a variety of things. If you are out dining in the neighborhood,  please pick up a  “take out” menu for our class collection. They will be helpful in the coming weeks!

In math, we are ramping up our work with addition and subtraction. We have several new work places coming out this week. We will be using odd and even number array pieces to help build number sense and addition skills, and we will also learn to use a number line to support our computation strategies. We will continue to work on writing numbers without reversals.

As the holiday season approaches we will begin to talk about winter celebrations and traditions from around the world. Please contact me if you have a family tradition that you’d like to share with the class. It’s always fun to have guest teachers in the classroom to share traditions at this time of year.

Cheers! Ms. Sarah
 

Notes from Ms. O’Dea - 2nd Grade

It was great to visit with all of you during conferences, just wish I/we had a bit more time. Seems one of the highlights was getting to read your child’s weekend news journals, and hearing their writer’s voice and see their illustrations developing. I will be following up by sending home a weekly reading log ,Lexia account sign-ins, and a link to leveled -based trade books, as well as unfinished work. Thank you for all the support you give your child, it truly makes a difference!

We’ve begun working in Our Genre Study journals, which we will be working in throughout the year. Today we completed  the Folktales page. This week we are starting to read legends as our genre focus.

We also have been supplementing our reading using our Scholastic News subscription, which covers current events articles that are science or social studies based information.

For writing, we will be working at writing a good “lead” for a narrative piece, by looking at great writers’ examples. And then perhaps write a group legend.

In Math, we created our own images and pattern for November’s calendar. Family, turkeys and pumpkin pie were voted the 3 most popular images, with squirrels gathering nuts and apple trees coming in fourth and fifth, and football in there somewhere.

We’ve continued practicing addition & subtraction, using the concept of double & neighbors, telling time, focusing on the minutes, and counting coin combinations to 25 cents and 50 cents.

Our final garden class was last week. The children planted various bulbs. Braeden made a great, informative diagram on the board for us explaining the procedure. Wish I had taken a photo of it.

We’ve also had a guest presenter on Pedestrian Safety. First class was outlining the importance of traffic and crossing streets and some role-playing. The second session was actually practicing at 4 different places around the school. Shelia was a good instructor and really “drove home “ the importance of being very conscious of traffic and how to behave as a pedestrian.

Hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving.
Maureen O’Dea
 

Notes from Ms. Leake- 2^nd Grade

Loi Krathong is our second Celebration of Light.  It occurs on the 12th full moon of the year in Thailand.  It takes place after the harvest in early November and is said to thank or honor the  water goddess, Phra Mae Kongkha, for the water we use during the year.

“Loy” means “to float” and “Krathong” is the cup you float. These flower-covered mini floats look like lotus flowers and play a big part in hoping for good fortune during the festival.  As the sun dips below the horizon and the full moon begins to rise into the night sky, people take their krathongs to the nearest water and release it with the outgoing current.

People believe that if the krathong floats away from you, the coming year will bring good fortune. If it floats back towards shore, then you luck might not be quite as you had wished because a returning krathong is considered back luck!

Krathongs can be made from anything such as banana leaves, banana trunks, coconut barks, paper, and etc. Traditionally, it is made out of a piece of banana tree trunk or banana leaves. Today people without banana trees, make “krathongs” out of bread or styrofoam.  People put 3 sticks of incense stick and candles in the flowers in the krathong.

Coins are often placed inside as a way of showing your goodness. Some people  also put their fingernail clippings or a lock of hair in the raft as a symbol of letting go of parts of themselves.

J.J.’s family came to share the tradition with our class.  J.J.’s father shared information about Loi Krathong and brought two Thai desserts for the class to sample.  His mother made a krathong out of a round loaf of bread. She covered the loaf with flowers and added sticks of incense in the center and answered questions students had about celebrating Loi Krathong when she was a girl growing up in Thailand.  We listened to a song children sing during the festival and began making a slide show of important information on the celebration.

This year, we’ve had great personal connections with the celebrations we are studying. Nia’s family shared about Diwali and J.J.’s family shared about Loi Krathong.  In the weeks before winter break, we will be learning about other Festivals of Light such as: Winter Solstice, Santa Lucia Day(Sweden), Las Posadas(Mexico), and Hanukah.  If your family has connections with any of these events and would like to visit our class, please see me.

_____________________________________________________

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter
   
November 1, 2017  
       

Upcoming Dates:
November 2- Walk and Roll
November 2- Bottle Drop Collection before 9am
November 3, 8-10- No School for Students
November 8, 9- Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 14- Lewis Dines Out- Pizzicato
November 14- Lewis PTA Meeting

*No late start days in November or December

Please check the lost and found located between the cafeteria and the gym.  It is overflowing with clothes.
 

Message from Ms. Glasgow

It's hard to believe we're already moving into November! This is always a great point in the year to step back and express gratitude. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you--for trusting us with your brilliant children every day. I feel lucky to be a part of such a dynamic and invested community. At this morning's Coffee Talk, I was excited to engage in a thoughtful conversation with a small group of parents about how we discuss issues like race and equity with our young children. I hope this is a conversation we'll continue to have together over the course of the year. And, looking forward, I know that everyone is eagerly anticipating Parent-Teacher Conferences next week. Please remember that these conferences are intended to be two-way conversations--a time for you to ask questions and share background about your child as well as a time for teachers to share information about your child's performance and progress. I hope you find these conversations both connecting and informative!
- Emily

Fred Meyer Community Rewards

The PTA will receive a $80.07 donation from Fred Meyer Community Rewards, based on July through September purchases by Lewis supporters.

Do you shop at Fred Meyer? If you do, join the 30 households already signed up and help Lewis get donations from Fred Meyer!  It's free money for the PTA just for doing the shopping you already do!

Go to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards to create an account or link your existing account up to the Lewis PTA, #85340.The same process has to be done each year to keep your account linked, so go back and check even if you've linked up in the past.

Every time you shop and use your rewards card, you are helping earn a donation! You still earn your rewards points, fuel points, and rebates, just as you do today.

If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store.
 

PTA meeting, Tuesday, November 14, 6:30pm

This month we'll meet in the library and continue our series of school interest discussions with these topics--

Understanding how technology is used at Lewis and how families can help students use/navigate technology at home

Blended classes

Also learn more about the upcoming Holiday Bazaar and how to get involved in one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.

Free childcare provided!
 

Staff appreciation--

The PTA is changing staff appreciation up this year and celebrating throughout the year. Here are two upcoming ways to participate.

1. November 8 and 9 are conference days. Bring in healthy treats for the staff to enjoy on those long days. Sign up here - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4EAAA62AA0F49-staff1
2. Lewis Dines Out is at Pizzicatto in Sellwood on November 14. Contribute toward a staff meal of pizzas and salad, and help the PTA raise money through Dines Out at the same time! Our goal is $200 in contributions to cover lunch for our staff of 44. Donations can be dropped off with Tracy in the office.
    

Bingo night, Friday, November 17, 6-8pm--

Join us for a fun night of bingo in the cafeteria. It's a favorite event of many families, so if you haven't been you should definitely check it out! Food will be available for purchase.

All of our events run on volunteer power, and we would love your help! Join us for a short 30-minute shift before, during, or after the event. Sign up here -- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-bingo
 

Box Top Collection- Classroom competition!

The Box Top collection is going like gangbusters!  We've collected $463 worth of Box Tops and we haven't even hit winter break yet!  Keep your eyes peeled for Box Tops on items you might purchase for your Thanksgiving meal prep or you holiday cookie baking. Clip those Box Tops, place them in an envelope or baggie with your child's teacher's name on the outside, and submit them to the collection box in the school office. If you like the "official" Box Top collection envelopes or using the Box Top collection sheets, extras are available in the office. Remember, the classroom that collects the most Box Tops will receive a popcorn party at the end of the year!  Here is a quick Box Tops video - http://www.boxtops4education.com/videos/box-tops-101 Remember, each Box Top is worth 10¢ and they don’t need to be clipped perfectly... just make sure each one has the full label and expiration date.  Expired Box Tops don’t count toward our earnings.  Good luck and keep clipping!  Questions? Contact Box Tops Coordinator Genevieve Benner at vivapalmer@yahoo.com
 

Portland Council PTA Clothing Closet volunteer opportunity,

Monday, November 20, 9:30am-1:30pm--

Do you have a few hours to help PPS students shop for much-needed winter clothes? If so, please join us at the PTA Clothing Center on Monday, November 20th from 9:30am-1:30pm!

This is one of the two days per year that Lewis is responsible for staffing this important community resource. Volunteers will meet students upon arrival and escort them through the center, helping them to find the items they need, then recording and bagging the items they choose.

Sign up here -- http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eaaa62aa0f49-portland

Art Fundraiser – Ordering deadline Nov 15
Individual online ordering instructions were sent home this week.
Orders are due November 15th.
You will receive your products December 7th - they will arrive at the school.
33% of the sales go towards the Lewis Arts Fund and other important programming that the PTA supports.
If 100 students order a product, shipping is FREE!

Questions? Contact lewiselementaryptaor@gmail.com, or call the school office.
Thank you!  Lewis PTA
 

Got books? The fifth annual Children’s Book Harvest book drive has begun!

Lewis Elementary School is partnering with The Children’s Book Bank to bring you the fifth annual Children's Book Harvest book drive benefiting PPS students in desperate need of books!  Bring in your outgrown gently used books appropriate for babies, toddlers, elementary age children and middle schoolers. Used books in good condition and even new books are welcome. Drop off your books by the main office or by room 20 from October 25th to November 7th!

Multicultural books and children's books that feature children of color and books in Spanish are greatly needed. Consider donating new books that reflect the wonderful diversity of the PPS community. Here is a list of some favorites: http://bit.ly/book-drive-2017

Cash donations allow The Children's Book Bank to purchase book in Spanish and other much needed books not generally collected in the book drive. Families who wish to contribute cash to support the Children's Book Harvest may donate here: http://bit.ly/book-drive-cash

 For more information contact, Mark Richner, at mrichner@pps.net or 503-916-6360.

Five years ago, The Children’s Book Bank and PPS launched the first district-wide Children’s Book Harvest book drive to address the scarcity of books in the homes of students in PPS school communities experiencing the biggest gaps in reading achievement. Every year since, the Children’s Book Harvest has gathered thousands of books which hundreds of Children’s Book Bank volunteers meticulously sort and restore. This June, nearly 2,000 PPS students will attend special book fairs and select eight books just in time for summer vacation. These special home libraries inspire them to read throughout the summer and arrive at school in the fall ready to learn!
 

Little Free Library

Thank you to Lewis families and staff for donating books for our new Little Free LIbrary. We collected over 1000 books!

The Little Free Library is OPEN. Here’s how it will work. 1) open the door, 2) pull out a book that intrigues you, 3) take it home to read, 4) return it or return a different book when you are done, 5) repeat!

Our Little Free Library will be open all hours. So, say you have been reading and it’s the dead of night, but you just finished you book, you can walk on over to the Little Free Library and pick up a new book. There are never any late fees. You never know what you’ll find. We are always looking for more new books. We appreciate all the donated books,

By Sophia
 

Talented and Gifted Nomination Process

If you would like to nominate your child for Talented and Gifted, please contact your child's teacher about completing a TAG Identification Process Form (IDPF).  The form is due to your child's teacher by NOVEMBER 13th, 2017.  NO LATE FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED.  If you have any questions, please contact the Lewis TAG Facilitator, Abby Rotwein, in Room 22 or at arotwein@pps.net.
 

Calling all Crafty Parents and Students!

Annual Lewis Holiday Bazaar: December 2nd 10AM-3PM
It's that time of year again - we're taking applications for spaces at our holiday bazaar. 
Parent booth: $40 (6'x6')
Student booth: $10 (5'x5')
All goods sold must be handmade
Please pick up an application in the office, or contact the email below for the online application.

Questions: Contact Foy White-Chu at lewisholidaybazaar@gmail.com

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School

Classroom Notes  November 1, 2017

News and information from our classrooms...                                 

503 916 6360                       

Notes from Ms. Canales- 2^nd-3^rd Grade

Hello, hello, hello!

We are really working hard in Room 16! We are close to finishing up our first units in both reading and writing workshop! After we finish up publishing our best true stories, we will move into Mysteries: Foundational Skills in Disguise for reading and Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches, Petitions and Editorials for writing. The upcoming reading unit focuses on foundational comprehension skills like inference and analyzing the text. The upcoming writing unit teaches students about text structure and research skills.

In math our second graders are just about finished up with the first unit. They have a few sessions to left on measurement, and then unit 2 begins. In this unit, they will learn about probability and practice their addition and subtraction skills. Our third graders continue with their second unit. They are finishing up a few sessions on measurement and moving to problem solving and strategies for subtracting multi-digit numbers.

Science and social studies have been a blast these past few weeks. Your students have been learning all about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and they’ve created slideshows that reflect their learning. We will also have an art project related to the holiday. Our science Rocks & Mineral unit continues, and soon we will be doing experiments to test the properties of our minerals.

Thank you for sharing your fabulous kiddos with me! I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences!
 

Notes from Mr. Hansen/Ms. Brenan - 3^nd Grade

Dear Room 10 friends,

We are diving into the world of multiplication and the kids are so excited.  You will hear them start to talk about multiplication in four main ways: rectangular arrays (groups of tiles), loops/groups,  skip counting and repeated addition.  These terms might sound unfamiliar but they are different conceptual ways to think about the operation we call "times-ing," all of which are applicable in different contexts. 

Like me, you might of had to do a lot of memorizing of multiplication facts as your way into times-ing.  Memorization of math facts is an important part of our students' growth, but it only becomes effective mathematically if they have a strong concept of what those facts mean and how and when to use them.

For now, please ask your students about multiplication, what they are thinking and what they are wondering.  You might find a situation in your time together at home that relates to multiplication.  (My son and I use to skip count by two's while we put away his socks.) We talk a lot in class about how to model the world mathematically so I will look forward to what you find together.

Jill and I are both looking forward to meeting with you during conferences.

Best, Mark
 

Notes from Mrs. Redmond - 3rd Grade

November already!?! It’s hard to believe we are already a quarter of the way through the school year. I am very much looking forward to meeting with all of you next week during conferences. It is always nice to have an extended time to talk about your kiddos and how they are doing in class. I sent home date and time reminders. If you need to reschedule for any reason, please check with Tracy or Kathleen in the office.

Our first reading and writing units will be wrapping up this week. Up next, we will be working on Opinion Writing and a Mystery unit. Before that starts, however, we are doing an in class reading project around our fiction reading and we are looking for cereal boxes. If you have any you can part with (or cracker boxes, etc.,) please send them in with your student.

Students have been asking about field trips and when we will be having the first one - soon. We are awaiting final bus confirmation. Be on the lookout for a permission slip coming home later this week or next. It will, hopefully, take place on December 14th. More information to come.

The alien art is ready to order! Personalized order forms were sent home today. They turned out so great! I was half tempted to copy down codes and get myself something. There is a contact email for the PTA on the back of the form if you have any questions.

We are short on school days this month, so keep those kiddos reading at home. I will have some math practice during conferences if you would like that to take home as well. Again, I am looking forward to talking with you next week. In the meantime, follow our classroom happenings on Twitter at @MsCyndi_LewisES

Cyndi
credmond@pps.net
 

Notes from Ms. Elissa – 4th Grade

Here comes “No School November”….  We are going to work hard this month to hold on to our routines even as the weeks get a little wonky around us.  I am looking forward to seeing you at our conferences next week!  Please contact the front office if you need to reschedule.

In math, we took our post-assessment for Unit 1 last week.  Students did well overall, but it was clear that many of us are in the habit of rushing as there were many careless errors!  We are headed into a new unit on place value and larger number multiplication.  In this unit, students will learn strategies for multiplying double-digit numbers and firm up their understanding of place value.  Our homework this week is all about place value.

In literacy, students are working on responding to text more independently.  We have covered many ways to analyze and think about what we read: asking questions, making predictions with evidence, writing about a character’s traits, and writing about a character’s hopes and dreams.  As students prepare to begin book groups, they are practicing these strategies independently with our shared read aloud, The Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo.  I am consistently impressed with the deep-level connections this class is making in the text.  It makes reading fun!

In writing, we are still working our way through our personal narrative unit.  Students recently revised a piece of writing to add in adjectives and adverbs, making it come to life!  Next, we will brainstorm a story about friendship.  After that, students will begin the process of choosing one of the personal narrative beginnings we have written thus far, and taking that idea all the way through the writing process to publishing.

In geography, our class is creating comic strips to show how Crater Lake was formed.  last week, students used a theater exercise called “tableau” to help them visualize all the stages of Crater Lake’s history.  Now students are writing and illustrating each scene in great detail.  Keep your eyes out in the hall for these later this week.

Our salmon eggs have been delivered!  Over the next few months, we will watch them carefully, keeping track of the temperature and the health of the eggs.   Everyone is eagerly awaiting the first signs of hatching.  Feel free to stop in after school to check them out!

See you at conferences next week,

Ms. Elissa
 

Notes from Ms. Rotwein - 4th Grade

Science:  The salmon eggs have arrived!  We are looking forward to watching them grow and learning about the salmon life cycle.

Social Studies:  Our focus the last two weeks has been on Crater Lake.  Students are creating graphic storyboards to show how Mt. Mazama erupted, created a large caldera, and eventually evolved into Crater Lake.

Reading:  We are continuing to focus on characters in our read aloud text, "Wonder."  Students have been writing about a character's hopes and dreams and comparing and contrasting characters using a Venn Diagram.  This week we are rolling out book groups.  I have paired students up based on reading level and gave each group three novels to choose from.  They will be practicing the strategies we have used with our read aloud text with their chosen novel. 

Math:  On the whole, students did well on their Unit 1 Math Assessment.  I sent them home with your children on Monday so please check their backpack if you haven't seen it yet!  From Wednesday- Friday of last week we did a mini-unit on place value up to the millions.  This week we are starting Unit 2.  Students will be building on the multiplication strategies we learned in Unit 1 and start doing two-digit arrays.

Writing:  Last week, students wrote and revised an important moment from a story about loss.  We worked on making our writing more descriptive by adding in adjectives and adverbs.  This week, we are transitioning to writing stories about friendship.  Our mentor text is Mary Beth Olson's "Best Friends."  We will be focusing on how to write a strong conclusion.

Upcoming News:  I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you at parent-teacher conferences next week! 
 

Notes from Mr. Richner- 4^th-5^th Grade

Team 20 had another busy and productive week. We visited The Children's Book Bank (childrensbookbank.org) to learn more about The Children's Book Harvest, which we are helping coordinate for our school. We also learned more about the importance of diverse books, making many connections to our earlier book drive diversity inquiry. We volunteered by cleaning books so they are ready for new readers by cleaning covers, erasing scribbles, and taping torn pages. If kids would like to volunteer again, there are many book bank opportunities through Hands On Greater Portland (handsonportland.org). Here are some photos from our visit: bit.ly/team20-CBB and more by team photographers: bit.ly/team20-CBB-2.

Lewis’s new Little Free Library is now open! This project began by brainstorming the many steps necessary to bring this project to life. Kids created artwork and painted their illustrations on the little library. They organized a book drive, making posters, a bulletin board display, and advertising videos. As a capstone, we looked at the over 1000 books that were donated to talk about the diversity gap in children’s literature and collected some data around the questions, “How diverse is our book drive collection?” and “How are different races and genders represented?” Be sure to check out this video that kids made about how the Little Free Library works: bit.ly/LFL-how. Here are some photos of installing and filling the little library: bit.ly/LFL-open. Now we will shift into our role as library stewards.

Our usual routines have remained in motion. Word study continues. Kids have been tracking their thinking while reading and sharing this thinking with the rest of the team. Letters to our pen pals in Mrs. McCollister’s fourth grade in Madison, Wisconsin, were mailed. Kids finished typing their rough drafts in a Google Doc on their Chromebook and conferenced with another kid and myself to edit and revise their work. During Reed Science, kids made Irish soda bread, using this much requested recipe: bit.ly/reedsci-bread, while learning about the physical properties of matter. Speaking of science, we also began our salmon study. We learned about the components and setup of the aquarium, chiller, and pump that we are using and about maintaining a healthy environment for the 500 little salmon eggs in our aquarium.

We are beginning our Road Trip Project. Kids are hittin’ the road as virtual tourists, using literature and the Web as our road maps. They chose states (fifth graders) or regions of Oregon (fourth graders) and are beginning to collect data through reading books and websites in order to later share their findings with their teammates by creating a Google Slides presentation. Our state locations and capitals study (bit.ly/team20-states) continues this week with the Southeast quiz on Wednesday. We have been talking about a number of study and quiz taking strategies. More recently these included distributed practice (that it can be useful to practice multiple shorter times across the week, rather than just once a week for a long time) and about the point of diminishing return (that practicing for five or ten minutes is plenty and that practicing longer does not yield a significant gain). We also talked about how to use a word bank, how to check your work, and reflected some on what study strategies were really working.

Kids are definitely into books each day in our room. Many kids are opting for audiobooks during reading in our classroom, which means that they are listening to an audio version while reading the words in a paper version of the same book. We have a nice classroom collection of audiobooks (room20audiobooks.weebly.com). Kids can read along with these at home, too. Again, having the good ol’ paper version of the book and reading the words while listening to the audio is essential for this reading approach. This week we are beginning a new read aloud, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo. We are working on making predictions and backing up our predictions with evidence from the story.

We have had weekly visits from our school counselor, Mrs. Sundburg, about growth mindset, which is the idea that everyone’s smartnesses develop through effort, time, and good strategies.

There are a couple of flyers coming home today. One is a reminder of your day and time for next week’s conferences. The kids are working very hard, and I am looking forward to our talk together about all the fine things your child has accomplished! Second is a free pass for fourth graders to all federal parks, lands, and waters (e.g. national parks, like Crater Lake or Mount Rainier). Here’s a link with more details: everykidinapark.gov.

Please follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom20 and at LewisRoom20.blogspot.com for regular updates and photos!

Mark
 

Notes from Ms. Speer - 5th Grade

It has been a busy few weeks here in Room 21! Students continue their work with their chosen Native American group. Last week they researched, practiced taking notes, and summarized their findings. This week students are turning these findings into an essay. They will begin presenting their work in 2 weeks.  During these presentations, students will also be sharing their home projects.  The home project should include the required 3 elements--A dwelling, artifact, and spirit animal.  These 3 elements should be displayed on a platform that is approximately 12” by 24”.  All elements should be labeled and explained.  I posted several examples on the blog.  The due date for this Native American project is Monday, November 13th. This week we began a new math unit involving multi-digit multiplication and long division. Some students are having a hard time because they still haven’t memorized their multiplication facts. Yikes! Please practice these at home. In reading, we are practicing maintaining an independent Reading Workshop while I confer with individual students and/or small groups. We’ve also had many super fun activities going on the last few weeks--here are just a few… A demonstration from Makeup Artist, Ruthann, a t-shirt tie dye experience, a harvest celebration, and Dia de Los Muertos art. Tomorrow is our Field Trip to Zenger Farm. Don’t forget to send your children in appropriate clothing and shoes. It’s going to be wet! And don’t forget to pack a healthy and filling lunch. Conferences are just around the corner and I will send home reminders on Friday. If you need to reschedule, please email me. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom21 and visit our classroom blog for weekly updates http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/. ***Make sure you’re getting enough vitamin c and lots of sleep! We’ve had a large number of absences this week :(
 

Notes from Ms. Sarah Kohn - 5th Grade

Happy Wednesday and happy November! We had a lovely day at Zenger Farm last week. We got so lucky with weather and students learned a lot! Thank you to the many parents that signed up to chaperone. We have many other field trips planned this year, so if you weren't able to join us, I hope to be able to have you chaperone a future trip. Our work on Native Americans is well underway. Students are doing a great job with their research and note taking. Our classroom is abuzz during work sessions and I love overhearing all the conversations. Along with their home projects, (due November 13th) students are creating a slide presentation. Most students have a partner they are working with and together they will create the presentation and then together they will present. I can't wait! We finished our first unit in Math. I have their end-of-unit assessment. Students have been shown their score. I will give the tests back to you at conferences. We are now shifting focus to multiple-digit multiplication. Kids are really fallen into a good routine with Word Work. I had the pleasure of observing some of their independent partner work and it was spot on! In reading, we are working on deepening our understanding by writing about our reading. It is a practice that I model with read aloud and they work on during independent reading time. It helps us to pay attention when we are reading and be more reflective as we make predictions and ask questions. Yesterday we had a fun leaning time centered are Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Students got to learn about this tradition and then sample some food, create some art and play a game! Another thank you to the parents who came to help. I have one former parent, Oona Baker, whose daughter was in my class 6 years ago. She comes each year to help with this day. I feel so grateful. I am looking forward to seeing you all next week for your conference. I will be sending a reminder home on Thursday.

Notes from Mr. Post - Room 7

For Morning Work, students have been alternating between Words Their Way word family sorts and Handwriting Without Tears. For Reading, leveled reading groups have Reading A--Z packets about Halloween or the Day of the Dead. We have been reading some holiday-themed stories, including passages about the origins of Halloween and Day of the Dead.  We have also been doing Guided Reading Assessments for the end of the grading period.  For Writing, students are finishing their passages about ways they can move, and they will present them at Share Time next week. For Math, students have been working on skip-counting and multiplication. We are also covering topics like basic fractions, time, and money. Next we will do a unit on skip-counting and division.

For our “Make It Move” unit, we read about simple machines including wheels and axles, gears, inclined planes, wedges, pulleys, and screws.

We also did three more experiments about force and motion. For one experiment, students gathered objects like a rock, an eraser, a wood block, and an ice cube, set them on a board, then tilted it up to compare how much friction each item had. For another experiment, a rubber band was attached to the top of a cup, then marbles were placed in it and students measured how long the rubber band stretched from the weight of the marbles. In our third experiment, we used straws to blow air pressure onto ping-pong balls and rubber balls. We made up a game called “ping-straw-pong”, and students stood on each side of a table and tried to blow the ping-pong ball off the other end.

Last Tuesday, Kylea came to Room 7 and she read a story called “Bubble Gum Brain”. It compared two characters, one whose brain was flexible like bubble gum, and another whose brain was rigid and inflexible like a brick. This helped illustrate the idea of “Growth Mindset”, positive thinking, and being adaptable.

For Art, we made Q-Tip skeletons for the Day of the Dead, and they are on display in the hallway outside of our classroom. Also, Dash’s mom, Miss Ruthann, came to class on Tuesday and we made Tie-Dye T-shirts. These will be our classroom T-shirts for field trips and other special classroom events. Speaking of field trips, Room 7’s first trip of the school year is to OMSI next Tuesday. If you haven’t signed and returned the trip slips, please do so. Next week is a short week, and I look forward to seeing all of the parents next Wednesday, November 8th and Thursday, November 9th for Parent Teacher Conferences to discuss how your child has done for this first grading period!

Meriwether Lewis Elementary School Weekly Letter               

October 25, 2017          

503 916 6360 - http://www.pps.net/domain/135
 

Upcoming Dates:
November 1- Coffee Talk with Emily 9am
November 2- Walk and Roll
November 3- No School for Students
November 8-10- No School for Students
November 8, 9- Parent/Teacher Conferences

*No late start days in November or December
 

Message from Ms. Glasgow

Hello. I hope everyone is enjoying the break of sunshine this week! Some of you have asked about how Lewis handles Halloween and other holidays. Out of respect for the many cultures and traditions represented in our community and out of deference to learning time, we do not celebrate holidays at school. So, Lewis students do not wear costumes to school on October 31st and classrooms do not have Halloween parties—some classrooms may, however, have some form of harvest celebration next week. On Monday, November 1st, we will have our next monthly Coffee Talk with Emily. These talks are an opportunity for you to ask questions and share ideas that are on your mind. Last month, we had interesting conversations about technology, homework, and blended classrooms. I’m looking forward to hearing what’s on your mind lately! If you’re unable to make the Coffee Talk and have questions or ideas, please know that you can also contact me directly via phone or email (eglasgow@pps.net).
Emily
 

Still have Run for the Arts money?  It’s not too late, turn it in to the office!  Every dollar counts!
 

Art Fundraiser - Online Ordering Instructions Coming 

We have had a great turnout for this fundraiser thus far - every student submitted a piece of art!
Individual online ordering instructions will be sent home the week of October 30^th
Orders are due November 15th.
You will receive your products December 7th - they will arrive at the school.
33% of the sales go towards the Lewis Arts Fund and other important programming that the PTA supports.
If 100 students order a product, shipping is FREE!

Questions? Contact lewiselementaryptaor@gmail.com
Thank you!  Lewis PTA
 

Got books? The fifth annual Children’s Book Harvest book drive is coming soon!

Lewis Elementary School is partnering with The Children’s Book Bank to bring you the fifth annual Children's Book Harvest book drive benefiting PPS students in desperate need of books!  Bring in your outgrown gently used books appropriate for babies, toddlers, elementary age children and middle schoolers. Used books in good condition and even new books are welcome. Drop off your books by the main office or by room 20 from October 25th to November 7th!

Multicultural books and children's books that feature children of color and books in Spanish are greatly needed. Consider donating new books that reflect the wonderful diversity of the PPS community. Here is a list of some favorites: http://bit.ly/book-drive-2017

Cash donations allow The Children's Book Bank to purchase book in Spanish and other much needed books not generally collected in the book drive. Families who wish to contribute cash to support the Children's Book Harvest may donate here: http://bit.ly/book-drive-cash

 For more information contact, Mark Richner, at mrichner@pps.net or 503-916-6360.

Five years ago, The Children’s Book Bank and PPS launched the first district-wide Children’s Book Harvest book drive to address the scarcity of books in the homes of students in PPS school communities experiencing the biggest gaps in reading achievement. Every year since, the Children’s Book Harvest has gathered thousands of books which hundreds of Children’s Book Bank volunteers meticulously sort and restore. This June, nearly 2,000 PPS students will attend special book fairs and select eight books just in time for summer vacation. These special home libraries inspire them to read throughout the summer and arrive at school in the fall ready to learn!
 

Little Free Library

Thank you to Lewis families and staff for donating books for our new Little Free LIbrary. We collected over 1000 books!

The Little Free Library is going to go up soon. Here’s how it will work. 1) open the door, 2) pull out a book that intrigues you, 3) take it home to read, 4) return it or return a different book when you are done, 5) repeat!

Our Little Free Library will be open all hours. So, say you have been reading and it’s the dead of night, but you just finished you book, you can walk on over to the Little Free Library and pick up a new book. There are never any late fees. You never know what you’ll find. We are always looking for more new books. We appreciate all the donated books,

By Sophia
 

Talented and Gifted Nomination Process

If you would like to nominate your child for Talented and Gifted, please contact your child's teacher about completing a TAG Identification Process Form (IDPF).  The form is due to your child's teacher by NOVEMBER 13th, 2017.  NO LATE FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED.  If you have any questions, please contact the Lewis TAG Facilitator, Abby Rotwein, in Room 22 or at arotwein@pps.net.

Talented and Gifted News

It was nice to see so many of you at the TAG parent meeting last week!  If you are the parent of a TAG student and were unable to make it, please email arotwein@pps.net for a copy of the information packet.  A question came up about what happens at District TAG Parent Nights.  I have been informed that those are informational events for parents.  Ms. Glasgow and Ms. Rotwein are currently in discussion about uses for TAG funds for the 2017-2018 school year- look for a parent survey coming home soon!

Calling all Crafty Parents and Students!

Annual Lewis Holiday Bazaar: December 2nd 10AM-3PM
It's that time of year again - we're taking applications for spaces at our holiday bazaar. 
Parent booth: $40 (6'x6')
Student booth: $10 (5'x5')
All goods sold must be handmade
Please pick up an application in the office, or contact the email below for the online application.

Questions: Contact Foy White-Chu at lewisholidaybazaar@gmail.com
 

New Lewis BottleDrop Fundraiser!
First Goal: Can we raise $1000 by January 26th for PTA movie and treats night?

Steps:
1. Pick up a Blue Bag in the office
2. Fill with bottles and cans that have OR $.10
-Mix glass, plastic & cans
-Limit to 20lbs (about 20 glass bottles + cans/bottles)
-DO NOT CRUSH
-Please keep clean
3. Return full bags to ANY BottleDrop center. Use bar code on bag to scan at door, drop bag in, done!
4. - Or - Return full bags to Lewis on First Thursday Drop Day

Already have a BottleDrop Account?
YOUR DONATION IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
Steps:
1. Return your bags as usual
2. Go to your online account
3. Select: Donate to a Fundraiser
4. Search: Lewis Elementary School PTA
5. Click: Donate Now!

“You will receive a tax receipt from OBRC for your donation. The charity group will also receive a record of your donation.”
**Get a raffle ticket in the office every time you turn in a bag!**
 

Hello from the Woodstock Farmers Market!

FINAL WEEKS AT T