A huge "THANK YOU!" to everyone who helped make our Valentine's Day Party/Prairie Picnic a success. The food was wonderful and plentiful, and the students enjoyed the activities. The day could not have happened as it did without parent support, and I am very grateful. We ended the day with a fun art lesson with Mrs. Buscaglia--it was a great way to transition to vacation! Thank you.

Students had the opportunity to participate in Rancho's annual Multicultural Day yesterday. As usual, the volunteers did a wonderful job of presenting information about many different countries and cultures throughout the world. Our class got to hear U.S. Olympic marathon runner Magdalena Boulet speak, and it was great. Many thanks to everyone who made this engaging and informative day happen!

Our trout are growing and changing. We will be releasing them before the end of March. Once we have a specific date, I will let you know. We'll walk to Scottsdale Pond to release the fish, and it would be very helpful to have a few parents join us.

We are moving forward in math, to decimals and some geometry. State testing will take place for 4th graders during the last week in April and the first week in May (Thursdays and Fridays). There is a lot to do before then!

We are still exploring earth science. Your child should be able to explain the difference between a rock and a mineral, and tell you about the usefulness of the "scratch test." We will be working on other ways to identify rocks, and then move into exploring weathering, erosion, and various kinds of land movement. Great stuff!

Students will begin reading about the Donner Party next week. They will have the opportunity to see Patty Reed's actual doll when we visit Sacramento on March 23, so we want to learn all about Patty Reed before we go. We'll also be learning a bit about California government before visiting the capital. Anyone interested in joining us on March 23 should let Pam Allan (our trip coordinator) or me know. Thanks.

We have been exploring setting this week. It would be good practice if, when talking to your child about what they are reading, you could ask them about the various settings in their book(s).

For anyone interested, the new Scholastic book orders are in this week's Friday folder. For those who like to do things online, go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our username is spry4 and the password is room11. If you choose to purchase books, the orders are due by Saturday, March 6.

Have a great weekend!

This week I'm just going to ask everyone to make sure they read the handout about our "Prairie Picnic" and Valentine's Day party in this week's Friday folder. Our Valentine's Day party will be a "Prairie Picnic." Students will have activity centers before lunch (starting at 10:50), making pioneer-related items and distributing Valentine's Day cards to their classmates, and then at lunch we will join the other 4th grade classes in the multi-use room for our picnic. We will need parent volunteers and food contributions, so I hope everyone will consider helping in some way. I think it will be a wonderful day! Please contact me if you have any questions. Our room parents will be contacting folks about the day--or feel free to contact them about how your family would like to help. Thanks!

Have a great weekend!