Miss Porter's Class
May 26, 2015
As the year ends....
It has been a busy several weeks, as you know, and there are many things to give you updates on. Please read on to get detailed info on all of the goings on these last few weeks of the year.
There is WCS Board meeting on Thursday, June 11th at the Pebblewood Campus. Parents are always welcome at Board meetings; there are reports given from Mr. Eick, Mrs. Eick, Mrs. Battin and Ms. Wilhelm on the status of our school and the many events that are happening each month. Please try to join us- you do get Parent Hours for attending!
Mr. Eick recently announced to staff that I will be moving to the Pebblewood campus next year as the 6th grade Humanities teacher. I am super excited about working with kids I taught as kindergartens and 3rd graders, and super pleased to be able to see your kids as 5th graders at PW. I will always be there for you and your kids- no matter what school your family may be choosing. Of course I encourage you to stick with WCS- we will have an amazing brand-new campus in 2017 and our middle school program was recently awarded a Gold Ribbon award for Excellence from the State of California. Check it out: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr15/yr15rel37.asp
Pioneer Day is Thursday, June 11th. Almost all volunteer spots are full! We have one more opportunity this year with Field Day on the last day of school, June 17th. Details will be provided soon!
We will be showing the “Always Changing” video to parents to preview on Monday, June 1st at 6pm in Miss Hewitt's classroom. Forms need to be turned in to me no later than Friday, June 5th. 4th grade classes will be viewing it Friday, June 12th.
June 16th is our 3rd Trimester Academic Awards Ceremony- details will be coming soon!
Curriculum Update
Math Notes
The kids wrapped up the Geometry unit and also spent a bit of time reviewing measurement. The kids will re-test on measurement to see if their understanding has improved with more time on the concepts. We will also spend just over a week on review and finding skills to revisit before taking an end of the year assessment. We have taken our final NWEA assessment for the year, and many students were pleased with their growth! I will send reports home once all testing is complete.
Language Arts
Pioneer life continues to drive our LA program with our reading of By the Great Horn Spoon. The kids will be responding in journals every few chapters along with some simple projects to have fun with this unit. We will be writing a five-paragraph narrative essay modeled after self-study and autobiographies. The kids have worked hard on writing with their reports on current events in Asia. I am excited to hear their presentations based on this work!
Social Studies and Science
The kids have been going to Mrs. Chastain for their history lessons while her class comes to me for science. There is one more week of this swapping and Mrs. Chastain has nothing but praise for this class. They have continued to study the Gold Rush, aligned with our reading of By the Great Horn Spoon, as well as studying the Transcontinental Railroad. In science, we have studied forms or energy and will be ending our unit by applying all of their work to the planning and construction of roller coasters and robots.
Stay in Touch
Email: dporter@westlakecharter.com
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/westlakecharter.com/missdebbieporter/
Location: Westlake Charter, Room W19
Phone: 916-835-3419
Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day will be held here and NP3 campus on Thursday, June 11th. We are especially in need of chairpersons for each station. Chairpersons make sure that all volunteer tasks are covered, and determine with volunteers if they will work in shifts or all remain at the station during the day. The school provides all supplies.
· Students are asked to wear “pioneer” costumes on this day. Girls can wear pioneer dresses, Native American dresses, aprons, bonnets, and/or shawls. Boys can wear military uniforms, trapper clothing, leather vests, trousers/knickers, hats, etc. Most will find great options at Salvation Army, consignment shops or borrowing from friends who have attended this event in the past. Here are a few links for those who wish to consider costume rentals: http://www.clothesenoughcostumes.com/#!costumes/c12kd orhttps://squareup.com/market/pioneer-costume-rental or https://www.evangelines.com/ or contact Elva Salgado at americanhistorycostumecloset@yahoo.com .
Thursday, Jun 11, 2015, 07:45 AM
Del Paso Campus
Westlake Association of Volunteer Explorers!
Check out what WAVE is all about on our school website: http://westlakecharter.com/wave/
Please take some time to attend WAVE meetings this year! There are so many opportunities for you to donate your time and earn volunteer hours. Even attending the meetings will go toward your volunteer hours! Here is the link to the schedule of meetings this year: http://westlakecharter.com/wave/wave-meetings/