Fox Monthly
May/June 2018
Calendar
May 3 - 4th/5th Grade Field Trip to Oregon Symphony
May 4 - “Fox Trot” Jog-a-Thon
May 10 - 4th Grade Field Trip to Oregon City
May 14-18 - College & Career Week:
- Monday = College Day - wear college gear!
- Tuesday = "My Future's so Bright!" - wear neon!
- Wednesday = Career Day - dress as your future career
- Thursday = Future Glencoe Grad - wear your Glencoe gear!
- Friday = Fox Pride - wear your Free Orchards gear or red and gold!
May 15 - Art Club Field Trip to Portland Art Museum
May 16 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Jackson Bottom
May 17 - 6th Grade Parent Meeting for 6th grade Celebration - 2:30 pm
May 18 - 6th Grade “Fly Up” to Evergreen
May 18 - Spirit Assembly - Fox Pride - wear your Free Orchards gear or red and gold!
May 21 - Student of the Month Assembly
May 28 - No School - Memorial Day
May 31 - Last Day for BLAST
June 1 - PTO Event "Parents & Pastries"
June 4 - Talent Show
June 7 - 1st/3rd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo
June 7 - Celebration of Learning and Culture Night 6:00-7:30 pm
June 8 - Field Day
June 11-15 - Spirit Week
June 15 - Last Day of School - Early Release
Letter from the Principal
Unfortunately, we will not be hosting a Mother's Day event as we have in the past. I understand that we had some families that enjoyed this event and were looking forward to it, but it has become much to expensive and time-intensive to support.
I am looking forward to our Celebration of Learning on Thursday, June 7 from 6:00-7:30 pm. Classrooms will be open for families to view student projects, we will have community resources available, and we will have cultural displays. If we are lucky, our 6th grade Band will perform! During the evening, our PTO and PAC are coordinating a Culture Fair - if you would like to represent your cultural heritage with a display or activity, please contact Jules Martinez here at school.
6th Grade Parent Meeting to Plan 6th Grade Celebration
Seat Belt Safety
We at Free Orchards take the safety of all our students very seriously. This is just a reminder about Oregon’s law of safety requirements for children while riding in a motor vehicle. Please read the requirements below.
*Oregon.gov
Child Safety Seat Law
Child passengers must be restrained in child safety seats until they weigh forty pounds or reach the upper weight limit for the car seat in use. Infants must ride rear-facing until they reach two years of age unless the child turned age one prior to May 26, 2017.
Booster Seat Law
Children over forty pounds or who have reached the upper weight limit for their forward-facing car seat must use a child seat with harness or a booster to 4'9" tall or age eight and the adult belt fits correctly.
Rear Seating for Children
There is no Oregon law specifically prohibiting children from riding in the front seat of passenger vehicles. However, a rear-facing infant seat cannot be placed in a front seating position that is equipped with an airbag because this would violate Oregon's requirement for "proper use" of a child safety seat. There is a national "best practice recommendation" calling for rear seating through age twelve.
National "Best Practice" Recommendations
Safety experts from USDOT have published national best practices recommendations which would keep children in each type of child seat longer than Oregon law prescribes, in addition to back seating through age twelve.
Belt or Booster
Belt fit can vary greatly from one vehicle to another and one child to another. If your child meets Oregon's legal requirements for moving from a booster seat to safety belt but you still have doubts about whether your child fits in the belt in your particular vehicle, then the following simple test can help. Place your child in the vehicle without a booster seat and then ask these questions. Until you can answer YES to all of the questions, your child should stay in a booster seat.
- Can the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat?
- Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat?
- Does the shoulder belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
- Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
- Can the child stay comfortably seated like this for the whole trip?
- Printed Materials on Child Passenger Safety
*Oregon DMV
Child Car Seat Laws
Infants must ride in a rear-facing child seat until they are 2 years old and reach the upper weight limit for the car seat.
If your child weighs 40 lbs or less, you are required to use an approved child safety seat.
If your child weighs over 40 lbs, or they reach the upper weight limit of their child safety seat, you are required to use a booster seat until they reach 4 ft 9 in tall or they turn 8 years old. (They must fit the adult seat belt properly.)
Also, please be mindful of the speed while entering and exiting the school’s parking lot. We have many students on foot and we want to keep our students safe.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Free Orchard’s Safety Team
Oregon Green School News
We've got two energy saving tips for this Spring.
1) Cook outside. On warmer spring days, keep the heat out of your home by using an outdoor grill instead of indoor ovens.
2) Bring in sunlight. During daylight hours, switch off artificial lights and use windows and skylights to brighten your home.
(https://www.energy.gov/articles/10-energy-saving-tips-spring)Performance Arts News
The annual Talent Show is fast approaching! Students in 3rd-6th grade are invited to audition in May to perform at the Talent Show that will take place on June 4th at 1 pm in the gym.
The 6th grade band will be playing their final performance at the Celebration of Learning on June 7th. They have worked hard and persevered all year, and are excited to show how much they have grown as musicians.
Art Club News
Our amazingly creative 5th graders are continuing to meet after school on Mondays through May.
Library News
Library classes are studying award-winning books, including Caldecott and Newbery medal winners.
First Grade News
Math: We are going to be continuing our geometry unit studying 2D and 3D shapes.
Science: We will begin a new science unit called Spinning Earth in which we will study our solar system, earth, and moon.
Field Trip: We have our field trip to the zoo on June 7th! Let us know if you can volunteer!
Fifth Grade News
Our 5th graders just began a unit on Ecosystems. We'll be learning about how ecosystems need to be balanced in order for all of it's organisms to thrive. In mid May, we'll use what we've learned about energy moving through ecosystems to work with our Right Brain Artist!
In social studies, Mr. Kish's reading group has embarked on a study of the 50 United States. Mrs. Rider's reading group just wrapped up a study of heroes and will shortly begin a unit on historical athletes. By the end of May we'll embark on a study of Egypt as well as some continental studies. In June, both reading groups will be working on our famous poetry books!
Peace Planet News
In the Peace Planet, we have been learning about our body's stress response. Once we are in a state of “fight, flight or freeze“, decision making is a reduced to about three choices: fight, runaway, or freeze up completely and lose access to our clear thinking faculties. This can be problematic when it is triggered too easily. We’ve all lost our composure at some point, and have had to live with the aftermath of having said or done something we REGRET.
Many of our kids have experienced this as well. Learning emotion management skills can make a big difference in how we handle stress. What exactly is happening in our brain when we have a melt down? More importantly, how do we steer out of it or avoid it in the first place? Our kids need these skills as much as we do as adults!
Buying ourselves precious time is key because that’s how we can stop ourselves from making huge mistakes during the time when our decision-making process is reckless. Deep breathing sends a message to our brain to relax, and it also sends oxygen to our brain so that we can begin to come up with better, more constructive ways to handle things. This is crucial is because the part of our brain that is in charge of emergencies does not distinguish between real emergencies and “social threats“. We can reduce our meltdowns by simply getting into the habit of deep breathing when we start to feel upset. We all could use more peace in our lives!
Here are some links to some important videos we have been using for discussion in the PEACE PLANET on the subjects of self regulation and emotion management.