The Daily Platypus

Room 15 students joined high schoolers from the Crater School of Natural Sciences for the City of Central Point’s first ever Arbor Day event. Students planted 62 trees and shrubs as part of the Daisy Creek riparian zone restoration near Snowy Butte Station in Central Point. The project is designed to help with flood prevention. Special thanks to participating parents and to the community leaders who stopped by: Board Member Jolee Wallace, City Council Member Carol Fischer, Superintendent Randy Gravon, and City Administrator Phil Messina and his wife, Susan. The event was wonderfully organized by City of CP staffers Stephanie Holtey and Sarah Garceau.

Learning the steps for multi-column multiplication is typically challenging for many students, so repetition and patience are the prescribed responses. As students complete their homework at home be sure to have them re-write the problems on notebook paper, taking care to neatly line-up the problems. In class we say “stack” the problem. Students need to be reminded where and how to “carry” and to add in the carried digit in the next column. They also have to be reminded about writing down the place-holder zero. We’ll be working on multi-digit multiplication for the next three weeks or however long it takes to master it. Of course, long division follows. Here’s the homework for this week: Tuesday, May 4th; Wednesday, May 5th; Thursday, May 6th; Friday, May 7th.

Or so the saying goes. This week our student-teacher, Mrs. Odell, will be helping Room 15 students uncover whether they’re a bunch of turkeys, a bushel of sweet potatoes, or a skillet full of sausages. The kids will be learning how to read food labels in order to make informed decisions about the foods they eat. They’ll also be planning a day’s worth of meals. Their small groups of four (simulating a traditional family) will be required to plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each group has just $25 to “spend” in our imaginary classroom store. Their meals must meet the standards identified in the Food Pyramid and be between 1800 and 2200 calories per person. Students will also be counting their grams of fat, sugar, and protein as well.

Also this week students will be attending our Arbor Day field trip (see below), reciting DARE essays, hearing about “The Indian Wars” during history, and reading from their independent reading selection. Students were required to select a novel last Friday from which to read from each night. They’re expected to read for about 20 minutes each night and record a summary in their vocabulary/homework journal. This summary requires an adult’s signature for the student to receive credit.

Parents who wish to join us on the Arbor Day plant should be at the school by 8:45 on Friday. Students need to wear clothes and shoes appropriate for the event. If possible, each child should bring a pair or work/garden gloves. Thanks for your support of this event!

Room 15 Math Kids conquered their recent test on Geometry and are now moving on to multi-column multiplication. Our hope is that within three weeks we’ll be correctly answering problems like $453.98 x 67 with relative ease. Here’s the homework for this week: Tuesday, April 27; Wednesday, April 28; Thursday, April 29; Friday, April 30.

Arbor Day and our walking field trip to South Hazel Street is fast approaching. Permission slips will go home this week for our tree planting project on April 30th. Parents are welcome to join us for the trip, although our 5th grade students are being paired with high school mentors from Crater, so they will be little for us adults to do but take pictures and enjoy watching the hard work of the kids.

Room 15 kids will also be reading their DARE essays in class. Two students will be selected to give a speech at the DARE graduation later this year. If you haven’t yet stopped in to see our red ribbon, please do.

In history this week we’re looking at Native Americans during the time of western expansion. The stories of Captain Jack, Sitting Bull, and Chief Joseph will be the focus.

We’re also finishing up our current Book Clubs, starting our Nutrition unit with Mrs. Odell, and much more. Another busy week in Room 15.

It’s test time. On Thursday of this week students will be taking their big chapter exam on Geometry. We’ll complete a study guide on Wednesday and we’ll review the exam on Friday. Next week, our student teacher, Mrs. Odell, will be leading the students into our unit on multi-column multiplication. Here’s the homework for this week: Tues., April 20; Wed., April 21; Thurs., April 22; and Fri., April 23.

Wild West Week in Woom 15 continues for another week as we look at the telegraph, Buffalo Bill, the transcontinental railroad, outlaws, and wild west towns. Students are encouraged to dress in their favorite cowboy (or cowgirl) garb.

Also this week, students are completing their DARE essays. The final drafts are due Tuesday, April 20th, at which times students will be reciting them to the class in hopes of being selected to speak at the DARE graduation ceremonies. Room 15 kids have also pledged to stay away from illegal substances by signing the Drug Free Red Ribbon. The ribbon includes the signatures of nearly all my students from the last 17 years, most of whom managed to stay true to their pledge. The giant red ribbon is on display in the classroom and well worth a look.

Finally, students have been preparing for our upcoming Arbor Day field trip–a walking trip to Daisy Creek at the Snowy Butte Station development at the end of South Hazel Street. We’ve been working with the City of Central Point in planning a riparian restoration tree planting. Room 15 students will be paired with high school students from the Crater Academy of Natural Sciences while planting 64 trees and shrubs similar to those we’ve planted in and around our playground. Students also invited community “dignitaries” such as City Council members, School Board members, and politicians to join in. Special thanks to Stephanie Holtey from the City for her efforts in planning this event.

We’re still wielding our rulers and meter sticks as if epees in the hands of expert fencers . . . well, maybe more like carrots in the hands of monkeys. Whatever the case, we’re continuing our geometric studies, particularly finding the area and perimeter of rectangles. Students will have a test as early as Friday of this week, but more likely Wednesday of next week. Here’s the homework for this week: Tuesday, April 13; Wednesday, April 14; Thursday, April 15; Friday, April 16.

In our American history studies this week we’ll be sharpening our spurs and dustin’ off our ten gallon hats as we take a close-up look at how the West was won. We’ll learn about how the Civil War spawned a blood-thirsty collection of outlaws such as the Wild Bunch and the James Gang. We’ll say giddy-up to longhorn cattle, wanted posters, the Pony Express, Morse Code, Buffalo Soldiers, Buffalo Bill, and much more. Students are invited to dress the part all week with hats, chaps, or even empty holsters, and as always, parents are welcome to stop in for a visit.

Students are continuing their latest Book Clubs, reading from The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, or Esperanza Rising. Each student has a nightly reading and relating assignment written in his or her vocabulary journal, to which an adult in the household is supposed to add a signature.

We also have three classroom needs at present: 1. old magazines such as Better Homes, Sunset, and Cooking with pictures of foods and food products we can cut out; 2. food product containers showing nutrition labels; 3.) reasonably healthful snacks for the class such as pretzels or crackers. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Fourth grade math students are continuing their geometry studies. They’ll touch briefly on congruency, similarity, angles, triangles, and quadrilaterals before settling on a more in-depth study concerning area and perimeter of rectangles, which is the primary focus of new Oregon standards for fourth grade geometry. We also hope to start a new “Mathketball” tourney, so make sure the homework is getting done. Here’s the homework for this week: Tuesday, April 6; Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8; Friday, April 9.