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Announcements
 May 2013 May 6-10: Teacher Appreciation Week May 9: PTA Meeting May 10: Muffins with Mom @ 8:00 am May 10: Intermediate Treasure Chest May 13 - 17: Book Fair (BOGO!) May 14: "Music and Me" Musical Performance @ 1:45 AND 6:30 May 17: Walk-a-Thon May 21: Bright Knights Assembly @ 2:00 May 24 & 27: No School - Memorial Weekend Tuesdays & Thursdays @ Recess: Knights on the Run April - May: Track Practice on Wed. & Fri. June 2013 June 4: Elementary Track Meet @ Sparks Stadium June 6: BBQ Day @ Lunch June 17: End of Year Slideshow Assembly June 19: Last Day of School AND Talent Show UPCOMING... Talent Show on June 19th (last day of school): (find permission slip under "Classroom Resources" in "Documents" tab) We are gearing up for the 2013
Northwood Talent Show! It will be a great occasion to
showcase the undiscovered talent at Northwood, as well as give the
participants the ability to perform these hidden talents for their
peers! This year the Talent Show will be held on June 19th, the
last day of school. We are going to close out the 2012/13
school year in style! For
Northwood newsletters, detailed school event details, and more
PTA info, please visit:
NorthwoodKnights.com - PTA's website Northwood Elementary - District site Important Letter That Was Sent Home on
Monday, April 8th:
I can’t say for certainty what my half time employment will look like for this coming school year as nothing is set in stone, but I can tell you that my HOPE is to stay within the Quest program. Details are constantly being worked out, and I will be sure to keep you posted once things are decided. I love Northwood, love my kiddos, and love the Quest program; I was lucky enough to have my halftime approved, so my fingers are crossed that I’ll get to keep Quest. J Thank
you, as always, for your devotion and commitment to your kids and
the support you’ve shown me. I’m privileged to be your
child’s teacher, and I look forward in anticipation to this
next chapter. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to
contact me. What We're Studying ~ Weeks of 5/20 -
5/31
 Math:
We are working on the CMP unit "Bits and Pieces I - Fractions,
Decimals, and Percentages." This is a 6th grade unit, so don't
worry if your child seems to struggle with some of the concepts ~
that's expected and it's okay! These two weeks we
are doing Investigations 3 & 4. Concepts covered in this
unit include: *Investigation 1 - Whole numbers & fractions, finding fractional parts, comparing fractions *Investigation 2 - Equivalent fractions (finding, comparing, making), comparing to benchmarks, mixed numbers *Investigation 3 - decimals (tenths & hundredths), decimal benchmarks, moving between fractions & decimals *Investigation 4 - understanding percents, comparing percents, expressing data as precents, moving between fractions/decimals/percents May's Number Corner Key Concepts include: problem solving fluently using all four operations for whole numbers, decimals, fractions; angles & measuring using protractors; 2D shape transformations; dividing 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers; multiplying 2 digit numbers ** Students should practice IXL as much as possible (practice skills covered in class) : https://www.ixl.com/signin/puyallup ** Mondays & Thursdays: Basic Facts Timed Tests (Spring Goals: 3rd = mixed facts practice x 2-12s; 4th = division) * Tuesday, 5/28: Investigation 3 Quiz (decimals)  Reading: We
are continuing our Literature Circles on the novel
Sing Down the Moon, the story of a Navajo Native American
girl. Students will be working in small groups and will be
responsible for a comprehension task within each section of the
reading. The tasks include: summarizer, questioner, vocab
finder, and story mapper. This week I will introduce Lit Circles
and highly model and guide the process. From that point forward,
students will move towards more student-led grouping and work.* Tuesday, 5/28: End-of-Year Literary Analysis & Interpretation Post-Test (measuring what you've learned over the year)  Writing: From now until the end
of the year, students will be doing writing activities that go
along with our Native American studies. We will be reading
folktales, poetry, and prose from a variety of cultures and doing
activities that go with each (writing, creating, drawing, speaking,
presenting). Spelling &
Vocab: These two
weeks we are studying the vocabulary from Wordly Wise
List #19. These activities strengthen students'
vocabulary and spelling skills with multiple exposures and work
with the words in a variety of contexts.List #19 Word List: dormant, elegant, erupt, excavate, expel, fume, molten, painstaking, perish, population, prelude, scald, stupendous, suffocate, tremor * Thursday, 5/30: Workbook activities for Lesson #19 A-E due * Friday, 5/31: Spelling & Vocabulary assessments  Science: This week we are beginning our Life
Science unit "Plant Growth." Students will learn all about plants,
pollination, and the living processes of an ecosystem.
These two weeks students will learn about
Plant Structure and pollination. Social
Studies:
This trimester we are studying Native American tribes from all over
the United States, specifically in the regions of the Plains,
Southwest, Northeast, Northwest Coast. These
two weeks we are studying more in-depth the tribes
and culture of the Northwest region.Native American Culture Project: * Wednesday, 5/22: Final Rough Draft due * Wednesday, 5/29: Final PUBLISHED report due (remember your cover!) Students are
required to read at least 1,000 minutes per month
outside of school.This averages out to approximately 35 minutes of
reading daily. The Monthly Reading Log (RAH Log) is
due on the last day of the month (due dates are
also included on each
log).  AR
Points are accumulated per month. The
monthly goal is 14 points (12 points for 3rd grade) with
a comprehension test accuracy average of at least
80%. Students can keep track of tests on their R.A.H.
Log in addition to teacher-student conferences. The points
rubric is below:
Last Day to Earn MAY/JUNE Points: Friday, June 7th 14+ points = 4 (3rd grade: 12+ points = 4) 10-13 points = 3 6-9 points = 2 5 or lower = 1  Northwood Now Uses AR Enterprise! What's the difference between the old system and AR Enterprise? AR Enterprise is the online system of Accelerated Reader (AR) which allows students to test on ANY and EVERY book in the AR database. With this new program, virtually every book your child reads will have a corresponding test for them to take. What are the major differences? Home access is available online from home to check and track your child's reading goals, progress and tests taken using your child's unique login and password. However, your child cannot take AR tests from home. These still can only be done in the classroom. What is my child's password and login? Your child's login is their district student ID #. Their password is the first initial of their first and last name AND their birthdate in a MM/DD format (Using me as an example: rg0612 [Rachel Gagnon - birthday June 12] ). A letter will be sent home with this information. Your child will also be provided with a bookmark that has the info on it. Login information is not available online, so if it is lost, it must be retrieved from me. AR Enterprise Home Connect website: https://hosted336.renlearn.com/296768/HomeConnect/  May: 27th: Meaghan  This
Week's Super Somebody:* Alice *  May's Knight Lights: Emily Kira Maren Trevor Alice Brandon Rikki Anne Rebekah Zach Announcements - Class &
School:
 Quest ABC (Academic Booster Club) News: Quest ABC plays a district-wide role for the Quest program that is very similar to the PTA's role in school buildings. Some of ABC's primary purposes include... - raising money to support teachers/students in the Quest program - organizing and sponsoring family activities throughout the year - advocating for gifted education at the district and state level Please consider joining ABC to support your child's educational experience. Membership forms will be available at school in the Fall and online at www.questabc.org. ABC Calendar of Events & Activities  Morning Drop-Off In an effort to keep all kids and staff safe, the office would like to remind everyone that all parents and students should enter the building through the main doors in order to get to the gym. Please do not drop your student off before 8:20, and 8:10 on Wednesdays. Thank you!  Vistor Badges While at Northwood In an effort to keep our school safe, ALL parents, visitors and volunteers must sign in at the office and wear a visitor badge while on our campus. Although you may visit our school regularly and are known by many staff members and students, this is a safety precaution we are taking to ensure that everyone on our campus is accounted for. Thank you for helping to keep our Northwood staff and students safe! 
 Dress Code Hats of any kind, beanies and hoods are to be worn ONLY at recess; they may not be on your head at any time in the building. Please refrain from wearing flip flops to school ~ they pose a safety hazard at recess. Tank tops must have straps that are at least 2 adult fingers wide. Shorts and skirts must reach past your fingertips. For the complete dresscode, please refer to the PSD handbook. |
