Hi Families,

Here are some brief notes from the Parent Alliance meeting from Tuesday.
 

• Wednesday, June 3 is a FULL DAY of school. Dismissal at 2:10 p.m.
• Last day of School is June 5.  Dismissal is at 10:50 a.m.
•  Staff Appreciation Luncheon – Wednesday, May 20 in the MPR.  Sign-ups have gone home via handouts or you can sign up online.  We need everyone to contribute to help say “thank you” to our staff and teachers at Rio.  Please bring one of your “family favorites” to share.
• Sixth Graders going to AJHS on May 19.
•  International Games on May 21 at Soquel High School
• Awards Assembly June 4, for 4-6 grades
      Gold Award = All 4s, no Ns
      Silver Award = All 3s and 4s, no Ns
      Principal’s List – children who embody good work ethic.  4 students from each class selected by teacher     
• Sixth Grade promotion is June 5, at 8:30 a.m. in MPR.  Seating is limited, please limit attendees to immediate family.
•  RDMPA board elections were held for 2015-16. There are still a few vacancies on the board.  Contact Desiree Stilwell at dstilwell@girlscouts.org if you’re interested in serving.  
•   Jogging for the Arts was a big success.  Thanks to all who supported the event.  JFTA raised $10,000 for Rio’s art programs.  Without this money, we wouldn’t be able to have art & music at the school.  If you see Nina Kinkead or Carole Anne Kessler around campus or town, be sure to tell them thanks!

 

Fairy Tale Adaptations

The Writing Process in Progress

 

Future Engineers at Work- Third graders learn about simple machines.

Welcome Back! 

The Famous American speeches were amazing. I am so proud of each child. Thank you for your support. We couldn't have done it with you.

SBAC testing begins Monday morning.
Since the testing is in the computer lab, the testing times vary. We will test as follows:

Sun	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	13 Math Nosky 8-10 Chromebook  Math Classroom Activity 12:15	14 Math   Nosky 12:15-1:15	15 Language Arts - Lab Nosky 8-9:40	16 Language Arts- Classroom Activity 10:00- 10:30	17 Language Arts Nosky  8-9:40

Please have your child get a good night's sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and send them off with encouraging words. Because we still have almost two months of school left, there WILL be things that your child has not yet seen on the test. We have talked about that as a class and your child knows what to do in order to make their best educated guess.

Homework will be very light--continue to look at the moon each night and fill out the observation log. Continue to read, but I will not require a reading log this week. We will have some math homework this week, but it may not be nightly. The students will be my guide as I see how they are hanging in there with all our testing. 

Writing:

We will begin our unit on fairy tales this week. We will first be reading the classic versions of Cinderella, Little Red Writing Hood, and Three Billy Goats Gruff. We will then be examining several adapted versions of these stories and spend time discussing why the authors have chosen to adapt the story, and students will work to identify the purposeful changes and consequential actions the authors have made. We will also be examining the plot structure of the fairy tales. Students will then choose to adapt Little Red Riding Hood or Three Billy Goats Gruff using their own imagination and creativity.


Grammar: We will be focusing on the proper use of quotation marks this week, as our fairy tales have a lot of rich dialog within them. We will also be working on building simple sentences into rich, descriptive ones that create an image in the minds of readers.

Math: Fractions on a number line.

Module 5- Lesson 14

Science: We will begin our study of the solar system!

We will continue with our engineering class-Simple Machines- on Friday. We will not have math centers, but feel free to help support 10:30-11:30. Thank you!

Field Trips:
Agricultural History Museum - Friday, May 8th 
Agricultural History Museum 

Museum of Art and History- Tuesday, May 12th  
Museum of Art and History


Welcome back! Let's have a great week!

Help Support Parent Alliance 

Spring Auction Event

Over the next few weeks RDMPA will be focused on promoting our largest fundraiser of the year - the All in for Rio Spring Auction. The event stands to raise over $50,000 and we need your support to make it happen.  Check out www.rdmauction.org for the all the details.  There are lots of ways for you to support the Spring Auction efforts:

Tickets to attend the event can be purchased online BUY TICKETS  or by returning the form that went home a few weeks ago. 

Tickets for the Poker Tournament are selling out fast (30 seats only),  ENTER POKER TOURNAMENT  or by returning the form that went home a few weeks ago

Purchase a Limited Edition water bottle (only 100) -  Specialized Bicycles have donated 100 BPA free custom Rio water bottles. Water bottles will be on sale at the school March 25th at 12:20 pick up. Pre-sale orders return by MARCH 23RD  (flyer coming home in the next few days)

Raffle Tickets: The annual Spring Auction Raffle tickets will be on sale starting March 18th  - with the winners being announced at the Spring Auction March 28th(you do not need to be present to win). Flyer and tickets will be coming home March 18th. $5 each or $25 for 6. Up for grabs - GoPro Cam, FitBit  & Boardwalk Passes. Raffle Tickets Sponsored by Sweet Earth Natural Foods 

We are still accepting sponsorships: 

Sponsor a game tables for $250: http://www.rdmauction.org/sponsorships/

We are looking for the following donations (please help us by donating one of these from your own collection):

·        Tickets to sporting events

·        Fine Wine or Specialty Spirits for the silent auction 

·        Registrations for Kids Summer Camps 

·        Tickets to concerts, theatre and dance performances

·        Hotels or Airfare

Volunteers needed for a few hours: check out how we could use your help here: Spring Auction Volunteers

JOGGING FOR THE ARTS – Save the Date for May 1.

Open RDMPA board positions

Being a part of the parent alliance is a great way to be involved and support our children’s school and teachers.  There are many ways to participate.  Work full time?  Not a problem!  We meet only once a month in the evening.  Most of our board members have full or part time jobs.  Here are the following positions that will be open for the 2015-16 school year:

·        Vice President

·        Treasurer

·        Volunteer Coordinator

·        Hospitality Coordinator

·        Recording Secretary

Contact Desiree Stilwell at desiree@gearbettys.com for more info!

Principal’s Update:

Math Contest – open to Fifth and Sixth grade students

We need one or two parent volunteers to work with students and teachers.  You don’t have to be a math expert to coordinate Rio’s team.  The Contest is on May 2.  Please contact Mrs. Dorney if you would like to work on this fun activity.

Report cards have been delayed due to technical difficulties.  They will come home on 3/20.

Big Spin will be April 2.

The 2015-16 school year starts Thursday, August 13

Jennifer Lee is our new second grade teacher, stepping in for Mrs. Cooper who is out on medical leave.  Mrs. Lee will be here through June.  She starts 3/13.

Know a child in our area who will be 5 years old by Sept 1? Kinder roundup is April 20.  Have parents call the office to schedule.

Welcome to the third trimester! It's hard to believe how quickly our year is passing. Report cards were scheduled to go home this Friday, March 13, but will now be going home on Friday, March 20, due to some problems within our online system. The district has been working through the weekend to resolve the issue so that teachers are able to access the system once again.

Mark your Calendar for the upcoming Field Trips:
Agricultural History Museum - Friday, May 8th 
Agricultural History Museum 

Museum of Art and History- Tuesday, May 12th  
Museum of Art and History

RTI: We are continuing to read Riding Freedom. This week, we are looking closely at identifying character traits by analyzing the actions and dialog of characters. We will also be identifying big moments and strong emotions that our characters experience, and discussing the problems and solutions that arise within the story.

Math: Module 5: Fractions as Numbers on the Number Line

Famous American Biography Writing: Most students are done with the research portion of their writing. We will are writing our rough draft in first person.  As we write, we will be learning about plagiarism and how to avoid it. We will also be focusing on having a balance of facts and anecdotes within our stories to make them more interesting for the audience. "Facts tell, stories sell (or bring to life)" will kind of be our motto as we work this week.

Our Famous American speeches will be given on Wednesday, April1 and Thursday, April 2. We will begin at 9:00 and run until 11:30. If we need to continue after lunch, we will. I will let you know ahead of time which date your student will be presenting so that you can attend if you are able to. These speeches are the most memorable event of third grade, so we would love to have you here!

We are Writers!

 The "How -To" books have been published and are fresh off the press. The books will be presented in the Young Author's Fair in the Capitola Mall later in the year. But no stopping these authors, we're onto the biography report. This week we are working on the research portion of the writing. Next week we will begin writing the rough draft for the Famous American speeches.

Module 5- Fractions

Parent Alliance Meeting Notes

February 11, 2015

Spring Auction 2015

Saturday, March 28 at Seascape Golf Club.  Tickets are $45/person and will be available online February 27.  Look for a paper coming home with your student on February 20.  The auction committee is still seeking donations.  If you have a service or business with something to donate, or you know someone who would like to donate an item for the auction, please contact Karrie Franks atkarriefranks@ymail.com.  We are hoping to raise $50,000 this year.  This is half of the parent alliance budget and it pays for vital school services like enrichment programs, educational intervention services, art & choir, yard duty, teacher supplies, and professional development for teachers.  Without your support, these programs will be unavailable for our students.  Please donate an item, plan to attend the event, and participate in the auction! 

 For more information, check out the auction website Rio Del Mar Auction Link

Assessments (State Testing)

Third & Sixth Grade: April 13-April 24

Fourth Grade: April 27-May 8

Fifth Grade: May 11-May 22

First week is for testing, second is for make-ups.  Please avoid missing school during the testing window.  Please don’t schedule doctor or dental appointments during these weeks.

Math Festival – February 24

All day math festival for the students during school hours. Need parent volunteers to help during morning and afternoon shifts.  Please contact Alyssa Davis atalyssa_davis@pvusd.net to sign up.  You don’t need to be a math whiz to help, they will train you.

Family Math Night (with kids) 6:30 p.m. at Rio on 2/24.

Restaurant Night – March 4 at Aptos Street BBQ

Jogging for the Arts – May 1

Math - Module 4 - Multiplication and Area begins Monday, January 26th

Famous American Biographies: Although we will not start working on our famous American biography writing and presentations until the middle or end of February, students should begin thinking about who they would like to research. Entertainers and artists will not be allowed. Please choose scientists, inventors, humanitarians, politicians, etc. It is my goal that each student have a different subject this year, so please help them  think of 2-3 famous Americans that they would like to learn about. I will give first dibs on a first come, first-served basis.

A Day to Celebrate Friendship

With Valentines just around the corner, save shoe boxes for a Valentine craft. Also, if you have any Valentine decorating supplies to donate, I would greatly appreciate it.

Welcome 2015

New Year Resolutions

We are learning the difference between Fixed Mindsets and Growth Mindsets. 

Here's a great video we watched in class. Growth Mindsets

Mark your Calendar: Wednesday, January 28th-Talent Show Tryouts-12:30pm- Return permission slips to the office.

Your child is in the process of writing a "How-to" book. These books will be on display in the Capitola Mall in May for the young author’s fair. Students will be choosing an activity in which they have strong background knowledge.  They will research this activity in the computer lab using the Kid Rex search engine. They will create their own text features including a glossary, table of contents, captions and illustrations. All of the work will be done in class.  

A.R. goals for the third marking period as begun. This period will run from Monday 1/12 through Friday 2/20. Remember that the 20 minutes that your child reads every night will help them meet their new A.R. goal. Thank you for discussing and returning the AR goal signature sheet with your child.  AR Home Connect  is a useful link to help monitor your child's progress. 

 

Third graders at the Aptos History Museum

2015- It's going to be a GREAT year!

A special visitor stops by to check in and say hello