Dec 1, 2017 - Having my whole family together was so special. ... The Transition Shelter drive is going .... has many ha
Volume 5, Issue 11 December 1, 2017
A Few Thoughts from Mr. Galati Welcome back from our Thanksgiving break. My hope is that you relaxed and enjoyed family. That you rested, and had the best of times. I did something that I always say that I am not going to do: eat Too Much. Turkey, Stuffing, Apple Pie and Coconut Cream pie, oh and more Apple Pie—Will I ever learn?—NO! Having my whole family together was so special. I savored every moment with them. Now that we are back, I am excited for this festive time and all the positive buzz that goes along with it. Each day, I will be wearing a Holiday tie and I will not wear the same tie twice. As we now move into December, please be sure to review the calendar of events. For example in the coming days, we have a 1st grade concert, a variety of field trips, our PBIS assembly, and during the last week prior to the winter break, we will have the Candy Cane Extravaganza. Remember: don’t be surprised when you see the Police here. Our annual community outreach event sponsored by the Portland Police involves officers handing out candy canes to our students starting at 7:45am on either December 13th or 14th. I love this time of the year and can hardly wait to hear the exciting things your kids did during the Thanksgiving break.
Important Dates: Dec. 4 Scrip Orders Due Dec. 5 First Grade Concert 6:30PM Dec. 13 PTA Meeting @ 7:00PM Dec. 15 Cup of Joe with Joe 8:00AM Dec. 16-Jan. 1 NO SCHOOL – Winter Break Jan. 2 SCHOOL RESUMES Jan. 15 NO SCHOOL – MLK, Jr. Holiday Jan. 17 LATE OPENING – School starts at 10:00AM Jan. 19 Family Craft Night
5th Grade Conferences by: Julia, 5th grade th This by L year, since we are 5 graders, we got to go to our conferences! I really liked it because we got to set a goal for ourselves, show our parents some of our work and see our report card so far! It was fun to create a portfolio with our work in it and I liked showing my parents what I have been doing in school. In Miss Mininger’s class, we filled out a sheet called “My Time to Shine!” which had spaces to set a personal goal for yourself, put things you are doing well, and to describe what you put in your portfolio and why. My 5th grade conference was super awesome and helped me recognize what I am doing well and what I should work on.
PE Happenings Dribble. Shoot. Pass. Catch. Run. These are words that describe our new basketball unit in P.E. On Monday we worked on dribbling and chest pass. We also played a game using dribbling and jump stops which was really fun. In my opinion the best part of the sport is shooting a basket. But it is not easy because the hoops are so tall! Even though basketball is a team sport, sometimes it is fun to just shoot baskets by yourself.
by L
by: Hazel, 4th grade
December 1, 2017 – Page 2
The Transition Shelter Drive by: Sofia, 3rd grade
Tribes and Tribes by: Ben, 5th grade
The Transition Shelter drive is going on this week and the week after Thanksgiving (ends December 1). The bin for the drive is next to the office. You can donate toiletries, underwear (for women and men), socks, gloves and hats. Thank you for helping people in our community!
Earth, Moon, and Stars Science Unit
In Mr. Rozell’s class, we are studying Native Americans, or as Mr. Rozell calls them, First American tribes. My tribe is studying the Aztecs. But now you ask: “Huh? Do you mean that you are a tribe too?” Well, that is technically true. In our class, everyone calls a table group a tribe. That would be who you talk with and really get to know a bit better. So for the tribe studying, we all have a period during the day that we get to research during. We can also do research at home, but mostly we do it at school.
by: Amy, Julia & Hazel, 5th grade
Earth, Moon, and Stars is Miss Mininger’s class new science unit. In the unit we have read about the moon. Did you know that it takes about 28 days for the moon to travel around the world? We learn about the phases of the moon and how solar/lunar eclipses occur. We even have a “Lunar Observation Record Chart” and we get to track what phrase the moon is in each night! We will also learn more about the sun and other stars. We have learned a little about how the moon effects the earth. We all thought that it was very interesting because the moons gravity is what creates a bulge in the ocean that means we have tides.
Winter by: Willa, 5th grade
We also each have a different job. The six jobs are: biologist, geographer, historian, shaman, sociologist, and archeologist. What those all mean is that we are responsible for studying that thing; the Biologist would research plants and animals; the Historian would research the legends and beliefs of the tribe. So in the end, each tribe will have a poster about their tribe, and that will be that!
The only season when darkness is feared. I know. I was once a star, a star who died protecting the measly planet Earth. My death shattered my soul. I was reversed from light to dark. Children scream. I am like a blanket, covering the night, suffocating the light. Other stars try to defeat me. I gain more strength each passing night. Winter. The only season I am feared.
December 1, 2017 – Page 3
At A Glance
This week we highlight Fourth and Fifth Grades
4th Grade: Our 4th graders are or have been to Oaks Bottom for the first time this year. We had classroom lessons about a week ago helping the students learn how to identify plants. The visit to Oaks Bottom will allow the students to put this into practice as well as a chance to help restore the habitat. The students are pulling invasive plants from the habitat as well as planting native plants in Oaks Bottom. We will be visiting the area again in the spring. Land and water units in science are going well or are finished. Your child’s classroom may have started or soon will be either studying Pacific Northwest Native Americans or Lewis & Clark. We are finishing our first two math units focusing on multiplication and the array (area) model along with many other concepts. Next we will look in depth at fractions and division. We are getting excited for the Oregon Trail overnight trip. We are still waiting for the dates of this trip. As soon as we are informed by the MESD (Multnomah Education Service District) we let you know. Thank you to the parents and students that helped with the bake sale at the craft fair a few weeks ago. More fundraising efforts are likely to occur later. 5th Grade: 5th graders have started delving into advanced spelling lists in preparation for the Spelldown at the end of the school year. The list is long and has many hard words, but the beauty of it is that most of our words are useful because they were developed six years ago. This is strictly a Llewellyn event and it does not tie-in with the PPS event in the spring. Dismal weather or not, another big topic is going down to Oaks Bottom. For this, students test water quality to see if it has enough dissolved oxygen or is too acidic or basic. Students, along with some brave parents, also planted native plants. At the same time, they removed invasive English Ivy. This is something that 4th and 5th graders do every year in our efforts to stay connected to eco-science.
Nurse Notes A reminder for your health
Schoolwide T-Shirt Art by: Ellie & Julia, 5th grade
by: Demetria Bullock, Health Assistant
There are many students coming in because they are not feeling well. I want to remind you of ways to reduce the possibility of getting sick. Sharing food and drinks may be a nice thing, but that person can have a cold and not know it and pass it on to you! Most germs are passed on by our hands, so please remember to wash your hands, and if you sneeze or cough, cover it up with your arm and wipe down any area that you touched. If you are not feeling well before school, let your parent(s) know, because the best way to get over a cold is rest, fluids, rest, and more rest. It’s almost Christmas, so let’s stay healthy!
Everyone at Llewellyn is making t-shirt art! For the 5th graders, we decorated our paper tshirts with a personality attribute, a place we have been and where we want to go, something we like to do, and something we want to do in our lifetime. These t-shirts help us to get to know each other, and they were fun to decorate! In the end they all looked colorful and we put our best efforts into them!
December 1, 2017 – Page 4
Llewellyn PTA We Create Community, Enhance Learning, and Organize Volunteers Find us on Instagram: llewellynpta (just click follow) This will keep you up to date on the latest events and happenings!
CUP OF JOE Join the PTA December 15th at 8:00am, in the library, for Cup of Joe! We will use this time to review the year so far and to look ahead. Come with your ideas, we can't wait to hear from you!
Llewellyn Elementary 14th
6301 SE Avenue Portland, Oregon 97202 Phone: (503) 916-6216 Child Watch: (503) 916-6256 Fax: (503) 916-2653 www.pps.net/schools/llewellyn
The Star Flier Editor: Joe Galati Copy Editors: Mark Robb & Carey Ruhl E-mail:
[email protected] Student Writers: Hazel Alperin Hazel Burke Amy Erickson Sofia Mauro LeVelle Willa Richardson Benjamin Steckler Heim Ellie Usher Julia Vogel
GET INVOLVED We need a few parent volunteers to help out with recess daily. Before signing up, please make sure your background check is current. Please see the Llewellyn Elementary Parents page on Facebook or login to Konstella for a link to sign up. SUPPORT THE LLEWELLYN FOUNDATION 1. EAT AT HOPWORKS. Dine out for Llewellyn Elementary on Monday, December 11th from 5:00 - 9:00 pm. HUB will donate 10% of all food, drink and merchandise sales to the Llewellyn Foundation. 2. BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR: Become a monthly donor and help make a big impact on the school. By spreading out your contribution, you ensure consistent funding for the Foundation while keeping your contribution at an amount you are comfortable with each month. To become a monthly donor, visit https://allhandsraised.org/donate/. Make sure to select "select a PPS school" and then "Llewellyn ES." 3. EMPLOYER MATCH: Many companies, large and small, offer matching gift programs. Check with your employer's human resource department today to see if your company offers charitable donation matches. If so, your gift to the Llewellyn Foundation could be doubled and even more of an impact on our school. Do you need to reach the PTA? Please email us at
[email protected], we look forward to hearing from you!
Winter is coming… Winter After-School classes, that is! Sign-up for the Winter Session is (currently) planned to start on December 11th. A preview flyer should be coming home the week before. Winter Session classes will run January 8th through March 23rd.
Scrip Orders are due Monday, December 4th! Please get your December scrip orders to the Office by Monday! This is the only way we can be sure to get your orders to you before the Winter Break! If you have any questions, please contact Mindy Parker, Scrip Coordinator
[email protected] or 503-319-3831
