Hello Families,

Picture Day was a success! Thank you so much to Elliot for taking the time to photograph our students & staff, and thanks to Jillian for helping us generate more smiles on the group photo retake!

Our first field trip is this Friday; please read Mr. Sharp’s update for how to help your student get prepared (outdoor gear, extra food, etc).

Read on for news & announcements.

All School - Dates & Reminders

SEPT 18 | FRI: Field Trip: Metolius Hike
SEPT 22 | TUES: PTO Meeting, 3:15pm
SEPT 25 | FRI: Field Trip: Black Butte Hike
SEPT 26 | SAT: Family Campout at Jack Creek
OCT 2 | FRI: Field Trip: Sahalie Falls
OCT 9 | FRI: Field Trip: Oregon Badlands
OCT 13 | TUES: BBSD Board Meeting, 3:30
OCT 16 | FRI: NO SCHOOL – Teacher Work Day
OCT 20 | TUES: PTO Meeting, 3:15pm
OCT 22 | THURS: OBOB Meeting 3:15-4:415pm
FULL CALENDAR HERE

Update from Mr. Sharp

Principal Message

We were very excited to have every student at school today for picture day! This was a first day of perfect attendance and I am hoping for many more of those in the next few weeks. We are starting to get used to our school routines again and the kids are settling into the new school year.

We are kicking off our field trip season this Friday with our Metolius river hike. We will be focusing on forests on our field trips this fall and will start with a close study of our local forest. We plan to leave school by 9am and be out all day Friday. I went over the plan with the students today including what they need to be successful. Here is what I told them to bring.

Good hiking shoes
Layers for varied weather conditions
Lots of water
Lots of health food
Sun protection
PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)
Curiosity and Wonder

One thing we will also go over on Friday is going to the bathroom outside. If your child is still uncomfortable going in the forest it would be helpful to go over it with them this week. We really appreciate your help making sure your child is ready to go Friday to make for a fun day for all.

Update from Ms. Sharp

Performing Arts

This school year we’ve started our performing arts a bit earlier than usual. On Mondays and Fridays (when kids don’t have field trips) we’ll be learning acting and singing skills in preparation for our Winter Performance. (More on that soon!) This week we began by building up our ensemble and learning about how we can think about and be deliberate in our movements in order to create characters.

OBOB

This week we also kicked of Black Butte School’s participation in Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB)! Participating in OBOB is an incredible way to foster kids’ love of reading! Star Todd from the Jefferson County Library joined us on Tuesday to start a spark of enthusiasm to join OBOB. She read a few chapters from one of the books and the kids began to practice battling by answering questions from the chapters she read.

Kids in grades 3-6 are encouraged to sign up to participate in OBOB this year! Our teams will comprise students in grades 3-5. Sixth graders can participate as assistant coaches. Ms Tammy and I will be the team coaches. We already have the fifteen OBOB books in our library and ready for kids to read! (Thanks Molly!)

To participate in OBOB, students must be willing to go above and beyond their classroom work by committing to reading at least four of the OBOB books and attending all meeting sessions and tournaments.

Our first OBOB meeting will be on Thursday September 24th 3:15-4:15. Over the next few months students are encouraged to read their books! We will have monthly meetings on Oct 22, Nov 19, and Dec 17. January – early March we’ll host weekly meetings. Our regional tournament is scheduled for Saturday March 6th. We will likely also attend the Jefferson County Tournament which has yet to be scheduled.

Please reach out with any questions about OBOB! jsharp@blackbutte.k12.or.us

Yearbook

This week Blue Bay students will also start yearbook class with me, Ms Sharp (aka Ms Jennie). We’ll be meeting every two weeks on Thursday mornings for the next eight weeks to kick off our yearbook. Then we’ll meet a bit less often, until crunch time in April when we’ll make sure we have the yearbook polished and ready to print at the end of the school year. Order your yearbook before October 31st and you can get 10% off! (see link below!)

Update from Mr. Sump

Blue Bay

Today was the first day all of the students were present in the Blue Bay classroom, so we reviewed our school expectations and classroom agreement. Most students have a planner that they made for keeping track of their assignments, which we will continue to use through October.

In Humanities, the students are studying the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, as we transition from ancient civilizations into the Middle Ages of World History. Tomorrow, the students have a spelling/vocabulary test on 13 words from this time period. Please remind your child to do their nightly reading in Scat by Carl Hiaasen. They are required to read to the start of chapter 9 by Friday (or start of Chapter 10 by Monday).

In Math this month, Blue Bay is doing a Review Unit until 5th and 6th graders separate and work on grade-specific content. In Science, the focus is Ecology. We have touched on abiotic vs biotic, food chains, and trophic levels (energy flow). Our field trips this fall will help students actualize the learning we are doing in the classroom.

As a reminder, we have our first full day field trip on Friday, and we would like all students to come prepared with the five essentials: 1. Backpack, 2. Walking Shoes, 3. Water Bottle, 4. Jacket, and 5. Food (non-microwave). Please let us know if we can help support you by providing any of these items.

Update from Ms. Kassie

Rose Hips

We are finding our groove!

Please take care to get extra rest and teach how to cough into elbows, wash hands, and blow noses. There are signs of colds in the Rose Hip Room.

I will put the skills we are working on in order from Kinder skills to 2nd grade, recognizing that we can all build on each topic. I will give a skill to try at home or a question to ask about in each subject.

Literacy

letter names, sounds, vowel (short vowel sounds), and closed syllables
Ask about- Finger stretching

Math

Positions (above, below, left right), numbers, addition, 10 friends, mental math skills for addition

2nd graders- homework is due tomorrow!

Ask about- What is math?

Science

We are starting our Trees are Alive Unit with the big question of how are trees part of our community?

We are starting with- How do we know something is living?

Ask About- What is a researcher?

Update from Mr. B

Green Ridge

Green Ridge is working on…

In literacy:

other vowel phonemes: /aw/
practicing suffixes in syllables
heart mapping project (ask your student)
comparisons (Making it Strange)
spelling words with the /aw/ sound (like claustrophobic!)

In math:

grouping to multiply
how to use parentheses in multiplication equations
same and different strategies (ask your student to model 12 in four quadrants using arrays, multiplication, groupings, etc.)
analog clock time-telling
beginning i-Ready diagnostic soon

In science/social studies:

wonderings about community (Are the trees part of our community?)
reading a local article about ‘tree codes’
using the story Where They Gatheras an example of what community may or may not look like
playing a card game called Into the Forest (ask about Death and Decay!)

Green Ridge Classroom Topic Reminder!

(dice roll…) #7

Snack time (10:15ish to 10:30)

Students pick one, accessible* snack prior to lining up for morning recess (*not in lunch container; side pocket on a backpack is preferred)
No spoons or forks at snack
Only water (no other drinks) in the Green Ridge room
Snack time is also the best time to fill up water bottles and use the restroom.
B reads aloud to students at this time (currently…Here We All Areby Tomie dePaola)

Huzzah!