Yesterday’s performing arts class was literally a dream come true! It was the first time since 2019 that I was able to teach in our new commons. Covid pushed us to “build” a third classroom in what we used to call the multi-purpose room, taking up precious space that we need to learn performance skills. After many years of dreaming, planning, and building, our new commons is available for performing arts, and it is incredible!

Things that I’m loving about teaching in the new space:

• Room to move: lots of open space for the kids to stretch out and perform in
• The cushioned (and rolling bench): provides a designated audience space, as well as moveable blocks for us to use in our performances and rehearsals
• A beautiful library and tidy kitchen area, which don’t distract us from our learning
• A wall of whiteboard which is contained and out of the way and easily accessible for visuals. (We still need easy projection for this space, but hey, we’re still working on it!)

During the next couple weeks, we will be learning and practicing performance and acting skills such as, bonding as a team, movement, emotions, sensory awareness, and voice. As I get to know our groups, I’ll be selecting our acts for our winter performance, titled “Winter Joy,” which will take place on Thursday December 11th at 6pm in the Camp Sherman Community Hall.

October is upon us and the Blue Bay classroom is bustling. We saw good leadership from these upper grade students on our Black Butte Hike last Friday. They supported their lower grade buddies, and collaborated to get to the top and back down. On Monday, older students paired up with their younger buddies and helped coach them on letter names/sounds, reading high frequency words, and did a partner read-aloud. Students supporting student learning – this is what peer coaching at BBS is all about! 

Blue Bay students all received marks above 90% on their last spelling test. Thanks for helping your children study at home, it is paying off! I also want to throw out a reminder to do 5-10 minutes of multiplication flash cards DAILY at home. Helping your children (especially 4th & 5th grade) get those facts memorized (automatic) paves the way for minimizing headaches during multi-step operations in the future. In this week’s Math class, 4th & 5th graders are getting into the beginnings of long division, and 6th & 7th graders are continuing to work on scale drawings.

The weather is changing and thank you for having students weather ready. We will continue to spend a lot of time outside with recess, PE and outside morning play, so please keep sending warm layers and good shoes.

In literacy we are learning about closed syllables and reading them to create bigger words like cac and tus put together to make cactus!
In math we are working on understanding subtraction.

⇒ Games and activities to try at home

• Math– have students work on putting items together like a number bond, but moving items from a big box to smaller boxes to show breaking apar or taking away  
• Literacy- see if students can read closed syllable words and see what fun words, real or nonsense, that you can make. (egg, plant, -eggplant- sun, spot- sunspot-)

In science we learned the word integrity. See if your students can tell you what it means and any stories we have read that have shown characters with or without integrity. 

October Welcome Haikus!

 our routines found ground!

place value by tens, hundreds

explaining our finds

Green Ridge Math: This week, students are working on arrays of 16, comparing/contrasting data, an October calendar, finishing September temperature graphs, finding the value of three-digit numbers with multiple strategies, and continuing to flex some responsibility with their ‘left’ side blue folder work. 

whisper, chorale reads

writers building stamina

filling lined pages

Green Ridge Literacy: Students are reviewing digraphs and 2-sound consonant blends, completing daily language reviews, whisper and chorale reading from a National Geographic for Kids (ask them about the Supermoon or planet facts!), writing daily in their writer notebooks, and trying their darndest to complete past work!

We had a very successful hike up Black Butte last week. The whole group made it with mostly positive attitudes the whole way. We had the whole school and a solid group of staff and volunteers to help out. What a fun tradition.

In Field Study class we learned about the 3 rock types this week- Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. Students explored our rock collection and made observations about different types of rocks. Next, we will learn about the rock cycle and how each type is formed.

We also plan to visit another spring on Friday on the other side of the pass, near Clear Lake. We will head over to the springs that feed the McKenzie River that afternoon so have students prepared to be outside that day and with a field trip lunch.

Students are continuing to work on soccer skills during P.E.