24-25: Week 8 Classroom News

Hello Families,

Photo above shows lots of team work in building this epic fort! Read on for news and updates.

Whole School:

• Winter Performance Information: See Ms. Sharp’s update for a link that includes ALL you need to know!
• Proper clothing and gear for the weather: Read Mr. Sharp’s update about being dressed for the weather on field study days.
• Candy Wrapper Recycling: Save your candy wrappers! Send kids with wrappers tomorrow so they can decorate a recyling box at the party. Then wrappers can be recycled at school.
• Volunteer Sign Up: It’s the most wonderful (and BUSY) time of year! We need lots of help in the next month – look for a sign up sheet at the party and in an email.
• 10/31 BBS Halloween Party 1:30-3pm at Community Hall: Due to weather we will celebrate at the Hall. See you there!
• 10/31 Camp Sherman Trick or Treat at 6pm. See 10/21 email from Koli with all the details. It will be wet! Bring umbrellas and flashlights.
• Remember Late Start at 10:15am on Friday Nov. 1st!

From Ms. Steele: ssteele@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Administrators (5th-7th):
  Hello Dear Families of the Administrators.  Conferences are coming up next week.  It’s going to be so great to have conversations around how well everyone is doing.  AND so helpful to collaborate on how to support every student’s individual needs and goals.  I am looking forward to conversations about homework and how that may need to increase to push some students farther along.
• The journalism articles are complete and are being graded this weekend.  The students will get a chance to see comments next week.  Since the election is next week, we too will start wrapping up lessons pertaining to government and citizenship.  We will be starting a new unit in our literacy program called “Introduction to Interpretive Work”.   In social studies we will start to shift into ancient civilizations.
  Have a great rest of the week and weekend.

   

From Ms. Kassie: kdemarsh@blackbutte.k12.or.us

Have you heard of the Switch Witch?!

Some students have been talking about the switch witch at school. If your student is talking about her and you don’t know the story, let me explain. Some families have the switch witch come visit their house to switch out a bunch of candy for something like a book, or a game, or a new shirt. I have explained that parents need to invite the switch witch to their house and she might come right after halloween or many days later, if she is invited to come at all. It can be a fun tradition, but it can also be just one more thing. I thought I would let you know what the talk is all about.

• K-1 Literacy & Math: In kinder and first grade we are all buzzing with Halloween excitement here. We have been playing with spooky math manipulatives and reading some Halloween stories.  If you have any questions about costumes, the party, or trick or treating, please reach out. I am looking forward to sharing work with you all next week! 

• K-2 Science: We have been working to understand what plants need and how they get that. Today we dressed up as different needs and acted it out today, as well as adding drawings. On Monday we went on a walking field trip to see how plants grow differently with a lot of sun versus some shade. 

From Mr. B: ebarrons@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Bebop (2nd-4th) Math: Students are building on their understanding of telling time (analog) with help from multiples of 5 and 10, gaining automaticity around arrays and multiplication number sentences, practicing adding and subtracting with dimes and pennies, and strengthening their fluency around groups of ten and seven.
• Bebop (2nd-4th) Literacy: Students are continuing with their CCVCC decoding work with an emphasis around 2-sound consonant blends and digraph blends, practicing cursive, and learning how to work as a ‘checker’ during our oral reading time.

• Field Studies: We had an awesome final hike of the season last Friday with our friends from Trout Unlimited. We hiked from Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery to Bridge 99 along the beautiful Metolius River. We saw lots of Kokanee and other wildlife along the way as well as spectacular fall colors. The weather was very cold and some students were challenged by these conditions but we feel that experiences like this are what make us unique and that being cold outdoors is a great way to learn about being prepared. The students showed great perseverance. 

• This week we wrapped up our unit on birds with a challenging quiz on Monday. Students wrote about the adaptations and characteristics that make birds so successful. The students did great with this first unit and hopefully gained an appreciation of our feathered friends. Up next is a unit on forests. We will be out studying and investigating our local forests in November and December. Make sure students are dressed to go exploring in the cold, rain, and snow in the afternoons coming up. We won’t be learning only from the safety of our climate controlled classroom. There is too much to experience right outside our walls.

From Ms. Sharp: jsharp@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Performing Arts: This week we revealed the casting for our two shows: K-2 The Mitten and 3-7 The Real Deal. The students received their scripts and we did a “table read,” which professional actors do when they receive their parts. A table read looks like everyone in a circle reading through the script and practicing the voice they might use for their character. Then we started our “character worksheets” in which kids dive into some details about their characters. On Halloween we’re combining classes with Mr. Sharp to do fun halloween themed games leading up to the party.
  ⇒ I created a document that includes all you need to know about the performance, important dates, costumes, and volunteer opportunities. Please take time to read: Winter Performance 2024 Information for Families