24-25: Week 11 Classroom News

Hello Families,

It’s been a busy month and we’ve got a lot going from now till the end of the year. Hope you all can take time to rest & recharge during Thanksgiving break. All of us at BBS are grateful for your support and energy! Thank you parents, grandparents and volunteers for all you do. ♥

Read on for news and updates.

Whole School:

• Fri Nov 22: Stone Soup – See details from Ms. Kassie below.
• Thurs Nov 21: Costumes are due at school
• Thurs Nov 21: Lines need to be memorized
• Sat Nov 23: Wreath Stand at BBS 10am- 2pm
• Nov. 25-29: NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break
• Tues Dec 3: Field Trip for 3rd-7th grade to Corvallis – OSU Basketball Game*  (NO PM BUS for K-2. Please make a transportation plan). *Weather dependent
• Dec. 6-7: Holiday Bazaar at the Community Hall. Read this blog post for all the details!

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

• Administrators (5th-7th): Ms. Steele is out this week and Ms. Liz is subbing in her class. Students are continuing to work on math, their ancient civilization unit, and writing new versions of fairy tales. 
• Special Project: On Monday morning Ms. Steele took students to the Community Hall where they baked multiple batches of cookies and banana bread. They presented the treats to the construction workers as a thank you for their hard work in building our new school. There were plenty of extras for all the students (and staff!) to enjoy. Lots of smiles all around! (Photo above)

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

• K-1 Literacy: Kindergarten students have learned all their animal sounds and we are now working on learning the letters that say the sounds. First grade students have been working on knowing the difference between long and short e.
• K-1 Math: In math kindergarten students are working on knowing flat or 2-d shapes. We are playing with pattern blocks and building shapes. 1st grade students are learning how to add 3 numbers by finding 10 friends and doubles. (3+3+7 is the same as 3+10 or 6+7)

• K-2 Science: Our Science class has now become a social science or social studies class. We are learning about global winter celebrations. To start this we made play dough to sell at the holiday bazaar. Funds raised by selling this play dough will be donated to a local community organization chosen by the students. Also with this unit we will learn about maps and other global locations, as well as a bit about their cultures and how they celebrate the winter season. Share about different family traditions over the break and ask your students some questions about how people might celebrate Thanksgiving a different way.

⇒ Work & Play to try at home over Thanksgiving break⇐

• • Find some lovely books to read. Enjoy reading to your kiddos and let them read to you. Some kinder students are working on reading heart words, so give them a chance to read a few words or share letters and letter sounds they know. 

  • Have first grade students try sounding out words with short and long e sounds and telling you if it is short or long. (mess vs. meet, ship vs sheet, beast vs bet) 

  • Have kindergarten work on adding in a new sound to the start of a word. ( top at s to the beginning= stop, ox add s= socks, ill add f= fill) 

  • Play card games where students tell you which is more or less. Play different ways where whoever has more or sometimes whoever has less to to keep the pile until the deck is out (a variation on war). Try a different way by adding two or three cards together and whoever has more/less gets to keep the pile. 

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

• Bebop (2nd-4th) Math: Students are checking for mastery on previous taught standards with several cumulative reviews. They are using this week to tidy up any unfinished work before break.
• Bebop (2nd-4th) Literacy: Students are finishing their compare and contrast essay (rough draft), checking mastery on previously taught cursive letters (translate from print to cursive) and practicing two- & three-syllable words with closed syllables.

From Mr. Sharp: dsharp@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Field Studies: We spent Friday and Monday afternoons out in the field studying our local forest. We were joined by Steve Orange and Kiel Wood from the Forest Service to help us understand how our forests are managed. They shared many insights with the students about how they work to protect our communities and work to make our forests healthy. We collected data on the density of trees in parts of the Demonstration Forest located near BBS. The students really got challenged on Monday as we collected data and made observations in a snow storm. The students did great and had lots of questions and are showing a lot of understanding of forest ecosystems. Ask your child what they have learned about trees and forests in the Metolius basin. 
• PE: The weather has begun to change our routine. This is usually the time of year we start moving class indoors. We will spend more time discussing health and wellness topics while still developing some of our physical skills like balance, strength and coordination. We are also starting to discuss the upcoming Ski and Ride program which is part of our P.E./health curriculum.

  • ⇒ Make sure students are dressed to go exploring in the cold, rain, and snow for upcoming field study afternoons. 

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

• Performing Arts: This week in performing arts we rehearsed our plays and practiced the songs! Lines are due to be memorized by tomorrow, Thursday November 21st. Please work on the lines with your children periodically until the show, even if your child has them memorized–especially once or twice during the Thanksgiving break. Many of the kids already have them memorized, which makes rehearsals much easier! Thanks for their hard work!
• Costumes are also due at school tomorrow. If you ordered something, but it hasn’t arrived yet, please email Jennie with what you ordered. If you need reimbursement by the PTO for any costume purchased please email Koli at ptopresident@blackbutte.k12.or.us. Any costume purchased by the PTO will be donated to BBS for future use.
  • ⇒  Winter Performance 2024 Information for Families
  • ⇒ Costume Information