Changes

Sorry for the long absence from the blog - there have been some changes in the works that have been stealing a lot of my time, leaving the blog left out in the cold!

Well today I can finally announce that Miss Nichols (our student teacher) will be leaving North Beach to explore and experience other schools in the area as part of her internship.  She has had a wonderful time with us all and will miss us dearly.  We wish her all the luck and success in the future!

Another quick reminder is that tomorrow (Tuesday) night, we have our winter concert at Whitman Middle School. Students need to arrive by 6:45 pm in the Whitman auditorium.  Students will be sitting with their families until after the art show, and then will be given further instructions. Since this is a performance piece, please do not wear jeans, hats, sweatpants, or sweatshirts.  Coats will be taken off before students come on stage.  Let's all join in and look our best!

Thanks for the patience with the blog absence - I'm hoping to get back on track this week!  Write a smiley face on your planner for bonus points.  :)

Guest Blogger

Han is our guest blogger for the week and he has a riddle for us!

Riddle, There is a man who goes into a house, there is three rooms.  One room is full of angry gorillas, another room is full of lions who haven't eaten in years, another room has a pack of man-eating crocodiles.  Which room is the best room to go into?
    Han :)

Write your answer in your planner for MONDAY to get bonus points.

Just a reminder that Monday is no school because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Have wonderful weekends and cheer on our Seahawks this Sunday!

Guest Blogger and Quick Announcements!

Just wanted to give a couple of quick announcements and reminders before we get to our guest blogger for the week.

• Book Orders are coming home today and I will be submitting our order on Friday.  Please return them ASAP or order online for an easy way to have a bigger selection of books!  This month has some EXCELLENT choices to take a peek!
• Wednesday is a two-hour early release here at North Beach so students will be out at 1:35pm
• Thursday is our field trip to Garfield High School to see "The Neverending Story" performed by the Garfield Drama group.  It's sure to be a great performance so make sure your student is here on time so we can leave on time for the performance.  If you signed up to be a chaperone, I will be emailing you later this week to let you know about details.

Without further ado, here is our guest blogger, Ashton!

P.E.

By Ashton

                Lately in PE p4 has been doing some more fitness testing. In November we finished our last fitness test, the v sit and reach. One of the fitness tests is called the pacer where you run as fast as you can while still keeping a good pace and not getting warn out. Another one is called curl ups where you lie down and you try to lift your body up without your hands. One we did recently is called the push-up test where you do as much proper form push-ups as you can. We did the v-sit- and- reach test too where you push a metal piece as far as you can while keeping your legs straight. I’m glad everyone tried their personal best and did well. Nice job everyone!

Write PE on your planner to get bonus points!  See you all tomorrow!

It's Been a While!

Well we are back in the full swing of things here in P4!  It almost seems like we never even left!

This week we are focusing on using text-based evidence in our answers to show that we are using the information given in the text to come up with our answers.  As we get closer toward state testing (yes, it's already time to think about that MSP coming up!) it will be important that students are using that text evidence in order to score well on the test.

This week we are also reading a really interesting story called Finding the Titanic which chronicles a group of researchers who are trying to, yes you guessed it, find the Titanic!  It is told from multiple points of view - both from the researcher and also from the point of view of a passenger on the Titanic.  SO interesting!  Write TITANIC on your planner for Wednesday for bonus points for your table.

Happy Holidays!

Thank you all SO much for your generous gifts for the holidays!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break and I will see you in 2014!  :)

Guest Blogger: Matthew

This week has been so crazy with spirit days, preparation for our 4th grade Potlatch, and getting ready for winter break.  Let's just say that energies have been at an all time high so I'm proud of our class for really working hard to make our last week together in 2013 a great week.

We finally have another guest blogger this week - it's been a while!  Matthew wrote this week's blog post and here it is!

My two guinea pigs

By, Matt di Furia

Blog Post: December 18, 2013

                I have two guinea pigs, Fluffy and Cocoa.  I got Fluffy on January 10^th, when she was four weeks old.  She was very tiny, only five inches long.   I bought her a nice cage with fluffy pillows and a fuzzy blanket.  Three weeks later we got Cocoa.  Fluffy and Cocoa were good friends right away.  Now we call them sisters.

                They like to eat lettuce, carrots, peppers, apples, and cucumbers.  Plus they eat hay and pellets.  There’s only one problem with guinea pigs…..they eat a lot, and they poop so many LITTLE pellets, they make quite the mess.  Sooo, that’s the bad side.  The good side is they squeak a lot.  When you rattle any bag they think it’s food, and they squeak so loud and run around crazy for like ten minutes.  You would think they had just won a lottery jackpot!

                I think everyone should own a guinea pig.

Reptile Man and Spirit Week!

On Tuesday, we had the wonderful pleasure of having Reptile Man come for an amazing assembly!  He introduced us to several reptiles that normally live in his zoo, out in Monroe, Washington, but they got to travel and meet us here at North Beach!  

Snapping Turtle - how does the turtle's tongue help him catch food?

Gila Monster!

Snakes galore!

A first grader was even lucky enough to have a python wrapped around her waist!  She was so brave!

Several friends got to help show off a massive python - that's one big snake!

This was Lucy the alligator - she did a special trick for us!  Ask your student what the trick was!  Click HERE to see it for yourself.  :)

We even got to personally meet Lucy - what a friendly gator!

Anthony came after school and got his picture taken with another python at his evening performance!

Write REPTILE on your planner for Monday the 16th for bonus points.

This coming week (December 16-20) is our school's FIRST spirit week!  Our fabulous leadership team planned out 5 spirit days sure to make us come together as a school and show that North Beach spirit!  Our spirit days are:

Monday, December 16: Rainbow Day - Kindergarten wears orange, first grade wears purple, second grade wears yellow, third grade wears blue, fourth grade wears pink/red, and fifth grade wears green

Tuesday, December 17th: Sports Day - dust off that sports gear and go all out today!

Wednesday, December 18th: Crazy Hair Day - I hope to see some wild hair styles!

Thursday, December 19th: PJ Day - Roll out of bed and come to school cozy!

Friday, December 20th: North Beach spirit day - Get your school colors out and come dressed to show your seal spirit!  Our school colors are purple, yellow/gold, white, and grey, as a reminder.  :)

Each day that you show school spirit your table will get bonus points so bring out that school spirit!  :)