Thursday & Friday

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. We had an interesting day, as we were able to stream the BBC live coverage of the events in Egypt. We've been following the events there for the past two weeks, but this was the first time we were able to see Tahrir Square and the protesters live.
Tomorrow's Valentines festivities are shaping up quite nicely. The fifth grade will be in the MPR from 8-9 enjoying each others company, as well as some yummy grub. The fourth grade will be celebrating in the classroom. Students bringing Valentines for the their friends and classmates will be able to exchange them at the end of the day.
Both grades will have a vocabulary and math quiz tomorrow.

Tonight, the kids are responsible for the following:

Fourth -

- Saxon 75
- start Nature Log reflection piece
- Great Horn Spoon vocabulary
- continue with Lit Circle job for next Tuesday

Fifth -

- Saxon 75
- start Nature Log reflection piece
- Atom vocabulary
- continue with Lit Circle job for next Tuesday

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Wednesday

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. Well, it looks like the second round of the flu season is hitting Rio pretty hard. There are numerous students out in each of the classrooms with high fevers and stomach issues. I'll be sending home a notification with the kids tomorrow, but wanted to get the word out ASAP.

The kids are responsible for the following tonight:

Fourth -

- Saxon 74
- Nature Log observation
- Horn Spoon vocabulary

Fifth -

- Saxon 74
- Nature Log observation
- atom / periodic vocabulary
- $5 for Valentine Breakfast

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Excitement Abounds!

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. When it comes to a few things in life, things like science, music and literature, I am happy describe myself as a big geek. I am the one who will attend lectures at the Seymour Center when they discuss algae blooms. I am the one who will attend the little concerts put on my bands that no one has heard of. On occasion, I have even been known to pay to hear authors discuss their works, although I would much prefer they do that for free. With these in mind, I am very happy to inform everyone that Bookshop Santa Cruz has established a once-monthly young adults literature group. The meetings will take place on the second Wednesday of each month at 7pm. Sadly, I'm a bit late with this months meeting, as it takes place tomorrow night. On the plus side, many of the kids in class have already read the discussion book, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I would whole-heartedly encourage those able to attend to do so, as community involvement is what drives the success of programs such as this. If you are not able to attend this month's event, next month's title is When You Reach Me, an amazing story that won the Newberry Award last year. Unfortunately I have a conflict of scheduling and cannot make this month's Hunger Games discussion, but would be happy to offer students who attend extra credit for writing up a reflection on their experiences at Bookshop.

The kids are responsible for the following work tonight:

fourth-

- Saxon 73
- continue with Great Horn Spoon vocabulary
- Literature Circle job completed for Wednesday's meeting
- Problem o' the Week

fifth-

- Saxon 73
- continue with science vocabulary
- Literature Circle job completed for Wednesday's meeting
- Problem o' the Week

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Monday and beyond

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. I've a slough of notes for you, so here we go:

1.) The fifth grade Valentine Breakfast is taking place this Friday at 8am. Fifth grade students are asked to submit $5 per child to cover the cost of food, etc. no later than Thursday of this week so that preparations can be made for the festivities.

2.) I've sent the students home with a list of their classmates for those interested in bring Valentines on Friday. (Monday is holiday, so we are celebrating this week.)

3.) Please continue to submit yearbook orders to take advantage of the early bird pricing.

4.) There are two vocabulary quizzes this week, both taking place on Friday, and one for each grade level.

5.) Literature Circle groups are meeting again Wednesday morning. Students are expected to arrive ready to participate.

Tonight, the students are responsible for the following:

4th grade-

- Saxon 72
- Monday Folder
- By the Great Horn Spoon vocabulary
- continue with Lit Circle job

5th grade-

- Saxon 72
- Monday Folder
- atom and periodic table vocabulary
- continue with Lit Circle job
- $5 for Valentine Breakfast

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Thursday & Friday

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. The kids are responsible for the following tomorrow, and assignments for each grade are the same.

- Saxon 71
- Literature Circle job completed and ready for Friday's group meeting
- last day for BFG packet submissions

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Wednesday

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. The kids are responsible for the following tonight:

- Saxon 13A
- Literature Circle jobs for Friday morning's meeting (each grade is working with chapters 1 - 3 of their respective book titles. Completed jobs are to be present in class Friday morning.)

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant

Tuesday

Howdy all, and thanks for checking in. We had a rousing wrap up to our reading of Roald Dahl's The BFG today. The kids enjoyed the story greatly, and we accomplished a great deal of language / literature study around the novel. The kids have been working diligently to complete the packet of materials that work in conjunction with the book, but a few of them still have a few chapters of content to complete. So while a good third of the class was able to submit their packets today, the balance of the students have until Friday to submit their work. I will be expecting fully completed work on Friday and have told the kids as much. There will not be an opportunity for make up work with this literature study, as we are delving into the next two books on Wednesday.
The fourth grade will begin their study of the Gold Rush with By the Great Horn Spoon! and the fifth grade will begin their study of the Revolutionary War with My Brother Sam is Dead.
***The content of My Brother Sam is Dead is controversial, especially in its use of language to describe ethnic groups. I spoke with the fifth graders today regarding the language content and its usage in society. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to drop me a line.***

The kids are responsible for the following tonight:

Fourth-

- Saxon 70
- BFG packets
- Nature Log due tomorrow

Fifth-

- Saxon 70
- BFG packets
- Nature Log due tomorrow
- Elements & Compound vocabulary

Respectfully, Mr. Bryant