Mr. Sandstrom

Dear Families,

Progress reports were sent home with your child yesterday along with an Achieve report. These are not final grades, so students still have the opportunity to turn in any missing assignments they may have. Please check PowerSchool to stay up-to-date with your child’s work as grades change throughout the week.

Math Homework Note: We plan for students to do between 30 minutes of math homework each night (Monday-Thursday). We have told students that if an assignment takes more time than that, they can ask you to sign off on it.  A quick note letting us know that your child completed 30 minutes of work will do the trick.

Catholic Schools Week: Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week! The list of special days is listed below:

Sunday, Celebrate Parish! Join us for Mass at 10:30! (Livestream Link: https://www.facebook.com/StJohnSeattle)

Monday, January 31: VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION DAY! School Uniform for all students 

Tuesday, February 1: Celebrate Vocation and Community- Dress up as your future self, role model, inspirational person etc. 

Wednesday, February 2: Celebrate Staff- Dress up like a teacher day 

Thursday, February 3: Celebrate All Nations and Cultures. We will honor Josue, our unbound friend from Honduras. Students may dress in cultural outfits, or the colors of the US flag or Honduran Flag (blue, white). Students are asked to bring in some money towards our sponsorship of Josue.  

Friday, February 4: Celebrate Students. PURPLE & GOLD DAY! FREE hot lunch for all! (French toast) 

CURRICULUM UPDATES

READING- Students started their new novel, Morning Girl, this week. It is written from the Native American perspective, which is a great tie-in to our last novel, Pedro’s Journal, which was written from the Spanish explorers’ perspective. We will continue reading this for the next few weeks.

MATH- Next week we will wrap up modelling and using the standard algorithm to multiply decimals.  We will also likely begin practicing dividing decimals next week.

RELIGION- Students learned how the sacraments are like a house as an easier way to understand them and about matter and form of the sacraments.

WRITING- We have wrapped up the research phase for our explorer report!  Next week we will turn all that interesting information into a 5-paragraph informational report.

SCIENCE- Students created study sheets and began reviewing for their upcoming Matter Unit Test. We will have another study session on Wednesday and our test will be on Thursday.

SOCIAL STUDIES- Students continued moving back to Spain and avoiding the privateer. We had our first battle, and students did a great job on the three move quizzes they had. We will continue this for the next few weeks.

Next week brings us to the mid-way point of the second trimester.  My how time flies when you are having fun!  Mid-term progress reports will be sent home with the students on Thursday, January 27^th.

We had some wonderful news this week.  Mrs. Olsen (you may know her as Miss Gudaitis☺) had her twins on Thursday. Little Emma June and Anders John are cute as can be and all are doing very well.

Volleyball is back!  Today is the registration deadline.  If you would like to sign your child up, please go to our school website at www.st-johnschool.org and click the Activities. 

Explorer Report Research Update:  Students who were hoping to get a book on their explorer from the Greenwood library are still in luck.  While the reference librarians have been away for a few days, they have let us know books are on the way and should be there on Monday or Tuesday.

CURRICULUM UPDATES

READING- Students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and did an assignment on the important events from Pedro’s Journal. They drew some really nice pictures to go with their events. Next week, we will start reading Morning Girl, which is written from the perspective of Native Americans.

MATH- We just wrapped up our adding and subtracting decimals unit and will be moving on to multiplying and dividing decimals next week.

RELIGION- Students watched a video on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and discussed how their lives would be different today if Dr. King and other activists had not continued to press on against racism. They also discussed ways they could stand up against racism.

WRITING- We will finish our research and learn how to turn our notes into a 5-paragraph informational report, complete with a bibliography and fancy cover sheet. The writing/revising/editing phase will keep us busy for the next couple of weeks.

SCIENCE- Next week, we will review science content. Students have notes that we will organize and review and together we will create a study sheet for additional practice. The test will be on the week of January 31^st . Exact date TBD.

SOCIAL STUDIES- Students did a nice job on their move quizzes, and their ships are heading home to Spain or England! All ships are still alive as we did not have any sink this week. We will continue Galleon for the next few weeks.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mr. Sandstrom

Dear Families,

We are feeling extra festive as Christmas break approaches!  To celebrate, next week is chock-full of spirit days.  Please take note of the following fun events:

REMINDER:  School dismisses at noon on Friday, 12/17.

CURRICULUM UPDATES

READING- Students began reading Pedro’s Journal this week. It is written from the perspective of a boy on the Santa Maria, the ship Christopher Columbus sailed on in 1492. It really ties in well with our Galleon unit for social studies and prepares students for the next novel we will read, which is from the Native American perspective.

MATH- We will spend the week applying the math concepts we have learned thus far as we complete a holiday math project.

RELIGION- Students learned about the Immaculate Conception this week and went to Mass on Wednesday. They also made their own Nativity scenes. We will talk about Reconciliation next week as the students will attend a service Wednesday.

WRITING- Students will continue working on their narratives. This week we will revise, edit and publish our work.

SCIENCE- We will learn about chemical and physical changes of matter…and create an art project demonstrating both!

SOCIAL STUDIES- Ships are on the move! Students did an excellent job on their first log entries and completed their second one this week. They will work on their third log entry next week.

Welcome to the season of Advent! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We are joyfully preparing for Christmas!

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY LUTURGY/Dress Uniform: Wednesday, December 8

Fifth and Second graders will be leading our upcoming mass for the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  We will get to worship in the church that day!  If you would like to join us in prayer, the mass will be live streamed on our parish Facebook page at 9:00 am on 12/8. 

CHRISTMAS MUSIC PROGRAM VIDEO DAY/Holiday Dress:  Thursday, December 9

This year’s Christmas Music Program will be a video presentation.  Ms. Villanueva will be filming the students on Thursday, 12/9 and asks that they dress in fun holiday attire that day.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY: Great Conversations program hosted by Children’s Hospital

Children’s Hospital hosts a series focusing on puberty called Great Conversations that is worth checking out!   Here’s the blurb from their website: “The goal of Great Conversations’ classes is to provide developmentally appropriate and medically accurate information to support and guide communication between preteens and their families on the topics of puberty, sexuality, sexual reproduction, and other important ideas on growing up. We hope that being together and sharing information in a safe, inclusive environment taught by an expert adds to the foundation for more conversations at home.”

Here’s a link for more info and to register:  https://greatconversations.com/programs-and-registration/#registration

ACCREDITATION SURVEY REQUEST:  We have a community target of 90% participation for the Accreditation Parent Survey. Currently, the response rate is 49%; we can do better. Parents, it bears repeating – you are all stakeholders in your children’s education. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on how St. John Parish School is achieving our collective mission. The deadline to submit the survey is Friday, December 3. Thank you for your active participation and feedback.

CURRICULUM UPDATES

READING- Students compared and contrasted the Maniac Magee book to the movie and also wrote about and drew their favorite parts. We will begin a new novel, Pedro’s Journal, next week, which aligns well with our Galleon unit in social studies.

MATH- We will wrap up our unit on long division and take a unit final on Wednesday.  A study packet will be given on Monday.  You may have noticed a shift in math homework.  As many students have wrapped up Xtra math, we have moved to a daily assignment system.

RELIGION- Students read the two Nativity stories from Matthew and Luke as well as learned about the different symbols of Advent. We will talk about the Immaculate Conception before our Mass next Wednesday.

WRITING- Students will write a narrative focusing on developing a main character’s point of view.

SCIENCE- Next week we will learn about the Periodic Table of Elements!

SOCIAL STUDIES- Students wrote their first log entry about leaving home for a year and heading out on the open ocean to the New World. We will continue with the second log entry next week.

Ms. Kelley & Mr. Sandstrom

Dear Families,

Thank you for the festive Halloween baskets!  We love all the thoughtful touches and are ready to celebrate the season in comfort and style!  Your thoughtfulness really touched our hearts.

Mr. Sandstrom’s Homeroom Conferences

No school on Monday and Friday so we can meet for parent/teacher/student conferences.  Students are asked to attend the conference to share with us their successes and future goals.  We look forward to meeting with families via Zoom at your scheduled time. Please check the Friday email or “Mr. Sandstrom’s Class Resources” on Google Classroom for the Zoom link.

Fifth Grade Class Mass on Wednesday, October 27

Both fifth grade homerooms will celebrate liturgy together in the church on Wednesday at 9:00am.  Students will participate in the mass as readers!  We invite you to join us if you are able.

Best,

Ms. Kelley and Mr. Sandstrom

Dear Families,

We celebrated our successful Jog-a-thon this week with free dress yesterday! Thanks again for your support. Students are settling in more and are turning their assignments in on time at a much higher rate. Keep that up! To see how your child is doing, please check PowerSchool weekly.

Student Portrait Day

Wednesday, October 20 is picture day! We are not sending home paper order forms this year, so please make your order online using the link below. The sale is active now.

Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Conferences will be held virtually on Monday, October 25 and Friday, October 29. If you have not signed up for a time, please do so using the link below. We will send our Zoom links out in next Friday’s email.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4ea4ac23aa8-5kelley

5 – Sandstrom 2021 Student/Parent/Teacher Conference:  ATTENTION – Select your student’s teacher from the tabs above (desktop) or drop-down menu (smart phone; be sure to click “go”), review the available slots below, and click on the time that works best for you and your family. Students receiving services from the Student Support Team will be contacted directly to schedule a virtual conference. Thank you. www.signupgenius.com

CURRICULUM UPDATES

READING- Students read chapters 17-21 of Maniac Magee. They worked with problem-solution and character change this week. They are really enjoying the book! We will continue reading this for the next few weeks.