Three More Weeks

Dear Otter Families,

Can you believe we only have three more weeks of school? It seems like this past month has just flown by. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend our third quarter awards assembly on Friday. As usual we had a great turn-out and it is not surprising to see that our Otters are so well supported.

With just three short weeks left, we will have to work extra hard to finish all that we have left to do. In social studies, we are now finishing our unit on Ancient Greece. The focus of this unit has been the contributions of the Greeks to Western civilization and modern democracy. Our last unit will be Ancient Rome. In support of our study of Greece and Rome, the kids have been learning about mythology in Mrs. Lescroart's class.

In celebration of our study of Ancient Greece, our culminating activity will be our annual 6th grade Greek Olympic Day on Thursday, June 9. The activity will run all morning. We will need LOTS of adult help as well as donations. If you are available to help, please mark your calendar. We appreciate your willingness to volunteer as we certainly could not do it without all of you. A flyer with more information will be sent home with your child this week.

In math, we are working on our last unit, statistics and data analysis. The students will take a chapter test later this week and then we will take the final district-wide benchmark exam. If time allows, I hope to close the year with a fun math activity. These next three weeks will zoom by!

My second period cooking class is the best group of chefs that I have ever had. They are cooperative with one another and are extremely focused on the task at hand. Last week the kids made blueberry crumb muffins. Those who measured carefully were rewarded with delicious results. Our class has also been meeting weekly with our buddy class. It is heart-warming to see my kids working together with their buddies from Mrs. Hughes' class. They have shown kindness, patience, and compassion. I think this has been a growing experience for all concerned. On Monday, we will partner to make another batch of snickerdoodles.

The last two days of school will be minimum days with early dismissal at about 12:30. Our final Otter Awards assembly will be held on the last day at 10:00. Please join us if you can.

I have enjoyed visiting with you via my blog this year. I often wonder who reads it. If you have been a regular follower of the blog, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

As always, thanks for all you do to support your child and our team.

Mrs. Shimamoto