Sumdog News

Just in from Sumdog:

Extra rewards for long questions

Some questions - like word problems, or graphs - just take a little bit longer. So to encourage students, we now give extra rewards for them.

We've analysed each skill to research how long the questions take, and ranked the skills accordingly.

For the longer questions, a correct answer will now be rewarded with one or two bonus coins. 

And that's not all: to help you stay in the game, you'll also get one or two extra turns.

Give it a go - you'll soon find your students loving word problems!

HW - Tuesday, 10/13

Parents:

• TOMORROW is Picture Day.
• Ruskin's Fourth Grade teachers have a training this Wednesday and will be out after class pictures are taken.
• Tomorrow, the students will be watching the movie adaptation of Island of the Blue Dolphins form 1964. A good video which, I feel, is totally appropriate for kids compared to what's on TV these days. Previous classes have seen it and enjoyed it. Amazingly, there hasn't been a more recent, better version done since. (I just found out through some searching that the kid actor who plays Ramo, a Filipino-American named Larry Domasin, is the great-uncle of Hailee Steinfeld, the actress/singer from True Grit, Ender's Game, and Pitch Perfect 2 (and 3).) Here are links to the movie's synopsis as well as some reviews: IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.
• Thursday is our second Spirit Day: Wear Pink for Stand Up to Cancer Awareness
• Our class t-shirt has been chosen! We will be the LUCKY SNOW LEOPARDS and Joanie's picture was selected as the cover art for the light blue shirt with gold lettering (barring production issues). The company we will be using is Insane Ink, a longstanding class business at Piedmont Hills High School, which is staffed by former Ruskin students. Hallie, the account manager for our school, will be mocking up the t-shirt sample next week. Order forms will be in the Wednesday Folder tomorrow. I am still missing ONE order form.
• Thank you to the parents who have submitted classroom donations!

1.  Read for 30 min. 
Sharks Reading Is Cool goal for the month: MOST PAGES READ
HAVE YOU BEEN ENTERING YOUR PAGES?!

2.  Language Arts

• Spelling Activity (TWO due by Friday) / Spelling Test
• Wordly Wise #6c-d / Test on Friday
• Keep writing story ideas for your Harris Burdick picture

3.  Math

• TEXT pgs. 94-95
• WKBK pgs. R / P 4-1; R 4-2
• Mindbenders #10 (do NOT do any others beyond #10!)

4.   History pgs. 45-48

5.   Science pgs. 78-79 / Open Book Chapter 2 Science Test on Thursday

Class T-Shirt Design is in!

I just checked my email from Hallie of Insane Ink and here are the pics of our class t-shirt!

(Note: I don't think the collar will be gray.)

Now all I need are two shirt sizes and the shirts can be ordered!

HW - Monday, 10/12

Parents:

• THANK YOU to the parents and guardians who were able to assist today with the Walk-A-Thon!
• Wednesday (10/14) is Picture Day.
• Ruskin's Fourth Grade teachers have a training this Wednesday
• Our class t-shirt has been chosen! We will be the LUCKY SNOW LEOPARDS and Joanie's picture was selected as the cover art for the light blue shirt with gold lettering (barring production issues). The company we will be using is Insane Ink, a longstanding class business at Piedmont Hills High School, which is staffed by former Ruskin students. Hallie, the account manager for our school, will be mocking up the t-shirt sample next week. Order forms will be in the Wednesday Folder tomorrow. I am still missing TWO order forms.
• Thank you to the parents who have submitted classroom donations!

1.  Read for 30 min. 
Sharks Reading Is Cool goal for the month: MOST PAGES READ

2.  Language Arts

• Spelling Activity (TWO due by Friday) / Spelling Test
• Wordly Wise #6a-b / Test on Friday
• Keep writing story ideas for your Harris Burdick picture

3.  Math

• TEXT pgs. 90-93
• WKBK pgs. none
• Mindbenders #7 (do NOT do any others beyond #7!)

4.   History pgs. 41-44

5.   Science pgs. 76-77 (#1-20 + Map the Concept)

Monday is Ruskin's Walk-A-Thon

Just a few last-minute tidbits:

• Here are the following parents/guardians helping out this Monday from 1:55 - 2:40 p.m.: Ms. Dinh,  Ms. Kuo, Ms. Shen, Ms. Valeroso, Ms. Wang, and possibly another parent or two. Thank you for volunteering!

• Students should bring water bottles and dress for warm weather (monitor the forecasts). They should also dress with appropriate clothing for walking (shoes, etc.).

• Due to the Walk-A-Thon, we will not be going to the Fitness Center on Monday.

UPDATE: Saturday, 10/10: Girls Day @ The Tech (FREE Admission for girls andtheir families)

UPDATE:  I called The Tech and they said you must register via the (Eventbrite) links on their page. It is FREE admission for the girl's family (sibling/s and parent/s) but up to FOUR PEOPLE can get in for free.

LINK to the Tech Museum's Girls Day Page

Girls Day @ The Tech

Saturday, Oct. 10  |  10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sponsored by Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula

Girls of all ages — along with their brothers and parents! — are invited to a day of hands-on STEM learning at The Tech Museum of Innovation, sponsored by the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula. Come celebrate computer science pioneer Ada Lovelace as our daughters demonstrate that anyone can code, and everyone can build.

What’s in store, all free with museum admission:

• 90-minute workshops and drop-in activities in circuitry, app design, coding, robot programming and more.
• Drawing demos and activities with special guest April Chu, the New York Times-celebrated illustrator of “Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine.”
• Hands-on exhibits such as Social Robots and Cyber Detectives, presented by Palo Alto Networks.

Afternoon Workshops

Limited seating. First come, first served.

The Tech Awards Social Innovation Workshop | 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Girls Make Games | 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Shadow Stories Workshop with Benesse | 2 to 3:30 p.m.

HW - Thursday, 10/8

Parents:

• Tomorrow is PTA Movie Night: Disney's Monkey Kingdom (2015). Doors open at 6:00 p.m. As always, it's FREE and there will be a snack shop if you're hungry.
• HELP NEEDED: Our classroom needs a parent volunteer to do the Project Cornerstone readings and activities. Please email me if you can do this once-a-month, in-the-classroom activity! Thank you in advance!
• Walk-A-Thon is this coming Monday! This is the time to ask the people you know to help support your child! Also, students will not be allowed to participate unless there is a signed permission slip.
• Next Wednesday (10/14) is Picture Day.
• Our class t-shirt has been chosen! We will be the LUCKY SNOW LEOPARDS and Joanie's picture was selected as the cover art for the light blue shirt with gold lettering (barring production issues). The company we will be using is Insane Ink, a longstanding class business at Piedmont Hills High School, which is staffed by former Ruskin students. Hallie, the account manager for our school, will be mocking up the t-shirt sample next week. Order forms will be in the Wednesday Folder tomorrow. I am still missing TWO order forms.
• Thank you to the parents who have submitted classroom donations!

1.  Read for 30 min. 
Sharks Reading Is Cool goal for the month: MOST PAGES READ

2.  Language Arts

• Spelling Activity (TWO due by Friday) / Spelling Test
• Wordly Wise #5e / Test on Friday

3.  Math

• TEXT pgs. 87
• WKBK pgs. none
• Two Topic 3 Enrichment Worksheets
• Topic 3 Test tomorrow

4.   History pgs. none

5.   Science pgs. 72-73, 74 (math)