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Making Spirits Bright

With the glow of Thanksgiving Break lingering over all of us, everyone seems to be in good spirits and excited for the weeks leading up to Winter Break. Both classes really enjoyed their time together on our Muir Treks with Ms. Naomi and Mrs. Flaig. The weather cooperated and we had two perfect days for our hikes. Tree climbing, fort making, plant and ice collecting, river crossing, and uninterrupted time to walk quietly in the beauty of nature were highlights of the hikes. Please see the attached pictures below.
In ELA, we will continue with new spelling sorts on Monday and our next spelling test will be on Friday. Hopefully, all of your students have been able to log in to a new site we’re using, CommonLit. I will be periodically assigning reading passages related to our curriculum on this site. After reading the passages, there are multiple choice and (sometimes) short answer questions to complete. Our first assignment is due on Monday, “Clinging to Tradition: Mattaponi Fight Reservoir.” We are also finishing our final project on John Muir: My Life in Nature. In groups of three, students are creating a poster (in class) of 10 important facts from John Muir’s life as well as a complementary illustration. We are excited to see their work on this project.
In social studies, we are learning about the three branches of government to wrap up our Government Unit. Several readings and activities have been done in this unit and they can be found in your child’s social studies notebook or folder. I will assign a Study Guide this week for the unit test which will be given during the last week before break, most likely Tuesday, 12/17.

If you haven’t heard from your student, Mrs. Neil and Mrs. Zimmerman’s class was one of two top fundraising classes for the United Way drive sponsored by Mr. Freeman and Mr. Zaragoza. In recognition of this effort, please read their message below:

Thanks to your child’s class, PCCS raised $930 for United Way of Lake County. As one of the top two classes they’ve earned a special reward! December 17th will be Taco Tuesday for Mrs. Neil and Ms. Smetters’ class. 


With your permission each student will have two tacos waiting for them during lunch that day. Please return this form to the homeroom teacher by December 13th. If there are any questions or concerns please send an email to Mr. Freeman at rfreeman@pccharterschool.org. Please use the link attached or the paper copy sent home with your child last Friday to order.

Upcoming Events:

12/10/19 Academic Excellence Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm Agenda
12/11/19 Poms Expo at Park Middle School, 4:00-6:00 pm
12/13/19 Holiday Bazaar, PCCS Gym, 9:00 am-3:00 pm. The 5th grade shops at 11:10-11:40 and 1:40-2:10
12/13/19 Poms Hawthorn Spirit Invite 3:00 pm-6:00 pm
12/14/19 Poms Woodland Invitational 8:00 am-12:00 pm
12/20/19 Early Release (at 1 pm); Winter Sing (8:15 am-9:30 am); Holiday Party (11:45-12:45 pm)  
12/23/19 – 1/3/20 Winter Break