Closing Time...
5/27/2018
Well, it's ALL OVER! Our Fourth Graders have finished up their year and are ready to go on to Fifth Grade! This week, Fourth Grade (and Third Grade) were joined at the hip to celebrate and blow off some steam. There was PNA's First Annual Pac-Man Competition... First up, Piper versus Bella... Next is Dash... Then David and Isabella... Then Sonya and Nevaeh... Biking!On Wednesday, the (Lower) Lower School participated in Bring Your Bike To School Day, and so Ms. Orbase and I decided to let the Third and Fourth Grades bring theirs, too! Field Day Fun!Thursday was a special day, because Miss Molly ran PNA's annual Field Day! The PNA staff was joined by quite a few parents, who hosted games and chaperoned groups for several hours to ensure everyone had a fun time! In the video below, PNA Field Day participants take time out from competition to play Amoeba Tag! One Last Thing...Due to a scheduling crunch, Fourth Grade was unable to fully complete a 'bonus project' that we had been planning for our second semester. The class had been working on writing and shooting a twenty-five minute short film that told the story of a group of fourth graders (what a coincidence!) who encounter a mysterious child during recess. This child lives in the woods surrounding the school, but adults can't seem to see her and no one knows who the child is. Together, the students work to unravel the mystery of the child's identity. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to shoot the entire film, but in the last few days of school we decided to shoot a few scenes 'guerilla-style' (in other words, 'unplanned and on the fly'). Some of it worked, and some of it didn't. In the short video below, three students go looking for the mysterious child on their own -- and bump into three other kids who have been following them. This is only a very (very) rough cut without any proper sound mixing nor any foley, and shots run long and short, but it gives you some idea of what we'd been working on. We hope you enjoy this assembly cut. And One MORE Last Thing...In case you weren't able to see it at the 'premiere' -- here is a video that 'Fourth Grade Films' made for this year's auction. Hush Hush & On The QTAs you all know, PNA is moving to our super cool new building! If you have the time, it would be WONDERFUL to have your help when we move. Listed below are the key dates. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or Tabitha for further information! Thank you! Important Moving Dates
Tuesday, May 29th - Friday, June 1st - Join as during the day or after work to box up items and take loads over to the new school. We’ll work from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Saturday, June 2nd - MOVING DAY - 9:00 a.m. until complete - Moving trucks will pull into PNA at 9:00 a.m. ready to be loaded and unloaded. Monday, June 4th - Wednesday, June 6th - Final Clean UP If you have even small amounts of time this week, or during the times listed above, please email Matt, Tabitha or stop by the front desk - we can use any help you can give! THANK YOU! Spirit Week!
5/18/2018
This week, students at Pacific Northern Academy showed their spirit with a different theme for each and every day. Monday was 'Denim Day', Tuesday was 'Blast From The Past (see the photos above and below), Wednesday was Sports Day, Thursday was 'Animal Day' and Friday was 'Future Self Day'. In the photos above and below, students dress as a blast from the past! In the video below, Fourth Grade starts the day off with some challenging karaoke. One team challenges the other to sing a song of their choosing -- and then judges decide who puts on the best performance. Yes, We're Still Working On The Adobe/Sod Home...The Fourth Grade (finally) completed their sod-roofed home. In the photos below, students put the last few finishing touches on their structure. As you may recall, the bricks used on the walls were 'poured' using ice cube trays in a process similar to the ways in which real mud bricks would have been formed, and the roof was constructed of wood lashed together with twine, and then finally covered in sod. (Yes, it actually was sod taken from the PNA grounds.) And, a small part of the construction process. In the video below, Keeva and Sonya glue bricks together using a carefully formulated mixture of mud. Some hay is mixed in, as well, in order to provide insulation and give the mud a stronger bond when it dries. Hush Hush & On The QTOur Next Chapter Begins… Bringing books to the new building We’re moving our library to the new school with the help of our fantabulous students! On Monday, May 21st, students will move their favorite book from the PNA library to our new school. We will walk the 1/4 of a mile to our new location, deposit our books, and have a small reception with cookies! We ask that all students wear a green shirt (polo preferred) or a shirt/sweatshirt with the PNA logo on it. If you would like to volunteer, please let your child's teacher know. Field Day Chaperons Needed! Thursday, May 24th Ms Molly will need a few parents to help with Field Day on Thursday, May 24th, with the following tasks: 1) Three parents to help her with planning, food, and set up (starting at 9:30 AM) 2) About eight parents to help the kids with the games (From 12:45 -3:00 PM) If you are interested in helping, let us know what your availability is by using the sign up link: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090F45A4A72DA7FB6-field1 or you can send an email to [email protected] Important Moving Dates Listed below are key dates for our move:
If you would like to lend a hand, a truck, or words of encouragement, please get in touch withTabitha so we can have an idea of how many volunteers we’ll have available for these days. Sneak Peek!And now, we offer a special sneak peek at what your Fourth Grade students will be doing in Fifth Grade next year! Please click on the link below to be updated on all the exciting happenings in Mr. Johnson's class!
The Mysteries Of Fourth Grade
5/11/2018
Here at the Fourth Grade Blog, we ordinarily cover all of the 'usual' things in our newsletter, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies/Science, class trips, etcetera -- but this time we'd like to do feature a few things we don't normally feature. In this week's blog, we take a sneak peek at some of the other classes and activities that go on at school besides those that are just 'standard Fourth Grade'. Take a gander, as we're featuring some videos from the lunchroom, morning games, an odd moment where the kids jam themselves into the teacher's chair, some sod/adobe construction, and a cut-throat game of dodgeball from physical education! (We even managed to turn math on its head with a dressdown pass competition... see below!) Polygon Madness!Earlier in the week, the Fourth Grade math class held a competition to see who could identify (using a set of riddles) the most polygons in the shortest amount of time. (Polygons ranged from standard three-sided triangles (right, isosceles equilateral, scalene, etcetera) to hexagons and octagons. The idea was for students to familiarize themselves with the terms and concepts associated with geometric shapes. The contest proved so heated that it went into our language arts class. The winners eventually proved to be Keeva and Sonya, who managed to identify thirteen polygons in about ten minutes. and then wasted no time in using their dress down passes the very next day! Morning GamesOn Fridays, we usually run a 'mash up' of games in the morning meeting. Instead of focusing on just one game, we take one game suggestion from each student and then play it as quickly as we can. In the video above, watch as fourth grade runs through several games! Behind The Scenes At |
Auction Items - Second Chance! Wednesday, May 9th - Friday, May 11th The few-but-fabulous items left over from PNA's 2017 auction will be up for sale via silent auction this Wednesday through Friday in the front hall at PNA. Don't miss out on this opportunity bid on a variety of wonderful one-of-a-kind items - all at discounted prices! Bidding closes at 6:00pm Friday. | Ice Cream Social Volunteers! Thursday, May 24th Parent volunteers are needed to help serve ice cream starting around 3 PM. We're also looking for a parent to pick up our Ice Cream treats at Tastee Freez and deliver them to school. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f45a4a72da7fb6-field1 or send an email to [email protected] |
Parent Association!
Officer Elections for 2018-19
It's time to elect Parent Association officers for the new school year! Offices include President, Vice-President, and Secretary. We are fortunate to have such incredible and talented parents at PNA, and we would love to have your help with the events that benefit and inspire our PNA students. This is a great opportunity to see your ideas come to fruition at our new building! Let us know at
[email protected] if you are interested or if you would like to find out more information about what is involved.
Nominations for officers will be accepted through May 11th and officers will be elected via a meeting to be held at a TBA date and time.
Officer Elections for 2018-19
It's time to elect Parent Association officers for the new school year! Offices include President, Vice-President, and Secretary. We are fortunate to have such incredible and talented parents at PNA, and we would love to have your help with the events that benefit and inspire our PNA students. This is a great opportunity to see your ideas come to fruition at our new building! Let us know at
[email protected] if you are interested or if you would like to find out more information about what is involved.
Nominations for officers will be accepted through May 11th and officers will be elected via a meeting to be held at a TBA date and time.
Field Day Chaperons Needed!
Thursday, May 24th
Ms Molly will need a few parents to help with Field Day on Thursday, May 24th, with the following tasks:
1) Three parents to help her with planning, food, and set up (starting at 9:30 AM)
2) About eight parents to help the kids with the games (From 12:45 -3:00 PM)
If you are interested in helping, let us know what your availability is by using the sign up link:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090F45A4A72DA7FB6-field1
or you can send an email to
[email protected]
Thursday, May 24th
Ms Molly will need a few parents to help with Field Day on Thursday, May 24th, with the following tasks:
1) Three parents to help her with planning, food, and set up (starting at 9:30 AM)
2) About eight parents to help the kids with the games (From 12:45 -3:00 PM)
If you are interested in helping, let us know what your availability is by using the sign up link:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090F45A4A72DA7FB6-field1
or you can send an email to
[email protected]
Angles, Designs & Mockups
5/4/2018
This week, Fourth Grade (finally) got to sit down to design their 'home structures.' Working in three groups, the students came up with their own independent designs based on structural concepts we studied in Social Studies and Science classes this year.
The three teams worked to come up with the best combination of elements that they could come up with, using research they'd done on the adobe, thatch, igloo and sod-based dwellings of Native Americans and early settlers.
In the pictures below, students try to put their ideas on paper to illustrate their ideas for their fellow students.
The three teams worked to come up with the best combination of elements that they could come up with, using research they'd done on the adobe, thatch, igloo and sod-based dwellings of Native Americans and early settlers.
In the pictures below, students try to put their ideas on paper to illustrate their ideas for their fellow students.
After looking each others' designs over, the students settled on a clever combination of what all three groups came up with. Check back next week for a peek at what they ended up building...
Meanwhile, In Math Class...
Students worked their way through learning about rays, angles, points, and everything between (no irony intended). Fourth grade math used geo-boards (plastic squares with pegs that allow rubber bands to be mounted on them) to experiment with bisecting, perpendicular, and parallel lines.
They also played a game in which contestants tried to 'box in' as many squares as possible, as quickly as possible, using parallel and perpendicular lines. (See the video below for the students in action!)
They also played a game in which contestants tried to 'box in' as many squares as possible, as quickly as possible, using parallel and perpendicular lines. (See the video below for the students in action!)
Project Of The Week!
This week, Fourth Grade also had the privilege of having their own PBL project featured in the alcove by the gym as the 'PBL Project Of The Week'. With very little help from their teacher, the fourth grade decided to create a museum display that walked others through the news studio set that we used for our morning news announcements are the beginning of this semester.
Hush Hush & On The QT
Field Day Chaperons Needed! Wednesday, May 23rd Ms Molly will need a few parents to help with Field Day on Wednesday, May 23rd, with the following tasks: 1) Three parents to help her with planning, food, and set up (starting at 9:30 AM) 2) About eight parents to help the kids with the games (From 12:45 -3:00 PM) If you are interested in helping, let us know what your availability is by using the sign up link: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090F45A4A72DA7FB6-field1 or you can send an email to [email protected] | Ice Cream Social Volunteers Needed! Wednesday, May 23rd Parent volunteers are needed to help serve ice cream treats during the Ice Cream Social starting around 3 PM. We are also looking for a parent who can pick up our Ice Cream treats at Tastee Freez and deliver them to school. Sign up for the Ice Cream Social at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f45a4a72da7fb6-field1 or send an email to the parent association at: [email protected] |
Graduation
Wednesday, May 23rd, 6:30pm
We are fast approaching our 8th grade graduation! This is the time of year where our 8th graders prepare a speech to talk about their time at PNA, their hopes for the future, and/or their journey to becoming the well-rounded young adults they have become before heading to high school. We encourage current parents of all grades to attend and see our graduating class off in style, as well as get a picture of what graduation for their child will look like.
Wednesday, May 23rd, 6:30pm
We are fast approaching our 8th grade graduation! This is the time of year where our 8th graders prepare a speech to talk about their time at PNA, their hopes for the future, and/or their journey to becoming the well-rounded young adults they have become before heading to high school. We encourage current parents of all grades to attend and see our graduating class off in style, as well as get a picture of what graduation for their child will look like.
Volunteer Opportunities LOTS of chances in May to get involved! May 17th - End-of-the-year Potluck Picnic (see above for details!) May 24th - Field Day (see above for details) May 24th - Ice Cream Social (see above for details) May 25th - Educational materials garage sale May 29th - Moving day May 30th - Moving day June 1st - Garage sale June 2nd - Garage sale June 3rd-8th - BIG moving week If you would like to volunteer for any days or times, please email Tabitha - it's very helpful for us! | Let's Paint! Sunday, May 20th We still have 2 slots available for the Let's Paint party with Ms. Jaeger! Seats are $100 each, and the party will be held on May 20th. Please email Annie if you would like to purchase a seat, or if you have questions. |
Special BONUS Picture!
See What's Happening NEXT YEAR in Fifth Grade!
Martina Henke
Martina Henke has been a K-8 educator for 30+ years. A life-long learner, she loves working with kids of all ages, new technology, great books, fiber arts, and her wonderful family!
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