Native American Projects, Potlatches, and triPs!

Parents,
It's that time of year again.. Potlatch! November is all about the Native Americans. Here's what you'll need to know for the next few weeks!

MAP Assessments
Ok, this one isn't about the Potlatch, but it's coming up soon! 3rd Grade Mathematicians will take their MAPS this Tuesday, November 12th, during math with Mrs. Skeele. Travelling Mathematicians will take their with their math classes. (Mrs. Hans on 11/14, Mr. Currey on 11/18, Mrs. Cantin on 11/21)
Our Reading MAP will be on Tuesday, 11/19 and Language Usage on Thursday, 11/21. If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent on one of these days, please let me know so that we can adjust their testing times. Thank you.  

Other Assessments
For those students who have requested a re-test on Vertebrates or who were absent for our 13 Colonies assessment, these will be done this coming Tuesday. We wrote this in the planners and went over it. Hopefully everyone brought home the materials that they need to study!

Our Skeletal System assessment will be on Thursday, 11/13. Students should be able to correctly label all the bones we've covered, and give examples of where on our bodies you would find each of the different joint types. The difference between tendons and muscles will also be covered. Next week we will begin the Muscular system!

Native Americans Unit

We started our NA unit last week and have so far covered the Beringia land-bridge theory of migration and the Inuit, Anasazi, and Mound Builder tribes, all of which descended from the First Peoples.  For the next 2 weeks we will continue learning about the regions and tribes of North America. On Tuesday, each child will be assigned a Tribe. Each tribe has 3-4 group members, and each member will choose a type of artifact to create for their final project. The categories are shelter, tools (including weapons),  musical or ceremonial items, and clothing. Each group will have to work together to decide who is doing which part. A full explanation and rubric will also come home on Tuesday. In addition to the artifact, each student will write a 3-4 sentence description of their artifact.  Projects will be due on Monday, November 25th. 
All students are welcome and encouraged to wear tribe-appropriate costuming on the day of the Potlatch. Each family is also asked to send in a dish that represents the student's tribe or region. Reasonable substitutions are perfectly fine (i.e. if you can't find caribou meat, beef will suffice :) 

This year's Potlatch will be on Tuesday, November 26th. All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students will be participating, though the performances will look a little different than in years passed, as we adjust to include 75 children and their families. More details to come next week!

Our November Field trip will be on Friday, November 22nd to Chief Lelooska's Lodge in Ridgefield, Washington. This is a combined trip with 2nd grade, and each class is only allowed 3 parent chaperons  Please email me or Mrs. Marks if you are interested. Because of the limited capacity, priority will be given to parents who have not yet attended a trip this year. We still have 4 more trips (at least!) left this year, and I want to make sure that everyone who wants to has an opportunity to help out. Thank you!

That's it for now. Enjoy the 4 day weekend. I hope you will all take a moment on Monday to acknowledge our Veterans and their sacrifices to our country in some way. A special thank you to all of our parents who are Veterans. We appreciate your service!