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Tomorrow,Tuesday, June 7th, is our trip to Kakiat Park. We will be doing many water related experiments and activities. Children need to bring a lunch from home, which you might want to put in an insulated bag with an ice pack. They should also wear old sneakers or waterproof shoes and bring a hat, small backpack to carry their lunch, and an extra bottle of water. Suntan lotion and bug spray, if desired, should be applied at home. We will be outdoors for the whole trip. Children are asked to wear red shirts so that it will be easier to identify our group.

We had a great time!

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Pigpen – The Pigpen code is easier than it looks and is my children’s favorite. First, draw out the two grids below and fill in the letters. Find out more about this special coding here – Pigpen Code.

Try this online conversion. Just type your message and the script will code your message – Text to Pigpen Cipher.

This Friday, May 20th, is our class fiesta. Parents are welcome to join us in the gym at 1:15 – 2:00 p.m. for the Mexican Hat Dance and the breaking of the pinata. This will be followed by our Mexican food buffet in the cafeteria from 2:10 – 3:00.

If you have not had a chance to sign up to cook a food dish or send in some ingredient that may be needed, please contact one of our class mothers – Mrs.Heffernan, Mrs Lynch, or Mrs. Olds-Campanile. Thank you for your support!

You have been working diligently on breaking codes with numbers and colors.  Now it is time for letters and symbols.

Codes have been around for a very long time. Throughout history, world events have changed because of secret messages. Sometimes, however, it is important that only a few people understand the message. In the world of cryptology, codes are used to make messages secret by changing the words into something else. In order for your friends to understand the coded message, they need the key! If your friends have the key, and your enemies do not, your messages become secret.

For the next few weeks, you will learn about different codes, how to make codes, and what to look for when trying to break a code. Let’s start with the Polyalphabetic Substitution Ciphers.

May 6 – Mother’s Day Tea – 1:00

May 19 – Peter Pan Play 

May 20 – Fiesta

May 24 – Field Day

June 1 – 3rd Grade vs. Faculty Basketball Game

June 3 – Earth Day Celebration

June 7 – Kakiat Park

June 17 – Wax Museum 10:15

It is time to get those creative juices going again! Mrs. McBride is offering another opportunity to put your skills to work. Find out more details for this month’s challenge here – The Gummy Bear Challenge.

Last week we played the logic game, Pico Fermi, Bagel. This week we will continue breaking the code using four digits or colors. The game, Mastermind, uses four colors. Here is how to play:

Play and practice online – MASTERMIND.

April is blue for respect. Cottage Lane’s book of the month, Pinduli, is a surprising story about self-image, self-acceptance, and treating others with respect. After reading, sharing and discussing this special book you will realize how a few tiny words – bad or good – can create something enormous!

Do you think that by hurting someone else’s feelings it made the animals who made Pinduli feel bad, feel better about themselves?