Week 19

This was a very long week with the Science Fair, Chinese New Years, and having school for five days! Can I just say it is nice having a 4 day week here at Cascade Heights!

We continued our pickle ball unit this week. The students are getting better with controlling the ball with their paddle, hitting the ball over the net, understanding the rules, showing great strategy, and having fun!

K-2

The students practiced hitting "dinks" which are soft hits that go right over the net.  It took some reminders, but by the end of the week they were all able to serve the ball over the net, get into ready position, and hit the ball with an underhand hit. We need to remember to not throw the ball up before hitting it, this makes it more difficult to have a controlled serve.

Things you can do/ask your child(ren) this weekend:

• Practice your serves at a tennis court.

• Practice your underhand hits.

• Is wind a factor when playing pickle ball?

 

3-4

We started learning some of the rules to the game of pickle ball. Many of the students were doing a great job with their serve. They understand that the serve must be an underhand serve below the waist. We started the unit off with a choice of using a pickle ball or a tennis ball. Many of the students chose a tennis ball because it bounced easier. By the end of the unit, they could only use a pickle ball. Many of them noticed right away the difference in the two balls. 

Some things you can do/ask your child(ren) this weekend:

• What are the differences in a pickle ball and a tennis ball?

• Practice your serves at a tennis court.

• What are some other hits in the game of pickle ball?

5-8

This week we finished our pickle ball unit! The students should know all the rules, most popular hits, ready stance, parts of the pickle ball court, and strategies they can use when playing.

Next week is our 5th annual pickle ball tournament. Each middle school student is required to pick a partner from another class and complete in the single elimination tournament. The tournament is held at lunch recess each day for three weeks. Students who are absent, in lunch detention, or have other responsibilities will miss their game and their partner will have to play on their own. The students really enjoy this tournament and it helps them practice their tournament etiquette!

Things you can ask/do with your child(ren) this weekend:

• Play a game of pickle ball (tennis courts are great)!

• Talk about strategies they can use in the tournament.

• Watch some pickle ball games online.

Have a great weekend and remember to keep moving!!!!

Week 18

This week we started our Pickleball Unit! This is a great unit to start after ping-pong because they are so similar. The students had a great time with the ping-pong unit, but there is always an extra jump of excitement when we start pickleball! For those of you who do not know what pickleball is, think of tennis and ping-pong, and put them together. Pickleball is played with wooden paddles, a whiffle ball, and on a tennis court which resembles a very large ping-pong table.

K-2

We started this unit off just like ping-pong. The students were introduced to the paddle and the ball. We looked at the differences in each of the equipment compared to ping-pong, and talked about how the differences made the game harder or easier. We then worked on ball control. The students really enjoyed this. Many found it easier than ping-pong, but many found it much harder. "The ball does not bounce very high", "the ball is so heavy", "the paddle is heavy" are all comments I heard when they were practicing. We also had a chance to hit the ball over a pickleball net, and play some pickleball wall ball  this week!

Some things you can ask/do with your child(ren) this weekend:

• What is the "ready stance"?

• When do we get into the ready stance?

• What does a pickleball ball look like and why is it called pickleball?

3-4

We started with the grip, ready stance, and ball control this week. The students did a great job showing me their ready stance and getting into their ready stance after each hit. The students had fun practicing their hits over the pickleball net and learning the correct serve. Along with the serve, they got to practice a very popular hit called the "dink". 

Some things you can ask/do with your child(ren) this weekend:

• Why is it important to be in a ready stance at all times?

• Play ping-pong on a tennis court or use wooden paddles and play tennis.

• What is a "dink hit" in pickleball?

 

 

5-8

The middle school students really enjoy the pickleball unit! They know it is time to get ready for the CHPCS Pickleball Tournament. This tournament is only open to 6th-8th graders, but the 5th graders this year will get an advantage from previous years. They will learn all the rules earlier, get to practice more with the 6th graders, and learn more strategies to get ready for next year. The students learned the correct serve this week, all the rules to the game, and have had many days of practicing the rules. Next week they will learn strategy and the many important hits such as the overhead hit, backhand, forehand, dink, and lob. 

7th grade is also learning how to do the jitterbug. This is a fast paced swing dancing style that fits right into their core knowledge unit. Please ask them to teach you some of the steps so they can practice. It is a great couples dance that can be danced to a variety of music!

Things to ask/do with your child(ren) this weekend:

• Play tennis with some wooden paddles.

• Watch some pickleball games online.

• Why is it called pickleball?

Have a great weekend and remember to keep moving!!!!

Week 17

Last week we finished up our Ping-Pong Unit! All the students showed great improvement in their skills and abilities to perform many of the activities. They get better and better each year! Thank you again to all the families who helped in getting ping-pong tables! This is a great unit that not only the students love, but that I love as well!

K-2

We moved from ball control and learning to hit the ball softly, to different activities on the ping-pong table. The students really enjoyed getting to a ping pong table. Many of them are really understanding the importance of hitting the ball softly to keep it under control and make it go where they want it to go. We had a couple days focused on hitting the ball softly and I had many students come up to me and tell me how successful they were when just hitting the ball softer. It was a great week!

Some things to ask/do with your child(ren) this week:

• What was your favorite part of the ping-pong unit?

• Watch a ping-pong game online.

• Play ping-pong wall ball with them.

3-4

We started working on some of the rules to the game of ping-pong last week. The one we really focused on was the serve. The students had a great time practicing their own serve and getting it down. Along with the serve they had fun working on getting their own personal record on ping-pong rallies with a partner, practicing their soft shots, and mastering their ability to hit the ball where they want it to go. This is a challenge even for the older students. 

Some things to do/ask your child(ren) this week:

• What is a good serve in ping-pong?

• What is a forehand and backhand hit?

• Watch a ping-pong match online.

5-8

Last week we started our ping-pong tournament! The students look forward to this and practice the week before to get ready. This tournament is done each year and the students are graded on their sportsmanship, teamwork, participation, and tournament etiquette. We focused this year on Olympic Ping Pong Doubles Rules. The students worked hard to understand all the rules and make sure they were ready for any game/challenge. They enjoyed practicing ping-pong in many activities including king/queen of the court. 

 

Congratulations to the ping-pong finalist and 

champions for the 2013-14 school year!

 

Class Champions

BAND 1 (5th/6th Grade): Cameron Z. and River G.

Orch 1 (5th/6th Grade): Elora E. and Zane T.

Band 2 (7th/8th Grade): Malia M. and Caroling G.

Orch 2 (7th/8th Grade): Tim A. and Jackson E.

CHPCS Champions

Orch 2 (7th/8th Grade): Tim A. and Jackson E.

Things you can ask/do with your child(ren) this week:

• Rules to Olympic Ping-Pong Doubles?

• Play a game of Ping-Pong.

• Watch some Olympic Ping-Pong Doubles games online.

 

Have a great week and remember to keep moving!!!!

BOB is Here!!!!

Battle of the Books has begun! Third through eighth grade will spend the next six weeks reading and strategizing before going head to head with the other classes in fast paced battles that test comprehension. Today the official list of 26 books will be released. Classes will work together to not only read these books, but master them. Because each student can only answer three questions per battle, it must be a team effort. Which class will come out on top? It's anyone's game at this point. Be sure to ask your student what BOB book they are reading. You are more than welcome to read it with them or even to them!

How are books chosen?

The Battle of the Book list is chosen by a team of teachers and administrators. They review the National Librarian’s Association recommendations, Newberry Medal winners, Caldecott Medal winners, and other notable award winners. From these lists they find books that range from the lowest reading level participating to 3 years above the highest grade participating. From there they ensure that we have fiction and nonfiction, historical fiction, classics, sports fiction, animal fiction, adventure, and a biography. The last consideration is a balance between female and male characters. The idea is to have at least one book in the list that appeals to every child participating.

What if I think a book is over my child’s head or is inappropriate for them?

The beauty of Battle of the Books is that it is a team effort. No one child is expected to read every book. In fact, it’s best if they don’t read every book. Choose 2 or 3 from the list that you are OK with and read those.

Can my child listen to the book/watch the movie/have it read to them etc?

YES! The idea is for children to be exposed to literature and to understand the story. They can have it read to them by an adult or older sibling, listen to it on tape, or read it themselves. They can watch the movie, but be careful; often the movie is not the same as the book.

Safety Guy Announcement!

Greetings from the safety guy up at the stop sign!  Thank your for your patience with carline.  Some things to keep in mind that will make everyone safer and things more efficient:

It is illegal to park on a corner.
It is illegal to park in a crosswalk.
It is illegal to park in a fire lane.
If you are confused, please view the picture full of NO.

To make things move a bit faster, please DO NOT try to turn left from Church St. onto 82nd.  Please use Church St. for right-hand turns and go up a block to Clackamas Rd. to turn left.  We cannot enforce this courtesy, but we can give you dirty looks!  The problem is when Church St. fills up, it then holds up carline, and the safe group-by-group rhythm of cars is thrown off, and children are endangered.
If you are confused, please view the picture with YES and arrows.

When using the crosswalk, PLEASE wait for the group of cars to stop.  I know pedestrians have the right of way, but we are trying to get cars out of there as fast as possible.  If you are driving, PLEASE keep your eyes open for wayward pedestrians, but also keep traffic moving!

When pulling up to load your child, PLEASE pull as far forward as possible.  If you are at the front of the line, that means the SECOND tree (farthest south, closest to the crosswalk).

If your child is not at carline, and should be, or has forgotten something, PLEASE pull THROUGH carline and park in the gravel.

If you have ideas on how we can improve these routines, we are always willing to listen!

Week 16

Welcome back Falcon families. I hope you all had a great break. I know we have been back for a week, but it is never too late to say "hi". 

 

Last week we started our Ping-Pong unit. This unit will be taught to each class, at different levels. The younger students will be introduced to the paddle, ball, table, and focus on manipulating the ball with a paddle. The older students will focus on the rules, strategies, skills, and tournament play. It is a great unit that many students enjoy and that many students can practice at home if they have the equipment. Many recreational places have ping pong tables up for the public to use. It might be fun to go check out the ones in your neighborhood!

K-2

Many of the students knew what unit we were on once I showed them a paddle. We started off with talking about the different types of paddles and looked at the characteristics of a ping pong ball. They learned the basic grip of a paddle and started working on some ball control. We balanced the ball on the paddle, bounced the ball on the paddle, bounced it off the ground, and did other ball control skills. One things that we are really trying to get down is not hitting the ball so hard. I know with time and practice it will come!

 

 

We also had Coach Shannon from Soccer Shots come in and give the students a little fun soccer lesson. Soccer Shots is an After School Activity that will be held here at CHPCS starting January 23rd. It is only open to K-2nd grade. If you are interested in this class, please let me know and I can get you more information. 

 

3-4

We started last week off with ball control. Many of the students remembered the correct grip of the paddle from last year! We moved from hitting the ball up with a forehand hit to a backhand hit. This was tricky for many students. Most of them could do a forehand hit, but once we went to the backhand, it made things a little more challenging. We also moved to hitting the ball off the wall while we are on our knees. This forces the students to have more control and not hit the ball too hard. Many of them are doing a great job and I can see great improvements in their forehand and backhand hits. 

5-8

The middle school students love this unit because it involves the middle school ping pong tournament. Last week we started off with control, forehand and backhand hits, serving, and game rules. This week we will be practicing our game strategy, as well as really understanding all the rules to the game. The students are doing a great job understanding the rules and playing the game of ping pong. This unit improves their fine motor skills, increases their eye-hand coordination, and gives them something fun to do that can be a great life long skill to have.

Have a great week and remember to keep moving!!!