December 2016

The class newsletter written and published

by Mr. Phams Fifth Grade Students - Class of 2017
For past newsletters, please go to www.mrpham.us

In this Christmas Season, wed like to wish:

Our Parents,
Mrs. Hall,
Mrs. Fields,
The Office Staff,
and the Wonderful Staff at Rio Calaveras
A Very Merry Christmas
and a Warm, Happy New Year !
Thank you all for your love and support.
Well be back at our Rio in 2017!

2 What does Christmas means to me? 5 Celebrating Multiculture

3 The best part of Christmas is 6,7 Class News and Updates
4 How do you and your family celebrate Christmas? 8 December fun
 classreflections1

means to me?
Christmas means Joy and Happiness because I get to
be with my family and play board games and
listen/dance to music. We get presents and eat
gingerbread cookies. We play Uno, Jenga and Hide
and Seek with the lights off! Its so fun when we open Christ mas means giving to the Christmas means spending time
the presents I get so so happy. But I really dont poor. Sharing food and money. with my family and having fun.
care about the presents. I love love love to be with my Christmas is about doing things We celebrate Christmas by putting
family and my grandma is coming from Louisiana. I to make other people happy. presents under the tree. The next
love Christmas because of all these reasons. I wish Tony morning, we make food, play
Christmas was every day! games and open presents. Our
Katrina Christmas means spending time Christmas is always fun. But the
with my family because we have best part is SPENDING TIME
Christmas is about spending time with your family. We a lot of fun. Most importantly, WITH YOUR FAMILY.
would light up all 5 candles on the advent wreath and Christmas means celebrating Liyah
say a little prayer. Christmas is about give, not what Jesus birthday because we need
you get. Remember, Jesus is the Reason for this season to be thankful for what we have. To me, Christmas means cebrating
of the year. I love CHRISTMAS. Avant Jesus birthday gifts and food and
Tristika helping the homeless. Sharing
what you have is what Christmas
Christmas is very special holiday
Christmas means getting together with family. It also means to me.
to me. I get to spend time with
means giving each other presents. Mostly, every Gissele T.
my family, getting excited for
Christmas we go to a little trip like to the snow, Fresno the holiday. Sure, presents are
to visit my aunties and grandma. It means we eat a lot Christmas means the family will
really, and I mean REALLY
of food too. pile in and my mom with throw a
nice. But giving to me is also
Estrella party. I will open presents then
just as enjoyable. Also, our
feast on turkey and pot roast. After
family celebrates Jesus
To me, Christmas means to spend time with your that, the playing begins: nerf fight
birthday.
family on Jesus birthday. Its not about the presents with cousins and uncles. Then we
So basically, Christmas is the
or the food. Its about Jesus and your family. The wave good-bye and go to the next
THE best holiday EVER!!!
reason I say all that is because thats what I believe party.
Christopher
Christmas is all about. Eric
Savannah
Christmas is about being with my family and having
fun with them. Christmas is also to celebrate Jesus
Birthday.
Mike George

Christmas has always been a special time for me.

Christmas is a season of giving, and yes, receiving
also. I especially enjoy seeing the bright eyes and wide
smiles on students faces when they talk about presents,
family, and the Christmas spirit. Its a time to be
thankful for the wonderful students I have in class and
sharing the joys of the season with them.
Have a great Winter Break everyone.
Mr. Pham
 classreflections2
the best part of

The best part of Christmas is spending time with my

family and celebrate Christmas, the day Jesus was born.
On Christmas, we will watch a movie and I will be so
happy. Im waiting for it.
Daniel

The best part of Christmas is that we The best part of Christmas is The best part about Christmas is sitting with my family
all get together for a feast and watch when I go to my other families drinking hot cocoa and opening awesome presents. As
movies. We would open presents, and spending time with my own each day passes, I will spend more time with my family. I
play games and having fun in the family. The second best part of love opening new presents every year but I rather spend
living room. Christmas is remembering Mr. time with my family celebrating Christmas together, like
Natalia Pham on his birthday which is watching movies and having a fun time.
December 25th. I love opening Alexander
The best part of Christmas is the the presents and letting my little
PRESENTS! I love presents because brother open one of my presents. The best part of Christmas is that you get to spend time
they are free and you can get lots I like to help my mom cook. with your family and get good food to eat. But the really
of them. My next favorite part of Dalyn best part is the PRESENTS! Christmas is a really fun
Christmas is the FOOD! My favorite holiday.
food is my moms delicious tamales. The best part of Christmas the Jaden
Oscar parties, having fun with my
cousins and friends, eating a lot The best part of Christmas is that I get to go places. I
I believe the best part of Christmas is of food and getting gifts. I will also like the food that my mom cooks. Spending time
Christmas Break because you get to play with my friends and go on with family, opening presents, and putting the
go places and spend time with family my motor bike, play on my Xbox decorations on the tree are the things I enjoy. I like to
during the break. with my cousins. put the the big star on top.
Salim Luke Alejandro

All I want for Christmas is you

 classreflections3

My family celebrate Christmas by making cookies

for Santa. We open presents at 7:00am on
Christmas Day. After opening the gifts, we go to a
fancy Mexican restaurant. After eating, we go to
our relative houses and give them gifts. This is
how my family and I celebrate Christmas.
Giselle P.

I dont celebrate Christmas but we do spend time

together and have a family game night on
Christmas Eve. But sometimes we have dinner with
my aunts and uncles. It was very fun. My mom said
its the season to give.
Yasriyah

We celebrate Christmas by eating Mexican foods:

Posole, tamales, tacos, rice, and beans. We also
sing songs. We give prayers to God and open
presents at 23:00am and do Secret Santa as a
family. These are the things my family and I do on
Christmas.
Ciara
My family and I celebrate Christmas by going to visit my grandma at the
My family and I normally have some food at my cemetery and then my mom will make strawberry pineapple and tamales.
house, then we go to my grandmas house and Then we will invite our relatives to eat. We thank God for giving us food
open presents. But this year, Im going to go to and presents. Presents dont matter. What matters the most is my family.
Reno to play in the snow. Also this year, Im going We are happy and grateful for what we have.
to Disneyland and Knots Berry Farm. Javin
Alexandra
My family and I celebrate Christmas by eating lots of food and cereal.
My family celebrates Christmas by buying Plus, we go to my favorite aunties house and open presents.
presents for everyone. We always celebrate for 2 Micah
weeks. We also go shopping for clothes and
games. We decorate the tree, and most important Our family does not celebrate Christmas but during the break, we got out
of all, we spend time together as a family. to see the snow on my brothers birthday. We play, slide, and throw the
Evan snow around. Sometimes we go shopping for sweaters and jackets. Then
we help our dad put up the Christmas lights.
My family and I celebrate Christmas going to Sukhpreet
every relatives house for about 2 hours. After we
go home and eat, we drink hot chocolate and wear My family and I celebrate Christmast by spending time together. We
warm clothes. The last thing we do is to open would sing and eat pho. Then we stay up until midnight to see the
presents and sing songs together. That is how I presents and get some gifts. We would watch movies and play games then
celebrate Christmas with my family. find out who was Santa. Thats how my family celebrate Christmas.
Alex Matthew

May your season be merry and your presents underwear-free

(unless you really need some!).
Celebrating
Multiculture
One of the most important days in the Christian year is Christmas, the day set
aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus. While it is a religious holiday for Christians,
Christmas has become a time of gift-giving and feasts for many other people also.

SANTA LUCIA SWEDEN

Early on Santa Lucias day, the oldest girl in the family, wearing a white
robe and a crown of candles, brings coffee and saffron buns to the
adults

LOS POSADAS MEXICO

For eight nights before Christmas, people re-enact the
search of Mary and Joseph for shelter. They go to a
home and ask to be let in. The owner of the home
refuses at first, then invites them in for a party.

POLISH CELEBRATIONS
Celebrating begins on Christmas Eve and lasts until January 6th.
Straw under the table represents the manger. An empty place is left at
the table for any stranger coming to the house. The oldest person at
the table takes a bite from a rice wafer symbolizing love of peace. The
wafer passes from person to person ending with the youngest child.

KWANZAA
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday. For seven days
activities are organized around seven principles (unity, self-
determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative
economics, purpose, creativity, and faith). Each day one of the
seven principles is explored and a candle is lit for the principle.

HANUKKAH
Hanukkah is one of many Jewish religious holidays. It honors an
ancient struggle against the Syrians who occupied Jerusalem and
tried to force the Jews to worship other gods. When the Jews drove the
invaders away, they found only enough oil in the temple lamp for one
day. Miraculously it lasted for eight days, giving them renewed
courage. They celebrate today by lighting candles for eight nights.
 December
Character Counts!
CITIZENSHIP
Do your share to make your school and community better.
Cooperate. Get involved in community affairs. Stay
informed; vote. Be a good neighbor. Obey laws and rules.
Dear Parents, Respect authorities. Protect the environment.

Sukhpreet and Matthew

Wishing all Students and were recognized in our class
for showing the Character
Families a very happy CITIZENSHIP in the month
holiday season. thank you of December.
Sukhpreet Matthew
for your support in all
our learning efforts.
Celebrating Christmas
1. Decorations
CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION With the Christmas season, we put up
Weve just concluded our Fall Parent- decorations in our classroom. We made long
Student-Teacher Conferences. Thank you to all paper chains that stretches from the four
parents that have come the last three weeks to corners of the classroom to the middle. We also
cut paper snow and hang them on the paper
share conversations about your child. Its great
chains. We made Christmas cards to give to our
to have Parents who are so supportive to the parents and we put up lights and Christmas
activities we do in class and the learning your trees in the class.
children do at home. 2. Secret Santa
We will continue to send home Learning During December, we played Secret Santa in
which we each picked a name from the students
Schedules every week and a Newsletter at the
in the class. Throughout these weeks, Secret
end of each month to share with parents what Santas have been giving clues and goodies to
we do in class. Our class website the person they picked. It was really fun. On
www.mrpham.org, provides classroom Dec. 18th, we revealed to each other who their
information and a gradebook that you can check Secret Santa is and gave a small present.
your childs grades at any time. 3. Class Carnival
On Friday December 16th, we had a class
As always, please let me know if you have any carnival where we are divided into 8 groups with
questions or concerns. each responsible for a game booth. We have
Thank you for your continuing support. tickets redeemed with our class money that
weve earned since the beginning of the year. We
THANK YOU!!! used our tickets to play carnival games and
bought goodies from the class store. All parents
Our Class would like to thank families that
were invited to join us. It was a lot of fun at the
have donated goodies to our winter carnivals carnival. Pictures to come.
Santa Store on December 16. The students
really enjoyed having the treats. We also like to
thank those parents and staff members that
stopped by our classroom to share the fun with
us. It was an enjoyable experience for all.
Toan Pham
 special parents
Wed like to acknowledge and thank these
parents for the many things they do for us.
Events and Happenings in Room C7 Parents who work closely with our class:
- Mrs. Cisneros (Javins mom)
STEM Project with 2nd graders - Mrs. Leon (Christophers mom)
In December, Room C7 students buddied up - Mrs. Speers (Erics mom)
with students in Mrs. Aninag and Mrs. - Parents whove donated classroom
Germanns 2nd grade classes and did a STEM supplies. We are so grateful.
(Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) - Thank you to Anonymous Parents from
project called Operation Santa Drop where the Book Faire whove given books to our
students have to work together to find ways to help Santa class library.
land his sleigh as safe as possible using napkin as - We appreciate the support from various
parachutes. It was a fun project for the second graders and Parents for our class RoAch activities.
the 5th graders get a chance to help out younger students - Finally, thank you to all Parents who
learned about gravity and air resistance. donated goodies to our Carnival Store.
We will be doing more STEM project with various primary
classes beginning in January. special thanks
Flea-market Friday
As the culminating activity for the Decimals unit in math,
Mr. Pham let us have a class flea market last Friday. The
purpose is to have us use class money to buy and sell little
trinkets and other knickknacks we have around the house. Mrs. Hall Mrs. Fields Ms. Beatrice
During the process of buying and selling, we were required
to calculate prices, add, subtract, divide, multiply, give
correct change, and wisely use our money to make more
money or to buy things we like. Most of all, we had a lot of
fun buying and learning to run a business.
Ms. Cuellar Ms. Sharyn Ms. Tai

Mrs. Morales Mrs. Stafford Mrs. London

Hour of Code: December 5-9 Ms. Andersen Mrs. Adams Mrs. Hughes
During the Hour of Code week, we spent an hour a day
getting familiar with coding starting with games like Flappy Campus Safety Monitors:
Bird, Mine Craft, Star Wars, and Hello Processing. We then Mr. Steve, Mr. Matt
learned the basics of JavaScripts by creating fun drawings Student Supervisors:
using lines of codes and coordinates. Finally, we built our Ms. Rosalee, Ms. Rosie, Ms. Gricel, Ms. Nuri,
own games and use programming logic to solve puzzles. Ms. Nena, Ms. Lucretia, Ms. Marie, Ms. Sharon
It was a fun week. Our class will continue to learn Our Custodians: Mr. John, Mr. Andrew
coding throughout the year.. Mrs. Yolanda and the Cafeteria Staff
 A mischievous elf wants one of Santas cookies.
Find 7 differences between the two pictures.
Making Snowflakes
Creating paper snowflakes is fun! Just follow the
steps below and you'll soon have a whole flurry.

1) Start with a piece of

paper. The bigger the
paper, the bigger the snow.

2) Fold it in half. Find and

mark the center point along
the fold.

Protractor
3) Divide into three equal
60 degree angles, using a
protractor if necessary.
Then mark lines to fold on
1. Make gingerbread houses at each 60 degrees from the
center point.
2. Go on a holiday lights tour
3. Make wreaths
4. Have a Christmas movie night
4) Fold left side (A)
5. Make popcorn and cranberry garlands
6. Play in the snow
toward center on left
side penciled line. Fold
7. Bake Christmas cookies right side (A) toward
8. Go caroling or have a sing-along center on right side
penciled line.
9. Attend a Christmas concert
10. Make homemade Christmas ornaments
5) Measure the distance from (B)
11. Have a hot chocolate buffet to (C). Mark an equal distance
12. Donate toys to charity from (B) up right side, which will
be (D). Cut across from (C) to (D).
Christmas riddles
1. What do you call Santa Clause after he's
fallen into a fireplace?
6) Let (B) become the top.
2. What is Frosty the Snowman's favorite Cut out a design, leaving
breakfast cereal? some of the folded edges
3. What did Santa say to Mrs. Claus as he uncut. Unfold your design.
looked out the window?
4. What has 4 legs, 4 ears, 1 tail, 2 bottoms,
4 eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths?
5. Where do reindeers like to stop for lunch?
6. Why doesnt Santa Claus eat Twinkies? December 25 Merry Christmas
7. Why did they let the turkey join the band? Mr. Phams Birthday
8. What did Tarzan sing at Christmas time? Dec. 19 - Jan. 2 Winter Break
9. As I was going to the North Pole, I met nine elves; January 3 Back to School
Each elf had nine reindeers, Each reindeer had nine January 6 Tristikas Birthday
bags, Each bag had nine puppies, And each bag had January 14 Estrellas Birthday
also nine cats, Reindeers, elves, puppies and cats, 2nd Quarter ends
How many were going to the North Pole? January 16 MLK Day No School
myself. The elves were going in the opposite direction. January 17 Salims Birthday
CupCakes 7. Because it had the drum sticks 8. Jungle Bells 9. Only January 19 Sukhpreets Birthday
(reindeer) 4. Santa Claus on a reindeer 5. Deery Queen 6. He prefers January 24 Harjots Birthday
1. Krisp Kringle! 2. Frosted Flakes 3. It looks like rain dear January 25 2nd Quarter Report Card