Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy this time with the people you love!!

IN History Test

Last Friday was our IN History test. I am sure many of you have heard from your child it was much more difficult. Instead of creating the test, as I have done in the past I have begun using the book test to help prepare them for upcoming grades where the book tests are often used. The first test is often the most difficult until the students get used to the format. Each test after this one will look very similar to this one (coming home today). So please don't worry too much if your child didn't do as good as he/she usually does on these test. Hopefully it will get better each time!

More Pictures :)

2 More Days...

This were the shoppers who helped shop for the gifts at Wal-mart!

Below, Brielle and Grace quickly hunt for the piece of paper with their name on it. What a fun game!

Gift wrapping at the Christmas party. Everyone did a great job at wrapping gifts! Thanks!

Anxiously awaiting the gift exchange game. Students has to pass their gifts right or left depending on the words used in the story.

Only two days of school this week! I am sure the kids will be very excited, as am I! We have several Christmas activities planned this week. Christmas day will be here before we know it! Thanks for a GrEaT Christmas party!

Light Shows

Enjoy!

Trans-Siberian Light Show

Amazing Grace Light Show

Christmas Time is Here!

Wow. I am so impressed, proud, amazed, speechless,.....I could go on and on.....with each and every one of my students...your children! They have worked so hard over the last month or so to raise money for our Christmas family and have gone above and beyond what I ever imagined! I witnessed so many amazing things over the last few weeks. Students not only budgeted their money to spend throughout the weeks, but they also brought in their own money for this Christmas project. Some students forgot money here or there or were unable to pay for certain days. We had several students offer these students money from their own pocket so they wouldn't miss out on the reward for the day. No one asked them to do this....they just did it! Each and everyone of you parents should be very proud of your child. After the fundraising was over Vicki took the money to the bank and came back to tell us the total....over $370!!! Wow! Because of that amazing total we were able to pick up another child to shop for! Thanks to everyone who could make it to Wal-mart to shop, and for those of you who couldn't we completely understand! Hopefully you can make it to our Christmas party where students might be wrapping a present or two for our family!

4 More Days....

Thank you to those of you who sent in items off our class wish list!! The items are greatly appreciated and come in very useful!!

The Countdown....7 More Days!

• We are almost there! Only 7 more days....where does time go?? I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone! I don't know the final count yet, but our class donated lots of money for our Christmas family in need this year. You should be very proud of your child! There were several students who helped out other students as well, when money was forgotten or they didn't have any. It was a great reminder of what Christmas is really about. I am very proud of each and every one of them. And a huge thanks also to Vicky...who really made this all happen. Thank you!!
• Next week we will be doing a Christmas activity. If you have any extra Christmas gift wrap, bows, ribbon, or name tags laying around we would love to have it!
• Don't throw away your old Christmas cards this year! Cut of the front and send them in! We use them to decorate cards to our nursing home buddy along with other crafts as well!
• Don't forget to send the appropriate recess gear with your child....snow pants, boots, hats, gloves, etc. It helps if you bundle them all together in a large bag, such as a garbage bag.
• IN History and Jeopardy test next Friday, December 18th
• Christmas party next Friday, December 18th at 2:30 pm
• We are beginning to collect items for our OCAS Buddy! Items need to be in by Dec. 17th! Just a reminder: Our buddy's name is Charlene. She is on a sugar free diet. She enjoys music and dancing along with word puzzles. She is in room 207 A if you ever want to stop by for a visit. Hopefully we can have a goody bag ready to do! Anything such as winter/Christmas decor, magazines, lotions, sugar free candy, etc. would all be great gift ideas!
• Christmas exchange gift for our classroom are due next Tuesday!!

First Snow

The first snow always brings a lot of excitement for recess. Just remember that in order to play in the snow students need snow pants, boots, etc.! It helps to send them into school with these items sometimes in a large garbage bag. This way they don't try to stuff them into their book bag and get all their homework and papers wet!

Reminders

• We are beginning to collect items for our OCAS Buddy! Items need to be in by Dec. 17th! Just a reminder: Our buddy's name is Charlene. She is on a sugar free diet. She enjoys music and dancing along with word puzzles. She is in room 207 A if you ever want to stop by for a visit.
  Hopefully we can have a goody bag ready to do! Anything such as winter/Christmas decor, magazines, lotions, sugar free candy, etc. would all be great gift ideas!
• If you are able to donate items or help at our Christmas party (Dec. 18th) contact Vicky Zeddis!
• Gift exchange gifts for our Christmas party!! If you are uncomfortable sending a gently used toy from home, you may purchase a new toy (under $5) to send in.
• Shopping day for our adopted family on Sunday, December 13th at 4:30 pm. We will be meeting at the Wal-mart at Jefferson Point. Hope you and your child can make it!!

We're Back!

Back from Thanksgiving break and back to work! We have soooo much to do before Christmas break. We are going to be busy!

In math, we are continuing our work with multiplication and division. Remember we will also be assessing these in third quarter, so we don't expect students to have the process mastered yet. It is a hard skill to learn....so be patient with them! We are also working with graphs, lines, and angles.

In reading, we have been focusing on plot and character. They have been doing a great job. Identifying character traits is a great way to extend your child's vocabulary. So often they can describe the character, but can't come up with that one word...help them and have them put it in their "New Words" section of their RNB.

We are starting our focus on non-fiction in reading. So encourage your child to bring home a non-fiction book and read 1-2 nights a week. It is great note taking practice and a great way to expand their reading interests.

Have a great week!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just a Reminder...

We have an Indiana History test and Jeopardy game this Wednesday!!

Christmas Fundraiser

Thank you to everyone so far who has been participating in our classroom fundraiser! It is a huge success so far! Below are the upcoming dates:

November

23rd - No shoes for the day ($0.50)

24th - PB Day ($1.00)

25th - Lunch in classroom ($1.00)

30th - 30 minute game time ($1.00)

December

1st - Free BP Personal Pan Pizza Coupon ($1.00)

2nd - Extra Recess ($1.00)

4th - Ice Cream Day ($1.00)

7th - Pop and popcorn ($1.00)

11th - PIZZA LUNCH ($1.00)

11th - IF WE MEET OUR GOAL: Ice Cream Party

Just a Few Notes....

Just some notes about upcoming events and some reminders :)

1. Food Drive starts next week. Items will be donated to Markle's Pantry to help local families this holiday season. The winning class gets a popcorn party!
2. H1N1 vaccines will be offered at Norwell High School this Saturday from 8:00 to 12:00. Enter through door 17.
3. You child should bring home a Christmas flyer with information about our Christmas party this year. Please be sure to read it! If you would like to donate items such as candy, pop, etc. for them to purchase please either send them in with your child or contact Vicki Zeddis.
4. We will be sending our Christmas cards to Noah (see post further down for more information) on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

More Fall Party Pictures :)

This was just a fun afternoon! Thanks again for a great fall party!! Also if anyone has pictures from the Veteran's Day program I would love if you could email me some of them. I would like to put some up on the blog. It is such an amazing program, I would like to get some pictures up for those who couldn't make it. Thanks!

Christmas Cards

We will be making Christmas cards and sending them to Noah, a boy in MI who has been diagnosed with cancer and not expected to make it to Christmas. The office passed around the email with contact info, and the link below provides some further information about the situation.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/biorkman.asp

If you would like to make/send cards along with the class or send in some stamps for postage, please feel free to send them in as soon as possible. I will be sending the package out on Monday, November 16th.

Thanks!

Fall Party Pics!

Thanks for a great fall party!! We had several parents show up to help and lots was donated! Thank you all for contributing. I took lots of good pictures of our afternoon and some of mine turned out kind of blurry so I am also waiting on some parents to send me some of the ones they took.

Next Week...

A few reminders about next week:

1. Friday is our Fall Party. It will be held from 2:15-3:15 pm. Please know that everyone is more than welcome to attend! They do need candy or small goodies to fill treat bags. If you are willing to help out, please send them in with your child by Wednesday. Just a reminder that Halloween candy will be on sale this weekend!! Thanks!
2. The students got their IN History chapter 4 study guide today. We have a small amount of material to cover on Monday yet. On Wednesday we will be playing Jeopardy and having the test. Please make sure your child has highlighted the study guide and prepared for the test.

IN Awareness Day

IN Awareness day is next Friday afternoon! If any parent is available to help out during this time please send in the yellow paper! If you lost the yellow paper, just send a note in saying you are available to help!! I know the other classrooms are in need of volunteers. The other classrooms will be making a craft, playing games, and cooking food.

Thank you!

Sick Kids

Our class had been doing pretty good with only about one absent a day....and then today hit :( We had four students out today. Please be sure to keep reminding students to wash their hands and cover their cough. I am sure we will have more absent, but let's prevent what we can. Be sure we are pushing early bedtimes, plenty of fluids, and checking temperatures before sending them off to school!

Thanks and Stay Healthy!!

Flu Season....

As you have all noticed or heard, flu season is here. I have been constantly reminding the students to wash their hands after they cough, sneeze, or blow their noses. I have also been encouraging them to use the school hand sanitizer throughout the day. Hopefully we can keep our classroom as sanitary as possible. Please remind your students the importance of handwashing throughout the day. It is the number one way to prevent getting sick.

Science and IN History Tests

I will attempt to do a better job of giving parents a heads up of our upcoming tests. I understand there has been some confusion about the review Jeopardy game along with the test day. I usually try to give the study guides about a week ahead of time (not always, but usually). I will remind students to write this down in their assignment books as well as putting it on the blog. Hopefully this way everyone knows what is coming.

Thanks for checking the blog and providing great feedback!!

Ginger

Sauder Village Link

Click on the Sauder Village logo above to check out their website. Can't wait for our field trip next Thursday!!

Does Your Child Know His/Her Address?

Today in our word study we were working on correctly capitalizing and punctuating addresses. I wrote a sample of the school address on the board and the students were to use the sample to write their own address in their notebook. Well....several of them did not know their address! It is very important that your child know their address. You never know when they will need it in case of an emergency. Ask your child if they know their address, if not....then practice, practice, practice....or write it down somewhere for them to carry with them!

OCAS Buddy

They will be delivering a Halloween goody bag to our OCAS buddy on October 26th. So we will begin collecting items right away! Our buddy's name is Charlene. She is on a sugar free diet. She enjoys music and dancing along with word puzzles. She is in room 207 A if you ever want to stop by for a visit.

Hopefully we can have a goody bag ready to do! Anything such as fall decor, word puzzles, magazines, lotions, sugar free candy, etc. would all be great gift ideas!

Thanks in advance for helping out!

A Little of This, A Little of That....

1. We have done about two weeks of spelling now and the kids seem to be getting into the routine. Depending on which group your child is in, they will either get new words on Monday or Tuesday and take their test on Friday or Monday.
2. In math we are working on place value, rounding, adding, and subtracting. Please practice rounding and subtracting (from zeroes) with your child. These tend to give fourth grades the most trouble!
3. In reading we are focusing on different ways to respond to literature. Please encourage your child to write about what they are reading each night! This is a great free write to have them do once in awhile.
4. We have taken our first IN History test. I usually give the study guide about one week in advance. We play Jeopardy for review and then the test usually follows the next day.
5. Our first science test will be coming up soon.
6. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter we will be switching for science. Our class will go to Mrs. Powers beginning October 20th to learn about magnets and electricity.
7. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Assignment Books and Homework

Hey Everyone! As the year moves on, I feel we get busier and busier! It seems that there is so much to do and so little time...during the school day and in the evenings! I just want to take a minute to remind everyone what she be happening each day.

Assignment Book:

Students should be filling out their assignment book every day. This should be NEAT and organized. If you are unable to read part of it or something doesn't make sense because of what they have written, then I encourage you not to sign it. Yes, students will pay the consequence here at school, but yet at the same time they need to be held accountable and take responsibility for writing things down correctly when copying from the assignment board. The only way they will be held accountable is if you and I both have high expectations.

Homework:

There is a nightly reading assignment of 20 minutes with notes. This 20 minutes includes the time it takes to read, discuss, and write. I encourage every parent to take time to read with their child. Maybe not for the entire time, but at least part of the time. This helps with their comprehension and fluency as well as allowing you to get an idea of your child's reading level. We both need to make sure your child is selecting books they are able to read and discuss. Sometimes they are able to read the words, but struggle to talk about the story. That book is then too challenging for them.

There is writing homework 2-3 nights a week. They should be writing for 10-15 minutes. This can include a story, song, poem, comic, etc. I encourage them to try something different each time. Again, I encourage you to have them read what they have written out loud. Sometimes they will catch grammar and spelling errors when the reread.

Math homework varies. Sometimes they have a workbook or textbook page. Beginning today (Tuesday) they will have a Math Minute page (10 problems) to do Monday-Thursday.

Indiana History also varies. We have yet to receive our workbooks, so they will not have those until we get them. I try to hand out study guides about a week in advance. They are to highlight and study with a parent. We play Jeopardy as a review game and the test usually follows the next day.

Science varies as well. Usually we don't have too much homework in science. They will receive a study guide for the tests as they do in Indiana History. Whenever we begin a new quarter they will be rotating to a new science teacher (Mrs. Waldron, Mrs. Meyer, or Mrs. Powers) for a new unit of study (Electricity, Earth Science, Rocks/Minerals).

Wow, a lot of information, but wanted to give everyone a reminder of what they should be seeing in their child's assignment book from time to time. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment and/or contact me via phone or email!

Thanks!

Spelling Lists

This is our last week of daily spelling tests. The kids have been developing a list of words that they do not know how to spell. Beginning next week, students will have a weekly spelling list. This list will have 12 words....six from their list of missed words and six from that week's spelling rule. Each child's list will be individualized for his/her needs. Lists will come home in their assignment book on Mondays and tests will be on Fridays. They will work on their words daily in school and are also encouraged to study them at home as well.

More from the field trip....

These boys just couldn't hang on very long....it was a rough ride!!

What a Day!

We had a great day on our field trip today....perfect weather and well behaved kids having fun....what more could you ask for?!?!?

Ryan and Jack enjoying their day :)

Kennady, Alexis, and Brianne enjoying their lunch under the bridge

What a great group of friends!

Christian, Ashton, Korbyn, Luke, and Ethan having a good time

Cole, Connor, Paul, and Charlie having some lunch

Updated Events!

Be sure to check the calendar of events on the right side....I have updated all the way through October!!

Weekend

Hope everyone had a great three day weekend! It seems like those go by so quickly! See everyone tomorrow!!

Poetry Book

Tonight's WNB writing assignment is to finish something we have started in class. Everyone has written and should be almost done with their "I Am" poem. We have also started to decorate our Poetry Anthology books. They are to publish their "I Am" poem into their anthology books on page 1. They are to use colored pencils or crayons to decorate the page as well. They may continue to decorate the cover if they wish.

It's Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We have a busy week at school this week.

First of all, I moved the reading tips to the left hand side of the blog...please be sure to check them out!!

Second, just a reminder that we have NWEA testing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.

Third, OES Book Club papers are coming home today. Try to get involved in at least one of these this year. It is a great way to read with your child and the Book Club nights are a lot of fun! The books are very good as well!

Fourth, we are continuing to work on place value in math. Even if we don't have homework it is great practice to have them write numbers in standard (1,236), expanded (1,000+200+30+6), and word form (one thousand, two hundred thirty-six) whenever you get a chance.

Have a great week!!

At Home Reading Tips

First of all, thanks for a great open house! It was great having such wonderful turn out!!

I had several parents ask at open house about how to help their child at home with their reading. Reading is essential to a student's success throughout school. I didn't have time to have long discussions and give ideas as I wanted, so I thought I would post some here.

Every night we have a nightly reading assignment of 20 minutes. This is highly recommended by literacy experts. It is even more beneficial for your child when there is conversation involved along with the reading. This can be included in part of the 20 minutes. This is the only way your child can be held accountable for not only reading, but understanding what they are reading.

Before reading:

*make predictions

*set a purpose (ie after reading I am going to ask you how the two characters are alike)

*talk about difficult vocabulary

*expect thinking and notes

While reading:

*students should collect notes (charts, sticky notes, etc.)

*jot down any difficult words

*have them read some out loud to you (you may also read some to them)

After reading:

*have a discussion

*review notes

*discuss vocabulary

*review the reading purpose you set earlier

WNB Headline

We spent some time in Writing Workshop today going through magazines and cutting out headlines that sparked some sort of story idea. I then modeled how to take one of those headlines and turn it into a story. I used my headline "Vacation Magic" as the title for my story. Take one of your headlines in your WNB and turn it into a story! Have fun and I can't wait to read them!!

Reminders

Hey Everyone! I can't believe the first week of school is officially over! Wow, time is flying! I hope that everyone is getting back into the school routine. The kids have been doing a great job of getting back into school mode here at school. Just a few reminders about upcoming events:

• Field trip and T-shirt forms are due Tuesday, August 25th.
• Back to School Night is Tuesday, August 25th 6:30-7:30
• Berne Field Trip is Friday, Sept. 11th
• PTO shirt sales are currently going on as well
• We have NWEA testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week

If you have any questions be sure to ask!! Thanks and have a great weekend!

WNB Sketch

Writers use their notebook to make some sketches as well. Have fun tonight and be creative! Sketch something from home: a room, a special place, an object, anything!!

Stella and Mrs. Butcher

I have had lots of requests for a picture of Stella...so I thought I would post one :)

Writer's Notebook Homework (WNB)

We have a WNB assignment tonight. Here are the directions in case anyone forgot:

How did you get your name? Ask your parents how they decided on your name. Write about it. Were you going to be named something different? Did they each have something different picked out? What were you going to be named if you were a girl/boy? Be creative!!

Our Class!

What a good looking bunch of 4th graders!

Showing their true colors....