Happy Halloween!

I apologize for the length of time between posts.  Things have been very busy lately and the blog is one thing that has been placed on the back burner.  No longer!  I will have a TIMES LINE update posted within a few days, as well as posts of students in their costumes from tomorrow night.  If you want your child to be included in that photo spread, please email me a photo and I'll get those up ASAP.

I was out of school yesterday for the first time.  The guest teacher had nothing but nice things to say about the class.  I am very proud of how well they represented themselves.  I know how capable they are, and now others are seeing it, too!  I hope to use the next few days to catch up on the grading from yesterday and will open up Gradespeed for this new nine weeks by Saturday. 

Thank you to 1 and 6's moms for donating extra water for us for the Fun Run on Friday, and also to 3's mom for letting us borrow a cooler.  Remember that pizza will be provided for lunch Friday, but students will need to bring in a drink and any other snacks.  If you would like to send in any other items for a Fall celebration, Friday is the time for that as well!

Look for notes to come home confirming conference times.  Hopefully you already received an e-mail.  Have a wonderful evening and be sure to check back in here very soon for updates!

Help Requested

Parents,

As I stated in my email, I need your help.  I would like to do a quick integrated unit using pumpkins following Fall Break.  If any of you are willing and able to donate a pumpkin, I would greatly appreciate it. We could use at least five. Any size will do.  We could also use any old newspapers to help keep things relatively clean.

If you will be able to send in a pumpkin or some newspaper following break, please leave a note in the comments sections of this post.  Thank you so much for your help.

Have a wonderful break.  I can't wait to hear about all that you do next week!  Take care, travel safely, and I'll see you on the 15th.

Water Cycle

We are learning about the water cycle in science.  After learning this song, the class will never forget about evaporation, condensation, and precipitation!  It's a fun way to learn some important information.  Hope you enjoy, too.

Open House -- See You There?

I hope you are planning on attending the 4th grade Open House Wednesday!  We will start out meeting in the classroom at 5:30.  You'll be able to see the room and your child's work.  We will then move inside to the library to meet as a grade level.  Hopefully we will be able to answer any questions you may have.  You will be free no later than 6:30.

As your newsletter today stated, I hope to send home an updated report of your child's beginning of the year assessments very soon.  This will include running records, DIBELS, DEA, word study, and our weekly fluency checks.  When those reports come home, please be sure to ask for any clarification on things that don't make sense.  Just like with the students, I want you to feel free to ask any questions you may have.  Until then, look for more student work to come home Thursday with the behavior cards.

Have a great week!

Good News -- Bad News

The bad news/good news you may have heard is that because of the large class sizes in our 4th grade, we will have another class starting tomorrow. That is good in that each class will have fewer students.  It is really bad in that we will give up four members of our family to the new classroom. I know the new class, taught by Miss Head, will have a great year.  The students will love her and have a lot of fun. It is just not going to be the same in our room without them. We told them that even though they are in a new class, they are still secretly part of ours!

 So, as you and your family enjoy this Labor Day holiday, I hope you get energized and come back tomorrow ready to pick up where we left off. It does mean our schedule will be changed. I will send home that information as soon as I get it. Enjoy today and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. To the four of you headed inside to Miss Head's class, I know you'll do a great job and be the top four students in her room!  We'll miss seeing you and working with you every day.  

Times Line -- for REAL

Sorry for the slight delay in the posting of these results.  Now on to the big news.  We took our first official timed times test yesterday.  While the use of calculators may make memorizing the multiplication facts seem silly, there is something to be said for working knowledge.  The easier a student can recall basic facts, the less time and mindpower is spent solving a math question.  Knowing the facts is a key indicator in math successes.  That said, if you don't see your name here, it isn't too late to get those facts down!

How to make the Times Line?  It's simple--score 85% or higher on a timed test.  Making the 100s Club is exactly what it sounds like--score a perfect 100%!  Next week we will introduce a third category, but for now let's see the standings. . . .

1st TIMES LINE

1. Adam

4. Annabelle

11. Adam

12. Savannah

14. Drew

16. John

17. Faith

22. Emilia

23. Samuel

24. Skyler

and congrats to 100s Club member:

Drew

Times Line --almost

I told the students I would post the first edition of the Time Line this evening, but I'm not going to be able to get that posted until tomorrow.  Check back then for the full list.  Sorry for the delay.