Friday, May 19, 2017

May 19, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello Families!

We are feeling great after a fun-filled week!  We have worked hard on presenting our Famous Missourian projects, and everyone did a nice job!  We capped  off the week by enjoying some pizza and Kona Ice, thanks to donations from our PTA.

As we approach the end of the year, I just wanted to say how fortunate I have been to have the kids, parents, and support that I have recieved this year.  It is always a little hard to say goodbye for the summer, but I look forward to seeing each of these kids again in the fall as they walk a little further down the hall to 5th grade!

Here is a quick snapshot of our week:

Reading-  We are enjoying reading wacky stories from Wayside School this week!

Social Studies-  Our kids worked hard on researching and presenting their famous Missourian projects.  From Harry Truman to Ella Ewing to Satchel Paige, Missouri sure has a lot of famous people who call our state "home"!

Math-  The kids have been working with partners on a project-based fraction activity, and we have been spending the end of each day presenting our solutions.

Writing-  We are finishing up our unit on Figurative language, and we have also been borrowing some writing time to put towards our Famous Missourian projects!


Don't forget, field day is Monday, so make sure your kids are dressed in old clothes and tennis shoes!
One more week of school until summer break, I think we're going to make it :)

KM

Thursday, May 4, 2017

May 5, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello Everyone!

We have been busy finishing the math sections of the MAP test this week!  It sure feels great to be finished, and I am proud of the kids behavior and effort during testing.

As a reminder, Monday May 8th we will be going on a field trip to Buckman Farms.  I have all of the permission slips, and remember that students are provided lunch free of charge, which is a nice little side benefit to this trip!  Buses will leave at 11:00am, and we should be returning sometime between 2:00 and 2:45pm.  This is a local farm, so the travel time is manageable.

We are looking forward to our parent lunch coming up on Friday, May 12th.  I am expecting a great turnout, and the kids are so excited to share the poetry they've created!  I will be sending an email reminder next week, so be looking out for it.

This week in class, we have worked hard on testing, but we have also had a lot of fun.  Our kids created cool geometry stars, got to play with several different types of robots, and even made some cool paper airplanes!  It has been an awesome, but tiring week!

Next week, we will be giving our last round of AIMS web and DRA tests.  The AIMS web is an assessment of reading fluency, or reading aloud.  The DRA is more involved, as it also contains a comprehension section.  It is important that students read the materials carefully, and they need to go back to the text to help them write out complete answers to the questions.  We will review this before we begin, but I thought I would mention it so you can discuss it with them at home this weekend.

I am proud of our kids for how they carried themselves during testing.  We only have a few weeks left until summer!

Have a great weekend, and I will be back with another update next week!




Friday, April 28, 2017

April 28, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello families!

I am so excited for the circus this weekend, and I know the kids are as well!  We are still looking to fill a couple of spots on our SignUp Genius the last time I checked, so if you are available for the slots listed, please don't be shy!  Thanks to everyone who has worked hard to make this event special!

By the way, our raffle basket looks AMAZING!!!  It is definitely a front-runner that has gotten a lot of votes from the students today.

One more thing:

MAP testing is next week!

We will be testing Monday-Thursday.  Please make every effort to make sure your child is at school, rested, and on-time.  We will begin testing at 8:35 each day, so students will have time to get breakfast (if they eat at school) and come down to the room to get ready for testing.

Please have a talk with your child about the importance of trying their best, and taking their time!  It is not a race!

We will be having afternoon recess at 1:30 each day to make up for missing the morning recess, and we have some fun activities planned next week.

 I will be looking for students who are giving their best effort, have a great attitude, and taking their time/checking over their work.  I know every student is capable of doing great on this test!

We will not be having reading logs or spelling next week due to MAP testing.

I think that's about it for this week.  If you have any questions about testing, please feel free to contact me!

Have a great weekend!

KM

Friday, April 21, 2017

April 21, 2017 Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!

We are busy as always here in room 218!  A few important reminders to start:

-We need volunteers for the April 29 Circus at BEU!  Parents are needed to help with games and prizes.  Any times will be appreciated! Please contact me or Jennifer Hecht to get signed up and make this first annual spring fundraiser a great one!

-MAP testing will begin the week after next (first week of May).  Next week, we will spend some time taking a practice Reading and Math test to help kids get comfortable with the test format.

-Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Raffle basket.  Keep selling those tickets, and if you need more we have extra booklets here at BEU.

Here is a quick rundown of the past week!

Reading-  We are continuing to enjoy our novel, "House Arrest".  We have been practicing answering short response questions to get us ready for the MAP test!

Math-  We have really enjoyed moving around to different teachers to review measurement concepts.  Kids have reviewed angles, shapes, using rulers, etc.

Writing-  I am so proud of the effort the kids are putting into their poetry notebooks!  We are so excited to share them on May 12 (see note in Friday folders this week, and save the date!)

Social Studies-  This week we are beginning research on our Famous Missourian projects!  Kids are expected to find as much biographical informatioin as they can (they have a note-taking page) and then they have a choice of how they will present their projects.  More to come on this as we make progress.

Well, that's about it for this week!  Remember, we need volunteers for the BEU Circus, and it is happening next Saturday (April 29) from 5pm to 8pm. Have a great weekend!


Friday, March 10, 2017

March 10, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello Families!

We are so excited for our Walk-a-Thon!  "Miles for Moms" is the name, and it should be a great time for everyone!

We have raised more than double what we set as our goal, so that will allow us to give even more back to our community.

Remember, the event will be held during the school day on March 17.  The event will begin at 1:15pm and last for about an hour.

Other than next week's event, here are some of the things we have been working on this past week-

Math-  We are continuing our fraction investigation unit.  Next week, we will finish up the investigation unit, and we will move into adding and subtracting fractions.

Writing-  In writing, we have finished our planning page for our opinion paper, and we have completed our research for our topic.  Students will need to write a paper that is for or against making the journey on the Oregon Trail, and the kids have really had a good time finding interesting facts about the topic.

Reading-  We are almost to the end of "The Mighty Miss Malone"!  We are enjoying the ending to our story, and our instructional focus this past week has been on homophones, which are words that are spelled differently, but sound the same (so, sew).

Science-  We have been learning all about waves!  Next week, we will move from water waves to sound waves.  In fact, students are building background today by learning about different properties of sound, and we will be sharing on Monday!

I think that's about it for this week.  Please encourage your child to continue using the reading logs, and make sure they are getting signed when they are turned in Fridays!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, March 3, 2017

March 3, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello Families!

We have gotten off to a great start with our fundraising for our walk-a-thon!  So far, our classroom has brought in over 60 dollars!  That is almost halfway to our goal already!  Let's keep working on getting those donations, because the money will be going to a really great cause!

Here is a quick update about the classroom happenings:

Math-  We are still working with fractions, decimals, and percents in our investigation unit.  We will be looking at adding and subtracting fractions soon as well!

Writing- The students are planning out their persuasive essays on the Oregon Trail.  They have done a lot of research the past week or so, and they will be working on finishing their planning page and writing their draft next week.

Reading-  We are excited to get back into our Interactive Language notebooks!  This past week, we talked about fragments and run-on sentences.  Next week, we will continue to read "Mighty Miss Malone" and talk about homophones!

Science-  We are learning so many cool facts about waves!  For example, did you know that a beach ball in the middle of the ocean will simply bob up and down?  We are also defining wavelength, frequency, crest, and trough, which are all parts of a wave.

Well, I think that covers the main topics.  Have a great weekend and I will send email updates as needed!

Thursday, February 23, 2017

February 24, 2017 Weekly Update

Hello Families!

We have had a busy week back from our conference break!  Here is a quick rundown of this week's happenings:

Math-  We have been working on relating fractions to percentages (for example, 50 percent is 1//2).  We are also exploring the idea of equivalent fractions.  Students have practiced matching fractions to percentages, and we even played a cool game to help us with this skill!

Writing-  In writing, we are researching the pros and cons of riding the Oregon Trail!  Students are learning the reasons people were drawn to relocate out west, and they are also learning about the struggles along the way.  After we complete our background and research, we will be working on drafting our persuasive essay!

Reading- We have been enjoying "The Mighty Miss Malone" for our read-aloud!  This week, we reviewed parts of speech, and next week we will focus on sentence structure (recognizing run-on sentences and fragments).  

Science-  In science, we are continuing to study waves, specifically amplitude and frequency of waves.  Students have been watching interesting videos, reading articles, and doing quick experiments to learn how waves behave in nature.  

Don't forget, we will be having a "Miles for Moms" Walk-a-thon on March 17th, from 1:15 to 2:30pm! Students know to attempt to get donations for the walk.  This  money will be used to put together activity baskets for expecting mothers of special needs students.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  See you next week!

KM