Tonight's Reminder

Reading Calendars are due tomorrow so make sure you have them with your minutes totaled up. Also, have your chains to add your feet for minutes read.

Rusty's messages for the week have centered around FRIENDS and that it takes work to have friends and that usually we have only 5 really true friends. Today we talked about what makes a friend a TRUE friend. If your child can tell you one of these, write it in the planner for $ at check in tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Winter & Snow is Upon Us

Yes, winter looks like it is here to stay and your child needs to be prepared to play outside. Please -please make sure they have warm coats, boots, hats, gloves, etc. to safely play outside at recess.

Great job over break practicing those multiplication facts. They are coming along very well and we have less & less to memorize each time. Practice on those laminated boards and the computer sites to be ready for tomorrow's timing. Your child knows what they are on.

In Science, we are almost finished with our Temperature/thermometer unit. Students have been learning about kinetic energy, phases of matter, how a thermometer works, along with the boiling/freezing temps. of water. They also learned that water is the only thing that can go through all 3 phases which is why the red colored liquid in a thermometer is not water. If they can tell you this, then write WATER in their planner for extra $50 at check in.

Tonight's writing prompt is writing about Favorite fun activity or activities in the snow.

Have a great night.

Busy Next Three Weeks

Hi there-I hope you all had a very restful, relaxing Thanksgiving Break. I had a very fun, relaxing, yet productive 5 days with family & friends. I am rested and ready to hit it hard the next 3 weeks. We have a lot to get done to tie up all lose ends before the Christmas/Winter Break.

Did you have cranberries on Thanksgiving? I hope as your family was enjoying cranberries in whatever form you had them that your child was able to tell you the story about them. On Tuesday, before break, we read a story and did a little taste testing and graphed our favorite ways to eat cranberries. Ask your child what their favorite way was-juice, whole-fresh, jellied, or whole in a sauce. Write their favorite way down for an extra $50 tomorrow at check-in.

I hope your child has been working hard on those multiplication facts over the break. They were making great progress before break so let's hope it continued.

Tomorrow, Mr. Chase is coming back to share more information about Washington D.C.

Have a great snowy Sunday and see you tomorrow.

Matter-Matter Everywhere

Today we did our Science lesson on the 3 phases of matter: solid, liquid, gas. After lots of discussion, a You tube, catagorizing things, and discussing the freezing and boiling point of water we now know the difference and we found out that water is the only thing that can be all 3 phases.

I can tell that students are practicing multiplication as they are doing much better on their fact timings. I know that more hard work and persistence they will have all of them. I like how you are checking the laminated boards after they do a row so that they don't do the whole thing wrong.

No spelling list this week or no nightly writing.

Reminder: Tomorrow is a 1/2 day with a 12:00 dismissal. So please make arrangements for pick-up accordingly.

Have a great night and stay warm.

Way to go to 4th Grade Teams!!

FANTASTIC-I am so happy to announce that we raised $193 for the Flakesgiving-helping families in need. Great job to everyone that contributed. We are going to make many families happy this holiday season. We also got to have some FUN in the process. So Good Job! It will be announced on 102.9 at 7:15 tomorrow morning so be sure to tune in.

Speaking of FUN-tomorrow is the big day we get ready for the annual CAT/griz football game. Of course as you all know, I am a big CAT fan and Ms. Erickson is a griz fan so we have a bet. The losing team (griz) has to bake cookies for the winners (CATS) so cheer on those CATS because she makes way better cookies than me!! Also, wear your favorite team gear tomorrow and receive $100 fake money. Write Go CATS in your child's planner to earn an extra $50 at check in. What a fun day we will have!!

Also, we have our Class Celebration tomorrow for earning our 25 compliment points. Students can bring in board games and we will spend some time after lunch celebrating our successes. Way to go Team Hankins!! I will provide hot chocolate as it is going to be quite chilly tomorrow they say.

Final Day of Flakesgiving-Pay It Forward

Great job to all the 4th graders for the money we have raised so far. I am so proud of you.

Tomorrow is the final day-it consists of Bring a pillow &/or blanket, wear a hat, and bring a pop. We are going to take some time at the end of the day to free read and relax1

Write on/wipe off boards went home today as another tool to practice those multiplication facts. We are having the 3's test tomorrow so practice on the boards and use the computer sites.

Listening & talking-I don't know if it is me, but there seems to be a lot more unnecessary talking and less listening as of late. Please talk to your child about this. Thank you

Our writing prompt for tonight is to write about something they are THANKFUL for. It should have a topic sentence, elaborative details, and a conclusion sentence.

Write the word THANKFUL in planner for extra money at check in.

Have a great night.

Tomorrow's Flakesgiving Buy In

Looking good Mr. Ness!!

Tomorrow's Flakesgiving Buy-in consists of wearing pajamas/robe, and slippers may be brought for inside wear, bring your favorite stuffed animal, and having a candy treat for snack. Again 1=$1--2=$2--3=$3. Thank you to those of you that can contribute and wish to.

Social Studies test-Overall, the students did well and I gave them 2 grades. When you see their test, the first grade is for knowing the states & capitals and the second grade is for location.

I haven't checked part two yet of their 4 places in the NE with 3 facts for each, but as I scanned them they looked quite good. Way to go Team Hankins!

Multiplication Websites-We went on the Blog today and practiced our multiplication facts. There are 3 great sites to go to and they know what they are and I EXPECT them to be using these. Also, there are many others on the Bitterroot Home Page that they can go to to practice. I will be able to tell because of how they do in their daily/weekly timings so PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE!!

Dressing for the weather-students have been doing a good job of dressing for the weather with coats, mittens, and hats. Keep it up and stay warm.

CELEBRATION-students have earned their next 25 celebration points so we are going to celebrate on Friday with board game fun in the afternoon and I will provide hot chocolate.

Also, on Friday is the annual Cat/Griz pre-game fun. Students will be paid $500 for wearing MSU Bobcat gear and lose $500 for wearing Griz gear (just kidding)! -:

Make sure you cheer for the Cats because if the Cats win, then Ms. Erickson will bake cookies for our class and she is a much better baker than I am!!!!

Ask your child what our word of the week is this week and what they do to feel this way.

If you write it in your child's planner, they will receive free money tomorrow at check in.

Have a great night and stay warm.

Helping Others!!

Today in Morning Meeting we talked about helping those less fortunate than us and we have an opportunity to once again do that. A program called "Flakesgiving" sponsored by the 102.9 Cat Country Radio Station raises money to buy meals for families in need at Thanksgiving.

Here's how we are going to help-for the next 3 days, (Tues. -Thurs.) we will be raising money for Flakesgiving. For example your child can bring in an IPod, MP3 player and listen to music throughout the day, bring and chew gum all day, and also wear a hat/cap to school all day. Each thing they do will cost them $1.00 of real money. So if they do one they can bring $1.00, 2=$2.00, and all 3 is $3.00. Wednesday and Thursday we will have different things to do to bring money in. Then at the end of the week, I will take the money to the radio station. We also talked about what a great tie-in to Rachel's Challenge and her goal of being kind and caring for others.

So let's go Team Hankins and help out others!

Multiplication-we are working hard on those 2,3,5,9,10's so please practice on a nightly basis. On the side of the blog where you find some of my favorite websites are a few new math sites to go to and practice. I think they will be very helpful & beneficial. They are actually quite fun and the students will enjoy them.

States & capitals test-we took that today. They looked to be pretty good as I was walking around. I haven't checked them yet but hopefully they had studied. Part 2 is for homework tonight. Students are to choose 4 places we learned about in the NE and then tell what it is and 3 facts about each one. Illustrations are optional.

We started Heat & Temperature today and got to pretend we were heat molecules. Have your child tell you what a molecule is and earn $50 dollars tomorrow at Morning Meeting if you write molecule in their planner.

Have a great night.

Congratulations to Trisha, our new student of the week. We enjoyed hearing about your and all the things you brought in to share.

The other picture is our 2 guest speakers that came to us. One is from Maine and the other is from New Hampshire. They are in Montana working with the MCC and they came to share info. about the NE and those 2 states. We are definitely becoming quite knowledgable about the NE. Speaking of that, our test over the states & capitals is Monday.

We had our first Multiplication test today. I haven't checked all of them yet, but as I was walking around I could see many students struggling. Please use flash cards and practice at home, while in the car, wherever to get the mastery of the facts. Right now we are only working on the 2,3,5,9,10's.

Remember tonight is movie night. $500 extra dollars if you come.

Tomorrow is Ice Skating-another $500 if you go.

Speaking of money, Ms. Erickson's class and our class are going to participate in the "Flakesgiving" sponsored by one of the radio stations here in town. We are going to have fun days next week and the students will get to participate by bringing in money and this money will be donated to families in need here in town. More on the days first part of next week.

What a great way to promote Rachel's Challenge too. She would so proud of us as she looks down on us.

Have a great fun weekend.

White House Secret Service Guest Speaker

We were very fortunate to have Mr. Howard who worked for the White House Secret Service during President Clinton's term. Very interesting information presented and some fun stories. But he couldn't give any information away that is for sure. Also, he brought with him a model of the White House and a piece of the building he got during renovation.

Great job to all the students on their Chapter 2 math test. We are now on to the Multiplication chapter. Please please see to it that your child practices his/her math facts. Get some flash cards if you don't already have some. They can be easily made or purchased at the dollar store.

Reminder that Monday is the test over the NE states & capitals.

Remember tomorrow is movie night. Toy Story 3 is being shown. Come and you will earn $500 of free money.

Also, Saturday, November 13th is Skate Night. Earn $ 500 for coming. Have fun and be safe.

Speaking of free money, your child can earn $50 extra dollars if you together can find out which president never lived in the White House. Put the name in their planner and they will earn extra money. I will be doing this daily now as a reward to those of you that stay in touch and communicate with me. Communication is so vitally important.

Have a great night.

Multiplication Practice

Multiplication practice sheets went home today along with the new skip counting of the 2, 3, 5, 9's. Practice-practice. We will have our 1st quiz on them on Friday.

Also, be studying those NE states & capitals. Test will be next week Monday or Tuesday.

Math test over Chapter 2 is tomorrow-Wednesday, November 10th.

Have a great night.

Great Guest Speaker

Today we were fortunate to have Mr. Chase, a Math & Science teacher from Castle Rock come to us to share his knowledge and wonderful pics of the many historic places in Washington D.C. We learned so many new things like if you are a guest of the president you would get to stay in the Blair House or that there are snipers on the roof of the White House. We wish he could have stayed longer but we were rushing out the door at 3:15. Thank you Mr. Chase. Students are to be writing about this in their nightly writing.

We are finishing up Chapter 2 in Math and will have a test at the end of the week. Make sure you are practicing the skip counting sheets that are coming home. The 2, 3, 5, 9's are coming home on Tuesday.

Colder weather: As you can see, the colder weather is arriving. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. Long pants, long sleeves, coats, gloves, and hats are much needed.

Continue studying those NE states & capitals. Test will be next week.

In my reading class, we started a book called "Owls in the Family". It is a great story and we will be learning 10 new story elements to go with it. We will keep you posted.

Also, in our reading we are finishing up our Naya Nuki Essays. WOW these kids are getting to be fabulous writers. Keep up the great work.

Have a great night and stay warm.

Congratulations to Blade our new student of the week. We enjoyed all your pictures and seeing all the things you've been building. You are surely going to be an engineer or an architect when you are out in the working world.

Thank you for making our Parent-Teacher Conferences such a great success. I so enjoyed sharing with you all the good things your child is doing here at school and talking about what he/she needs to work on to help make them more successful in & out of the classroom setting.

Keep studying those NE states & capitals. Also, get ready for multiplication facts as we are starting that late next week. Have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

States & Capitals

Hi there-

Another GREAT 1/2 day today. I think we "crammed" a whole day into the half day.

As students were greeting one another this morning, they had to say a state & capital of the NE. I can really tell that most of them are studying the sheet that went home on Monday. Great job-the test will be in a week or 2. Speaking of the sheet, I somehow omitted Annapolis, Maryland and Dover Delaware so if you could help your child locate it that would be wonderful as they are part of the 11 NE states & capitals.

PERFECT ATTENDANCE: WOW WE HAD 13 STUDENTS WHO NEVER MISSED A DAY ALL OF 1ST QUARTER-THAT IS SO AWESOME!!! KEEP IT UP AND LET'S TRY FOR 22 THIS NEXT QUARTER!

Essay Writing: The students in my reading class are working on essay writing for Naya Nuki the read-a-loud book we just finished. We are really working hard to extend our writing. You should see the new ways we are writing topic sentences and the transition words we are using along with the elaborate explanations like making connections from their personal lives to the book. I am so proud of what they wrote today and we will continue it on Friday.

Math skip counting: Keep working on the 2, 5, 9, 10's-a new one is coming home on Monday with the 3's added. This will make learning their multiplication facts a breeze.

Beaver habitats will need to go home on Friday so please make arrangements to get them. Thank you.

Have a great night!

Report Cards Went Home Today!

I hope by the time you are reading this, you have seen your child's report card. Please feel free to bring it along to the Parent Teacher Conference if you would like-if not, I have a copy on my computer we can refer to. Overall, the grades were GREAT this quarter and I look forward to even more improvements this 2nd quarter.

Students will be interested in BUG (bring up grades) Club. It is a program sponsored by the Heights Kiwanis that recognizes students for bringing their grades up from the previous quarter or those that maintained their GPA.

We were happy to have Katie back today. She had an awesome morning.

Tomorrow is ABT. We will leave school at 9:00 and return around 11:00.

I hope that your child is practicing the math papers/concepts that went home at Teacher' Convention time. They will only benefit them.

Thank you and have a great night.

Whew-

We made it through a Monday after Halloween. Actually, I thought all would be tired and coming off their sugar high but we had a great day.

You may have noticed that a map of the Northeast came home today. We are studying the NE and students need to memorize the 12 states and their capitals. They are listed on the side of the blog also. They were excited about the song too. It can be found under my favorite links list. It has all 50 states & capitals which they will need to know by the end of 4th grade. The test over the NE won't be for a couple weeks so they have plenty of time to study them.

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Tues.-Thurs. You will have a reminder of your time on your child's report card which go home tomorrow. I look forward to seeing & visiting with each of you. Please make extra time when you come to look at all the things they have done that are on display in the hallway. I am so so PROUD of them as they have done an excellent job this quarter.

Wow-I was so impressed by the nightly writing journals last week. All the drug free presentors/field trips definitely made a big impression on the students. I am so glad they took it all serious enough to start thinking about the choices they make now influence them and their families in later years. I hope they shared a lot of what they heard and learned with you and you had some pretty serious evening dinner table/bedtime talks. That is what it is all about.

Remember that it is 12:00 dismissal Wed.-Fri. Please make arrangements ahead of time.

Permission slips for ABT are due tomorrow. I got most of them on Monday, but a few are still out there. $1000 have been collected.

Remember those October Reading Calendars as they are a big part of your reading grade.

Have a great night.