What An Awesome Day!

What a great day. Awards Day is one of my favorite. It is so rewarding to see students get awards for their hard work, leadership, and kindness.

Congratulations to our 2 top citizenship recipients. They are Hayden & Reagan. Great job and very well deserving.

Good job to the honor choir recipients: Trisha, Hope, Raegan, Marquise, and Colton.

BUG Club award winners are: Jarret, Layne, Hayden, Tony, Raegan, Morgan, Trisha, Zach, Eli, Isabella, and Madisson.

Permission slips went home today for our end of the year activity on Friday. See note for information. Please return them tomorrow or no later than Thursday.

States & capitals test is tomorrow. It is a matching so shouldn't be too difficult if they just study a bit more tonight.

Wiffle ball games started today. The students are doing a great job having fun and displaying good sportsmanship.

Have a great night and enjoy the sunshine!!!!

Field Day Friday

Mr. Ness will be having field day on Friday from 1-3 with the intermediate kids. Let's hope the weather cooperates and we don't have to get as wet as yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, I did post a couple of pictures below. Students are writing about all the things they have learned from Jeff as our final writing assessment of the year that will go in their file. Boy, I am loving reading the completed ones and have they learned a lot or what. Cool-we are so excited and lucky to have him as the interim direction of Zoo Montana. :) If your child can tell you 3/12 facts that they put down in their writing put key words in the planner for free money.

Speaking of money, students will be participating in wiffle ball games next week against the other intermediate classrooms. They have to buy in to each one for $50. Extra money will be spent on an end of the year activity yet to be determined depending on the weather.

Have a great night.

DRENCHED!!!

Wow-we are soaked to the bone!! I think everyone needs a hot, hot shower and dry clothes. But, I can honestly say we all were "troopers" throughout the whole day. We had a great time and learned lots even though the weather didn't cooperate too well. Ask your child their favorite part for free money at check in.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Field Trip Tomorrow-Rain or Shine

Yes, we are going to Red Lodge tomorrow for the field trip. We checked it out with Jeff today and no need to worry about flooding. We will be starting the day at the home of the future, new nature center property and then drive into Red Lodge to the actual nature center. Kids are encouraged to dress in layers and dress for rain. Bring raincoats, umbrellas, etc.

Also, they may bring their electronics for the bus ride. Don't forget your LUNCH!!

Jarret was the lucky winning in the drawing to go into the Bobcat cage. Yes, he brought only one, single ticket, while others bought 12-15. Crazy how that works.

Have a great night and let's hope we wake up to sunshine tomorrow.

Super Hero Day

We had quite the look in our room today for Super Hero Day. We definitely know who was the scariest of all!!

Just a reminder that Monday is our test over the MT Reservations (8) and the tribes associated with them. It is a matching test so not real difficult if you put a little effort into it. Students were encouraged to take the map with tribes & reservations and the cards they made to use as study guides.

Have a great weekend and hope for sunshine next week.

Native American Game Fun

We had fun today in Montana History playing Native American games with Ms. Smith. What a treat to see what they did to entertain themselves and have fun. Ask your child which one was their favorite for free money tomorrow at check in.

As you know, we are now going on our field trip Tuesday, May 24th. Hope for sunshine.

We are going to be having our test on the Indian Reservations of Montana on Monday. Students will need to know the reservations and the tribes associated with them.

Tomorrow is SuperHero Day. NO hair color or face paint.

Have a great night.

Field Trip Date Change

Ok-so I am not losing it. I know last night I said we were going to Red Lodge on Friday come rain or shine. Well, Ms. Erickson & I love to see the "sunny", bright, positive side of things so we contacted Jeff and he was able to change the field trip to Tuesday, May 24th. The forecast looks to be much better that day, plus the grounds of the center would be too muddy this week. Just a reminder to you that it is the day of the school Bar-be-que so please make note of that.

Today in Science, we continued talking about habitats, predators, prey, etc. If your child can tell you 2 things about the savanna, write it in the planner for free money.

Have a great night and get out and enjoy before the rain comes.

Rain-Rain Go Away

Please hope for sunshine on Friday as we are preparing for our field trip to Red Lodge. It looks like we will go rain or shine and just prepare for the conditions. Rain coat, umbrellas, etc.

Today, we finished our Lewis & Clark Expedition book and will have a little quiz tomorrow to see how well they were listening and what they remembered. If they took good notes, kept their map, and made the timeline, they should have no problem with it. For extra money at check in tomorrow, have your child tell you what happened to Lewis on the return trip.

We started our unit on predator/prey/food chain, etc. in Science today as these are some of the concepts Jeff will be targeting on the field trip.

In Math, we started the metric system today. We are realizing that it is a lot easier than our customary system.

Have a great night.

Fun Day

What a treat we had today as Jeff, from the Beartooth Nature Center, was with us and once again and we learned so much from him. He did some pre-teaching for the upcoming field trip on Friday. We are going rain or shine, so dig out your wet weather gear and get ready for Friday.

He did some worm & food web activities. If your child can give you an example of a food web with 3 different animals, write it in the planner for free money.

Have a great night.

Awesome Field Trip

We had a great field trip to Pompey's Pillar despite the fact that we brought back a few critters with us, yes ticks. We checked the kids as they came off the bus, but please check them again at home. The students learned a lot from all the guides who were wonderful, and they commended our kids for their great behavior. Great job Hankins & Erickson kids. We are proud of you and so is Bitterroot. One of the guides went to Bitterroot School years ago, isn't that cool!!!

On Monday, be ready for Jeff, the nature guy, as we will be dissecting worms with him and doing some food web activities. Dress for comfort and be ready to get your hands dirty.

Have a great weekend.

Everyone's In

Yep-we are all in for the field trips. Money paid, permission slips signed, and chool lunches for those of you that wanted have been ordered. Tomorrow, I will post what your child needs for the field trip.

Today, we continued our reading of the expedition. We aren't even to the Pacific Ocean yet so don't think we will make it to the Pompey' Pillar part on the return trip by the time we go there on Friday. Oh well- If your child can tell you the name of the friendly indian tribe we talked about today that is going to help the expedition group as they move westward by giving them food such as salmon and how they got their name, write it in the planner for free money. (Hint: not the Shoshoni) Also, if they can tell you what VALUABLE thing they got from the Shoshoni to help them continue their journey.

We are going to complete our classroom activities on worms tomorrow and then Jeff, from the nature center, will be here on Monday to dissect worms with us and do some food chain/web activities.

Today, we continued with rounding decimals in Math. Great job as I can see there has been carry over from the beginning of the year with the concept of rounding.

Have a great night and enjoy the sunshine.

Great Day for Worms

Today in Science, we got to see worms burrowing in our worm farm (thank you, Trisha) for bringing it. We thought that on days like today, they drowned in all the rain, but we found out differently. If your child can tell you what happens to them, write it in the planner for free money.

We continued reading about the Lewis & Clark Expedition today, if your child can tell you whom they met today that was important to Sacajawea, write it in the planner.

Let's hope for some sunshine tomorrow as we were in all day today. It is supposed to get nice so let's hope.

Also, if any of you want to help out and chaperone the field trip to Pompey's Pillar on Friday, let me know. Thank you.

Have a great night.

Montana History Guest Speaker

Wow-we had a great guest speaker today. If your child can tell you what Ms. Smith talked about and how many reservations we have in MT (count the Great Falls one) and how many tribes are associated with those reservations, write it in the planner for free money.

Field trip permission slips are due by Wednesday. Make sure you have the $2.00 for Nature Center if you have not already paid. I need them by Wed. so I can let Ms. Johnson, the lunch clerk, know how many will need school sack lunches.

If you would like to go as a chaperone to the Pompey's Pillar field trip, write it in your child's planner. They split us into groups so having a few extra bodies would be helpful. Make sure you are willing to hold the kids accountable for their behaviors just like I do.

Speaking of behaviors, we had a little visit today about some negative attitudes in the classroom. Your child knows if they are one of them or not. I know it is getting close to the end, and these kinds of behaviors happen, but we need to finish strong and show good character not only until June 3rd, but all our lives. I told them I will only take students on field trips that show good behaviors all the time. Field trips are a privilege and extension of the classroom and have to be earned. Please talk to your child about this and if you do, write character in the planners. Thank you.

Have a good night and let's hope for sunshine soon. I know the rain is good and we needed it, but I think we have enough for now.

Egg Day!

Overall, egg day was a great success. We had a few bumps & bruises that required band-aids, pretty typical of the real world. I hope your child realizes just how much you parents do for them and that it is not an easy task.

Permission slips went home today for the field trips. Please get them signed ASAP. Everyone is eligible now that they had some money left over from the allotment for the eggs.

I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Eggs!!

Baby eggs will be arriving tomorrow. Make sure you bring the bed for it. Don't make them any bigger than a check box as we talked about what could happen if it is too big and falls off the desk.

Did you know there was such a thing as green worms? Well, neither did we until today. If your child can tell you why, write worm in the planner for free money.

Today, we continued the Lewis & Clark Expedition. If your child can tell you where we are and what happened to Sacajawea, write Sacajawea in the planner for free money.

Permission slips for both of the upcoming field trips will be coming home tomorrow.

Remember there is a $2.00 charge for the Nature Center. That can be brought anytime.

Have a great night.

Egg Babies

Today, we talked a lot about the "egg baby" project. Students need to bring a crib/cradle to school on Thursday. They will then receive their egg baby, weigh it, name it, decorate it, and fill out the birth certificate. They will get $500 for this project. We talked today about costs and then any money they have left will be theirs.

We will continue to get everyone paid up with fake money for the field trips. Speaking of money, students will need $2.00 of real money for admission to the nature center on May 20th. They will need to bring it to school by that day. I will collect it anytime they bring it.

We also talked about an auction for being able to do something pretty cool at the center. If they can tell you, write it in the planner.

We had an art docent today from the YAM. She had some cool artwork. If your child can tell you the 3 kinds of landscapes they saw, write it in the planner for free money.

No nightly writing tonight.

We weren't able to get in Science & Soc. Studies today because of the guest speaker so we will hit both hard tomorrow so we can continue learning about worms and the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

As promised, I said I would try to get some Egg Drop pics on so here they are. Thank you to Shane's grandma for taking them for us.

Have a great night.

Field Trips

Today I collected money for the upcoming field trips. Some students didn't quite have enough to pay for both, so they need to work hard to earn the rest and then to have some left for a fun auction we are going to do before we go to the Nature Center. More about that later.

Free money may be given out when they least expect it. HHMMMM-something about true character comes through when I am not always watching!!

We continued our Lewis & Clark Expedition today. If your child can tell you whom was the best water navigator of the 2 and who Sacajawea's baby was, write it in the planner for free money.

In Science, we started a unit on worms. We will be doing lots with this and Jeff as he is coming to our school for some of this unit before we go to the Nature Center. Wow-I never new so many interesting things about worms. If your child can tell you 2 things about them from today, write it in the planner for free money.

Starting tomorrow in Math, we are going to begin Chapter 11 on Decimals & Fractions, along with the Metric Measurement system.

Today, we talked about a fun, little thing we are going to do on Thursday called "Egg Babies" to show appreciation to our moms, grandmas, etc. This will also give us a greater appreciation for all they do for us. Students are going to get a hard-boiled egg that they will name and take care of for the day. They are going to be responsible for it at all times and will have to pay if they need a sitter, for band-aids, to get it back if it is kidnapped, etc. They will be able to buy insurance at the beginning which will make any injuries cheaper. This is such a fun way for them to see a little bit of what goes into being a parent. Since not everyone has a lot of extra money, I am giving them $500 on that day and anything they don't spend, they can keep.

They will need to have a bed for their baby so they can start working on them now. Make sure not to make them too big so they don't fall off the desk and get injured.

Remind your child to use the appropriate writing techniques with nightly writing. Good paragraphs with all the components.

Have a great night and get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. We know too well how quickly it changes.