Thursday, February 28, 2013

Substitute Tomorrow

Yes, I have training tomorrow so I have a substitute. Actually, it doesn't seem like it as it will be Mr. Pertuit who was the long term PE sub. The kids love him and I am sure they are happy I will be gone. Today, we started our tour of the SW and learned about some pretty cool places. One of them being the Carlsbad Caverns. We watched a YouTube of them and ask your child what it has underground unlike any other cave. Write it in the planner for free money. Also, remember to remind them to have one of their "pay it forward" examples to share for tomorrow. MontCas Testing is going to be starting on Monday. We actually changed the schedule from what I said yesterday so that we don't have to drag it out for 3 weeks. We are going to test hard all of next week morning & afternoon to get them done. I think this will be best for everyone. There will be breaks in between to help break it up. So please have your child here at school next week unless they are very sick. Please talk to your child about substitute expectations. Have a great night.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

No Strings Attached

As a continuation of our "pay it forward" week, have a discussion with your child about what "no strings attached" means. If you have this discussion, write discussion in the planner. Remember to be keeping track of your "acts of kindness" for Friday. Great job to Danara today in Girl's Honor Choir. You all did awesome and we are very proud of you. Staff meeting today so a short post. Our meeting is on all the upcoming testing-YAY-YAY!! I do know that our testing starts next week and we have to test Reading, Math, and Science so it will last for 3 weeks because there are 3 sessions for each of those subjects. It will be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays of the next 3 weeks and it is from 10:00-11:30 on those days so please don't schedule any appointments during that time if at all possible as then they have to be made up and that is difficult and takes more time from them being in the classroom. Have a great night.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

What Goes Around, Comes Around

"What Goes Around-Comes Around". Have a discussion about this phrase and how it is connected to Rusty's theme this week of "paying it forward". If your child can tell you, write the phrase in the planner. Remember to be monitoring their pay it forward tasks this week so that on Friday, they have one to write about and share. We had our Spelling Bee here at school for grades 5-6. I am so proud of those kids for getting up in front of their peers and adults to spell some pretty tough words. Congratulations to our school winner-Jaeden Scheeler (Chase's sister) and the alternate Layne Chelgren. Super Job you two!!! We did a fun Reader's Theater in MT History today. Ask your child which character they were and what the play was about. Write the character name in the planner. We continued fossils today and talking about sedimentary rock. Ask them what geographic area here in Billings is made up of sedimentary rock and write it in the planner. So as you can see, there are 3 blog answers tonight and all 3 need to be answered for free money. Remember Library books tomorrow. Have a good night.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Pay It Forward

Yes, this week that is Rusty's show. Paying it forward-we had a great discussion today in morning meeting about what that is and the cool thing about it is that it happened in our Lead 21 stories today so that was a great connection. Also students were helping out today without having to be told or looking for a reward-how cool is that as that is what paying it forward is all about-you never know when you may need a favor returned. HOMEWORK THIS WEEK FOR THIS: Students need to use examples of paying it forward at home this week, and then on Friday they are going to write one of their examples in their journals to share at morning meeting. Thank you for your help in advance for this. We started our SW region today with our Geography Challenge so tomorrow we start the tour of the region via the CD. In Math today, we worked on ordering fractions from least-greatest by finding the LCD -the common denominator. This is a more difficult concept so I told the kids not to fret about it, we will practice and they will really focus on it harder in 5th grade. Remember HE/PE tomorrow. Have a good night.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Busy Week Ahead

I hope you are enjoying your weekend or what is left of it anyway. I have been very busy with family stuff (bridal shower for my niece & and hanging out with two 2 year olds). Needless to say, I am tired, but surely not them. This week is going to be a busy week both in & out of the classroom. We are going to wrap up our Lead 21 Unit 5 and test on it on Friday. In Social Studies, we are going to start the SW region (only 4 states in this region) and continue with Montana History. We finally finished the book about the expedition. Ask your child what their most memorable part of the expedition was and write it in the planner. We will have spelling words this week. In Science, we will continue with our fossil unit. I can't wait for our next Science Unit as it is studying worms and today I met a lady who has a Worm Farm here in Billings. The information she shared with me was amazing. She is definitely going to add a lot to that unit of study. Congratulations to Emily our Purple Hand Cookie winner. She was nominated for always being so kind & helpful to others. Have a great night.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Great Day Today

Overall, today was a very good day in Room 6. What I was most pleased about is the progress they are making in ReadAbout computer program. About a month ago, I showed them their results of some of the work they had been doing in the program and for many of them, it didn't meet my expectations and I knew they could do better so we had a little chat and I showed them their results. Well, today as I was looking at progress a month later, they are doing so so much better so now we need to keep it up and work at 100% all the time. Tomorrow is Hats For Hope-pay 50 cents and where a hat. Remember money goes to our Bitterroot families in need. Some of you were wondering about a reading calendar for this month. I didn't send one home purposely because of the Read-A-Thon so we will start with a new calendar again in March. Speaking of Read-A-Thon, we are having our banana split party tomorrow afternoon for winning the 3rd-4th grade reading contest. Have a great night.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Thank you to the 5th Grade Helpers

Today, we were fortunate to have some 5th graders in our room during math time so we took advantage of their expertise and worked hard on long division. I think almost everybody has it now. Then we moved on to simplifying (reducing) fractions in which we had to find the GCF and they were lots of help in working on this concept too. Students are finding out once again the importance of knowing their facts. Have your child simplify 10/12 in the planner for free money. We didn't get to the Lewis & Clark Exploration today as we have Library at that time. We started Selection 3 in Lead 21. The strategies/skills for this section are going to be strong predictions, summarizing, figurative language, and cause/effect. Happy Birthday to Chase. Remember PE shoes for tomorrow. Have a great night.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Mr. English, the Human Banana Split

As you can see by the pictures, Mr. English was quite a trooper today. Being back at school for his first full day in a long time, and sick on top of it, he let the kids go at him with all kinds of whipped cream & ice cream toppings as they turned him into a human banana split. This was made possible by all the awesome readers we have here at Bitterroot School along with the wonderful PTA. It couldn't have happened without all of them. Great job to everyone and to each of the individual & class winners. Over 170,000 minutes were read!!!! Mid-terms went home today. If you see & go over yours with your child, write mid-term in the planner for free money. NAEP testing was today. The kids did great and got received a compliment from the testing people. Tomorrow is Library so get those books here. Also, remember to dress for the weather. The week is going to be a bit chilly and I don't like to see your child freezing at recess. Need recorders for Music tomorrow. Have a great night.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Fun Was Had By All

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I hope you are enjoying your break. I know I have. I spent some of the time back in ND with family and loved every minute of it, but now I am ready to get back to my you, my kids, and my Bitterroot family. As you can see by the Smilebox Video, we had lots of fun on Wednesday before break. First of all, students shared their amazing biography reports. They did a great job of presenting and we all learned lots. Grades are in a rubric form and are in their mailboxes to come home tomorrow. Our valentine's day committees did a great job as you can see and we all had lots of fun. This week will be getting back to normal after tomorrow. Tomorrow is NAEP test day for 4th graders. Make sure your child has a good night's rest, healthy breakfast of protein and send in a healthy snack. The test is at 10:00. Have a chat with them about no stressing over the test, and to just shine and show what they know. I have no doubts they will do great. Then in the afternoon, students get to turn Mr. English into a human banana split for exceeding their reading goal. Also to go with this, our class will be having a banana split party as they were the winners of the contest for grades 3&4. Way to go Team Hankins!!!!! I am proud of you. In Math, we will continue with fractions this week. Social Studies will finish up the Lewis & Clark Exploration. In Science, we will be diving into fossils. In Reading-Lead 21, we will continue with Unit 5. Now that we are done with the non-fiction selections, we will be reading the fictional selections and working with the skills of cause/effect, and summary writing. I didn't sign planners on Wednesday so no worries about that and I won't post a blog question today. We will get back on track with that tomorrow. Have a great rest of the day.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Big Day Tomorrow

Yes, tomorrow is a fun, short day. Just a reminder to bring in your valentines (one for everyone) and your committee items. Decorating committee -be here at 7:50! Today, we had some fun with Valentine Math. Ask your child at least 3 different skills we had today in math with our conversation hearts once again. If they can tell you, write them in the planner. Then after PE, we did some "minute to win it" activities. Fun-fun-fun-pretty hilarious to watch them eat red licorice with their hands behind their backs. In Montana History, we are still on the expedition, but at least now we have crossed over the Bitterroot Mtn. range and are headed up towards the Columbia River. Ask your child, what Lewis & Clark had to obtain from the Shoshoni tribe to help them get over the mountains and what they did with their boats. The biographies shared so far are awesome!! I am proud of the students and the job they did. The rest will finish sharing tomorrow and I will post the pics in a slide show after tomorrow. Should have lots of other fun pics to post after our party. Just a reminder that after our break and when students return on February 19th, the 4th graders will be taking the NAEP test which is a test given each year and our school was selected this year. Your child will either take the math or the reading portion, but not both. I know they will do well and shine like Bitterroot always does. Have a great night.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Biography Posters Due Tomorrow

Yes, tomorrow is the day for the biography posters. I can't wait to hear all the wonderful facts. The posters that came in today look awesome and very well done. We will share them tomorrow & Wednesday during Reading class. Also, tomorrow is the last day to get your Read-A-Thon pledges envelopes in. Please get your final collections tonight and return them. Today, we finished putting our stickers in our Montana History journal and now we will continue reading the book. The book and the stickers don't match so we got those done first and now we can read and finish the book and watch a movie. Ask your child who else from her past that Sacajawea met today other than her brother. Write it in the planner for free money. Wednesday is the big day for our Valentines. Make sure you are ready to bring in whatever you are contributing to the party. Today in Math, we learned how to find an equivalent fraction and also how to reduce fractions with our valentine conversation hearts. Have your child show you an equivalent fraction for 4/5 in the planner. On Tuesday, February 19th right after the break, we have what is called the NAEP test which is given to selected 4th grade classrooms in the district. It is on a rotation basis and this year is our year. Your child will either take the math or the reading. It is given by other personnel and I have nothing to do with it so I get to just sit here and be bored. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up and I know our kids will shine!!! The MontCas states tests will be coming up in March. More on that as it gets closer. Have a great night.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Busy-Short Week

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. This is going to be a short, but busy week. First of all, I went to school yesterday and on my desk was a note from Mrs. Gleason saying the kids were excellent on Friday. Way to go Team Hankins and I had no doubt that the day would go well. As I was checking work from Friday, there are some missing assignments so I am hoping that if you are one of these that I am referring to that you have worked on it this weekend and are ready to turn it in tomorrow. Our Valentine's Day Party is on Wednesday, February 13th from about 10:15-11:40 so remember to bring whatever you are bringing for the particular committee you are on. Those on the decorating committee need to be here at about 7:50. Remember that this is an early out day (12:00 dismissal) and then No School on Thursday & Friday, and the following Monday. Enjoy the break and do some fun things. No spelling words this week. In reading, we will finish section 2 of Lead 21 tomorrow and then share our biographies on Tuesday so hopefully you are finishing those up this weekend. I can't wait to see all the amazing things learned about these famous people. Language & Math will consist of valentine related activities that correlate to concepts we are doing right now in those subject areas. In Montana History, we will keep moving along the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The Read-A-Thon envelopes with donations collected are due Tuesday at the latest. Free money will be given to those that get theres here tomorrow so hopefully you collected those donations. Winners of the contest will be announced next week. Our class alone read over 16,000 minutes. That is fabulous!! I know Syd shared her Student of the Week stuff on Friday. I am bummed I missed it, but I am sure it was AWESOME!! In the planner, write 2 things you learned about her for free money. This way when I check tomorrow, I will see what I missed. Have a great rest of the weekend. Here is a note from Rusty at School Tools TV. Dear Parents: My name is Rusty May and your child watches my SchoolToolsTv videos everyday with their classmates at school. I'm now doing 3 weekly videos for parents to watch with their children at home. The Parenting Page videos mirror the videos your child is watching that week at school so you know exactly what we're talking about and have an opportunity to build on our discussion within the context of your family values. The 3 shows focus on: - EQ, or Emotional Quotient, which helps build your child's emotional intelligence. - Bully Byte which talks about all aspects of bullying and how to prevent it. - Life Lesson which is a common sense tool they can use to help them achieve their goals and dreams. You can see the free shows starting Monday of each week at http://www.schooltoolstv.com/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewcategory&cat_id=17&Itemid=120 If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me at rusty@schooltoolstv.com Thanks and have a fantastic day.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Substitute Tomorrow

Hi there- We had a great day in Room 6 today. These kids are truly an awesome bunch and I just love being their teacher. First of all, thank you to all of you for Ok-ing the item(s) your child is going to bring for the Valentine's Day Party. It couldn't happen without you. Speaking of party, it is on Wednesday the 13th. Students are making their monster bags for their valentines tomorrow as part of their team building time. If they would like to bring anything to add to it to make it look like their monster character they created, then that would be fabulous. They are to do the paper portion of it tonight and then bring it back to school with them completed tomorrow. Also coming home tonight are the Read-A-Thon envelopes. The reading portion is over, but now the PTA wants them to come back home to collect any pledges or flat donations that you may still be collecting. Try and have this part and the envelopes returned back to me no later than Tuesday, February 12th. Also, remember my reading kids that your biographies are due on Tuesday. Today, we continued on the expedition and Lewis & Clark met the Shoshoni leader, Cameahwait. Ask your child who he is and if he will know anyone in the expedition group. If they can tell you, write it in the planner. Remember substitute tomorrow so please take a few minutes tonight to go over expectations with your child. If you do this, write expectations in the planner. Thank you and have a great night.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Valentine's Day Committee Planning Today

Today the students got together in the committees that you chose for them to be on if you did. For those that had nothing in the planner, I chose for them. They brought home a little slip today with what they decided to bring so if this works for you, write "works" in the planner for free money. Sounds and looks like we will have lots of fun and good food in a well-decorated room. Remember the party is on Wednesday, February 13th so please don't send any of their things in before that day. Tomorrow they will be getting their Valentine Monster paper to fill out to go with their valentine bags that they will make here at school on Friday. Just a quick note to let you know that I will be gone on Friday to do some Montana History planning with colleagues. Looking forward to having more good things to teach and share with our kids. My reading kids-just a reminder that your biography projects are due on Tuesday, February 12th. Have a great night.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Only 2 Days Left!

Read-Read-Read!! Yes, there are only 2 days left for the Read-A-Thon. Team Hankins is doing Super so keep it up and finish strong. Today in Morning meeting, we continued to talk about fair fighting, what it is and what it looks like. Ask your child what they have learned about fair fighting so far and put it in the planner. Continued up the Missouri River today on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Ask your child to tell you what happened as they were going up the river that made Sacajawea's help necessary. Also, ask them what how they had to get around the Great Falls and write it in the planner. Valentine's Day committees: Thank you to those of you that wrote in the planner, what committee would work best for you, those of you that haven't, please do so as tomorrow they will get in their groups to plan. Remember those Library books tomorrow along with recorders. Have a great night.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Happy Monday

Happy Birthday, Aaliyah! Thank you for the "yummy" treats. Not a lot of news for today. The big thing is to talk it over with your kiddos tonight about the Valentine's Day Party. All but 3 students have bought into it and are ready for deciding what committee they want to be on. The students are in charge of this party as they have shown lots of maturity & responsibility throughout the year. They can choose to be on 1/3 committees. They are: Decorations-students in this group will get together and plan, make, purchase, or whatever they choose for decorations and this will include plates, napkins, and utensils. They will set up in the morning at 8:00. Another is the food committee. They will decide what foods they would like to have. This committee has a little input from me as I have them choose some healthy food options too so as not to have all sugar!!!! The final committee is the entertainment group. They will decide what games/activities that they want to have. If they want music, they will provide the CD's and so on. Discuss with your child tonight and write which committee you have chosen in the planner for free money tomorrow. Clean-up is done by all of us. This is a fun day and it will be on Wednesday, February 13 at 10:45-11:45. The reason for this is that it is an Early Out day with 12:00 dismissal. Remember I am getting them the bags for their monster valentines and these will be coming home on Wednesday. A list of student names is posted on the side for the making of valentines. Have a great night.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Happy SuperBowl Sunday!

HI there- I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. It has been a beautiful weather weekend, having fun with friends, watching my favorite golfer, Phil Mickelson, about to win the tournament in Scottsdale, Az as we await the start of the Superbowl. Who are you going to cheer for? Your child has their favorite as we did some fun activities at school on Friday with one of them predicting their favorite to win. They also designed their own jerseys for their new team along with naming their team. We had some pretty creative ones. Then at the end of the day, we did a partner activity where they got clues for NFL teams and they had to match the team with the clues. Fun-fun-fun!! On Friday, we continued our Lewis & Clark Expedition up the Missouri River. Ask them what happened to Mr. Floyd along the way and why he has a bluff named after him. If they can tell you, write Floyd' Bluff in the planner. This week in Math, we are going to begin our unit on Fractions. We compare, reduce/simplify, estimate, and add, subtract fractions. Bananas About Reading: Keep up the great reading and let's continue and finish strong!! Social Studies will continue with the Lewis & Clark Expedition. We will do some fun computer research in Science this week just finding out fun facts about a lot of different scientific concepts. My reading kids will continue with Lead 21 studying the geography, economy, history, and culture of the Midwest region. In Language, we will do some fun dialogue writing with valentine conversation hearts. Unit 22 words in Spelling this week working on suffixes. Have a great rest of the day and cya tomorrow.