Happy TGIF!

Successful day today in Room 6. Many of the students proudly received their Terrific Kid, BUG, and Bobcat Awards. Congrats to all recipients. It was also a successful day for those who didn't receive awards as we discussed what needs to happen for them to be a part of it for next quarter. They can do it!!!! Our goal is to have lots more next quarter. Lead 21 finished their group biographies today and will share them on Monday in small groups. Then they will be ready to start their own individual biography projects. They have already started the reading & fact gathering, but next week they will get their guide to follow with expectations for the project. These will be due on February 18th!! Remember to get those January reading calendars back on Monday. These are an important part of their grade. February ones will come home on Monday. Science Night tonight from 6-8:00. $300 for those who attend. If your child goes, write $300 in the planner. Valentine's Day Party-yes, we will have a party on February 13 as there is No School on the 14th. How we do it in Room 6 is committees are developed and students will sign up for a committee that they want to be on. We will discuss these committees on Monday during morning meeting and then you can decide along with your child which committee will be best for them and your family and they will sign up on Tuesday. So more on this later. Also, they will each be given a bag to decorate at home for their valentines. Congratulations to Kiernan, our student of the week. Some of her favorite are: green, Frozen, gymnastics, ice cream, art. She wants to be a computer programer when she grows up. I bet you didn't know she could play the piano. Congratulations to Dylan, the Purple Hand Cookie recipient this month. Good job. Congratulations to the BUG Club recipients: Kylee, Piper, Kaitlin Congratulations to Terrific Kid Club recipients: Hanna, Sydnie, Piper, Dylan, Phil, Kira, and Tylie. Congratulations to Devin for receiving the Bobcat Award. Way to Go, Team Hankins. Last, but not least enjoy the SuperBowl and may the best team win!! I must say GO BRONCOS!!!!

Back to Winter

Yes, Old Man Winter is not done yet. Please make sure your child wears their winter gear for recess as there is lots of fun snow to play in, plus the temps. are a bit chilly. Short Montana History lesson today, but it was about some of the items the corps packed for their expedition. Ask your child 2 things and write them in the planner. Lead 21 kids are almost ready to put all their information on their poster boards. They will share them on Monday and then I will be sending home all the materials & requirements for the independent projects. In math today, we worked hard on putting fractions in order from least to greatest. Students had to find the GCD in order to do this. I can tell that they have been practicing their facts!! :)))) YAAYYYY!! New song learned in Music today on their recorders. Ask them what it is. Mrs. Neese has been introducing the kids to the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The first one they have been working on is -Being Proactive. Ask them what that means and write proactive in the planner. Remember PE shoes tomorrow and recorders. Tomorrow is the Awards Ceremony for 2nd quarter in the gym at 9:30. I texted, called, or left a message with those of you whose child is receiving an award. Will be great to see you there if you can make it. Yes, today was spirit day and some of you were wondering why today instead of tomorrow. Not sure, but that was Mr. English's decision-possibly because of awards tomorrow. But if you still want to wear your favorite team gear tomorrow, feel free to do it. Have a great night.

Movie Day

Yes, we enjoyed the movie today. Have a conversation about it with your child-if they can tell you about it, write Big Miracle in the planner. Lead 21 kids started their group biographies today. These will be the model for their individual biographies. Tomorrow is "show your team spirit day"-wear your favorite team gear whether it be Bronco or Seahawk. Have a great night. Cya tomorrow Remember those recorders for Music.

Celebration Day Tomorrow Afternoon

Yes, tomorrow is our celebration in the afternoon after Math. Students can wear PJ's, bring a pillow, blanket, stuffed animal and a drink (with a lid) for the movie and I am providing the popcorn. Today in Math we did "comparing fractions" and we ran out of time to do the assignment here at school so they all have it for HOMEWORK!!!!! They also did very well on their measurement conversion assessment yesterday. Good Job. Today in Montana History, we started our Read-A-Loud to go with the expedition and had to "catch up" to where we are actually in our journals so we did some speed reading about Sacajawea getting captured. Ask your child which tribe she was captured by and taken to where and what happened to her there that will be a huge part of the expedition. If they can tell you, write Sacajawea in the planner. We also learned today in our Helen Keller biography about how she tries to communicate with others. Have a discussion and talk about how difficult it must be for the Keller family. Lead 21 kids chose their biographies today. They will be able to use those books, along with others, and the internet to gather their information for their projects. Each small group read a biography about a famous person who studied space. They are going to work in groups tomorrow to make a project that will then be a model for them to follow when doing their independent projects. Requirements for the independent projects will be sent home early next week. Their job for right now is to start reading their books and gathering facts. Tomorrow is Library so get those books here. Friday is the Science Night sponsored by PTA from 6-8:00 p.m. Free money to whoever goes!!!! Have a great night.

ABT Performance

Kuddos to the kids here at Bitterroot as they did a great job today at ABT during the Aladdin & Other Tales performance. For the most part, they really enjoyed it. Ask them the storyline and what it was all about. If you have a good conversation about it, write ABT in the planner. Today, we took our assessment on measurement conversions. I haven't graded them yet, but hopefully they did great. We have practiced a lot. We started Montana History again today. We learned about the Louisiana Purchase. Ask your child what it was, how much we bought it for and the 2 main reasons we bought it. If they can tell you, write Louisiana in the planner. We started our biography unit today by starting the whole class Helen Keller biography. We found out what happened to Helen at age 2. Have a discussion with your child about it. Permission slips for the Miracle movie went home today. Please sign and return tomorrow. Thank you. Science Night is on Friday, January 31st here at the school. It is sponsored by the PTA. Great event so attend if you can. Have a great night.

Amazing!!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Yes, AMAZING is my word to describe the Venture Theater performance. These kids did a super job and I am so proud of them. Just seeing them come out of a comfort zone and getting in front of their peers & adults. Way to go. I hope those of you that had a child in it got to see it and hopefully some of you that didn't got over their on Friday evening too. It was worth it!!! Celebration on Wednesday-yes we are having our point celebration on Wednesday afternoon. The kids voted on Pajamas, a movie, popcorn, and a drink. We will be watching Big Miracle and I will be sending home permission slips for the movie since it is PG. I will supply the popcorn and the kids can each bring a drink(make sure it has a lid) of their choice no larger than 1 liter. Fit Kids Club-students who are interested brought home a permission slip on Friday. This starts on Feb. 4th and runs until May. It is a time commitment of 2 days/week from 3:15-4:00. It is open to 30 students; first come-first basis so if your child is interested and can commit, please get the slips back on Monday morning and give to Mrs. Zimmerman as she will number them as they come in until we have 30. It will be a great way for your child to get active if they don't already have lots of activities they are involved in. This week's academics: Math-we will continue with fractions-comparing, simplifying. Lead 21-we will continue with our Space unit and start biographies. Each student will choose a person to research and then completing a project to go with it. They will be able to use books I have for them along with internet to find their information. I am reading Helen Keller to them and modeling what their project will look like. Project requirements will be sent home later this week. Montana History: We are now entering the part where the U.S. purchases the Louisiana Purchase and Pres. Jefferson chooses Lewis & Clark to go and explore the territory. This is one of my favorite parts. Lots of fun facts & information will be shared & learned. Science-animals, their habitats, characteristics, and behaviors. Language-prefixes & suffixes Spelling-Unit 20 word list Friday is the Terrific Kids/BUG assembly at 9:30. I will text you if your child is getting an award and you are welcome to come. Tristan was our student of the week and we enjoyed all the interesting things he had to share with us. Some of his favorites are: the book Black Beauty, PE, pink, pizza, and video games. When he grows up he wants to be a bull fighter in the PBR, and I bet you didn't know he can do the splits. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Report Card Day

Report Cards went home today and they were very good and I am proud of these kids and the job they are doing. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me and we can meet. Also, please write report card in the planner once you have seen it. Finding equivalent fractions in math today posed a bit of a challenge at first, but I think with some extra help and practice, they have it figured out. Have your child show you how to find an equivalent fraction for 3/4 and write them in the planner. Once again, the importance of knowing those multiplication/division facts is crucial. During Social Studies today as part of our MLK studies, we wrote about "dreams" we have. Ask them their dream and how they are going to work at achieving it. If you have this discussion, write dream in the planner. Lead 21 students started their small groups again today on Unit 4 on Space. The first selection in this book is a biography. Ask them who they are reading about and to tell you at least one contribution this person gave to space or space studies. Next week, they are going to be choosing a biography book to read independently and do a project to go with that. More on that at a later date. Tomorrow is Venture Theater. Parents, your performance for you to see is at 5:30. We get to go see it at 1:30. Can't wait. Permission slips for ABT are due tomorrow. Also get the HIV permission slips back ASAP for Mrs. Buss. Thank you. Recorders & PE shoes tomorrow. Have a great night.

Hilarious!!!

Yes, I do have to say that the auction today was "hilarious". They got so excited bidding on items and spending their money. Some pretty big bucks were spent for some items that were badly wanted. There was also some frustration as they were like "don't bid anymore to bid me up because I want it"!! Just like real life. I hope this helps them to see once again that making good choices helps to earn money. The better choices you makes, the more money you have.:) Everyone will start with $100 again tomorrow. Tonight might be a great night to go over our new guideline in place. From now on, if work is not handed in without me asking for it and it is done in their backpack, they will automatically lose $. Same goes for planners. We have been in school 4 1/2 months now and it is time to take responsibility. If Library books don't show up on Library day there is a fine for that too as it is hard to be prepared for library without your books. Incomplete work will still be fined also. This quarter will be taking us into Spring where we start having field trips so it is very important to show positive character, be a good citizen, and make good choices so you can participate. It took us up to the time of dismissal so needless to say, we did not get planners filled out or signed so no signature needed today and no blog question and we will get back on track tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, recorders & books are needed for music. Also get back those HIV permission slips ASAP. Alberta Bair Theater permission slips were in mailboxes and some got them home tonight and others didn't if they didn't take their mail due to the hectic dismissal. So those will bring them home tomorrow and they are due on Friday as we go to ABT on Monday. So if your child got theirs home tonight, sign it and return tomorrow. Thank you. Reminder: Venture Theater performance is on Friday. Report Cards will be coming home tomorrow. Have a great night.

New Ticket System

We have a new ticket system since it is the 2nd Semester of the year and quarter #3. Instead of the 3 white tickets they used to have, they now can earn little tickets (just like those used in raffles) for being responsible citizens with good character, showing kindness & compassion to others, and for working hard and doing their BEST!! These are all things we have been working on in morning meeting discussions-now they can put them into practice. Then at the end of the day, the ticket master will draw 4-5 tickets and those drawn will receive a treat or fake money. Just something new and fun to mix it up. Auction is tomorrow-yes, students have a chance to buy things with their extra money. They paid $300 for the ABT field trip so now whatever is left is theirs to spend. It has been voted on and decided that our 50 point celebration will be a pajama day, movie, and popcorn. Due to not a lot of extra time in our day, we will not be celebrating until Wed., January 29th when we have an afternoon "chunk" of time. This will not only be for celebrating our positive actions, but the amazing job they did on their tests. What were your thoughts on their growth? Let me know. We read a portion of a great biography about MLK today. Ask them 3 important things they learned and if they can tell you, write MLK in the planner. Tomorrow is Library so get those books here as it will be a fine if they are not. HIV permission slips from Mrs. Buss came home today. Get them signed and return ASAP so they don't get misplaced even though her presentation isn't until later Feb. Speaking of permission slips, the ABT one will come home tomorrow. Have a great night.

Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr.

Yes, it is his birthday and in honor of him there will be No School for students on Monday, January 20th. Enjoy your day off-do something fun!! As you can see by our snowman creations, we had a good time with buddies today. They had done a writing piece about "how to make a snowman" so we helped them make their snowmen with ______ & ______. Ask your child what we used and write them in the planner if they can tell you. They enjoyed working together and did a great job. Lead 21 kids took their assessment for Unit 3 so now we are moving to Unit 4 which is on Space. Recorder/Stomp performance: The 4th graders played recorders for the 5-6th grades and the 5-6th grades played a variety of garbage can items to create rhythm/music-just like they do in the Broadway performance of Stomp! Both groups did a great job. Happenings this coming week: Report Cards go home on Thursday, January 23rd Venture Theater Performance is on Friday, January 24th Pizza Lunch for lunchroom helpers is on Thursday, January 23rd. Lead 21 will be starting Unit 4 on Space & Biographies-skills will be fact/opinion-prefixes, suffixes and strategies will be making connections. In Math we will be continuing with fractions-finding equivalent fractions and ordering & comparing. We will be having our division/multiplication assessment on Friday, January 24th. We didn't have it today due to not having a lot of time and I didn't want them to rush. Language will be continuing with adjectives. In Social Studies, we will spend the week learning about Martin Luther King Jr. A celebration is in order since we earned our 25 celebration points. Not sure which day yet and what we are going to do. Also, we will have our auction on Wednesday to spend their money and then we will start over with new money. MAP scores went home on colored cards Friday. As you can see, the students did great for the most part and I am so proud of them. If you don't see the progress you would have liked, don't worry-we will test again in the spring and those scores are the ones that we use in their records/promotion cards, etc. If any scores went down or didn't make a lot of growth, that is a good discussion point for working harder and trying their best. It also gives me the information I need to adjust/drive my instruction for those individuals. Jacoby was our student of the week and we sure enjoyed everything he brought. The big hit was the fox fur. We found out he likes football and hopes to play in the NFL someday, he likes blue, fish, math, and I bet you didn't know he likes to eat snakes. He said, "It tastes like chicken." Don't think I will ever try it. Have a great weekend.

Short Post

Short post tonight since the first one I did didn't publish. Oh the joys of technology!!! Plus I have a meeting and report card comments to work on. States and capitals tests will be corrected tonight and handed back tomorrow. We started a new Read-A-Loud book today. Ask your child the name of it and what they know about it so far. If they can tell you, write the name of it in the planner. In math we worked some more on multiplication/division. Some kids are still needing extra practice so I sent some home with them. It is due tomorrow so please make sure they get it done and check it over for them. Thank you. We have spent lots of time in whole/small groups and one-one time on this skill and it is time to move on. PE shoes needed tomorrow along with recorders. Students will be performing for the 5th-6th graders on their recorders as it is Mr. Hennessey's last day and we wants a little concert with them. It is not for parents as you will get invited to the real one later in the year. Have a great night.

States & Capitals Tomorrow

Here's hoping your day was as good & productive as ours. We got our day started off with having a complimentary earned day in the Library and learning more new, cool things from Mrs. Anderson. We are now only 1 compliment away from having a celebration!! The timing of that is perfect as our quarter ends on Friday and I BELIEVE we will get it by then so we will celebrate next week sometime. Not sure what the activity will be yet. Also next week we will have an auction to spend our 2nd quarter money and then start fresh for 3rd quarter with new money. Then Lead 21 kids had a great discussion of the realistic fiction stories they are reading in their small groups. It is so cool how these tie into our social studies. Speaking of social studies, we finished our tour of the SE today learning about the cotton plantations, the Civil War, Civil Rights Memorial, and offshore oil drilling. Have your child tell you about 2 of these and if they can, write SE in the planner. Also tomorrow is our states & capitals test. I am hoping they are all ready. In Math today, we worked real hard on measurement conversions. This is a difficult concept, but we are making progress. For math homework tonight, I would like them to do 2 long division problems with 4 digits divided by 1 digit for practice as we are assessing on that on Friday. Recorders & books for Music tomorrow. Have a great night.

Happy Tuesday!

We started fractions today with the basics of understanding what the numerator and the denominator are and what they stand for. Have your child write out & draw 4/5. Have them tell you which number is which and then shade in the correct parts. If they can do this, write 4/5 in the planner. We will be having an assessment on measurement on Thursday. It will be the basics of drawing some simple lines and converting measurements. They have measurement cards they will get to use. In Lead 21, we shared our well written summaries with our small groups and started selection 4. Our skill with this realistic fiction story is to do problem/solution. In Social studies, we continued our tour of the SE. We learned about the cotton plantations and the fact that this was when a certain kind of music started. Ask your child what type of music it is and why it was called that. If they can tell you, write the kind of music in the planner. Remember we have our states & capitals test on Thursday morning. Also, Library day tomorrow so get those books in. Have a great night.

Crazy-Crazy-Wind!!

Well to say it is windy today is an understatement. As you all know, we had to make different arrangements for some kids for pick-up this afternoon. But, I am happy to announce that once again Bitterroot parents/kids did a great job and it was a smooth transition from school to home. We had a great day in spite of the weather. We had a great discussion this morning in morning meeting about believing, working hard, and not giving up on ourselves when things get difficult or harder. We also talked a lot about keeping calm and not overreacting to certain situations esp. those we have no control over. Then in Lead 21, we finished selection 3 and wrote some awesome summaries from what I can tell by the ones I have corrected. In math, we did some metric conversions. Boy, these are so easy compared to customary because of the metrics being in base 10 system. In Science, we made some fun snow glyphs and learned about each other's winter interests/fun. Then with a partner, we completed an activity called Snowology. Ask your child 2 new/fun facts they learned and if they can tell you, write snowology in the planner. Venture Theater started today and I am so excited to have such a great representation from Team Hankins. Can't wait to see you perform on the 24th. Remember PE tomorrow. Have a great night.

Thank you, Tristan

Happy Birthday, Tristan and thank you for the amazingly, yummy Rice Krispie treats. We hope you have a great time at the hockey game. Today started out with an HR on the Chicago White Sox scandal. We have fiction books here in the classroom about one of the players in that scandal. Ask your child his name and about the scandal and if they can tell you, write "black sox" & Shoeless Joe" in the planner. Then we had buddies. They are working on map skills so this was a great review for us. In Lead 21, we discussed in small groups and part of their rotation was writing personal narratives (in 1st person format) about them living in a "snow globe". They are using the stoplight writing organizational tool and also having to put 4 kinds of figurative language in it: simile, personification, onomonpeia, and an idiom. Can't wait to see/read the finished products. These kids are quite creative and good writers. In math we did the metic system today. We are finding out how much easier this system is compared to our customary system because of the fact it is in base ten and not so many parts to remember. We will continue with more practice on this next week and then we will move into fractions. Social Studies next week will take us to the end of our SE tour and the states & capitals test for the region will be on Thursday, January 16th so keep studying. :))) Next week in Science we will do our Snowology facts along with making snow globes to go with our narratives. Unit 17 spelling list is on the side of the blog. Lead 21 next week will have us finishing up Selection 3 and going into Selection 4. Skills/strategies are: summarizing, paraphrasing, homophones, and problem/solution. In Language, we will continue with adjectives. Monday the students have Art and they can bring their electronic devices to listen to Music. Venture Theater forms are due Monday and practices also start Monday. Yearbook orders are being taken until February 24th. Ava was our Student of the Week this week. We loved all the things she shared with us and especially enjoyed the melted pennies from all the places she has visited. Some things about Ava are: likes the color blue, Social Studies, hanging out with friends, playing on the IPod and Chinese or Italian food. Some day she hopes to be a pediatrician or a professional softball player. I bet you didn't know she was "double jointed". Look at the crazy picture. Have a great weekend and get out and enjoy the nice weather. Yayyy-I can take down the Christmas lights outside!!!

Fabulous!!!

Happy Thursday! Today was the final day of testing and these kids "rocked" it like Rock Stars!! Phenomenal growth made in math. Again, I will send home results next week so you can celebrate with your child at home. We finally got back into Science today with "Snowology". Ask your child to tell you what graupel is and if they can tell you, write graupel in the planner. In Math, we have been working on customary measurement and today we converted & compared measurement. Tomorrow we are moving into Metric measurement. Venture Theater: Permission slips came home today for Venture Theater if your child is interested. It is a 2 week commitment with practices M-F from 3:30-5:30 in the school gym. Hope to see a good representation from Team Hankins. This is a great opportunity. Science Night: PTA is once again sponsoring STEM night on Friday, January 31 from 6-8. The green note that came home today is asking for volunteers so if you can help out, call Terri. Blue Note: The blue note that came home from Mr. English today talking about the new security system. Please read it so you know the protocol when coming to Bitterroot. Tomorrow is PE so have those tennis shoes here. Recorders also. Have a great night.

New Student

We started off our day with a new student today. We are happy to WELCOME Emmanuel to Bitterroot. The students were very helpful & welcoming to him. Way to go Team Hankins!!! If they can tell you one thing about him, write "student" in the planner. We finished our MAP reading test today. Overall, students did well considering we had a few technical difficulties. Gotta love that technology!!!! After we finish the Math test tomorrow I will be sending home results of both tests next week. We wrote letters back to our pen pals today and I am going to be getting together with Ms. Erickson for us to plan a date for our classes to get together. That will so fun!! Mr. English had quite a fun day. Ask your child about what we did at 3:00. Also, ask about his new chair??? Great job wearing "black". Our class was well presented!!! Tomorrow is Music so get those recorders packed in your backpacks. If you do or they are already at school, write recorder in the planner. Remember testing again tomorrow. It is Math and I am so excited for this one as I feel we have learned so much in Math. Remember to get that good night's rest, healthy breakfast, snack, and bring gum. Have a great night and enjoy the nice weather.

SHHHH- It's a Secret!!

Yes, tomorrow is Mr. English's 50th birthday and we are all wearing black. As a school, we are making him a book. Each grade level has a different theme and our theme is: To have fun at age 50 you can…. Each student wrote & illustrated how to have fun at age 50. They were quite humorous. Ask your child what they wrote/illustrated and put 50 in the planner. HOMEWORK TONIGHT: We played a survival game in Social Studies today to go with our tour of the SE and what it was like to live in the Jamestown Colony in the early 1600's. They are to use the letter form that went home with them to write a letter to their brother, John telling him that he should come to America or stay in England. They need to give at least 3 reasons why he should stay or come and these are to be from the game. If your child does this tonight, write survival in the planner. You will see by their letter and your discussion with them that life back then was quite difficult. Tomorrow is the start of our MAP testing. We will be taking the Reading portion tomorrow. Students are encouraged to get a good night's rest, healthy breakfast, and bring a healthy snack. They may also bring gum to chew. Also, please send them off with a happy message of encouragement to work hard and do their "best" on the test. Have a great night.

Happy Monday & BRRRRR-Once again

Yes, indoor recess again today. I think we are "stuck" in winter. I know we can't complain compared to other places, but I am ready for some warmer weather, sunshine, and NO WIND!! Yikes-I think it is possessed. Anyway, in spite of it all, we had a great day in Team Hankins once again. We started Social Studies today with a quick check of the SE states & capitals. Let's just say-lots of practicing needs to be happening!!!! If they practice tonight, write practiced in the planner and we will try again tomorrow and I hope to see/hear improvement. Then we moved on to our tour of the SE. Ask your child what happens at Cape Canaveral. If they can tell you, write Florida in the planner. In Lead 21, we took our Unit 3 test-these went much better this time!! In Math, we learned about Gallon Bot Man-ask them to tell you about it and give you some equivalent measurements. We also did some more long division-I am so happy to announce-they are getting it!!!! During computer time, we took our SRI tests. They did great-ask your child what their goal was and how much above their goal they achieved!!! They were excited about their growth and I am so proud of them. Now they have to continue to work hard to keep it up and to increase even more throughout the year. Wednesday & Thursday are the MAP tests-we set our goals for them today too. Again-attendance is important for those days along with good night sleep, healthy breakfast/snack. Chewing gum too!!!! Just a heads up-on Monday, January 13th-they can bring their music electronics for Art. PE tomorrow so make sure you have those tennis shoes here. Have a great night and stay warm.

Happy TGIF!

Not a lot to report on today. Started the day out with Rusty's New Year's show. Students had to write down 3 "aahaa's about Rusty's show that they feel has made them a better person. Lots of great things were shared along with everyone sharing their special gift they have to offer to others. Again lots of positive thoughts/vibes. So happy that they are getting what I am hoping out of the morning meetings/shows. We finished our Geography challenge (except for a couple of you who have it for homework). They learned a lot of geographical traits about the SE. Ask them what a port city is and name 2 that are in Florida. If they can, write the names of them in the planner. Keep studying those states & capitals. We will have the test in the next couple of weeks. We will begin our tour of this region on Monday. Lead 21 kids read a story about the Chinese culture. We talked about their Chinese New Year. This story had great problem solving by 2 different groups of kids. Ask them what the story was about-what the problem was and how it was solved. Plans for the upcoming week: MAP testing days are on Wednesday & Thursday. Have a great sleep and nutritional breakfast. Along with that, bring a nutritional snack and also gum to chew. On Tuesday, we will take our SRI test which goes with ReadAbout and shows the growth in our Lexile levels. Again, I will be meeting with each child on Monday individually to go over their goals for all 3 tests. This will give them something to work for and they will be able to see their achievements right away. In Math next week, we are going to continue with customary measurement and then go into Metric measurement. In Social Studies, we will begin our SE tour. In Science, we are going to do some fun snow activities with "Snowology" since we have a lot of the white stuff these days. In Lead 21, we will begin Selection 3 along with the testing. Skills for the week in that area are: predicting, writing summaries, problem/solution, homophones along with synonyms. In Language, we are going to work on adjectives. On Wednesday afternoon we are going to finally write back to our pen pals. I am also meeting with Ms. Erickson next week to come up with a plan for a pen pal get together. New spelling list next week. Great job on getting PE shoes & recorders here today. Lucky for the PE shoes as they got a whole hour of PE today!!!! Thank you, Mrs. Buss. Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Great to be back!!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you. I hope you had an enjoyable break filled with lots of laughter, fun, and memories. I know I sure did. Once again these kids are amazing. They jumped right into learning today like they never skipped a beat. We started off with our morning meeting & Rusty. Rusty kicked off the New Year with a great poem about being "diamonds" and how each of us is a diamond going through pressures & changes. Ask them about it. Also, each of us wrote 2 goals for the new year. Ask your child what theirs is and write New Year in the planner. Then we started our Geography map skill activity for the Southeast region. We will finish it tomorrow. Make sure you are studying the states & capitals for the SE. Once again you should have the map to study at home and we use flash cards here at school. In Lead 21, we finished our Selection 2 and will test out tomorrow on the skills of context clues, generalizations, and visualizations. Speaking of tests, next week is going to be testing week. We will take the SRI reading test on Tuesday and then the Winter MAP tests for reading & math on Wed. and Thurs. So please don't make any appointments on these days if at all possible. Thank you-otherwise they have to be made up which means time out of the classroom. I will be meeting with each student individually on Monday to set up goals for the MAP tests. I will show them their Fall score and then add on to it the number of points that should be gained during this amount of time. It gives them a score to reach for and work hard towards. In Math today, we learned another new algorithm (strategy) for doing long division. It is similar to the old, "royal family" traditional way, but a bit different and seemed to help those students that were having difficulty with the other. So let's hope with lots of practice, it will get easier. We also continued our measurement unit with making our capacity cards. We will do a fun activity tomorrow called Gallon Bot Man. Mrs. Neese had a fun video today called "frienomy". Ask them about it and what they learned. If they can tell you, write "frienomy" in the planner. Not too sure how to spell it. :(((( New reading calendars went home today with some important dates on it also. Return Decembers tomorrow if you haven't already. Also, tomorrow is PE so get those tennis shoes here along with recorders for Music. Have a great night.