Last Night for Read-A-Thon

Yes, tonight is the last night of the read-a-thon. So let's end strong and have 100% participation. We are definitely in the lead for class totals for Grades 3 & 4. Good Job, Team Hankins!!! I think most of the kids have gotten all the minute prizes. Today in Montana History, we got to read a snippet from Clark's journal. Ask them about the ordeal he recorded in the journal about meeting the Salish Indians. Ask them why the indians thought the white men in the corps had short hair. Put it in the planner if they can tell you. Today in Math, we compared and ordered fractions. We have learned so much about fractions & decimals that it made this skill quite simple. :) Finished sharing our Persuasive writing today. These were good and quite convincing with lots of good evidence. I am keeping these though and filing them with their assessments so you won't see them. Remember recorders again tomorrow and PE shoes. If ordering a school yearbook, orders are due tomorrow. Have a great night.

Way to Go Girls' Heights Honor Choir

Yes, we were treated to a great performance this morning by the Girls' Heights Honor Choir. We are so proud of all the girls, but especially Grace & Sydnie. You girls looked and sounded fantastic!!! Today in Montana History, we learned about the tribe that stole the 24 horses from Clark and his men on their return trip close to Pompey's Pillar. If they can tell you, write its' name in the planner. In Science, we continued with our worm facts and we found out how many hearts a worm has. Find out how many and write it in the planner. Lead 21 kids started Unit 5 today on the Midwest. We found out it was called America's Heartland. HMMMM-I wonder why-ask and they will tell you. We also started sharing our Persuasive paragraph writing. I have to say, they did a great job. We will share the rest of them tomorrow during our language time. Tomorrow is Music so make sure you have those recorders here. Bring those snow clothes as we hope to get out tomorrow if this crazy wind goes down and we can get out without it being below 0 wind chill. Read-Read-Read-only a few days left of the Read-A-Thon. Everyone on Team Hankins is helping out and many kids are receiving their coupons.-Great job!! Have a great night.

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As you can see, we finished our biographies. Great job to the Lead 21 kiddos. We also finished our Lewis & Clark Expedition today. They made it safely back to St. Louis. Ask your child who took care of and educated Pompey as he got older. Write it in the planner. In math today, we started decimals, fractions, and percentages. Remember Library Books tomorrow. Today, we auctioned off the clues to the missing book. Lots of big bucks were paid for these items. Read-Read-Read-we are up 13,676 minutes. Way to go Team Hankins. Keep it up!!! Have a great night.

Mystery of the Missing Book is Solved

Yes, today was an exciting day in Room 6 as we received the 4th & 5th clues to the missing book mystery. The kids solved it and got a cool dog tag for their efforts. Ask them the name of the book and write it in the planner. In Math, today we learned how to multiply fractions. Have your child show you how to multiply 5/6 x 3/4 and put the answer in the planner in simplified form. Biography sharing-these kids did an amazing job on their biographies. We have learned so much from each other and we will finish them up tomorrow. New spelling list came home today. Montana History-we are on our return expedition trip and finally made it to Pompey's Pillar. Have a discussion with them about why Lewis & Clark split up and which one came down the Yellowstone River to Pompey's and which one explored the Marias, and who did Sacajawea go with. Also, ask what happened to Clark's groups' horses. Write it in the planner. Tomorrow we should be able to go outside if the temps. warm up so bring all your snow gear. Also PE so bring those tennis shoes. Fitness Club is tomorrow and Thursday again for our 8 kiddos. Have a good night.

Bitterroot Olympics

Yes, our fun 6th grade classes put on a mini olympics for us this morning with 4 events. They were in charge of setting them up, running the events and then calculating the results. The results are in and we have our medal winners!!! Gold goes to Phil, Silver to Tristan, and Bronze to Isaiah. Great job to these winners and everyone who participated. Fun was had by all!!! Thank you 6th grade. Now everyone can watch the end of the olympics as they come to a close this weekend. We only got 3 biographies shared today due to this olympic activity so we will get the rest done on Monday. Sorry, if this deadline of Friday was an inconvenience for you, but now look at it this way-it is done and the weekend is free!!!! 3rd Clue today for our Read-A-Thon. The curiosity is definitely there to solve the mystery of the lost book with these clues. Make sure you read this weekend. Lots of minutes to earn this weekend. Congratulations to Phil, our student of the week. We enjoyed all that you shared with us. Lots of fun pictures, your coyote caller was cool, and your autographed baseball card. Some of his favorites are: blue, Twisted Journeys, baseball, crab, HE/PE, and some day we wants to be on the PGA Tour-who knows he may be the next favorite Phil golfer of mine. As you know, I am a Phil Mickelson fan. I actually got to meet him and have a picture taken with him!!!! The think we never knew about Phil is that he can squeak his ear!!! :) Plans for the week of February 24-28. In Math, we are moving from fractions to fractions with decimals & percentages. So students will write .89 as 89/100, and 89% or 4/5 as .80 & 80% so we will have to find the common denominator of 10 or 100. Lead 21, we will begin Unit 5 on the Midwest or Central region of the U.S. Skills this week will be main idea/details, antonyms, and prefixes. In Science, we will continue with our worm study. In Montana History, we will be finishing up the Lewis & Clark Expedition and learning some detailed facts about the Indian tribes they encountered along the way. Then we will get back into Social Studies & the Midwest Region for awhile. Unit 25 spelling words. Mid-terms went home today. Great job-remember to work hard to get those grades up from last quarter. If you saw your child's grades, write mid-terms in the planner. Have a great weekend and remember to READ-READ-READ!!!!

Two Clues

Yes, we received 2 clues to the missing books that are part of our read-a-thon. Way to go, Team Hankins. Excited to see what tomorrow brings when we have enough minutes to get our 3rd clue!!!! We can do it!!!!! Today, we started adding pictures to our return trip maps of the expedition. Ask your child what they had to do at Fort Clatsop that winter/spring to get salt to preserve their meet because they ran out of the salt they took. If they can tell you, write salt in the planner. Today in Math, we learned to add fractions with unlike denominators. Have your child do 3/5 + 2/10. Do it and write the answer in the planner. I am so excited with all the growth and learning that is happening in math. Worms-worms-worms-we started our cool worm fact book. Have a fun discussion of what they learned and write worms in the planner if they can give 3 fun facts. Yes, and I am sure worm casts (poo) will be one of them. Remember tomorrow is recorders again. Read-Read-Read tonight!!!!!! Biographies due tomorrow. Have a great night.

Day 1 of Read-A-Thon is in the Books

Yes, we have completed Day 1 for the Read-A-Thon and our class read a total of 1442 minutes. Way to Go Team Hankins. We are Oh so close to getting our first clue. Not everyone in the class helped us out last night so just think if everyone does tonight we may get 2 clues!!!! How awesome is that!!! So if your child reads at least 30 min. tonight, write "clue" in the planner. Great job to those of you that got coupons today-way to go!! Make sure you return the envelope again tomorrow. Also, saw a lot of Mystery books come from the library today!! We didn't get a lot of Lead 21 time in today due to the Spelling Bee which was for 5th & 6th grade, but we got to go as I was a judge and plus these kids will have a chance to be in it next year. Remember to keep working on those biographies. We started worms today in Science. Lots of fun observations & facts. Ask your child 2 things they learned about worms today and if they can tell you, write worms in the planner. Mid-terms go home on Friday for 3rd quarter already. Where does the time go? Recorders tomorrow for Music. Have a great night.

READ-A-THON STARTS TODAY!!!!

Yes, PTA kicked off our annual read-a-thon with an assembly today. The theme is: "Clued Into Reading". Students are challenged to read at least 30-45 min./night and mark it on the envelope that came home today. Also, they are encouraged to get "sponsors" or "pledges" for their reading. Each day, class min. read/night will be added up and we will get clues to solve the mystery of the lost books in the library. The amount of clues we get depends on the minutes we read. So as you can see, it is a TEAM effort and we want to add up lots of minutes to get the clues we need to solve the mysteries first!!! GO TEAM HANKINS!!! Prizes will be awarded daily for minutes read individually. Also, at the end of the 10 day read-a-thon, top readers from each grade level group will receive a pretty awesome prize like an IPOD shuffle or a tablet. Are these worth reading for??? Definitely!!!! The students with the most sponsors will receive awards too. The class with the most total minutes at the end receives a pizza party. So GO TEAM HANKINS-LET'S DO THIS!!!! If you went over this with your child and you are already reading at least 30 min. tonight, write "clued in" in the planner. Remember the envelopes have to travel back and forth each day from school to home and back. Just so you know, the minutes for this also count on our monthly reading calendars so it is not "double" duty. Any questions, please ask. Today in Math, we had a great review on fractions. YAYYY-we made it to the Pacific Ocean in Montana History. Shortly we will be on our way back. Today, the students learned about the difficult task of going over the Bitterroot Mountains with horses and getting to the Columbia River. Ask them what they did to the horses that they left with the Nez Perce Indians so they would know they were theirs when they came back as they would need them again to cross back over the mountains on the return trip. If they can tell you, write what it is in the planner. Lead 21 kids brainstormed and came up with individual ideas for their persuasive paragraphs. Ask your child what their topic is. We will start the actual writing part tomorrow. We also started our Benchmark assessment for the end of Unit 4. These will take 2-3 days to complete. Biographies due on Friday. We have 2 great models of completed ones already. Can't wait to share and learn lots of new info. on famous people. Mason was our student of the week last week, but we never had a moment to share on Thursday so we did this morning. We enjoyed learning all about him, his family, and his interests. AS you can see by the photo, he loves karate and is doing a great job with it. Some of his favorites are: blue, Percy Jackson, crab, HE/PE, playing with friends. When he grows up he wants to be on the SWAT team. Way to go, Mason. Have a great night.

Fun Valentine's Day Celebration

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As you can see from the pics, we had a great morning of sharing friend time & making memories. The committees did an amazing job. It was so fun to sit back and see them take on the leadership roles. It started with the decorating committee coming in at 7:45 and prepping the room and handing out valentine necklaces at the door as the kids entered the room that morning. The room looked great and very festive. Then the food committee set up the great spread of food. Thank you for the yummy healthy treats. The set up committee took their recess time and set the room up for a great party. Then the entertainment committee took over setting up a scavenger hunt, game stations, and then some ghost dancing. We didn't get to one of the games so will save it for a Friday afternoon fun. So great job to all the kids and thank you to you parents for all your contributions of decorations, food, games, and support. We could't have done it without you. Upcoming objectives for the week. In Math, we are continuing with our fractions unit by adding/subtracting with unlike denominators. In Science, we are starting our worm unit. Fun hands on and full of facts & information. In Language, continue to work on parts of speech. In Reading, we are taking our Benchmark assessment for Lead 21 and then moving into Unit 5 which is on the midwest which will lead us into our Midwest section in Social Studies after we finish our Lewis & Clark Expedition in Montana History. In writing, we are going to be working on Persuasive Paragraph writing. Be thinking about what you want to write about and persuade others to do or think about. Have a great rest of the weekend and cya Tuesday.

Valentine's Party Tomorrow

Hi there-hope you all had a great day. I had a good day looking at all our Bitterroot testing data and I am so happy to announce that Bitterroot School is doing an amazing job!! Great job to all our students, parents, and teachers. Just a reminder that decorating committee is welcome to come in at 7:45 to decorate the room. Food committee make sure you bring all your goodies, and entertainment committee bring all you plan to do. Set up committee will be able to set the room up at recess. Thank you to all the kids for doing a great job with this and parents, thank you for your $ contribution for buying things to make this a fun day. Remember those boxes or bags too. Hope you had a great day with the sub and will cya tomorrow.

Guest Teacher Tomorrow

Yes, I will be out at meetings tomorrow so there will be a guest teacher. Please go over expectations with your child. Thank you. Today in Montana History, we finally got to the part where the Corps of Discovery gets their horses from the Shoshone. Ask them how many and write it in the planner. We also found out what they did with some of their extra supplies as they can't take them all. Have a fun discussion about this tonight. Lots of great information. Biographies due date has been extended to Friday, February 21st. When doing my plans for next week, I realized we won't be able to share them until then anyway so why not have them due then. So a few extra days to work on them!!! In math today we learned how to turn an improper fraction into a mixed fraction so have them turn 16/9 into a mixed and write it in the planner for free money. Tomorrow is Library so get those books here. Remember to bring your Valentine items in for the party on Thursday. Have a great night.

Fraction Fun

Today in math, we learned about mixed & improper fractions. We learned how to change a mixed to an improper. Have your child show you how to change 4 1/3 into an improper fraction. Put it in the planner. Lewis Clark Expedition today took us to Three Forks, MT and up to the Bitterroot Mtns. Ask your child what 3 rivers meet at Three Forks and write them in the planner. Also, ask what Indian Tribe the expedition met today and why that is going to be important and write it in the planner. Lead 21 kids are doing a great job with their space facts/opinions and connections. Most are done, but some have it for homework. Tomorrow we are testing on Selection 2 of Unit 4. Make sure you are working on your independent biographies. Discuss with parents tonight where you are on your project and you will report to us in class tomorrow. Doing this to keep everyone working on it and not procrastinating. Remember the Early Out Day on Thurs. and No School Friday or Monday, February 17th. Bring those Valentine bags/boxes, treats on Thursday and no earlier. Yes, there is a spelling list this week along with our test on Thursday morning. Raffle tickets-yes, there were some disappointments today as not everyone earned a ticket for good behavior, but they are getting harder to earn as the expectations bar is rising!!!! They know what to do to earn tickets to be eligible for the end of the day drawings for treats. Have a great night.

Happy Friday

We had a treat today that came all the way from California and performed for us in the gym. They were with the performing arts. Ask your child about it and if they can tell you what the instrument the guy played was, write the name of it in the planner. Nothing new in math today as we fixed our mistakes together as a group on our simplifying fractions assignment. Lead 21 students, make sure you are working on your biographies. If you worked on them a little bit this weekend, write biography in the planner. Be working on those Valentines along with your valentine boxes or bags. Bring them to school no earlier than Thursday along with any treats or items you need to for the valentines party. Thank you to all of you for agreeing to bring whatever was on the white slip. Students on the set-up committee didn't get one as they have nothing to bring. Good week this week as we were indoors all week and the kids did a great job. We did get some movement in though as I have some fun fitness videos that we did to get the wiggles out. Remember PTA movie night tonight from 6-8. Write movie in the planner if you go for $300. Kaelynn was our Student of the Week. Some of her favorites are: pink, spelling, Lacrosse, the book-Betsy Ross, and her favorite movie is "Lady and the Tramp". When she grows up, she wants to be President of the U.S.-how cool is that. Speaking of cool-what we didn't know about her is that she can put her foot behind her head as in the picture. We loved all you shared with us, Kaelynn and enjoyed hearing all about you.

Little White Slips

Little white slips came home today with what your child has volunteered you/them for for the Valentine's Day Party. Like I said before they planned the whole party in their committees so this is what they came up with. So fun to sit back and watch them take leadership roles though. Please write "yes" in the planner tomorrow if you are ok with what you are to send and "no" if not, so we can make some changes. Thank you Celebration!!! We took our multiplication & division test today and everyone that was here passed so that is awesome. There are 2 people that need to take it tomorrow. So if your child was at school today and took it, make sure you look at it and celebrate. Indoor recess all week-the kids have been inside all week, but have been doing great. Tomorrow is PE so get those tennis shoes here. Also, recorders again tomorrow. Tomorrow is PTA movie night in the gym from 6-8 and if you come you will earn $300. That would be a great opportunity for those of you that haven't bought into the valentine party yet. Let's hope for some warmer weather. Have a great night.

Staff Meeting Tonight So Short Post

Short post today due to staff meeting tonight. Valentine's Day committees met and decided on what they wanted to do/bring. Slips will go home tomorrow so you know. Please-please let me know if what they decided that YOU could buy-bring, or make will not work. Thank you. Today in Montana History, our Lewis & Clark Expedition continued. We are now into Montana and just got to a small river tributary on the Missouri River that L & C named after a very "quilly" animal. Write it in the planner. In Math we have been working hard on simplifying fractions. Have your child simplify 6/10 and do it in the planner. Make sure Lead 21 kids are working on those biographies. Recorders needed for tomorrow. Remember Fit Kids Club for the 8 of you tomorrow. Have a great night.

Committees Are Set

Yes, the committees are set and almost everyone got their 1st choice so that worked out great. I just picked sticks and they chose their committee-this seemed to be the fairest way. Tomorrow kids will meet in their groups to decide what each group member needs to bring or do for the party. Then on Thursday, I will send home a slip to let you know what your family needs to bring. Any questions, let me know. Also, students decided that they wanted to choose to either make a valentine box or bag. Most chose boxes and only 7 chose bags so I will be supplying a white bag with handles to those 7. The rest are on their own to decorate a box and have it here no earlier than the day of the party, February 13th due to lack of space. Lead 21 students brought home their biography packets today. Once they are done reading their books, researching the internet, etc. they are ready to start the project. They will need to get the tagboard at the Dollar Store, Wal-Mart, or wherever as we don't have enough colored here at school. Remember they are due on February 18th. We started our Lewis & Clark expedition today and found out some interesting facts as they traveled from St. Louis to Mandan, ND. Ask your child what the only person who died on the expedition died from. Also, ask them why they had to spend the winter in Mandan, and why they take Sacajawea along. Put all 3 answers in the planner for free money. As we travel along, they are putting stickers and facts on a map and we are making a class timeline. Simplifying fractions in math was started today. We are working hard on finding those "greatest common factors (GCF) to do this. Remember Library Books for tomorrow. Have a great night.

Happy Monday

Ok-not so sure it is a Happy Monday. I don't know about you, but I am over winter!!!!!!! Actually, we had a good day in Room 6 once we got the "boring" SuperBowl discussion out of the way. There were a mixture of feelings; frustrated, excited, puzzled. Needless to say, I was a bit puzzled at the lop-sided outcome. But, hats off to the Seahawks as they played a great game in all facets. Committees were discussed for our Valentine's Day Party which will be happening on Thursday, February 13th. This is our Early Out day. Committees available for your child to sign up for are: food, decorating, entertainment, and set-up. Please visit with your child tonight and come up with a #1 & 2 choice and write them in the planner. Then tomorrow, they will be able to sign up on the sign up sheet. Then after tomorrow and committees are set, students will get together in their committees to discuss & decide what each person is going to bring. Then I will be sending home a slip by Friday listing what it is your child is assigned to bring. I hope this is somewhat clear, but if not, please email me with any questions. Class names are listed on the side for valentines. Valentine Bags-I have decided to have kids decorate bags for their valentines and I will be getting them a bag by Thursday. Today, Lead 21 students shared their group biographies. Now expectations have been set for individual biographies and requirement packets will come home tomorrow. This whole project is worth 100 points so a huge part of their reading grade for Quarter 3. Math homework: Some students may have math homework tonight as they didn't get a lot of time to work on assignment before Art started. They should be able to do it on their own as we did lots & lots of practice finding those "common denominators". New Reading calendars came home today. Also, along with reading, the PTA is once again sponsoring their annual read-a-thon. Little yellow sheets went home today just to get you thinking about it and giving the requirements. Start looking them over and as you can see, it doesn't start until February 18th. PTA sponsors Family Movie Night on Friday, February 7th from 6-8 in the gym. Free money to those who attend. Please note: Thursday, February 13 is a 12:00 dismissal and No School on the 14th or 17th. Today's HR is on Buddy Holly, the composer of many "oldies". Have a discussion about him and write in the planner his most famous song. Indoor Recess-yes since the week is expected to be below zero-I told students that they can bring games from home if they wish to play and share them with classmates. They will be responsible for them. They have been getting lots of use this winter of our classroom ones and I just thought they may want a change of pace. Fit Kids Club starts tomorrow at 3:15-4:00 and runs until May every Tuesday & Thursday. Please make arrangements for your child to get be here and get picked up by 4:00. This is a long commitment that they need to carry through. Students in our class are: Phil, Caden, Kylee, Isaiah, Kaitlin, Hanna, Jacoby, and Kiernan. Have a great night and stay warm.