Guest Teacher Tomorrow

Yes, the few of us on the school leadership team have our last training tomorrow.  I am so bummed that I will miss the Recorder Concert, but I am listening to it right now as they are having their dress rehearsal, and let me tell you, you are in for a treat as they sound AWESOME!!!!!  Remember it starts at 1:00 and should last about a 1/2 hour.
Today in Social Studies we went on our West Region tour and learned about Disneyland, The Central Valley, and Old Faithful.  Ask them 1 fact about each location and if they can tell you, write West tour in the planner.
Sub expectations-once again, please remind your child about expectations tomorrow when I am out of the classroom.  They know they need to work hard, be respectful, and responsible in order to go to Pompey's Pillar on Friday.
Have a good night.

Short Blog Posts

Hi Everyone-I am going to start having shorter blog posts as there is not as much to report on a daily basis from now until the end of the year.
Just a few reminders:  Recorders tomorrow for Music and Recorder Concert is on Wednesday at 1:00.  Hope you can make it.
Pompey's Pillar Field Trip is on Friday, May 22nd.  Those that took a 2nd permission slip home today, please get them signed and returned tomorrow.  Thank you.
Friday, May 29th is Field Day and Monday, June 1st is Awards Day at 10:00 for Intermediate.
Have a great night.

Happy Friday!

Hope you had a great week-another week down and not many to go.  We had a great week full of testing and showing such positive growth.  Great job Team Hankins!!
Next week brings a more normal week with one more test to go and that is the End of the Year Lead 21 test.  Not sure what day we will be doing it on as of yet.
Recorder Concert is on Wednesday, May 20th at 1:00 so hopefully it is already on your calendar.
Pompey's Pillar is on Friday.  If you haven't brought your permission slip yet, please do so on Monday.
Have a great weekend.

Indian Game Fun!!

Today we were treated by Mrs. Neiter from Orchard Elem. and Mr. Barcus from Riverside Middle School along with some 4th grade students from Orchard.  They came and taught us a couple of Indian Games that were tradition back in the early days.  The games were called the "Scream Game" & "Double Ball".  Before even playing they gave the students a bit of history on the games, how they are made from things in nature, and how each game symbolizes something.  Ask your child what they learned about each game.  Then we went outside and got to play each of them.  The students did great and had a lot of fun working independently for one and as a team for the other.  Ask them what they learned today about them and which was their favorite and write it in the planner for free money.  Also, it was very kind of the students who came to give each of them a stick that they used in the "run & scream" game.
In Lead 21, we started our Book Club book-Riding Freedom.  Students used their strategies to predict so ask them what they predict the book will be about.  I will give more on this book as we start reading it.
We started our West Region tour today visiting a location we already knew lots about.  If they can tell you it, write it in the planner.
Remember to return Library books for tomorrow as well as permission slips for Pompey's Pillar which is on Friday, May22nd.
Have a great night.

Finished!!!!

Yes, we have finished the MAP testing and I must say these kids have proven to all of us that they worked hard this year, rose up to the high expectations, and grew a ton!!!  They are feeling proud and rightfully so.  We are all PROUD of them too.  I think they will agree that Mrs. Hankins's being hard/tough on them has paid off!!!  :)  Ask them which of the 3 they grew the most in and write it in the planner.
Tomorrow we have a fun surprise-Mrs. Neiter is going to be coming with some of her high school students to do some Indian games with the kids.  Can't wait.  I will post some pics tomorrow.
Tomorrow is also HE/PE so remember those shoes.
Permission slips went home today for Pompey's Pillar.  Get them back as soon as you look them over and sign them.
Some dates to mark on the calendar:
Hat Day on Friday-For $1.00 students can wear a hat and the proceeds will go to the Boeckel Family.
Pompey's Pillar on Friday, May 22nd.
Field Day on Friday, May 29.
Have a great night.

Holy Moly Batman!!!!

I knew we were learning lots in Math this year, but never imagined that the growth was going to be so phenomenal.  These kids are really the "Einstein's of Math" as they like to call themselves.  Their hard work during class time with all the IXL practice have really paid off.  Ask them what their score was and how many points they grew and write AWESOME in the planner.
Tomorrow we will finish up the MAP testing with Language.  Once again have a healthy breakfast, snack, rest, and bring gum to chew if you wish.
We finished our West Region Geography challenge today and will start the tour of this region tomorrow.
Remember recorders tomorrow if you forgot yours today.
Have a great night.

Positive Growth!!

Yes, we took the Reading NWEA (MAP) test today and we had some positive growth which is great to see.  Tomorrow we are doing the Math which I am super excited about.  We have done so much in math this year that I can't wait for them to show what they learned & know.
Remember free money for being here and for making positive growth!!!!!
Not a lot to report since the morning was filled with HE/PE and testing.
This afternoon, we started our West Region Geography Challenge with partners.  Ask them 2 new locations they found and if they can tell you, write them in the planner.
Remember recorders tomorrow.
The recorder concert in on Wednesday, May 20th at 1:00.
Have a great night.

Way to Go Team Hankins!!!!

Great job at the field trip today.  We learned a lot of new things about the environment and Arbor Day all the way from water safety, plant identification, recycling, trees, how plants make food, and the Asian Beetle. We went to 7 different stations so for the blog question, ask your child what are 5 things they learned.  If they can tell you, write Arbor Day in the planner.  Also, kuddos to the kids as they made positive choices today and made their teacher & Bitterroot proud.  They were troopers with the weather too.  I was dressed very warm, but got a bit chilly myself so some that came not dressed real warm got a bit chilled.  Thank goodness for the fire at lunch to warm up a bit.
Next week starting on Monday, we will be taking our NWEA (MAP) tests.  Once again students are to have a good healthy breakfast & snack and get a good night's rest.  Students will be getting $100 fake money each day that they show up for the test and another $100 showing some good growth in their scores from Fall to Spring.  Wow-what a great way to earn $600 and enough to pay for the next field trip!!!
PTA movie tonight from 6-8.  If your child goes, write PTA in the planner for free money.
Have a great weekend.

Field Trip Tomorrow!!!

Yes, tomorrow we are going on our Arbor Day Field Trip to Riverfront Park.  Everyone gets to go as they bought in with $500 fake money so that means they must be making positive choices!!!  :)
We are leaving right at 8:30 so students need to arrive to school on time or they will miss the bus and not be allowed to go.  We need to be there by 8:45 to be ready for station rotation at 9:00.  Students will be rotating to different stations before lunch and then after lunch, they will be planting trees.
We have talked about expectations for this day as a whole group, but would love for you to discuss it at home again with your child.  If you do, write discussion in the planner.  We talked about using positive character by maintaining a positive attitude, doing what is asked & expected, listening to speakers and adults in charge, no running around and acting immature, etc.  They also are award of the fact that if they can't prove they can maintain themselves here, going to Pompey's Pillar may NOT be an option for them.  I know they will all do well and have a great, fun, educational day.  The one thing we won't have on our side is the weather.  So again they have been reminded to dress for the weather.  Warm clothes, rain coats ( not sure they will have the ability to carry umbrellas or not) if they need to be using their hands and the umbrellas being in the way because they sit too high.  They can bring them and we will leave them on the bus if we can't have them or if we don't need them.  Let's hope.  Also, they need to have comfortable walking shoes-no flip flops.  Bring your sack lunch if you are and Ms. Becky will have your school sack lunch ready for you if you ordered one.  They will be supplying water bottles for us.
As you can see, we enjoyed our owl pellet dissection today.  We found all kinds of bones.  They had a sorting chart to use to sort their bones to see what it is that their owl ate.  Lots of rodents were consumed!!!!
We will be back in time for Library tomorrow so bring those books.
Have a great night.

Happy Wacky Wednesday

Today was a fun, busy day!!!  Students finished their fun art projects today.  I am not going to tell you what they are as I think some of the students are giving them as Mother's Day gifts.
Lead 21 students are working hard on their writing portion of the Benchmark test #3.  All I can say is that the ones that finished today did an awesome job of comparing/contrasting 2 different animals.  Ask your child what animals they chose and write them in the planner.
Owl pellet dissection tomorrow-we started today by doing some predicting, measuring & sketching of what they think they look like, how many bones they will find, and measuring them both in inches and centimeters.  Tomorrow the fun will begin as we see how close our sketches were and how many bones we find.  We also will share owl facts that were researched and continue to read our Read-A-Loud book called "Owls in the Family".  Ask them how many bones they predicted they will find and write it in the planner.
Congratulations to the Fit Kids participants as they received awards today.  Keep up the habit of making/taking time to put exercise into your daily routine.  It is so very important.
PTA movie night coupons came home today.  It is Annie on Friday, May 8th from 6-8.  Free money if you come.
Remember PE shoes tomorrow.
I also told kids they can have a re-do of National Ride Your Bike to School Day tomorrow since the weather didn't cooperate with us too much this morning.  They will still receive free money for participation.
Have a great night.

States & Capitals Went Home Today

West Region states & capitals went home today so start studying.  We made flash cards to use here at school.  We will start the geography challenge for this region tomorrow and continue with touring of the region.  Ask your child to tell you 4 states & capitals from the region and if they can tell you, write west region in the planner.
Field trip to Riverfront Park is on Friday.  Students will need to bring their sack lunch if coming from home, dress appropriately for the weather and being outside, comfortable walking shoes (No flip flops), and mostly of all, good listening skills along with positive character traits.
We will be starting our NWEA (MAP) tests on Thursday if the 3rd grades get done tomorrow.  So let's plan for it by bringing a healthy snack, gum, and making sure you have a good night's rest and a healthy breakfast.
Tomorrow is Bike to School Day.  Students who ride their bikes to school with a helmet will get some extra free money for participating.  Be safe everyone.
Have a great night.

Field Trip Friday

Yes, we are going to Riverfront Park on Friday to celebrate Arbor Day through the Parks & Rec. Department.  Anyone who hasn't brought back permission slips need to do so by tomorrow.
I will post more about the trip later in the week.
Great job to the kids for having good sub behavior on Thursday afternoon as I was out.
We are going to be starting our NWEA (MAP) testing possibly this Thursday if all goes well for the other classes testing early this week.  If not, for sure on Monday, May 11th and go that week.  We are now working on lots of review in Math to prepare ourselves for them.
We have been talking about finishing the year strong.  Please talk to your child about how you expect the same thing from them.  If you have this talk, write "finish strong" in the planner.
Dissecting owl pellets-we will be doing this later this week.
Also, I will be sending home the states & capitals for the West Region tomorrow.
In Montana History, we finished the section on trapping/trading.  Now we are going to move into the section on Mining.
Remember recorders tomorrow.
Have a great night.