Congratulations to Team Hankins!!!

Team Hankins had a great week of achieving success with group effort/teamwork.  With many students participating in Box Tops & Labels for Education, we were treated to water, oranges, and rolls from the Log Cabin Bakery!!!  YUMMY!!!  A huge thank you to Jenny Jasper for collecting & counting all these which helps to buy PE/recess equipment for our school.  Then at the Read-A-Thon Assembly we were awarded our "mystery" prize for being the top readers for Grades 3-4.  Our reward was juice, homemade cookies, and an extra 30 min. of physical activity time in which we went out today and played "Spiders & Flies".  Lots of running & moving so we were able to work off those Log Cabin rolls & cookies!!!!  :)  It was fun watching them strategize while playing and having fun working together during that activity.  I can't say enough how I just LOVE these kids.  I hope they are enjoying 4th grade as much as I am enjoying them!!!!!
Also, Congratulations to James as he was the top reader in our classroom & to Willy for getting his name chosen for a Barnes & Noble gift card.  Thank you to Kristine Gaskill & Laura Lindseth for all their hard work counting up & adding all the minutes read.  Overall, Bitterroot School surpassed our school wide goal.  Make sure now that we KEEP ON READING!!!!!
We finished Round #1 of testing today as we took a 3 part Science Mont-Cas test.  Students worked hard showing all they know.
Happenings for next week:
Reading:  We are doing a whole class book called "Riding Freedom".  I am sure you will hear a lot about it as it is a fabulous book and full of adventure.  Skills/strategies we will be working on are:  predicting, questioning, connections, summarizing, main idea/detail, opinion/proof, vocabulary, and lots of figurative language.
Go Math:  mixed & improper fractions
Language-possessive pronouns & writing adventure/mystery stories
Spelling-Unit 25 word list
Montana History-we are almost to the Pacific Ocean & then heading back on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Ask your child who they got horses from and why they needed them and if they can tell you, write answers in the planner.
Congratulations to Carly as being our Student of the Week.  We learned lots of fun things about her.  Here are some of her favorites:  bacon, art, coloring, Harry Potter, Full House, and her favorite holiday is her birthday.  She is easy to make friends with and wants to get better at Math this year.  In 20 years, she hopes to be in the White House with her family!!!!  Will we have to wait until the year 2036 to have a female president???? :)
See the attached letter below explaining the fun "Penny War" we have going on.  Let's participate and make this a great event!!!
Have a great weekend and let's hope our Skyview Falcons do great in the Boys' AA Basketball Tournament.

Dear Bitterroot School Teachers:

Beginning March 14th, the student council will facilitate a school-wide “Ultimate Penny War.”  For this fundraiser, each classroom will place a large empty container at the office (we will provide the containers).  The students will compete against other classes in the school to raise the most money for the Braveheart Program, which provides resources for children struggling with personal loss in their lives.  All spare change and paper money counts. 

However, there is a catch.  Classes should put pennies in their own classroom jugs to count as a positive (+) gain in the war.  Other change and bills count against your classroom (-).  Put those bills/coins in other classroom jugs.  For example, if a class has 120 pennies in their own jug, another class can put a dollar bill and 2 dimes into that jug to cancel out the pennies.  This places the class back at zero in the war.  It is possible for your class to be in a negative balance as well, if more silver change and bills are in your jug than pennies.  No money amounts will be posted during the four weeks of this event.  Students must rely on looking at the jugs to determine where to put their own change during the war. Don’t let a class get too many pennies, without throwing some other change in to cancel it out.

On April 8^th, at the end of the event, the money will be taken to the bank, counted, and donated to the Braveheart program. A very small award may be presented to the classroom that wins the Penny War and to the classroom who has the most money in their jug overall.  However, it is important to realize that this event is for a positive cause of community service and not simply a means to have a classroom celebration.  This fundraiser has proven to be very effective when I have organized it in the past, and I can only imagine what kind of results we could have at Bitterroot.

If you have any questions about the organization please speak with Mr. White. If you have any questions about the fundraising war, please ask Mrs. Neese, Mrs. Anderson, or Mr. Crofutt.

Thank you and let the “Ultimate Penny War” begin!