Metric Olympics Finished

Yes, we finished the Olympics today and had lots of math skills put into that 1 activity.
Ask your child what their favorite event was & why and write it in the planner.
In math today we made line plots using fractions/decimals.  Also, we are having a great review of previously taught skills.
Game Boards are going to be played tomorrow in Lead 21.  A few groups finished today and already got to play theirs.  Should be fun tomorrow when we all play.
In Montana History we learned about what happened to the beaver and what was taken for the hides after that.  Ask your child what happened to the beaver and what the new animal was and what happened that caused such animal piles & a bad odor on the plains. :(((((
Remember tomorrow is HE/PE.
There are still a few people who need to bring their $2 for the owl pellets and they know who they are.
Have a great night.

Metric Olympics Continued

Today we continued with the metric olympics outside doing the javelin using pool noodles, discus throw using tupperware lids, and the basketball shoot.  Once again students estimated as to how far they would throw, then they found the actual distance after they threw and then had to find the difference.  We didn't finish the Discus Throw today and will finish tomorrow.
Today was the last day for Mrs. Hanson, the nutritionist, that has come to our classroom for the past 6 weeks.  We learned a lot from her.  Have a great discussion with your child about what at least 5 things they learned.  If they can tell you, write nutrition in the planner.  Tomorrow we are going to write "thank you" notes to her.  Ask them what "yummy" snack they had today.
Remember to have yarn for art tomorrow.
$2 for owl pellets if you haven't paid yet.
Toilet paper rolls needed.
Have a great night.

Happy Monday

We started Metric Olympics in Math today and did 2/5 events.  Ask your kids what we did and how they did with their estimation vs. actual measurements.  If they were able to tell you, write Metrics in the planner.  Tomorrow we go outside to do the other 3.  If any of you have a pool noodle we can use for our javelin toss-that would be great. Thank you.
Lead 21 game boards are a work in progress and should be done by Wednesday.  We hope to play them on Thursday.  Then the following week we will take Benchmark test #3 and after that our Reading MAP test.
Owl pellets-we will be dissecting them next week so please get your $2 to me this week if you haven't already done so.  Thank you.
New PTA news/calendar went home today.  Check out the important dates.
Also, students will need a spool of yarn for Art on Wednesday.
Also, save toilet paper rolls and send to school as you get them for the Art teacher and Mr. English.  Thank you.
Have a great night.

Happy Friday!

Thank you to those of you who turned in your $2 for the owl pellets.  Please get your money to me by this coming Thursday so your child will be able to participate in the dissection.  Thank you.
Upcoming Week:  We will get to have a so called normal week this week as no testing schedule to follow.  So here are the happenings:

Lead 21-We are going to finish & play our game boards and start on our 3rd & final Benchmark assessment.

Math-We are going to making line plots with fractions and then reviewing year long skills in preparation for the MAP testing.  Monday will be the Metric Olympic activities.  Remember to dress for the activities.
Language-finish up our cumulative review.
Spelling Unit 32 words
Montana History-finishing up the trapping/trading
Social Studies-starting the West Region
Science-owl studies

Here is the letter that Mr. English wants us to post on our blogs.

Dear Families,
Thank you for your generous support of the November 2013 school bond.  You made it possible for some long overdue repairs to update our 50 year old building.  This summer our school is getting new windows, lighting, ceilings, and room heating units.  With this great blessing comes the challenges that we have to be completely moved our of the building by June 8th.  It is a huge task so we have decided as a staff to "eat the elephant one bite at a time."  As a result, you may find things like bulletin boards and books are being packed in your child's classroom on an ongoing basis.  During this time we will be looking for educationally sound opportunities that give staff some time to pack but keep students engaged in positive learning activiites.  There may be a grade level PE event on the playground or a movie in the gym.  We will keep you informed as these opportunities arise.  Thank you for your patience.  It will be a little pinch for a big gain.

Gratefully,

John English
Principal, Bitterroot School

Have a great weekend everyone.

Round 1 of Testing is Complete!!!!

Yes, even though we had some technical glitches today, we finished the SBAC testing which we are happy about.  We will be doing the MAP (NWEA) testing the week of May 11th.  These are the ones that give students & teachers the best data because they are comparing their fall scores to their spring scores to show the growth they made throughout the year and they aren't compared to any other 4th graders by themselves!!!!
Today in Montana History, we learned more about the trapping/trading era of our state's history and how the Indians & Metis were so important during this era and how many trappers operated in brigades(teams)  but how some became free trappers(more individual, or one or 2 companions)  Ask them which method actually worked out best and what it was called that this group of trappers met at each time every year.  If they can tell you, write rendezvous in the planner.
Tomorrow we get back to our normal schedule.  YAAAAYYYY!  So we will finish up our measurement unit in Math and work on our gameboards in Lead 21.
Remember Library books tomorrow.
Have a great night.

Owls

Yes, we just started a new Read-A-Loud called:  "Owls in the Family".  It is a great realistic fiction story with lots of facts & fun about owls.  So this is going to be our Science studies for awhile.  As our culminating activity for this unit, we are going to be dissecting owl pellets.  They are safe & sterilized.  Each student is asked to bring in $2 to cover the cost of their individual pellet.  They can bring the $ anytime, but for sure by Thursday, April 30th.  Thank you.  As far as a blog question, ask them why the boys in the book didn't find owl nests close to the crows and what a baby owl is called.  Write the answers in the planner.
Last day of testing tomorrow.  Today we did the ELA performance test.  It had only 4 questions, but they had to read a variety of sources and had to write either a story or a paragraph.  Lots of hard work put into it.  Tomorrow's is going to be the same thing, but it is Math so I am sure students will have to find perimeter & area of garden plots as that was the preparation activity we did today.  So let's finish strong Team Hankins.
Tomorrow is PE so get those shoes here.
Have a great night.

Happy Tuesday

Busy, crazy day today.  First of all, I need to commend the students for their hard work once again on the Math CAT test which is the SBAC portion of math with lots of different math questions with some difficulty.  We now have the 2 longest ones done.  Tomorrow we are going to do the ELA (reading) performance test which has fewer questions, but with more writing/keyboarding short answers.  Then on Thursday, we will be doing the Math performance test.  So once again, attendance the next 2 days is so important so they don't get behind.
With Mrs. Neese today, students watched a short video of a lady that started and ice cream shop and it showed how she worked hard and believed in herself and now this day, she owns many different ice cream shops.  So then they got in groups and made posters of careers.  Ask your child some of the careers they came up with and ask them what they hope their career is going to be and write it in the planner.
We started our SW states & capitals test today.  They got that part done, but now we are finishing the location part and they get to use their map notes that they took as we learned about 10 different locations in this area.  This is going to show how well they listened, followed along, and took good notes.  No reason not to get a 100% on this.
Please see the note from Mr. English. Ok-so the letter didn't copy, paste, and transfer to this blog so I will try again tomorrow.  So in a nutshell,  Bitterroot School is getting new lighting, new windows, and heating vents.  What this means is that every teacher in the building needs to pack EVERYTHING up and get it out of their classrooms.  This needs to be done by Monday, June 8th.   As you can see, we are going to be busy at the end of the year wrapping up the year and also packing everything up. So what Mr. English mentioned in his newsletter is that students may be involved in a little extra PE/movie time that last week of school.   Fun to look forward to new lighting & windows though so it will be worth it in the end.  WE CAN DO IT!!!!!!  Thank you for your understanding and patience the last week if your child comes home saying they had more PE time/movie time.
Have a great night.