Short Week Coming Up

Yes, can you believe Thanksgiving Break is here???  There will be an Early Out on Tuesday, November 24th and No School Wednesday-Friday of that week-November 25-27.  Enjoy with special time with family & friends.
This past week has been busy as usual.  Fun, exciting news is that the new Big Toy Playground equipment is complete and we got to play on it today for the first time.  Exciting.  Come by and check it out!!!
Also exciting was to meet Author Bill Merical.  It was so great hearing him talk about the book and share with kids the importance of strong character as well.  We were so happy to hear he will be publishing Book 2!!!!   YAYYYY!!!!
Lead 21 students should be finishing up their endangered animal research and working on posters here at school.  They are looking good.  Lots of research, writing, and knowledge coming from this project.
We will finish up Unit 2 next week.
Go Math-we are almost done with Chapter 2.  We will test on it next week.
Language-we will be working with singular & plural possessive nouns.
Montana History-we are learning about the Indians of MT from the 1700-1820's.  What life was like back then and how so many of them died because of diseases brought over from Europe by immigrants.  This will lead us into the Lewis & Clark Expedition and then the trapping/trading era.  Fun stuff.
Congratulations to Houston, our new student of the week.  Some of his favorites are:  football, the Steelers, reading, the color yellow.  His favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.  He hopes to learn more about MT History this year.  His idea of a perfect day is sunny and one where his dreams come true.
In twenty years from now, he hopes to have a child, live in a mansion, and play in the NFL.
Have a great weekend and Good Luck to both the CATS & Griz.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Drive

Thank you -thank you to all of you that have donated to the Peanut Butter & Jelly drive.  Your generosity will help those less fortunate.  If you would still like to help, it is going until Friday, November 20th.
Students who were lunch helpers for the 1st Quarter were treated to a Pizza Lunch today.  I am so happy to announce that Team Hankins has donated many hours to helping out our school and taking their lunch recess time.  Great school service.
Lead 21 Endangered Animal Reports-students are working on a lengthy, in-depth endangered animal report here at school doing research and finding information.  The one thing we will need your help for is finding 2 pictures that you can print off for their poster board to go with the report.  Thank you.
This is our Inquiry Project for Unit 2.  We have learned a lot about "Going Green & Reducing our Carbon Footprint".  We will have the whole unit complete by Thanksgiving Break.
We just finished the book, Naya Nuki.  Ask your child that if they were Naya Nuki for one day, what adventure that she had on her journey would they like to have.  Write it in the planner for free money.
Just a reminder to mark your calendars for November 24-27.  Early Out on the 24th and No School on 25-27.
Author Bill Merical is coming on Tuesday, November 17th and we are so excited.  The students will have lots to share with you after his visit.  Plus they each received an autographed copy of the book.
As you saw from the Northeast States & Capitals test, some students didn't do real well so for this time only, I am giving them a 2nd chance to try again.  If your child is interested, they need to see me by Friday, November 20th to get another test.  Then I will average the 2 grades for their final test grade.
Congratulations to Cooper, our student of the week.  It was so fun hearing all about him and here are some of his favorites:  cheesy hot dogs, math, hunting, pink, and Christmas.  He describes himself as "fun" and we would agree.  He loves learning about Montana History.  His idea of a perfect day is hunting.  Twenty years from now, he hopes to be a professional hunter with his own TV show called Hunting Wild.  How cool is that. Cooper, I sure loved your Brett Favre card!!!!   Remember Dream-Believe-Achieve!!!!

Thank You-Thank You

Thank you to all of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to take an interest in your child's education and come to see how they are doing here at school.  It was so nice to visit with each of you and to share your child's successes and to discuss things that need to be worked on.  How great it is when we can communicate together for the good of each child.  So thank you for coming and all your support.  Ask your child what they are most proud of for so far this year here at school.  Write the answer in the planner for free money.
Speaking of money, we are going to be spending it on "fun" stuff Friday, November 6th and then starting over with new money.  I think the students all realize the importance of making good, positive choices and being the BEST they can be.
Keep your child practicing that Wowzers & Xtra Math at least 3-4 times/week as well as spending that 30 min./night reading.  It is all beneficial to their learning and the progression of their school years.
This upcoming week is going to be busy as usual.
Social Studies-we will be having our 2 part Northeast Region test.  Part 1 is making an advertisement poster showing & explaining 4 locations we stopped at during our tour as well as recalling 3 facts about each.  Part 2 is the actual states & capitals with their locations.  These will be on Monday & Tuesday.
Then on Wednesday, it is Veteran's Day and we spend a good portion discussing what the day means, who we honor, etc. and reading an amazing book.  You will hear about it.
Math-we are continuing to learn new strategies to find the products for more difficult multiplication problems.  I am happy to announce, the Go Math seems to be getting a bit easier for now anyway. :)
Spelling-Unit 10 words
Language-Possessive Nouns and Capitalization Rules
Lead 21-Selection 3 of our small theme readers and starting our Endangered Animal Reports which will be quite extensive.
Please see the attached letter from Mrs. Neese about the PB & J food drive sponsored by Student Council.
Congratulations to Ben, our student of the week.  Here are some of Ben's favorites:  grapes, drawing, PE, blue, and Halloween.  He wants to learn more about spelling this year and get better at "count bys".
His idea of a perfect day is nice & sunny and in 20 years, he hopes to have a wife and 3 kids.
Have a great weekend and week.
Also, I will only be blogging once/week and it will be on the weekend to fill you in on the past week's happenings as well as what is coming for the new week.
PTA Movie tonight, November 6th from 6-8.  Free money if you go!!!  Have fun!!

Successful Red Ribbon Week

Another year of Red Ribbon Week is in the books.  It was very successful as we had lots of good guest speakers in this past week to reinforce the idea of making positive choices in life and the many other things you can do to stay away from harmful drugs & activities as well as dealing with peer pressure.   We had students from Skyview & Senior High as well as DEA agent Dunlap.  As they all said, it is never too young to start hearing about how choices now can affect your life & decisions you make later.  Below are a few pics from the week.  I hope you had some good discussions at home and if you did, write RRW in the planner for free money.
Speaking of free money, the quarter came to a close so now the students will spend their free money on Friday and start over with fresh, new money.
Pumpkin Patch Party-hopefully many of you went and had tons of fun.  If you and your child went, write pumpkin  patch party in the planner.
This week is conferences week.  Thank you to all of you who returned your slips for times.  If you didn't, I assigned you a time so hopefully you can make it.  If not, call the school and let Christy know.
Remember Dismissal times are at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
No spelling list this week due to early out and our reading block is in the afternoon.
We are hoping to finish our NE tour this week so make sure you are studying states & capitals as well as location because the test will be sometime next week.
Congratulations to Jerzie, our Purple Hand Winner.  She was nominated by her peers for her kind, caring, helpful ways as well as being a great friend always wanting to include others.
Also, we have had lots of students get recognized by myself or other adults in the building for following the school rules & guidelines for success.  They have gotten their name on the Principal 200 board and are part of the club.  Congratulations and keep it up.  Let's hope all of Team Hankins will be part of it as the year progresses.
Have a great rest of the weekend.

Mid-week Post

Happy Wednesday-Hope your week is going great.  We are enjoying our guest speakers and learning a lot about making positive choices during Red Ribbon Week.  We kicked it off by learning about Kiki Camarena whom Red Ribbon Week was started after.  He was an amazing person who lost his life doing what he enjoyed and believed in.  Have a discussion about what he did and what happened and how carrying on his legacy is helping all of us learn the destruction that poor choices can do to us and those we love.  I know Red Ribbon Week can lead to a lot of discussion about drugs and thinking it is "bad"  people, but we stress the fact that it is not "bad" people, but that they make bad decisions.
Then on Tuesday, we had a DEA agent come and talk to us here in our classroom.  He told us about his job and many interesting facts to the dangers of drugs to young brains as they are developing.  He spent a lot of time also talking about how to deal with peer pressure, having good strong character, and making good choices.
Today, Mrs. Neese brought in Wheezing Nelly.  Ask your child about what she represented and about the activity they did.
Rusty's messages this week also reinforce the Red Ribbon Theme.
Students are doing a GREAT job on dress up days.  Tomorrow is "No drugs in this hood". Wear sweats & a hoodie.
Friday is Bitterroot Bobcat apparel.
Keep practicing those states & capitals.
Conference Slips went home today.  Please see your time, sign them and return the bottom portion back to school with your child tomorrow.
Have a great night.

Heritage Day Smilebox Video

Picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Happy Friday

What a great day we had today!!!  We were fortunate  to have 3 Rocky Mountain College foreign exchange students come to our class today.  They were from the Netherlands, France, and Ireland.  They shared so many interesting things about their culture that helped to culminate our Lead 21 Heritage Studies.  Always so fun to have these experiences-bringing countries/cultures to the classroom.  Have a fun discussion with your child about what they learned.
Speaking of heritage-our Heritage Day sharing on Wednesday was a great success.  We learned lots and enjoyed a lot of good food.  Enjoy the Smilebox movie that follows.
Thank you to all of you that have returned the purple conference time sheets.  If you have not so yet, please do so by Monday as we teachers are going to be getting together to set up the conference times.
Congratulations to Yulena, as our student of the week.  WOW-WOW-WOW!!!!  We got to hear so much and see many pictures from her recent diving trip to Bonaire.  Amazing-definitely on my bucket list now.  Some of Yulena's favorite things are:  Watermelon, Math, Ice Skating, Halloween, and the color teal.  Her idea of a perfect day is a school day.  How cool is that!!!!  One of the best things about her is that she is always there to help others.  What a great character trait.
We started tour of the NE this week as well as practicing the states & capitals for this region.  I sent 2 maps home with your child to practice these at home.  One for the states & capitals and the other for location.  Work hard on these.  If your child can name 4 states & capitals, write NE in the planner for free money.
Happenings for the upcoming week:
Red Ribbon Week.  See the note in your child's planner for the daily dress up days.
We will be having guest speakers this week and I will spend our Character Counts meetings discussing the importance of making good decisions and choices when faced with peer pressure.  Please let me know if you do not want your child to participate in these discussions.
Math-we have begin Chapter 2 on Multiplication
Lead 21-Unit 2 on A Green Future
Language-Nouns
Spelling-Unit 9 words
Social Studies-continuing our tour of the NE
Remember to get in your record money this upcoming week.
Have a great weekend.

http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e444d784f4445784f54413d0d0a&blogview=true