2/25 – 3/1

Book talk visuals are due this Friday, and we will have speeches next week. I was blown away with how many parents were able to come and listen to our last book talk speeches! That being said, you are more than welcome to come again, but you might need to set aside 45 minutes in case other parents are here as well. I will only block 45-60 minutes for book talks at a time. I am pretty flexible and if you would like to come to a book talk and the time does not work just reach out to me and we can try to figure out a time that can work for everyone. Our class made speech cards last week and they were supposed to go home. Here is the outline they are using:

1. Introduction: hook, book title and author, time period or event

2. Setting: I am looking for good descriptions of the setting

3. Characters: name, age, personality, etc. We should have a good understanding of the characters in the book

4. – 5.: Story summary. I want to be able to following the story and know what happens in the beginning, middle, and end

6. Problem/Solution: This can be from the book or the event or time period

7. Teach about the Event or Time Period: Since this is a historical fiction story, I want the kids to have an understanding of the event or time period. A couple paragraphs is good and they can compare/contrast to their own lives.

8. Conclusion: favorite part, would you read another book by this author?, take away

Please help them practice making eye contact!

2/4 – 2/8

Happy February! Last Friday was grading day, and although report cards are mostly finished, they will not be sent home until Monday, February 11th. This week I am sending home graded assignments that were turned in late, math tests that I had kept for report card grades, a printout of all the assignments I have graded this semester, and a class list for Valentine’s cards if you wish to participate. Please take time to look through all the paper work and ask me any questions you might have. All the work should also give you a pretty good idea of what to expect on the report card.

We will celebrate friendship on Valentine’s Day during the last 45 minutes of the day. If you would like to donate a healthy snack for the afternoon let me know as soon as possible that way i can make appropriate plans! I also try to encourage people to get away from bringing in candy with their cards and instead something small like cute erasers, stickers, hand made little items, etc. I also try to impress the importance of taking the time to write a small note to each person. Encouraging notes can really make people feel so appreciated! Other than the afternoon, we will still have a pretty normal school day 🙂

As we begin the second half of the school year I want to take time and refocus the class on what is important: being kind, doing your best work, being responsible, and being at school as much as possible. It is like we get to press the reset button and no matter what happened during the first half of the year we can have a fresh start and improve ourselves for the last half of the year. I hope you will take time to talk as a family about what your child can improve on. Thank you for helping your child be successful!

1/22-1/25

We have two, 4 day weeks to end January! I cannot believe how quickly this first month went. We are working very hard each and every day to be respectful, responsible, and safe in the classroom and around the school. I have also incorporated teamwork into this list because our class runs the smoothest when we are working together and helping each other succeed. To help focus our efforts, the class has been spelling these words out to earn an extra recess as a reward. I have been very pleased with the amount of work we are able to complete when we are on task and focused on everyone succeeding! We have just earned our second extra recess since the break 🙂

This week a letter was sent to all the 4th graders about the upcoming NAEP. Please take time to read the letter and ask me any questions you might have. This test helps to see how our country is doing as a whole. We encourage everyone to participate because it gives the most accurate picture, however, if you think it will cause added stress you can sign the paper I sent home and your child will be exempt. Only sign the paper if you do not want your child to participate. Again, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns!

01/08 – 01/11

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a nice break and were able to relax and have some good family time. I love that the New Year starts in the middle of a school year. It allows us to stop and reflect on the first part of the year and think about what went well, and then look ahead and decide what we can do even better. It is a fresh slate! I am eager to hear the student’s ideas and goals for this new year.

We are starting the year off with an Artist in Residence. She will come to our classroom 4 times over the next two weeks to teach us about glass fusion. I am super excited and hope the kids will be as well! She will be here from 9:45-10:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I might need a couple of volunteers on the day that we make our glass designs. The artist will let me know tomorrow which day that will be.

Our award winning book talks are also due this week. I would love to invite you to come and listen to book talks when your child is presenting. They will sign up tomorrow for one of the following days. If none of these times work for you and you would like to come and listen just send me an email or message on ClassDojo and we should be able to find a better time. As for now, here are the times that I have designated for book talks:

Monday (1/14) starting at 11:00

Tuesday (1/15) starting at 1:05

Wednesday (1/15) starting at 1:05

Thursday (1/17) starting at 9:20 ****This spot is for only 3 students****

I am so excited to see everyone tomorrow!

12/17 – 12/21

We have made it to the last week of school for 2018! This year seemed to go super fast, and now I am going to have to start practicing writing 2019 🙂 It feels like I just got used to writing 2018. I hope this year has been good to your families and that 2019 brings even more happiness.

This week some students will be reading their Native American narratives and showing their dioramas to other classes. We studied each region, learned about the different Native groups, and then went to the Natural and Cultural History Museum. Hopefully, the rest of the school learns a little from us! We will also finish our salt dough maps of Oregon this week! We will be very, very busy.

Snowbody Like You started last week and our goal has been to recognize students showing 9 different character traits. For each yellow ticket handed out, we get to add a link to our snowman’s scarf and our school goal is to have the scarf go all the way around the school. We have almost competed this goal in the first week! I know that our class has been working on self-control, which can be especially hard when a break from school is fast approaching. On Friday, we will have a little celebration to recognize the effort all the students have made to make the last two weeks of school before the break more positive! I will be showing a video in class after first recess.

Lastly, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you! Our school raised almost $3,000 during the coin drive and half of that money will be going to Greenhill Humane Society and the other half will go to our library! It was so fun to watch kids bring in their coins, but even more amazing to see what they chose to donate it too! So, thank you agian!

12/3 – 12/7

Welcome to December! Three more weeks until the break and then it is a new year! 2018 went extremely fast for me, but it included many happy memories 🙂 I hope that you had a great 2018 or are excited for the fresh start that a new year brings.

We will start our salt dough maps of Oregon next week and I need some materials for each student. If you could place 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a gallon Ziplock bag and send it with your child I would really appreciate it. Every student will need their own bag so that they can make the salt dough for their project. If you can make a second bag that can be given to a student who is unable to bring one I would greatly appreciate it!

Today the class labeled the speech cards for their next book talk. Visuals are due before the break, but the speeches will happen when we come back to school in January. I will post the day and times that we will be giving speeches so that you can come and watch! They are one of my favorite things to listen to!

Thank you to every family who has donated coins or dollar bills to our coin drive! Our school surpassed our goal for the animal shelter and then competition between the classrooms is going strong. Our class is currently in second place 🙂 It is so amazing to watch the kids bring in their coins and know that we will get to bless an animal shelter this season! If you feel like you and your family would like to bless a child at the school, we have our snowflakes of joy hanging in the front. You can take a tag and shop for a student and then bring back the wrapped present by the 15th. We want everyone to have a happy holiday season!

11/26-11/30

I hope you had a very nice holiday weekend with lots of family time! I sure enjoyed getting to hang out with my family this weekend.

As we finish out November and head into December it is nice to have a 4 week chunk of time to get back into a routine. This month is going to go so quickly and we have many big projects that we are starting. We have our dioramas, salt dough maps, finishing up our science unit, along with our math and reading curriculum! It is so important that everyone is at school every day so that they do not miss out or get behind.

It looks like this week we might actually see some rain. We try to get kids out as much as possible even if it is raining a little bit, so please make sure kids are dressed appropriately! An extra pair of dry socks in their backpack or a change of pants can also be a good idea. The field can get a little muddy this time of year.

We are very busy in 4th grade and I hope that you know that you can always ask me questions!

11/5 – 11/9

Happy November! I am so enjoying the changing of the leaves and the extra hour of sleep we got this weekend! Hopefully you feel a little more rested too. We have a very short week for students with parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday. Please make sure to double check your conference time. The slots are only 20 minutes and I have many back to back conferences, so if you are late we won’t have much time to talk. I really enjoy conferences because it gives us a chance to talk face to face 🙂 The office has a copy of my schedule if you need to make a change or want to check your time.

We have started our first round of book talks and I have been so impressed with the visuals and how seriously the students have taken this project! The next book talk book needs to be an award winning book. If you have questions about a book please ask sooner rather than later since these books might take the students longer to read. You can read the book with them if you think they would benefit from that!

There is a permission slip going home for our first school wide assembly. We will be walking to Grace Community because they can hold our entire school. Please read the yellow form and only sign it if you do not want your child attending the field trip. If I do not get a response then I will take that as a ‘yes’ they can go.

10/29 – 11/2

We have been working hard the last couple weeks on our first independent projects of the year. Currently students are working on region brochures to show what they have learned about the different regions in Oregon. We are also finishing up some fall/spooky writing! It has been so nice to have large chunks of time to get work done. I believe the class also enjoys a break from my voice and time to be productive 🙂

This week there is no homework from me, because book talks are due on Monday! The kids filled out a reminder page so that they can spend time this week finishing their books, speech, and visuals. Please encourage them to practice giving their book talk speeches to you. Another important piece of paper that has gone home is the pink parent teacher conference form with your date and time on it. If you have not seen this please let me know and I will let you know when your conference time is. The office will also have my master schedule if you need to make a change to your time.

Our Bounce House Party will be this Friday from 2-4pm in the gym and cafeteria! PTO will provide snacks and activities as well as supervision. A permission slip was sent home today with the information for the party. Please sign and return it as soon as possible. Friday is also picture retake day!

Our first class field trip has been scheduled! We will be going to the Museum of Natural and Cultural History on the U of O campus and then take a tour of the campus. This field trip is scheduled for November 19th from 9:15-12:15. If you would like to chaperone please send me an email or message on Class Dojo. You must have your background check submitted and approved before the trip. It will only be our class going so I would love to have at least 5 parents on the trip!

10/15 – 10/19

What a beautiful October we are having! The cool crisp mornings and sunny afternoons are my favorite along with the changing of the leaves. This weather is also perfect for loosing coats and sweaters. Please make sure that your child’s name is in their coat so that they can find them much easier!

I sent home conference preference times last week. Thank you for those who have already returned them, it makes scheduling sibling conferences so much easier. If you need another form please let me know. I am hoping to get conferences scheduled as soon as possible.

This week is safety week and it always brings many, many questions from the students. My response to them is always, “I cannot answer all the what if questions. This is a time for us to practice the best ways to keeps us safe and then we have to use that information if we are in a different part of the school.” I really encourage you to talk with your children and make sure that they are not too nervous. This is also an excellent time to go over safety routines at home as well. Drills we will cover this week: earthquake, fire, evacuate, and then we will talk about bus safety and barricade. Please let me know if you have any questions!