Won’t You Be My Genius?

Join Us for Our 2nd Annual Family Genius Night!

 

 What: Science, Technology, Engineering & Math fun for the whole family!

When: Monday, February 11th from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: Alward Elementary

Main Attraction: K-9 Unit from Ottawa County

 

Other Side Shows: We will have various hands-on, exploratory activities related to coding, makerspace activities, and careers (STEM). Some of these events include: presentations from the Hudsonville Robotics Team, Blandford Nature Center, a local veterinarian, and Wood TV 8.  You’ll also have the chance to program robots, dig for treasure in the “snow”, build rockets, and more! Don’t miss out on the fun!

 

R.S.V.P

To help us prepare enough materials for our families in attendance, please let us know if you and your family will be able to attend by completing the Google Form by Friday, February 8.

Welcome back to a very cold week of school.  I want to take a moment to please remind you to please send your child with their snow pants, coats, boots, hats, and gloves/mittens every day during the winter, even if there isn’t snow on the ground.  These extra layers will help keep them warm.  If students choose to wear shorts to school, they need to wear leggings or something under them so that they do not have exposed skin outside.  Our number one priority is always safety, especially with these cold days ahead.

 

In Math, we are working hard on our word problems unit.  Students are being taught strategies to attack these difficult problems.  For every problem, they are encouraged to draw a picture and write an equation before doing any calculations.  Our focus is on understanding what is happening in the problem rather than rushing to solve.  Their 2nd Quick Quiz will be sent home tomorrow.  As always, these quizzes should be saved as a study guide for their end of unit assessment.  We will spend two more weeks on this unit, moving into two-step and multi-step problems, before taking our assessment the week we return from winter break.

For our Word Study, we are focusing on spelling.  Students are taking a pre-test every Monday to determine their spelling list for the week, then taking their post-test on Friday.  I am already seeing better spelling as students are recognizing their own errors.  Please ensure your child is studying these words throughout the week.

In Reading, we are continuing to research for our state projects.  This week we will wrap up researching out of our large state books, and next week students will be given the opportunity to fill in gaps in their research using other books and online resources such as Epic and Google.

In  Writing, we are working on our final practice opinion piece before the final one next week that will be used to determine their report card grades.  This week’s topic is whether or not they feel schools should be year-round.  Please encourage your child to talk to you through the pros and cons at home as they prepare to write their essays.  They were given data in the form of an article as well as graphs and charts to look through today to determine which side of the argument they fell on. Their final opinion topic next week will be centered around whether or not students should have access to devices (laptops, computers, iPads) all day, creating a one-to-one classroom environment.  Students may start gathering data now, but will also be given multiple data resources next week.

In Science, students are exploring the internal and external structures of animals that help them adapt to and survive in their environments.

 

Looking ahead…

• Our school we be participating in One School, One Book again this year.  If your family would like to purchase the book, please send in $6 by this Friday so that we can get books ordered.
• Our 2nd Annual Family Genius Night will be held from 5-8pm on Monday, February 11, 2019.  If you plan to attend, please submit the number of family members planning to come on our Google Form.  This will help ensure that we have enough supplies for a fun and engaging evening for all.  Also, please keep an eye on your child’s purple folder tomorrow for additional information.

 

Welcome back from holiday break!  I hope everyone had the opportunity to relax and enjoy time with friends and family over our two week break.  I know that it was a long time away, but we are jumping right back into things here at school.

In math, students reviewed questions that were missed on the review test prior to break.  We will be taking the make-up test questions tomorrow.  Please utilize the review test that was sent home before break to study those missed questions.  On Wednesday, we will begin digging into Unit 4 which is our word problems unit.  I think this unit, although challenging, will be a great opportunity to learn a variety of strategies to attack these difficult word problems.  We will be working on reading problems carefully, underlining or highlighting important information, identifying what is known and unknown in the problem, drawing pictures to determine the appropriate operation(s) to solve, solving the problems, and then looking back to check if our answer makes sense.  Students will likely have more homework this unit than other units because these problems take more time to attack, and they need the additional practice at home as well, so please be on the lookout for yellow HW/R worksheets coming home starting on Wednesday.  Students should have have their planners filled in, letting you know what problems are expected to be completed by the time they come to class the next day.

We will be taking a break from grammar and shifting our focus to spelling for the next few months.  Students have been doing much better with our grammar skills, but the spelling remains a difficulty for many.  I will give a pre-test to students on Mondays.  This pre-test will determine which spelling list students will be given for the week (list A is easier words, list B are middle of the road words and same as the pre-test, and list C are more challenging words for the students that do very well on the pre-test.).  All lists will have 10 words focusing on the skill of the week (this week is initial hard and soft c and g) and 6 high frequency words (which will be the same 6 words regardless of which list students are assigned).  They will have two opportunities throughout the week to quiz each other and practice their words, but then they will be given a spelling test on Friday.  Students should be studying these words at home each night, either verbally or written down to prepare for Friday’s test.  Lists will go home each Monday in their purple folders.

In reading, we will still be working on nonfiction skills, but we will be moving more into our research projects.  Students will be assigned a research partner and a state this week.  They will be utilizing books, videos, online resources, and interviews to learn more about their state so that they can determine a problem that exists for residents of their state and begin planning for a way to solve that problem.  Students will have plenty of class time over the next few weeks to conduct their research, but they are always encouraged to do outside research as well at home or at the public library.  The more they learn about their state, the easier it will be for them to complete their projects.

In writing, we are beginning our next opinion essay.  Students did very well following the format for their first essays written to persuade their parents to agree with them on a specific topic.  Now, students will have the opportunity to examine their school day and begin planning for an essay that they will write to either Mrs. McClure or myself.  Their job will be to pick something they feel strongly about and attempt to convince us to agree with them.  I love reading these essays and have actually made changes to my classroom based on some of the essays I have read in the past, so this is their opportunity to try to make a change happen.  We want students to see that these essays aren’t just another assignment, but a way to convince others to see things from their point of view.

In science, we will begin our second instructional cycle of our Built for Survival Unit this week.  Before break, our focus was on plant structures and how they helped a plant grow, survive, and reproduce.  During computer time this afternoon, students will be given the opportunity to research answers to their questions about Giant Sequoias that may not have been answered during our unit.  Starting tomorrow, we will be shifting our study to animals.  We will be looking at the internal and external structures of grizzly bears and learning how those structures help them grow, survive, and reproduce.

This Week

Monday, 1/7	Welcome Back!
Tuesday, 1/8	Lock Down Drill 1:30-2:00pm
Friday, 1/11	Early Release at 12:15pm for Students Please let me know if your child needs to order a lunch to take home with them or if there will be any transportation changes.

I wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a wonderful holiday break filled with relaxation, fun, and family.

I encourage all students to spend some time this break “unplugged.”  Reading books, playing board games, building forts, or playing in the snow are all great ways to start building lasting family memories together.

I am also sending home students’ review math tests from yesterday.  Please take some time over break reviewing the questions that were missed in order to prepare for our final review and make-up test when we return from the holiday.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

 

See you all next year! (School resumes on January 7, 2019.)

After looking through exit tickets from today, and talking with the 4th grade team, I have decided to push our testing dates for division back a bit.  All students have 3-10 HW coming home tonight to work on word problems (there are only 4 questions).  Tomorrow, we will complete a review together and take the actual review test on Thursday.  These tests will be sent home on Friday and should be used over the break to practice skills for the final division test that will take place the Tuesday we return from break.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

In math, we are working on finishing up our division unit.  All students have moved into using the traditional algorithm that we call the digit-by-digit method, and that you may remember as “long division.”  Our focus this week is on word problems and really analyzing what the remainder means.  Depending on how the lessons go, the plan is to give the review test Wednesday, reteach skills on Thursday, and then give the final test on Friday.  If students continue to struggle with word problems, we will push our testing dates back , which will result in our final test being after our holiday break.  Please check their planners for any changes to testing dates.

In reading, we are finishing up informational reading.  Students are working to take notes on the most important information, and then using those notes to write summaries.  This skill will prepare them for the research we start after the holiday break.

In writing, students have been working hard to complete their first opinion essays.  Please be on the look-out over the holiday break for these essays.  They have some pretty interesting topics they’re trying to convince you to agree with.

In science, students are going to be examining the internal structures of plants as they dissect a flower.  When we return from break, we will be shifting our study from plant structure to animal structures.

Upcoming Dates

Monday, 12/17	Spirit Week: “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – Wear warm hats, beanies, and scarves
Tuesday, 12/18	Spirit Week: “Candy Cane Lane” – Dress in red and white
Wednesday, 12/19	Spirit Week: “Happy Holidays” – Wear your best flannel and fuzzy socks for a ‘family picture’ Math Review Test
Thursday, 12/20	Spirit Week: “Deck the Halls” – Wear your ugly holiday sweaters Holiday Sock Exchange in the Morning, and Holiday Party 2:35-3:40
Friday, 12/21	Spirit Week: “Long Winter’s Nap” – Wear cozy PJ’s Reading Forts and Movie Day Math Final Test
Monday, 12/24 – Friday, 1/4	Holiday Break – Enjoy Time with Family and Friends

In math, we are working on our brand new division unit.  Students are currently exploring the relationship between multiplication and division, and are applying strategies we learned during our multiplication unit to help them determine the quotients of division problems.  Although these new methods may look scary to us adults, the students are actually doing really well with them.  We will be learning the traditional long division method later this week, but the focus will be on accuracy, so students may choose whichever method they are most successful with to solve the problems.  If you would like an explanation on how the other methods work, please do not hesitate to reach out.  I would love to introduce you to some new math strategies, or better yet, ask your child to teach you the new methods.  They’re doing great helping each other during class.

In reading, we are still working on reading informational texts.  We’ve been examining the different text structures that author’s may use, and then learning the best note-taking strategies for each text structure.  For example, if an author writes a descriptive informational text, they’re providing lots of details.  Taking notes using a web or box & bullets would be a great strategy.  When an author is writing a comparison informational text, they describing the similarities and differences between two things, so using a venn diagram or 3-column chart would be a better note-taking strategy.  We will be working on cause and effect as well as problem/solution text structures later this week, and then we will spend some time looking at a variety of informational texts, determining the structure, and choosing the graphic organizers that would be most useful for note-taking.  This will prepare them for the note-taking they will do for our state research projects after break.

In writing, students are working on writing opinion essays.  They have all formed a strong opinion and written a claim that they would like to try to convince their parents to agree with.  They’ve been brainstorming reasons to support those claims and finding research or examples to back up those reasons.  The hope is to complete this first opinion essay before the holiday break so that they may present their essays to you over break, and then come back after the holiday to share with the class whether they were able to persuade their parents or not.  Students are really enjoying this.  Be prepared for some convincing arguments!

In science, we are exploring the structures within plants that helps them grow and survive.  We’ve been closely examining the giant sequoia trees and applying the investigations in class to that real-world phenomena.  Their goal is to determine what structures the giant sequoia has that allows it to grow so tall and so big.  Students are highly motivated and working hard to explore this idea.  Ask your child what they’ve learned so far, and we’re only a few days into our science curriculum.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• We are down to only a few students left that need to master their 12s multiplication facts.  The goal is to have all students pass their 12s before the holiday break so that we can have our pizza party celebration, and start fresh with a division fact challenge when we return in January.  Ask your child if they’ve passed their 12s yet.  If not, making a set of flash cards and practicing at home might be a great idea.
• Tomorrow is the Holiday Program.  Students are to arrive at 7:15 and the 4th/5th grade program will begin at 7:30.  Please refer to the red sheet that was sent home last week for additional information.  The students are excited, and it should be a wonderful program.
• Our school to running Santa’s Secret Shop once again this year.  If you would like your child to participate, please send them to school with their money on Tuesday, December 11th.  Our class will shop from 1-1:35pm.  Students do not have to participate, but it is a fun way for children to choose and purchase gifts for their family.
• Instead of a gift exchange, in 4th grade, we do a holiday or crazy sock exchange the morning of our holiday party.  Students bring in one pair of socks, wrapped, for another student.  We will be playing a game to determine which pair of socks they get to open, so there is no need to put names on them.  Once students open their new socks, they can wear them or take them home.  It is up to them.  Socks can be found at the dollar store, so no need to spend large amounts of money on a pair of socks.  We want to focus to be on fun, not expense.  Please let me know if you cannot purchase a pair of socks, and I will grab a few extra so that all students can participate.

Upcoming Dates

Monday, 12/3	Holiday Program Rehearsal 2:40-3:25 in Cafeteria
Tuesday, 12/4	Holiday Program Final Rehearsal 1:10-2:25 at Fellowship Holiday Program at Fellowship (K-2 at 6:30pm, 3rd-5th at 7:30pm)
Friday, 12/7	Popcorn Friday
Tuesday, 12/11	Santa’s Secret Shop 1:00-1:35pm
Friday, 12/14	Early Release for Students at 12:15pm (Wear Champion T-Shirts) Grinchmas Special Event with Alward TEAMS 9:30-10:45
Monday, 12/17	Spirit Week: “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – Wear warm hats, beanies, and scarves
Tuesday, 12/18	Spirit Week: “Candy Cane Lane” – Dress in red and white
Wednesday, 12/19	Spirit Week: “Happy Holidays” – Wear your best flannel and fuzzy socks for a ‘family picture’
Thursday, 12/20	Spirit Week: “Deck the Halls” – Wear your ugly holiday sweaters Holiday Party 2:35-3:40 – Holiday Sock Exchange
Friday, 12/21	Spirit Week: “Long Winter’s Nap” – Wear cozy PJ’s
Monday, 12/24 – Friday, 1/4	Holiday Break – Enjoy Time with Family and Friends

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out: ahawks1@hpseagles.net

 

Just a friendly reminder that students have two tests tomorrow.

In the morning, students will take their multiplication test.  We spent the morning today reviewing for the test, and I am sending home a copy of those review questions tonight for students to look back over and practice.  This is a great study resource for students.  If they can answer these questions, they will be in great shape for tomorrow’s test.

Tomorrow afternoon, students will take their Core Democratic Values (CDV) test.  We will be completing a review in class today, but they should also use the resources in their green folder, especially the study sheet I sent home on Friday, to help them study.  They are responsible for:

1. The definition of all ten CDVs
2. Being able to explain how people can have different opinions on a U.S. policy (importance of recycling, restricting fishing in certain areas of the oceans, or protecting endangered species)
3. Knowing the difference between and examples of a right (freedom granted by the government) and a responsibility (duty as a citizen)
4. Knowing that rights have limits.  For example, you have the right to gather in groups, but you must remain peaceful
5. Describing 3 ways that citizens work together in a community

First, I want to say thank you to all of you for rearranging your schedules and meeting with me last week for parent-teacher conferences.  It was great getting to meet all of you, and it helped me get to know your child even better.  As always, if you ever have a question or concern, please do not hesitate to reach out.  That’s why I’m here.

In math, we are wrapping up our study of multiplication.  We’ve worked on 1-digit times 2-digit, 1-digit times 3-digit, 2-digit times 2-digit, and now 4-digit times 1-digit multiplication.  We’ve also explored various word problems along the way.  Students will practice these skills throughout the week, and they will take their end of the unit multiplication assessment next week on Tuesday.  Students have been taught 4 methods for multiplication, but they may use whichever strategy or strategies they like on the assessment.  They should be using their yellow HW/R sheets as well as the Quick Quizzes that have been graded and sent home to prepare for this assessment.  I will grade these tests over the Thanksgiving break, we will reteach skills when they return, and they will take their final multiplication test sometime that last week of November.

In reading, we are digging into our nonfiction reading unit.  Students have worked on exploring text features, previewing texts, paraphrasing what they’ve read, and determining the main idea.  Over the next two weeks, students will continue to work on determining the main ideas as well as finding supporting details.  We will also be exploring strategies for determining the meaning of unknown vocabulary words that we might come across.  Those strategies include using the context clues, looking in the glossary, asking a friend or teacher, using a dictionary, or looking it up on the computer.  Once students have a clear understanding of how to effectively read nonfiction texts, we will begin exploring the 5 organizational patterns of informational text: descriptive, chronological, comparison, cause & effect, and problem/solution.  The best way to help your child through this unit is to read nonfiction books together at home, so that they can practice the skills taught in class.

In writing, students have just finished their final narrative pieces (which will be graded and sent home within the next 2 weeks).  They are now beginning a new unit on opinion writing.  Students will read a variety of mentor texts to explore the genre.  We will work through the first opinion piece together as a class.  Then, students will complete another opinion essay in small groups, working with students who share their viewpoint.  Finally, students will attempt to complete an opinion essay on their own.  They will be asked to start thinking about issues they have strong opinion about.  Possible examples: Should students wear school uniforms?  Should kids go to school year round?  Should elementary students have their own cell phone?  They will begin to formulate a pro/con list so that they can explore both sides of a topic.  Finally, students will take a stand and begin choosing the most effective reasons to support their claim.  In order to help your child with this at home, have them convince you, in writing, the next time they ask for something.  Perhaps they want to stay up late on a school night, before telling them yes or no, have them go write down three reasons why you should let them, and have them try to convince you.  The more practice students have with arguing their point of view, the more convincing they will be in their opinion essays.

In social studies, we are almost half-way through our study of the Core Democratic Values (CDV).  Each day we read a picture book that demonstrates a specific CDV, then students are asked to explain the meaning of that CDV in their own words and create an illustration that will remind them of that definition.  We’ve explored Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, and Truth.  We will be wrapping up the unit with the Common Good, Justice, Diversity, Equality, Patriotism, and Popular Sovereignty before Thanksgiving Break.  They will take their test next Tuesday.  In order to study, students should be bringing home their green folders, which contain their definitions and illustrations of each CDV.  They will also be given a study guide toward the end of this week.  We will begin science instruction when return from the Thanksgiving Break.

Upcoming Dates

Monday, 11.12	Veteran’s Day Observed
Tuesday, 11/13	PTC Meeting at 7pm Jet’s Pizza Night (We won last time!)
Friday, 11/16	Popcorn Friday
Wednesday, 11/21 – Friday, 11/23	Thanksgiving Break – Enjoy time with family and friends!
Tuesday, 12/4	Holiday Program at Fellowship (K-2 at 6:30pm, 3rd-5th at 7:30pm)
Friday, 12/7	Popcorn Friday
Tuesday, 12/11	Santa’s Secret Shop
Friday, 12/14	Early Release for Students at 12:15pm (Wear Champion T-Shirts)

In Math, we are digging deep into our multiplication unit.  Students have been exposed to 4 different methods for multiplication, the final method being the traditional short-cut method that many of us were taught in school.  We teach a variety of methods so that students understand WHY the short-cut works.  Students have been given the choice to use whichever method they feel most comfortable with, and most have chosen the short-cut method.  We have practiced multiplying 2-digit by 1-digit numbers, and today we extended our strategies to multiplying 3-digit by 1-digit numbers.  We will work up to multiplying 4-digit by 1-digit and also 2-digit by 2-digit.  Throughout our practice, students will also be working on using those strategies to solve single and multi-step word problems.

In Reading, we just finished reading The Tiger Rising today in class.  This book was loved by this class.  We have been working hard on having meaningful book discussions as we prepare for upcoming book clubs.  Today students participated in a “fish bowl” activity where they watched a group of students discuss the book.  Their focus was not on sharing their individual opinions, but on building upon ideas their classmates brought up, or questioning their peers, so that they may all begin digging deeper into the story.  As students watched, more students joined the conversation.  It started off with only 2 or 3 students in the conversation and built to 10+ students having a meaningful book discussion.  We will continue these book discussions as we begin book clubs during our informational reading unit that we will start next week.

In Writing, we are continuing to work on revising/editing strategies to improve our writing.  The goal is to finish revisions and edits to our realistic fiction stories this week so that we can share our stories with our classmates.  Next week, students will be asked to apply all that they’ve learned throughout our personal narrative unit and realistic fiction unit to write a story on their own from start to finish.  Once those are finished, they will be sent home as evidence of their writing progress thus far.  Because this will not be completed until next week, they will note receive a narrative writing score on this term for their report cards.

In Social Studies, we finished up our Government unit today with an end of unit assessment.  Those will be sent home by the end of the week, and will be their final social studies grade for this term of the report card.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

HALLOWEEN

• Halloween is tomorrow!  Your child may either come to school dressed in their costume, or change once they arrive.  Please keep in mind that tomorrow’s special is art, and I do not know what activity they might have planned.  Costume guidelines:
  • Shoes must be worn at all times.
  • No blood, gore, or weapons or look-alike weapons allowed!
  • Masks may be worn, but may only cover the eyes.  We must be able to see student faces for security purposes.
• The Halloween parade will begin at 2pm.  Families are welcome to line up outside the building to watch students parade through in their costumes.  Immediately following the parade will be recess, and then our Halloween party.  (Thank you to all parents who have volunteered to help out with our party.  It is greatly appreciated.)

LUNCH ON THURSDAY, 11/1

Our class had the most students participate for the last the Jets Pizza night.  Because of this, Jets is throwing us a pizza party to celebrate on Thursday.  Students will not need to pack a lunch or buy that day.  The only thing they will need to bring is a drink.  Thank you for supporting our school at Jets Pizza Night! 🙂

CONFERENCES

• Conferences are coming up next week!  Thank you to all parents that have already signed up for a time slot.  If you have not yet signed up, please do so as soon as possible.  I am looking forward to meeting with all of you.  Below is the link to sign up for a conference time slot as well as directions.  Please let me or the office know if you have any trouble, and we can help get you signed up.
• Sign Up for a Conference Time Slot
  We’re using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming conferencesHere’s how it works in 3 easy steps:

  1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/qHWpeYX
  2) Review the options listed and choose the spot you like.
  3) Sign up! It’s Easy – you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

  Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, 10/31	Halloween Parade at 2pm Halloween Party 2:40-3:40
Thursday, 11/1	Free Jets Pizza Lunch – No need to pack or buy today! 🙂
Friday, 11/2	Early Release for Students at 12:15pm – Wear Champions T-Shirt
Tuesday, 11/6	Election Day – Go Out and Vote! (Encourage your child to come along and see our democratic process in action.)
Wednesday, 11/7	Fire Drill at 2pm Parent-Teacher Conferences 4pm-8pm
Thursday, 11/8	Parent-Teacher Conferences 4pm-8pm School Board Meeting at 7pm
Monday, 11.12	Veteran’s Day Observed
Tuesday, 11/13	PTC Meeting at 7pm
Friday, 11/16	Popcorn Friday
Wednesday, 11/21 – Friday, 11/23	Thanksgiving Break – Enjoy time with family and friends!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next week!