CHANGES TO SPECIALS

Some enrollment changes in other buildings have required us to make some changes to our building specials schedule.

 There are many changes to our schedule.  Please note the following changes:

 

Monday- Art

Tuesday- P.E. then Music (Back to Back)

Wednesday- Media

Thursday- Spanish (in the P.M.)

Friday- Library 

 

These changes will take effect on Thursday. 

EPALS, SKYPE, AND A BAKE SALE

Last week, we had many exciting opportunities with our w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l class!

Each student now has an ePals account, which they can login to from home!  These are virtual email pals that students will be writing to.  Our ePals are from Sweden this year.  The students will be exchanging emails regarding how life is similar and different to life in Michigan.  We will be practicing our letter writing skills and grammar as we exchange emails.  The students are SO excited!

We also had our first Skype in the Classroom lesson this week! We listened to a story and got to interact and ask questions from a Media Specialist in Miami, Florida.  The students were so engaged and eager to ask questions.

Lastly, thank you to all of those volunteering to donate items to our Fourth Grade Bake Sale on Thursday, October 10th from 6-8 p.m. during Hamilton's Harvest Night.  

We are still looking for more volunteers, click here in case you missed the note. 

Have a great week,

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 16TH

Man do we have a smart class! These kids impress me more and more each day.

We started our week celebrating Constitution Day!
The students became the "Founding Fathers" of our classroom to create a Class Constitution.

First, we brainstormed what is important to us with a "Chalk Talk"
{we use markers today in place of chalk}.

In groups, students delegated their duties and determined what was most important to our classroom.

 

These groups listed their "Top 3" ideas.

Then the class voted and we came up with our top 5 most important rights of our classroom. 

 

We turned this into our Class Constitution.

We all signed it and it stands proudly in our classroom to remind us of our rights and expectations in 4th grade.

[I'm super proud of what they came up with.  Isn't it great?]

 

This week we also created our Power My

Learning accounts. 

 

All of their logins and passwords that they have throughout the year will be kept on the last page in their planner.

 

Students can access their Power My Learning Account from anywhere. 

 

On here, they can play interactive games covering the subjects we are learning about in class (at any time).  The students love it and the best part is they don't even realize they are learning :)

 

JUST A REMINDER ON HOMEWORK:

Students are expected to read 25 minutes each night. 

This is from a self-selected reading material of their choice.  They can read a magazine, on a Kindle, iPad, from a website, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G as long as they are reading! :)

It is important that we build a love for reading, especially from an early age.

 

They have 12 spelling words plus 2 bonus words each week.

So they could earn up to 2 extra credit points on each test.

They are expected to complete their Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe by Friday each week.

[Their Tic-Tac-Toe boards will have correct directions this week.  They were copied incorrectly and we didn't want to waste the paper!]

 

If a student gets 1-12 correct on their Spelling Pre-test [bonus words can't take the place of their 12 words on the Pre-test] then the students have no spelling work for the week since they already know all the words.

 

Their calendars in front of their take-home folders are expected to be signed each night.

This shows that they did their 25 minutes of reading.

 

Student planners do not need to be signed by a parent.

 

Any additional homework assignments besides reading and spelling will be written on the lines on the calendars.

 

Until next week,

THE MANY CHANGES

The ending of our second week was an emotional one to say the least.
We have many changes going on around the building this upcoming week.
With the addition of a new fourth grade classroom, the district has provided us with quite the opportunity.
This will allow our students to get more one-on-one time working with the teachers.
I was {so} blessed this year with such a great group of kiddos, it broke my heart to see any of them go.
But I know that this is truly in the best interest of our students, and for that, I am so happy.

On Friday, I was out of the classroom working with the new fourth grade team to make it as seamless of a transition as possible for students.
I have to say that I am so E-X-C-I-T-E-D for our new fourth grade team!  They are wonderful!

THE NEW TEAM:
-Mrs. Zarate will be moving from 1st grade to 4th.  She is the Girls on the Run Coach and many of our students already know and love her!  It is the perfect fit.

-Mrs. Kihn {KEEN like queen she told me the first day I met her} is the new teacher in place of Mrs. Mackellar.  She is new to W-W and on her first day with us, she fit right in.

-Mrs. Mackellar moved and has taken a job in another district closer to home so she can spend more time with her family.  We will miss her and wish her the best.

PLEASE NOTE:
-All fourth graders will still line up outside of the fourth grade doors, and will be dismissed outside of these doors as well.
-Fourth graders will still keep their safety posts.  This will not change :)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.  We want to emphasize to our students the positives of these transitions and the opportunities it provides them.

WHAT A GREAT FIRST WEEK!

I can't believe how {quickly} the week flew by. 
We had a blast meeting and getting to know all of our class this week.
Thank you to all the parents that stopped in on Back to School Night!

THIS WEEK IN CLASS:
-We got to know each other pretty well.  The students loved sharing their "Me Bags" with one another.  I was equally as excited to learn all about what the kids do outside of school. 
We have a talented group!

-We learned all about the policies and procedures of our classroom and Hamilton.  I have to say the students are most excited about ClassDOJO and about becoming a Leader In Me [click to learn more] School.

  

-We began reading The Bad Beginning, which is the first book in The Series of Unfortunate Events.

-We learned how to have great book discussions which will get us ready for our reading groups.

-We focused on some comprehension and students used details from the story to draw a character how they view them now.  They came out great.

We also did lots of writing and math in our first week too.
{It was just too busy to snap photos of those!}

Also, please vote for Hamilton in Target's Gift Card Giveway. Every vote = $1 in supplies for Hamilton Students. 
[You can vote every few days until September 21st]
Click here and vote! 

 

Until next week,