Hi there. I hope you are having an excellent weekend. What amazing weather we are having!!! Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, and it is surely in the air. Love, love, love it!
It was so fun seeing so many of you this week. Open House was very successful due to your attendance. I hope that you left thinking that your child was in good hands, and that this would be a great year. I know I did. Ice Cream Social was also a HUGE hit. Thank you to the PTA for putting on such a fun evening for kids and their families. I saw a ton of you and it was fun to watch your family units laugh and smile together. There is sooooo much love and support at this school that I am constantly amazed by it, which seems odd because isn't that the way every place on earth should be?
If you attended the social, please write ICE CREAM in the planner for $50.
As mentioned at open house, the kids and I have been following my very good friend Tauzha on her trek through Spain. Before she left, she asked me for a rock from Arrowhead to lay at the ceremonial rock pile when she got to that point. The rock is a symbol of her carrying away one's burdens and laying them down to rest for good. When I gave it to her, I wrote Arrowhead, Billings, MT on it. At the time, I was simply doing it for the class. However, when she posted it online the other day, it hit me that it means something totally different now. That rock, to me, symbolizes all my fears of starting over at Arrowhead. Bitterroot was my family and friends for 10 years. Change is always a good thing, but for me change is always difficult. When I saw that picture, the first thought in my head was one that shocked me. I no longer fear Arrowhead and the new adventure it represents. I am part of the school and community now. I feel comfortable, and even more importantly...needed. When one can feel as if they are put in an exact place for a reason, then the fear ultimately disappears. I could not have gotten to this point without all of you. Your willingness to share your children with me, trust me, and openly acknowledge that I am making a difference in people's lives has solidified that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at the exact moment I am needed. So, I invite you to ask yourself and your child what that rock symbolizes to you and them. Our burdens have been carried across oceans and placed in a pile of stones. A part of all of us is being left behind in Spain. What part of you and what part of them is being left? May I encourage you to have this discussion with your child this weekend? If you do, write the word ROCK in the planner for $20. Have your child write down what it means and share it with me on Monday...they can earn $100. I am anxious to know! So, so cool!
I am also wondering if anyone knows where or who could make that picture into a bookmark. I would love to have one made for each child to use in class as a constant reminder. Any ideas????? PLEASE let me know if you have a lead on this one.
Miss. Amanda was our star of the week this week! She shared with us her special box of framed coins that her Grandmother gave her from Hawaii. You could tell that they were very special to her. She also shared the coolest project that she did at home relating to our Fallen Rock book that we are reading in SS. She brought in two shells that the ocean can be heard in, a feather, a bag of water, a whisker, and a pine cone. Those are all the same things that the two boys have to collect on their journey across the United States. Now, how big do you think her teacher's smile was when she took her learning from school and connected it to an independent out of the box project at home. BIG, BIG, BIG!!! Amanda also shared that she is excited to go on her big trip this coming week. We will miss her dearly, but I hope that she has an amazing time making memories with her family! Thanks for sharing with us Amanda!
Technology day was a HUGE hit. It was fun to listen to them just having fun with their friends. They figured out how to all join the same game at the end, and even though I had to keep reminding them to bring the noise level down, I was smiling each time I said it. Kids amaze me daily. Their passion for technology is astounding. It is such a different way of growing up then you and I did, but to them it is the best way to do it. I think it was well worth their $400. :0)
In CC meeting, the kids defined the word COOPERATE this week. We talked about what it looked like in a 4th grade class, and we discovered that it is not much different from what it looks like in the real world. I have posted their words on the wall for them to look at and review when we are in a group setting. We practiced using those skills on Friday in math class. They had to work together to discover how much money one had and what they could buy with that given specific specifications. They all did great. :0)
This week academically, we will be learning...
Math-making change using the lowest amount of bills and coins, reading, writing, and shading decimals to the hundredths place value, and beginning our review of basic math facts. Kids will be using an online program called xtramath.org to demonstrate the mastery of all of their facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The program puts up a problem on the screen and your child has 3 seconds to put in the answer. If they don't they continue to see that problem again on the screen. All kids will begin with addition. If they know it, they will exit out of it quickly and move onto subtraction. On the review quizzes given, it is evident that we think that they know them, but they are not showing that they do.
Lead 21-We will begin writing book reports on the fictional stories they read last week in their leveled readers. I will model each section, and then they will complete their own. We will also finish up our selection on Heritage and move into a whole group fictional story. Our small group learning sessions with the ipads will also continue daily. The kids and I will take in depth looks into their leveled texts and pull out skills that are expected of all 4th graders.
Spelling-short o and long o sounds. We will work all week on finding patterns with these words in order to help us spell them by memory.
Language-We will continue to work on types of sentences, subjects, and predicates. We will also delve into nouns.
Regional SS-we will finish up our review section of our geography packets with the basic cardinal and international directions. Some kids are zooming through, where others are having to relearn these review skills. By the end of the week, we will hit the 4th grade level of map skills which is finding locations on a map using latitude and longitude along with using a map scale to determine distances between places.
Science-Mrs. Auch has assigned a lab to do at home. Kids brought it home last Wednesday. It is due this coming Friday. The topic of study is air pressure.
I think that about does it for the up coming week update. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend with your families. Thank you for all that you do!
Ms. Erickson
