Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! BRRRRR..... Baby it's cold outside!! Recess in back to being inside. If the temperature including windchill is below 0 we keep the kids inside. Yes, it is nice to get them outside but not to freeze! I have a cupboard full of games that they can play. If you have any board games or card games at home that aren't in use anymore and have all the pieces please think about donating them. I get all mine garage sales mainly. It is always nice to have newer games to add to the mix. Just keep it in mind. Today they were able to play with their electronics during recess time. That is a great thing!! They can donate money to a good cause and get to play with something they enjoy at recess.
NEED!! I need more Kleenex. This has been a very bad year. We just put out the last Kleenex box. If you are at the store and could maybe throw in an extra box for school that would be great. We are still in great need for it. I appreciate any that can be brought in. The sooner the better since the last one is in use. Thank you very very much!!!!
Language Arts - This week has been a test week. We took our Unit 4 test on Monday and Tuesday. We made corrections on the test on Wednesday. I have been busy working on report cards so the scores are not ready to be sent home today. I will send them in next week's folder. I assigned their last book report for the year. They have all the directions and are picking books with more than 180 pages in them. the assignment is a book box or diorama. On Friday this week we are taking the CRS (Constructed Response Supplement) Test. It is a standardized test that we use for assessing students. These score are reported to the state. It is a test of 8 questions. You can't study for it. We just take it. I have told the kids that is what we will be doing on Friday. All the 4th graders throughout the Des Moines Diocese will be taking this test sometime next week. No worries, the 4th graders normally do quite well on it.
Math - We have finished chapter 13 and the students did a nice job on those test. We have now begun Chapter 4 which is on Division. This is a very long chapter with 12 lessons over division. Some of the lessons are a carry over from the Multiplication chapter and so they are finding very easy. We are all ready on lesson 4 of this chapter. I didn't plan on getting as far as I did today, but it was easy for them. It will get more challenging but right now they are loving it because their confidence level is up since it's all very familiar. Next week may become a little more difficult. Keep working on those division facts.
Social Studies - Projects will start coming in tomorrow. I have a cake and a quarter due. Then the rest of the students are next week. We have started talking about history that took place in the Southeast regions and had big impacts on the region. We will be reading about the Civil War this lesson. We only skim the surface of the Civil War. I only talk about some of the fighting and how it ruined some of the cities in the region and how they had to rebuild. We discuss slavery as being one of the issues but not the only issue that led to the Civil War. Most people think that is the only reason. We all know how big the topic of slavery can be, but again we just skim the surface. Keep practicing those maps of the Southeast region.
Conferences - Keep in mind the conference schedule is on the St. Malachy website. Please, go on and double check the time you are scheduled for and be sure it still works. If not give the office a call and she can see about making some changes. If nothing works than you will need to contact me to see what I can do to meet with you. All conferences need to be completed by that Thursday. Thank you!
I hope all of you have a great weekend!! Hope to see you all at the St. Malachy Foundation Gala!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!!! It's kind of a cold one!! I had recess duty today and it was very chilly. I am glad I had all the right gear to bundle up in. Keep sending the winter stuff to school including boots! We will still want the students to wear them outside. The less we track in the better. We have chances of snow everyday until Monday. I don't think they are sure what is going to happen. I guess it will do whatever God wants it to.
We had a prayer service on Tuesday. We said the rosary using the Glorious Mysteries in honor of Kirk Levine, his family and the surgery he was to have that day. I love these services because we come together as one giant family to prayer someone who is a part of that family. It shows the students how much we care about others. Our prayers were answered. Mr. Levine is home doing very well.
Auction - The St. Malachy Foundation Auction and dinner is fast approaching! It is Saturday, Feb. 28th at the Supertel. If you haven't got your ticket you need to do so. We are still looking for donations for our 4th grade basket and $2 for the student page in scrapbook, which is our silent auction item. Send basket money by Monday, Feb. 23rd and Scrapbook donation by Wednesday, Feb. 25th. Thanks again.
Language Arts - We read a story about Sacagawea this week. It was very interesting to really learn her part on Lewis and Clarke's exploration of the West. I think the kids got a better understanding of what her role was. Our skill for the week was focusing on Main Ideas and supporting details. We have talked about abbreviations in grammar this week. This was our last story in Unit 4 so next week will be a Unit test week. I will be assigning them their next book report. Last one of the year. Hard to believe we are all ready here.
Math - We finished up chapter 13 in math. The test has been corrected and recorded on Power School. The scores may not look the best BUT I know these students can find perimeter and area using the formulas. They may not do well when finding a missing side or if a story problem provides a challenge in its wording. If given a rectangle or square and asked to find perimeter and area they can do it!! Next up is DIVISION!! We started diving into it today. We are estimating quotients today. This is done using multiples. They know how to find multiples of a number. They are working on a few problems tonight. Tomorrow we will check and review then they will have worksheet 4.1 to complete. This is a very long chapter and I hoped to move a little quicker through it, but the first lesson took longer than I thought. Hopefully some of the lessons to follow will be ones that we can just spend one day working on. If not that's okay too. You can start working on Division facts at home. That would be very helpful!!
Social Studies - We have begun chapter 7 this week. Projects start coming due at the end of next week. I plan to finish this chapter quickly and move on to the next region. It will be exciting because it is the Midwest which our kids are familiar with. Iowa will not be choice in picking a state because in 5th grade they do an entire Iowa History Unit and get to research Iowa during that time. This week we have talked about the Cherokee. We learned about the Trail of Tears and that they had their own written language. I am excited to see these projects!!
Conferences - The conference schedule is on the St. Malachy website. We will go with the time you signed up for originally for last fall. I messed up that schedule because I chose to attend the football game at the Dome. If you need to change the times look at what is open and give the school a call. Thank you!! Looking forward to visiting with you about your child.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!!! It's kind of a cold one!! I had recess duty today and it was very chilly. I am glad I had all the right gear to bundle up in. Keep sending the winter stuff to school including boots! We will still want the students to wear them outside. The less we track in the better. We have chances of snow everyday until Monday. I don't think they are sure what is going to happen. I guess it will do whatever God wants it to.
We had a prayer service on Tuesday. We said the rosary using the Glorious Mysteries in honor of Kirk Levine, his family and the surgery he was to have that day. I love these services because we come together as one giant family to prayer someone who is a part of that family. It shows the students how much we care about others. Our prayers were answered. Mr. Levine is home doing very well.
Auction - The St. Malachy Foundation Auction and dinner is fast approaching! It is Saturday, Feb. 28th at the Supertel. If you haven't got your ticket you need to do so. We are still looking for donations for our 4th grade basket and $2 for the student page in scrapbook, which is our silent auction item. Send basket money by Monday, Feb. 23rd and Scrapbook donation by Wednesday, Feb. 25th. Thanks again.
Language Arts - We read a story about Sacagawea this week. It was very interesting to really learn her part on Lewis and Clarke's exploration of the West. I think the kids got a better understanding of what her role was. Our skill for the week was focusing on Main Ideas and supporting details. We have talked about abbreviations in grammar this week. This was our last story in Unit 4 so next week will be a Unit test week. I will be assigning them their next book report. Last one of the year. Hard to believe we are all ready here.
Math - We finished up chapter 13 in math. The test has been corrected and recorded on Power School. The scores may not look the best BUT I know these students can find perimeter and area using the formulas. They may not do well when finding a missing side or if a story problem provides a challenge in its wording. If given a rectangle or square and asked to find perimeter and area they can do it!! Next up is DIVISION!! We started diving into it today. We are estimating quotients today. This is done using multiples. They know how to find multiples of a number. They are working on a few problems tonight. Tomorrow we will check and review then they will have worksheet 4.1 to complete. This is a very long chapter and I hoped to move a little quicker through it, but the first lesson took longer than I thought. Hopefully some of the lessons to follow will be ones that we can just spend one day working on. If not that's okay too. You can start working on Division facts at home. That would be very helpful!!
Social Studies - We have begun chapter 7 this week. Projects start coming due at the end of next week. I plan to finish this chapter quickly and move on to the next region. It will be exciting because it is the Midwest which our kids are familiar with. Iowa will not be choice in picking a state because in 5th grade they do an entire Iowa History Unit and get to research Iowa during that time. This week we have talked about the Cherokee. We learned about the Trail of Tears and that they had their own written language. I am excited to see these projects!!
Conferences - The conference schedule is on the St. Malachy website. We will go with the time you signed up for originally for last fall. I messed up that schedule because I chose to attend the football game at the Dome. If you need to change the times look at what is open and give the school a call. Thank you!! Looking forward to visiting with you about your child.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!!! I hope everyone is feeling well. We are dealing with some illnesses here at school. Please be sure to wash hands and keep your kid home if running a fever. We would like to limit the amount of germs being spread. I will be thankful when the sickness is all over!! This is a short week!!! Lucky students, it is not for teachers. We will be working hard from 8-4 Friday! I hope everyone has a happy Valentine's Day!
Language Arts: This week we read a biography called Harvesting Hope The Story of Cesar Chavez. It is an interesting story about a time in U.S. History when a draught caused people to lose their farms because they were dried up and brought in no income. The families who once were successful farmers were forced to move to California to become Migrant Farm workers. They had to live in tents provided by the Government. Living and working conditions were bad. Cesar Chavez started a march for better treatment of the farm workers. Not sure the kids really understood the importance of this in our history, but they do understand what happened during this time period. Our spelling list was covering suffixes. They find these lists not as hard as others. In grammar we learned about Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses. They understand what they are, but finding them is challenging. Next week is our last story in Unit 4. Then we will be testing.
Math - We finished up chapter 13 on Perimeter and Area today. I really think they enjoyed this chapter. We checked the review today and will be having a test over this chapter on Monday. I think they will do fine. We have done a lot of work on this chapter and most of it has been partner work using the formulas. I am confident they have it done. I would have them measure something at home and find perimeter and area of it. We did that one day at school for fun. They enjoyed measuring doors, tables, desks, the whiteboard, front of mailboxes and book shelves. It is good practice.
Social Studies - We finished up chapter 6. We will correct those tests on Monday and begin Chapter 7. It will be the 2nd chapter of the Southeast Region. I have been swamped this week, and was unable to get them there posters for their projects. I will do that next week. The students should be gathering their information and planning out their poster while waiting for the poster board. If it is planned out it doesn't take as long to put together. We have talked about this in class. Next chapter scratches the surface of some very big events in history that took place in the Southeast. They are very interesting topics but have so much stuff about them to learn and again we only skim the surface. On the next test the students will be expected to label a map and put the capitals with it. I have given them maps to study!
Auction basket - Some parents gathered to discuss the basket. We have decided on an "Iowa" basket. They are looking at items from the Iowa store in Valley Junction to put in the basket. The story contains everything that is made in Iowa. It could be jellies, jams, bread, butters, t-shirts, artwork, ect. They even have baskets all ready put together. We have received a few donations so far. Please send anything to us and if you are sending money that is great. Checks can be made out to Kim Coen or Rachel Glynn. For our silent auction item we make a scrapbook. I would ask for a $2 donation for that for your child's page. We will be completing the scrapbook On Wednesday, Feb. 25th. If anyone is available to help let me know we would love to have you!
Happy Valentine's Day!! Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!!! I hope everyone is feeling well. We are dealing with some illnesses here at school. Please be sure to wash hands and keep your kid home if running a fever. We would like to limit the amount of germs being spread. I will be thankful when the sickness is all over!! This is a short week!!! Lucky students, it is not for teachers. We will be working hard from 8-4 Friday! I hope everyone has a happy Valentine's Day!
Language Arts: This week we read a biography called Harvesting Hope The Story of Cesar Chavez. It is an interesting story about a time in U.S. History when a draught caused people to lose their farms because they were dried up and brought in no income. The families who once were successful farmers were forced to move to California to become Migrant Farm workers. They had to live in tents provided by the Government. Living and working conditions were bad. Cesar Chavez started a march for better treatment of the farm workers. Not sure the kids really understood the importance of this in our history, but they do understand what happened during this time period. Our spelling list was covering suffixes. They find these lists not as hard as others. In grammar we learned about Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses. They understand what they are, but finding them is challenging. Next week is our last story in Unit 4. Then we will be testing.
Math - We finished up chapter 13 on Perimeter and Area today. I really think they enjoyed this chapter. We checked the review today and will be having a test over this chapter on Monday. I think they will do fine. We have done a lot of work on this chapter and most of it has been partner work using the formulas. I am confident they have it done. I would have them measure something at home and find perimeter and area of it. We did that one day at school for fun. They enjoyed measuring doors, tables, desks, the whiteboard, front of mailboxes and book shelves. It is good practice.
Social Studies - We finished up chapter 6. We will correct those tests on Monday and begin Chapter 7. It will be the 2nd chapter of the Southeast Region. I have been swamped this week, and was unable to get them there posters for their projects. I will do that next week. The students should be gathering their information and planning out their poster while waiting for the poster board. If it is planned out it doesn't take as long to put together. We have talked about this in class. Next chapter scratches the surface of some very big events in history that took place in the Southeast. They are very interesting topics but have so much stuff about them to learn and again we only skim the surface. On the next test the students will be expected to label a map and put the capitals with it. I have given them maps to study!
Auction basket - Some parents gathered to discuss the basket. We have decided on an "Iowa" basket. They are looking at items from the Iowa store in Valley Junction to put in the basket. The story contains everything that is made in Iowa. It could be jellies, jams, bread, butters, t-shirts, artwork, ect. They even have baskets all ready put together. We have received a few donations so far. Please send anything to us and if you are sending money that is great. Checks can be made out to Kim Coen or Rachel Glynn. For our silent auction item we make a scrapbook. I would ask for a $2 donation for that for your child's page. We will be completing the scrapbook On Wednesday, Feb. 25th. If anyone is available to help let me know we would love to have you!
Happy Valentine's Day!! Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! Again another crazy week. What a great snow storm on Sunday. I do like to get a couple good ones in during winter. I sat by my huge windows and watched it all day!! So pretty. I read a book and took a nap. Well, I feel we have accomplished things this week just like it was a normal week. I survived my first time prom dress shopping also. We have dresses!! Josie only tried on 3, she is a girl who know s what she wants. Jami tried on at least 20. She did get outside her box and brought home a very lovely comfortable dress which was the opposite of what she went wanting. HA! I hope all of you enjoyed your extra day of the weekend. I know I did.
Auction Basket - We have a meeting in my room after school today to discuss ideas for the auction basket. If you are able to attend that would be great. The more the merrier. If you are one who likes to just give a monetary donation you can do that at anytime. You can make check payable to Kim Coen. I will let you know when we have decided on a basket theme in case you would like to donate an item towards our them. I do ask that you send at least $2 with your child to help cover the cost of their scrapbook page. We create a scrapbook for our silent auction item. Each child has their own page, they decorate with their names and stickers and such. We also have some group shots in there from Catholic Schools Week.
Language Arts - We read the story Hercules' Quest this week. They loved it. It was a nice break from all the informational text stories we have been reading!! I plan to show them the movie for fun next week on Thursday when we celebrate Valentine's Day. The spelling list this week was on prefixes and the students did a great job on the pretest. In Grammar this week we are learning about Prepositions and prepositional phrases. It is one of most difficult parts of speech to teach but the kids catch on. They have done a nice job. We discussed plot in depth this week. They had to write out the plot on paper when reading the story with a partner which will help them better understand the story. Tomorrow is a normal Friday with end of the week assessments.
Math - I feel like we have been having a lot of fun with math last week and this week. We have been learning about perimeter and area. I have taught the appropriate formulas and they have put them to good use. We have spent a lot of time working in partners and groups for this. I think that is why they enjoy it so much. Mrs. Sickels doesn't need to be in front of room teaching all the time. We can work in partners using a formula to figure out math without her. Mrs. Ide and I have been walking around watching as they figure things out. Listening to their discussions on why they need to do this is very interesting. I a glad I gave them a little break to really enjoy Math before we head into Division which will cause them to really think. We will be testing next week sometime over this chapter.
Social Studies - We are covering the last lesson in our first chapter on the Southeast regions. The students received their project due dates today. The first one is Feb. 27th. Please be working on finding facts and gathering your stuff to get started. I will get their poster stuff to them soon, The southeast is full of rich history about our country. It is just sad that I only get to skim the surface of it with them.
Mass - We have mass next week, which is just a prayer service. We would still love it if our parents and loved ones attended. I think we are going to act out the reading to add a little something extra to the service. I will be working on this and finalizing everything over the weekend. Monday I will devote time to go over with the kids. We will practice also on Tuesday.
I am looking for someone to provide treats for our class on Valentine's Day which will be celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 12th, due to no school on Friday the 13th. I would like one person to bring a snack and one to bring a drink. I only allow the students to eat the provided treats and no candy from their valentine's. Please email me or text me (641)202-1580 if you would like to bring an item. It will be a first come first serve basis.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! Again another crazy week. What a great snow storm on Sunday. I do like to get a couple good ones in during winter. I sat by my huge windows and watched it all day!! So pretty. I read a book and took a nap. Well, I feel we have accomplished things this week just like it was a normal week. I survived my first time prom dress shopping also. We have dresses!! Josie only tried on 3, she is a girl who know s what she wants. Jami tried on at least 20. She did get outside her box and brought home a very lovely comfortable dress which was the opposite of what she went wanting. HA! I hope all of you enjoyed your extra day of the weekend. I know I did.
Auction Basket - We have a meeting in my room after school today to discuss ideas for the auction basket. If you are able to attend that would be great. The more the merrier. If you are one who likes to just give a monetary donation you can do that at anytime. You can make check payable to Kim Coen. I will let you know when we have decided on a basket theme in case you would like to donate an item towards our them. I do ask that you send at least $2 with your child to help cover the cost of their scrapbook page. We create a scrapbook for our silent auction item. Each child has their own page, they decorate with their names and stickers and such. We also have some group shots in there from Catholic Schools Week.
Language Arts - We read the story Hercules' Quest this week. They loved it. It was a nice break from all the informational text stories we have been reading!! I plan to show them the movie for fun next week on Thursday when we celebrate Valentine's Day. The spelling list this week was on prefixes and the students did a great job on the pretest. In Grammar this week we are learning about Prepositions and prepositional phrases. It is one of most difficult parts of speech to teach but the kids catch on. They have done a nice job. We discussed plot in depth this week. They had to write out the plot on paper when reading the story with a partner which will help them better understand the story. Tomorrow is a normal Friday with end of the week assessments.
Math - I feel like we have been having a lot of fun with math last week and this week. We have been learning about perimeter and area. I have taught the appropriate formulas and they have put them to good use. We have spent a lot of time working in partners and groups for this. I think that is why they enjoy it so much. Mrs. Sickels doesn't need to be in front of room teaching all the time. We can work in partners using a formula to figure out math without her. Mrs. Ide and I have been walking around watching as they figure things out. Listening to their discussions on why they need to do this is very interesting. I a glad I gave them a little break to really enjoy Math before we head into Division which will cause them to really think. We will be testing next week sometime over this chapter.
Social Studies - We are covering the last lesson in our first chapter on the Southeast regions. The students received their project due dates today. The first one is Feb. 27th. Please be working on finding facts and gathering your stuff to get started. I will get their poster stuff to them soon, The southeast is full of rich history about our country. It is just sad that I only get to skim the surface of it with them.
Mass - We have mass next week, which is just a prayer service. We would still love it if our parents and loved ones attended. I think we are going to act out the reading to add a little something extra to the service. I will be working on this and finalizing everything over the weekend. Monday I will devote time to go over with the kids. We will practice also on Tuesday.
I am looking for someone to provide treats for our class on Valentine's Day which will be celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 12th, due to no school on Friday the 13th. I would like one person to bring a snack and one to bring a drink. I only allow the students to eat the provided treats and no candy from their valentine's. Please email me or text me (641)202-1580 if you would like to bring an item. It will be a first come first serve basis.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
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