Hello!!
I just wanted to put out a few things to clarify. I may have confused you about Secret Santa. This is something the teachers do. We draw names and for 4 days we put gifts all over the building in strange spots for each other. The kids get all excited seeing them all over the building. They love when I find mine and open the gifts too!! Some parents read that in my blog and thought the kids were doing it. No they are not, it is the teachers! I am so sorry I wasn't clear about that.
Yesterday I talked about the last day activities. These will all be on Monday. I didn't put a date because I didn't want anyone to wonder until they received notification from the Principal. Monday is a "Spirit Day", plus they need a sack lunch and board games. If you have any questions please let me know!
We are all very grateful that the school is letting us out so all the staff and faculty can support Mrs. Levine during this time. Kirk was always in the building for all to visit with and Mrs. Levine has been her for over 35 years. It is the least we can do for her.
May God bless you all this Christmas season!
Mrs. Sickels
Friday, December 18, 2015
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!!! This week the only good thing about Thursday is that Friday is tomorrow!!! I would say the 4th graders are getting excited for Christmas. Some a lot more than others. The most important thing is we are still working hard. This has been a week of ups and downs. With the passing of Kirk Levine being our low and the excitement of Secret Santa starting in our building, emotions are high. We are praying for Mrs. Levine and her family daily. I hope everyone had the chance to share with your children on his passing. If not they are aware of it today. Funeral arrangements can be found online at Pearson's funeral home.
Language Arts - This week in we have been reading a story called Antarctic Journal. This is about the author's 4 month visit to the Antarctic. We learned a lot about the region through this story. The was a narrative nonfiction story. It told a story about her stay but told us factual information. In grammar we have been talking about Modal Auxilaries, which are words like: may, should, could, can, might, and would. We discussed the appropriate times to use these words. The fun one we talked about was "may" and how we should use "May I" to ask permission for things. In spelling we worked on words with endings of -ed and -ing again. This week was better than last week. Tomorrow is our normal testing day so make sure they are studying for their spelling test and end of the week test over the story.
Math -Yes, folks we did it! We have learned the standard algorithm!! The math that you were taught in school! The students like it but they did say they liked the partial product strategy too. Some still get a little confused when multiplying how to record their answers but we are working on it. We will spend the next couple of days working on it. Some were very excited to see this, so I am sure some of you have been sharing this strategy at home. We took another timed test yesterday and I will have the results on the computer by the end of the day. Any student who got 100% for the 2nd time will move down to only 4 minutes of time allowed to take the test. Woohoo!! That is exciting. The goal is 2 minutes. I can just get it done in 2, so it is quite the challenge!
Social Studies - We are finishing up chapter 4. We their study guides today. They need to study for the test tonight because they will take it at 8:30 tomorrow morning! On Monday, I will give the tests back for corrections and we are done! It is a great stopping place for Christmas Break! When we return, projects start rolling in! We will start on the next region as soon as chapter 5 in complete!
Last Day- The last day before break is a fun one for us! We will spend the first hours in the morning doing some house cleaning in our desks and finishing anything that needs finished. At 10:00 we plan to watch a Christmas movie with 3rd and 5th grade. We have a sack lunch with our Advent Angels, then we sing Christmas Carols from 12:30 - 1:00. At 1:00 we will come back to our room and have our Christmas Party. We will have a snack and play games. The students are asked to bring in a board game from home to play with others. No electronics just board games. I have some good ones here but not a lot! I know kids have favorites at home. Please allow them to bring them. I love playing games!!! Parents are welcome to join us at any point of the day, or all day for that matter!! It is a fun day celebrating Christ's birth with our school family. I am looking for one volunteer to provide snacks for that day! Anyone interested email me or text me at 641-202-1580. If you text, let me know who you are.
I want to end by saying Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I hope you have a very special Holiday Season! I will be thinking of all of you! I really do miss your children during this break! Be safe!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!!! This week the only good thing about Thursday is that Friday is tomorrow!!! I would say the 4th graders are getting excited for Christmas. Some a lot more than others. The most important thing is we are still working hard. This has been a week of ups and downs. With the passing of Kirk Levine being our low and the excitement of Secret Santa starting in our building, emotions are high. We are praying for Mrs. Levine and her family daily. I hope everyone had the chance to share with your children on his passing. If not they are aware of it today. Funeral arrangements can be found online at Pearson's funeral home.
Language Arts - This week in we have been reading a story called Antarctic Journal. This is about the author's 4 month visit to the Antarctic. We learned a lot about the region through this story. The was a narrative nonfiction story. It told a story about her stay but told us factual information. In grammar we have been talking about Modal Auxilaries, which are words like: may, should, could, can, might, and would. We discussed the appropriate times to use these words. The fun one we talked about was "may" and how we should use "May I" to ask permission for things. In spelling we worked on words with endings of -ed and -ing again. This week was better than last week. Tomorrow is our normal testing day so make sure they are studying for their spelling test and end of the week test over the story.
Math -Yes, folks we did it! We have learned the standard algorithm!! The math that you were taught in school! The students like it but they did say they liked the partial product strategy too. Some still get a little confused when multiplying how to record their answers but we are working on it. We will spend the next couple of days working on it. Some were very excited to see this, so I am sure some of you have been sharing this strategy at home. We took another timed test yesterday and I will have the results on the computer by the end of the day. Any student who got 100% for the 2nd time will move down to only 4 minutes of time allowed to take the test. Woohoo!! That is exciting. The goal is 2 minutes. I can just get it done in 2, so it is quite the challenge!
Social Studies - We are finishing up chapter 4. We their study guides today. They need to study for the test tonight because they will take it at 8:30 tomorrow morning! On Monday, I will give the tests back for corrections and we are done! It is a great stopping place for Christmas Break! When we return, projects start rolling in! We will start on the next region as soon as chapter 5 in complete!
Last Day- The last day before break is a fun one for us! We will spend the first hours in the morning doing some house cleaning in our desks and finishing anything that needs finished. At 10:00 we plan to watch a Christmas movie with 3rd and 5th grade. We have a sack lunch with our Advent Angels, then we sing Christmas Carols from 12:30 - 1:00. At 1:00 we will come back to our room and have our Christmas Party. We will have a snack and play games. The students are asked to bring in a board game from home to play with others. No electronics just board games. I have some good ones here but not a lot! I know kids have favorites at home. Please allow them to bring them. I love playing games!!! Parents are welcome to join us at any point of the day, or all day for that matter!! It is a fun day celebrating Christ's birth with our school family. I am looking for one volunteer to provide snacks for that day! Anyone interested email me or text me at 641-202-1580. If you text, let me know who you are.
I want to end by saying Merry Christmas to all of you!!! I hope you have a very special Holiday Season! I will be thinking of all of you! I really do miss your children during this break! Be safe!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! We are having a great week!! This was definitely a different week! The change of Mass on Tuesday instead of Wednesday threw everyone for a loop! We are also having a great week. The kids seem pretty settled this week considering we are gearing up for Christmas. We have had hard working week. I am very pleased that we are completely settled in and really working on our learning. Some are still struggling with managing time, so their work is done on time. Most students dig right in and want to get finished. I am stressing not to hurry too much, so that they make mistakes.
Social Studies - I just finished putting together due dates for their first projects. I have 2 projects due a day. I only have time for a couple to share their work so we can still have part of our regular social studies lesson for the day. The dates range from Jan. 4 - 20. Make sure these due date sheets are placed where everyone is aware. We are talking about resources from the Northeast region this week. We discussed: grapes in New York, cranberries in Massachusetts, maple syrup in Vermont, and granite quarries in New Hampshire. We have completed all the vocab for this chapter!! The kids are excited to be finished with that. I feel we will be looking at a test over chapter 4 before Christmas.
Math- This week in math we are focusing on word problems. They are multi-step problems. This means there is more than one problem to be worked to find the answer. Most kids hate these because it means more work. I am trying to have them look at them as a challenge. I am trying to get them excited about finding the ways to work out answers. I think they think I am crazy!! You will get their results of the first multiplication timed test this week. It is on the blue half sheet in the folder. We took another one on Wednesday and we are working on getting that one checked. I also put results on Power School as soon as I have them ready.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called The Earth Dragon Awakes. It is historical Fiction. It's historical event is the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. We follow the happenings of a father and son who lived in a tenement building. The building collapses. The characters and events that happen to them are not true but could have happened. The kids found the story interesting since we do not have to deal with earthquakes here in Iowa. We have spent time talking about possessive nouns this week in grammar. This is the use of apostrophes to show ownership. Is spelling the list focused on adding the endings of -ed and -ing to base words. Next week the list will have more words with these endings. We discussed the base words and endings on some of the spelling words for decoding this week also. End of the week assessing will take place tomorrow.
Geography Bee - Grades 3-8 attended the final competition of the Geography Bee yesterday during our regular Mass time. We had 10 finalists to compete for the Championship round. Our class had two representatives: Daniel Buls and Cecilia Zachary!! We are so proud of them!! Megan Pellman ended up being the school Championi!! Congrats to Megan!!
I hope all of you are getting everything ready for Christmas. I am ready to start wrapping presents!! I have some shopping left to do on the twins but not Molly. I am done with her. We start having Christmas parties this weekend! FUN!! I hope you enjoy all the season has to offer!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! We are having a great week!! This was definitely a different week! The change of Mass on Tuesday instead of Wednesday threw everyone for a loop! We are also having a great week. The kids seem pretty settled this week considering we are gearing up for Christmas. We have had hard working week. I am very pleased that we are completely settled in and really working on our learning. Some are still struggling with managing time, so their work is done on time. Most students dig right in and want to get finished. I am stressing not to hurry too much, so that they make mistakes.
Social Studies - I just finished putting together due dates for their first projects. I have 2 projects due a day. I only have time for a couple to share their work so we can still have part of our regular social studies lesson for the day. The dates range from Jan. 4 - 20. Make sure these due date sheets are placed where everyone is aware. We are talking about resources from the Northeast region this week. We discussed: grapes in New York, cranberries in Massachusetts, maple syrup in Vermont, and granite quarries in New Hampshire. We have completed all the vocab for this chapter!! The kids are excited to be finished with that. I feel we will be looking at a test over chapter 4 before Christmas.
Math- This week in math we are focusing on word problems. They are multi-step problems. This means there is more than one problem to be worked to find the answer. Most kids hate these because it means more work. I am trying to have them look at them as a challenge. I am trying to get them excited about finding the ways to work out answers. I think they think I am crazy!! You will get their results of the first multiplication timed test this week. It is on the blue half sheet in the folder. We took another one on Wednesday and we are working on getting that one checked. I also put results on Power School as soon as I have them ready.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called The Earth Dragon Awakes. It is historical Fiction. It's historical event is the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. We follow the happenings of a father and son who lived in a tenement building. The building collapses. The characters and events that happen to them are not true but could have happened. The kids found the story interesting since we do not have to deal with earthquakes here in Iowa. We have spent time talking about possessive nouns this week in grammar. This is the use of apostrophes to show ownership. Is spelling the list focused on adding the endings of -ed and -ing to base words. Next week the list will have more words with these endings. We discussed the base words and endings on some of the spelling words for decoding this week also. End of the week assessing will take place tomorrow.
Geography Bee - Grades 3-8 attended the final competition of the Geography Bee yesterday during our regular Mass time. We had 10 finalists to compete for the Championship round. Our class had two representatives: Daniel Buls and Cecilia Zachary!! We are so proud of them!! Megan Pellman ended up being the school Championi!! Congrats to Megan!!
I hope all of you are getting everything ready for Christmas. I am ready to start wrapping presents!! I have some shopping left to do on the twins but not Molly. I am done with her. We start having Christmas parties this weekend! FUN!! I hope you enjoy all the season has to offer!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. We had a fabulous relaxing trip to Chicago. My favorite store again was Macy's!! Also, I guess Micheal's because we had a craft day and spent all day Saturday doing crafts. I was the runner and went to Micheal's 4 times that day!! Last one was 9:30 at night!!
We are all excited that Advent is here!! The students had their first Advent Angel activity. It was a fun time! This month will go quickly but we will continue to work hard. I will admit that i play Christmas music any opportunity I have. I love the songs and keeps us in the season. Kids seem to calm down and work quietly while I have it on too. We have had some illnesses pop up in our room. Just remember to keep them home so we can limit the spread. I feel all of you do a good job at this.
Language Arts - Last week we had "Cuddle-up and Read" Day. We moved the desks out of the way and spread our blankets out all over. They made nests and laid down and read for about 65 minutes. It was a nice time. They were busy reading the whole time unless they became drowsy. I then sent them on a walk for a drink of water, so they could perk up a bit. I will share pictures at the end of my letter.
We are reading a nonfiction story this week on Hurricanes. It is called Hurricanes: Earth's Deadliest Storm. It has a lot of graphic features, like charts, graphs and diagrams with it to help us understand the story. That is what we are focusing on this time is Graphic Features. We discuss their importance to the story and how is enhances the reading and understanding. We have been working on easily confused words like: to, two,too, their, there, they're, its and it's. We have talked about how to decide which to use in sentences. In spelling they are working on compound words. Remember to study vocabulary words and spelling words tonight!! Maybe after the parade!
Math - We have spent some time working on flash cards and multiplication facts the last couple of days! We will begin a new lesson today. I am hoping to have Chapter 2 finished up before Christmas break. I am positive that will happen. We are getting closer to the students learning the standard algorithm of multiplication which is what you and I learned in school. We have about 7 lessons left in this chapter. Should take a couple weeks. I love this chapter and all that I teach the kids. All of it consists of great ways to multiply. We have begun taking times tests over the basic facts of multiplication. You will see those results on Power School. They are given 100 basic problems and 5 minutes to do them. Ultimately they are to do them in 2 minutes. I start them at 5 and as they master that I lower the time limit. Some kids will be able to do them in at least 3 minutes but maybe not have 100% accuracy. We will keep working on it!
Social Studies - The students have been assigned their first state and picked their first project!! I will get them their due dates next week. They will be due anywhere from January 4-20. They seem a little excited about doing this. Most 4th graders love this about 4th grade. Not all parents love it though. We are also moving along in Chapter 4. Students are working on completing vocabulary words, and learning about the Northeast. So far this week we have talked about Niagara Falls and how it is not just a sight of awe and beauty, but an electrical power source. It had hydropower plants on the Niagara River that produces the majority of electricity for the state of New York. We also looked at a cross-section diagram of a power plant to try and understand how it works. Next week we will look at some specific products from the area and Mountain Ranges in the states. Did you know there are about 1,000 cranberry bogs in the United States and 500 of them are in the state of Massachusetts? Just and interesting fact!! There are also a couple in Wisconsin. These are things we will be talking about!
Mrs. Levine - I ask that all of you keep her husband Kirk in your prayers. She is now at home to be with him as his time on Earth comes to an end. We need to pray for peace from his pain and suffering. We pray for him every morning here at school.
Book Report - I am sharing with you before the kids. Their book reports will be due January 29th. I want them to have plenty of time to complete social studies projects and the book report. Most all students have picked a book suitable for them to read. We need to help them manage their time wisely so they complete the book and project. If you lose the papers I sent home to make the cereal box, I can always print more!
Well... enjoy the photos of our "Cuddle-up and Read" Day!! Have a great weekend!! Is the tree up? We have 2 real trees. They are up but not decorated. That will be happening over the weekend.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving. We had a fabulous relaxing trip to Chicago. My favorite store again was Macy's!! Also, I guess Micheal's because we had a craft day and spent all day Saturday doing crafts. I was the runner and went to Micheal's 4 times that day!! Last one was 9:30 at night!!
We are all excited that Advent is here!! The students had their first Advent Angel activity. It was a fun time! This month will go quickly but we will continue to work hard. I will admit that i play Christmas music any opportunity I have. I love the songs and keeps us in the season. Kids seem to calm down and work quietly while I have it on too. We have had some illnesses pop up in our room. Just remember to keep them home so we can limit the spread. I feel all of you do a good job at this.
Language Arts - Last week we had "Cuddle-up and Read" Day. We moved the desks out of the way and spread our blankets out all over. They made nests and laid down and read for about 65 minutes. It was a nice time. They were busy reading the whole time unless they became drowsy. I then sent them on a walk for a drink of water, so they could perk up a bit. I will share pictures at the end of my letter.
We are reading a nonfiction story this week on Hurricanes. It is called Hurricanes: Earth's Deadliest Storm. It has a lot of graphic features, like charts, graphs and diagrams with it to help us understand the story. That is what we are focusing on this time is Graphic Features. We discuss their importance to the story and how is enhances the reading and understanding. We have been working on easily confused words like: to, two,too, their, there, they're, its and it's. We have talked about how to decide which to use in sentences. In spelling they are working on compound words. Remember to study vocabulary words and spelling words tonight!! Maybe after the parade!
Math - We have spent some time working on flash cards and multiplication facts the last couple of days! We will begin a new lesson today. I am hoping to have Chapter 2 finished up before Christmas break. I am positive that will happen. We are getting closer to the students learning the standard algorithm of multiplication which is what you and I learned in school. We have about 7 lessons left in this chapter. Should take a couple weeks. I love this chapter and all that I teach the kids. All of it consists of great ways to multiply. We have begun taking times tests over the basic facts of multiplication. You will see those results on Power School. They are given 100 basic problems and 5 minutes to do them. Ultimately they are to do them in 2 minutes. I start them at 5 and as they master that I lower the time limit. Some kids will be able to do them in at least 3 minutes but maybe not have 100% accuracy. We will keep working on it!
Social Studies - The students have been assigned their first state and picked their first project!! I will get them their due dates next week. They will be due anywhere from January 4-20. They seem a little excited about doing this. Most 4th graders love this about 4th grade. Not all parents love it though. We are also moving along in Chapter 4. Students are working on completing vocabulary words, and learning about the Northeast. So far this week we have talked about Niagara Falls and how it is not just a sight of awe and beauty, but an electrical power source. It had hydropower plants on the Niagara River that produces the majority of electricity for the state of New York. We also looked at a cross-section diagram of a power plant to try and understand how it works. Next week we will look at some specific products from the area and Mountain Ranges in the states. Did you know there are about 1,000 cranberry bogs in the United States and 500 of them are in the state of Massachusetts? Just and interesting fact!! There are also a couple in Wisconsin. These are things we will be talking about!
Mrs. Levine - I ask that all of you keep her husband Kirk in your prayers. She is now at home to be with him as his time on Earth comes to an end. We need to pray for peace from his pain and suffering. We pray for him every morning here at school.
Book Report - I am sharing with you before the kids. Their book reports will be due January 29th. I want them to have plenty of time to complete social studies projects and the book report. Most all students have picked a book suitable for them to read. We need to help them manage their time wisely so they complete the book and project. If you lose the papers I sent home to make the cereal box, I can always print more!
Well... enjoy the photos of our "Cuddle-up and Read" Day!! Have a great weekend!! Is the tree up? We have 2 real trees. They are up but not decorated. That will be happening over the weekend.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
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