Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!  I might need to say Happy Fat Tuesday on Thursday.  We have the tradition of the 4th graders making donuts on Tuesday and delivering to all the students in the school.  Well, due to the pandemic I couldn't make them this year.  Also, we had a "cold" day on Tuesday!  BUT we did not let any of that stop us.  Mrs. Burg took charge!  We had several sponsors help to make this happen!  The cooks got the donuts ready in individual "boats" and had them on carts.  The 4th grade washed up, put on their gloves and went around the building delivering.  It was a super fun time.  Everyone was excited!  I also made sure to tell them they were not as good as Mrs. Sickels made donuts but they would do for this year.  Hopefully next year we can go back to the normal tradition.  

Language Arts -  This week is a short one!  Sooo... we are not doing a spelling test over this story.  We will work on the Spelling worksheets during the week and we will do the grammar and voacab strategy worksheet but we will not take an end of the week test.  We just have to go with the flow, and I do not feel rushing the students through a story that we usually spend 5 days on and making them test over it, would be beneficial at all.  I am not one to set the kids up for failure and I just don't feel I can give the story justice in 2 days.  The other issue is we need to keep moving forward. The good thing is this is an interesting story BUT not one they want to hear over and over.  So maybe the "cold" days worked in their favor!  Next week the weather looks to be good so I am not worried about missing any days.  They will love next week's story.  It is Hercules.  

Math - This week is finishing up with area and perimeter.  Today we passed out donuts for math.  Tomorrow we will learn the last lesson that we will cover in this unit.  Next week we will do a dress rehearsal and take the test.  Then it is on to Division. We will also start doing a little with writing checks, checkbooks and check registers.  We are teaching them some real life skills.  Normally we would do a huge unit on it and then go to Des Moines to JA BizTown.  Due to the pandemic, we will be putting on our own mini "BizTown" here in our building.  The kids will need to do a couple jobs.  They will do trash and wipe down tables after lunch a couple days.  This is so they earn a paycheck.  Then they will have a couple bills to pay and then a store to purchase items.  We have not solidified the whole thing but we plan to do it on March 10th. I will tell you more when we have mapped out what it will really look like.

Social Studies - The students are finishing up a chapter.  Today they are finishing the last lesson on Wildlife and Resources.  They are learning about The different wildlife in the different areas of the southeast and what important resources come from the area.  Next week they will be working on a study guide and taking a test.  I will begin to pick up the pace a little more and expect a little more out of them each day so that we can get to where we need to be.  I will also introduce the Southeast maps to them next week and they will need to study for a map test.

Auction -  Tomorrow is the deadline to order food for the auction. If you are having a watch party with friends you can order the meal.  It is $40.00 a meal.  There is also a Charcuterie tray that can be order for $15.  The auction is the 27th online. Again thank you for all your donations that helped make our basket successful.

What a short week!   I am much better if I am here the full week.  The two weeks we have only had 3 days, I have felt very tired everyday.  I also feel lost because I am rearranging plans in my plan book.  I then question is this important, should I shorten this lesson in order to get more done.  When I think about it, last year we would only have 3 weeks of school left.  It is so crazy to think about!  Would I have done things differently last year if I would have known this.....most likely.  So I am just constantly thinking ahead now.  I know we will not close school this year but it is just weird to think that almost a year ago we were done!  

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels