Dear Parents,

    Happy Thursday!   Only one more blog after today.  These last two weeks will be very busy ones.  We have many things I want to do, both fun and academic.  We have had a good year and your kids have learned to be good students.  They really improved on using their time wisely.  My plan is to work hard but enjoy each other the best we can over the following 10 school days.  Today is my last track meet ever! I am excited not sad.  Track season the last few years has had more cold days then nice ones.  I am at peace with it being over.  It is hard to believe though, that my baby is graduating this year.  Onward and upward!!

Language Arts - This week we took our last Unit test.  You will find in their folders the scores for week 24, 25 and the Unit test.  I was able to get all these scores finalized last night.  We will share book reports today!  The kids are very excited to share their work.  We have started Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and they are excited about that. We will also be doing an informational writing project in our last few days.  You will find their 3 main writing projects in their binders when we send them home, along with all the other assessments we have done all year.  During Charlie and Chocolate Factory we will be doing activities that require the students to apply knowledge that they have learned all year long.  Sometimes they don't really understand just how much they have learned until we do this unit.  Most of the things we do are review.  They will have homework but not a lot. I will be filling any no homework days with States for their notebooks. I want them to be sure all 50 states are in it by the end of the year.

Math - We are working on finishing up Division right now.  The kids are working on a Dress Rehearsal.  They will finish that today.  Tomorrow we will go over it and then Monday they will take the real test.  After that we will move into fractions.  I do not plan on taking another test this year we will just work through the lessons and show what we have learned on the worksheets.  We will also continue to work on Dreambox.

Social Studies - We will have one more Midwest Map Test on Monday and then I will start the kids on the Southwest States.  There are only 4 of them so they should be able to nail this one pretty quickly.  Then it is on to the West.  I will make sure they have maps and a map key so they can study.  Remember the last thing we do in Social Studies is take the big map test where they have to name all 50 states and capitals.  So keep working on it.  We have read two lessons on the Southwest so far. We will read a couple more then move into the West Region.

Thank you -  I just want to say Thank you for a couple things. One for anyone who gave me a gift last week for Teacher Appreciation Week, especially the PTO and School Board for all they did for us. Two, for the kids being so kind to me.  I had to put by 15 year old dog to sleep on Tuesday and the kids were very good to me.

Archery-  The students have had archery this week with the 5th graders in PE.  They really have enjoyed it.  Monday was more instruction then actually doing.  The kids need to learn for their safety.  Hopefully today it is more doing.  They are all excited about it for sure.

Spring Concert -  Just a reminder that the concert is Wednesday, May 26th at 6:00pm.  This is held in McKinley Park at the band shell.  The students need to wear Mass attire for the concert. Please bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.  The students are to sit with their families instead of with their class.  They will just head to the stage when it is their turn to sing.  The band will also be performing.  We are excited!  Finally they can perform for you live in person!

Last Day - Our last day has been changed to the 27th (YAY).  It will be a full day of school.  The morning will consist of preparing the room for the summer or watching a movie.  We plan to eat lunch outside like a picnic. It is a sack lunch day.  Field Day will be 12:45 - 2:30, you are welcome to come watch.  The 8th grade clap-out will take place at 2:50.  

Boy 10 school days seems so short!  It is coming quickly.  The kids think it is forever! I told them it will seem long to them but it will go quickly for me.  I always feel a little panicked at the end of the year.  So much I want to do with them before they leave me.  UGH!  I hate to think about them leaving me.  Each year I do that.  I just get them to the point where they know the routine, they  know what I expect, and they use their time wisely and they have to move on.  I have to start all over again next year with a new group.  This is honestly what makes my job interesting though.  New faces each year to mold into successful students!  Thank you for sharing your precious child with me!  I have taken good care of them and loved every moment.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

 Dear Parents,

    Happy Thursday!  It is hard to believe I have 3 more blogs to write before we are done with the year.  As long as this year has seemed it also seems short now that we are near the end!  I can't say enough how grateful I am that we have been face-to-face all year.  We have accomplished so much!  Three more weeks or 15 more days!  

Language Arts - This is our last week in the textbook!  Last week for spelling tests and all the worksheets!  The kids are excited!  They think we are just done with language arts.  Next week we will take a Unit test and then do a writing project on informative writing.  The last two weeks we will read Charlie and Chocolate Factory.  This week we read a story called "The Fun They Had".  It is a science fiction story about school in the future. The year is 2157.  They school at home with a mechanical teacher.  The teacher is set to parameters that fit that kid.  So each student is learning at their own pace.  The kids find a real book and are amazed by it.  It is a book about school now.  They do some comparing.  It is very interesting.  It caused some good conversation.  The grammar for this week was reviewing sentences, writing book and movie titles using proper capitalization, and commas in compound sentences.  Lots of different content to review is mainly what we have done. The vocabulary strategy today is on Greek and Latin word parts: meter, therm, aud, and fac.  They learn what these parts mean and how they change the meaning of the word.  I think these are fun little facts to learn.    Last time to ask you to have your students study their spelling words and vocab packets for tomorrow!

Math -  We are practicing division like crazy.  This is definitely a strategy where "practice makes perfect" is true!   The only thing you can do is practice it and follow the steps.  I know this is the only strategy we learned and its the one we think is best but I disagree.  There is another strategy that helps the kids see better what they are doing.  I have a couple students who are struggling and want to go back to that strategy.  On the test I will allow them to use whatever strategy they choose to use.  We will be finishing up the chapter next week and testing.  This will be our last math test of the year.  We will still do lessons and worksheets but I will not have them test. I am trying to decide which route I want to go.  I am thinking it will be fractions.  But I love to teach geometry.  

Social Studies - We are now reading the lessons and doing worksheets but will move quickly and not take another test.  We are almost done with the Midwest already.  We will do the Southwest and then the West. We will still have map tests in there because we have to take the "big" one at the end of the year.  We will also try working on getting our states in our notebooks.  We have a lot to do in this subject and little time to do it unless I require them to do a little bit more work.  They would not be happy with me about that. Once the book  report is turned in I just might though.

Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a spirit day! You may pay $1.00 to wear a hat or sweats!  The weather is perfect for sweats!

PE -  Next week our PE time changes.  We are getting to do a special activity.  The activity is archery.  We will be doing this with the 5th graders from 1:00-1:45 on both Monday and Thursday.

Mass - Yesterday was our last Mass of the year!  They will not lead a mass again until next year. Hopefully we can all be back in the gym together.  On the 21st we have been asked to join Mass in the gym that day because this class is such good singers they want the kids to really lead it that day.

Friday, May 7th -  I am here for only half a day tomorrow.    I am taking a personal.  There is an engagement party for Josie tomorrow night so I am going to help get ready for it.  I look forward to an enjoyable day.  Wish the weather would be a little bit warmer.

Well, I am off to a track meet today!  It is in Carroll! It is a long haul and a long night due to it being Co-ed.  I hate cold and late nights. I am sad about my last child graduating but I am happy to be at the end of my sports mom days!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!  I feel like I just updated this blog!  The week has gone quickly this time.  Our time is dwindling!  I am so grateful that we have been able to be face-to-face all year!  I am also grateful that if kids needed to be home we had the option of being online.  It was so helpful for all of us!  I am happy that we are able to have this option for next year also.  The OWL camera's are amazing and a great purchase for our school.  I am happy I work in a school that gives us the online option whenever a student needs it.

Language Arts -  This week we are reading a story called Owen and Mzee (m-zay).  This is a story that you can look up online.  It is a true story about a hippopotamus and an aldabra tortoise.  The hippo was a victim of a tsunami and lost his family.  He was a baby and not able to live on his own.  An animal rescue took Owen in and he was put in an enclosure with the tortoise (Mzee).  They became fast friends, which is very odd for these two types of animals.  A mammal and reptile usually do not hang out together.  The kids really enjoyed this story.  We are working on commas in sentences this week for grammar.  Most of it is review for them.  The vocabulary strategy is the suffixes -ed, and -ly.  They will learn how they change the meaning of the word  and also the spelling rules that go along with adding them on the end of a word.  Next week is our last week of spelling tests and end of the week tests.  We will have a unit test following it and then we will begin reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl to finish the year.

Math -  This week we have focused on a couple of strategies for division.  Today they are learning the standard algorithm of division which is the strategy you and I learned as kids.  I will tell you this strategy is NOT their favorite.  The strategy we used before which is their favorite.  It is easier and better to understand the "why" this is happening.  The standard algorithm just confuses them.  They get lost in the process so easily.  It is hard to teach, you just have to dive in, teach it then just answer their questions as they work.  Helping them individually is better.  Everyone gets stumped at a different part of the problem.  So, according to one student, they are happy to learn this because now their parents can help with homework! LOL

Social Studies - We have taken our last test for this year.  We will still be covering chapters and doing the worksheets that go along with them, but we need to move along to finish out the year.  They will still do map tests because we need to prepare for the big one at the end of the year.  They will need to know all 50 states and capitals.  We will also still continue to put states in our notebooks so they have all 50 by the time we are done.

Book Reports -  Just a reminder that book reports are due Friday, May 7th.  We will not be sharing that day, but they still have to be turned in.  We will be presenting them the next week!  I look forward to these.  I love seeing what the kids come up with and really listen to them talk about their books.

We are praying that the weather stays as nice as it has been.  It has made for a more pleasant time watching track meets for sure.   I do not like sitting and shivering!  I love sitting and soaking up some warmth.  I am off to Carlisle tonight.  I hope all of you enjoy a lovely  weekend!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!   I hope this finds all of you well.  It has been quite a week.  We have had a lot going on.  I was out Monday and Tuesday due to the death of my Father-in-law, the resident Artist was here, and we have Earth day Friday.  That is a busy week besides the academics we are doing also.  Recital for some is also this weekend.  This is Molly's Senior Recital.  I am ready yet I am not ready.  I am used to attending 2 recitals but this year it is just one!  That seems to make it sadder for me.   I hope everyone attend the Market on Maple this weekend.  Molly  will share her Senior Solo as the 5th act and it starts at 2:00PM.  Sounds like a lot of vendors will be sharing their crafts and food items.  I am looking forward to the Rolled Ice Cream truck. 

Language Arts -  This week we are reading a story called the Ever-Living Tree.  It is the showing the life of a Red Wood or Sequoia tree in California.  It compares its life to other things happening around the world.  It shows the longevity of life for this tree.  It also talks about how when it falls it gives back to the earth so more trees can grow.  This week in grammar we have reviewed ending punctuation and capitalization/punctuation in Quotations.  The kids are loving all this review in this last Unit.  Our vocabulary strategy was on prefixes pre-, inter-, and ex-.  The short story we are reading this week is poems about Towering Trees.  I also tell them about the tree you used to drive a car through and how it fell a couple years ago due to the torrential rains in California.  This also relates to them what happens to a tree after is falls.  Only 2 more weeks of stories left then we will move into reading Charlie and The Chocolate Factory!  FUN!

Math - This week has not been a good week for Math.  We have had so much going on.  On Monday we worked on Division facts and practiced with flash cards.  This was a good thing to do to help them remember those basic facts we need to do division.  Tuesday they were at the Resident Artist during Math.  Wednesday they did Dreambox in what little time they had for Math.  Today and tomorrow I hope to get a lesson in the book taught to them, but we are moving band to Math time due to Mrs. Taylor needing to be gone this afternoon.  I told them if there was not time for a lesson I was going to teach them a new card game I learned.  It is a fun game but you have to pay attention closely to numbers.  I don't know the name of it, I just know I learned to play it last night. They will be wanting to teach you at home I am sure.  We will be working our way through the 2nd half of the Division chapter as soon as things calm down and we can dig in.  I need to be sure we are giving it the time it deserves.  After Division we may have a small geometry section and then we will move on into fractions.  This is my hope for the rest of the year.  We will see what the time allows us to do.

Social Studies - I told the kids we would be picking up the pace and moving and a quicker pace. We will be finishing up this chapter already and will start a study guide on Monday.  We will spend some time putting states into our notebooks then we will move into the next chapter, also over the Midwest.  I will also get their maps ready so they can practice and take a map test over the Midwest.  Then we will move into the Southwest which we will cover but may not test over.  So that we cover more in the book and learn more about each of the last regions.   

Earth Day - Remember tomorrow is Earth Day.  We will be working and cleaning up our grounds.  The kids can wear sweats and comfy clothes to work in.  We will be working, not goofing.  They also need to bring their rakes.  If they do not know how to rake they are going to learn tomorrow.  I would recommend sending gloves with them also so we prevent blisters.  We will be outside working from about 1:30-2:15. They are also asking for a $1.00 donation to the school to buy flowers to plant and help make our grounds more attractive. I love when the flowers are out and every yard looks more beautiful.  

Spirit Day -  Tomorrow will be a "Hat' Spirit Day.  This means they can pay the $1.00 to wear a hat all day.  We want them to be able to wear sweats today so they can get dirty and be comfy to work.

Thank you very much for those who have reached out about my father-in-law.  He was a great person who really taught my kids a lot of life lessons. He was always thinking about others and was just the kindest person you could meet.  We will miss him greatly.  I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I hope the weather perks up so we can all get outside and soak up some sun.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

 Dear Parents, 

     Happy Thursday!   I am very glad it is Thursday.  I am ready for Friday.  Yesterday I must have got out of my chair at school wrong or something. I am very down in the back.  I saw my chiropractor yesterday and go again today.  I don't normally have back problems and this one is painful.  As long as I don't sit too long and walk around a bit to loosen things up, I am good.  The kids are all aware and I being so kind and helpful.  This makes me smile.  It shows how much they care.  I hope we have a warm-up in the weather.  I don't like these borderline temperatures.  I want it to be warm not chilly.  I know the kids would rather it be warm also.  This time last year they were able to play outside a lot more often then now.  What a different world we were in a year ago.  

Language Arts -  We did not read a story this week. We used this time to complete the ISASP testing.   I am also meeting with the students one-on-one to discuss their Opinion papers they wrote a couple weeks ago. We are editing and revising together. It is amazing the mistakes they find on their own when I just read their paragraphs aloud to them.  This is the fun part of writing for me. I love watching them realize the changes they need to make.   I hope to have everyone done by the end of the day tomorrow.  Next week we will be back on schedule for spelling tests and end of the week tests.

Math - We have not done anything new in the chapter this week due to ISASP testing.  We have used this time to be sure to complete them.  We did check our Mid-Chapter Checkpoint today.  Then I had them do Dreambox for the remainder of the time. I had a couple students who needed to finish the Math ISASP so they did that.  Next week we will be back on track and learning more about division.

ISASP -  I am so happy everyone was here this week.  We have completed all our testing and are done!  YAY!  Everyone cooperated very well!  I will be anxious to see our scores because I thought the tests were very challenging.  I feel like these took less time to get through and each student could take whatever time they needed.  There was no time limit.  This removes half the stress right there.

Spirit Day - Tomorrow is NOT a spirit day.  We have pretty much had them all week so tomorrow is just a normal day.  I appreciate those who participated this week. I even had a comfy pants day today.  Which was great with my back bothering me. 

Clean-Up Day - Next Friday the 23rd is our annual clean-up day.  Your kids need to bring a rake.  The flyer for this day went home last week.  If your child doesn't know how to rake they are going to learn.  We will be outside raking weather permitting, from 1:30 - 2:15 that day.  Make sure to send gloves with them also. We don't want blisters.

Resident Artist- We will have the resident artists here on Monday and Tuesday.  The 4th graders will be going  Tuesday at 9:00 to work with them.  This year they are making clay tiles that will be made into 3 crosses to hang in the hallway by middle school.   I can't wait to see what they do.  So exciting to create a piece of art that will hang in the building for years to some.

Good News, I made it the full day and my back feels better now than it did this morning.  I am so happy.  Boy did it hurt.  I am praying for a warm-up in the weather for all of us. Have a great weekend.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!   I almost forgot it was Thursday and I needed to type a blog.   Thank goodness the track meet for tonight was cancelled so I have plenty of time to get this done.  This was a great week up until today weather wise!  I was enjoying the warm weather and not wearing a coat.  Then the rain had to come and the chilly temps are back.  Recess duty today was okay but it could be better.  We have had a pretty good week in the classroom except the ISASP practice tests we took and the kids being a little too chatty.  I am sure it is the weather causing it.  Please be sure to see the not in their folder about the ISASP tests that we will be taking next week.

Language Arts - This week we read a story called I could Do That!  It is a story about women getting the right to vote in Wyoming.  This was the first state to give women voting rights. They gave them rights well before the amendment was added to the Constitution.  Esther Morris was the women who brought about the change.  She also became a judge in the state of Wyoming and had no educational background for it.  This is why Wyoming is nicknamed the Equality State.  We talked about negative sentences and what words make a sentence negative. We also talked about sentences using a double negative and worked on making changes to them so their was only one negative word in them.  The vocab strategy was on Adages and Proverbs which can sometimes be difficult.  They need to study their spelling words and their vocabulary packet for their test tomorrow.

Math - This week we have focused on the Distributive Property in Division.  We spent a couple of days on that.  Then we used Math time to work on the practice tests for ISASP tests.  The next thing on our agenda is to do a Mid chapter checkpoint.  That will happen tomorrow for class.  It will be due on Monday.

Social Studies - We finished up and tested over Chapter 7.  You should see the tests come home tonight. Please sign them so the kids can return them to me.  We will also end the week with another Southeast States Map Test.  I gave them each 4 practice sheets to practice tonight at home.  They must label all 12 states and capitals.  We will also be putting another state into their notebooks tomorrow.  That will only leave one more state to get put in there before we move on to the Midwest!  We will start that region next week

ISASP -  We will begin taking the ISASP tests next week.  This is the new acronym for Iowa Test of Basic Skills.  It stand for Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress.  The practice tests we did this week were pretty challenging.  They are learning they have to slow down and really think about what it is asking.  Please be sure your student gets a good night's sleep and breakfast next week.  Brain food would be best!

Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a spirit day!  You can pay $1.00 to wear sweats or a hat all day.  This week we used the money for Mrs. Levine who had a fall.  She has stitches and had a concussion.  We are thankful she is back at school and doing well.

There will not be regular spelling test or end of the week test next week.  The ISASP will take up a lot of our time in the mornings. We are trying to have normal afternoons for the students.  All testing will be in the morning only.   I am sure your student will come home frustrated because of all the testing. I feel their pain but I will make is as relaxed as I can for them.  

It is Prom Weekend at our house.  Senior Prom is already here!  WOW I can't believe it.  Saturday will be a very busy day.  Also my father-in-law is still hanging on.  Please continue to pray for comfort and peace for him.

God Bless, 

Mrs. Sickels 

Dear Parents,

     Happy Thursday!  It's Crosswalk Day!  This is one of my favorite days.  It is a perfect way to spend our last afternoon together before Easter.  We have had a good week.  They are working hard at school. I grateful that we are back in school after Spring Break.  Last year this wasn't happening.   Please continue to pray for peace for my father-in-law.  Again, I may get called away from school.  Please know that when I do I will keep you updated.

Language Arts - We started back in our textbook.  We have 5 weeks in the book and one week of testing and we are done with the series.  This is exciting because then I have a book we all ready and study together.  They are looking forward to it.  This Unit of stories in our book is full of interesting stories.  The one this week is called The World According to Humphrey.  It is about a Hamster named Humphrey that is a classroom pet and he gets to home with a different student each weekend.  It talks about the adventure he has at one particular house where they watch way too much TV.  The story actually teaches or lesson about too much TV.  They have enjoyed the story but it is a long one.  Due to it being a short week, we are taking the spelling post test today and the end of the week test.  In grammar we are talking about comparative (-er, more) and Superlative (-est, most) adjectives.  The students learned when it is appropriate to use each one.  If you are comparing two things you use comparative and it you are comparing 3 or more things then you use superlative.  We also discussed context clues this week.  The short story we read taught them about Advertisements and the persuasive language and techniques they use to  get you to think like them or buy their product. So when they start pointing things out about Ads you will know why.

Math -  We covered a couple lessons this week. One remainders and one on dividing tens, hundreds and thousands.  These lessons were pretty easy and everyone did very well on them.  Next week will start another strategy in division.  They are anxious to learn division.  I am happy they are enthusiastic about learning.  This will make teaching division much easier.   We used out math time today for Language Arts so I could ensure that all the students could get their test finished since we don't have study hall time this afternoon. 

Social Studies -  We have finished up at chapter and will begin the study guide on Monday.  Tuesday we will go over it and Wednesday they will test over it.  We will also be having the 2nd map test over the Southeast by next Friday.  So some need to get to studying their states and capitals for the Southeast.  The Midwest is next up for Regions.

Please be sure to check your email for  information regarding enrollment for next year.  The deadline for getting your student enrolled is due Friday, April 2nd.

Reminder:  NO SCHOOL on Good Friday, April 2nd. 

I hope everyone enjoys their Easter weekend.  I hope the weather cooperates for some warm sun for all.  We could all use it!  

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels