Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! I am very happy to see Thursday. Things begin to slow down a bit. I have had a better week this week. I have not spent as much time at my computer as I did last week. BUT I am still making mistakes! I have to drill into my head that when I want to assign a reading I have to send it as a PDF and not a google doc. The google doc requires you to ask permission to get on it. A PDF bypasses all that. I am sorry. I sent all my Social Studies readings that way this morning. Finally a 3rd grade parent texted me and asked if I would grant permission so his son could work. The light bulb that appeared above my head with an angry face would have been funny. I took me less than 10 minutes to take all of them down and put them back up the correct way. Hopefully I don't make that mistake again, but I am not making any guarantees.
Language Arts - The kids are still reading their Charlie and Chocolate Factory book. I don't want to overwhelm them so a chapter a day is just fine. Some may be reading ahead cause they want to read more. The downfall to that is they have not done the vocabulary for all the chapters. I am still trying to pull their assignments from their packets. We only have about 6 chapters to go. Then I will have them work on a writing project. I hope to get another book in on Epic. We will see how that goes.
Math - We finished up with Geography. The kids learned 13 new things in Geometry. They did a great job. The standard that they covered was Standard 1 of Geometry: Draw points, lines, segments, rays and angles. We are now moving into a new standard. This is a standard in measurement. It is number 1: Know relative sizes of Units within a measurement system. They learned a few customer units of measure today and tomorrow they will learn customary units in liquids. This is where any cooking or baking comes in. If you have the things in the home they are talking about maybe show your child. Also I would pause the screen with the chart of items. Then go to the assignment and use the chart to help answer the questions. You do this by having more than one tab open. If you don't know how let me know and I can help you. You will also talk about weight soon. It is important for them to have an understanding of what these things look like.
Social Studies - In Social Studies I am giving them the lessons in the book. I am typing in the lessons then adding pictures that are similar to what the book had. Sometimes I add in some extra ones. Assignments are based off of the worksheets they would have completed. I am giving them a couple lessons a week. This will continue until the end. I have it mapped out until the end of the school year. I am covering the same things I would have if we were in the classroom.
Remember on google form assignments I do not allow the computer to check your written answers. It will show up as wrong when you turn it in. There will be a big red X. I will check that one myself and give the appropriate points. So when I return the assignment please focus no the points and not each question and that big red X
We have been given a last day of school. Right now it looks to be May 22nd. It is subject to change. That will be the last day we will give work. They will need to be sure all homework is complete and turned in that following week so that we can do report cards.
This has been an interesting year so far. I will be honest I don't miss the discipline part of being in a classroom but I miss the kids interacting with one another and asking questions. Their questions is what guides all of our instruction. We would have read a story at the end of the year about a "teacher" being a computer. It was fun for us to read and discuss what we would miss about a classroom. Well, we are living it! That story is no longer futuristic.
I hope all of you are still enjoying family time. I am finding it harder to work during the day because the sun is shining. I want to be outside with my kids enjoying the sun. I have gone out for a while then just work in the evening. It is a fair trade to me. I hope if you are still working that you are staying safe at work. I pray this ends soon. As I am sure all of you do also.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! It has been so long since I have written a blog! What a crazy week!! I hope everyone is getting familiar with their Google Classrooms. I know there really is a lot to navigate through. I have never learned so much new stuff in two weeks. I feel like a college student all over again. I hope colleges are teaching this, but my daughter that is going to be a teacher says yes/no. She is to student teach in the fall and she does not want to do it with Online Learning. She wants to learn classroom management and observe discipline with other teachers. I am wondering what kind of an experience she will end up with.
Language Arts - We are working through the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I am not too concerned about the students completing the packets I gave them,unless you as parents want them to. The assignments we will focus on are the ones I create for them to turn in. So far I have been able to keep up and send the corrected work back to them with comments. I think that is why I am working long days. I want to get it back to them quickly. I may need to relax on that a little bit. When we are done with this book I have asked the kids about a second book to read. I am only missing 2 responses from that. Will and Logan didn't respond. You will need to look in their emails for an email about "Which Book to Read on Epic". I sent 2-3 weeks ago. I need to get some writing lessons in. I will be working those and maybe recording myself. The main things left this year is are writing. I will have them writing something after we finish the book we are reading now.
Math - We have moved into geometry for Math. I have found a teacher who has recorded lessons for all the 4th grade Math standards. I will be using his videos for math. I am trying to break them up so they are not so overwhelming. I just want the kids to learn a little something everyday then prove that to me in their assignments. Division was to be our next topic. In talking with Algebra teacher, Mr. Dunphy and collaborating with Ms. Surma we made the decision that division needs to be taught in the classroom. Ms. Surma does a lot with division so she is going to be teaching all of division next year. I am covering geometry and hopefully covering enough to help her out. I also hope to get into fractions so that helps her out.
Social studies - Well, this first week they are actually reading from their textbooks exactly where we left off. I have them finishing up the Southeast and moving right into the Midwest. I hope to continue in the book...but it may change. I was taking pictures of the book and found a way for the computer to convert it to a document. At the end of the Midwest chapter it decided to quit allowing me to do that. I am not sure why. but I typed in the last 2-3 pages. Actually that wasn't that big of a deal. My typing skills came back and might have taken just as much time as the conversion process. I think yesterday was so busy because I added 3 more subjects to the day to create. We will keep chugging away. Be sure to have your kids sing the states and capitals song and practice their regions.
Here are questions I have had to answer or fires to put out with homework.
*On Google classroom you will find a lot of things on "stream" and some things in "Classwork". Those are tabs at the top of the Google Classroom page under the purple picture.
* It is VERY important the student follow the work in order on their checklist under the subject. They can choose to do Math first just do those things in the order I wrote them. Some are trying to do the homework assignment without reading anything or watching any videos first. This can not happen.
* Create a schedule. Your children thrive on a scheduled day. Make sure they know when they are to do their work. When they can play. When they need to sleep! ( my body has forgotten about a sleep pattern)
* The students may need to play with new websites or programs on their computers. They are eager to learn a new video game, so why not a new educational tool. Kami is the one they will need to play with and learn to use the drawing tool, or can they use another program in Kami that helps them.
* We are all learning, we are all in this together.
* I am going to make mistakes! Maybe lots of them.
* Things are not going to be smooth in the beginning.
* Things may be hard.
* Your kids are not going to want to do their work.
* I do not give the students anything they can't handle. You as a parent should not have to sit by them and be sure they are doing things. I am trying to make it easier for you.
* Please enjoy this extra time as a family. You get to teach the fun things. Help them learn to bake or cook their favorite meal. Teach them to write old-fashioned letters to send to their classmates they are missing. Teach them proper way to dust or vacuum. Organize their rooms. Purge things to donate to the Rerun when it opens back up.
* Please know just how much I truly miss your kids. I miss them all day! My favorite time of the week is the two days I have 30 minutes with them.
We have to find the positive in all this. The world is changing as we know it. We have to move with it. Maybe God was speaking to us that we needed to slow down and come back together and really find what is important again.
I have enjoyed having all my kids at home with me. The conversations the laughter. The serious discussions. No more selfishness. We have family members to think about. Really seeing how our actions can effect others has been an eye-opener. Maybe we take it too seriously, maybe not seriously enough. It is super hard not to hug my mom when we take her groceries but we know it's best we don't. We do it for her.
Keep Safe and as always God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! It has been so long since I have written a blog! What a crazy week!! I hope everyone is getting familiar with their Google Classrooms. I know there really is a lot to navigate through. I have never learned so much new stuff in two weeks. I feel like a college student all over again. I hope colleges are teaching this, but my daughter that is going to be a teacher says yes/no. She is to student teach in the fall and she does not want to do it with Online Learning. She wants to learn classroom management and observe discipline with other teachers. I am wondering what kind of an experience she will end up with.
Language Arts - We are working through the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I am not too concerned about the students completing the packets I gave them,unless you as parents want them to. The assignments we will focus on are the ones I create for them to turn in. So far I have been able to keep up and send the corrected work back to them with comments. I think that is why I am working long days. I want to get it back to them quickly. I may need to relax on that a little bit. When we are done with this book I have asked the kids about a second book to read. I am only missing 2 responses from that. Will and Logan didn't respond. You will need to look in their emails for an email about "Which Book to Read on Epic". I sent 2-3 weeks ago. I need to get some writing lessons in. I will be working those and maybe recording myself. The main things left this year is are writing. I will have them writing something after we finish the book we are reading now.
Math - We have moved into geometry for Math. I have found a teacher who has recorded lessons for all the 4th grade Math standards. I will be using his videos for math. I am trying to break them up so they are not so overwhelming. I just want the kids to learn a little something everyday then prove that to me in their assignments. Division was to be our next topic. In talking with Algebra teacher, Mr. Dunphy and collaborating with Ms. Surma we made the decision that division needs to be taught in the classroom. Ms. Surma does a lot with division so she is going to be teaching all of division next year. I am covering geometry and hopefully covering enough to help her out. I also hope to get into fractions so that helps her out.
Social studies - Well, this first week they are actually reading from their textbooks exactly where we left off. I have them finishing up the Southeast and moving right into the Midwest. I hope to continue in the book...but it may change. I was taking pictures of the book and found a way for the computer to convert it to a document. At the end of the Midwest chapter it decided to quit allowing me to do that. I am not sure why. but I typed in the last 2-3 pages. Actually that wasn't that big of a deal. My typing skills came back and might have taken just as much time as the conversion process. I think yesterday was so busy because I added 3 more subjects to the day to create. We will keep chugging away. Be sure to have your kids sing the states and capitals song and practice their regions.
Here are questions I have had to answer or fires to put out with homework.
*On Google classroom you will find a lot of things on "stream" and some things in "Classwork". Those are tabs at the top of the Google Classroom page under the purple picture.
* It is VERY important the student follow the work in order on their checklist under the subject. They can choose to do Math first just do those things in the order I wrote them. Some are trying to do the homework assignment without reading anything or watching any videos first. This can not happen.
* Create a schedule. Your children thrive on a scheduled day. Make sure they know when they are to do their work. When they can play. When they need to sleep! ( my body has forgotten about a sleep pattern)
* The students may need to play with new websites or programs on their computers. They are eager to learn a new video game, so why not a new educational tool. Kami is the one they will need to play with and learn to use the drawing tool, or can they use another program in Kami that helps them.
* We are all learning, we are all in this together.
* I am going to make mistakes! Maybe lots of them.
* Things are not going to be smooth in the beginning.
* Things may be hard.
* Your kids are not going to want to do their work.
* I do not give the students anything they can't handle. You as a parent should not have to sit by them and be sure they are doing things. I am trying to make it easier for you.
* Please enjoy this extra time as a family. You get to teach the fun things. Help them learn to bake or cook their favorite meal. Teach them to write old-fashioned letters to send to their classmates they are missing. Teach them proper way to dust or vacuum. Organize their rooms. Purge things to donate to the Rerun when it opens back up.
* Please know just how much I truly miss your kids. I miss them all day! My favorite time of the week is the two days I have 30 minutes with them.
We have to find the positive in all this. The world is changing as we know it. We have to move with it. Maybe God was speaking to us that we needed to slow down and come back together and really find what is important again.
I have enjoyed having all my kids at home with me. The conversations the laughter. The serious discussions. No more selfishness. We have family members to think about. Really seeing how our actions can effect others has been an eye-opener. Maybe we take it too seriously, maybe not seriously enough. It is super hard not to hug my mom when we take her groceries but we know it's best we don't. We do it for her.
Keep Safe and as always God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! The weather has been one to lift the spirits this week! YAY!! I think we all needed a little sunshine in our lives. Spring break is just around the corner and I think we all need it. The kids definitely need a break from each other. I hope they will come back refreshed and ready to finish out the year. I am looking forward to break. I think I may get a little trip with Mrs. Lane to Lake Okoboji with our kids. We did the trip several years ago to take them to a concert. It will be fun taking them again. I also get to attend 2 track meets over break. One at Iowa State and one at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. It will be busy but a nice break from school work. I am looking forward to talking to all you you next week. Again if you have not signed up for a conference time, please be sure to do that. Here is the link.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a5a72ca1fe3-4thgrade7
Language Arts - We read the story Hercules'Quest this week. This has been a fun story to read. It is very different from the Disney movie version. Some kids say they have never seen the Disney movie. I would like to show them the movie, but will not have time this week. I may fit it in next week, but not 100% sure it will work. We worked on Prepositions and prepositional phrases this week. Very hard topic to teach and explain to 4th graders. I hope they got the general idea. Our spelling list was on the prefixes re-, -un- dis. The decoding skill also focused on those prefixes and how they change the meaning of the base word. The vocabulary strategy was on adages and proverbs this week. These are short little sayings that have meaning or teach a lesson: examples Practice makes perfect, look before you leap, the early bird gets the worm.
Next week we will also have short week. So just like this week we will be doing all our testing on Thursday morning before the kids leave for break. So spelling pretest on Monday and Post test on Thursday.
Math - We have learned about perimeter and area and also how to find area of joined rectangles. I plan on giving them their dress rehearsal today, go over the dress rehearsal on Monday and they will take their final test on Tuesday. This was a quick 3 lessons but it is a benchmark that appears on the report card that I need to teach and since we just finished multiplication it is the perfect place to put it. We will do a basic math fact test sometime next week also. I do not plan on starting chapter 4 on division until after Spring Break.
Social Studies - We are working through our chapter on the Southeast. The students worked on a map skill where they had to follow directions and place things on a map. Some still need to work on using a compass and knowing their directions. They struggled with this task. We went over them today. They are making corrections on them for tomorrow. We only have one more state to enter into our interactive notebooks. They will also take one more map test over the Southeast. Please be sure they are continuing to study.
Field Trip - Tomorrow is our field trip to the Civic Center and to Pappajohn Sculpture Park. We will be leaving right at 8:30 so please be sure your student is here by 8:10 when we let the students inside. We will be walking from the Civic Center to the Pappajohn Park. Please be sure your child has on appropriate walking shoes. It is about a mile walk. I also ask that your child not wear shorts tomorrow. Mainly I ask so that they are not cold on our walk and we plan to eat outside. I will worry about them being comfortable if in shorts. The temp is to be around 50 degrees but that will seem chilly when we are outside for a long length of time. Tomorrow they also need a sack lunch with a drink. Because it is Friday and we are respecting the no meat on Friday for Lent, we are asking that all sack lunches be meatless. I have talked to the students about this. They may bring whatever drink they choose. We will be returning to the building by bus time so everyone can still have the same end of the day plans. This field trip includes all grades 3-8 so I think it will be super fun. I look forward to a great day.
Electronics - The students are welcome to use electronics on the bus. They need to be able to turn the volumes off so not to disturb others. We also request no devices that require internet access. This is to deter any texting or use of social media on the bus. Thank you.
Conferences are next week! I will not have a blog since I will be meeting with all of you. May all of you have a safe enjoyable spring break with your family and friends. I will be anxious to have the kiddos back on March 23rd!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! The weather has been one to lift the spirits this week! YAY!! I think we all needed a little sunshine in our lives. Spring break is just around the corner and I think we all need it. The kids definitely need a break from each other. I hope they will come back refreshed and ready to finish out the year. I am looking forward to break. I think I may get a little trip with Mrs. Lane to Lake Okoboji with our kids. We did the trip several years ago to take them to a concert. It will be fun taking them again. I also get to attend 2 track meets over break. One at Iowa State and one at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. It will be busy but a nice break from school work. I am looking forward to talking to all you you next week. Again if you have not signed up for a conference time, please be sure to do that. Here is the link.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a5a72ca1fe3-4thgrade7
Language Arts - We read the story Hercules'Quest this week. This has been a fun story to read. It is very different from the Disney movie version. Some kids say they have never seen the Disney movie. I would like to show them the movie, but will not have time this week. I may fit it in next week, but not 100% sure it will work. We worked on Prepositions and prepositional phrases this week. Very hard topic to teach and explain to 4th graders. I hope they got the general idea. Our spelling list was on the prefixes re-, -un- dis. The decoding skill also focused on those prefixes and how they change the meaning of the base word. The vocabulary strategy was on adages and proverbs this week. These are short little sayings that have meaning or teach a lesson: examples Practice makes perfect, look before you leap, the early bird gets the worm.
Next week we will also have short week. So just like this week we will be doing all our testing on Thursday morning before the kids leave for break. So spelling pretest on Monday and Post test on Thursday.
Math - We have learned about perimeter and area and also how to find area of joined rectangles. I plan on giving them their dress rehearsal today, go over the dress rehearsal on Monday and they will take their final test on Tuesday. This was a quick 3 lessons but it is a benchmark that appears on the report card that I need to teach and since we just finished multiplication it is the perfect place to put it. We will do a basic math fact test sometime next week also. I do not plan on starting chapter 4 on division until after Spring Break.
Social Studies - We are working through our chapter on the Southeast. The students worked on a map skill where they had to follow directions and place things on a map. Some still need to work on using a compass and knowing their directions. They struggled with this task. We went over them today. They are making corrections on them for tomorrow. We only have one more state to enter into our interactive notebooks. They will also take one more map test over the Southeast. Please be sure they are continuing to study.
Field Trip - Tomorrow is our field trip to the Civic Center and to Pappajohn Sculpture Park. We will be leaving right at 8:30 so please be sure your student is here by 8:10 when we let the students inside. We will be walking from the Civic Center to the Pappajohn Park. Please be sure your child has on appropriate walking shoes. It is about a mile walk. I also ask that your child not wear shorts tomorrow. Mainly I ask so that they are not cold on our walk and we plan to eat outside. I will worry about them being comfortable if in shorts. The temp is to be around 50 degrees but that will seem chilly when we are outside for a long length of time. Tomorrow they also need a sack lunch with a drink. Because it is Friday and we are respecting the no meat on Friday for Lent, we are asking that all sack lunches be meatless. I have talked to the students about this. They may bring whatever drink they choose. We will be returning to the building by bus time so everyone can still have the same end of the day plans. This field trip includes all grades 3-8 so I think it will be super fun. I look forward to a great day.
Electronics - The students are welcome to use electronics on the bus. They need to be able to turn the volumes off so not to disturb others. We also request no devices that require internet access. This is to deter any texting or use of social media on the bus. Thank you.
Conferences are next week! I will not have a blog since I will be meeting with all of you. May all of you have a safe enjoyable spring break with your family and friends. I will be anxious to have the kiddos back on March 23rd!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! I think our weather is turning into the kind we want to have. It is much more pleasant to arrive for early morning bus duty with the shine shining then to have it still be dark. I have duty this week. I usually arrive anywhere from 7:00 - 7:10. Seven weeks ago it was dark and dreary as I arrived. This week it has been bright and sunny. Sure makes for a better mindset to my day. We have been working very hard this month. I feel we have accomplished a lot. I am also sitting here thinking, "Wow, it is Lent season already!" This to me means we are on the downhill slide of school. That just seems crazy to me.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called The Right Dog for the Job. It is narrative nonfiction. It is about the life of a service dog. It talks about what a service dog goes through from the time they are born until they become a service dog. It really is very interesting. This is one of those stories that is interesting the first time we read it but not so much after that. Our grammar this week has been over adverbs. We are learning that adverbs describe verbs and can answer the questions, how, when, where, and how often. The vocabulary strategy for this week was on the siffixes: tion, ation, ition. Tomorrow will be a normal Friday with a spelling post test and end of the week test. Please be sure your child studies their spelling words and vocab packet tonight.
Next week we have our field trip on Friday so we will have a short week in Language Arts. We will have to cover the story in 4 days. Spelling pretest will be on Monday with a post test on Thursday. Also the end of week test will be on Thursday.
Math - We have begun chapter 13 this week. We have talked about perimeter. They learned that there is a formula to use to figure out perimeter. This formula is: P = (2 X L) + (2 X W). This is the formula for rectangles. I showed them the formula for a square also: P = 4 X S (side). They were given the option of using either formula for the square. Some did not like the fact that I made them show the formula but I tried to explain to them how Algebra works and what an Algebra teacher would expect of them. I told them I am only trying to make them better and be more prepared for those harder math classes. They will thank me one day. We will begin talking about area today. To explain both of these concepts and understand the difference between the two, I use the tiles on the floor. The are 1 foot square tiles. I show them with a ruler how I know that and then I counted the tiles down each side of the room to find the perimeter. I will use that same strategy to show the area. Actually seeing the tiles will help them understand why we label with square units.
Social Studies - Tomorrow is the first map test over the Southeast States. I have been warning the kids for a week that it was coming. I hope they are all taking the time to study. I think some definitely are because they asked for more practice maps. I hope to have a much better percentage of passing than the last time. We have been working on putting states in their notebooks. They have done 3 this week. We only have one left to go. We will also begin working on a map skill using map scale. The students will have to use the map scale on the page to find distance. This can be a challenging thing for 4th graders, but it is a very important skill to know.
Field Trip - Next Friday we will be going on a field trip. The field trip is for 3rd-8th graders. We will be going to the Civic Center. Please be sure to send a sack lunch with your student. Remember that we are now honoring meatless Fridays, so please make your sack lunch a meatless lunch. I have 3 students who have not turned in their permission form or their money for the field trip. I also have 4-5 that have turned in the permission forms but not their money. Please send them with them ASAP. The fee is for the bus ride. The student ticket into the performance is paid.
St. Malachy Foundation Gala - The Gala is Saturday night. If you have not purchased your ticket stop by the school. It is a wonderful prime rib dinner and all sorts of fun. I hope to see you there.
Conferences - It is that time of year. I have several of you signed up for a conference time but I am missing a lot of you also. Please use this link to sign up for a conference spot. I am looking forward to visiting with all of you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a5a72ca1fe3-4thgrade7
Thank you very much again for all your donations to the silent auction item and the live auction basket. I am hoping both will be very successful for the foundation this weekend.
Sounds like the weather will be awesome this weekend. I hope everyone can get out and enjoy it. I know I will on Saturday for sure. Sunday I will be in Omaha at a dance competition with Molly. We will enjoy what we can before we have to be in a building. It is hard to believe it is already March!! Spring break is coming very quickly.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday! I think our weather is turning into the kind we want to have. It is much more pleasant to arrive for early morning bus duty with the shine shining then to have it still be dark. I have duty this week. I usually arrive anywhere from 7:00 - 7:10. Seven weeks ago it was dark and dreary as I arrived. This week it has been bright and sunny. Sure makes for a better mindset to my day. We have been working very hard this month. I feel we have accomplished a lot. I am also sitting here thinking, "Wow, it is Lent season already!" This to me means we are on the downhill slide of school. That just seems crazy to me.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called The Right Dog for the Job. It is narrative nonfiction. It is about the life of a service dog. It talks about what a service dog goes through from the time they are born until they become a service dog. It really is very interesting. This is one of those stories that is interesting the first time we read it but not so much after that. Our grammar this week has been over adverbs. We are learning that adverbs describe verbs and can answer the questions, how, when, where, and how often. The vocabulary strategy for this week was on the siffixes: tion, ation, ition. Tomorrow will be a normal Friday with a spelling post test and end of the week test. Please be sure your child studies their spelling words and vocab packet tonight.
Next week we have our field trip on Friday so we will have a short week in Language Arts. We will have to cover the story in 4 days. Spelling pretest will be on Monday with a post test on Thursday. Also the end of week test will be on Thursday.
Math - We have begun chapter 13 this week. We have talked about perimeter. They learned that there is a formula to use to figure out perimeter. This formula is: P = (2 X L) + (2 X W). This is the formula for rectangles. I showed them the formula for a square also: P = 4 X S (side). They were given the option of using either formula for the square. Some did not like the fact that I made them show the formula but I tried to explain to them how Algebra works and what an Algebra teacher would expect of them. I told them I am only trying to make them better and be more prepared for those harder math classes. They will thank me one day. We will begin talking about area today. To explain both of these concepts and understand the difference between the two, I use the tiles on the floor. The are 1 foot square tiles. I show them with a ruler how I know that and then I counted the tiles down each side of the room to find the perimeter. I will use that same strategy to show the area. Actually seeing the tiles will help them understand why we label with square units.
Social Studies - Tomorrow is the first map test over the Southeast States. I have been warning the kids for a week that it was coming. I hope they are all taking the time to study. I think some definitely are because they asked for more practice maps. I hope to have a much better percentage of passing than the last time. We have been working on putting states in their notebooks. They have done 3 this week. We only have one left to go. We will also begin working on a map skill using map scale. The students will have to use the map scale on the page to find distance. This can be a challenging thing for 4th graders, but it is a very important skill to know.
Field Trip - Next Friday we will be going on a field trip. The field trip is for 3rd-8th graders. We will be going to the Civic Center. Please be sure to send a sack lunch with your student. Remember that we are now honoring meatless Fridays, so please make your sack lunch a meatless lunch. I have 3 students who have not turned in their permission form or their money for the field trip. I also have 4-5 that have turned in the permission forms but not their money. Please send them with them ASAP. The fee is for the bus ride. The student ticket into the performance is paid.
St. Malachy Foundation Gala - The Gala is Saturday night. If you have not purchased your ticket stop by the school. It is a wonderful prime rib dinner and all sorts of fun. I hope to see you there.
Conferences - It is that time of year. I have several of you signed up for a conference time but I am missing a lot of you also. Please use this link to sign up for a conference spot. I am looking forward to visiting with all of you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0544a5a72ca1fe3-4thgrade7
Thank you very much again for all your donations to the silent auction item and the live auction basket. I am hoping both will be very successful for the foundation this weekend.
Sounds like the weather will be awesome this weekend. I hope everyone can get out and enjoy it. I know I will on Saturday for sure. Sunday I will be in Omaha at a dance competition with Molly. We will enjoy what we can before we have to be in a building. It is hard to believe it is already March!! Spring break is coming very quickly.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! I sure missed the kiddos yesterday! St. Malachy teachers attended the guest speaker that was at the public school. I am so grateful they asked us to attend. He was a very invigorating speaker. His name was Joe Sanfelippo and he is the Superintendent of Fall Creek, WI, school district. He was really motivating and got super excited about everything! He did a great job reminding us how important the work we do every day, is to the kids. He also talked about how important it is to commend your coworkers for the things we do. When people feel appreciated they tend to work harder. That is true in any job! It was a great reminder for all. Also don't forget those people in your building like custodians, cooks, and paras. All those people need reminded what they do is important also.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called Riding Freedom. The genre of this story is historical fiction. It is about Charlotte Parkhurst. Look her up she is a real person who lived in the 1800's. She pretended to be a boy so she could do a man's job. She spent her life working with horses. This lead to her job as a stagecoach driver. This job was considered very hard and dangerous. She posed as a man and did the job just as well as a man. She even has some obstacles to endure but handles them very well. The grammar lesson this week has been on adjectives. Figurative language has been our vocabulary strategy. We talked about similes, idioms, metaphors, and personification. These are all so hard to keep straight! Tomorrow we will take our spelling post test and end of week test.
Math - Today the students finish up chapter 3 with their actual test. I plan on them correcting tests tomorrow and having a discussion over what Chapter 13 will be about. We move to chapter 13 because I feel like these first 3 chapters are so heavy and hard that I want to through a fun one in. We won't just be at our desks. They will get to roam the building and find area and perimeter of items. We will not disrupt any other classrooms but we will use the gym and places where other classes are not, to find things to measure. I will teach them the actual formulas for finding area and perimeter. We will not do all the lessons in the chapter, just the important ones and then we will move on. I will test them over what they learned. This will just be a short yet sweet chapter.
Social Studies - We are beginning chapter 7. Today I gave them maps to begin studying for their map test over the Southeast. Some of them learned some very good lessons about studying for these tests. If they actual make an effort and study they do well. Go figure!! The first map test will be next Friday the 28th. They have one whole week to study! Please be sure you student is doing it. They made their answer key today and have 3 practice maps to help them practice. If they need more all they have to do is ask for them. I will happily copy more. They will be doing vocabulary words on notecards again this chapter and we are still putting states in our interactive notebooks. I will say I felt like they do better overall on the vocabulary section of test this time around. Maybe making flashcards in the best way for them to study.
Fat Tuesday - Next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday! The day before Ash Wednesday! On this day it is tradition for the 4th grade students to make and pass our donuts to the entire school. At least to those students who are here in the morning. We spend from about 8:30- 10:00 in the gym. The students will be doing various activities for language Arts and Social Studies while they patiently wait their turn to make and deliver donuts.
Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a Spirit Day! Please wear you sweats and pay the $1.00. To me it will be a perfect day to do it. Thanks for all of you who help our Pay it Forward fund by participating. Recently we used some money to give some gas cards and a restaurant card to Mrs. Simmons for her and Chad while they were away in Minnesota. There is a committee of teachers who decide how we use the money.
Thank you for all the donations for the Silent Auction and Live Auction basket. I think they will both be a great success. We appreciate all your donations and thank you to Kathy Ralston for making sure both these items are beautifully done.
I hope all of you enjoy your weekend. Sounds like Saturday will be fabulous! Get out and enjoy the sunshine because it looks like snow next week.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! I sure missed the kiddos yesterday! St. Malachy teachers attended the guest speaker that was at the public school. I am so grateful they asked us to attend. He was a very invigorating speaker. His name was Joe Sanfelippo and he is the Superintendent of Fall Creek, WI, school district. He was really motivating and got super excited about everything! He did a great job reminding us how important the work we do every day, is to the kids. He also talked about how important it is to commend your coworkers for the things we do. When people feel appreciated they tend to work harder. That is true in any job! It was a great reminder for all. Also don't forget those people in your building like custodians, cooks, and paras. All those people need reminded what they do is important also.
Language Arts - This week we are reading a story called Riding Freedom. The genre of this story is historical fiction. It is about Charlotte Parkhurst. Look her up she is a real person who lived in the 1800's. She pretended to be a boy so she could do a man's job. She spent her life working with horses. This lead to her job as a stagecoach driver. This job was considered very hard and dangerous. She posed as a man and did the job just as well as a man. She even has some obstacles to endure but handles them very well. The grammar lesson this week has been on adjectives. Figurative language has been our vocabulary strategy. We talked about similes, idioms, metaphors, and personification. These are all so hard to keep straight! Tomorrow we will take our spelling post test and end of week test.
Math - Today the students finish up chapter 3 with their actual test. I plan on them correcting tests tomorrow and having a discussion over what Chapter 13 will be about. We move to chapter 13 because I feel like these first 3 chapters are so heavy and hard that I want to through a fun one in. We won't just be at our desks. They will get to roam the building and find area and perimeter of items. We will not disrupt any other classrooms but we will use the gym and places where other classes are not, to find things to measure. I will teach them the actual formulas for finding area and perimeter. We will not do all the lessons in the chapter, just the important ones and then we will move on. I will test them over what they learned. This will just be a short yet sweet chapter.
Social Studies - We are beginning chapter 7. Today I gave them maps to begin studying for their map test over the Southeast. Some of them learned some very good lessons about studying for these tests. If they actual make an effort and study they do well. Go figure!! The first map test will be next Friday the 28th. They have one whole week to study! Please be sure you student is doing it. They made their answer key today and have 3 practice maps to help them practice. If they need more all they have to do is ask for them. I will happily copy more. They will be doing vocabulary words on notecards again this chapter and we are still putting states in our interactive notebooks. I will say I felt like they do better overall on the vocabulary section of test this time around. Maybe making flashcards in the best way for them to study.
Fat Tuesday - Next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday! The day before Ash Wednesday! On this day it is tradition for the 4th grade students to make and pass our donuts to the entire school. At least to those students who are here in the morning. We spend from about 8:30- 10:00 in the gym. The students will be doing various activities for language Arts and Social Studies while they patiently wait their turn to make and deliver donuts.
Spirit Day - Tomorrow is a Spirit Day! Please wear you sweats and pay the $1.00. To me it will be a perfect day to do it. Thanks for all of you who help our Pay it Forward fund by participating. Recently we used some money to give some gas cards and a restaurant card to Mrs. Simmons for her and Chad while they were away in Minnesota. There is a committee of teachers who decide how we use the money.
Thank you for all the donations for the Silent Auction and Live Auction basket. I think they will both be a great success. We appreciate all your donations and thank you to Kathy Ralston for making sure both these items are beautifully done.
I hope all of you enjoy your weekend. Sounds like Saturday will be fabulous! Get out and enjoy the sunshine because it looks like snow next week.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy "Late Start" Thursday! It is definitely a lot colder than what we are used to. What a mixed-up day we will have. We just start our day at 10:20 and whatever is happening at that time. We do not try to fit in the things we missed in the morning. The downfall for the students is they missed their PE class. They were pretty bummed but that is the way the cookie crumbles. Today we are creating the silent auction item with Mrs. Ralston. Our afternoon is messed up a little due to Mrs. Stoner needing to leave early so we are doing band earlier than normal. They are definitely learning to be flexible today and some are great with it and some are not. It's okay we will make it through. Sometimes a mixed-up schedule makes things move a little faster!
Language Arts - This week was a Unit 3 test week. We have spent three days taking the test. The other items we have done is practiced handwriting and we are going to be sharing book reports. You will have results for the week 15 end of week test in today's folder. Next week you will get the Unit test results. I am working on getting them together today. The Unit test had some pretty challenging comprehension questions but if they went back to the story and reread they could easily answer them. Next week we will start week 16, it is a short week due to no school on Wednesday for professional development. We will have to be sure we are getting all our work in but in just 4 days. They can do it.
Math - We are working on finishing up chapter 3. We will be taking our "Dress Rehearsal" of the test Friday and Monday. We will go over the that dress rehearsal on Tuesday and take the actual test on Thursday. Our next chapter we will cover will be chapter 13. Since we just finished multiplication I will teach them area and perimeter. I talk about jobs that require you to know these formulas and they will get hands on experience by going around the building and finding area and perimeter of actual items. Example would be doors, windows, desks, milk cooler and whatever else they can find. The kids always have fun with this.
Social Studies - The students are working on the study guide for chapter 6 today. Tomorrow we will check it and They will take a test on Monday. We will introduce chapter 7 next week, also the map so they can begin to practice labeling the Southeast states. We have been doing a great job getting our states into our notebooks. I had to remind the students about capitalizing proper nouns. Some did not capitalize the birds, the state nickname, largest city, capital and the 2 letter postal abbreviation. I had a big reminder of all that yesterday. They were to double check that on all their states.
Auction - Today the students worked on their silent auction item. The student's part in that is now complete. I think it is super cool and very different from what I have seen in the past. I hope it goes well. Thank you for all who have donated to the Live Auction Basket called Man Food. We have gotten some nice response to that. If you would still like to donate we would like you to send your items or monetary donation tomorrow. Kathy is planning on doing some shopping this weekend for it. Remember that the Gala will be help at the end of this month on February 29. It is usually a fantastic dinner and loads of fun. Thanks again for everything.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Hopefully the weather is great for whatever you have planned to do. Be sure to stay warm today. The good thing is, it is only to last one day.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy "Late Start" Thursday! It is definitely a lot colder than what we are used to. What a mixed-up day we will have. We just start our day at 10:20 and whatever is happening at that time. We do not try to fit in the things we missed in the morning. The downfall for the students is they missed their PE class. They were pretty bummed but that is the way the cookie crumbles. Today we are creating the silent auction item with Mrs. Ralston. Our afternoon is messed up a little due to Mrs. Stoner needing to leave early so we are doing band earlier than normal. They are definitely learning to be flexible today and some are great with it and some are not. It's okay we will make it through. Sometimes a mixed-up schedule makes things move a little faster!
Language Arts - This week was a Unit 3 test week. We have spent three days taking the test. The other items we have done is practiced handwriting and we are going to be sharing book reports. You will have results for the week 15 end of week test in today's folder. Next week you will get the Unit test results. I am working on getting them together today. The Unit test had some pretty challenging comprehension questions but if they went back to the story and reread they could easily answer them. Next week we will start week 16, it is a short week due to no school on Wednesday for professional development. We will have to be sure we are getting all our work in but in just 4 days. They can do it.
Math - We are working on finishing up chapter 3. We will be taking our "Dress Rehearsal" of the test Friday and Monday. We will go over the that dress rehearsal on Tuesday and take the actual test on Thursday. Our next chapter we will cover will be chapter 13. Since we just finished multiplication I will teach them area and perimeter. I talk about jobs that require you to know these formulas and they will get hands on experience by going around the building and finding area and perimeter of actual items. Example would be doors, windows, desks, milk cooler and whatever else they can find. The kids always have fun with this.
Social Studies - The students are working on the study guide for chapter 6 today. Tomorrow we will check it and They will take a test on Monday. We will introduce chapter 7 next week, also the map so they can begin to practice labeling the Southeast states. We have been doing a great job getting our states into our notebooks. I had to remind the students about capitalizing proper nouns. Some did not capitalize the birds, the state nickname, largest city, capital and the 2 letter postal abbreviation. I had a big reminder of all that yesterday. They were to double check that on all their states.
Auction - Today the students worked on their silent auction item. The student's part in that is now complete. I think it is super cool and very different from what I have seen in the past. I hope it goes well. Thank you for all who have donated to the Live Auction Basket called Man Food. We have gotten some nice response to that. If you would still like to donate we would like you to send your items or monetary donation tomorrow. Kathy is planning on doing some shopping this weekend for it. Remember that the Gala will be help at the end of this month on February 29. It is usually a fantastic dinner and loads of fun. Thanks again for everything.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Hopefully the weather is great for whatever you have planned to do. Be sure to stay warm today. The good thing is, it is only to last one day.
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! I am worn out this week. I think I blame last week. It was so exciting and fun that this week is too much hard work. The kids struggled at the beginning of the week getting back into a routine. I plan to work them pretty solid up until Spring Break. I told them when I make my plans I have the end of the year in mind. Most of their eyes popped out of their head. I responded that I know its a long ways away but I have to make sure I am getting everything I need to get done completed by the end of the year. They were completely surprised. It is hard to believe but we are on the down hill side of things.
Language Arts - This week the story the students are reading is called Ecology for Kids. It teaches the students what ecology means, what an ecologist studies and how it can be helpful to Earth. This is a science article in Language Arts. I have to admit if you are not totally into science and the study of Earth, this is not a very interesting article. Especially when you have to read it 3 different time throughout the week. We are working on Irregular verbs, the "Be" Verb and verbs using helping verbs this week. The vocabulary strategy we reviewed was Using Context. Remember that tomorrow is a spelling post test and end of week test day. Have them study their yellow packets and spelling words.
Last week the end of week test grammar portion was not done well by most students. I am blaming Catholic Schools Week and the fact that it took a week and half to complete this story. Nevertheless, we pulled the test up again today and went over those 10 questions on the test. I talked about why their answer was wrong and why the correct answer is correct. I saw lots of light bulbs above heads when they figured it out. I wanted you to know that I did not just ignore those low scores. We did address them in class.
Students came Monday with their book reports finished. I always wait for them to be finished before giving them the final directions. I talked to them about how they will present their projects. I modeled for them the right way and the wrong way. I showed them what they could do to ensure they are doing it the right way. They have had all week to write on the back of each page what they want to say about that page. This allows them to hold the page up to the audience without looking at the front and telling what is on the page. They are to do this to every page. This part is due tomorrow. We will begin sharing next Monday.
Math - Well we spent 3 days learning the standard algorithm for Multiplication or the Regrouping strategy. Some really struggled in the beginning. Remembering to drop that zero is a hard thing to remember. Teaching some of them to just slow down and pay attention to what they are doing was the key. I hope when I check their papers that I feel good about where they are at with this. If not we will spend an extra day on it. It is important to me that they all understand before we move forward. This chapter is quickly coming to an end though. We will be finishing it up next week. We will have a dress rehearsal for this test also then do a final. I feel like that really helped them the last time. I do know that if the know this last strategy they will do fine on the test.
Social Studies - We are learning about the land and the climate of the Southeast states. We learned about elevation maps this week and how we use color to show elevation or in the case of the worksheet that has not color they used shading and patterns/texture to show elevation. Understanding what exactly sea level is was very important to understanding elevation. We will be working on putting more states into our interactive notebooks and more map skills coming up. They are doing a great job adjusting to picking up the pace a little bit. I need to really keep moving them forward and so they are doing a little more each days then we had been. I told them that it was our new normal. Most seem excited about it.
Auction - The St. Malachy Gala is coming up at the end of the month. We are asking for your donations to all be turned in over the next couple of week. Our live auction basket is called "Man Food" basket. We have received some great donations of suaces and now a couple of rubs to put on meat. We have also received some monetary donations. You can donate whatever you can. No donation is too small. We are also asking for $3.00 per student for the silent auction item. They will be putting together a piece of artwork to be auctioned off. It is a very cool idea and a great keepsake. All we ask is that you donate anything you can to help make our items a success.
I put out an SOS yesterday for hand sanitizer. I have received 2 small bottles and 2 large bottles. Thank you so much. This is so helpful when we are still in the middle of flu season. I still have plenty of clorox sanitizing wipes which we use on our desks and other places that are touched a lot by little hands.
Spirit Day - Tomorrow is another Spirit Day. Please bring $1.00 to wear sweats. It is a perfect day to do it. We do have a family that we are wanting to help so everyone bring a $1.00. In case you are unaware our funds go to families in need of cheering up, who have had a death in family, or are going through a bad time due to illness or disease. We help by giving snack baskets, sunshine baskets, restaurant gift cards, and gas cards if traveling is involved. Sometimes we also donate snack baskets to neighboring schools who lose students. Please help to keep our pay it forward fund so we are able to continue helping others.
Coin Wars - Tomorrow is that last day for Coin Wars. The students are collecting coins for FBLA. The students came around and talked to our kids about donating and where the donations are going. This year the donations are going to our very on Cancer Center and Greater Regional. Many people we know and love have used this center and what a great place to donate. Any spare change sitting around will be appreciated. The one with most money donated will get a pizza party, 2nd place a cookie/cupcake party, and 3rd a Lollipop party.
I hope all of you have a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday! I am worn out this week. I think I blame last week. It was so exciting and fun that this week is too much hard work. The kids struggled at the beginning of the week getting back into a routine. I plan to work them pretty solid up until Spring Break. I told them when I make my plans I have the end of the year in mind. Most of their eyes popped out of their head. I responded that I know its a long ways away but I have to make sure I am getting everything I need to get done completed by the end of the year. They were completely surprised. It is hard to believe but we are on the down hill side of things.
Language Arts - This week the story the students are reading is called Ecology for Kids. It teaches the students what ecology means, what an ecologist studies and how it can be helpful to Earth. This is a science article in Language Arts. I have to admit if you are not totally into science and the study of Earth, this is not a very interesting article. Especially when you have to read it 3 different time throughout the week. We are working on Irregular verbs, the "Be" Verb and verbs using helping verbs this week. The vocabulary strategy we reviewed was Using Context. Remember that tomorrow is a spelling post test and end of week test day. Have them study their yellow packets and spelling words.
Last week the end of week test grammar portion was not done well by most students. I am blaming Catholic Schools Week and the fact that it took a week and half to complete this story. Nevertheless, we pulled the test up again today and went over those 10 questions on the test. I talked about why their answer was wrong and why the correct answer is correct. I saw lots of light bulbs above heads when they figured it out. I wanted you to know that I did not just ignore those low scores. We did address them in class.
Students came Monday with their book reports finished. I always wait for them to be finished before giving them the final directions. I talked to them about how they will present their projects. I modeled for them the right way and the wrong way. I showed them what they could do to ensure they are doing it the right way. They have had all week to write on the back of each page what they want to say about that page. This allows them to hold the page up to the audience without looking at the front and telling what is on the page. They are to do this to every page. This part is due tomorrow. We will begin sharing next Monday.
Math - Well we spent 3 days learning the standard algorithm for Multiplication or the Regrouping strategy. Some really struggled in the beginning. Remembering to drop that zero is a hard thing to remember. Teaching some of them to just slow down and pay attention to what they are doing was the key. I hope when I check their papers that I feel good about where they are at with this. If not we will spend an extra day on it. It is important to me that they all understand before we move forward. This chapter is quickly coming to an end though. We will be finishing it up next week. We will have a dress rehearsal for this test also then do a final. I feel like that really helped them the last time. I do know that if the know this last strategy they will do fine on the test.
Social Studies - We are learning about the land and the climate of the Southeast states. We learned about elevation maps this week and how we use color to show elevation or in the case of the worksheet that has not color they used shading and patterns/texture to show elevation. Understanding what exactly sea level is was very important to understanding elevation. We will be working on putting more states into our interactive notebooks and more map skills coming up. They are doing a great job adjusting to picking up the pace a little bit. I need to really keep moving them forward and so they are doing a little more each days then we had been. I told them that it was our new normal. Most seem excited about it.
Auction - The St. Malachy Gala is coming up at the end of the month. We are asking for your donations to all be turned in over the next couple of week. Our live auction basket is called "Man Food" basket. We have received some great donations of suaces and now a couple of rubs to put on meat. We have also received some monetary donations. You can donate whatever you can. No donation is too small. We are also asking for $3.00 per student for the silent auction item. They will be putting together a piece of artwork to be auctioned off. It is a very cool idea and a great keepsake. All we ask is that you donate anything you can to help make our items a success.
I put out an SOS yesterday for hand sanitizer. I have received 2 small bottles and 2 large bottles. Thank you so much. This is so helpful when we are still in the middle of flu season. I still have plenty of clorox sanitizing wipes which we use on our desks and other places that are touched a lot by little hands.
Spirit Day - Tomorrow is another Spirit Day. Please bring $1.00 to wear sweats. It is a perfect day to do it. We do have a family that we are wanting to help so everyone bring a $1.00. In case you are unaware our funds go to families in need of cheering up, who have had a death in family, or are going through a bad time due to illness or disease. We help by giving snack baskets, sunshine baskets, restaurant gift cards, and gas cards if traveling is involved. Sometimes we also donate snack baskets to neighboring schools who lose students. Please help to keep our pay it forward fund so we are able to continue helping others.
Coin Wars - Tomorrow is that last day for Coin Wars. The students are collecting coins for FBLA. The students came around and talked to our kids about donating and where the donations are going. This year the donations are going to our very on Cancer Center and Greater Regional. Many people we know and love have used this center and what a great place to donate. Any spare change sitting around will be appreciated. The one with most money donated will get a pizza party, 2nd place a cookie/cupcake party, and 3rd a Lollipop party.
I hope all of you have a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
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