March Madness from 4b

Not really!  Miss Hoffman and I are so pleased with our Reading Assessments scores.  I saw most of  our students working hard on taking their time, re-reading and just plain focusing on the task at hand.  We will assign more Study Island for Math soon, so try to work that in.  Just 10-15 minutes helps so much and they have told me areas that we need to review.  Thank you  for your help with this- it is win-win for us all.

Math assessments are March 12,13, &14 in the morning.  Please remember the extra rest and good breakfast.  I am very glad that we will have this taken care of before Spring Break!  I am sending home a poster to be completed when they come back from the break—most 4^th graders enjoy this and we enjoy have them to share with the school.  You may attach photos if you like.

We will finish up the Western States in Social Studies in early May and make some state folders.  They are fun and great to share.  I like to see how much better they can relate to other states once they know where the states are located.

Not much else for now—have a good Spring Break—I have decided to stay in Wichita for the week, maybe paint my bedroom and catch up with friends.

Keep up the good work—nbc

U.I.O.G.D. et B.V.M

February 10, 2012

Hello from Assessment Central!!!

We are busy working on our preparations for the next few weeks and I am sending home a note today asking for specific  help with a few in reviewing with Study Island.  If you don’t get a note, you can still review, just have your student log-in and there are some review lessons assigned.   I am seeing good progress, and as some of you mentioned in the take home test, rushing thru seems to be our greatest offense. Thank for taking the time to make those notes for me,  I enjoyed and reflected on every one!

We will spend more time on Math nest week because we will be testing on Reading, no teaching in Reading.  We will read a story we had to skip, but no quiz or Homework in those subjects.

Remember the importance of a good breakfast  and plenty of rest.  I know this is an intense time for everyone—I try to give them some outlets during the day for our different  types of learners.  Some of our fourth graders know some great yoga positions and I get a laugh from this group.  They move from one subject to another with no notice to the old girl—they are a dear group—and I will miss them—but don’t let them know yet!

Remember to sign up for conferences, they are mandatory.  I think I will make a list of strengths and what  we need to work on yet, because I don’t think I can get through in 10 minutes.  I do enjoy talking to you, and I don’t like blind-sliding with a difficult topic, so I take my time (my mother, says this is a fault) and I want you to feel like you can take your time alsol  Let ‘s work it this way, and if we need to take time for a conference later, or just a quick chat in the parking lot, we can do it that way.  If next Thursday doesn’t work, just e-mail me.

I am quite pleased with the way the students are reading their AR without reminding and the way they share the literature with me.  This must be coming from you—please continue to encourage them to read—it is never time wasted.

Last word—ha-ha—the St. Michael statue is  magnificent.  Miss Hoffman and I took a few minutes to talk to the children about what a hero this saint is, we will be getting prayer cards soon and I am sure they will relay more info about this wonderful model for all of us.

Happy Valentines’ Day—Mrs. Clark

U.I.O.G.D. et B.V.M

January, 2012

Happy New Year!

I am sure you were glad to see the break over, and I was too.  We have a lot to learn before state assessments and I think the students are ready for some new material.  I am not too sure that all have division mastered, but most seem to know when to divide.  We will continue to sneak that skill in.  Practice makes perfect on this skill.

Mechanical pencils are now allowed in 4b. If students are playing with these or the lead boxes, they will lose the privilege. We still have plenty of the old-fashioned wooden pencils, so there is no need to buy them.

Because we are working toward 5^th grade, I will put the zero in the grade book quicker now for late and missing work.  I will not be giving as many verbal reminders for their homework.  I might suggest that if you have a student who regularly forgets homework, to remind them as they leave the car in the morning, and I will make the consequences a little tougher for these infractions.  I am giving fewer points for everyday behavior, so our talkers and entertainers may see their Conduct and Study Habits grades drop.

We are talking more about responsibility and self-control.  This becomes internalized as the children mature, but reminders from parents and teachers continues to help them see the need to think before we act.  It can be one of the harder concepts to learn, but it helps them so much as they move to the upper grades.

Unfortunately, some of our students have chosen to try out some new words in English and Spanish, and these words are not for Magdalen and for sure not in Mrs. Clark’s classroom.  Please remind your students of the ole adage “Garbage in, Garbage out!”   Our language reflects us as Catholic, Christian people.

I like to take the children for short walks as we get closer to State Assessments for the fresh air and diversion.  Please remind the students to wear their heavier parkas  and leggings for the girls when it is 45 degrees or below.

Thank you for all you do to help us at school.  I feel fortunate to have such a pleasant work experience.  Also, thank you for your contributions to the Teacher Christmas Fund.  You are all so kind.

U.I.O.G.D. et B.V.M.

December 1,  2011

Happy Advent to all of you!  This really “snuck” up on me this year, but it will be fun to share this season with your children.  As you can see from their written work, we are making good progress, the handwriting is improving and I think most are being more charitable to each other.  In other words, I think they will be ready for 5^th grade in 6 months.

Because of the changes in the Nicene Creed we will have an open book test—filling in the blanks with the changes.  Their Religion book has the correct version, so they will pick up on those changes quicker than we will.  Please help them at Mass finding their place in the supplement pages.  One of our older parishioners at Blessed Sacrament, turned to me after Mass on Sunday and asked how I had done with the responses.  I told her I had made 3 mistakes, and she was so happy that she had only made one,  We both were using the help sheet, but those verbal changes are hard to correct.

I have been posting the missing assignments on the whiteboard , and asking the students to find their MIA’s a.k.a missing work.  A few really scramble to find these, but some are not concerned.  I will continue to reinforce the idea that a zero in the grade book really brings their averages down, but a few don’t believe me yet.  If the children have looked everywhere for the work, they may ask for a 2^nd copy, but this needs to be done before or after school and I will make the copies at my convenience—not in the middle of  teaching!

The Southern States quiz will be on Friday, December 16.  Those with learning plans will have a word box, otherwise, the students will need to place the States and Capitals and spell them correctly (capitals letters) too!

As you may have noticed, I am grading more on their abilities’ as we move into the 2^nd semester.  We have some wonderful new games with our new math series, so a few have earned the time with friends in the hall, back table or with me.  Many more could earn this time.

Please enjoy this wonderful season with your children, believe me—it really speeds by—nbc

U.I.O.G.D. et B.V. M.

Novmenber 3, 2011

Thank you for the great Halloween party.  The students enjoyed their time and their treats.  I enjoy watching them interact with each other.  They are a wonderful group and work well together.

Also, thank you for the great turn-out for conferences.  I always learn from you and enjoy meeting you.I know we will continue to make even better progress in the coming  months.

We will begin  studying the Southern States this next week.  I will schedule the test before Christmas break.  Their scores on the Eastern states were amazing.  We probably won’t use a word box this next time.

Please encourage your children to read aloud every evening , if possible.  Fluency  is coming along, but practice helps them so much!

Have a good Novmber—it is a  short month.

U.I.O.G.D. et B.V.M.

Hi—from 4b—time is flying in our classroom.  We are making good progress in our sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation.  I am seeing an improvement in multiplication facts and even our fluency is better.  Thank you for your efforts in helping.

The “no name” disease still seems to be hanging on, but some have cured it by hi-lighting their name.  I see the difference.  I think some of the zeroes in Power School from be from UHW (Unidentified Homework).  Vocabulary in the Reading Series seems to come easier to this group—I am quite pleased.

A big thank you for those who helped us with the State Fair trip—we had a great time, the cool weather was a nice respite, and no one got lost!  Yea, team!

Mrs. Trevino  (Tuesday) and Mrs. Bezdek (Wednesday) are coming in around 3:00 in the afternoon to  help with agendas.  If you have any time and would like to fill in on one of the other days,  please let me know.  They love their moms to be in the classroom.

This is a great group of children—I am a happy teacher!  Mrs. Clark

Dear Parents,

We are very excited about our upcoming Field Trip!  We have split both 4^th grades into groups for the trip to the State Fair on Thursday, September 15, 2011.  We had more than enough parents volunteer to drive, so not all of you may have a group. We just assigned first responders to groups. We will be leaving the classrooms at 7:50, so please be here at 7:40 with your student. We will have maps and directions at that time. The tickets were purchased by the school. Remember, students are to bring a small backpack containing their lunch, water bottle and a small snack. They can wear spirit wear t-shirts, capris or jeans and tennis shoes. We will have coolers for their drinks only. They will not need to bring any money as we are not going to make any purchases or ride any rides.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Miss Hoffman and Mrs. Clark

4B

Nguyen – Amaya, Clare, Sophia, Emily

Barleen

Rachel, Kelsey, Cassidy

McCormack

Josh, Ben, Isaiah, Adrian T., Julian, Tristan

Trevino

Ashleigh, Alaina, Olivia

Nguyen

Sebastian, Adrian H. , Nick

Bezdek

Jackson, Aiden, Ryan, Taylor

Parents,

Thank you for the good turn-out at Back-to-School night! We really enjoyed meeting you and answering questions. Please feel free to ask about anything as it comes up. We are best reached by email.

We wanted to remind you of a few things:

First, how important it is to be here first thing in the morning. They can enter at 7:35 and get started on their morning jobs (lunch choice, handing in homework, corrections, updating their agenda, and morning work) since we leave for Mass at 7:50.  Remember they have Music and PE right after Mass and don’t return to the room until 9:20.

Secondly, we are really working on complete sentences: Begin with a capital letter, is a complete thought and ends with punctuation.  Please review this with your student on their daily homework. We ARE counting for complete sentences on ALL assignments.

Other announcements:

We are aiming for Religion chapter tests on Fridays of 4-5 day weeks. Spelling quizzes will be on Thursdays. Math quizzes will be announced at a later date.

We are planning the State Fair field trip; details to follow!

Welcome back to Magdalen.  We are off to a great start and I am ready to begin the teaching of these bright , enthusiastic children!  Please come to back to school night on the 25^th so we can get better acquainted.  Our parent handbook is attached in the document section for your convenience.  We will send the paper copy home tomorrow for your signature.  The prayers and dates due are in the document section.