June 18, 2013
Final Farewell
Dear Families,
Thank you so much for an incredible year! You and your
children were a joy to work with!
Thank You! Your kids made a delightful book for me with their art and sweet
thoughts! And I greatly appreciate the Amazon gift card you gave to me as well!
Thank you so much for your generosity towards me!
Moving to
Hawaii: As many of you have heard, I am moving to
Maui in September for 8 months. We have no idea if we’ll stay in Maui long-term
or move back to Washington. There are many determining factors. But for now, I
just wanted to let you know that you and your children are welcome to keep in
touch with me via my personal email: danielle@criativophoto.com.
And if you find yourself in Maui, email me and let me know. I’d love to meet up
for breakfast or something. (=
Summer Reading:
Mrs. Kline, our librarian, talked with your kid about some
great local summer reading programs. They all ask that you keep track of your
reading and your child can earn free prizes or books when they complete the
different requirements.
University Book Store: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/books/books.taf?page=readingrocks
Barnes and Nobel: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summer-reading/379003570/
King County Library System: http://www.kcls.org/kids/summer/
Looking for books your child might enjoy this summer? Here are
some of the books we read aloud this year. If your students enjoyed any of
these books, have them check out books by the same authors.
Read Alouds
Schooled by Gordon Korman
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Wonder by RJ Palacio
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull (there is
now a sequel too)
Chasing Vermeer (first of a trilogy) by Blue
Balliett
Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Among the Hidden (first of a seven book series) by Margaret Petersen Haddix
Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
*Planning a road trip this
summer? Books on CD are fun for the whole family and help
time pass much faster! King County Library has TONS of youth books on CD, they
loan out for 4 weeks at a time, like a normal library book. Or you could
download them to your mp3 player.
I have fond memories of my
family arriving at our destination and my brother and I (when we were in middle
school) begging my dad to keep driving until the book ended.
Book Recommendations from the Fourth Grade
Teachers
Shero/Lampman’s
Top 10
Harry
Potter Series
Lightning
Thief Series
Thief Lord
Matilda
Coraline
Wayside
School Series
Bridge to Teribithia
Artemis
Fowl Series
Charlotte’s
Web
Mrs.
Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Ness’s
Top 10
Chasing
Vermeer series
Among the
Hidden series
Carl
Hiasson books
Candy Shop
War series
The Last
of the Really Great Whangdoodles
Trilogy
books by Gordon Kormon (example: Island series, Dive series, etc.)
Out of My
Mind
Wonder
Any sports
book by Mike Lupica
Marshall/Staat’s
Top 10
The
Magician’s Elephant
Schooled
Sister’s
Grimm Series
The Aurora
County Allstars
The Wizard
of Oz
Cricket in
Times Square
The
Library Card
The
Wringer
A Wrinkle
in Time
Fablehaven
series
Eshom’s
Top 10
The
Postcard
Number the
Stars
Escaping
the Giant Wave
The
Unwanteds
Stone Fox
City of
Ember
Huckleberry
Finn
Replay
The
Invention of Hugo Cabret
Thin Wood
Walls
Thank you
for everything!!!
Sincerely,
Danielle
Ness
May 28, 2013
Classroom Updates
The school year is quickly winding down, but things are still heating up in our room. We've been so busy in class, I haven't kept our blog up to date nearly as much as I would like. So I'll do a brief recap so you can feel caught up with us!
Reading: All winter long and up through the MSP in April, students were meeting with me in guided reading groups. We worked on specific skills that each group needed extra practice with (summarizing, finding evidence in the text, etc.) We are now doing end of the year reading assessments to evaluate how much reading progress each student made this year. be sure to ask your child what they're new reading level is.
Writing: In March and April we worked on narrative stories (often times, kids chose to write fantasy narratives). We worked hard to include interesting dialogue; use a prewrite (the story staircase) to have a well thought-out beginning, middle, and end; as well as starting to learn to use style and voice in our stories.
In April and May we reviewed expository essays. We practiced writing 5 paragraph essays to help us better prepare for our writing MSP. The kids now have a clear understanding of how to use an outline to make an essay organized and detailed.
We are now doing our poetry unit. Students are working on thoughtfully crafting visual poems that evoke emotion (often times humor). The students are particularly enjoying it because they get to illustrate the final draft of each poem. Ask your child about some of the poems they've created so far.
Math: We went straight from Unit 8 to Unit 10 in math. Unit 10 is what the students consider to be more "art" than math. We explored reflections, symmetry, and patterns. I chose to skip Unit 9 temporarily so students wouldn't dread doing math during MSP weeks. Now that we are done with Unit 10, we have now moved back to Unit 9. We are currently covering the relationships between decimals, fractions, and percents!
Science: After the science fair in March, we began our science unit on Matter. Students explored materials in different matter forms as well as what it takes for matter to change to different forms of matter. This was a very hands on unit that the students really enjoyed.
We are now almost done with Earth's Changing Surfaces. We've been exploring the different types of erosion: water, ice and wind. Students have been testing different factors to see which speed up the process of erosion and which slow it down.
Social Studies: As you know, April and May were all focused on BizTown. Students learned many different aspects of economies, communities, financial institutions, running a business, and how to participate in a market (buying and selling good and/or services).
Read Aloud: In May, we finished the book Chasing Vermeer. It was a fantastic mystery that explored coincidences and seemingly unrelated events all while trying to solve an international art scandal.
We are now reading Out of My Mind. It is about a girl who was born with a disease and is paralyzed and cannot speak. The story is written from her perspective and the challenges she faces. The kids moan every time we have to stop reading each day!
So in a nutshell, that's what we've been doing!
If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to call, email, or stop by. Thanks!
~Danielle
May 22, 2013
Field Day Volunteers Needed
In just one month, we will be
having our annual Field Day! We need three parent volunteers from
our class to make this event run smoothly! Field Day is Thursday,
June 13th from 1:30-3:00. If you would like to volunteer, please
let me know. Please arrive at 1:00 pm by the cement picnic tables, and check
in with Shelley Thomas (Engelstone), our PE teacher, to select your station.
Please do not bring younger children, as over 650 people are on the field
at once.
BizTown Volunteers Still Needed
We are still short parent
volunteers for our BizTown interactive experience. We need 22 or 23 and
as of yesterday afternoon I have a total of 19. As mentioned, there is a
training you will need to attend, but it is such an amazing experience and well
worth it. If anyone else is interested, please contact Marianne Eshom,
our contact person, eshomm@issaquah.wednet.edu
and let her know which training you will be able to attend.
There is one training tonight
from 6:00-8:00 at Sunny Hills Elementary. Otherwise the other dates are
listed below, which are held at The Boeing Center For Free Enterprise, which
is where BizTown is located. The address is 1610 Perimeter Road SW
Auburn, WA 98001.
Thursday May 2nd 9:30-11:30am
Thursday May 2nd 6:00-8:00pm
Wednesday May 15th 12:00-2:00pm
Wednesday May 15th 6:00-8:00pm
April 22, 2013
MSP Starts Next Week
Next week we begin the 4th grade MSP. Our
schedule is as follows:
·
Tuesday, April 30- Reading
·
Thursday, May 2- Narrative Writing
·
Tuesday, May 7- Expository Writing
·
Thursday, May 9- Math
The fourth grade teachers are allowing gum this year.
However, the students know that they need to bring it for themselves and that
if there is loud smacking, gum being chewed at other times of the day, or gum
or wrappers found anywhere else, the privilege will be taken away.
Also, I’ve found in the past that snacks can really help
keep kids motivated during the MSP. If you would be willing to donate a snack,
please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ark9v9dD4y4ldHFNdEdMdEJhbWpKVTROTDRHb0IxS2c&usp=sharing
Snacks should be healthy, easy to eat during a break, and not sugary. Some
suggestions are on the link. Thanks again for all your support this year!
March 21, 2013
Fourth Grade Recorder Concert
Tuesday, April 2
6:30 P.M.
Please email Mrs.
Bean at beanm@issaquah.wednet.edu
if your child can not be there for the concert.
Students should
arrive at between 6:15 and 6:20 in “best or better than” school
clothes.
Concert will be about
40 minutes long.
March 7, 2013
Cookie Dough is Here
Thanks to some strong and quick working volunteers the
cookie dough is here and ready for pick up. You will find it sorted by
class and then by student on the stage in the Multipurpose room. Please
check to make sure you pick up your child’s complete order, there is a number
on the box indicating 1 of 3 or 1 of 1. You will also find the original order
form taped to one of the boxes so you can distribute the dough.
February 28, 2013
Science Fair Updates
Just a reminder that science fair reports are due tomorrow.
This is just the printed version of what they've been turning in every week.
Ideally it is nice looking and all of my red comments are gone. The
presentation board is due Tuesday. Your child should have drawn a picture of
the order for the layout. It should be on the back of their blue science fair
packet in their binders. Tomorrow I will send home a copy of what they will be
talking about during their 1-2 minute presentations on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The students should practice it a few times once their board is done.
February 25, 2013
Cookie Dough Funds Raised!
Way
to go with the Cookie Dough Sale!
4th
grade made a profit of $3,863.50
5th
grade made a profit of $2,972.00
Cookie
Dough Pick up Dates and Time:
The
dough is scheduled to be delivered between 10 and 11 am on the 7th.
If you are able to come help sort the dough your help would be much appreciated.
February 15, 2013
Science Fair Updates
Ideally, your child should be done with the experiment and have turned
in the data, results, and conclusion.
When we get back the Final Report is due. That is
just the science investigation they’ve typed, printed out, and turned in. If
you don’t have a printer at home, students can print it at school. I reminded
the kids that this final report is worth 70 points, so they should only print
it once they’ve read through it, made sure they fixed all the changes I
recommended, and proofread it for errors.
If you are home for break, you are welcome to get ahead and
start working on the display board. You will need a tri-fold board. They
can be purchased at Michael’s and any office supply store for a few dollars. If
you have one lying around the house, students are welcome to our school butcher
paper to cover it. Please see the attached display board sample for placement
ideas on the board.
Dr. Seuss Activities in the Library
Enter the One Fish, Two Fish, How Many Seuss Fish Estimation Jars Contest by clicking here! The fish are on display in the the library until Feb. 15.
Ask a question for Kim Baker (author of Pickle) here. She might answer your question at her visit on March 1st in the Sunset Library.
February 6, 2013
Updates from a Student
Written by Kareena
February 5, 2013
Classroom Updates
Math: We are currently working on Unit 6- Division and
Angles. So far we have learned the traditional method of long-division. We will
continue practicing the steps until it becomes second nature for the students.
In the meantime while it’s sinking in, we’re going to be working on measuring
angles and using coordinates. Later we will be learning one more method for
long division, the partial-quotients method (sometimes called the Forgiving
Method). It’s fun, but usually takes longer than traditional long division.
Science: We wrapped up our astronomy unit with a visit to
the planetarium. The students loved seeing constellations in the “sky” and
learning about what different skies we see at different times of the year. We
are now working on our matter unit. Ask your kids about some of the
investigations we are doing.
Reading: We are continuing to practice visualizing, making
inferences, and using evidence to support our answers.
Read Aloud: Tomorrow we will be finishing The Candy Shop
War. Ask your students about the climax of the book. On Thursday, we will be
beginning the Ghost Canoe, a historical fiction mystery that takes place on
Cape Flattery with a Chinook tribe.
Writing: Students are currently finishing the drafts of
their personal narrative story. Next we will be revising and editing before
beginning our final, published drafts.
January 25, 2013
Updates from a Student
This week has been an exciting
week. We got a new student named Mercedes, she is a great addition to our
class. Plus, On Friday we had an assembly dedicated to the H2O project,
starting on Monday. If you participate you can’t spend any money or drink any
juice, milk, (that includes coffee) energy drinks, or any type drink for 2
weeks. You can only drink water. If you can’t participate for water to Sudan,
then you can also donate. Find out more at their website.
This week we started our final
fundraiser for Camp Orkila. We are selling cookie dough.
We are starting our big P.E. fitness testing now. This week we took our Unit Math
5 test and started Unite 6. Finally, we took our last space test and we are
almost finished with our science unit with astronomy.
Written by Kareena
January 16, 2012
Cookie Dough Fundraiser for Camp Orkila
Hi 4th
grade Families!
Our Cookie Dough
fundraiser is about to begin so get ready to sell some dough! The sale
will run from January 24th through February 7th when all
orders and money will be due to school. The cookie dough will arrive on
March 7th which is the same night as the 4th grade
science fair so that makes for an easy pick up!
4th
graders raised $5,300.00 selling Entertainment books this year and could easily
head to 5th grade with over $11,00.00 in their “camp account” if
they sell about the same amount of cookie dough that 4th graders in
the past have sold.
Please look for
the Cookie Dough envelope to come home next Thursday. Remember to collect
money as you and your student sell to friends and family, all checks need to be
made out to Sunset ASB.
If you have any
questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Gina Montgomery
425-837-5600
January 16, 2012
H20 Project
On January 28th, we will be beginning the H20 Project Challenge- to only drink water for two weeks. Then all the money that would have been spent on juice, soda, milk, coffee, and other beverages will be donated to Water for South Sudan.
This organization exists to drill wells and bring clean water for people in Sudan. Not only do the wells
provide clean water for a lifetime for an entire village and its surrounding neighbors, but it also allows children
to begin to go to school (as their time is no longer spent walking back and
forth to the nearest river). Markets and a thriving community often follow
after a well has been drilled.
I know that this challenge is uncomfortable for those who like to drink many different types of beverages, but we are asking that students, parents, and the staff as Sunset do their best to participate in this challenge. It shows students that other people are worth making sacrifices for! It will teach them to appreciate the water that we always have at our finger tips. Plus, cutting out sugary drinks sure has some health benefits too.
We will be participating in this two week challenge from January 28th-February 8th. You may send in cash or checks made out to "Water for South Sudan" at anytime during the challenge. Thank you for helping make a difference in the lives of many Sudanese lives!
*If you are interested in getting more people involved, you are welcome to talk to your churches and other activity groups about doing their own H2O Project. More information about the challenge can be found here: http://waterforsudan.squarespace.com/h20-project/.
January 4, 2012
Learning Updates
Science: We began our
astronomy unit this week. We will be focused on the Earth, Moon, and Sun- their
relative sizes, gravity, etc. Students are enjoying working with models to help
us grasp the unfathomable large objects. Students are also excited about getting
to start in a nice, clean science notebook.
Reading: We are back to our formal
reading lessons which now focus on how to use EVIDENCE to respond to our
reading. On Monday, we will also begin reading groups. In these small groups of
three, four, or five students, we will continue to practice and perfect the
skill of using evidence from our reading.
Read Aloud: We are about halfway done
with The Candy Shop War. The students love
the magical treats Brandon Mull describes and the vocab he uses. Ask your child
what retaliation, solemn, petrified, incredulous, and apprehend mean. Hopefully
they have a pretty good idea by now.
Writing: We just began our personal
narrative unit. Students are learning to look into their own lives to find stories
to write about. We’re trying to steer away from the general, “First I did this,
then I did this, next we did this…” I’m trying to teach them to write small
stories that are interesting- a time they got injured, a time when something
scary happened to them, etc. Next week we’ll be learning how to correctly add
dialogue to our stories.
January 4, 2012
Today we are going to do science. We are going to study astronomy. When Mrs.Ness told us to that we are going to start a new science unit we were all like, “please be a good one!”
Written by Spoorthi
December 10, 2012
Visual Updates
December 10, 2012
Annie's All-Star Bio
An
all-star was born on September 4th to parents Doug and Laurie and named Annie.
Annie was an all-star from the beginning because Annie was a big ballet dancer.
As Annie has grown older there have been many all-star moments including going
into semi-finals in soccer tournaments. She is especially good at making
clothes and designing clothes and hopes to someday start designing clothes at a
business and then start her own designing business. Keep an eye out for this
all-star in the future.
November 29, 2012
Last Book Order of 2012
Scholastic Book Clubs Ordering InformationThe due date is next Tuesday, December 4th, right before conferences. The reason we are doing it so quickly is to make sure the books arrive before we leave for winter break. If you would like to order any books for your children as gifts, just let me know and I will make sure to keep it a secret when they arrive.
Ordering online is fast and easy:
• REGISTER at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
• ENTER the Class Activation Code: HCP22
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to your child's teacher
• EARN FREE Books for you and the classroom too!
Learning Updates
Math: We are currently working on Unit 4- Decimals and Their Uses. We have been using decimals to the thousandths place both in the decimal notation and written as fractions. Starting tomorrow we will be focusing on using the metric system and how to convert cm into mm, m, dm, and vice versa.
Social Studies: We’ve been busy learning the basics of geography. First we started with the world map, and then we zoomed into North America. Next, we’ve been studying the United States, location of the states and their capitols. Finally we’re going to be spending lots of time with Washington and its five regions.
Reading: We have taken a little break from our formal reading lessons and have been just enjoying some great reading time and also working on our 40 book requirement. Students were challenged at the beginning of the year to read 40 books this year (in school and at home). Since we are about 1/3 of the way through the school year, they should be done with about 13-14 books. Some kids are well past that amount, others are right on pace, and some are a bit behind and have some catching up to do. Ask your child how many they’ve read so far this year.
Read Aloud: We recently finish Wonder and last week we began The Candy Shop War which takes us away from realistic fiction and into a great fantasy chapter book for now. It’s full of great vocab and a fabulous story. Ask your child what’s happening in the book right now.
Writing: Last week we wrote letters from the perspective of a turkey, trying to persuade people to not eat turkeys. We looked up facts about turkeys and tried to turn them into convincing arguments for people not to eat “us”. They learned many writing skills while having fun. *Sorry if your child protested turkey at Thanksgiving this year.
November 19, 2012
Jacob's All-Star Bio
An all-star was born on November 20 to parents Susan and Chris and named Jacob. Jacob was an all-star from the beginning because he was awesome. As Jacob has grown older there have been many all-star moments, including passing his karate exam. He is especially good at weapons, and hopes to someday be a paleontologist. Keep an eye out for this all-star in the future!
November 12, 2012
Grace's All-Star Bio
November 9, 2012
Classroom Pictures!
 |
| Grave for our dead fish and snails from our ecocolumns |
 |
| One of two birthday boys this week! |
 |
| Testing out materials to clean an oil spill |
 |
| Making Thankful trees with our buddies |
 |
| Work time! |
 |
| Math game: Beat the Calculator |
 |
| Today's Veteran Day Assembly |
Learning Updates
Math: Tomorrow we are taking our Unit 3 Math Test- Multiplication and Division. Thursday we will begin Unit 4- Decimals. We will continue doing math fact tests, so students should continue practicing their multiplication and division facts every day at home for about 10 minutes.
Science: We finished our ecosystems experiment with adding pollution to our ecoclumns. Ask your child how their ecocolumns were affected. We are almost done with our oil pollution experiments too. Ask your child about the design that is working best for their team. Next week we will start social studies for this year!
Reading: We have been studying nonfiction texts in reading. First we learned how to use the different text features to gain understanding about what they're reading. Now we've been practicing asking questions to help us focus our reading when we read nonfiction books.
Read Aloud: Wonder has been a fabulous read aloud. Students are captivated by the life that Auggie (the main character with a facial deformity) lives and the struggles he faces everyday. The book is written from many characters point of view to help give the best overall picture of how August's life impacts others.
Writing: We've been working on writing interesting beginnings and endings in our writing. We've also been focused on showing, not telling in our writing to make it as interesting as it can be.
November 5, 2012
Cade's All-Star Bio
An all-star was born on November 7 to parents named Casey and Heidi and named Cade. Cade was an all-star from the beginning because he was great at destroying things. As Cade has grown older, there have been many all-star moments, including his first tackle in football. He is especially good at baseball and hope to someday become even better. Keep an eye out for this all-star in the future!
October 30, 2012
News from the Class Reporter
Written by Malisa
October 29, 2012
Classroom Reminders
Halloween: Students may bring costumes on Wednesday. They will put their costumes on over their clothes in the classroom and change again before we leave school that day. Students know what is appropriate and what isn't allowed.
Eager Reader Minutes: October Eager Reader minutes are due by 10pm Wednesday night. You are welcome to turn it in earlier if you choose. Please total up all your child's October minutes and turn them in online here: http://sunsetsockeyepta.org/Page/Eager%20Reader/Intro%20page.
November Volunteer Calendar is up. Click here to see it!
October 26, 2012
Jake's All-Star Bio
An all-star was born on October-22 to parents Amir and Gretchen and named Jake. Jake was a star from the beginning because he scored in Lax. There have been many all-star moments, including winning the Lax game. He is especially good at computers and designing video games and someday hopes to design video games. Keep eye out for this all-star in the future!
October 19, 2012
Katie's Star Bio
An all-star was born on June 16 to parents Marie and Jason and named Katie. Katie was an all-star from the beginning because when a song came on the radio she would sing to it. As Katie has grown older there have been many all-star moments, including when she fell off the surfboard. She is especially good at basketball and did not lose a game and hopes to someday to be famous basketball player. Keep an eye for this all-star in the future!
October 19, 2012
Awesome Resource
Has your child ever left their math homework at school? If so, you might want to check out this awesome resource: http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4th-grade/em-at-home/unit_3/. This has all the math study links for Unit 3, games to play to support what we're studying, and SRB pages to look up if a child gets stuck. The online SRB and online math games can be found here: http://em-ccss.everydaymathonline.com/g_login.html. Your child's login information is in his/her planner. You can also find a permanent link to all the units on our Links page: http://mrsnessclass.blogspot.com/p/links.html.
October 16, 2012
Our Glogs All About Us!
Erin
Omar
Gracie
Matthew
Liam
Arman
Justin
Malisa
Maggie
Kareena
Aidan
Adam
Maddie
Jake
Grace
Spoorthi
Annie
Arthur
Matt
October 15, 2012
Halloween
This year we will not be having a Halloween "party" in our class. Instead students will rotate to different fourth grade teachers to participate in fun Halloween activites (pumpkin math, decorating cookies, and Halloween reader's theater). Students will be allowed to wear their costumes during these activities.
We will need 6 basketball sized pumpkins to be donated for our pumpkin math, and one parent volunteer to help with that activity from 9:40-10:40 on Wednesday, October 31st. (Update: We have a volunteer, but still need 6 more pumpkins.) If you are able to donate a pumpkin or volunteer with pumpkin math, please email me ASAP. nessd@issaquah.wednet.edu. Thanks!
October 12, 2012
Our First Book Order
This year we will be participating in Scholastic Book Clubs. The Book Club flyers I'll be sending home a few times this year are full of just-right, affordable books and Storia(TM) eBooks for every age and reading level. Our class will get their flyers on Tuesday. Please have your orders in by Wednesday, October 24.
Ordering online is fast and easy:
REGISTER at https://orders.scholastic.com/HCP22
ENTER the Class Activation Code: HCP22
CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia(TM) eBooks
SUBMIT the order to your child's teacher
EARN FREE Books for you and the classroom too!
October 11, 2012
Learning Updates
Math: Tomorrow we are taking our Unit 2 Math Test- Numbers and Data. Monday we will begin unit 3, reviewing multplication and division. If you haven't been having your child practice their math facts at home, please begin. They need to be quick at those multiplication/division problems.
Science: We have assembled our terraria and aquaria into complete ecocolumns. We've been studying producers, consumers, decomposers, etc. Students are beginning to understand how organisms are interdependent on each other in ecosystems.
Reading: We have been studying non-fiction texts in reading. Students are learning the different text features (timelines, captions, glossaries, etc.) that can be found in nonfiction texts and how to use them to gain understanding about what they're reading.
Read Aloud: We just finished A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. It is a Sasquatch Award Nominee. It took two stories of Sudanese children in different time periods (1980s and 2010) and wove them together to teach us about the Lost Boys from Sudan, the importance of water for survival, and many other life lessons, including how we have to deal with just one problem at a time when we are facing major challenges in our lives. Ask your child about the book. Yesterday we started Wonder. It is very humorous and I'm told will help teach us how to be empathetic towards others.
October 11, 2012
An all-star was born on August 23 to parents Anjali and Ajay and named Kareena. Kareena was an all-star from the beginning because she was great at art. As Kareena has grown older, there have been many all-star moments including music and is still a wonderful artist. She is especially good at gymnastics. She someday hopes to be a pro at it. Keep an eye out for this all-star in the future.
October 9, 2012
Reflections Program
The PTA Reflections program has kicked off this year, and the theme is "The Magic of a Moment..." Projects will be due on Wednesday October 17. Students are allowed a maximum of 3 entries.
The different categories are: Visual Arts, Photography, Literature, Film, Dance and Musical Composition.
The link to the form is http://www.wastatepta.org/programs/reflections/1213_forms/Student_Entry_Form_1213.pdf
Here is a link to the rules and guidelines for the different categories:
http://www.wastatepta.org/programs/reflections/forms.html
Entertainment Fundraiser
Our Entertainment book fundraiser was a HUGE success!
Here is the total:
4th grade: 395 local books
33 online books
=428 books sold X $15.00 each profit = $6,420.00 + $60.00 in donations = $6,480.00 in their camp bank!
Great job fourth graders!
October 8, 2012
Tragedy Strikes Science
Written by Malisa N.
October 5, 2012
Pictures of our Gold Coin Reward- Capture the Flag
Science-in-Action!
October 4, 2012
All-star bio of Omar
An all-star was born on august 14 to parents Rachid and Assia and named Omar. Omar was an all-star from the beginning because he was such a good jumproper. As Omar has grown older, there have been many all-star moments, including he won his basketball tournament. He is especially good at jump roping and hope to someday be a professional. Keep an eye out for this all-star in the future!
September 28, 2012
Matt's All-Star Bio
An all-star was born on September 28th to parents Irene and Wayne and named Matt. Matt was an all-star from the beginning because he was an excellent baseball player. As Matt has grown older, there have been many all-star moments, including his first basketball tournament. He is especially good at playing baseball and hope to someday be a professional baseball player. Keep an eye out for this all-star in the future!
September 26, 2012
Learning Updates
Math: Today we took our Unit 1 Math Test all about Geometry. Tomorrow, we'll begin Unit 2- Numbers and Data.Science: We have organized our science notebooks and are ready to start science! Today we are investigating what scientists do and talking about the scientific process. Tomorrow we'll begin studying ecosystems.
Reading: We are currently working on choosing "Good Fit" books to read independently. We're building our stamina for silent reading time. Right now our class can read for about 14 minutes before we start becoming distracted. So hopefully that time will continue to lengthen as the year goes on.
Read Aloud: We just finished Schooled by Gordon Korman. The kids loved this book. Ask them what it was about. This week we began A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. It is a Sasquatch Award Nominee. It takes place in Sudan and had lead us to have very interesting culture conversations!
Writing: We are working on focusing on the ideas in our writing. We are working on solid paragraphs with great ideas right now. You'll see some of their work come home in Friday Packets this week.
September 18, 2012
Our class has started on health. Right after 2nd recess we get to go to Ms.Eshoms class to do health. It’s really fun!
We also went to the computer lab to work on videos, you can watch them on the blog next week. They were really fun! You had to do fifteen or more pictures on your flash drive.
The ESPY challenge: that’s where you pick out a challenge number, study them and then Mrs. Ness makes you say the answer and you get five Nessy bucks from her!
In math, we’re learning about polygons and regular polygons and convex and concave polygons.
Written by Annie
September 14, 2012
Math has been fun! We’re learning about line segments, shapes, and parallel lines. You can see in the pictures we’re having fun doing math in our math journals.
We’re also studying Netiquette. We learned about the five Wizzywigs. They’re bad on the internet. The worst is Follow You Fiona. She tries to meet you offline and might do bad stuff to you.
Written by Annie
September 6, 2012
First Days!
The first couple days have been awesome! Everybody’s excited for a fresh new year! At recess everybody loves to get back on the playground and the field. The class can’t wait for the best year to look up to!
Written by Annie
September 4, 2012
Great First Day!
Getting to know each other:
August 31, 2012
Parents, this is the tab you're going to want to check at least once a week. Here I will post:
- what we're learning
- pictures
- any important information regarding our classroom
Thanks,
Danielle Ness
10 comments:
Love the pictures!!
not any comments for the reporter? (me)
Great reporting Annie!!
post more stories
katie,said i love the pictures!!!!!
Awsome pictures!!! looks like you guys have fun learning, and loving it:)
Incredibly cool job on the Matthew's Animoto!
Great pictures!
you are all doing a great job posting! I really enjoy reading and seeing pictures of what you are up to!
Love the pics when will someone post new ones
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