Last Day of School

There is a letter going home tonight that describes our last day of school.  We will be dismissing kids at 11:15 this year and no lunch will be served on that day.  On the sheet going home there is also a release form if you need to make different plans than other early release days.

Also, on the last day of school, please have your child wear clothes they can run around and play in.  We do several fun activities that don't work well with flip-flops and/or dresses.  Shorts and tennis shoes work great.  Thanks!

Teachable Moment

On Thursday we had a "teachable moment" that seems to have stuck with the kids.  When we are working on writing projects I often play music.  I had just downloaded a new song called Clouds by Zach Sobiech.  I liked the song and had no idea about the amazing back story.  One of the kids told me about how he was writing the song as a way to deal with cancer.  He just passed away this week at the age of 18.  His story is very inspirational and it was a great reminder for me to focus on enjoying the people in my life.

If you haven't heard about him here is an article that shares more details:  CNN

Also, here is the YouTube video of his song:

Classroom Visitors

When the kids were at library we had a couple of visitors at the window.  They kept trying to fly in while they were gone.  The birds left before the kids got back though.

Hobby Fair

 

The kids will be presenting a hobby of theirs to younger classes on Friday, May 31st. This is a pretty informal presentation where they share information about their hobby to the students who come to their desk or table.   The students will just have to decide what to bring in, we will do all the preparation next week in class.

We will start coming up with hobby ideas today, and students can start bringing in materials on Friday or next week.  Students can bring in whatever hobby they would like, but whatever they have needs to fit on the top of their desk. In the past, some students have needed to take a picture of things because they were too big. Some have asked if they can change their outfit to match their hobby and that would be great. They could also have things that they hang in front of their desk.

 No live animals or real weapons please:)

Tests

Here are a list of the final set of tests we have this year.

This Friday will be our last spelling test of the year.  Next week we have a short week as well as a day that we miss for the field trip.  The last week of school will also be quite crazy so we won't do it that week.

The last math test is scheduled for either Friday, May 31 or Monday, June 3.  We are working on fractions and should be able to finish the unit by the end of the year.

At some point next week we'll also take our 50 states test.  We have taken a break from this to work on our states pillows this week, but we'll learn some of the Midwest states on Thursday.

Adverbs

We did our last Schoolhouse Rock video of the year, Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here.

Schedule

Below is a schedule for the last few weeks.  I'm sure there will be more things added too.  The end of the year is always a crazy time.

Here's a little more information about some of the notes:

• The Registration Packets for your child go home tonight!  Please return the paperwork as soon as you can.  Thank you.
• This Friday, May 17 is the last day for students to check out books.  
• On Monday, May 20 the students will run 10 minutes in gym.  Since they have met this goal Mrs. Frey and I are going to run the 10 minutes with them.
• May 22 I will be gone in the morning.
• May 24 the students will sew their pillows with the help of parents and grandparents.
• May 27 - Memorial Day
• May 30 - Folklore Village
• Friday, May 31 the students will have their Hobby Fair.  I will send out information soon, but wanted to wait until after permission slips, pillow cloth, and registration packets were done.  The students will need to bring in their hobby stuff, but they will prepare what they are going to do in class.
• We'll have our first third grade spelling bee on Monday, June 3.  Reading calendars are also due.
• June 6 is the last day of school and dismissal is at 11:30 a.m.

Field Trip Chaperone

Nicole's mom won the drawing to come on the field trip with us on May 30th.  Thanks to all those parents who volunteered to help out.  I wish we were able to bring more.

Also, I have most of the permission slips turned in.  Thank you for returning those promptly.

Mud Run

In our Time for Kids magazine this week we were reading about Adventure Races or Mud Runs, which are becoming popular.  As we read, now they have Mud Runs designed for kids.  There is a short video of the race from the magazine here:  Running the Race (at the bottom of the page)  I decided to look up to see if any of the races were in Wisconsin, and there is one at Miller Park in September.

The kids are super excited about the idea so I told them I'd leave a link:  Spartan Race at Miller Park  The kids race part is at the bottom of the page.

On a side note, I will be competing with my wife's family in my first adventure race this summer.  I was excited, but after seeing some of the videos I've gotten a little nervous!  My race is in Fond du Lac, and they also have a kid's race this year.  Here is that link too:  Edge the Ledge

States List

Below is a list of the states that the kids selected for their state pillow.  We will begin working on those right away on Monday so we can sew at the end of the week!

Mariah  - Massachussetts

Emma  -  Arizona

Colton  -  Illinois

Brynn  -  Maine

Abby  -  Rhode Island

Montanna  -  Montana

Nicole  -  North Carolina

Jackie  -  Iowa

Alyson  -  Wisconsin

Hailey  -  Nebraska

Skyler  -  New Jersey

James  -  Colorado

Jackson  -  California

Hailee  -  Maryland

Zachary  -  Kentucky

Owen  -  Kansas

Savannah  -  Louisiana

Sewing Pillows

This is the letter I sent home last night about sewing.  The students need two 12x12 pieces of cloth by May 20.  I have a couple of people who volunteered to sew (Thank You!), but there is still room for more if you'd like.

We are working with our last social studies unit for the year - a study of the states in our country.  As a culmination to our study, each student will be researching one assigned state and creating a pillow with key information on it.  The pillows will be displayed for a few days and then sent home the end of the year.

All of the work will be done at school unless a child wants to bring his/her pillow top home to work on it.  The research and sewing will take place here.

Your child needs to bring in:

·         (1)piece of plain, white fabric 12X12 inches

·         (1)piece for the back 12X12 inches

The back can be any color, print, etc. If you don’t care to purchase material for the white piece, an old pillowcase or piece of sheet will work fine.

Please cut or help your child cut the material at home.

Doing two pieces individually at home is quicker than us doing them at school.  These pieces need to be brought to school by

Monday, May 20

The sooner the better, though.  I will mark your child’s fabric and put it in a safe place.

I will provide the thread and stuffing for the inside of the pillows.  The children will be doing their own sewing with an adult right beside them. If anyone knows how to sew and would be available and willing to come to our classroom May 23 or 24 and help the children sew, I would be elated

Math Tests

We will take our Unit 6 math test on geometry on Wednesday of this week.  Then we will move on to our last unit of the year, fractions!  We should be able to get Unit 7 finished before the end of the year, but it will be close.  Tonight and tomorrow I will be sending home the test review for their homework.  They'll do half tonight and the other half on Tuesday.

The students also do an end of the year math exam.  This one we are going to do little by little.  It's a rather long test, but the students are only going to do 4 or 5 questions a day at the beginning of math.  I am hoping this will keep them from burning out and I can see how well they retained the information.  With this being the first year I am really interested to see the results.

Field Trip Permission Slip

The field trip permission slip is coming home tonight.  The field trip to Folklore Village will take place on Thursday, May 30.  Please return the permission slip with $3 by Tuesday, May 14.  There is an option to have parents come on the field trip too.

One parent from our class will be drawn to join us on the field trip.  We'll do the drawing on Wednesday, May 15.

The permission slip that is coming home tonight will have more information.

News and Notes

I just have a few things to add to todays notes.

• Many of the girls in class take part in Girl Scouts.  They added an extra meeting for next Monday, May 13.  Since this meeting wasn't on the original schedule please send in note that says it's okay for your daughter to stay after on May 13.  There is also another meeting on May 20, but that one was previously schedule so no note will be needed.
• Montfort and Highland have no more CCD classes this year.
• The FFA has their Green House Plant Sale starting today.  They are open from 2:30-8:00 on May 8th-15th and Saturday from 9-2.
• We are finishing the first step of our plant claymations today.  This is a project we do after the life cycle of a plant unit.  The last group will build their rose today.  Each group has team members that are trained in one specific area, then they come together to build the claymation.  Next week we'll put the pictures into PowerPoint to build the actual claymation.  If you have e-mail, I'll be sending the finished project to you next week.

Parent/Teacher Calls

I just started making phone calls to parents about how their students did on the various tests we took throughout the year.  We don't have spring conferences and I think that is something parents want to know.  I am going to try to call some during the school days, but others I may need to call in the evening.  So if you see a strange new number this week it may be me!

For those who I already called, sorry I didn't give you advanced notice.  I hope you didn't think your child had gotten in trouble!

States

We are going to begin studying the 50 states this week in social studies.  We took the pretest on Friday and will really dig in starting on Wednesday.  We will start with the East Coast states, then move South.  We will add a group of states each couple of days until we are finished in a few weeks.

As a culminating even we make a States pillow.  This is always right near the end of May and I'll give you more information later.  I will need people to help me sew though if it's possible (I don't know how to sew!).

Nap Time!

For our next Paws Reward the students have decided to go back in time a little bit and have nap time for their reward.  We are going to do our nap time tomorrow, May 3.  We have one day a week when we don't have computers or P.E. and it happens to land on this Friday.  It's right before their recess so it'll make a nice time for them to have their nap time.  The kids can also choose to silent read during that time if they would like.

I have told the kids that they can bring in a blanket and pillow as long as it is not too large.  They wanted specific sizes, but I told them to try to find pillows and a blanket that will fit in a grocery bag instead of a garbage bag.  It'll be about a half hour and I don't want it to look like we are having a weekend camp over.

Reading Calendars

Congratulations to the following students for turning in their April Reading Calendars!  Mariah, Emma, Montanna, Nicole, Jackie, Hailey, Skyler, James, Hailee, Zach, and Savannah all turned in their calendars and get their recess today.  The students no longer get the personal pan pizza reward.  March was the last month for that.

Also, the May calendars were sent home yesterday.  We'll have the reading recess on Monday, June 3.  That'll be the last one of the year as we won't do one for June.  Hopefully your child will be in a good reading routine and find time to read all summer.  I know it gets busy, but that daily practice sure helps.

Don't forget, the Reading Fest is tonight too!

IGEMS Family Reading Fest

Thursday, May 2

7:00-8:00 p.m.

The IGEMS Family Reading Fest is tomorrow!  Hopefully you and your family will be able to make it out and enjoy the festivities.  Also, students are able to get a free RIF book!

• Read a book with your family
• Reading Cafe for students 6-8
• Meet the I-G Panther
• Listen to stories with your family
• Enjoy a reading activity
• Enjoy a skit with your family
• Take home a new RIF book to build your library!