Blog #9

October 26-29, 2015

Tristan, Eleanor, Matthew, Liam,
Mary Jane and other students smile
 for a pic at the Monster Mash!

Rose, Jesse and Tristan share their precept about
self-discipline.

**Please click on the bold (brown) captions for

more pics!**

   
     

Zhi and Cole participate in
"Back to Back and
Front to Front."

Lauryn and Julia role play the
second part of the "I Can"statements
before our crew practices. 

Maya and Tyndall show "full
body listening" during our
Crew meeting.

Finn leads us in a Crew activity
called "When the waves roll."

     

Maya, Eleanor, Parth, Kaiden, and
Liam read a nonfiction text
about zebra mussels.  They
each choose one paragraph,
read it to themselves and share
what they learned with the group. 

     In Writing Workshop, students finished word processing their personal narrative stories and revising.   

Piper shares her illustration so
Jesse and Kaiden can compliment
and critique it. 

     One of our learning targets is "I can produce quality and detailed illustrations."  Students illustrated a small picture that zoomed into their most important part of their personal narrative.

We brainstormed for compliments and questions that they could use to critique each other's illustrations. They met it partners/trios to discuss this and then drew another illustration.  Later, they formed tables by "balancing the boat", then critiqued the illustrations again before drawing their illustration a third time.  You will see the amazing results at Open House!

    In Math in Mrs. Malloy's class, students started to work on multiplication and division. Ms. Sakai's class is working on different types of problem solving questions (e.g. start, change, end.) They are also working hard at writing why an answer makes sense.

     In Social Studies, Mrs. Malloy simulated how a bill becomes a law by making each student a "representative."  Please ask your child about this neat activity!

Julia and Matthew do
"Quiz,Quiz, Switch" to learn vocabulary
before they hear the books. 

Eleanor and Parth make a zebra
mussel.

     In Science, students listened to two nonfiction books by Mark Newman, author of Sooper Yooper: Environmental Defender and Sooper Yooper: The Quest of the Blue Crew..  Both books are

beautifully illustrated and share information about invasive species in the Great Lakes and what is being done to help eliminate them.  An
order form for the books was in the Thursday bag.  Mark Newman will speak to our Crew in December and autograph the books.
   

Kaiden leads us in Mindfulness.

Brain Break!

Nadia, Noah, Aiko and Cole
make butter for our WI
celebration!

      Thank you to Maya, Aiko,
Cole, Finn and Julia for providing treats for our WI
celebration (connected to SS!) We enjoyed apples with caramel dip, hot and cold apple cider, cheese curds, pumpkin muffins and sugared cranberries.

Piper, Bennett and Mary Jane
enjoy the WI treats!

   

     

     

Special Notes and Friendly Reminders for Parents

      It was fun to see so many families at Monster Mash and great fun working with the parents!
During our Teacher Inservice today, we spent the morning at Lake Bluff reviewing and revising Learning Objectives for math.  In the afternoon, we reviewed four math curriculums.  It was a very productive day!  My "take-away" as we ended with a sharing circle was collaboration as it was wonderful to work with the third grade staff from both Lake Bluff and Atwater. 

   
1.  Thursday bags are due by Monday (or the first day of the next week.)

2.  Please turn in the Reading Log (totaled) by Monday, November 2.

3.  Important Math Fact information:  All Rookies and Vets should be enrolled in XtraMath.  Rookies and Vets: You have chosen to complete Xtramath 3 times or complete a packet of math facts. These are due every Monday.

4.  Friday, Nov. 6th-Social Studies assessment-Study information is in a red folder. Please remind your child to bring the folder to school every day and I'll give them time to study.

5.   On Wednesday, November 11th, we are taking a trip to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to see an Admirals Hockey Game and participate in some STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) activities.  We could also use one other chaperone on this trip. 

6.  Rookies:  All Rookies received a permission slip to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  The Rookies and I (along with Mrs. Malloy's Rookies) will attend this first trip together.  After, if you are interested, you may become a Junior Art Docent.  There will be information about this before you decide. Permission slip is due on Friday, November 13th.

7.  Vet Junior Art Docents:  Your permission slip will come home soon (unless they already went home!

8.  Word Masters-An informational packet about Word Masters for all interested students went home last week.  Students must complete the attached crossword puzzle by November 23rd in order to participate in the event.  Students nay bring their crossword puzzle or play a practice computer game during Guided Study.

Word Master Quizlet for Rookies: https://quizlet.com/99563992/2015-16-atw-lb-3rd-grade-words-meet-1-flash-cards/

Word Master Quizlet for Vets: https://quizlet.com/99885124/2015-16-atw-lb-4th-grade-words-meet-1-flash-cards/

9.  The Atwater Crew is collecting non-perishable items to help the Hunger Task Force.  There are boxes in front of the office.


Important Dates

Monday, Nov. 2nd-Thurs. bag, reading log (totaled) due, Xtra Math 3X's or fact packet due

Tuesday, November 3rd-Picture Retake Day

Wednesday, November 4th-Atwater Open House 6:00-7:30 pm- Hope to see you there!

Friday, November 6th-Social Studies assessment




Tuesday, November 10th-Veteran's Assembly

Wednesday, November 11th-Bradley Center field trip from 9:30 am-2:00 pm-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink.

Friday, November 13th-Rookies-Milwaukee Art Museum permission slip due




Monday, November 16th-No School-Inservice Day for teachers

Friday, November 20th-New date for Madison field trip-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink





Monday, November 23-Word Masters crossword puzzle due

Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday-Nov. 27th-No School


Monday, Nov. 30th-Thursday, Dec. 3rd-Atwater Book Fair
Friday, December 4th-No School-Record Keeping and Planning day for teachers

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Deb

Blog #8

October 19-23, 2015

Welcome Lauryn to our Crew!  We are happy to have her
with us!

Tyndall, Matthew and Aiko hold certificates from Mrs.
Russick for attending PrinciPals.  They discussed and shared
about self-discipline.

Tristan and his sister, Isabella, 
were one of four winners from the 
Club's Choice Fundraiser.  
They had a SillyString Event with Mrs. Russick.  
The other winners were Claudia and Calvin. 

(Here is a short video clip from the Silly String event. If Google doesn't work, try another browser to see it.)
http://www.two4kids.net/room210review/videos/videos.html

French students, staying with Shorewood families, 
visited Atwater onTuesday.  They joined our 
Crew meeting and spent some time with our kindergarten buddies. 

     It was a a very productive and fun week! (Please click on any bold or brown caption above or below for more pics.)

     In Crew, we focused on the PrinciPal trait self-discipline.   Check out some of our Crew activities.

Our Crew is cooperatively
body drumming.

Liam, Kaiden, Parth and Eleanor
share their self-discipline precept
that they created. 

Our Crew is playing 
the gameTelephone. 

Mrs. Bennett introduced the poster
 "Whole Body Listening" language
which is one of our targets. We 
participated in an eye contact
activity. 

Cole and Noah practice acting out
and describing Show Not Tell details
before they write them. 

Zhi, Lauryn, Julia and Finn practice 
Edutyping. 

       In Writing Workshop, students learned about and wrote Show not Tell details, dialogue and details using the book  My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother by Patricia Polacco.  Here is a song I
played for the students before we learned about what kind of dialogue to use and how to write it.  Here is "You Talk Too Much" by Joe Jones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GOYYbiEul0

A former Vet, Katy, was our first
Mystery Reader. She read Harry
and Willy and Carrothead, a book
about a boy with a prosthetic, by
Judith Caseley.  

     Students also learned about similes through Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, Crazy Like a Fox by Loreen Leedy and Muddy as a Duck Puddle by Laurie Lawlor.  They also added an ending with a bang and edited their narratives before they started to word process them.

Anna, Mary Jane and Nadia play
Roll to 100 in math.

     In Reading Workshop, students continued to write sticky notes about their "JR" book that showed evidence.

     In Math ,in Mrs. Malloy's class, students reviewed computation
algorithms and played review games for their assessment on Monday. Ms. Sakai's class learned about extended facts and What's my number? boxes. They also started Math Workshop.

Maya and her K-4 buddy 
are looking for items on
their Fall scavenger hunt.

Brain Break-playing Beach volleyball.

     In Social Studies students continued learning about government to prepare for the Madison field trip.


   

Jesse and Zhi attempt to line up in
birthday order without talking. 

Piper leads us in Mindfulness.

Rose is dressed up
 for Mismatch
Spirit Day.

   

   


 



















Special Notes and Friendly Reminders for Parents

   
1.  Thursday bags are due by Monday (or the first day of the next week.)

2.  Please turn in the Reading Log (totaled) by Monday, October 26th.

3.  Important Math Fact information:  All Rookies and Vets should be enrolled in XtraMath.  Rookies: You have chosen to complete Xtramath 3 times or complete a packet of math facts. These are due every Monday.  Vets, you will begin soon.

4.  JR Books and Book Wizard:  Thank you for your cooperation in helping your child read a JR book at both home and school. If your child would like to look up a level, please go to http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard, choose "Guided Reading A-Z" and type in the book title. I reviewed this with the students this week. If there isn't a level, they can write a ? on their log and I can help them at school.

5.   On Wednesday, November 11th, we are taking a trip to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to see an Admirals Hockey Game and participate in some STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) activities.  We could also use at least one other chaperone on this trip.  Permission slips for the trip were due on Friday, Oct. 23rd. 

6.  The Atwater Crew is collecting non-perishable items to help the Hunger Task Force.  There are boxes in front of the office.



Important Dates

Monday, October 26h-Thurs. bag, reading log (totaled) due

Thursday, Oct. 29th-Fall Party (If you are scheduled to bring a treat, you  received an e-mail from Ellie Travanty, Monster Mash 5-8 pm

Friday, October 30th-No School-Teacher Inservice Day for teachers





Tuesday, November 3rd-Picture Retake Day

Wednesday, November 4th-Atwater Open House 6:00-7:30 pm- Hope to see you there!




Tuesday, November 10th-Veteran's Assembly

Wednesday, November 11th-Bradley Center field trip from 9:30 am-2:00 pm-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink.




Monday, November 16th-No School-Inservice Day for teachers

Friday, November 20th-New date for Madison field trip-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink




Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday-Nov. 27th-No School


Monday, Nov. 30th-Thursday, Dec. 3rd-Atwater Book Fair
Friday, December 4th-No School-Record Keeping and Planning day for teachers

     Last weekend, we visited a pumpkin farm with my parents in Random Lake.  Today, Miya carved her pumpkin and we made pumpkin seeds!  Yum!

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful weekend!


Deb

Blog #7

October 12-14, 2015

Parth running through an apple orchard
during the ELL field trip to
Barthel's Fruit Farm! Thank you to Mrs.
Tibbits for the pictures!

Rep. David Bowen, from the 10th Assembly
District, spoke with the 3/4 and 4th
grade classes.

  

Mr. Coleman entertained 100 students with Charades
while they waited for our guest speaker. 

Julia shares during our morning Crew.

Zhi and Kaiden greet and share
during a Crew activity. 

     It was a short and beautiful Fall three days for our Crew!  We used an apple to show how we can bully it (say mean comments and drop it on the floor) and the inside is bruised while the outside looks the same.  We also shared in an Inner and Outer Circle. 

Mary Jane, Bennett and Piper
study student personal narratives
to pick out key parts (i.e. dialogue,
show not tell details, short time
period, etc.) They learned about seed,
not watermelon stories and bold
beginnings. 

    In Reading Workshop, students continued to read their JR books while looking for an idea, explaining it and finding evidence in the text.  

     In Math in Mrs. Malloy's class, students are continuing to use numbers in different ways, including learning different algorithms. Ms. Sakai's class took their assessment and learned about Math Menus.  

Matthew shares his thoughts during
an activity with Rep. Bowen.
One of the activities involved students
trying to pass a bill about whether
there should be school all summer.
Please ask your child about the
wonderful learning experience.
Here is also a short video clip. 
http://www.two4kids.net/room210review/videos/Pages/my_videos.html
(Please click on Rep. Bowen)

    

      In Social Studies, with Mrs. Malloy, the students continue to learn about government and she prepared the student sfor Rep. Bowen.

    

Bennett is hold the insect we found in our classroom.
We are trying to determine the species. 

      

     In Science, students found an insect in our classroom. We found a dichotomous key and used it to narrow down the type of insect it was.  Check it out and students, please read about it and its taxonomy. (It's in the leaf-footed family.) There is also another link below to check out. Which one do you think it is?

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Helmeted-Squash-Bug

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/western_conifer_seed_bug_or_brown_marmorated_stink_bug

One of our Brain Breaks was
learning the Cupid Shuffle. 

Nadia and Noah doing Body Scan
during Mindfulness.

Special Notes and Friendly Reminders for Parents

     Thank you to all of the parents for meeting with me during conferences the past two days!  I am truly grateful to share time with you talking about your child and learning more about him/her.  I've said this before, but I enjoy hearing stories about your child and learning about how s/he describes his/her life in school.  I look forward to meeting with the rest of you next week!


1.  Thursday bags are due by Monday (or the first day of the next week.)

2.  Please turn in the Reading Log (totaled) by Monday, October 19th.

3.  I am happy to announce that a new crew member is joining our Crew on Monday!  Her name  is          Lauryn and she is a Vookie (a 4th grader new to multi-age.)  We will all get to know each other 
     during Crew.  :) 

4.  Important Math Fact information:  Please enroll your child in Xtramath by Monday. Letters and passwords were sent home in Thursday bags (not yesterday but the week before.)  Starting next Monday, your child can choose to practice XtraMath three times per week or complete a packet of 100 math facts.  I am changing all Rookies Xtramath from 3-seconds to 6-seconds to give them more time. If your child completes 6-seconds, I will move the time to 3-seconds.


5.  JR Books and Book Wizard:  Thank you for your cooperation in helping your child read a JR book at both home and school. If your child would like to look up a level, please go to http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard, choose "Guided Reading A-Z" and type in the book title. I reviewed this with the students this week. If there isn't a level, they can write a ? on their log and I can help them at school.


6.   On Wednesday, November 11th, we are taking a trip to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to see an Admirals Hockey Game and participate in some STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) activities.  We could also use at least two other chaperones on this trip.  Permission slips for the trip are due on Friday, Oct. 23rd. 


7.  Mr. Karbel is looking for library volunteers Mon.-Thurs. from 9-11 am and Tues.-Fri. 1-3 pm.  If you would like to help, please contact akarbel@shorewoood.k12.wi.us and he will connect you with the volunteer coordinator.  Thank you!



Important Dates

Monday, October 19th-Thurs. bag, reading log (totaled) due

Friday, Oct. 23rd-Box Tops due and Bradley Center permission slip due





Thursday, Oct. 29th-Fall Party (If you are scheduled to bring a treat, you  received an e-mail from Ellie Travanty, Monster Mash 5-8 pm

Friday, October 30th-No School-Teacher Inservice Day



Tuesday, November 3rd-Picture Retake Day

Wednesday, November 4th-Atwater Open House




November 10th-Veteran's Assembly

Wednesday, November 11th-Bradley Center field trip from 9:30 am-2:00 pm-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink.




Monday, November 16th-No School-Inservice Day

Friday, November 20th-New date for Madison field trip-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink




Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday-Nov. 27th-No School



Friday, December 4th-No School-Record Keeping and Planning day for teachers

     My parents are visiting this weekend since they picked up Miya and took her to dance while we were holding conferences. I'm hoping to take a walk with my mom in Lion's Den (Grafton) between dance drop off and pick up for Miya. :) 


Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!


Deb

Blog #6

October 5-9, 2015

***Please double click on any bolded/brown caption for many more pics!***

Tristan and Noah help Jesse celebrate his birthday!

Finn and Noah pose for a picture with Liam for his birthday!

Alash (Tuvian Throat Singers) and Sean Quirk (their manager/interpreter/story teller)
amazed us at an ACEEnsemble!

(link to my website with five short videos-if the Google browser doesn't work, try another one) http://www.two4kids.net/room210review/videos/Pages/my_videos.html#0

(link to Alash's website)http://www.alashensemble.com)

Kaiden and Liam role models 
"Knock on the Door" 
with a learning target prompt 
before everyone practices. 

      In our Crew, we continue to learn about each other, have fun purposeful activities and discuss crew business such as the Fall WI themed party treats.  Our Crew also spent a lot of time talking about expectations with any adult in our room, including substitute teachers.  Students reflected on their behavior and filled out their continuum. 

During Crew, Maya shares her answer
 to a question.   A couple questions were,
 "If you could receive a present, 
what would it be and why?" or
"If you were moving next week,
what would you want others 
to remember about you?"

 

Students walk to different genres 
during an activity
in Library with Mr. Karbel. 

This week, students read nonfiction articles and discussed text features.  Ms. Sakai gave almost all of the running records when a substitute teacher was in the room. 

We visited our buddies again to
finish the Getting to Know Me
activity. 

     In Writing Workshop, students wrote small moment ideas about firsts in their lives (i.e. the first time they rode a bike.) Students also wrote a list of "Hot Topics" for Publishing Center ideas. In IXL, students worked on nouns. 

Aiko shows us one way to make a 
money amount using the
Promethean Board.

     

     In Math, in Mrs. Malloy's class is learning about using numbers in computation with different methods.  Ms.

Sakai's class learned about making change, grappled on open response questions and reviewed for an assessment.

Piper writes the complete taxonomy
of a mammal. 

     In Science, students watched a short video, listened to a song about taxonomy and how animal species are named.  They used our science links page to list the taxonomy of mammals and reptiles. Students also harvested veggies and helped prepare a healthy snack.

Aiko, Cole, Nadia and Noah peel
roasted beets to make beet hummus.

      Also, I forgot to mention that last week, the North Shore Fire Department presented a Fire Safety presentation.

Bennet holds up a beet from our
garden plot.

Julia and Tyndall participate in
Go Noodle for a Brain Break. 

     

     

Jesse and Rose enjoy beet hummus
with carrots and pretzels, along
with purple cabbage slaw.
Veggies are from our garden plot
or Farmer's Market. 

     

Eleanor leads us in Mindfulness
at the start to our afternoon. 

Special Notes and Friendly Reminders for Parents


1.  Thursday bags are due by Monday (or the first day of the next week.)

2.  Please turn in the Reading Log (totaled) by Monday, October 12th.

3.  ELL Field trip to Barthel's Fruit Farm on Monday, October 12th (Parth)

4.   On Wednesday, November 11th, we are taking a trip to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to see an Admirals Hockey Game and participate in some STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) activities.  We could also use at least two other chaperones on this trip.  Thank you!

5.  Thank you to Megan Scott, Maya's mom, for copying for our classroom again this year!  It is so helpful!

6.  Thank you to Brian Schwebel for being our Box Tops counter this year and helping our school raise money!  The first Box Top turn in date is Friday, Oct. 23rd. 

7.   Vets (or any 4th graders):  There was a hand out in your Thursday bag about a FREE opportunity to visit federal lands and waters from now until August 31, 2016.  Please read information to see how your family can also join you!


8.  There is no school for students on Thursday, Oct. 15th (am inservice for teachers and pm conferences) or Friday, Oct. 16th.

9.  Mr. Karbel is looking for library volunteers Mon.-Thurs. from 9-11 am and Tues.-Fri. 1-3 pm.  If you would like to help, please contact akarbel@shorewoood.k12.wi.us and he will connect you with the volunteer coordinator.  Thank you!



Important Dates

Monday, October 12th-Thurs. bag, reading log (totaled) due and ELL field trip to Barthel's


Wednesday, October 14th-BOB Check-in and book orders due with students (or bring them to conferences)

Thursday, Oct. 15th- No School all day for students -Conferences (12:30 pm-7:40 pm)


Friday, Oct. 16th-No School all day for students -Conferences 7:30-11:30 am. -book orders due online by midnight




Friday, Oct. 23rd-Box Tops due and Bradley Center permission slip due



Thursday, Oct. 29th-Fall Party (If you are scheduled to bring a treat, you will receive an e-mail soon.), Monster Mash 5-8 pm

Friday, October 30th-No School-Teacher Inservice Day



Wednesday, November 4th-Atwater Open House

November 10th-Veteran's Assembly


Wednesday, November 11th-Bradley Center field trip from 9:30 am-2:00 pm-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink.




Monday, November 16th-No School-Inservice Day

Friday, November 20th-New date for Madison field trip-Please bring a cold bag lunch and drink




Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday-Nov. 27th-No School



Friday, December 4th-No School-Record Keeping and Planning day for teachers

If you're ever up in the Grafton area, take a walk in Lion's Den Gorge!  There is a walk along the bluff, stairs to Lake Michigan and paths through the forest.  It was a beautiful Fall day today to take walk!


Thank you for your cooperation and have a wonderful weekend!


Deb