April 26, 2013

I began writing this post by looking at the calendar for upcoming events  and couldn't believe what I saw...the last week of April!!  Eeks!  Where has time gone?

Next Wednesday, we begin GLA testing.  As you know from reading your child's agenda, we have spent the past 8 days working to mix all of the good reading skills with test taking tips, so we feel prepared for the tests.  I know these kids are going to rock the test!

Today, I have sent home a white envelope with an index card and instructions.  Please decorate this card with encouraging words.  Then, send the card back in the envelope and I will ensure it is placed on your child's desk Wednesday morning. 

Homework this week is the regular reading log and 4 multiplication timed tests.  Throughout the week, I would like you to use these tests to time your child on their multiplication fluency.  This is very similar to the test I give at school.  Time your child for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.  Record how many problems they get correct.  The goal is to complete at least 34 problems within the time limit. Your child does not have to return all of the timed test.  Have them only return their best one for me to look over.

One last thing, Ms. Askin's last day with us will be next Thursday.  I am planning to have a little celebration that afternoon.  We will present her with a scrapbook and a basket of teaching supplies.  If you would like to contribute, please send in an item(s) with your child by Thursday morning. I will also have a card for your child to sign.

Don't Forget: No School Monday! 

Have a great weekend!
-Jodi

This week are class did how to be a smart cookie.first we did how to be a smart cookie.then we did the mixing and stuff.I saw a lot of good looking cookies.They had a lot of different things.like sprinkles icing and lots of other stuff.

Take your child to work day (at school) By:Luke

 Yesterday was take your child to work day. it was SO fun. A lady came in and talked to us about her job she dose plays and musicals before she left she sang a song called 'What happened to Mable'. Then a nurse was going to come after recess but something happened at the hospital and she had to be there. In science we made a lava lamp. We had a empty 2 leader bottle and filled the bottom  up with water then put in food coloring after we put that in we put vegetable oil in the bottle  then we put in an  alka-seltzer tablet the bottle then in started to bubble up it was like a volcano. You should try this at home all you need is an 2 leader bottle, food coloring vegetable oil and alka seltzer but do this experiment outside.

This week we worked on science and social studies.On social studies we wear working on
the sun.And i will give facts to you.The sun is the closest star to earth.It takes 365 days to
make one full orbit around the sun.

Fractions By: Isadora

     This week in our class we divided an area into equal parts.
      We took a piece of paper and pretended it was a brownie, then we divided it into a specific amount of equal parts. We had 5 different colored pieces of paper to divide.
     Here is a chart of the colors of paper and how many equal peices we need to have.


    
   Yellow:2
    Light blue:3
   Green:4
    Blue:6
    Brown:8


           That is what happend in math

Take Your Child To Work Day By: Isadora

 

          This Thursday was take your child to work day.
I went to my dad's  job, which was T Systems.
 I laminated a lot of drawings that I drew, it was fun.
 At school Abby came and evreyone learned how to make homemade lava lamp.


 That is what happend on take your child to work day.

Friday April 19

Hi everyone! If you didn't read the blog update from last Friday, please do so. There are many important dates listed for your calendar.

Looking toward next week: Monday I will be sending home midterms. They are due back next Friday! Tuesday, we will be taking the Terra Nova test for Science and Social Studies. We will begin the test at 9 am; please have your child here promptly. Thursday is Take Your Child to Work Day. If your child is planning on participating in that event, please email me. Friday, our class will be celebrating our STAR test scores with PJ day! Your child is invited to wear their PJs to school.

Here is a glimpse of what we've been up to lately:

Making Shadows By: Luke

 This week we have been talking about shadows. We made tin men and shined a light on them to make shadows. Then we got into groups and talked about them the tin men on the pink paper had the longest shadows the tin men on the yellow paper had the fatest shadow and last but not least the tin men on the red paper had the shortest shadows. Guess what? We are doing a science experiment on shadows. We put a Popsicle stick in a little ball of clay Mrs. Coen or Miss. Askin drew a compass rose for each group,next we put our sun dial in the middle of our compass rose every hour we came out to check it. After that we recorded the data in our science notebook. It was a fun experiment.I had fun!!!

Friday, April 12

The end of the 2012-2013 school year is getting closer.  We have lots of fun and important events coming up.  In this update I want to share about a few of those events.

GLA/MAP Testing (May 1-2 and 7-9)

As you already know, this is the first year your child will take the Grade Level Assessment (GLA), also known as the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program.  Although this is not the first standardized test your child has ever taken, it is the first time they will be asked to read the entire test on their own.  Another difference is found in question format.  This will be the first time students are asked to explain their thinking behind their answers.  The test is rigorous, but nothing for you or your child to be concerned about.  The most important things you can do to help support your child on testing days is...

1. Make sure they get a good night sleep.
2. Ensure they eat a healthy breakfast.
3. Send them to school with a kiss or hug (and on time).

In the following week, I will be sending home a letter regarding Testing "Encouragement Kits" that we've given our students the past few years.  They simply consist of notes from each family cheering their child on, water bottles, and some gum/candy while taking the test.

Boys Hit For Literacy (April 23rd from 3:30-4:30)

The day is nearing for our boys literacy event—Boys Hit 4 Literacy!!  This event will include coaches and a few players from the T-Bones, as well as Park Hill’s own, Bill Sobbe, who is also a coach for the T-Bones.  Coach Sobbe will be bringing some high school baseball players to assist with the event.  This is an optional after school event on April 23^rd from 3:30-4:30.  Students will have to have their own transportation home and must return a permission slip to take part in the event. 

 

After a small snack the boys will enjoy a short reading from Coach Hook and play catch and get a few hitting pointers from the players and coaching staff.  Boys are encouraged to bring their gloves, but we do have about a dozen gloves for those who do not have their own.  Kristine is placing some permission slips in your mailboxes today, but if there are not enough for the number of boys in your class please let us know.  Permission slips are due April 18^th!  Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Take Your Child To Work Day (April 25th)

 

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is on Thursday, April 25, 2013.  To accommodate parents/guardians working for businesses that plan career awareness events for this day, the Park Hill School District has made a provision allowing students not to be counted absent on this school day if they are attending work with their parents or guardians.  The district’s practice is that your child will not be counted absent if they write a reflection on their experience.  Please have your child bring this to school  and give it to their teacher.

 

If your child is planning on attending Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day events, please contact your child’s teacher prior to April 25, 2013, so we can have a list of those students who are excused, so we will not call wondering why they are absent. 

 

As explained earlier, for your child not to be counted absent, he/she will need to complete a written reflective assignment and return it to their classroom teacher.  Students who do not return this assignment by Tuesday, May 30, 2013 will be counted absent on April 25, 2013.  If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

Mother/Son Field Day (April 27)

 

Park Hill Student Council is once again holding our annual Mother Son Field Day on April 27^th from 10:30-1:30pm at the District Football Stadium.  If you are interested in learning more, we have flyers in the office.

 

 

Park Hill Summer School (June 3-21)

 

We are happy to announce Park Hill Summer School is HERE @ Hawthorn!

STUDENTS HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR FUN, EXTENDED LEARNING IN SUMMER SCHOOL

Park Hill School District students can have a fun, extended learning experience through the district's Summer Expeditions program, which will be Monday-Friday, June 3-21. 

All students participating in the tuition preschool summer program will attend the Gerner Family Early Education Center for Summer Expeditions.

Incoming kindergarten through fifth-grade

Summer Expeditions classes, which go from 8 a.m. to noon, give students opportunities to reinforce and enhance communication arts and math skills in preparation for the upcoming school year. The courses are themed, and students will learn through hands-on activities and enrichment opportunities.

Writing Poetry

                           In writing we wrot poetry and "wrote with a poet's eye". Mrs. Coen told us to write a poem about a book and think about it like a poet.
 My poem said:
 
                                Books


                                Books bring you into different worlds
               and make you feel you are there
               Books can change your thoughts and
               make you think different.

               Sometimes pictures can change your
               vision to help you think you are there.

                                Books




                       Rylee's Poem:
               
                   Books

      
Always have a cover, colorful or not, pages and pages of words, setting or character and what not, drama and problem what else to it, never know what is next it is a surprise inside.
           
so the next time you open a book you need to know there is a lot of magic inside.


   that is what has been happening in our class.

this week at the school library we wrote poems I wrote one about apples. It was really good I can't remember what it said?It was really fun to print and see what it looked like but it didn't look red it was all black and white.Some my friend did some I did..My was kind of like a story.I don't know why almost every song is a poem?

The Sun By: Luke

This week we have been learning about the sun. We made a sun book to write down the facts about the sun. We watched YouTube videos about the sun we read books about the sun. Did you know that LONG ago people worshiped the sun. The sun could fit 109 Earths across it's face!! Guess what one sciencetist thought the sun was 12 inches across. One YouTube video we watched showed the planets and stars we realized that the sun is way bigger than earth. There were even stars bigger than the sun. We learnned a lot about the sun!

We did poetry and we reed  poem's.We did frequency which mean's

the teacher show's up a word and we describes the word.

The teacher was reading a sun book,when the teacher was finish reading we

had to write what happened to the story.