Week 5: Sept. 25

Spending our Wednesday morning praying for our school, community, leaders, and country. Oh Lord, hear our prayers!

What a FULL week! We finished up our MAP tests, completed the mile run, walk-a-thon at Wendt Park, prizes, and some learning too! Thanks to all your work with WALK-A-THON. With your help, our class won the grand prize of a pizza party with some ice cream on the side. The students' cheers and excitement could be heard throughout the school.

Reviewing the rules of kickball 

Details for this coming week:

FIELD TRIP - On Wednesday we will be heading to the Outdoor Discovery Center for a field trip! We will be exploring animal adaptations as well as food webs and food chains. We will be there over the lunch hour, so each child will need a lunch from home with a drink. I've heard next week's weather isn't going to be the greatest😕, so please be sure your child has plenty of warm clothing for the day (layers are great) and shoes/boots made for the great outdoors. Thanks for your help!

TESTING - We are finally through all the standardized testing for the beginning of the year. Our next round will take place in January, Lord willing.  However, we are nearing the end of some of our first units of study in our classroom. We will be taking a math test this week over our first unit (place value, multi-digit addition and subtraction). I will review with the kids in class, and they shouldn't need to do any extra studying at home. You will see a multiple choice version of the test come home completed the day before the test and it will be labeled "Review" on the top. The real test will be the next day. It won't be multiple choice, but the questions will all follow the same format as those on the practice test. If for some reason your child had trouble with the practice test or didn't get it all completed, you may wish to review the questions that still need attention with them the night before. But for most, you won't need to do anything. Stay tuned to your child's planner for the exact day of that test.

Additionally, a science test is on the horizon too (we've been studying the moon, sun, and earth). Again, a study sheet will come home in advance of that. Your child's planner will alert you to the date of that test.

THINK! Energy - THANK YOU for your help with the Home Energy Worksheet from the Think Energy program! I trust that the items in the kit as well as your child's new knowledge about energy usage in the home prove to be a money saver for you😁. I'm excited to be able to send in our results from our forms and receive a monetary gift for our own classroom too. We've already decided as a class that we are going to create a list of books we wish we had in our classroom library and put our money toward that list. Thank you for your help with this!

Parent/Teacher Conferences - You should be receiving an email next week from Holland Christian inviting you to sign up for parent/teacher conferences. I am very much looking forward to chatting with you and celebrating these awesome students of mine! These conferences will be held virtually via zoom on October 19 and 20 in the late afternoon/evening. Many of you are familiar with the sign up process. If you are new to Holland Christian, please follow the instructions to get signed up for a slot. If you have trouble or questions, don't hesitate to ask! One recommendation I have - if you have multiple children at HC, you may want to schedule an empty slot between your conferences. If teachers run behind, it will be tricky to navigate that on zoom - I don't want you thinking I forgot about you (and vice versa) just because the conference before you went over. If you schedule your own children every other time slot, that allows a little bit of grace in case one your children runs over, you won't be late to the next. Thank you!

Help Wanted

Holland Christian Schools is seeking people who want to build up and encourage young people and families through providing regular school bus transportation for students. Hours are flexible. We are seeking applicants who demonstrate a love for kids, careful, conscientious driving habits, and an interest in providing a needed service to the families of Holland Christian. No previous school bus driving experience necessary. Holland Christian will provide the training necessary. If interested please contact Dan Vos at 616-820-2805 or dvos@hollandchristian.org.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Wednesday, Sept 30: ALL DAY Field Trip to Outdoor Discovery Center

I think these students walked over 3 miles on Wednesday.

Typing out our spelling words

Clayton and his cat, Ashton, visited us on Friday afternoon.

Week Four: Sept. 18

We are woven together!

Our learning is just cruising right along!  The kids are really enjoying writing their own personal narrative - ask your child what he/she is writing about, and try to get them to elaborate on some of the details of that event.  We're practicing forming good reading habits and skills as we enjoy books at our individual levels in the classroom.  The kids LOVE to be read to - we're reading through a book called Stone Fox right now, and they beg for more when I start to close the book.☺️  We're studying the parts of speech in Grammar as we analyze sentences from picture books we read.  We are mastering multi-digit addition and subtraction in math.  We're very interested in the moon and sun.  We are completely encapsulated by the story of Samson as we read a bit more of it everyday in Bible - who knew that God uses tainted people to get His work done here on earth?😉  We have such great conversations surrounding God's word.  These kids are truly a blessing to me!

Some kids found a praying mantis. We let it visit the classroom for an hour.

IMPORTANT DATES:

MAP Language Test - Tuesday, Sept. 22

MAP Math Test - Wednesday, Sept. 23

Walk-a-thon/KickBall Game - Wednesday, Sept. 23

THINK ENERGY "yellow" pages Due - Friday, Sept. 25

Details for this coming week:

THINK! Energy Homework - Thank you to those of you who have already filled out the yellow home energy worksheet that came in the front pocket of your child's blue cinch sack with their THINK! Energy kit last week.  If you have not yet done that, please remember to take care of that soon and send the paper back by this coming Friday.  We would love to be awarded the $100 grant if everyone returns it - our wish list is long! 😉

Walk-A-Thon - This one requires very little (if anything) from you, but just so you know, we will be fulfilling our promised walk-a-thon steps this week Wednesday afternoon.  Mrs. Vanderzwaag and I will be taking all the 4th graders on our own walk-a-thon to a nearby park where we will get in some more "steps" as we play organized kickball and enjoy the park.  We will return to school and have the celebratory popsicles once we are back.  It should be a fun afternoon!  Appropriate clothing and good walking shoes are really the only thing you will have to think about that day for your 4th grader.

MAP test - These kids have been troopers as we've been testing and assessing to gain an understanding of how to best teach to their needs.  This week Tuesday will complete the Language portion of the MAP test. On Wednesday, we will finish up with the final portion of the MAP test, the Math portion.

Homework - Continue with the daily math and reading assignments:  ten minutes a day of addition and subtraction fact practice, with a goal of increasing speed and accuracy; and 30 minutes a day of reading.  Thanks for your support with this!

I think that's all I have this week!  Great things are happening, and great kids are hanging out in room 208!

Here are some pictures from our special visit with Shadow.

Think Energy

 THINK! Energy - What is in the blue bag?

On Friday, we were treated to the THINK! ENERGY program sponsored by the National Energy Foundation.  For this program, we had a virtual presentation to teach us about energy, sharing information about:

• What energy is
• Where energy comes from 
• How we produce energy
• How we use energy
• How to become more energy efficient through giving our homes efficiency makeovers

As Creation Keepers of God's world, that last bullet point is crucial to fulfilling our cultural mandate here on earth.  To that end, your child is bringing home a THINK! ENERGY Take Action Kit today.  This kit will ask you and your child to work on some energy related changes in your home.  Additionally, there is a yellow Home Energy Worksheet in the front pocket of the blue bag.  That worksheet is homework and will be due back to school by Friday, September 25.  (I do not need the Family Activity Guide book back.)  That gives you a couple weeks to read through and work through the guide and complete the experiments and installations provided.  Please note, if you are not interested in installing everything in the kit, you do not have to!  The yellow home energy sheet simply asks if you installed the products or not.  We still get credit toward the grant for the rest of the work you do, even if you do not install everything.  Just pass the items you don't use on to someone else who can use them. 😊

In your kit you will find:

• an energy efficient shower head (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)
• a kitchen faucet aerator (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)
• 2 bathroom faucet aerators (complete the flow test experiment - bag is included - before and after installation)
• plumber's tape to help with installation
• a shower timer to put on the wall in your shower - an efficient shower is no longer than 5 minutes
• a small scratch and sniff sticker to help you learn to identify the scent of natural gas (natural gas has no smell so an odorant called mercaptan is added as a safety feature so you can smell it and GET OUT of the house before there is an explosion)
• "Turn it off" stickers to place on the switches of the lights that are most frequently left on in your home
• 2 LED lightbulbs
• a night light

If you are nervous about knowing how to do all this, there are instructions included for most of the items (either on the packaging or in the student guide).  There is also a website where you can view how-to videos.

We learned SO much about Energy and our role as stewards of our resources.  Coming in the spring of 4th grade, we will complete a science unit on this same topic, and will be able to refer back to what we learned through this presentation this week and the changes you will be making in your home.  This Take Action Kit is WAY more valuable than any paper homework I could ever assign while doing the unit this coming spring.  Plus, returning the completed Home Energy Worksheet will earn your child a THINK! ENERGY color changing pencil.

One added benefit of this assignment - if we get 100% participation, our class will be awarded a $100 grant to be used for educational purposes in our classroom.  What a treat!  The kids are already telling me what we should buy with our money!

Again, THANK YOU in advance, for taking on this energy challenge in your home.  Once your child returns the completed Home Energy Worksheet, we will send in to the company to claim our grant.  But the lasting impact of this assignment is much more valuable - learning to care for and preserve the resources God has given us!  We are being Creation Keepers!

Sept. 11 - Week 3

It's been another great week in 4th grade!  We began our word work and reading workshop routines, moved further along in our writing projects and math lessons, investigated God's unique design and organization of the moon phases, enjoyed playing with our friends at recess, and dug deeper into His word as we finished talking about the truths of God's Word.  We even had our first library visit today, and enjoyed the THINK! Energy presentation.

Here is what you need to know!

SCHOOL PICTURES - Picture envelopes are came home yesterday.  Our picture time is 11:15 on Wednesday morning.  Be sure to send your child's picture form along to school on Wednesday, whether you want to order or not.  I would strongly encourage ordering the yearbook option, though.  Those won't arrive until the last week of school, but the kids really enjoy having one when they come so that they can be part of the group "signing each other's yearbook" activity that ensues every year!

THINK! ENERGY - We were selected to be part of a program called THINK! ENERGY.  We learned about preserving resources related to energy production in our community and homes.  As a part of this program, our class will be awarded a $100 grant if we have 100% of our students participate with the at-home portion.  For this, your child received a kit with energy saving devices that you can use in your home (it's got some pretty useful items in it - and it's free to you!).  There is a yellow page of questions (in the front pocket) that go with it which your child will have to answer and return in order for our class to get credit.  Please check out the previous post for details.

MATH FACT HOMEWORK - THANK YOU for all your support and encouragement with the math fact practice minutes at home.  Just a couple reminders:

• students should be practicing addition and subtraction facts this quarter
• our goal is speed and accuracy - this is not just "do any math for 10 minutes" time 😉
• administer the mad minute test by Monday - 2 minutes, completing the problems in order (instructions are on the back of the paper).  Draw a line after the last problem completed and then have the child complete the rest of the problems untimed (as extra practice)
• Keep checking in with your child periodically to be sure their ten minutes of practice time is quality work.  
• Also, keep an eye on those mad minute scores - if they are going up each week, we are in good shape!  If they don't change or even worse, go backward, on a regular basis, the daily practice will need to be monitored a bit more for quality.
• due every Monday

Again, thanks so much for your assistance with this portion of your child's math career.  You are setting them up for success in the classroom when they have those basic computations committed to memory!

READING MINUTES - continue with 30 minutes a day for a total of 150 per week, due every Monday.  At home reading is SO important to your child's reading success.

WORD WORK - A new word work (spelling) list will come home on Monday.  We will practice, research, and use these words in sentences for activities throughout the week, and then I will test the kids on Friday.  Our routines are getting established and that feels good!

MATH MAP TEST - As it is planned now, we hope to take the Math portion of the MAP test on Wednesday morning of this coming week.  We will also be completing the Delta Screener during the week, a math skills screener to check which students have met the math learning targets for 3rd grade.  We will study these results and reteach as necessary.

WALK-A-THON  - Please remember to send in the pledges your child received for the walk-a-thon on Monday.  Thank you!

Important Dates:

Walk-a-thon Packets Due - Monday, Sept. 14

School Photos (Forms due) - Wednesday, Sept. 16

MAP Math Test - Wednesday, Sept. 16

THINK ENERGY "yellow" pages Due - Friday, Sept. 25

Organizing the different phases of the moon!

Sept. 3, 2020 - Week 2

Week 2 - Need to Knows

This week, we had the opportunity to release one of our butterflies. What an amazing reminder of God's greatness and attention to details!

What came home today:

- Math Fact Links (yellow paper)

- Flier about our upcoming "THINK Energy" classroom visit (white paper)

- Walk-a-thon Packet/Envelope

- Math Homework Information/Details (yellow paper)

- Misc. work from the week

                                                

A few notes for 4th grade:

WALK-A-THON PACKET - Packets came home today in their Homework Folder. Please open up the envelope and read the information inside. The Parent Board shared information about our upcoming and adapted Walk-a-thon. Let's shoot for a DUE DATE OF SEPT. 14th (MONDAY).

BATONS - All returning HC families, please remember that Batons are due. I will hold on to the Baton til the end of the year.

PLANNER - Please continue to make it a daily habit to peek at your child's planner for any notes concerning upcoming assignments and reminders. Keep up the good work!

MATH FACT PRACTICE - Watch for the first math minutes homework of the year to start on Tuesday after the holiday.  A note will come home this coming Thursday (before Labor Day) explaining all the details of it.  

Reminder: The math minutes will be on a long skinny yellow piece of paper, and the mad minute will be on a full white sheet.

READING MINUTES - Reading minute homework will also begin the week of Labor Day.  Watch for that recording sheet to come home as well.  The 4th grade requirement is 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week (for a total of 150 minutes per week).  Reading minutes will be on a long skinny pink piece of paper.

THINK! ENERGY - We have been selected to be part of a program called THINK! ENERGY.  We will learn about preserving resources related to energy production in our community and homes.  As a part of this program, our class will be awarded a $100 grant if we have 100% of our students participate with the at-home portion.  For this, your child will receive a kit with energy saving devices that you can use in your home (it's got some pretty useful items in it - and it's free to you!).  There is a page of questions that go with it which your child will have to answer and return in order for our class to get credit.  TODAY I will send home a white consent form for you to peruse that allows your child to participate in this program.  You do have the option to opt out, but I really think you'll want your child to experience this.  Sign and return the form by Wednesday only if you do NOT want your child to participate.  If I do not receive a form from you, I will administer a kit to your child and I will look for the questionnaire to be returned from them at a later date.  Thank you!

*THANK YOU for your love, prayers, classroom donations (cleaning wipes), and support as we begin this new school year together! I am blessed to spend each day with your child!