RECESS !!!!!!

Read Around

Everyone got to preview a bunch of new books today during our Read Around.

So, what books did you pick to read? Have you started reading any of the books yet? How are they so far?

I liked the book that was two books in one - What is a Reptile? and then you flipped it over and it was What is an Amphibian?

Red Ribbon Week

Next week is Red Ribbon Week. Show your school spirit by dressing up.

Monday - wear as much red as possible

Tuesday - Sock it to Drugs day - wear crazy and/or mismatched socks. This is also Picture Day.

Wednesday - Count Me Out On Drugs Day - wear 10 of something

Thursday - Black Out Drugs Day - wear black

Friday - Greyhound Spirit Day - wear Greyhound colors - Student vs. Staff Football Game

Calculating fun

Here are a couple of the tricks we did last week.

Seven Up
Choose a number (up to 8 digits)
Double that number
Subtract 16 from that number
Multiply the answer by 4
Divide that number by 8
Add 15 to that answer
Subtract the original number

The answer will always come up as 7.
Anyone want to figure out why? It's not magic, it's math.

Pair of Dice
Roll a pair of dice to get two numbers (1-6) - or you can just choose them
Multiply the first number by 5
Add 12 to that answer
Double the total
Add the second number to the result
Add 15 to that answer
Subtract 39 and you will get the two numbers on the original dice

Double Trouble

Pick any 1-, 2-, or 3-digit number
Multiply by 7
Multiply that answer by 11
Multiply that answer by 13
You will get the original number doubled

Frogs and Hermit Crabs

Hooray! The frogs and hermit crabs should be here in a couple of weeks. We will do several lessons that involve observing them closely and looking at how they are adapted to their environment.

Weekend

What's everyone doing this weekend? My mom's in town so I'll be spending some time with her and some other relatives.

Our class

Here we are - once normal and once weird. Can you tell the difference?

The Boys Start the War

I love this book and I'm glad you (most of you) chose it for the first read aloud. The Malloys and the Hatfords really think up lots of ways to annoy each other. The next book in the series is The Girls Get Even. After that, there are 10 more books - one for every month.

The author is Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. She also wrote the Shiloh series and the Alice series and is a great author. Here are a couple of links about Mrs. Naylor. The second link has a photo and interview with her.

I'm having trouble making these links that you can click on, you will have to cut and paste the address for now. Sorry!

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/tnc/mtai/naylor.html

http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-naylor-phyllis-reynolds.asp

Bucket Fillers

Everyone carries around an invisible bucket. When the bucket is full, we feel good about ourselves and others. When the bucket is empty, we feel sad and lonely.

Our bucket gets filled when other people are kind or nice to us or when we are kind and nice to others.

Let's be a class of bucket FILLERS this year, not bucket dippers. If someone is dipping from your bucket by saying or doing mean things, please ask them to stop and if they don't, please talk to Ms. Kane about it.

3-2-1

As we looked back on our first week, I asked the students to tell me

3 good things about the week
2 things that are different than they expected
1 thing they still wonder about or worry about

I'm happy to say that almost everyone said that one of the good things about the week is that they made new friends or that they are enjoying their classmates.

There were a couple of things that several people wondered about, so I'll address those questions.

Why don't we have a second recess? Unfortunately, 4th grade is the last grade with an official recess beyond lunch recess. There are more classes in 5th grade (and higher grades) and we just can't fit a daily recess into the schedule. HOWEVER, if we can work really efficiently, especially during transitions times, we may sometimes be able to squeeze in some surprise recess times.

I worry about band and my instrument. And I worry I won't be able to sing good in choir. I know these are definitely concerns. As far as the band instrument goes - you will soon meet with the people from Marshall Music and they will do a great job of getting you an instrument that you can play successfully. For you singers out there - Mrs. Mack is a fantastic choir teacher and teach you all kinds of ways to be a better singer. No one expects you to be a perfect singer before you even take the class !!!

When do we go to art, gym, Spanish? I don't have the exact schedule, but you usually go to each Encore for about two weeks.

Equations

Yippee!!!!!! It is time for Equations to start.

Equations is a competitive math/logic game that 5th through 9th graders play against other students their age from other schools. If you like solving math problems or want to brush up and get better and faster at math, then Equations is the club for you.

Our first practice will be Thursday, September 16th, right after school.

I'll be giving you more information and showing you the game in class.

First week

We've spent this first week getting to know each other and learning each other's names. We've also spent time on learning some classroom and school procedures.

It's been a great few days. Everyone has been very nice, respectful, and hard working.

We've read a couple of books that are shown below. The Boys Start the War is our read aloud book.

Open House - September 15th

I hope you can make it to the Open House on Wednesday. You can drop in any time between 6:00 and 7:00.

I'll have some information for you, your child can show you around the room and challenge you to a fun math game, and you will be able to sign up for Fall Conferences.

If you are unable to make it, I'll send the written materials home the next day with your child.

Photos of our classroom

Here are some photos of our classroom. Some cool things about our room are that we have a couch and a large carpeted area for class gatherings. We also have A LOT of books to choose from. Ms. Kane bought some new shelves this summer, so she's ready to buy some more books.

Remember - our class gets points and rewards that can be used to buy new classroom books everytime you order from the Scholastic Book Orders.

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