Reminder

Just a quick reminder that we will be in Springfield all day tomorrow on our field trip. If a student was a behavior problem for my substitute today, s/he will not be attending the trip. The students were made aware of this contingency. I am confident they will be on their best behavior today.

We will leave at 9:05 AM. We are scheduled to be back in time for dismissal. Our first trip will be to the Lincoln Museum. Then, we will tour the Capitol.

Students may bring electronic equipment for passing the time on the bus ride. The equipment will not remain on the bus, so it should be small enough to fit in a coat pocket. The student is solely responsible for this equipment. Irving Elementary and/or teachers/chaperones are not liable for damages or theft.

I am so excited that the students have this opportunity! Keep your eyes open for photos on our site!

A little late

Sorry for the lateness of my post. It's my son's birthday, and it was a busy night!

Math: Math Minute 44
Math homework: HW sheet; get grade sheet signed

Language arts: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Chapter 3
Language arts homework: work on editing letter; get grade sheets signed

Science: Got tests back; discussed field trip on Friday; discussed speaker for Thursday; watched Brain Pop
Science homework: Get grade sheet signed; complete test corrections, if necessary

Social studies: wrap up of the Northeast
Social studies homework: Memorize the states of the Northeast on a map

Get planners signed tonight!!

How high is the Empire State Building?

Today, we integrated some PE into our social studies lesson. Ask the students about it!

Math: Math Minute 43
Math homework: HW sheet

Language arts: typed letters; submitted first try (some students); took Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing quiz on chapter 2; started Chapter 3

Social studies: Role play- climbing the stairs of the Empire State Building

Science: took test

January's last freeze

Hard to believe it, but it is the last week of January! What a cold one it has been!

Reminder: The field trip to Springfield is at the end of this week. We are leaving promptly at 9:05. Chaperones were drawn. Students will be coming home with a note for those who volunteered. Thanks to ALL who wanted to go. We wish we could take everyone.

Math: Math Minute 42; mental math; equivalent fractions
Math homework: Finish p. 30 in blue booklet (here's a website to help); HW sheet

Language arts: peer editing of business letters; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing discussion; Six-Minute Solution
Language arts homework: Get letter edited by an adult, if you wish

Social studies: Discussion of mass production; tour of Northeast

Science: review game; try it out at home
Science homework: study for tomorrow's test on Ch. 6

Happy Weekend!

Math: Math Minute 41; equivalent fractions

Language Arts: Finished typing draft #1 of our letters to Barack Obama

Science homework: Study for Tuesday's test

Social studies: Mass production/assembly line role play

Watched "Our Friend, Martin" about the life and messages of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mark chart summaries were sent home for a parent signature.

Have a great weekend!

Crunch time

Many things are due tomorrow. Please note that students had a series of opportunities to finish the homework during the day today, as well as on previous school days.

Completed planners must be signed tonight.

Math: Math minute quiz; went over multiplying money with a calculator; started fractions
Math homework: HW sheet; blue booklet p. 21 and 22

Language arts: discussed and practiced peer editing
Language arts homework: draft of letter to Barack Obama must be completed for tomorrow; we will begin typing in the lab

Science: Cloud and weather chart returned; finished correcting summary packet
Science homework: p. 204-205, #1 through 7, 11 through 13, and 15 through 19 on looseleaf; science test scheduled for Tuesday

Back again!

Welcome back, everyone!

Math homework: Make sure the HW sheet from January 13 is ready for tomorrow. Math minute quiz tomorrow, also.

Language arts: Weekly Reader; letter to Barack Obama; Ideal Snow Day paragraph
Language arts homework: drafts of letters need to be ready to be typed by Thursday

Social studies: Watched inauguration coverage

Science: discussed line graphs; started to correct review packets

Stay warm!

Soooo important!

Hi everyone,

I had a clear reminder this week of how the flu can knock you out! I have been ill since Wednesday with the cold form of the flu. It wasn't too surprising, as many students and teachers in our building came back from break with an illness.

It was a good time to remind myself of some of the good habits I share with you every day. To keep the flu from spreading, some simple things we try to practice are:

-sneezing and coughing into a tissue or into the inner part of your elbow
-making sure we eat healthy foods to keep our bodies strong
-washing our hands with soap, especially after sneezing or blowing our noses
-staying home when we are sick
-drinking lots of liquids, especially water
-getting plenty of sleep each night

We are running low on tissues in our room. We could also use some hand sanitizer, if anyone wishes to donate to our cause of staying healthy.

I'm hoping to be better by Tuesday. I also hope this finds each of you happy, healthy, and warm!

Brrrr

Wow! Two days out in a row! It's a good thing, as Mrs. Plato has a pretty misreable head cold. Yuck.

Please remember that students do not have school tomorrow due to a scheduled School Improvement Day, and we do not have school Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.

So, after six days (our own mini "winter break"), I hope to see you all on Tuesday... Inauguration Day!

No School

School has been cancelled today due to extreme winter weather. Stay warm!

Hello, Mr. Blue Sky!

It's so good to see the sun shining again, isn't it?

If you have not returned the white card from the report card envelope with a parent signature, please do so ASAP. Thanks to so many of you who brought these back today.

Math: Math minute review; multiplying money with calculators; mental math
Math Homework: HW sheet; study for Math Minute quiz

Language Arts: Business letter; Six-Minute Solution

Science: Finished up chapter 6, lesson 4; discussed line graphs

Social studies: "train" tour of the Northeast; discussed leadership

More snow!

Hopefully, this finds you safe and sound. Students came home with report cards today. Please sign the card inside the envelope and return it. The paper copy of the report card is yours to keep. I highlighted the comments for quarter 2, as they are a bit difficult to find as the card is printed out.

Math: We went over how to read the report cards; Math Minute 40; mental math
Math homework: HW sheet

Language Arts: Letter to Barack Obama

Social studies: went over Geography Challenge for Chapter 4

Science: Collected cloud and weather chart and Chapter 6 summary packet; started lesson 4

Happy Tuesday!

Math: Math minute 37, discussed homework
Math homework: HW sheet

Reading: Read Ch. 1 of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; completed packet for Chapter 1

Social studies: Geography challenge for chapter 4

Science: Finished Incredible Journey model of the water cycle
Science Homework: Cloud and weather chart

PLANNER NEEDS TO BE SIGNED TONIGHT!!

Popcorn Friday money is due tomorrow.

Cloudy, with some flurries

Hello to all!

We are studying clouds and weather in science. Students will be bringing home a blue chart that they must use to fill in cloud types and weather, as well as their predictions. Please ask for it.

Math: Math Minute 36; mental math
Math homework: Homework sheet; Blue booklet p. 14

Reading: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing introduction and predictions

Science: Cloud and weather chart; Incredible Journey (water cycle stations)
Science homework: Cloud and weather chart

Social studies: Geography challenge of the Northeast

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to all!

It is a light day today so students can ease back in to a routine. Hopefully, you all had a lovely break.

Math: Some money review for certain students; discussed planner and being safe; made nametags
Homework: Finish nametags if necessary

Language Arts: The History of New Year's Day booklet

Social studies: Began Ch. 4 - The Northeast

Science: Made cloud finders; started cloud and weather charts