Mrs. Whitworth's Class - Team 33

Mrs. Whitworth's Class - Team 33
What a good looking group!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday, December 20

Ho, Ho, Ho!  Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful day we had!  We began with a puppet show.  Then they worked with Dr. Pettet on setting new goals.  After that we had our Unwanted Christmas gift exchange - which was a hoot!!  We even worked in a Read-In in the hall.
The sad part of our day was the end.  Today we had to say goodbye to two of our team members - Tyler and Kiersten.  We are all very sad to lose them and will miss them very much.  We also wish them happy times and many new friends at their new schools.

Before I wish you one last Merry Christmas, I want to do a quick update on the An Interview with History project.  In all the fun and festivities of the week, I was unable to get the digital resources that the students collected printed to take home.  So, the main task they should work on over break is transforming their two-liter bottle into the person they are studying.  Have fun, be creative, and work hard!  And, of course, they should READ over break.  Traveling makes great reading time!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I will see you in 2014!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Thursday, December 19

I am happy to announce that the Grinch finally found his heart, thanks to Team33.  It was a wonderful day filled with fun and a lot of sugar - beware :)

Don't forget tomorrow is our Unwanted Gift Exchange and PJ day!  See everyone then.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Wednesday, December 18

Christmas is coming! The dungeon's full of rats! ...Wait, that's not how the song goes!  It is how the book goes.  We are almost finished, with the book.  Just a few more pages until the end, but we are definitely at the climax.  Poor Despereaux, who was trying to save his Princess Pea, is now lost in the dark dungeon with a bunch of dirty rats. We hope the next few pages will be better for our small mouse friend!  Tomorrow we will find out!  In the morning we will be watching the 3rd grade holiday presentation, with some of our own team members participating in the choir!
After the presentation we will finish the book and watch the movie!  In honor of the book we will have chocolate marshmallow soup (better know as hot chocolate) and popcorn as a snack.  When the movie is over we will be heading to lunch, recess, specials, and then the party! What a day!  I can't wait!


Side Note:  Many of the students did a GREAT job on their Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocabulary today!  There are a few students who will still need to pass the assessment before enjoying the activities tomorrow.  Please talk with your student to see how they are doing on it.  If they have not passed, they really need to study tonight!  If there is any confusion, you can always check the grade book.  You can use your parent login, or students can use their own login.  (Don't let them fool you. They do know it - it is their 4 letters and 4 numbers.)  A missing grade for the Week 18 assessment indicates that the student has not passed the Lesson 8-9 assessment.


Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Tuesday, December 17

Today we worked more on our An Interview with History projects.  We spent a chunk of the day learning how to gather our online resources. If you want to engage your child in a conversation about their school day, ask them how Google is like a refrigerator.  They should be able to tell you that, Google stores information the way that a refrigerator stores food.  The big difference between Google and a refrigerator is that when food goes bad in a refrigerator, someone cleans it out.  When information goes bad on Google, no one cleans it out.  All the bad information just stays.  That is why we use the reputable databases found on our website.  I believe almost all of the students were able to find at least 2 resources for their project.  I will be printing them off and sending them home, so that the students can review the resources over break as they make their two-liter bottle model. If your child needs a two-liter bottle please let me know.  I have a few at school.

Today we also took another try at the Lesson 8-9 Spelling/Vocab test.  This is the last grade going in the grade book, so I am being a stickler and requiring a 90% or better.  Many students met the requirement, but many need to study some more.  Please ask your child how they did and feel free to use the online quiz site, ThatQuiz,  to help them practice.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Monday, December 16

What a productive day!  We started by adding NWEA data to our Feedback and Data Binder, along with updated Reading Counts reports.  Please review both reports with your student tonight, and work together to fill out the reflection page.

Today we also took the Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocab assessment, or should I say we BOMBED it.  Only one student in the both TeamShoultz and Team33 passed the assessment.  That student was Emma W.  Way to go Emma!!  The rest of us are just chalking it up to being a Monday!  So we are going to study harder tonight and try again tomorrow.  Students brought home a paper to help study, and they can also use the ThatQuiz page online to help. Students will be able to continue taking the practice test until they score a 90% or better.  Then they can still review what they missed in order to get a higher score tomorrow.

The third big accomplishment of today was starting our Interview with History project. All students should be bringing home an orange paper explaining the project.  To earn the first 2 points on the project, they just need to return the bottom portion with a parent signature.

Tomorrow will be just as busy as we continue our  Interview with History project and review for our Math test.  Keep up the good work everyone!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Friday, December 13

Happy Friday the 13th!  It was a really happy day here at school.  We were happy about our NWEA scores going up, up, up! We only have a few more students who need to finish up the test, and so we are hoping the scores will go home next week.

Due to NWEA testing, we did not have an Examview assessment this week.  Next week there will be a test over the Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocabulary Packet.  Students will need to be able to spell each word or word part and match them with the correct definition.  This will be the last grade of the grading period, so please study.

See everyone next week.  Have a great weekend.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Thursday, December 20

Making a List, Checking it twice!
There are so many exciting things happening  this season that I feel like Santa, making a list and checking it twice. Here are a couple that you won’t want to miss out on!

NWEA: Tomorrow is our last NWEA test.  Team 33 will be taking the Math portion.  Team Shoultz will take the Reading.  Students did a great job on today's testing! 

Good Cheer Basket: We are still collecting food for our Good Cheer basket.  Any donations are appreciated.

Team 33 Winter Party:  Team 33 will be celebrating the season on Thursday, December 19.  A huge Thank you goes to Jamie Green for organizing the party, and all the parents who are volunteering their time and talents to this festive occasion.  The party will begin at 1:30. All parents and family members are welcome.

Unwanted Christmas Gift Exchange:  This exchange is back by popular demand.  For any of you that are new to the program, here is how it goes….  Students find something at home that they do not want anymore (one student’s trash is another student’s treasure), they ask their parents for permission to give it away, then they wrap it and bring it to school.  We then play dirty Santa with the gifts.  The students love it!  The funnier the gifts the better, and I am always surprised how each year at least one child tells me how they got exactly what they wanted from the Unwanted Christmas Gift Exchange.

Teacher/Classroom Gifts:  If you are planning on purchasing a gift for the teacher/classroom this year please...keep it small.  I great suggestion would be to give games.  Our indoor recess selection is slim, and we have many more indoor recess days ahead of us.  Legos, board games, card games, etc.  New or used.  They would all be greatly appreciated by the students and teacher alike.

Learning Continued Christmas Bash:  Thursday the 19th is our last Scheduled Learning Continued. The students who have been participating , will be celebrating their dedication with a party.  They have permission to bring soda, cookies, or whatever they would like to contribute.  We will be playing fun games and enjoying each others company.  Parents are welcome.  We will begin a 2nd round of Learning Continued in January.  Stay tuned for more information.

Christmas Break:  Christmas Break begins at the end of the day on Friday, December 20.  Please have a safe and happy holiday!  We will resume school on  Monday, January 6th.



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Wednesday, December 11

We hope you’re ready to be FROZEN tonight!

We are all very excited for our movie date tonight and just wanted to clarify a bit of information
before the big event.

· Ticket prices are buy-1-get-1, which makes them $4.25 each. If you are buying an odd number of tickets, try to bring cash for at least 1 ticket so we can pair you with someone else to get the discounted price.
· Snacks are not discounted, but they do offer a kids pack which includes drink, popcorn and a pack of gummies for $5.50.
· Although we would love to have parent participation, students may be dropped off, but must be picked up by 8:45. (No younger siblings should be dropped off without supervision.) Please come into the lobby to pick up your child.

See you at the movies!!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Tuesday, December 10


Homework tonight is to finish the last writing prompt in the ISTEP practice booklet. It will be due Friday and needs to include enough details to take up the entire page and a half.  It should also be written using big, strong, COMPLETE sentences.  Tomorrow is the big day.  I am still hoping to see everyone at the movies!  There are still a few permission slips out.  I made a few calls tonight, and will make more in the morning.  So if you have not yet turned in your permission slip please email me or turn it in first thing tomorrow.  Here is another copy, or you can just send me an email/write me a note to let me know you will be there.


Monday, December 9, 2013

Monday, December 9

Have you heard of The Tale of tale of Despereaux?  Not the movie...the book.  They are very different.  In Team33 we are reading the book so students can discover just how different they are.  At the end of next week we will watch the movie so we can compare and contrast the book with the movie.  I have assured all the students that they will hate watching the movie, after reading the book.  Of course, the book is SOOOO much better!

I have heard that FROZEN is an incredible movie! I can't wait to see it with all the 4th graders on Wednesday.  Many slips have already been turned in.  If you have not turned in the form for Frozen, please turn it in tomorrow.  I will be personally calling anyone who has not turned it in by the end of the day tomorrow.

The Homework Page is now updated.  Tonight's homework is Feedback and Data Binder Reflection page, Math worksheet, and Read.  A few students did not get their behavior log signed over the weekend, so they should have brought it home to get it signed this evening.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thursday, December 5

Two Time Top Dog!
We had a very productive day.  We reviewed the Lesson 8/9 Spelling and Vocab packet. It really seems like the students are catching on to how to manipulate the word parts.  We also finished up our center work.  Tomorrow will be our Week 17 ExamView assessment over this weeks learning objectives along with a some review of previous learning objectives.

This weeks Learning Objectives:

  • Build strong sentences.
  • Recognize the genre Realistic Fiction by its features.
  • Compare and Contrast Realistic Fiction stories.
  • Categorize the short o sound combinations of au, aw , and al .
  • Increase spelling through the study of word parts.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Wednesday, December 4

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  In their free time students have been working hard to decorate the room with a hand made Christmas tree and beautiful paper snowflakes.  It looks wonderful! I think it might even look prettier than last years.

Couple important notes for today:

1. There will not be Learning Continued tomorrow.  There is a conflict with a district meeting that is scheduled.  I sent a green slip home with each child that is signed up to stay for Learning Continued. Please sign the slip to let me know you are aware or you can just reply to this email.  Either way, I just want to ensure that they have a safe place to go after school.

2.  It is that time again.  The time of year to be thankful for all we have and be aware of those that are struggling.  We now have a Good Cheer basket in the classroom.  Anything you are able to send, even just one can, will make a big difference to a hungry family this season.


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Tuesday, December 3

I want to start by appologizing for the lack of communication this week.  I have been playing catch-up from Thanksgiving break, and of course I have had meetings everyday.  I will get better ;)

Next I need to make sure you are up-to-date on some important information:

  • The Week 17 Overview went home Monday.  You can use this link if you want to review the information again.  It is also on our website under Literacy Link Newsletters.
  • Secret Santa Shopping is tomorrow and Thursday for our class. Please send money in a sealed envelope and remind the children the importance of keeping their money private.
  • The monthly dinner date has been changed to a movie date.  Information came home on a blue form.  Please fill out and return the blue form as soon as possible. If you need another copy just click the link.
  • Green 4H forms went home this week. I am one of the leaders and would like your child to be a member of our group.  Please contact me if you would like additional information.
  • Homework site has been updated. A few parents asked for a link to the demonstration video.  You can use these links and it is also linked on the Homework page.
  • Winter NWEA is next week, but we are not worried!  We've got this!
  • Christmas is coming! Our party will be Thursday, December 19th.  More information on our Christmas celebrations is coming soon.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Team 33 Tweet




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December 02, 2013 at 05:01PM

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Team 33 Tweet




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December 02, 2013 at 07:45AM

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