Mrs. Whitworth's Class - Team 33

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

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thursday, November 27

I am thankful. I am thankful for 4th grade students because they are our bright future! I am thankful for Team 33 and the smiles they bring me. I am thankful for Bulldog Academy and all my cohorts that help me keep my head above water. I am thankful for Needham for giving me a home away from home. I am thankful for my friends that feel more like family.  I am thankful for my family and the way they support me in everything I do.  I am thankful to God for all the blessings He has given me. I am thankful for all these things! Now what are you thankful for?
Please share with us what you are thankful for by visiting our I AM THANKFUL Kidblog Posts!
Most of all, have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Mrs. McCain
4th Grade Teacher
Needham Elementary

Friday, November 21, 2014

Friday, November 21

Dear Parents,

First of all I would like to apologize for the lack of communication this week.  I have had obligations after school everyday and was not able to get the daily update out.  I am truly sorry for any miscommunication this may have caused and will try to do better.  Hopefully you were able to get the essentials from our TEAM33 Website where homework and the weekly overview are always posted. 

During the week you should have received a white envelope with a short note informing you about our Thankful party coming up on Tuesday, November 25.  Thank you to all those who have already sent in a Thankful Letter for your child or snacks. Just in case you did not receive the note, I am reprinting it below.


Dear Parents,
It’s that thankful time of year again! We are going to be having a Thankful Party on Tuesday, November 25 at 1:30.
We would like to include a special note from YOU! Please take a moment to jot down WHY you are thankful for your child. This is FOR your child, and can be as brief or as detailed as you want it to be. We would like it to be a surprise, so you can either email it to your child’s teacher, or seal it in an envelope and send it back to school. Your student will receive this “surprise” from you on Tuesday, November 25, so please get it to us in a timely manner.
We are looking for snack donations as well...
• waffle ice cream cones                         • cheerios
• pretzels                                                 • m&ms
• fruit tray                                                • veggie tray
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
In addition to the Thankful Party we will be doing a few other special activities next week.  On Monday we will be having a READ-IN during Literacy Block. All students are welcome to bring pillows, stuffed animals, blankets, and even pajamas...what ever it takes to be a comfortable reader.

On Tuesday we will have an NWEA day during literacy Block.  All students will be working on Compass Learning to complete activities based on their individual needs.  With NWEA just a few weeks away, we feel like this will be a valuable and fun use of our educational time.

With all this extra stuff...there will not be a Literacy Assessment next week. Our Lesson 8-9 Word Packet will carry over to the following week.  

Over break there are several great educational activities your child could do to keep their education fresh.  Each day they should be reading from their Lexile book.  Studying the spelling of the Lesson 8-9 Word Packet will give them a boost when they return; and, Compass Learning is always a great tool for meeting your child's individual educational needs.



Monday, November 17, 2014

Monday, November 11

I LOVE SNOW!!  What an exciting November day!!

Today we were not able to go outside to play in the snow, so we brought the snow into us.  Ask your student to show you how.  Also ask them to show you this week's Literacy Link and Feedback and Data Binder!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Friday, November 11

Photo by Michael R
Big thank you goes to all the students for their hard work and respect toward the guest teacher.  Mrs. K was thoroughly impressed today! I was also thoroughly impressed with the Week 14 assessment scores so far.  I can't wait to grade the written portion and add it in to see what the final scores are, but from the computerized portion the scores look amazing!!

Another big thanks to Michael R for his wonderful photography skills.  Check out the Week 14 Photo Gallery on our web page!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thursday, November 13

A big thank you to all the parents who participated in Parent Teacher Conferences during the last few days.  I appreciate what you do in support of your child's education and I enjoyed talking with each of you.  If you have asked to have your conference rescheduled I will be contacting you soon.

Tomorrow is the Week 14 assessment.  It will focus on the following Learning Objectives:

  • Make inferences using the clues in text.
  • Visualize what you have read.
  • Categorize long and short i patterns in words
  • Increase spelling and vocab through the study of word parts. (Lesson 6-7)
I will be at school tomorrow, but will be in a professional development in the morning.  Please encourage your child to be respectful and help to the guest teacher in the room, and let them know I look for ward to seeing them in the afternoon. 

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Tuesday, November 11

Looking forward to seeing everyone at Parent Teacher Conferences tonight and tomorrow. Be sure to check the homework site, study those word parts, and READ!! Math tonight is Study Link pg 101.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Friday, November 7

Please pass out the hugs at home tonight!!  TEAM 33 and TEAM Shoultz had an amazing day!  Together the teams averaged a 90% on the Weekly assessment with only a few students falling below the 80%, and many Top Dogs achieving 100%!

Students are also reading like crazy!  So many students passed their Goal Books this week it felt like we were celebrating every few seconds!!

Way to go TEAM!!  And thank you so much parents for all your support.

Have a great weekend and READ!!!

(Monday as NEEDHAM SPIRIT DAY to celebrate our A school ranking!!  Wear your purple with pride!!)

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Thursday, November 6

Homework has changed a bit for tonight.  Students should complete the Question/Answer Flow Worksheet.  We did the first 5 together in class, they should be able to complete the last five on their own.  They should sound like they are singing  as they do they work.  Ask them to show you how they complete one.  When they are finished, ask them grammar based questions such as:


What is the subject noun in the sentence?
What is the complete predicate?
How many prepositional phrases are there?
How many adjectives are in the predicate?

If they can answer these questions and are familiar with the meanings of the Lesson 6-7 Word parts, they will do well on tomorrow's assessment. 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Monday, November 5

What a great day to be a teacher at Needham!  If you have not yet heard the great news, Needham is now officially an A school!  A huge thanks goes to all the students who worked so hard and all the parents that supported them!  Hard work pays off!!

Speaking of hard work, I am so proud of the progress I have seen in independent reading.  Students are pushing their Lexile levels up, and successfully completing books.  Once again, thank you for all your support at home! Please keep asking those questions:

What book are they reading?  What Lexile level is it? When is their goal date for finishing and quizzing on the book? What is the book about? What is the setting of the book?  Who is in the book? Have they made any connections to the book?What do they think will happen next in the book?   Are they having trouble visualizing any parts of the book?

Tonight for homework students have are supposed to finish and study their Lesson 6-7 packet.  This information will be a big part of their Week 13 Assessment.  They just need to know the meaning for this week's test.

Please note:  A Parent/Teacher conference time has been scheduled for each student.  I honored all request that were sent in.  Every student in bringing home a confirmation slip this evening.  Please review and sign the slip.  You may keep the top part as a reminder.  Please return the bottom portion to school tomorrow.

*** It has just been brought to my attention that the slips say AM .  There are no morning conferences.  All conferences should say PM! I am sorry for the confusion and look forward to seeing you in the AFTERNOON/EVENING of your scheduled conference day.***