Tuesday Times

Good Afternoon Everyone!!

Here's a few tidbits of information that I want to share with all of you.

Science Bowl and Math Bowl will be meeting on Wednesdays after school until 4:00. You may pick you child up at that time.

We took our NWEA Math test today and I have to say, I was very pleased with their scores. No ones score went down and a few of them have met their end-of-year goal. Wow!! They did amazing. Tomorrow we will be taking the Reading portion of the test. Fingers crossed that the kids do as good as they did today.

Upcoming Events:
Friday the Choir and Keyboarding will be having a luncheon and performing. Information came home earlier this week with the kids.

We will be having our Holiday Party on December 20th at 1:30. These are the people who signed up at Meet the Teacher Night:
Sarah Bullington - Drinks
Amy Hall - Napkins/Plates
Sophia Bunker - Refreshments
Jamie Murray - Refreshments
If anyone is interested in helping put together a treat bag for the party, please let me know.
Also, I am in need of someone to come up with either a game or a simple craft for the kids.

We now have 27 students in the class.

The last day of school before Christmas break is December 21st.

That's it for now. Have a great week😊

Wednesday's News

Happy Wednesday!!

I hope everyone had a terrific Fall Break. The kids seemed very happy to see each other after being gone for a week. We are all getting back into the swing of things again.

Some happenings coming up are:

Red Ribbon Week continues: Tomorrow's dress up is, Twin's Day. I can't wait to see how many twins we have around the 4th grade. Friday is Needham Spirit Day, so everyone is to wear their Needham gear.

Thursday from 5 to 8 at the McDonald's by the interstate is our Dine-to-Donate. The kids can come dressed up in the Halloween costumes and eat dinner. 

Friday I will be sending home Parent-Teacher information. Conferences are being held on Nov. 8 - 9 from 3 - 7 p.m. I am also going to open up some time in the mornings while the kids are in their Related Arts rotations. Please identify a time that works best for you. I look forward to bragging to you about your child.

PTO has asked that we include the following in our updates to parents:

smile.amazon.com - Enter "Needham PTO" in the search box and it will come up with us.  Choose this and start raising money for us just by shopping! 

https://www.kroger.com/signin?redirectUrl=/account/communityrewards/enroll.  Either login with your credentials or sign up for an account then you can link your Kroger Card. 

Triple Play will begin to give a percentage back to Not For Profit organizations such as PTO.  When you visit Triple Play, please let them know you are "with" Needham PTO when you pay your bill. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! 

Thanks for your help in supporting our PTO, who so generously supports us!

 If you have any pictures you'd like to share from Flat Rock you can download them here view it here.

Thanks for sharing your kids with me. 

Have a terrific rest of the week.

Mrs. Whitworth

This Week for TEAM 33

Good Afternoon Everyone,

What a beautiful weekend! Wow, it was so hard coming in this afternoon to do some much needed work here at school.

I have three very important items to share with you concerning our trip to Flat Rock:

    1. You MUST contact Mrs. Treibec to arrange dropping off meds for the trip. Please call her to set up a time to drop them off. This has to be done by this Friday, Oct. 6th.

     2. All money and forms have to be turned in by this Friday. There are still some forms floating around out there that need to be turned in. We also have some money that has to be turned in.

     3. EVERYONE must sign the waiver (all students and chaperones) or you won't be able to participate in the activities at the camp. These are also due by Friday.
     
The kids are getting very excited about our trip (and so are the teachers). I hope you saw the waiver papers and the list of things the kids and you (if chaperoning) will need for the trip. Please remind your child that we still have a lot of work to complete before the trip.

The Book Fair is this week. We will be browsing on Tuesday morning and buying during our library time on Wednesday. Other times for shopping can be arranged if needed.

This Friday is the end of the first nine weeks. Wow!, that's so hard to believe. One of the kids mentioned last week that they couldn't believe we've been in school for nine weeks already. I feel the same way!

This week we will be reading Historical Fiction books during Reading. Our spelling test will be on Tuesday and the kids will be getting their new lists. We will be finishing up our first class read-aloud Fish in a Tree tomorrow. The kids have really enjoyed listening to this story. Ask them what they think about Ally and Shay. I think they will have some definite opinions about the two characters.

In math this week, we will be working on multiplicative comparisons, triangles, and quadrilaterials.

Please read with your child every night for 15 to 20 minutes and ask them questions about what they have read. This helps them more than you can imagine. Remind them to work on their multiplication triangles a little each day. We need to get them learned so the kids know them automatically.

Thanks for all you do and again thanks for sharing your kids with me each day.

Have a great week:)

Happy Friday

TEAM 33's Shining Stars made it through another very busy week, but then, every week is busy for your children here at school. This week we celebrated 4 birthdays in class. The kids appreciated the special treats that were brought in for them to share with your child. We had a bit of a sugar rush going on for a while. Thank you parents!!

This next week is COLLEGE GO SPIRIT WEEK. Each day the kids get to wear something special, here's the schedule:
MONDAY: My FUTURE is BRIGHT! - Wear you favorite pair of sunglasses for the day!
TUESDAY: College PRIDE day! - Wear your favorite College shirt!
WEDNESDAY: DRESS for SUCCESS! - Wear your best professional outfit!
THURSDAY: Where are you HEADed? - Wear your favorite hat, better yet, make it a college hat!
FRIDAY: Let's go NEEDHAM! - Wear you favorite Needham Bulldog shirt!

Tuesday: 5:00, Boy's Basketball tryouts in the gym.

Wednesday is also Picture Day! If you child wears dressy shoes to school, please send their gym shoes along since we'll be having PE on Wednesday. Pictures will be taken at 8:10.

This week we finished up our Personal Narratives. The children are finishing up their pictures to go along with their writing. Ask you child what they drew on their glasses lenses? I'm pretty impressed by the artistic ability of these kids. 

Our Flat Rock trip is rapidly approaching. If you haven't returned all of your forms to school, please do so as soon as possible. I'm still missing several medication forms. If these are not returned to school, we teachers will be unable to administer any medications to your child including Tylenol. 

Remember Running Club on Monday at 6:50.
Keyboarding Club on Thursday morning at 7:00.
Bulldog Choir on Friday at 7:00.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool. It's hard to believe today is the first day of fall.

Mrs. W.

This Week

Happy Sunday Afternoon!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to spend a lot of time outside. It certainly was a beautiful weekend.

Here's what is happening this week:

We will continue to work on our Personal Narratives during our Reading block. Some of the kids have turned in their final projects to me. I will be grading them when they are all completed by the end of next week. We will be learning about what a biography is and will be reading a couple biographies during our center time. Please continue to encourage you child to read each night and study their spelling words. The test this week will be on Wednesday.

In math we will be taking the Unit 1 Assessment on Wednesday. Be looking for a study guide tomorrow in their purple folders. Tomorrow we will be looking at how to measure the perimeter of a square and a rectangle. Ask them what an acute and an obuse angle are?

We will be studying the Native Americans of Indiana this week. Instead of a quiz at the end of the week the class will be doing a foldable project. They will have the opportunity to work on it in class, and if need be, they can bring it home to work on. It will include an Indiana map, along with a timeline, vocabulary from a handout, and important facts about one of the tribes they choose.

I have received almost all the yellow permission slips and money. I still need several medication forms. If you need any of these forms, please let me know and I will send new ones home with your child. Flat Rock is October 12 - 13. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to be chaperones. It's going to be a fun time.

We are desperately low on snacks in the classroom. If you have an extra bag of pretzels or another healthy snack and would like to share it with us that would be very helpful.

Here is one more website to help with math facts: coolmathgames.com
The kids really like this one.

Related Arts schedule for this week: Mon. PE, Tues. Library, Wed. Music, Thurs. Art, and Fri. PE.

Running Club begins tomorrow morning at 6:50. Choir is Friday morning before school.

I think that's it for now. Let me know if you have any concerns or questions about anything school related.

Have a terrific week.

Mrs. Whitworth

Happy Friday

Some of the deadlines for turning in your Flat Rock paperwork are quickly approaching. If you need any new forms, please let me know and I will send you another copy home with your child. This is a wonderful experience for your child and I don't want anyone to be left out. If you need assistance, on the yellow form, there is a place for you to let me know. It is located near the bottom of the form.

We are still working hard on our Personal Narratives. Some of the kids are going to be ready to start typing theirs this next week. Our next unit in Reading will be covering the main ideas and supporting details while reading various biographies. In math will be working on measurement, and some geometry. All this and more in preparation for the Unit 1 assessment, which won't be until next week. There will be a study guide sent home for them to work on.

Mrs. Bennis and Mrs. Moore will be coming to our room next week to work on the Traits of Writing. These traits will help them become better writers.

We are continuing to read Fish in a Tree as a read aloud and the kids are writing down their responses in their reading journals. Ask you child what they think about Ally and Shay's relationship. There are a few students who have already read 5 books and are in the process of writing their summaries over these books. They are well on their way to making the 40 Book Challenge goal by the end of the year. Please encourage your child to read every night.

I hope you have a wonderful three day weekend and I look forward to hearing all the stories on Tuesday.

As always if you have any concerns, please let me know.

Thanks!!

Happy Sunday afternoon,

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to spend lots of time outdoors.

All parents should have received the yellow packet of Flat Rock information (Oct. 12-13).

• All registration forms and money due by 9/8/17
• Please notify if your child will need a scholarship of up to $30 asap
• All background checks and VIP training must be completed by 9/12/17
• All medications to be administered by teachers must be confirmed and submitted to Mrs. Treibec, our school nurse, by Friday, 10/6/17. Parent chaperones will administer their own child's meds as needed. A letter from her went home on Friday. 

This week brings our first spelling test, tomorrow. The students will also receive their new list that will be written in their assignment book. All the kids seem to like the spelling activities they are doing in class during our language arts block. We took our first short reading test on Friday, but the grades haven't been entered into the gradebook yet. That will happen in a couple of day. In reading this week we will be doing a Reader's Theatre and presenting it in front of our class. This play focuses on using pauses when we read. We will also continue to work on our Personal Narratives during our center time.

In math we will continue to work on place value to the hundred thousand, rounding, and estimation. Tuesday will bring addition into the mix. We will continue to work on two-step story problems also.

This week the kids will be meeting with Miss Burns the last hour of the day to work on science. I will be traveling to Mrs. Moore's class to teach Social Studies.

Thursday morning brings the Colts Camp to Needham. The third and fourth graders will be out in the field from 10:30 to 11:45. This is always a fun time for the kids. If you volunteered to help with this, thank you so much!

As always, if you have any concerns, please get in contact with me. Together let's make this the best year for your child.

Mrs. W.:)

In addition to the math sites I sent last week, here is one more to use:

www.abcya.com

Compass Learning can be accessed from home too. 

Happy Thursday

Wow, what a fast week we've had here at school.  We had the eclipse on Monday and finished up all the NWEA testing on Wednesday. In between, we're working on math, reading, and social studies. The kids have been working very hard to learn what is being presented to them in class.

In math this week we have worked on rounding numbers to the hundred thousand and estimation. We have learned two different ways to estimate: front-end estimation and close-to estimation. Ask your child if they can tell you the difference between the two ways to estimate. In reading we have been learning about personal narratives and have been brainstorming ideas about themselves that they can write about. Some of the students have begun working on their rough draft. The final project, after it has been edited and proofread, will be typed on the chrome books.

During the last hour of the day we have begun Social Studies and are learning about Indiana's economy, geography, weather, and natural resources. Next week they will either be writing with Mrs. Bennis and Mrs. Moore, or meeting with Miss Burns to learn science. We are doing a weekly rotation so all the kids experience each of the subjects.

Hope to see many of you tonight at 6:30 in the cafeteria for the Flat Rock informational meeting.

Some math websites that might help with the nightly practice are:
www.mathplayground.com
www.multiplication.com
http://xtramath.org (you need to sign up, but it is free of cost)

What's Happening

Good Evening.

We are finally able to post a blog with the class picture.

Tomorrow we will begin Spelling. This year we are doing something different with the spelling curriculum. Instead of everyone having the same list each week, the kids are ability grouped. The kids were given two pretests. Then words were entered into the computer program and based upon the results they are grouped according to the words they got correct. The program the fourth grade is using is called Words Their Way.

In math this week we will continue working on place value to the  hundred thousand, rounding, comparing two numbers, and number lines.

We will be introducing Personal Narratives this week in Reading. We will be dividing into groups to help meet the needs of all the students.

Tomorrow is the Solar Eclipse. Permission slips were sent home with interested students to view the eclipse with glasses brought from home. The rest of us will be in the gym watching the eclipse on the NASA site. If you wish, your may pick up your child after lunch to view the eclipse at home. They will not be counted absent if picked up early.

Thanks for sharing your children with me. It has been a great first 8 days of school. 

Parent information meeting for Flat Rock is this Thursday in the cafeteria beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Please contact me if you have any questions.
School phone # 317-738-5780
email: whitworths@franklinschools.org

Welcome Back

I'm so excited to begin this new year with you. Can't wait to meet all of you and your parents on Meet the Teacher Night, August 7th, from 6:30 - 7:30. See you then!