March 15th through March 19th, 2010

    IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Our State Fair will be held in the Senior Center on Thursday, March 25th from 12:45PM to 2:00PM.  Parents are welcome to bring in items for their child and leave them on their child's half on the display tables the morning of the fair in the senior center OR students can bring their materials during the week leading up to the fair.  We will be setting up the fair between recesses on Thursday, 3/25.  All tables are assigned so please do NOT move your child's items and display to another table.  This just causes difficulties changing tables back to my order before the fair begins.

One of our parents made the SMV office aware of the nomination of Officer Krahn as a stellar first responder on America’s Most Wanted.  If you care to support our local hero who saved two lives on our Elm Grove train tracks, it’s easy to support his candidacy at http://www.amw.com/allstar/2010/nominee-detail.cfm?id=7785 . We understand his recovery has been quite a challenge.  He was so effective and committed to the good of our own SMV students through the DARE program for many years.  You might want to consider voting for him daily at the site link above.

Our math classes are hosting another clinical student from Mount Mary College.  Her name is Nicole Krebs.  She will be with us every Tuesday and Thursday until the end of the school year.

Monday, 3/15 - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 3/16 - Irish Dancers 1:30PM

Wednesday, 3/17 - one switch due to Fr Laurin's class visit

Thursday, 3/18 -

Friday, 3/19 - spelling test pgs 139-140; Stations of the Cross 1:45PM; ch 10 science test (lessons 1&2 - pgs 1-27)

Saturday, 3/20 - Bread of Life Day 9:30AM

Parents - please send a water bottle (or two) labeled with your child's name so they can stay hydrated.  Also, please send a healthy snack (popcorn, crackers, fruit, vegetables, breakfast bar, granola bar, pretzels, cheese, etc) for morning snack time. 

Please see the attached file for links and instructions on how to view our textbooks and their resources online.  The beginning of the year information packet is also available as an attached file. 

I typically update this class page every Friday or Saturday in preparation for the upcoming week.  I do not send home weekly newsletters.  You can elect to be notified by the company servicing this classpage whenever I make changes - just click on the "be notified" button at the top of the page.

  HOMEWORK: 

Tuesday, 3/16: READING - SRA story due 3/23, first half of lit circle book read by Thursday with packet questions for the first half completed; SPELLING - pgs 137-138 due Thursday; MATH - homework 10.5 evens, homework 11.1 odds, reteach 11.2 pick 8, quia by 3/21; SOCIAL STUDIES - 2 vocab words on pg 100, read pgs 100-104, complete problem/solution worksheet using info from reading; RELIGION - Apostles' Creed by 3/31; MORNING WORK - journal prompt

Students are instructed to write all their homework in their assignment notebooks daily, EVEN if they have finished it in school.  I do not check assignment notebooks on a daily or even weekly basis nor do I make sure students are taking home everything they need to.  As fourth graders, they are capable of being, and are expected to be, responsible for themselves and their work.  They need to make sure they take home all necessary items and finish their work by the due dates.

HOT LUNCH CHOICES:  

Monday, 3/15:  NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 3/16:  pepperoni pizza OR grilled chicken patty on a bun, cheese bread stick, italian blend vegetables, fruit cup

Wednesday, 3/17:  mini corn dogs OR reuben sandwich, potato smiles, green beans, fruity green jello

Thursday, 3/18:  pancakes with sausage OR baked potato with toppings, broccoli with cheese, banana, happy birthday cupcake

Friday, 3/19:  grilled cheese sandwich OR stacked ham on a whole wheat roll, tomato soup with crackers, pretzels, baby carrots, pears

MARCH BIRTHDAYS:

Margaret is celebrating her birthday on the 21st.   

   ART:

We'll begin our Easter egg designs.

  COMPUTERS:

We won't have computers this week due to Friday's Stations of the Cross.

    K-4 BUDDIES:

We will visit with our Buddies Monday morning.  This year K4 has 13 boys and 4 girls while fourth grade has 6 boys and 10 girls.  This year's pairings are: Kelly Aspinwall and August Borino; Katelin Bauer and Robert Fuller; Jesse Bopp and Joe Stewart; Margaret Butler and Sophia Tendick; Kevin Eberle and Benjamin Schneider; Megan Goldammer and William Kileen; Donny Parey and Nicholas Kroog; Aidan Parks and John Joseph Stollenwerk III; Calvin Pearson and Garrett Mueller; Mari Propp and Brendan Larson; George Schumacher and Jonathan Harmeyer; Isabelle Shavlik and Meka Lund; Miranda Singson and Ima Willoughby; Sarah Stoiber and Felicity Giampietro; Brenna Verheyen and Henry Tasker; Kate Wroblewski and Connor Mihm; Aidan Parks and Donny Parey and Henry Sosnay.

  MATH:

There is NO math test this week.  Tuesday, we'll estimate quotients (11.2: pgs 274-275).  Wednesday, we'll use two-digit divisors to get a one-digit quotient (11.4: pgs 276-281).  Thursday, we'll continue working with two-digit divisors (11.5: pgs 282-285).  Friday, we'll adjust the quotient (11.6: pgs 286-287). 

Quia activities will be assigned Monday, 3/15 and will be due by Sunday, 3/21.

The link for my class is http://www.quia.com/pages/kdaemmrich10/page1. 

The link for Miss G's class is http://www.quia.com/pages/kdaemmrich10/page2. 

The above class specific links are for weekly assigned homework.  Students can practice any of 45 math and social studies activities, assigned or not, anytime at http://www.quia.com/profiles/kdaemmrich10.

  MORNING WORK:

On alternating days, students will either choose a journal prompt to respond to, practice their penmanship, or complete a skills activity.    

READING:

There is NO reading test this week.  We're back to literature circles for the next two weeks at least.  This time around we are reading historical fiction.  The students picked three books from a selection of six.  The topics are a girl and her family traveling the Oregon Trail during 1847, a young boy involved in building and sailing the Union iron ship Monitor during the Civil War, and a young boy and his brother in search of their father who went down with his ship off the coast of Cornwall in 1703 England.  All books are terrific and I hope the students get as into them as I did.  They will have a lit circle task sheet to complete for our Thursday lit circle discussions.  On Fridays, I'll give each group a question or topic to consider and they'll work together to prepare an answer or response.  I'll read with a different group every day to model reading strategies and to explain words and concepts we read about.  

Students are recommended to read twenty minutes each day.  They are required to read 300 minutes per month.     

Our class reading wikispace is http://2009smv421.pbworks.com.

Ms Benson has asked for Battle of the Books teams again this year.  I've split the class into four groups.  They will pick their team name and read/participate together in the Battle of the Books later this year.  The groups are: Kevin, Miranda, Megan and George  -  Margaret, Donny, Mari and Sarah  -  Kate, Aiden, Calvin and Brenna  -  Jesse, Kelly, Isabelle and Katelin.  The book list can be accessed on the files tab of this page.

 RELIGION:

There is NO religion test this week.  Instead, we'll do activities that support what we've learned in chapter 16 and what we will learn about in ch 17.  Fr Laurin will visit with the combined fourth grade classes on Wednesday morning at 9:00AM.  Students should be studying March's required prayer - The Apostle's Creed - at home.  They have another two and a half weeks before they have to say it to me.

Each day as part of our morning prayers, we will either read from a book of children's devotions or we will say part of the rosary.  When reading from the book of devotions, we will also recite the prayer students need to memorize for that month.  When saying the rosary, we will be reciting one decade per day.  Before recess we'll say the Guardian Angel prayer.  Grace Before Meals will be said before lunch recess.  For dismissal, we'll recite the Come Holy Spirit prayer.

Fifteen prayers will be memorized by each student this year.  Unlike last year, instead of having them due during one quarter, I've spread them over the entire school year: in March: the Apostle's Creed; in April: Come Holy Spirit; in May: the Ten Commandments; and in June we'll work with, but they won't have to memorize, the Beatitudes.

 SOCIAL STUDIES:

There is NO social studies test this week.  This week we'll begin exploring slavery and the civil war (ch 7).  We won't switch for social studies on Wednesday due to Fr Laurin's class visit.

The students will have to learn the states and capitals for 4 tests: the Middle West states on October 29th, the Northeast states on December 17th, the Southeast states on February 11th, and the Mountain states on April 15th.  We will have a Wisconsin geography test on May 27th.  A matching activity for each of the four regions can be found at http://www.quia.com/profiles/kdaemmrich10. 

This year's State Fair will be in the senior center on Thursday, March 25th.  Required elements for this year's project are the ABC book, the tri-fold poster, and the state biography poem.  We will begin working on our state fair projects in school in October.  Different parts of the project will have due dates spaced three to four weeks apart to allow plenty of time for completion.  This year's states are: Kelly-Tennessee; Katelin-Massachusetts; Jesse-Florida; Margaret-California; Kevin-Colorado; Megan-Alaska; Donny-Georgia; Aidan-Texas; Calvin-Nevada; Mari-Kansas; George-Michigan; Isabelle-Illinois; Miranda-Indiana; Sarah-Maine; Brenna-Arizona; Kate-Washington; Nora-Alabama; Ian-Utah; Ellie-New York; George Carlo-Minnesota; Stephen-Pennsylvania; Maddie-Maryland; Greta-Hawaii; Emma-Louisiana; Katie-Connecticut; Allie-North Carolina; Adam-Mississippi; Dominic-Ohio; Nicky-Rhode Island; Lauren-South Carolina; Maria-Kentucky; Will-Vermont; Siobhan-Guam. 

We visit the state capitol building and historical museum in Madison on Wednesday, June 9th.  

   SPELLING:

  CHARACTER EDUCATION:

Each month we focus on a topic for discussion and to do activities.  March's topic is Perseverance.  We'll define what perseverance is and determine what it looks, sounds and feels like when we persevere at something in our lives.  We'll be on the lookout for fellow classmates acting with perseverance anywhere in the school.

JOKE PICKED BY THE STUDENT OF THE WEEK:

Aidan was my helper last week.  His joke was: Where did they put Dracula when he was arrested? Answer: In a red blood cell!  Donny was the first to correctly guess the answer so he'll get to pick a piece of candy.

Calvin is my helper for the week of 3/15 to 3/19.  His joke is: Why was the nail so unhappy?   His word of the week is glee.