Spring Pictures

Spring Pictures will be taken on Monday, April 26th!

Tricky Tray

I had so much fun at the Tricky Tray! Our Movie Night basket looked great!
My sister in law actually won it and was thrilled with the variety of movies, movie tickets, candy, and popcorn containers. Thanks to all who donated and organized our basket :) I won a cute luggage set with butterflies on it!


It was so nice to get to see so many class parents at the Tricky Tray - an overall fun night!

Tricky Tray Basket donations - UPDATED 3/22

Our Tricky Tray Basket donation letter was sent home last week in the Friday Folder. Our class theme is "Family Movie Night". We are looking for donations of movies - G and PG rated, popcorn, popcorn bowls, snacks, candy, ice cream toppings, and movie tickets.

We had a $40 Clearview Cinema donation! Thanks for such a generous contribution towards our basket!!!

For warming up with your loved ones, we have an ivory cozy wrap (similar to snuggy)

Our donated DVD's include:
*Madeline
*Bedknobs and Broomsticks
*The Perfect Man
*The Adventures of Milo and Otis
*Kicking and Screaming
*Big Fat Liar
*Underdog
*Fantastic 4
*The Nanny Diaries

We have two boxes of Microwave Popcorn, Twizzlers, Swedish Fish, Milk Duds, Junior Mints, Whoppers, Good & Plenty, Jujyfruits, Sour Patch, a box of Twixels, and a bag of Trail Mix. We also have 4 individual plastic pop corn holders!


Thanks to Mrs. Reece and Mrs. Pierro for offering to organize the basket!
Donations are due by Friday, March 26th.
Thanks!

Protractor practice

Here is the link to the protractor website we have been practicing on in class:
Protractor

Canal Project Pictures

2-liter bottles needed

If anyone has any empty 2 liter bottles at home, could you please send them into school before Monday? We will be using them for a tornado experiment.

On another note, I hope the students are starting their Weather Projects - if you have any questions about the project, please let me know. Remember, I really want the kids to do most of the work themselves, although parents can assist if needed. Projects are due by Friday, January 29th.

The canal extra credit projects were amazing - we will be sharing a few each day this week and I'll post pictures of them on our blog by Friday.

Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Mitten Sewing 2009

Our mitten sewing was a great success! The students did an excellent job securing their snowman on with 2 buttons and doing the loop stitch around the edge of their mitten.

Thanks for all the donations of the materials needed for our project! We also want to thank Mrs. Hahn, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Frasca, and Mrs. Brennan for assisting in the sewing process. Our mittens will be displayed in our classroom until Wednesday. The students will bring them home stuffed with the mitten stuffers they brought in to share with their classmates.

Progress Reports and Mitten Sewing

Progress reports were sent out Friday - please sign and return by Monday.


Mitten Sewing Project - our fourth graders will be sewing a big mitten in class on Thursday, December 17th from 1-2. We are looking for parent helpers to come in and assist in this fun holiday craft. If you are unable to come in, we will need helpers at home to cut out the snowmen and thread needles. We are also looking for donations of 9"x12" felt (in any color) and large buttons.

The students will bring in a little mitten stuffer for all 15 students so they can receive a "little something" from each student. Ideas for mitten stuffers are: pencils, erasers, etc. I will be stuffing the mittens for the students to bring home on Wednesday, December 23rd.

We are thankful for...

Joel – I’m thankful for my possessions.

Darrell – I’m thankful for my friends because they help me in school.

Nia – I’m thankful for my family because I have someone to love and care about me.

Kristina – I’m thankful for my family because they provide me with food, shelter, and water.

Samantha – I’m thankful for my family because they are always there for me.

Megan – I’m thankful for my friends because they are so sweet and they will never let me down.

Brianna – I’m thankful for my family because they get me things I need.

Sarah – I’m thankful for my family because they care for me.

Veterans' Day

Thoughts about Veterans' Day from our 4th graders:

Joel
I have a veteran in my family. His name is Carl Lundgren, and he is my grandpa. I thank him by going to where we spread his ashes and say prayers. 1921-2005

Darrell
Brave means Veterans had to fight even if they don’t want to.

Brianna
I have a veteran in my family; My grandfather was in the army. I would tell him, “Thank you for serving our country, and for saving it.” My grandfather is still alive. He is 65 years old. His job is paving drive ways. “Thank you, Granddad . I love you.”

Chloe
Thank you for fighting for our freedom and for our country.

Cassidy
Thank you for serving our country. Also thank you for fighting for our freedom.

Amanda R.
My great grandpa was in the military, he was trying to save 2 people in a poisons army tank, but he failed and died with them. If he was here I would say, “You were brave.” You died before Grandma, Mommy, Zach and I.

Samantha
I have a veteran in my family. My grandpa is a Veteran. He fought in the Korean war. He is 85 years old. He was also in the Navy.
To thank a veteran or current soldier for serving our country I would say, “Thank you for serving our country. You were a big part of the Navy, Army, Air force, Marines or National Guard.”

Megan
I think my Uncle Ray was in World War Two. I pray for him sometimes and thank him for serving our country. I am thankful to have a brave person in my family. Even though I never got to meet him, he was pretty cool.

Nicholas
My grandpa was in the Air Force when he was younger. He fought in the Korean War. He tells my brothers and I stories about the Korean War.

Nia
The soldiers could be nervous or a little scared, but they can do it no matter what.

Amanda L
A soldier fights for our country to save it. They probably are scared and afraid to die, but they care and want to help our country. If they are going die, they know they died for our country.

Kristina
My grandfather was in the military. He is still alive and well right now! I’ll thank him and all the veterans!

Hailey
Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared, it means you do it anyway. This describes a soldier because no matter what the consequences between life or death, the soldiers fight for our country. They might be scared to never see or hear from their family again. Who knows, they might not even get to say good by to a loved one, but they still fight for our country. That is why I am very grateful for our freedom fighters.

Earthworms

Halloween

Happy Halloween!


The teachers were all dressed up as "Witchy Women" today!

Staying Healthy

I wanted to express our thanks for the donations of the hand sanitizer and the hand wipes that have been coming in to our room. We are using the hand sanitizer before snack and lunch, and after sneezing! The wipes are being used to wipe down our desks.
Thanks again! Any donations are appreciated!

Progress Reports Oct.8th

Progress Reports were sent home today. Please sign and return by tomorrow!

Scholastic Order for October

The Scholastic Lucky and Arrow Book Orders and Click Order for October is being sent home on Friday, with the order due on Wednesday, Oct. 7. There are many interesting books in this order. You can send cash or a check made out to Scholastic, in an envelope with your child's name and "Scholastic Order". You can also online this year at:
www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: mrsdowd
Password: 4ocs

Here are some of my recommendations for each order:

Money Madness - a book about the history of money

Goosebumps Haunted Pack - 13 books, just in time for Halloween!

Sports Illustrated for Kids Magazine - 6 issues for $10

Mad Libs pack - 5 books for a fun way to practice grammar

Greeting from the 50 States - learn about every state

The Witches - a Roald Dahl book just in time for Halloween

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days - be one of the first kids to own Book #4

Indiana Jones Trio - 3 books and a poster in a hard case

Star Wars Last of the Jedi Pack - 10 books

Bill Wallace Animal Pack - 4 favorites about dogs and cats

Computer games: Math Blaster, Sponge Bob Monopoly, Soccer Math

Wii and Nintendo DS games: Monster Mayhem Build and Battle, King of the Clubs-Mini Golf, Wordmaster, Dreamer Series Babysitter, Yamaha Supercross

Looking for numbers...

We began our new chapter in Math today by looking for various numbers in the newspaper. The students flipped through to find a number in the millions place, a percent, a number written in word form, etc. Here are some pictures of the work in progress:

Our Fish!

We are excited that Kristina brought in guppies for our fish tank!
Here they are!

Back to School Night

It was really nice to finally meet the parents of my wonderful students! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy evening to come in for a visit. For those that were unable to attend, feel free to stop by after school one afternoon to check out our classroom.

Kids: your parents were impressed with how well your desks were organized! Your bio-poems were a hit!

Heroes

Scholastic Suggestions for September

The Scholastic Lucky and Arrow Book Orders and Click Order for September is being sent home on Friday. There are many interesting books in this order. You can send cash or a check made out to Scholastic, in an envelope with your child's name and "Scholastic Order". You can also online this year at
www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: mrsdowd
Password: 4ocs

Here are some of my recommendations for each order:

Presidental Pets - book that tells about the different pets that have been in the Whitehouse, including a hippo
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Last Straw - paperback, not sold in stores
50 Amazing States Book and CD-ROM to become an expert on all 50 states
Family Huddle - a football book written by Archie, Eli, and Peyton Manning!

Ripley's Believe it or Not - 2010 edition hardcover
Everything You Need to Know Pack - 6 homework helper books for all subjets
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Can a 12 year old girl survive on a deserted island alone?
Books about current movies - G-Force, Transformers 2, GI Joe

Computer games: Type to Learn, Adventure Workshop 4th-6th Grade, I Spy Fun House
Wii and Nintendo DS games: Backyard Baseball 2010, Learn Math, Escape the Museum

See you tomorrow!

I'm looking forward to see all of the smiling faces on my 4th graders tomorrow!