Rounding Numbers

1. Find the number you are rounding and circle it.
2. Look to the right of the number.
3. Is it greater than 5?
The number you are rounding goes up one.
4. Is is less than 5?
The number you are rounding stays the same.
5. All numbers to the right of the rounded number become zeros.

Grading/Rubrics

Parents,

Carden is grading this year on a 0-4 scale; in the past we've used a 1-4 scale. All assignments will be graded using a rubric, therefore, assignments will be graded on a 0-4 scale. (Just like the reading test rubric your students showed you last night. A copy came home in the Tuesday Folder.) Please contact me if you have any questions about grading. Mr. Gardner and I will also be covering this more in depth at Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 15th.

Reminder

Remember, our new Wednesday release time is 1:45. We will still pick up younger siblings and be dismissed out the back gate. 6 through 8 grade will be released at 2:00.

Happy First Week of School!

The A-Team has gotten off to a GREAT start so far! We are getting to know one another and understand the expectations of out classroom. If you or your student has any confusion, please call, email, or write a note in the agenda!

Tonight we have our first homework assignments. Students will complete math lesson 1-1 in their homework book. Please do not tear out the pages, tomorrow night's homework is on the back of tonight's. Please sign, or initial, the math homework. This lets me know that your student was able to do the homework without too much complication. If your student struggled with a concept, please let me know right away. Homework WILL ALWAYS be practice of what we learned that day.

The second assignment tonight is to finish their vocabulary sentences. About half the class finished this in class today. Everyone was given 30 minutes, and a sentence starter for the 8 sentences. All sentences will have at least 7 words in them (7-Up sentences); have a capital letter and punctuation mark; and answer at least TWO Ws (who, what, when, where, why, or how.) Example: I know that it is treacherous to drive on icy roads in December. This sentence answered what: drive, where: icy roads, when: December. The students are to write two sentences per word; an example of the word, and a non example. Of course the first few times we do this assignment I will be very easy on my grading. Within a few weeks the students will become pros at this.

So far, we've had a great first 4 days! I am looking forward to getting to know you and your children better. Please remember my door is always open for you. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please do not hesitate to bring it my attention.

Thank you so much!

Supplies

Just in case anyone may have misplaced it, here is the 4th grade supply list.

3 packs of #2 pencils (wooden or mechanical)
1 box of crayons and/or colored pencils
2 pink box erasers or eraser tops
1 pair of student scissors
1 ruler with centimeters and inches
2 packs of wide ruled paper
5 single subject folders
3 spiral bound notebooks
2 glue sticks and/or glue bottles
2 boxes of Kleenex
1 roll of paper towels
1 pencil box/pencil bag
1 ream of white/copy paper
3 ring binder

Welcome A-Team!!

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

Welcome back to school! For some of you this is a welcome back, for others, we are glad to have you as part of our family. I am looking forward to building lasting relationships with all of you.

Carden is using a student agenda again this year. This is a vital tool the teachers will use to keep in contact with you on a daily basis. Please do look at & sign your child’s agenda each day. Carden has a “Communication Tuesday” policy. Each Tuesday your student will receive a large envelope with information primarily from the front office. Please empty this on Tuesday, read the information, sign & date the envelope and send it back to school with your student on Wednesday.

There are a couple of classroom policies I want to make you aware of. Any homework assigned is due the next day unless otherwise stated. If your child is absent, it is his/her responsibility to find out what is due and will have 2 days (per absent day) to make up the work. Students also need to be reading for a minimum of 20 minutes at home each day.

I have a classroom website/blog (http://mrsaxelson.blogspot.com) that will help you keep up to date with all pertinent classroom information. Each day the website will be updated with the daily agenda information; and each week the spelling and vocabulary words will be listed as well. I post reminders about classroom events, have links to a variety of websites (i.e. the math book online, CLI our online grader, educational games, etc.) I also will post photos/videos of the students actively learning. Please note on the student information card if you DO NOT want your child’s photo on our website.

There is also a no toy policy; please make sure your child understands that toys are for home, not for school. There are no electronics or cell phones in the on position while on campus.

This will be a great year. We have a great fourth grade teaching team, and a wonderful support staff. Again, if you believe anything needs our attention, please let me know. I look forward to meeting and working with all of you.

Thank you,

Kelly Axelson

Summer? Already?

I cannot believe how quickly this school year has flown by! Tomorrow is the last day of school! Here are a few things to remember for tomorrow.

• Students do not need to bring their agendas or backpacks to school
• Dismissal is at 12:30
• Students may bring games to play in class during our party
• Our party will begin at 11:00 and will take us through the end of the day
• Parents all more than welcome to attend

The students brought home their math workbooks today. This will be a great tool to keep ideas fresh throughout the summer. If you missed my earlier post, I linked some great 4th grade workbooks to keep the brains moving over the summer.

Thank you so much for allowing me to teach your children this year. It truly has been a pleasure. Keep in touch over the summer if you need anything. I will periodically check my work email, and the front office always knows how to get a hold of me. Until then, have a great summer, and I will see everyone in August!

End of the Year Party

Thursday, May 26th, 11:00am

*Students may bring in games to play with classmates - no electronics.
*Students are asked to bring $1-2 to help cover the cost of pizza.
*Students may bring in additional snacks to share.
*I will provide drinks, treats, and all paper products.
*Dismissal is at 12:30.

Fables

The students performing fables.

Summer "School"

Parents, the summer is nearly upon us! Keeping that in mind, studies show that children who do not engage in reading, or other academic behaviors, can lose up to a month worth of knowledge (also known as "summer slide.") It is the whole use it or lose it idea. There are a few books you can purchase (or possibly check out of the library) that would help to keep ideas fresh in your child's brain over the summer break. I really like the Spectrum workbooks. Here is a link (via Barnes & Noble) to the math and reading books. You don't have to get the books through Barnes & Noble - I know they are available on amazon, and possibly in Target.

If there is anything specific you think your child should work on over the summer, email me and I can help suggest some resources for you.

Fables

The students are working on fables this week. They have been broken into groups, and will be acting out several fables. If you would like to come watch the students perform in the classroom, please come in at 9:30, on Wednesday morning.

I will also video their performances and can upload them to our class blog. Let me know if you DO NOT want your child to appear on our website.

Thank you!

THANK YOU!!

Friday's International Festival was a success, and I owe it all to the parents and students. The support you showed our class for this event was amazing. I appreciate you all!

Thank you!

Music Concert

Reminder that tomorrow is the 4th grade music concert. Students need to be in the MPR at 6:15, and the show will begin at 6:30. Ms. Flathers asks students wear blue pants/jeans and a solid color t-shirt. The performance should take an hour. I hope to see all our families there!

International Festival

International Festival is fast approaching. In just over a week, the event will take place - Friday, May 6, from 5 to 8. Right now I am still in need of help from 5:30 to 6:00, and anytime after 7:30. I have one parent volunteer for the other times. In order for the evening to be a success, I need help with either stamping the passports or serving the food. The event ends at 8:00 but I would appreciate any help cleaning up.

I have four families making Egyptian food, and three families donating pita chips. I will also be making food, bringing pita chips, and paper products. If anyone else is able to help, I would be very thankful. We have plenty of napkins and silverware. I am hoping to still get cups (for lemonade) and small plates to serve on.

If anyone would like to make one of the recipes I sent home, there are hyperlinks in a previous post that will take you directly to the recipes. If there is something else Egyptian you would like to make/bring, just let me know so I can make a sign for it.

I look forward to seeing everyone enjoy this event!

Reminders

Progress reports went home today
No school tomorrow
Egypt report due 5/2
4th grade music concert, 5/3
No school, 5/4
International Festival, 5/6

**I still need a lot of help for international festival. Please let me know if you can donate a dish or your time. Either would be so appreciated. Thank you.

Box Tops

Thursday will be the last day to turn in box tops to count for our classroom this year. If you have any at home you've been hanging onto, please send them in.

Thank you!

International Festival

International Festival, Friday, May 6

I've attached a few recipes to look over for International Festival. I am going to need a hand preparing and serving food that night. I will be sending home a sign up sheet for anyone who would like to help. I need a couple of food servers and a few passport stampers for that evening. If you have other recipes in mind that you would like to bring, just let me know what they are so I can make a sign for the recipe.

Fig and Date Bread
Cucumber-Feta Salsa with Pita Chips
**store bought pita chips sound so much simpler!
Pineapple Rice Dessert
Lemonade is a popular drink in Egypt. The evening of International Festival is typically a warm one. I will bring in large amounts of lemonade. If anyone has a large drink dispenser we can borrow for the evening, that would be great. Thank you so much for all the support you have shown me this year. I really appreciate it!


I look forward to seeing everyone!

AIMS Progress

The students have completed 3 out of 4 days of AIMS. They are doing such a great job. Everyone is really working hard, and I appreciate it. We will take the final test on Tuesday, April 19th. Thank you for all the support you have shown your student - is very much appreciated!

Euler Path

Here is a website that has interactive Euler Paths. This is not the graphs and maps we discussed, just the actual tracing of lines.

Here is a great video by a teacher that explains the concept of Euler paths. Around the 4 minute mark, he talks about "nodes." Nodes are the verticies of the drawings, the circles that we colored on the vertex maps today.

New math games link! I'm listing it under "PONY POWER" also.

Write down any questions you come up with, and we'll go over it together tomorrow afternoon. Happy learning!! :)

Dates for April and May

AIMS Testing: 4/12, 4/13, 4/14, 4/19
4/21, Book Orders Due
4/22, No School (Good Friday)
5/3, 4th Grade Music Concert
5/4, No School (Staff Development)
5/6, International Festival
5/26, Last Day of School