Upcoming Dates

Here are some important dates coming up in November:

11/9 Parent-Teacher conference from 2:30 to 4:00
11/10 Early Release @ 12:30; Parent-Teacher conferences from 2:30 to 8:00
11/10 Picture Retakes
11/11 No school – Veterans’ Day
11/18 Fall Festival
11/23 Early Release @ 12:30
11/24 – 11/25 No School

The 4th grade awards assembly will be in November, the front office has not given me the date for that yet. As soon as I know, I will send home a letter.

Candy

Parents,

I know most students will be trick-or-treating tonight, and getting lots of candy. Please only allow one piece of candy to come to school. Students do not learn well, or stay focused, while on a sugar-high. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Have a fun night and be safe!

Literature Day, Friday, 10/28

Our class will be representing Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We’ve been reading this novel as a class since September. We will be reading all 5 books in the series throughout the school year. Children can dress up as a character from the story. If they would like, they may bring in a plain t-shirt to paint on. We will be painting “Camp Half-Blood” on the shirts.

We will be painting shirts in the afternoon on Wednesday, October 26th to ensure they dry on time. If parents would like to come in to help supervise the painting, I would really appreciate it. Just give me a call or send me an email and I will get you more details.

The students would like to have a little party after the parade. (Our parade will be at 9:30, starting at the basketball court.) If you would like to contribute to the party, please send in healthy snacks – we will have a whole day of learning still ahead of us.

Thank you for all you do, and all of your amazing support!

End of Quarter One

Friday is the end of the first quarter. I KNOW!?!? Wow, is this year flying by! Make sure your student has turned in all missing/late work by Friday. If you think they may not be able to have it done by then, let me know and we will work out a completion schedule. The students all received a list of their missing work today.

Thank you for your support!

Field Trip Cancelled, 10/20

I am very sad to report that our field trip that was scheduled for Thursday, October 20th will be cancelled. At this time, Carden still does not have a bus driver. As soon as one is hired, I will try to get this field trip to the Lake Pleasant Outdoor Education Center rescheduled.

Important Dates this Week

Just wanted to send a reminder about important dates this week.

Thursday, October 6th: School pictures (uniforms required)
Friday, October 7th: No School – Fall Break
Monday, October 10th: No School – Fall Break
Tuesday, October 11th: No School – Staff Development

Tree Diagrams and Probability Grids

What Grading Should Look Like

Word Problems

Many students are having trouble with word problems. When this happens at home, please remind your student about the 4 step problem solving method.

1. Write down what you know - what details are given to you? What is the problem you are trying to solve?
2. Make a plan to solve - how are you going to do it?
3. Solve the problem
4. Check your work!

This is exactly what I tell them in class. If a student asks me for help, I will not help them until they have completed the first step. Usually, after they do that, they don't need any additional help. I hope this helpful!

Tutoring

Dear Parents,

Tutoring will begin next Monday, September 26th. I will offer tutoring after school (3:00-3:45) on Mondays and during lunch recess Tuesday through Friday; I have lunch recess duty on Mondays. If your child is struggling with math or reading concepts, please think about asking your child to give up one recess a week to get help.

Each time your child stays after school for tutoring, I need a note in the agenda, or an email giving your permission for them to stay; a phone call is not enough. Please keep in mind that this is not a homework club. I will be reviewing concepts that you or I think your student needs extra help in.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If your child stays after school, we will meet you in the front of the school, near the flag pole, at 3:45 for pickup. Thank you for your support in your child’s learning.

Curriculum Night is Thursday!

Just a reminder that this Thursday, September 15th is Curriculum Night. Please come to our classroom from 7:00 to 7:30 to discover what your students will be learning this year. I hope everyone can make it!

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.