Angelville News, Week 15

Bon Dia

December 14, 2009

Raves:

* 4th graders and their super duper Advent Reflection Books they put together last week. I hope all of the families have had the opportunity to look through the book and possibly read these at night when you are all together as a family. Fr. Dan was really impressed and sent me a message wanting to let you all know how much he is enjoying his book.

* Holiday Hoopla Helpers, you all ROCK! Thank you so much for making Holiday Hoopla such a success for our kids, something they look forward to each year. The treasures are endless.

Reminders:

* Thursday, December 17, Christmas concert in the Family Center at 7pm. Make sure your kids come dressed in their Sunday best.

* Maniac Magee book final on Thursday, December 17th. study guide will go home today.

* Native American Social Studies test, Chapters 4 and 5 of text book, Thursday, December 17th.

* Last day of school on December 18th. We will have a Christmas party after lunch on Friday, movie and treats. Thank you Maureen Endres for your help with this.

Academics:

In Religion we completed our Advent Reflection book and will read from our book this week and prepare for the coming of Jesus.

In Math we continue to work with fractions (equivalent fractions, fraction strips).

In reading we will review for our Maniac Magee final.

In Social Studies we will complete our Totem Poles and review for our Native American test.

In Science we will continue in our Physical Science unit.

We will have a Spelling test and review nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives, all parts of speech we have worked with this first part of the year.

May you all have a Blessed Holiday, and be a light for others!

Happy Holidays, see you on Jan. 4th

Angelville News, Week 14

Bon Dia

December 7, 2009

* For all you skiers out there, this is one of the best places to ski in my opinion, Schweitzer, in Sandpoint, Washington, just about 45 minutes north of Cour 'd Alene.

Reminders:

* Report Cards will go home on Tuesday

* Tuesday after mass the students will be going to confession.

* Holiday Hoopla is on Friday from 9-12.

* Strategic Planning Meeting 5:15-6:15 on Wednesday

* Parents Club meeting from 6:30-8:30pm on Wednesday

Academics:

In Religion we have been working on our own Advent Book reflections. Those will go home this week, giving the families time to enjoy them before Christmas.

In Math we will continue to work with fractions and decimals, making fraction strips and solving story problems. We will have a fraction mini quiz on Friday.

In reading we will complete Maniac Magee and have our final book test next week - YIPPEE!

In Social Studies and writing we will be creating our own Totem Poles, and then writing about how each symbol applies to our life. We will continue to talk about Native Americans in Washington.

In English we will continue our unit on Adjectives.

Enjoy the clear, yet very cold days! I'll still take clear and cold over gray and rainy.

10 more days of school!!!

Angelville Newsletter, Week 13

Bon Dia
December 1, 2009

*I apologize for the late newsletter. I have not had an Internet connection for the past 2 days so I had to wait till I had time to go to the lab to write one.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Celebrations with your families and friends.
The sun on Friday was a great surprise and one that I know I needed.

Raves:
*To all of the family members who helped with our killer Thanksgiving feast.
*To the Green Team for help sort all of our recycling and composting in the cafeteria during the Thanksgiving Feast.

This week in the news:
*Early out today, Tuesday, 2pm
*Non-uniform dress on Friday
*Holiday Hoopla, December 11th from 9-12
*Christmas Concert in the Family center on December 17th at 7pm

Academics:

We have begun Advent and will celebrate Advent until Christmas.
In math we have begun our fractions and decimal unit. We finished up with our Multiplication last week and was very impressed with the unit tests.
In reading we will try and finish up Maniac Magee next week with a book final towards the end of the week, next week.
In English we have started to talk about Adjectives and will have a mini adjective quiz on Friday.
In writing we will work this week in the lab typing in our Legend Stories that we wrote the past 2 weeks as we started our Native American unit.
We are now talking about Coastal and Plateau Indians and each student will create their own Totem Poles that represent happenings and stories in their own lives.

Have a great week!

Best Part of ME

The 4th Graders are Thankful for the.....BEST PART OF THEM!

Here are a few I'd like to share

My Nose

The best part of me is my nose.

I can smell delicious food.

I can smell what my mom is cooking.

I can also smell bad odor.

My nose is one of my five senses on my body.

I can practically smell anything.

I love my nose.

4th grader

My Hands

My hands are the best part of me.

They are strong and hard.

They have good grips.

They are accurate.

They have good hand-eye coordination.

They are good for building Legos.

They are good for handling bugs and reptiles.

They have a couple of moles.

They have some hair.

They have short nails.

They are accurate. I like my hands.

4th grader

Angelville Newsletter, Week 11

Bon Dia


November 17, 2009

*my trip to Maine a few weeks back, Bug Light House.

I apologize for the day-late Newsletter, as I tried to blog yesterday I was unable to for some reason.





RAVES:


*All the parents who attended the St. Al's Gala.


* All the families who help make the event Grand.


* All of the students for their work on the classroom projects.





Reminders:


* Social Studies Geography Test on Wednesday!


* Bingo this Friday night in the cafeteria.


* Continue to check your child's planner each night making sure they are completing all of their work and the work is getting back in their backpacks so it returns to school the following day.


* Next week is our Thanksgiving Feast, November 25th in the cafeteria. All families are welcome. The 4th grade will eat around 11am.





Academics:


This week in Math, we will continue our unit on multiplication. We will have a Multiplication test next Wednesday morning, before our Thanksgiving Feast. I will send home a Multiplication review sheet on Friday.


In Reading we continue with Maniac Magee Chapters 32-36, there will be a quiz on Thursday.


In Religion we are creating visual representations of the 10 commandments. Each week the students also reflect on Fathers sermon and the Gospel.


In writing the students wrote about the The Best Part of Me. They are on our outside wall. Fill free to come up and read them. We are Thankful for these gifts that we believe are the best part of us.


In Science we are working on a Physical Science Unit; motion, matter, heat, molecules.


In English we continue this week to talk about different kids of Pronouns and where they are used in a sentence.





YAY for sun today!!

If Your're Not From.....

Little over a week ago my students heard a story called, If You're Not From the Prairie. They then wrote about places they have been/ lived and know so well that this place has now become a part of them. Here is one student's writing of their special place.

If You Haven't been to Boston

If you haven't been to Boston you don't know the cold.

The swift winter wind, that blows in your face.

If you haven't been to Boston you don't know the beaches,

the fun sandy beaches, on the coast of Massachusetts.

If you haven't been to Boston you don't know my grandpa,

my fun loving grandpa with his great big beard that is white as snow.

If you haven't been to Boston you don't know my friends.

who love to play and dance.

When I leave Boston I will remember it!

The winter wind, the sandy beaches, my fun loving grandpa,

and my friends who love to play.

by, 4th grade student

Angelville Newsletter, Week 10

Bon Dia

November 9, 2009

Raves:

* To all of the students and families who came and supported our family auction last night. It was great fun, and wonderful to see so many familiar faces.

* Great job to the Brain Dances, you were AWESOME!

Reminders:

* NO School on Wednesday, Veterans Day.

* All are invited to the Veterans Assembly on Tuesday, at 2;30pm.

* No Hot Lunch on Friday due to set up for the Auction.

* Fr. Dan will be visiting the 4th grade at 2:15 on Friday. The students will share with him their Good Samaritan Stories they have worked so hard on. Any and all parents are invited to attend as well.

* Our Field Trip to Carkeek Park is on Thursday, November 12th. We will leave at 9:30am and return right around noon for lunch. If your child has not turned in his form please do so ASAP. We will be traveling by car with Monica and Maureen.

Academics:

In math we continue to work on standard form multiplication. We will add 2-digit x 2-digit towards the end of the week. The students are really doing well on their multiplication facts.

In Religion we have finished our stories, we have broken up into groups to study the 10 Commandments and show visual representation of each Commandment. We read the Gospel for Tuesday's mass each Monday, and then reflect/summarize on Father's Sermon Tuesday afternoon.

In reading we continue to work our way through Maniac Magee. We are nearing the end of the book, in the final part. Since this week we will miss reading for 3 days due to other commitments, we will pick back up with the chapters next week.

In Social Studies we completed the 5 Themes of Geography in Washington, if you get a chance come up and check out our wall in the hall. We will have a Washington State Geography Test next week. I will send home a review sheet on Friday. The students worked today and will work again tomorrow on a Veteran from 6 different wars, we will also hang those on our outside wall this week.

We finished our Seattle City Lights, Tool Kit, on shrinking our Carbon Footprint and will begin a new chapter in Science next week.

In English we continue to look at nouns, pronouns and parts of sentences. In writing this week we will write about, 'The Best Part of Me.' Each student will write about what they feel is their best part, whether that be their hair, or knees, or even teeth. I will try and post them on the outside wall next week.

Have a great week! A nice Veterans Day, and hope to see you all at the Auction.

Chapter 28 (103-105)

1. How did Maniac celebrate Grayson’s reading?
2. What was special about Grayson staying overnight in the equipment room?
3. Read The Little Engine that Could, how are Maniac and Grayson like the Little Engine? Explain

Chapter 29 (106-109)

1. Describe the Thanksgiving that Grayson and Maniac shared? (pages 106-107).
2. Why was Maniac so proud to paint the numbers 101 on the door outside the baseball equipment room?
3. Draw and color a picture of what you think the baseball equipment room looks like.

Chapter 30 (110-111)

Draw a picture of Grayson and Maniac’s Christmas decorations.
Make a Christmas card that Maniac could have sent to friends from his new home with Grayson. Decorate it with pictures and write a message signed with Maniac’s name.

Chapter 31 (112-114)

1. Why was this Christmas wonderful and why did their Christmas make you smile?
2. Why was Chapter 31 sad?
3. Write about one of your heros. Describe what this person means to you and what character traits he or she has that you admire.

Angelville News - Week 9

Bon Dia
November 2, 2009
Week 9

Raves:
· The fourth grade class for their cooperation and respect shown toward both of our Guest Teachers last week while I was away.

Reminders:
· Tuesday is early out at 2:00 for teacher meeting.
· Photo re-takes at 11:30am
· Friday, November 6th is Non-uniform day.
· Prayer assembly at 8:45am

Academics:
Math – this week we will be working on Comparing values represented by digits in whole numbers using place value 4.1E. We will also begin multiplying 2-digit numbers using the standard multiplication algorithm 4.1F.
Religion – finish illustrating our Good Samaritan stories and begin the 10 Commandments.
Reading – Chapters 28-32 of Maniac Magee, I will post the study guide on the blog.
Social Studies – Exploring the 5 themes of Geography in Washington State, and using the computer lab to research in groups each theme of Washington.
Spelling/English – Unit 8, Long u sound words. In English we will continue to review nouns, parts of sentences and move into pronouns.
Writing – Students wrote about places they know so well that those places have become a part of them. Their inspirations came from the book If You’re not from the Prairie. If in the halls come by and read some of them on the board in the hall.

Have a great week!

Angelville Newsletter, October 26, 2009

Bon Dia
Week 8, October 26, 2009

Raves:
I want to thank all of the parents who came to Parent/Teacher Conferences. Conferences are a great way to connect with each other and talk about some of the different observations we might see concerning your children. This is a great class, and I am excited for some of the cool things we will be doing in the future months. Again thank you!

Reminders:
I will be out of town on Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30th. I know that my students will be a big help and an attentive group to the guest teacher.
Students may wear costumes on Friday, October 30th
I will supply the guest teacher with a Halloween movie and my room moms will bring in treats for a little party at 2pm in the room.
Family Fun night and Bingo Friday.
Continue to check your child’s planner and make sure they are completing all of their work if the assignment is circled in the planner. Thank you!

Academics:
In religion we talked about the Gospel for mass on Tuesday. The students are finishing up their final drafts of their Samaritan stories and will begin to type them out in the Lab on Wednesday and Thursday.
In Math we continue to work on multiplication. Mentally multiplying/ represented multiplication, 2-digit by 1-digit and 2-digit by 2-digits... State standards 4.1D, 4.1G, 4.1C, Math multiplication quiz on Friday over factors, multiples of 1 and 2 digit numbers.
(Ex. 43x9 = (9x40 + 9x3)
=360 + 27
= 387
Reading we continue to complete Chapters 22-25 in Maniac Magee. This week we will go over 24-25 and a quiz on Thursday.
In Spelling we are studying long o words and looking at the different kinds of nouns. We will have a noun quiz on Friday.
In Science we are talking about ways in which we can shrink our Carbon Footprint with a series of activities sent to me through Seattle City Lights. Maureen will be bringing us microscopes so that we can see bugs and such on the big screen.
Social Studies we will read of TFK – Time for Kids.

Have a happy and Safe Halloween!

Color Wheel Art and Halloween Poems

Enjoy this great art and creative poems! Each student had the opportunity to create their own poem using a variety of poem styles, like Limericks - which are the AABBA style, first 2 lines and last line rhyme, or a Haiku - 3 lines and 17 syllables, or a Couplet - a pair of lines that rhyme.

October is here,

Leaves are falling.

Halloween is near

Kids are calling.

By, Keith

Light verse poem

Pumpkins

Orange, Yellow, Gold

Some are big, some are round

Turn them into Jack-O-Lanterns

Carve them!

By, Annie

Cinquian poem

Witches, mummies, vampire bats.

Even Lincolns' with top hats.

Be a Soldier, grab a gun

Halloween is so much fun.

Be a witch, zombie, cat or dog,

just go awalkin through the fog!

By, Aiden

Couplet proem

Angelville News, Week 7

Bon Dia

October 19, 2009

Reminders:

* There will be no school Wednesday, October 21-23.

* Parent/Teacher conferences Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22.

Academics:

In religion this week we will talk about the Gospel for mass on Tuesday. We will also try and finish up our Good Samaritan Stories we are writing.

I math we continue to work with double digit multiplication and function tables.

In reading we will begin the Maniac Magee chapters 22-25. Since this week is short we will cover chapters 22 and 23.

In LA we will finish up our "What is happening here......" stories and set some reading goals for the year. Last week the students wrote Halloween poems and made pumpkins using the warm and cool colors of the color wheel. You will have the opportunity to see these when you come in for conferences. I will post a few on the blog.

In science we will work for the next few weeks on activities about shrinking our carbon footprint, given to us by Seattle City Lights.

There will be no homework packets or spelling this week.

I'm sure the students will enjoy the long weekend:-)

Trash Tracker Field Trip

We were lucky to experience a beautiful day in the city of Seattle as we made our way on public transportation to the Downtown Seattle Public Library to see the Trash Tracker Exhibit put together by MIT students. They tracked trash from pick up to final resting place. They were able to track this trash by placing bar chips on different items like a sock, or computer, or can. The tracking codes were picked up by cell towers and recorded along their route. A simple sock could travel days and miles within the city before finally being disposed of. Here are some of our pics from that day.

4th Grade Writers Workshop

We have been working on various writings here in the 4th grade. Last week we heard a story called, All the Places to Love. As I read the story I asked the students to be thinking of a place they love. I would like to share some with you.

My favorite place to love is my home.

by, 4th grader

When ever it is a sunny day my family and

I take a hike to Discovery Park and go

through lots of trails and meet lots of people.

When we get to the beach we eat our lunches.

After that we play. Then we walk to the locks.

We walk farther and we are at 7-11. We all

get Slurpee's or donuts for dessert. Then we

head back home. By the time we get home we

are all done with our Slurpee's. So then we all take

a nap. That's why I love my home.

My favorite place to love is my Grandparents house

by, 4th grade student

My favorite place to love is my grandparents house.

They live in Edmond's. They have a hot tub, a fish

pond, and a bow and arrow range. They also have a

laundry shoot which is really fun to slide down. It is

also awesome to take hikes in the woods which is just

behind their back fence. In the winter they get a lot of snow

so it rocks for sledding. I Love their house.

Angelville News Week 6

Bon Dia
Week 6
October 12, 2009

Reminders:
Make sure your child is in full uniform for masses on Tuesdays
Full week school this week
Conference slips for conference times will be going out this week
Please check and sign your child’s planner each and every night

Academics:
In Religion this week we will complete our Good Samaritan Stories in the computer lab and illustrate them.
In math we continue to work with double digit multiplication and rocket math practice.
In reading we will begin Maniac Magee chapters 18-21. I will post the work on the blog. On Friday the work for these chapters will need to be turned in and there will be a quiz.
In Spelling we will be studying words with the long i sound. Tomorrow there will be a mini quiz in English on simple and compound subjects and predicates. Included in that quiz will be direct objects, and run-on sentences. We will review those today in English. Tomorrow we will begin to look at the different types of nouns.

In writing we have been working on sending letters to our favorite authors. I will submit these letters to Washington's Secretary of State. We are participating in Letters about Literature. It is a writing contest for readers grades 4-12. There are prizes for top winners. Top letters will go on to the National Level to be judged. We will hear back on the letters in December. We will be doing a great amount of writing in 4th grade this year.
In Social Studies we will look at weather of Washington State and land formations. We will also continue to work on lessons in our Bridges to Understanding curriculum. The shorter weeks have impaired some of this work.

If you need to contact me you can e-mail me at mizschmutz@gmail.com or call school and I will call you back.

Have a great week!

Multiplication Practice

It is essential that your child is practicing their multiplication tables at least 3 times a week at home. We are in our multiplication unit and I am hoping that within the next month we will be working our way into fractions and decimals. Students who know their multiplication facts and who are comfortable multiplying 2-digits by 2-digit numbers will move on. I do not want to hold any students back, nor do I want to move any students on, who are not ready.

Maniac Magee Chapter work 18-21

MANIAC MAGEE – Chapters 18- 21 (64-76)

Chapter 18 (64-67)
Word Wizard
Hibernating (65) sneered (65)
1. Pretend you are Maniac. Write a letter to those who dislike you.


Chapter 19 (68-69)
Word Wizard:
Eons (68) contortions (69)

1. What advertising gimmick did Mr. Cobble use?
2. Why was it ironic that Maniac was able to untie knots and was allergic to pizza?
3. Why did Amanda call Maniac Jeffrey?

Chapter 20 (70-73)
Word Wizard
Tangle (70) Weathering (70) testimony (70)

1. Draw a map of what you think Tow Mills looks like from the sky. Don’t forget the West and East End, the Finsterwalds, the Beales, the rail road track, the baseball field, the lot in East End, The Pickwells home and anything else that you can think of from the story. Be creative.

Chapter 21 (74-76)
1. How did Part I End?In a short paragraph summarize Part I.

Newlsetter, Week 5

Bon Dia
Week 5
October 5, 2009

Trivia: Anyone know the location of this building? Just for fun!

Raves:
I want to thank Mrs. Endres for helping us make it to our field trip destination and back to school today. It was a beautiful day to travel into the city and the students were super. Thanks again Mrs. Endres for your support.

I also want to thank Mrs. Serwarld for meeting us at the library and then showing us a great place to enjoy our lunches outside in the sun.

Reminders:
No school on Friday, October 9. Teacher in-service day.
Early out Tuesday, 2:00pm, October 6th, Staff meetings.

Academics:
* In religion this week the students will be working in groups on Good Samaritan Stories. We read a Good Samaritan story last week written by a gentleman named Kunle Oguneye, from Nigeria. I met him a few weeks back and he will be joining us at some point this year to talk about his African version of the Good Samaritan.
In math this week we are working with factors of a number, multiples of numbers and will work our way into two-digit numbers multiplied by one-digit number, and two-digit numbers multiplied by two-digit numbers.
In Reading we continue to work on our Maniac Magee book. On Tuesday we will take our Chapter 12-17 quiz and then begin work on chapters 18-21. I will post the study guide on the blog.
In Spelling we are on Unit 4, the long e vowel sound words. In English we will review compound subjects, compound predicates, and direct objects. We will take a mini quiz on these towards the end of the week. We will also move forward to look at subject complements, compound sentences and run-on sentences.
In Social studies we continue to map out Washington State, talk about its weather patterns, and regions. We will begin to work our way into the 5 themes of Geography as we talk about Washington.
Science, we took our field trip to the Trash Tracker Exhibit, ask your child to tell you a little bit of what they learned today about trash and how it is tracked.

Have a nice week! Enjoy the nice brisk fall weather this week.

Angelville Week 4

Bon Dia
Week 4
September 28, 2009

Raves:
· All of the 4th grade Newspapers
· Meeting all of the parents who came to Open House night.

Reminders:
· Uniform dress on Mass day
· Non-uniform day on Friday, October 2nd

Academics:
· In math we will continue our unit in multiplication. Identifying factors and multiples of a number. Multiplication of two-digit numbers.
· In reading we will continue our Maniac Magee book, Chapters 12-17. I will post the chapter questions on the blog. Quiz over these chapters will be next Monday.
· In religion we continue to look up bible versus on Stewardship. We will begin the 10 Commandments.
· Spelling pre-test Monday, and test on Friday. If a student gets 100% on their pre-test they do not have to take the test on Friday. This week spelling words center around long vowel sounds.
· In LA we will begin a new program called Bridges to Understanding. We will begin a multi-lesson project to create our own digital story. This non-profit organization started in Seattle a few years ago and is designed to bridge schools in other countries to one another. Once the digital stories are completed they will be posted on the Bridges to Understanding web site. All member of the program can then watch digit stories from other students in other countries. I will send more information about this program home.
· Social Studies – geography of Washington. Weather patterns in Washington.
· Hoping to organize a field trip to Seattle’s Public Library downtown. MIT students have created an exhibit on tracking garbage from beginning to end.

Have a great first week of October!

Maniac Magee Chapters 12-17

MANIAC MAGEE – Chapters 12-17 (pgs.41-63)

Chapter 12 (41-44)
1. Describe Amanda’s family with one-sentence descriptions for each character, Mrs. Beale, Mr. Beale, Hester and Lester.
2. How did Maniac get an address?
3. Do you think Maniac is a good name for Jeffrey Magee? Why?
4. If you had a nickname what would it be and why?

Chapter 13 (p.45-49)
1. How did the Beale house change once Maniac joined it?
2. What strange allergy did Maniac have? Why did he have this allergy?

Chapter 14 (50-53)
Word Wizard
Solitude (50) converged (51)

1. Why did Maniac love being with the Beales?
2. What did Maniac observe about the East End colors? (51)

Chapter 15 (54-56)
Word Wizard
Poleax (54) aardvark (56) unbeknownst (56)

1. In chapter 13, Maniac says that, “lying on a mattress gave him a weird feeling of slowly rising on a scoop of mashed potatoes.” (Draw a picture to illustrate this thought) p. 46


Chapter 17 (59-63)
Word Wizard
Croaking (61) ranting (61)

1. Draw a picture of the fire hydrant at Green and Chestnut on the hot day in August that was depicted in Chapter 17.
2. How did Chapter 17 end?

Maniac Magee Study guide Chpt 1-11

For some reason I can not find my first study guide for Maniac Magee. I have a hard copy so I will send a hard copy home stapled to the planner. This is for the parents who requested it be posted on the blog. I will post the next set of chapters as of next Monday.

As of Friday the 25th all work for these first 11 chapters should be complete. I will collect this work on Monday and the students will take a quiz over the first 11 chapters.

Angelville, Week 3

Bon Dia

September 21, 2009

First Day of Fall, International Peace Day

Raves:

I want to thank Mrs. Wisen for her support in our field trip to the locks last week. I also want to thank her for her artistic abilities in our desire to make a salmon mural for the cafeteria. Thanks a bunch!!

Reminders:

* Continue to check your child's planner and sign each night! Thank you!

* Wednesday is Open House for grades K-4th at 7 - 9pm Please join us!

* There will be a Sustainable Festival in Ballard's Commons Park on the 26th and 27th of September, this weekend.

* Thursday is Pictures

* Friday night Bongo.

Academics:

Religion - We will create a Stewardship Bulletin Board in the Elementary wing of the school. We will continue to find Bible passages on Stewardship.

Reading - Maniac Magee, we will read chapters 6-11 this week and complete work in our reading journals on reading comprehension, reading fluency and vocabulary. I will begin the QRI assessments today.

Math - We will begin our chapter on math basics and multiplication this week. We will talk about factors and multiples of a number. We will also determine the difference between prime and composite numbers and long with Rocket Math practice.

LA - Spelling Unit 2- long vowel sounds, subjects and predicates, and verb practice. We will continue to work on our Newspapers for our Class wall outside the classroom.

Social Studies - Over Washington, an amazing video that travels over Washington and shows the wide spread of terrain we have as you travel over the different regions. Map labeling.

Enjoy another great week of weather!!

Walking Tour to the Locks

Here we go, setting out on our first field trip of the year, and to boot it's a GREAT DAY! The Life Cycle of a Salmon is quite amazing!

The Locks

We are fortunate at St. Al's to live so close to the Ballard Locks. The Locks were designed by an engineer named Hiram Chittenden back in 1906 when he arrived in Seattle. He envisioned the largest boat of that day to enter in through the locks. Since he was a conservationist he realized the importance of protecting the natural resources. The locks form a permeable barrier between Lake Washington's freshwater ecosystem and the potentially damaging saltwater of the Puget Sound. They are designed to allow the passage of vessels while minimizing the damage of the saltwater. It's always fun to see the different kinds of vessels going in and out of the locks.

Salmon Ladder at the Locks

What a great day to view the salmon in the final phase of their life. They are making their way up through the fish ladder at the Locks. They will return to their breeding grounds to spawn, where a new generation of salmon will then start their journey out to sea.

St. Al's Green Team

The 4th and 5th graders at St. Alphonsus are Stewards of the Earth. They are decreasing their carbon footprint by recycling and composting at school.

Week 2 Angelville

Bon Dia

Week 2, September 14th, 2009

Announcements:

* I am happy to announce the kick off of our new recycling program here at school. We are now one of over 95 schools who have started a recycling program with the help and support of Cedar Grove Compost Center in Everett, WA. Rob from Cedar Grove was here for two days last week helping the students at lunch time in sorting their recycling, composting and garbage.

* I also want to thank Emily van Leeuwen who is now a 5th grader, in her continual acts of Stewardship she shows for God's Earth. We are selling coffee in the school office until November 1st to help offset the initial costs in being a Sustainable School. We would appreciate your coffee sales. Emily sat out in front of her house this weekend and sold many bags of coffee to our local community. THANK YOU EMILY!!

* Field Trip to the Locks, Tuesday, September 15th. Bring a sack lunch and wear your school uniform.

* Homework packets went home today and will need to be returned Thursday morning since we do not have school on Friday.

Academics:

Religion - we continue to talk about what it means to be a Steward of God. The recycling/composting program is one way in which we are Stewards of the Earth.

Math - multiplication/rocket math

Spelling - Short vowel sounds, one and two syllable words.

Reading - Maniac Magee class read, predicting, comprehension and reading fluency. I hope to begin the QRI assessments toward the end of this week or the beginning of next.

L.A. - Extra! Extra! Read all about me.... Each student is beginning their own newspaper page. The first story they write will be a story about them. We are talking about what it means to be a good descriptive writer using the 5 W's and 1 H. The newspapers will continue throughout the week and into next week.

Science - Life Cycle of a Salmon, Field Trip to the Locks on Tuesday.

Have a Great Week!!!

Happy New School Year 09-10

YES WE CAN

Dear New 4th Grade Families;

As your children’s new teacher I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and share with you some of the things that you can look forward to seeing from 4th grade this year. With that said, WELCOME! I am venturing into my 7th year of teaching. This will be my 2nd year at St. Al’s, and one that I am very excited about for a multitude of reasons.

Our motto for this year is going to be, YES WE CAN. Fourth grade will be known as Angelville. Angelville is a community environment where all contribute to the good of the classroom community, sharing in different roles that will be chosen by each student. Community roles will change throughout the year, giving each student the opportunity to try on a new hat, if you will.

I will continue to use the Angelville blogspot that I set up last year. The website was an easy way to share homework assignments and newsletters with the parents. It also saves on paper and waste. I will also highlight student work, post pictures and class trips that we will take throughout the year on this site.

The 4th grade will play a major role in our sustainable schools program this year, becoming role models for the other students as to what we will recycle, compost, and throw away. I am also hoping to start a 4th grade newspaper that will be created by your lovely children. We will post our newspaper on the website as well. If you would like to view some of the things that were posted last year you can go to www.angelville4.blogspot.com.

In Angelville your children will learn about banking, saving, spending, and recording all money coming in and out of their (pretend) accounts. At the end of a 2 week period the students can use the money they have earned to bid on things in our auction, (I can always use things to auction off, and all or any donations would be greatly appreciated). I am working on this program through a Financial Literacy project called Internal Training Services, LLC.

Each Monday a newsletter will be posted on the website. It will be called the Bon Dia. Bon Dia means ‘good-day.’ The Bon Dia will highlight what we have done in school, what you can look forward to in both curricular, as well as weekly reminders, updates, and important events. If you would like a hard copy of the Bon Dia, please let me know during the Open House night.

Homework packets will go home each Monday and returned each Friday morning. Your child will be given a daily planner. Everything your child does in any given day will be recorded in their planner. Occasionally it may take some students longer to get started on a task and he/she may fall behind in their work in the classroom. This work will come home that day to be completed.

If they return the next day without their work completed they will stay in for break to complete their work. At the end of each school day I will check and sign your child’s planner. You need to check and sing your child’s planner each night. Make sure the work is completed, check to see what your child did that day, and sign. The planner helps students develop study skills by staying organized and responsible for their work. This is also a great way for you and me to communicate. I will also use the planner to communicate with you.

I ask that your child bring the first week of school the book, Lewis and Clark, by George Sullivan. It is a scholastic book about 122 pages long and under $5. I would check your local library first. We will be reading this book as a class since in fourth grade we study Washington State history in Social studies. I also ask that you send with your child the first day of school, September 8th, a picture of your child, along with a picture of their hero, someone your child has looked up to over the years. I do not mean a celebrity, more or less a family member, a close friend, or someone who has made a difference in their life. You will not get these pictures back.

Attached is a survey I ask that you fill out and send with your child at the beginning of the year. This gives me insight into your child and how he/she learns best. I am committed to honoring the uniqueness of each of my students. Research shows that students benefit best when their families are mutually committed and supportive to their education.

I look forward to meeting all of you.

Enjoy the last few days of summer,



Miz Stephanie Schmutz

MATH FINAL YEAR QUIZ

I am sending home a review sheet with what will be on the Math final quiz tomorrow. I was going to have it on Friday and then was reminded by one of my students that Friday is half day and mostly JR. Olympics. So it will be tomorrow. We did some review today. The review sheet is what the quiz will look like, no surprises.

ANGELVILLE NEWS

Bon Dia

June 2, 2009

Week 37

raves:

*4TH GRADERS AND THEIR EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES AT BALLARD MANOR!

*Mrs. Requarth, and Mrs. Bjolstad for going along and helping the students.

*Mr. Healy for organizing the community service project, it was great and we hope to do more of that sort of thing in the future.

reminders:

*Thursday night, June 4th the students need to be in their classrooms by 6:30pm in order to prepare for the concert. After the concert please pick up your child back in the classroom.

*Friday, June 5th, is the day of Junior Olympics. Their will be games to play outside. I ask that the students bring their costumes and then something to change into for field day. They may wear swim suits under shorts and t-shirts. They may want to bring clothing to change into after field day. Students will be dismissed to go home at 12:30pm.

*Regular dress code next week. We will celebrate mass on both Monday and Wednesday of next week.

*Wednesday, June 10th, last day of school. Students will receive their grades and dismissed at 11am.

academics:

*Science research space object is due tomorrow. If your student does not complete it in the lab today they will be bringing it home to complete tonight.

*Independent reading work will be due this Friday. Any work not completed in class will need to be completed at home.

*All library books are due. If your child has a book that is not turned in, you will be charged $5 for paper back and $10 for hard back books. I will send you a note if your child is missing a book.

*Grades and a QRI (Qualitative Reading Inventory) will also go home on Wednesday, June 10th. This report will show the level at which your child was reading in the fall, and where he/she is currently reading.

ANGELVILLE NEWS

Bon Dia
Week 36
May 26, 2009

RAVES:
*4th graders Rock! We had so much fun on our field trip to Olympia. The kids were all very well behaved, and represented our school with pride.
*To my drivers to Olympia, Mr. van Hollebeke, Mr. Wheeler, Mrs. Emerson and Mrs. van Leuween, you all saved the day. We could not have asked for better weather either.

Sorry that the pics have not gotten up yet. I took my nice camera and I'm still trying to figure how to download them onto the computer, give me a few more days.

REMINDERS:
*We are taking our walking field trip to the Ballard Manor this Friday @1pm.
*Math tests Friday
*SS test over Chapters 8and9 on Thursday.
*June 4th, Jr. Olympic night in the family center
*June 5th Field Day. If nice the students can wear shorts and t-shirts. Please have them also bring their Jr. Olympic outfits as we will first march around the block.

ACADEMICS:
In Religion we are working on our Service Learning project to Ballard Manor, we also continue to learn and understand the works of Mercy.
In math we are now adding and subtracting fractions. We will take a math chapter test on Friday over fractions.
In reading each student is following their independent reading study guide. Each child's study guide is a tad different depending on their book and the number of pages. Please check to make sure that your student is keeping up with his/her reading.
In Social Studies we will have a chapter test on Thursday, May 28 over chapters 8 and 9 (early Pioneers).
In Science I have attached the Space Science research project guide to the back of the reading log for the week. Each students Space Object research paper will be due next Wednesday the 3rd of June. I have told the students that I do not want them to go home tonight and come in tomorrow with their paper completed. This is a process, most of which will be done in class. If they have fallen behind by next week and are not ready to turn it in on Wednesday, I will notify you personally.

The students will have no additional homework, besides their reading log. Very important to read each night or morning and fill in the log.

Hope you all have marvelous weekends!!

Independent Read Guide

Number:

Independent Read – Fiction
*Choose your own chapter book that is at least 150 pages long.
*Complete the independent packet questions and worksheets. Questions can be answered in your reading journal. Do not read ahead in the book, stick to the reading guide as I have mapped out.
*All questions that are answered in your journal must be labeled with the date and page section.


Making Predictions- Prior to Reading- Monday, May 18, 2009
What made you choose this book? (Answer in your journal, at least 3 complete sentences, will be looking for this).
What do you know about this book or expect to read? (Answer in journal, at least 3 complete sentence responses).
Fill in the first column of the Predicting, Three Column notes, page 77, must have at least 3 predictions in the first column, write neatly.


Read pages 1-20 – Tuesday, May 19, 2009
List the main characters in your journal- the ones you have met this far. Write a description (be very descriptive) for each character, 2 sentences each.
Complete the Sense of Character, page 29, for the main character.
In your journal write a 1 paragraph (5-7 sentences) summary of the first pages. Watch punctuation, sentence structure and handwriting.

Read pages 21-41- Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Think of the characters in this book. Is there one that you have a connection with? Think about this character and complete the Character Connections, page 31.
In your journal, draw an Illustration of an event that is taking place in these pages. Draw about this event, color it, and describe the event (caption) underneath the picture. Looking for time and thought put into this picture and caption.

Read pages 42-62- Friday, May 22, 2009
In your journal summarize these 20 pages in your journal in one paragraph with paragraph structure (5-7 sentences).
Complete the Character Card, page 36.


Read pages 63-83, Tuesday, May 26th
Fill in the Venn-diagram on page 35. Compare yourself to a character in the book. How are you different, and alike? Fill in as best you can.
What has become the problem in the story? In journal summarize this question in one paragraph (5-7 sentences).

Read pages 84-104, Wednesday, May 27th
Think about these pages. Was there a mental connection that you made to something that you read in this section? Copy the paragraph or stanza from the book, and then tell about the connection you had to this section of the book. Did it make you think of something that has happened in your life, in the world, in your inner family/community? Complete this question in your journal.


Read pages 105-125, Thursday, May 28th
Take a quote from this section of reading. Why did you choose this quote? How does this quote speak to you? Write the quote down in your journal with your response.
Create a cartoon conflict from your story. Create speech bubbles. Fill in dialogue (talking among characters) in the cartoon bubbles. Your cartoon conflict should be at least 4 boxes. I have added an example, Cartoon of Conflict, page 48. This should help you with a visual to get started on your own cartoon conflict.


Read pages 126-150, Friday, May 29th, 2009
Take 3 vocabulary words that were difficult for you to understand in this section of reading. Write the words in the boxes, write the definition under each word in each box and then to the right, draw and picture of what the word means.
Create a Poem about the book that you are reading. If can be a particular character or scene in the book.

Read pages 152-180 or to the end.
Complete the problem/solution chart.
Create a Diorama of your book in a shoe box. Make it 3-dimensional if possible. You will have time to work on this in class for a few days. Bring your shoe box to school and any materials you may need to complete your diorama.
Complete a book report.Take the AR test.

CARE T-Shirts

May 13, 2009

Parents,
Last week the students came up with their own logo for our CARE (Community Awareness Recycling Education) program. Maggie and Julio combined their designs (which were voted on by the class) to come up with a final design. Maggie took the design home, and with the help of her parents created the logo on the computer. The logo was sent to me and I forwarded it on to the company that will be making our t-shirts. We will wear these t-shirts on our field trip to Olympia next Thursday.

I have asked the company to rush our order so that we have them in time for the field trip. The t-shirts are going to cost $6.50 each. If you would like to order a t-shirt for your child, please send me cash, or a check made out to Stephanie Schmutz in the amount of $6.50. I will be picking up the shirts and paying for them next week. If you plan on buying a t-shirt for your student please have the money to me by this Friday, May 15th. If you have any questions concerning this, please e-mail me at mizschmutz@gmail.com.

Thank you very much,
Stephanie Schmutz

PS. I am still in the need of a few drivers to Olympia.

ANGELVILLE NEWS

BON DIA
Week 34
May 11, 2009

RAVES:
Thanks to Mr. Kruzner and Maggie for working on our logo for C.A.R.E (Community Awareness Recycling Education), we are hoping to have t-shirts made and ready to go for our trip to Olympia. I will let you know how much the t-shirts will be.

Thanks to Maggie and Julio for coming up with our C.A.R.E logo.

REMINDERS:
*ITBS is this week! We will be testing each morning from 9-11am. Please make sure your students are getting a good night sleep for these tests, very important.
*Homework will be very light this week. Make sure your children are filling in their reading logs, this is a grade.
*4th grade night is tomorrow, May 12 @ 7pm, please come to chat with middle school teachers.
*May 21st is our field trip to the Capital Building. I am still looking for drivers. I need a confirmation on who will drive. I believe I have Mr. Wheeler and Mrs. Van Leeuwen so far. We will need to meet at school at 8am to guarantee we get to Olympia and find our way by 10am. I have also scheduled a Capital Building tour to begin at 12pm. I think it will be best if the kids pack a sack lunch. Make sure they bring a snack for the morning. As soon as the tour is complete we will load back into the cars and return to school.
*June 5th, Junior Olympics. 4th grade will present Russia, the students, parents, and music teacher are all working together to organize a play, dance and music. Thank you for those involved and helping.
*May 30th Mr. Healy and I are working together on a service learning project. We are looking at visiting a local retirement community to share with them our Russian play and dance. When I have more information from Mr. Healy I will send home a note.
* We had a wonderful visit from our sister school students in Uganda. They came with song and dance and an uplifting spirit. It was a wonderful experience for us.

ACADEMICS:
Math – we continue to work with mixed fractions and improper fractions.
Reading – ITBS time
LA- spelling unit and parts of speech review.
Science – New Unit – Earth and Space science. We just completed our persuasive writing and I will be putting them up in the hall.
Social Studies – Chapter 8, across the Oregon Trail.
Religion – Completed our Saints Research project and they are in the hall. Service Learning project, Prayer!

Printers in Lab

Printers and server were back on line at the end of the day. Students that were able to print out projects did so.

Angelville News

Bon Dia

Week 33

May 4th, 2009

Announcements:

*Explorer Project Due May 5th, presentations will begin at 1:15pm- Please make sure that your child has completed this project.

*Saint Research Project Due May 6th. Please read the previous blog on this topic.

*Read and fill in Field Trip forms to Olympia.

*Uganda students will be here on Wednesday. There will be a presentation by them at 11am in the cafeteria.

*Early out on Tuesday the 5th, 2pm

Academics:

*Religion - Sain projects continued, they are due Wednesday. May 6th. Please read through the blog that I posted just before this one about the saint projects. Our server is down at school so the students were not able to print today. Many did not have enough information to print.

*Fractions continue. Today the students were working on Fraction Story problems, you may see some of these coming home. Please help your student if they are having difficulty.

*Reading - ITBS practice. ITBS test will begin on Monday, May 11th. After the test the students will end the year with an independent read. They will choose a book at their level to read independently in class. I will give each student a reading guide to follow as they read. They can answer these questions in their reading journals.

*LA- persuasive writings. I ask that you look over your student's persuasive writing and help them edit their work. It needs to be one written page.

*We will begin a new unit in Science this week.

*Social Studies - Explorers, due Tuesday. I sense that students are beginning to feel the itch of summer and are not putting their best foot forward in completing some of these projects. If we can not get the computers to print in the lab we will need to postpone the Explorer presentations to a later date. We will begin our journey about Russia for Junior Olympics.

Saint Project

Parents, please read over the Saint requirements and make sure that your child has research and answered all of the questions on their Saint sheet. I posted the assignment on the blog last week or the week prior. The project is due this Wednesday, May 6th.

SS chapter review

Any students or parents who are unclear about the due date of the review it is technically Friday. I would like to go over what they have completed tomorrow in class so that I know what they know and don't know. I was encouraging them to complete the work for review tomorrow. No headaches, or stress needed! Thanks!

Junior Olympics

The 4th grade will be presenting the Country of Russia for the Junior Olympics. I have asked Mrs. Healy to help me in this process. I am looking at preforming a Russian play, Russian music and dance, Russian food and clothing. If you have any ideas for us, please e-mail me. This will be my first year participating in Junior Olympics.

Explorer Projects

Explorer Projects will be presented on Tuesday, May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. These presentations will begin at 1:30pm in the classroom. If you would like to attend the presentations, please fill free.

Social Studies Test on Friday

There will be a Social Studies test this Friday, May 1st, over chapters 6 and 7. Students are also responsible to complete the end of the chapter questions, 'Things to Know, and What do you Think,' due on Friday.

ANGELVILLE NEWS

Bon Dia
Week 32, April 27, 2009

REMINDERS:
*Thursday, April 30 – Jog-a-thon from 1:00-1:50, please come cheer on your kids. Make sure your students bring in their pledges.
*Friday, May 1 – 9am is May crowning, please have your child bring a flower, Once Upon a Mattress opening night at 7pm.
*May 1st – Non-uniform Day
*May 7th Uganda students will be visiting our school. Please send a dollar with your child to school to help cover some of their travel costs. Thank You!
*Second week in May ITBS testing will begin.
*May 12th – 4th Grade Night, opportunity for families to tour Middle School and speak with Middle School teachers.
*Progress Reports will go out next week.

ACADEMICS:
*Math – FRACTIONS, FRACTIONS, FRACTIONS! Last week we began looking at fractions and will continue this week. You will see fraction worksheets in the homework packet. Anytime you can relate fractions to everyday life with your child, please do so.
*Reading – a few groups have completed their reading circles and we are waiting on one group to complete their book. We have begun to talk about the ITBS test that will begin in the second week of May. I will be reviewing reading passages that the students can expect to see on the ITBS. We will talk about test strategies when reading a passage and then answering comprehension questions.
*Religion – Each student has chosen a Saint to research find out how he/she lived out the Beatitudes in his/her life. I will post that assignment on the blog as well.
*Social Studies – we continue to try and wrap up our Explorer projects. We will go on tomorrow reading about Explorers and Fur Traders.
*In LA we will have begun to talk about what makes for a good persuasive writing. We will continue with that this week.

*Please continue to look at and sign planners. I am still seeing many planners not signed.
*If your child is still gathering information on their Explorer you can be informed that they are now behind on the project. I will post the expectations of that project as well.

Have a great week!!

Saints Research

Saints

*Choose a Saint that has modeled the Beatitudes
*Write a mini report describing what your Saint did
-When was your Saint born? When did he/she die?
- Where did he/she live?
- Why is he/she considered a Saint?
- What was their life like? How did he/she follow God and live out the Beatitudes?
*Why did you choose this Saint? How does this Saint speak to you?
*Find a picture of your Saint.
*Draw a picture that would symbolize your Saint.
*Present to Class, all reports must be typed.

Explorer Expectations

Explorer Research

1. Find out where your explorer is from.
2. What kind of route did your explorer take (you will be creating a map)
3. What did your explorer find?
4. Did your explorer name anything?
5. What years did your explorer explore the Pacific Northwest.
6. Did your explorer stay in the Pacific Northwest or return to his homeland?
7. Can you locate any pictures of your explorer?
8. What areas of the Pacific Northwest did your explorer -explore?

ANGELVILLE NEWS

BON DIA
Week 30
April 6, 2009

Raves:
ALL 4th graders and their excellent art work that is displayed out side our classroom. As soon as I get some batteries I will take come pictures.
*Sammy’s mom and her PEEP treats for the teachers, Thanks!
*All family members who helped St. Alphonsus bring in much needed money for our library through the outstanding success of the Scholastic Book Sale! Thank YOU!
*Hanna has helped Meron organize all of her work she had been working on for the 2 months that she was away in Ethiopia. Thank you Hanna!
*Welcome back Meron, we are happy to have you back at school!

Reminders:
*Half Day on Friday. School will be out at noon. There will be no extended school care. Please pick up your children right at noon.
* Class pictures will be on Wednesday, make sure your child is dressed in uniform attire.
* Please continue to check your child’s planners. About half of the class is coming to school with unsigned planners.
* Please continue to stress the importance of being a responsible student with your child. We are nearing the end of the year; I am looking for responsible, independent learners.

Academics:
*In Religion we will finish our Lenten unit in journal writing, reflections, and one last look at a man who was fortunate to receive help from CRS. We will watch a video of his story on the projector. We will also make a cross to pray for and remember each person we have learned about through our CRS curriculum.
*In math we have a groups studying fractions/long division/measurement.
*In reading we continue to have 3 reading circles going on. One group will finish up their book this week.
*In Social Studies we continue to learn about the great State of Washington. This week we will learn more about the first explorers who explored different parts of Washington.
* In Language Arts we are working on articles in time order. We will finish those up by the end of this week.

Bring on the Sun! I’m all about it!

ANGELVILLE NEWS

BON DIAWeek 29
April 1, 2009 (April Fools)
I apologize for the late News Letter; I have not been feeling well lately.

Raves: Sammy and Maggie sold cookies outside her church on Sunday and made over $80 dollars which was donated to Rice Bowl. All I can say is WOW! You Go GIRLs!! You just raised enough money to get one person started in their own business in Egypt.
*The 4th grade class for being the perfect little angels that they are, while I was away on Monday.

Reminders: It is vital that parents continue to check their child’s planners and work. If your child says that he/she has completed an assignment I ask that you have them show it to you. Often times they think they have completed something, and find out that it was only half done or not done at all. I am beginning to see work not being completed. Once they hit MS (middle school) they will be required to stay in for lunch detention if school work is not complete the night before. I have begun keeping students in for recess if they have fallen behind on their daily work. I will send you an e-mail if this is happening with your child. If I do not have your e-mail address I will send you a note in their planner.
*Book Fair continues thru Sunday
*Thursday, Confessions
*Friday, non-uniform day, Prayer Assembly – 1st grade
*Art Gallery walk begins today, and parents club meeting – Mrs. Ozubko is the guest speaker.
Next week there will be no Reading Naturally as I will need Sisters help, as I do another round of Reading Assessment Tests.

Academics: In Religion this week we are learning about a group of farmers in Honduras who have formed their own co-op through CRS to better their knowledge and success for individual farms. In math we are starting new chapters in fractions/measurements and estimations. In SS we will begin a new unit on the first Explorers into Washington. In LA we are reviewing Parts of Speech and in Reading we continue to work in our guided reading groups.

"APRIL SHOWERS, BRING MAY FLOWERS," lets hope!