Friday, January 16, 2015

January 19-23, 2015



Hello Families,
            My name is Ashley Ladd, and I am very lucky because for the rest of this year I will be in your child’s classroom to complete my student teaching semester. I will be graduating from CU Boulder this May with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology as well as an elementary education teaching license. I am excited that I have finally reached this stage in my education because I have been waiting to be in the classroom for a full day, for the last few years. I am also very thankful that I will be co-teaching with Mrs. Nisely because she is a wonderful teacher and I know that I will learn so much from her! I look forward to teaching as well as learning from all of your children and I am excited to apart of this 2014-2015 school year. If you have any questions my email is ashley.ladd@colorado.edu, or feel free to drop by the classroom before or after school. I look forward to meeting you. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ashley Ladd


Dates to Remember
  • January 19 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School 
  • January 28 - Science Fair
  • February 13 - Presidents' Weekend, No School
  • February 16 - Presidents' Day, No School
  • February 25 - Early release Day, 1:00
  • March 23 - 27 - Spring Break



Math - 
  • We have a new math program, ThinkCentral, another online resource. To log in, go to https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/ePC/start.do to begin. Fill out the information below to find our school (see below), and make sure to remember to check the "Remember my school" box!
    • To fill out the school information:
      • Country: United States
      • State: COLORADO
      • District: Jefferson Co School Dist R-1, Golden 80401
      • School: Van Arsdale Elementary School, Arvada 80005
    • To Log-In as a Student
      • Username: FirstInitialLastName (ex: jsmith, tjones)
      • Password: vaFirstName (ex: vajane, vatom)

Science - 

Literacy - 
  • List the author's purpose for writing the following piece. 
  • Constructed Response: In the text, Wildlife Refuge, give three examples why the writer thinks it's a good idea to take a field trip to the Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife Refuge* Field Trip
Dear Mr. Smith and Mrs. Nieto, 
We have a problem. The wildlife here in the city is very limited. There is not a lot of opportunity to learn about conservation and wildlife preservation. If we took a field trip to The Wildlife Refuge, our problem would be solved. Trenton, Diego and I would like to take our class for a great learning experience. In addition, we will provide a study guide to students to identify the animals and provide information about conservation of endangered wildlife. If we went on a field trip, we will learn about the wildlife from around the world and how rivers provide a natural habitat for them to live and breed. This information would help us to understand the importance of science in our day to day life. We would use math to make a budget and figure out a way to earn money. These skills will be very useful again and again. We will learn how to make a schedule with target dates. This will provide us with a plan that covers the entire project from start to finish. The preparation of the study guide will require lots of research and organization of information. The first thing to do is research, research, research! Next, we will choose a fund raiser (with your approval, of course). This will earn money for the field trip. The parents will hopefully chip in their time and money, if we don't get enough. We will prepare a plan schedule. This will provide the dates that team members will need to accomplish the steps toward our goal. My competent adult model is the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It shows us step by step how to plan a trip and what to see. Now, you are asking why should I approve a trip to The Wildlife Refuge? How does this improve student learning? Besides the fact that the project planning, fund raising, budgeting and reporting will provide an excellent learning opportunity, it will provide education. It will also provide awareness of wildlife and the importance of conservation. This project will be evaluated by its successful planning and its ability to involve our class in wildlife conservation. The trip will be evaluated by the student participation on the trip and a plan of conservation that identifies what we can all do to protect and respect wildlife so they will still be around when we have children.
Sincerely, 
Your student


Monday, January 12, 2015

January 12-16, 2015


Welcome back! I hope everyone had a marvelous winter break!

Dates to Remember:
  • January 19 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School
  • January 28 - Science Fair
  • February 13 - Presidents'  weekend, no school
  • February 16 - Presidents' Day, no school
  • February 25 - Early release Day, 1:00
  • March 23 - 27 - Spring Break
We welcomed Miss Ladd to our classroom this past week.  She will be working with us each day from now until the end of the school year!  We feel very lucky to include her as part of our team!






Math - 
  • Please continue working on IXL.com! Please sign in and complete fourth grade long division. Also, almost daily homework practice sheets are assigned to students and due the next day. This additional practice directly supports our work in class.
Reading - 
  • Remember, students will need to continue to complete their weekly at home reading and record and turn in their reading minutes each Friday. The requirement has been raised to 150 minutes of reading to meet fourth grade standards!
Science - 

Friday, December 12, 2014

December 15th - 19th, 2014




No take home note or reaction sheet next week!  The only homework over winter break required from student's is the reading log.  Enjoy your holiday break!

Dates to Remember!
  • Thursday, December 18th - Geo Bee, Van Arsdale library, 2:00 PM
  • December 22nd to January 6th - Winter Break
  • Wednesday, January 7th - Students return

Friday, December 19th we will be holding a Writer's Cafe in our classroom.  Students will continue to work on their Fiction stories and completing first drafts.  We would love to make this special for the students and have "cafe" sort of foods for all to enjoy while working.  If you wouldn't mind, we would love to have you click on the sign up genius link and sign up for a food item. This link will be sent via email.  Thank you!



1.  Writing:  we have a tight schedule next week and students will be required to finish pieces of in class writing.  If for some reason this writing is not completed in class, they will have additional at home homework that must be completed and turned in the next day. 


Friday, December 5, 2014

December 8-12, 2014


  • Students continue to impress me with their writing and taking the time to brainstorm, plan, edit and revise both their in class writing! Thank you for having conversations with your son/daughter regarding the writing they have completed in the classroom and at home. I was pleased to see so many students are using strong descriptive words, had a clear beginning, middle, and end to their writing, and took the time to edit and revise.
  • Please continue using IXL.COM, in addition to regular assigned homework. We are asking students to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes this week working on IXL.COM, E4, and E5.

Dates to Remember!
  • Thursday, December 18th - Geo Bee, Van Arsdale library, 2:00 PM
  • December 22nd to January 6th - Winter Break
  • Wednesday, January 7thStudents return


  • Please continue using IXL.COM, in addition to regular assigned homework. We are asking students to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes this week working on IXL.COM.

Friday, November 7, 2014

November 10th - 14th, 2014



No blog next week, or during the Thanksgiving Break!  This will be the last blog until December 8th - 12th.


  • Wednesday, November 13th - Family Math Night
  • Friday, November 14th - Report Cards go home
  • Friday, November 21st - Grandparents day, 12:00-3:00
  • November 24th - 28th - Thanksgiving Break
  • Writing:  Thank you for having conversations with your son/daughter regarding the writing they have completed in the classroom and at home.  I have included these graded writing pieces in last weeks Friday folders. I was pleased to see so many students are using strong descriptive words, had a clear beginning, middle, and end to their writing, and took the time to edit and revise.  These are all strategies we are working on in class.


  • Report cards will be sent home on Friday, November 14
    th. Please sign and return the outside envelope.



    • Grandparents Day:  Friday, November 21st.  Students will be working on a special computer presentation  in our classroom and plan to share these with their guests on Grandparent’s day. Students are encouraged to dress up on this day in order to represent our school and show respect to our guests.


    • 1. Turkey writing:
      This Turkey Needs Dressing!  On Friday students received a turkey copied on card stock.  Cut out the Turkey, use scraps of cloth, paper, foil, glitter, and your imagination for a spiffy he or she.  Be sure to name him or her and then write a story about your terrific turkey. Your dressed turkey, and turkey story are due Wednesday, November 19th. Remember to use a circle and flee map to focus your thinking before you write.  These maps will be due with your turkey.
    • 2.  IXL.COM  in addition to regular assigned homework, we are asking students to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes this week working on IXL.COM, 
          E4, and E5.