Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-27-14

Parents,

Blizzard bags.  These packets were sent home today along with an explanation of the assignments.  These will be due by two weeks from today (April 10) or sooner. 

Art to Remember.  Order forms for Art to Remember went home today.

Social Studies.  Students have a domino project that they can use to study.

Science Test.  Students took a Science test over Chapter 1 Water today.  You can view your child's results here or here for Mrs. Pokryzwa/Mr. Kirwen's students. Students who earned below an 82% will be expected to retake the test tomorrow.

Reminders: 

• Friday, March 28:  Math Madness afternoon video reward + popcorn party
• Book orders for Steve Harpster are due Friday
• Powerhouse 5K/1K run forms are due Friday
• Father daughter dance forms (not of sure the due date)

Right to Read Week Activities:

• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

None.

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

None

Math:  

Week 4, Day 4 Math Madness (Last Day!)

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-26-14

Parents,

Check out the blog for a few pictures of our buddy reading with 2nd graders yesterday, as part of Right to Read Week.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com/2014/03/buddy-reading.html

Reminders: 

• Thursday, March 27:  Pizza party for those who passed division and earned 100% of their AR goal by last Friday's deadline.
• Thursday, March 27:  Day 1 and 2 Blizzard Bags sent home, they are due April 10.
  
• Friday, March 28:  Math Madness afternoon video reward + popcorn party
• Book orders for Steve Harpster are due Friday
• Powerhouse 5K/1K run forms are due Friday
• Father daughter dance forms (not of sure the due date)

Right to Read Week Activities:

• Thursday: Chalk the walk activity (students do NOT need to bring in the chalk that went home Monday)
  
• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

read story "Train to Somewhere" pg. 46 in book.

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

Test over Water Ch. 1 is tomorrow.
Practice test on Moodle.

Math:  

Week 4, Day 3 Math Madness

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-25-14

Parents,

There's lots going on this week as we finish up the quarter before spring break.  

Blizzard Bags.  There is a letter from Superintendent Fritz about the newly board approved plan for dealing with our extra calamity days this year.  Please read this and look for more information in the coming days.

Reminders: 

• Thurs. March 27: Reading & Math Pizza Reward Party
• Fri, March 28:  Pizza reward party, and Math Madness afternoon video reward + popcorn party
• Book orders for Steve Harpster are due Friday
• Powerhouse 5K/1K run forms are due Friday
• Father daughter dance forms (not of sure the due date)

Right to Read Week Activities this week:

• Wednesday: Read a T-shirt Day
• Thursday: Chalk the walk activity
• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits
• Students can gather stickers for their Read Around Whitehouse Passports anytime before April 7th.

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

No goal for next week, start reading a great book to help jump start the 4th quarter goal when we return from Spring Break!

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

Test over Water Ch. 1 is Thursday.
Practice test on Moodle.

Math:  

Math Madness Week 4, Day 2.

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Buddy reading

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-24-14

Parents,

We have changed the pizza party for those who met reading and math goals to Thursday.  If you would like to donate some fruits, veggies, or treats, please email your child's homeroom teacher.

Students are bringing home many materials to explain the Right to Read Week activities and challenges.

Also, going home today are reports for students' recent STAR math and reading tests, as well as their AR record report for the 3rd quarter.

Reminders: 

• Thursday, March 27:  Pizza party for those who passed division and earned 100% of their AR goal by last Friday's deadline.
  
• Friday, March 28:  Math Madness afternoon video reward + popcorn party

Right to Read Week Activities next week:

• Tuesday:  Buddy reading
• Wednesday: Read a T-shirt Day
• Thursday: Chalk the walk activity
• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

cause and effect worksheet

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Week 4, Day 1 Math Madness

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-21-14

Parents,

Congratulations to 39 students who met their 3rd quarter reading goal, and the 46 students who met the division goal.  The students who met both goals will be treated to pizza and drinks next Friday.  If you would like to donate some fruits, veggies, or treats, please email your child's homeroom teacher.

In reading we are trying to wrap up some standards next week.  One language standard is knowing the correct punctuation and capitalization for writing with quotations.  Attached are some practice problems students did today.  Some struggled, and they may want to practice again over the weekend.

Reminders: 

• Movie Night tonight
  
• Friday, March 28:  Pizza reward party, and Math Madness afternoon video reward + popcorn party

Right to Read Week Activities next week:

• Monday: Kick-off assembly
• Tuesday:  Buddy reading
• Wednesday: Read a T-shirt Day
• Thursday: Chalk the walk activity
• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

No goal for next week, start reading a great book to help jump start the 4th quarter goal when we return from Spring Break!

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 4 packet sent home today, Day 1 due on Tuesday.

Team Mindcrafters Daily Updates - 3-20-14 (Happy Spring!)

Parents,

Tomorrow is the last day to work toward 3rd quarter Reading goals in AR and to pass goals for mastery of division facts in Math Facts in a Flash.  If our schedule is not too busy, we may try to work in our pizza reward party in next week.  Most students are doing a great job on this.  Remember parents, that you can check your child's progress in AR, AM or Math Facts in a Flash anytime by visiting Home Connect.

Reminders: 

• Tomorrow is Movie Night (Frozen)
  
• Tomorrow is Spirit Day (Dress like your favorite book character)
• Friday, March 28:  Math Madness video reward + popcorn party

Right to Read Week Activities next week:

• Monday: Kick-off assembly
• Tuesday:  Buddy reading
• Wednesday: Read a T-shirt Day
• Thursday: Chalk the walk activity
• Friday, March 28:  Famous illustrator Steve Harpster visits

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

100% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 3, Day 4
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 20

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-19-14

Parents,

Reminders: This Friday is Movie Night, and Spirit Day (Dress like your favorite book character).

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

Read "Mystery of the Snake Egg" in Storyworks (attached if needed)
100% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 3, Day 3
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 20

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-18-14

Parents,

Math Madness.  Most students are doing a really nice job giving their best effort on all of their Math Madness packet questions.  Students have struggled withsome of the Geometry questions since we haven't covered that topic yet, but are still doing really well overall.  Tomorrow some students will earn a special Math Madness pencil if they have completed their first 10 days without forgetting.  Keep encouraging your child on this project.

Science.  Today we discussed the power of water to expand when frozen.  I've attached a cool video that demonstrates this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i5r65QGUpw

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

100% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 3, Day 2
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 20

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-17-14

Parents,

Artifacts.  Artifacts are going home today.  In case you weren't able to stop in and see the displays, I've attached pictures below. 

AR Goal:  Originally, the quarter would have ended in the middle of next week, which is why we have been working towards 100% for this Friday.  Students are still expected to have 100% by this Friday.   After break, students will begin working towards their final AR quarterly goal!

Have a great night!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

Prairie Dog worksheet
100% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 3, Day 1
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 20

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 3-14-14 (Pi Day)

Parents,

Pi Day Challenge.  Congratulations to the following students for being the top 4 in each class in the Pi Day challenge.  The number of digits memorized by each student are in ().

Dressel: Haley (45), Trina (44), Spencer (28), Bryce (26)

Pransky: Abby (55), Zoe (47), Devin (37), Noah R. (24)

Many students did a great job on this challenge!

Artifacts.  Artifacts in the display case from the students' Social Studies project will be sent home on Monday.  If you are concerned about an item going home with your child, please e-mail Mrs. Dressel to arrange for your item to be picked up.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

100% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 3, Day 1 due Tuesday
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 20

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Captains Log...Snowdate #14

Hello Team Mindcrafters + parents,

A few reminders about tomorrow...

All of Math Madness Week 2 should be completed by tomorrow.  See attachment if your child left it at school.

Thanks for all of the submissions on the Science challenges.  I hope they had fun and learned something new.  Click the links below for pictures and videos of those who completed the Water Clings Home Experiment and the Floating Paperclip Challenge.  

Don't forget, tomorrow is Pi Day.  I challenged students to memorize as many digits of Pi as they can.  All students who try will win a prize, but the top 4 students will win a slice of my wife's homemade strawberry pie!  I just cleaned and quartered 6 pints of strawberries, so don't let me down!

See everyone tomorrow!

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Water clings home experiment

Josie did it!

Abby did it!

 

Brock did it!

 Eliana did it!

 Jeffrey did it!

Katelyn did it!

Devin did it!

Sean did it!

Quinn did it!

Ty did it!

3-12 Snow Day Challenge

Hey Team Mindcrafters!

Here we are again, right?  Years from now we will look back and say, "I remember the record-breaking winter of 2014."

After you help your parents shovel the sidewalks and driveway and clean your room and do your chores, I have two snow day challenges for you to try.  One is a Math challenge and the other is a Science Challenge.

Math challenge.  

Friday is 3-14, which is celebrated as Pi Day.  Pi, which is sometimes abbreviated 3.14 or by using the symbol π, is a very important number in understanding circles.  It can be used to help figure out the circumference (distance around) and area (number of square units) found in any circle.  It is sometimes represented as π.  Pi is what's called an irrational number, which means it cannot be represented by any fraction.  It is also unique because it is a non-repeating, non-ending decimal.

Here are just the first 100 digits of Pi (π):

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944

5923078164062862089986280348253421170679

Here's a Flocabulary song about Circles and Pi:

http://www.flocabulary.com/circles/

So here's my challenge, I challenge you to memorize the as many digits in Pi as you can by Friday.  
The top 4 students in each class will get a slice of my wife's homemade strawberry pie covered in whipped
cream.  Trust me, its delicious. 

Seem too hard?  Here's a kid your age who memorized over 100 digits.  You can, too! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJMRgkLIvs

Science challenge.

The Science challenge is explained in this video.  Its easy to set up and do.  Try it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Cw5gqJ0Ss&sns=em

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Floating paperclip Science challenge

 

Austin did it!

 Devin did it!

Josie did it!

 

 Brendan did it! 

 Keegan did it!

 Noah did it!

Brock did it!

 Jeffrey tries to make up for his class by floating a whole cup full!

Lilli did it!

Seth (and his brother) did it!

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update - 3-11-14

Parents,

Well, here we go again.  Its predicted that we will have another big snow storm tomorrow.  If we are canceled, all students will be expected to complete the next day of their Math Madness packet (Day 3) for Thursday.

Science.  Students learned about surface tension by doing a "penny drop" experiment today.  Students were challenged to show surface tension by floating a paperclip at home today.  Please have your child check their e-mail for a special surface tension challenge video from Mr. Pransky if they didn't get to see how to do this.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Dressel and Mr. Pransky

Reading/Language:  

88% AR by Friday

Social Studies:

None.

Science: 

none

Math:  

Math Madness Week 2, Day 2
3rd quarter Math goal:  Master division facts

Spelling:  

Spelling - lesson 19

Dressel - test Thursday

Pransky - test Friday

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Weekend Updates

Parents,

I was just going through some pictures on my phone and realized that forgot to post some good pictures from the Imagination Station activities to the class website.  You can see some of the physical science activities the children did here:

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

Also, if you haven't yet, don't forget to set your clocks ahead for the time change.

And finally, I'm attaching a copy of this week's March Math Madness packet.  Day 1 will be due on Tuesday.

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Make Learning Fun!