Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 8-29-14

Parents, 

Nightly reading.  This long weekend is a great opportunity for some students to get caught up with their reading.  Some students missed out on battleball today because they did not reach their first week's reading goal of 11%.  Next week, your child is expected to earn 22% of their AR point goal for the quarter.  

For example, if a student's goal was 20 points, then they would need .22 x 20 pts. or 4.4 points by next Friday. You can track you child's progress by signing up for e-mail reports at Home Connect.

School Behavior.  This week students have been learning about proper school behavior.  We call these "General Expectations."  They are:

• Be Respectful
  
• Be Responsible
  
• Be Safe

These expectations apply to every area of the school.  Today students had a lesson about behavior on the bus.  

Here is the video students watched that goes with this lesson:

Bus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrV9_Xzh5m8&feature=em-upload_owner

Class Dojo.  Students are really racking up the positive points in Class Dojo!  If you are logged in to Class Dojo, you should receive a report about your child's behavior each Friday.

Math Facts.  Please, please, please practice math facts with your child this weekend.  I tell students that math facts are to math what letter sounds are to reading.  They are essential to complete the complex math we will do this year.  Your child can login to Home Connect to practice Math Facts in a Flash at home, use flash cards, web games, or mobile apps, or use practice sheets to prepare. However you child like to practice, please do it!

We hope everyone is able to enjoy a nice long weekend.  We'll see you on Tuesday!

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.  Look for their reading log at the bottom of their pink letter from Mrs. Dressel.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

None

MATH:

None

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

none

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Fwd: Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 8-27-14

Parents, 

Behavior lessons.  Today's focus was on proper restroom use.  

Here is the video students watched today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDA2aSLH8pk

Book orders.  Due next Friday (Sept. 5)  You can order online at https://clubs2.scholastic.com/  Our class code is: GJLYC

Class Dojo.  Don't forget to follow your child's progress on ClassDojo.com.  There is a free app for iOS or Android to do this as well.  You should receive a report each Friday with how your child did at school. 

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.  Look for their reading log at the bottom of their pink letter from Mrs. Dressel.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

Complete Reading Survey - copy is attached if needed

20 minutes silent reading - complete log

MATH:

none

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

none

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--

Mary Dressel

Whitehouse 4th Grade

Office Phone 419-877-0543

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 8-27-14

Parents, 

Behavior lessons.  This week students have been learning about proper school behavior.  We call these "General Expectations."  They are:

• Be Respectful
  
• Be Responsible
  
• Be Safe

These expectations apply to every area of the school.  Today students had a lesson and discussion about behavior in the hallway.  

Here is the video students watched today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fDukMkCzIU&feature=youtu.be

Marcos Pizza Night. Tonight is a Marco's pizza night in support of the Whitehouse Parents Club.

Book orders.  Due next Friday (Sept. 5)  You can order online at https://clubs2.scholastic.com/  Our class code is: GJLYC

Internet Safety. All students and parents need to sign an Internet Safety Training Acknowledgement form.  Please return this back to school as soon as possible. Thank you.

Class Dojo.  Don't forget to follow your child's progress on ClassDojo.com.  There is a free app for iOS or Android to do this as well.  You should receive a report each Friday with how your child did at school. 

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.  Look for their reading log at the bottom of their pink letter from Mrs. Dressel.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

20 minutes silent reading - complete log

MATH:

We will test for the summer math fact challenge (+,-,x) tomorrow!

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

Bring in a rock to share for tomorrow.

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--

Mary Dressel

Whitehouse 4th Grade

Office Phone 419-877-0543

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 8-26-14

Parents, 

Behavior lessons.  This week students have been learning about proper school behavior.  We call these "General Expectations."  They are:

• Be Respectful
  
• Be Responsible
  
• Be Safe

These expectations apply to every area of the school.  Today students had a lesson and discussion about behavior out at recess.  

Here is the videos students watched:

Recess:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa11YuB91_s&feature=youtu.be

Marcos Pizza Night. Wednesday is a Marco's pizza night in support of the Whitehouse Parents Club.

Book orders.  Mrs. Dressel sent some home book orders today.  They are due next Friday (Sept. 5)

Internet Safety. All students and parents need to sign an Internet Safety Training Acknowledgement form.  Please return this back to school as soon as possible.  Thank you.

Class Dojo.  Don't forget to follow your child's progress on ClassDojo.com.  There is a free app for iOS or Android to do this as well.  You should receive a report each Friday with how your child did at school. 

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.  Look for their reading log at the bottom of their pink letter from Mrs. Dressel.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

20 minutes silent reading - complete log

MATH:

Place Value puzzle (remember to do both sides)

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

Students are allowed to find and bring in an rock for Science - this is to be brought in by Thursday

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Math Fact Practice

Dear parents,

Memorizing math facts is an essential skill that will pay big dividends for your child as we learn different topics in math this year.  At this point, I wanted to answer some questions you may have and give some tips to help your child learn their facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 

When do these need to be mastered? 

Addition and subtraction facts need to be mastered by the end of first quarter, but will be needed even sooner as we will begin addition and subtraction of greater numbers in September.  Multiplication needs to be mastered by the end of second quarter, and division by the end of third quarter.

What happens if my child does not know these facts by this time?

I will send home packets of facts each week that will need to be completed and signed by a parent.  I will begin sending these home around midterm for those who have not mastered addition and near the end of the quarter for those who have not mastered subtraction.

How can I find out where my child is on their fact mastery?

Log in with your child's AR username (lastname_firstname) and password (6 digit lunch number) using Home Connect.  Click the Math tab and then Math Fact in a Flash.

What is the expectation for speed and accuracy of the facts?

The expectation for mastery is 40 out of 40 facts in 2 minutes using Math Facts in a Flash.  This is the same pace as 100 facts in 5 minutes if you are using one of the attached fact sheets.  

How will Math Facts in a Flash be used?

Students will move through levels of facts sequentially starting at addition of 0's and 1's all the way up to 2 levels of review of all addition facts.  Then the same process follows for learning subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.  After division is mastered, students will be challenged memorize enrichment levels such as multiplication facts up to 12's, squares, fraction to decimal conversions, and more.

Can we use Math Facts in a Flash to practice at home?

Absolutely.  Math facts can be practiced at home using using Home Connect.  However, a student can only pass levels at school in order to move up levels.

How should I help my child practice?

You have a lot of options:

1.  I am still a fan of good old-fashioned flash card practice   I like them because you can target just the facts your child needs to review.  Try this.  Start with the whole pack.  Show them to your child.  Make 2 piles - one for facts your child knows immediately and the other for the ones they don't.  (Count in your head to three.  If they can't answer in that time, supply the answer and then move on to the next card.)  When you are done, go through the "needs practice" pile again and remove any that your child has now learned.  Keep doing this until all the facts are mastered in 3 seconds or less.

2.  Have an iPad or iPod or other mobile device?  There are tons of free or inexpensive math fact practice apps out there that can be used.  Some recommended ones I have used: Times Table Lab, Math Fact Master, Math Showdown, Scootpad, and Math Garden.  Avoid fact practice games that are more game than practice.

3.  Use the fact sheets attached to this letter.  Have your child use a timer to complete all or as many as they can.  Each day, set a goal for your child to get faster. 5 minutes or less is on pace to master.

As always, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

-Shane Pransky

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

Team Mindcrafters Daily Update 8-25-14

Parents, 

This week students have been learning about proper school behavior.  We call these "General Expectations."  They are:

• Be Respectful
  
• Be Responsible
  
• Be Safe

These expectations apply to every area of the school.  So far students have had lessons and discussions about behavior in the cafeteria and in the classroom.  

Here are the videos students watched that go with these:

Cafeteria:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmaMUMmal64&feature=youtu.be

Classroom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P44NbnJXG1g&feature=youtu.be

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.  Look for their reading log at the bottom of their pink letter from Mrs. Dressel.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

20 minutes silent reading - complete log

MATH:

Know your numbers activity - requires parent help and signature

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

none

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

parent e-mails

Hi parents,

I have been working on revising our Team Mindcrafters e-mail list. Hopefully, this one is able to reach everyone who would like to see it.

If you have given us your e-mail address and did not receive this message on one of the accounts, it could be that it is being caught in your Spam filter.  There are over 100 e-mails in this list which could easily be perceived as bulk Spam.

If you ever cannot find an e-mail from us, all messages are eventually posted and archived to the class website at:

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

This is probably a good opportunity to discuss proper use of e-mail when communicating.  

Here are some "Do's and Don'ts"

Do:  

• e-mail us if you have a quick concern or question.  We'll try to get back to you within 24 hours, usually sooner.

• keep in mind that your child has 3 teachers.  Try to e-mail the teacher you have a question for rather than the homeroom teacher.  Sometimes it can be helpful to keep all teachers on the team in the loop.  Please CC: (carbon copy) the other teachers if needed.

• e-mail us sharing something positive about your child's experience at school.  This can really make our day.

Don't:  

• expect an immediate response.  Please don't e-mail anything that is time sensitive ("We forgot to give our child her medication this morning.  Could she be sent to he nurse?")  It's better to call the office for situations like this.

• send lengthy e-mails.  This is another situation where a phone call is probably more efficient and appropriate.

• e-mail if you are upset or feeling emotionally charged.  Its always better to wait until you are calm and set up an appointment or phone conference to discuss a problem.

We are looking forward to working with you and your child this year!

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade

First day! 8-21-14

First Day of School...Success!

Students were prepared today, and everything went smoothly.  Thanks to those who were able to get some of the paperwork returned that was in the folders from Open House night.  If you weren't able to get them done, please send in as soon as possible. The bottom portion of Mrs. Dressel's letter and Mrs. Vanderstelt's letter are for a back-to-school activity for tomorrow, so please have your child complete them tonight.

We know getting students back on schedule isn't easy (we all have teenagers at home), but some students were struggling today.  Hopefully going to bed early tonight will be easier:)

Reminders:

• Healthy snacks and water bottles are encouraged each day.  Our lunch is late (12:45).
• Please make sure your child is bringing home their take-home folder (blue) and an AR book every night.  20 minute nightly reading is expected every night.

HOMEWORK:

READING:

20 minutes silent reading

MATH:

none

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:

none

Visit the team website to learn more about cool fourth grade activities.

http://teammindcraft.blogspot.com

--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade