Last 5 Days of 4th Grade!

It is hard to believe this year is coming to an end already.  The students and I were talking the other day about how fast our time together has gone by, and it is hard to believe the end of the school year is here. I can say with complete honesty that this has been one of the most hard working, respectful, positive and enjoyable groups that I have ever worked with.  I am beyond proud of the work they did this year and they should be extremely proud of their success.  I also want to thank all parents and families for all of your support this year and for helping encourage your students to make their goals.

Part of me wishes I could keep them all in fourth grade again, but a bigger part is excited to see and hear about all of the great things they will do moving forward.  I truly believe this group is unstoppable and feel very fortunate to have been a part of their journey!

Here is what we will be busy with for our last 5 days..

Reading:  We completed Bridge to Terabithia this week and are still working on finishing up the final assessment.  We will celebrate our completion with watching the movie edition on Wednesday.  Their last reading logs are due Tuesday! We will also take some time to do some end of the year reflections and evaluations.

The deadline for reaching their reading goal was today!  If your student made their goal, please remember to return their swimming permission slips with $3 on Tuesday.

Writing:  Will be writing and putting together our final drafts of our biography books on Tuesday.  These are turning out pretty amazing so make sure to look at them when they are brought home next week.

Math:  Mr. Krupa will be finishing up Unit 10 which focuses on 3 dimensional figures.

Word Study:  Final word study practice sheets are due Tuesday and they will be taking their last word test.  There will be no new word/pattern list coming home.

Other Reminders:

We will be visiting the BOGO book fair on Tuesday.  Students may bring in money to purchase books.

Final White Elephant Sale/Auction is Wednesday.

Reading Celebration/Swimming Field trip is Thursday

PLEASE return all classroom books to school by Thursday.

Please send an additional bag with your student on Friday for desk and locker cleaning.

We will be walking down to the park and visiting the DQ the last day of school.  Next week we will be sending home a price list for them to choose what they would like.  They must come with their selection made and an envelope with the exact change inside.  This greatly helps them with our lines that are 120 students long!


 Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.  I am open to and welcome any suggestions that you may have to help me be a more effective teacher in years to come.
Thank you again for such a great year!

Erin Bakke

May12-16

We are in the final countdown with just over 3 weeks left!  Next week we will be busy with our last round of MAPS testing as well as our 4th grade field day taking place on Wednesday.  Please refer to the pink calendar for the letter/theme of each day.

Next week happenings:

Reading:  We will be reading chapters 10-12 in Bridge to Terabithia and focusing on theme.  We will also be doing a lesson that takes a look into gender roles and stereotypes in literature.  The two classes have been really enjoying reading the book and using it to reinforce our reading skills.

Rox reading logs are due Monday.  Orange word study is due as well.

Writing:  Next week we will be planning and writing our biography drafts.  Thanks to everyone for your help with their at0home research this week.

Math/Social:  Mr. Krupa will be continuing to focus on social studies and map skills.

If you borrowed a math book from our classroom, please send it back with your student this week.

*Reminder* All library books are due MONDAY! Please also check homes, cars etc for classroom books.

Please return pink swimming permission slips as soon as possible so that we are able to give the high school final numbers.  All students have until the 23rd to complete their goal.  I will not accept more than 1 books finished per day and their books have to be in their good fit range.  The goal was to have them put effort into the goal all year long- not only the last month.

I hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful Mother's Day to all of you great moms!

Happy May!

We had a wonderful time at this year's Walk for Life.  Thank you to all family members and friends who walked with us and/or donated to our efforts to raise money for cancer.  Your generosity is very much appreciated!
With just over 4 weeks of school left, we are looking forward to a fun month.  Please continue to use the pink calendar that was sent home to know what special things are happening each day.

Here is what we will be up to in our room next week..

Reading:  We will be continuing our lessons centered around Bridge to Terabithia.  This week we will be exploring conflicts within the text and analyzing character relationships.  Ask your student to summarize the book so far.

Rox reading logs are due Monday.  The last one will come home on Monday as well.

Writing:  This week we will finish researching for our biographies and get all of our planning done.  Ask your student who they chose to write their biography on.  I am very excited about the variations of choices they made.

Math:  Mr. Krupa will be continuing Unit 11 on decimals and percentages.  He will also continue to spend time with on social studies and map skills.

Other things due on Monday- Word Study and Final book orders!

Please remember to check your student's Dojo reports on a regular basis.  This is a great way to stay updated on how they are doing with work completion and following our school's PATH expectations.

Have a great weekend!  Hopefully there will be some sunshine:)

Walk for Life :)

Wacky Hair Day!

Zetabet is Here!

Today marked the beginning of our Zetabet countdown to the last day of school.  Ask your child about the story we read in class!  I sent them home with a pink calendar of events that take us through the remainder of the year.  I thought this would help you keep up with all of the extra activities going on and deadlines approaching.

Here is what is going on next week..

Reading:  We will be continuing to read and do skill activities centered around our whole class reading of Bridge to Terabithia.  Rox reading logs are due on Monday.

Math:  Mr. Krupa will resume the unit on decimals and percentages.

Social Studies:  They will be studying and finding different facts about countries and starting a unit on our great state of MN.

Writing:  We will be doing some research in preparation for a biography writing project.

Next Friday is a busy day!  It is a two our late start and our school's annual Walk for Life.  Our class is scheduled to walk from 10:35am-11:05am.  We would love it if you would like to join us:)  Please remember to send your child's Walk for Life bottle to school with them next week.  The school store will also be open as a fundraiser for Cancer next week.  It will be open the mornings of Tues, Wed and Thurs.

Have a great week:)

Let it Snow!

Will the 'real' Spring every get here??  It was another fun week of weather, however, we were still able to get a lot accomplished.

Next week we will be taking our Math MCA's on Wednesday and Thursday.  The free breakfast option will continue though the end of the month.

All fundraiser orders are due Tuesday, April 22nd.

Students can bring a $1 donation for extra recess time next week.  Every $1 collected will equal 1 minute of recess time.  Please send these donations on Monday or Tuesday.  These donations will be added to our Walk for Life totals.

Pictures went home today.  Please look through the packet and send back payment and/or unwanted photos.  These are due next Friday.

Please mark May 2nd on your Calendars for a couple of reasons.

1. Two hour late start and Walk For Life- Collection of all bottles

I will let you know when our class is scheduled to walk.  Feel free to join us:)

Alos, continue to send in any names of friends/family who have dealt with Cancer.

2. PTAC Spring Carnival from 6pm-8pm
(Basket raffle, $5 wristbands for games, pizza, pop, cookies etc)

Here is what next week will look like:

Reading:  We will beginning a literature unit using the chapter book Bridge to Terabithia.  This unit will take us through the end of May, as we will be reading the book together and doing several extension activities.  This is one of my favorite books and I am very excited to read it with the whole class:)

I will accept Rox reading logs on Monday due to some confusion.  I will pass out the new log on Monday which will be due the following week.

Writing:  We will finish up our fractured fairy tales on Monday.  For the remainder of the week we will be reading some opinion articles and writing a persuasive paper.

Math:  Mr. Krupa will be continuing to do MCA in preparation for the test next week.

I think this covers everything!  Have a fantastic weekend and Easter:)