Friday, August 29, 2014

WELCOME to 4th GRADE!!!!!

I am so excited to be starting another wonderful school year here at Pleasantview!  Fourth grade is always a very exciting year for students and I can tell already that we have an amazing group of students.  Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to open house on Wednesday.  If you were unable to make it, no worries, we will send all of the necessary forms home with your student on Tuesday.

One of my goals is to keep the families of my students informed about what we are learning in the classroom on a weekly basis.  I believe that students benefit most from a team effort between home and school.  The two main forms of regular communication I will use are this blog and their agendas. Each day we will update agendas with what we are learning, assignments and upcoming things to remember.  Please make a habit of checking and signing your student's agenda on a daily basis.  I will update this blog each week with details of what we are learning and exciting things happening in our classroom.  I also like to add pictures so you can see the action!  Each time I update the blog I will send an email with a link for your convenience.

Our first week of school we will be focusing on learning daily routines, reviewing PATH expectations and getting to know each other better.  More information on homework routines and reading goals will be coming home the 2nd week of school.

One activity they will be doing this week will be to complete a poster to teach us all about themselves.  They will be asked to complete the poster at home and add pictures if they wish.  They will be getting the paper and directions for this on Tuesday.  Feel free to do this together!

I have attached a copy of our weekly schedule under the hand outs tab on the right side of this blog.  I will add copies of other important items as they come.

*Reminders for the 1st week of school*

-Bring remainder of supplies to school on Tuesday, September 2nd.
-Send back completed paperwork in your student's take home folder.  If there are no changes to be made on their white health sheet, simply sign it and return.
-Gym shoes will be needed on Thursday.  If they have an extra pair it may be helpful to keep them in their locker for the year.
-Our first day of book check out is Friday.
-All students will be offered FREE breakfast in the classroom this year.  Because of this, there will be no additional milk/juice or snack cart offered.

I am looking forward to getting to know all of our new students and families.
Please feel free to email or call with any questions, concerns or feedback you may have.

Enjoy the weekend and I cannot wait for our first day:)

-Mrs. Bakke

Friday, May 23, 2014

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


Friday, May 9, 2014

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!


Friday, May 2, 2014

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 :)


Friday, April 25, 2014

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:)