February 15, 2024

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!! It looks like we could get a little snow this weekend. I am happy that is just a little bit. Saturday I am riding with Ms. Surma to Ames. She is attending a speech contest for her niece, and I am going to spend the day with Molly. I always like spending the day in Ames. I may need a trip to the Bookstore for some new ISU gear. There is also a bookstore in Ames called Dog-eared Books which is fun to visit. But I am a sucker for a bookstore. Especially small unique stores. I usually have to purchase something. This one happens to have a dog walking freely around the store to greet you. If you have kids its a great place to visit. They have a cute little reading nook under the stairs for kids. It has new or used books. If you like books it is worth the stop.

Language Arts

We finished up Module 5 today with our last story on Poetry. This was a hard section. Mainly because I will admit Poetry is a weakness for me. I read poems and think I understand what they are wanting to express, and then I read answers from somewhere and I am wrong. We had some fun ones to read in this section so it did make it easy. We picked out elements of Poetry which we discussed in depth. We also picked out figurative language in the poems. We focused on similes and metaphors. Tomorrow they will begin taking their module 5 test which is like a Unit test. I will also be giving them time to work on their book reports here at school. If they are not done reading they can read if they are working on pages they may do that. We will spend Monday testing on the rest of the Module test and Tuesday I plan to start the next Module.

Math

We have learned how to do Partial Product in double-digit multiplication. We are working on getting the hang of it. Some are coming along a little quicker than others. We will keep practicing until I feel like they are all ready to move on. We need to get this down pat before we move onto to the next topic. The next topic is the standard algorithm, which is the strategy you grew up learning.

Social Studies

We will be talking a little bit about the Civil War in the next lesson. We will just skim the surface of the subject. We will discuss that the cause of the war was two reasons. Slavery of course is one but the other reason is that the South thought the State Government had more say over them then the National Government. This of course would have protected their ability to have slaves. We will talk about the first shots of the war at Fort Sumter. I will talk a little bit about President Lincoln's Presidency also.

Fat Tuesday

On Tuesday, the 4th graders made donuts for the whole school. I actually do the donut making. They roll them in grease and deliver them to each classroom saying "Happy Fat Tuesday". We made 240 donuts. It takes a couple of hours but the students are working on school work while they await their turn. I have been doing this for over 20 years. It has been a tradition a long time. My own kids complained that I could have made them at home but after making as many as I do, I want to not see another one for a year! I forgot to put this in my last week's blog.

Monday, February 19th

There is NO SCHOOL on the 19th. This is a PD day for the teachers. It is our last face-to-face meeting for our Letrs Training we have been taking for the last 2 years. Enjoy the long weekend.

Fish Fry

There will be a fish fry here at St. Malachy on Friday, February 23rd. You can drive up or dine in. YUMMY!

Trimester

The 2nd Trimester ends February 23rd. It is hard to believe we only have one left until the end of the year. We have a lot to accomplish.

Auction Basket

Thank you for the few donations we have received so far. Remember we are doing a book basket focusing on The Latest Edition Book Store. We have some coffee mugs, a blanket and some cash donations so far. Anything you can send will be helpful. We would like all donations by the 23rd.

I am very jealous that the kids get a long weekend. I wish I was. I have enjoyed the class we have been taking and look forward to our last get together. I have learned a lot about the teaching of Language Arts. I have changed the way I do things and learned better how to look at and use our new series. It has made it a lot more enjoyable for all of us. This Fall was quite a struggle until this class helped us. This class is part of the AEA ! We love our AEA and all they do for our school.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels