Reading Calendar Reminder

It's hard to believe March is coming to an end. Hopefully it will take this cold weather with it! Students should be finalizing their monthly reading calendars. This would be a good time for students to check how far they are from their goal and do some extra reading if they are behind the target of 30 minutes a night. at the end of the month, please have your child total their minutes for March and have you sign it. Calendars will be collected on Monday, April 8th.

April reading calendars will be handed out when students return to school on Monday, April 8th.

Inquiry Homework

Wow! Students have been hard at work this week planning and building their inquiry projects. Mr. Krupar, Mr. Kallie, and I have met with groups to discuss their progress. Many students discovered that while they had relevant facts and details, they don't have enough to put together a full scale project. We would like students to provide more than a list of facts. They should find some facts that can be developed with more information. 

This is where you will be a valuable resource. Ask your child to share the following with you:
- their thick question
- what they plan to present to answer their thick question

Since you haven't been a part of the unit, you will be their first audience. What questions do you have based on what they presented? Many students have interesting facts, but they lack the detail that people want to know when they hear the facts. Identify those questions for your child and have them continue their research to fill those gaps. Moodle is a great resource for students to check out. While they have spent a lot of time there, they may have passed over some detail that they previously thought was not important. If Moodle is not enough, it's okay for students to search the web on their own - with your permission. A trip to the library may also be needed.

Students do not need to begin any posters or projects of any kind. We will do that after break. What students can do is plan what they will write on those posters. If they are doing iMovie, they should plan their slides out. The expectation is not built around a number of slides but total speaking time. We are looking for 1-2 minutes of speaking time. This will help students gauge whether they have enough information. Students can also plan for the type of photos they'd like to find for their poster or iMovie presentation.

We want to get the word out early so students can properly space out their work. In most cases, if time was used wisely, this shouldn't be an overbearing assignment. Students have been working for three weeks to gather information and plan. Thank you for your help!

Inquiry Project Update

Students have been collaborating with classmates all last week in an effort to plan out how they would like to present their research at the Inquiry Fair in April. As groups get their plans approved, they are working to create a "rough draft" of their final products. For example, posters will be planned out on loose leaf paper and iMovie presentations will be organized and planned. Even in situations where students plan to dress up and act out their understanding, students will be expected to write up what they will wear, how it helps their presentation, and what they will do. The idea behind this is to help the students prepare for creating their final projects and in some cases, help students recognize that more research is needed. Mr. Krupar, Mr. Kallie, and I will review the rough drafts and help students accordingly.

These "rough drafts" need to be finished by the time students return from Spring Break. Students will have time to work on them over the next three school days. Any rough draft work that is unfinished will go home as homework over Spring Break. Ask your child about their plan, especially if they plan to dress up. We have asked those students to ok it with parents first since they will require unique clothing and attendance at the Inquiry Fair. Students that use their work time wisely, will have little to no work to do over Spring Break.

When students return from Spring Break our focus will shift to creating the final projects for the Thursday, April 18th Inquiry Fair.

Book Fair Coin Challenge

Thank you to all the students that brought in pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills for the Book Fair Coin Challenge, and also to the families that bought/donated books for the classroom as well. We raised a total of $29.80! That money was used to purchase seven books for the classroom library.  They will be a welcomed addition!

Touring Madison

Wednesday, the 4th graders had a great time touring the state Capitol building in Madison. As part of the tour, students saw both the Senate and House Chambers, the Supreme Court room, and the Governor's conference room. After our tour of the Capitol building, we went across the street for a brief tour of the Veteran's Museum.

Mr. Krupar and I would like to give a special thanks to all the parents that joined us! It was a great field trip!

State Capitol Field Trip

Tomorrow the 4th graders are heading to Madison to tour the State Capitol Building and the Veteran's Museum. Here are some quick reminders to prepare for the field trip:

• We will leave as soon as attendance is taken in the morning. Our target is an 8:30 departure. If you are chaperoning on the field trip please arrive with your child before school.
• Students should pack a bag lunch. We will be eating in the Capitol building. There is no need for a backpack, lunches and coats will be locked up prior to the tour.
• Students can bring a camera to take photos during the tour. This includes personal devices that are used as a camera. Students must use their devices as a camera only during the tours.
• Students should not bring any money. We will not have any opportunity to buy souvenirs.
• We will leave Madison at 1:00.

Geometry Unit

Tomorrow, students will begin the Geometry Unit in math. Students have worked on wrapping up the current Measurement and Data Unit and taking the Geometry pretest. We will use the pretest along with data from the winter MAPS test to help us place students in rooms that will deliver skills at their instructional level. Stay tuned to the blog for information regarding the skills of this unit.

Inquiry Research

As students continue to research their area of interest, some have exhausted all of the resources we have at school. Mr. Krupar, Mr. Kallie (Mr. Krupar's student-teacher), and myself are working hard to bring in new materials as we locate them. Talk to your child about their progress in researching their question. It may be beneficial to visit the public library to find more materials on their topic. Students can also do further research at home by logging onto to our Moodle page or surfing the internet with parental guidance. If you have any questions please contact me at school. Thanks for your support!

Scholastic Book Fair

This year's Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place between March 18-21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at Mitchell Elementary.  We are also offering a Family night on Wednesday, March 20 from 6 to 8 p.m.  We hope to see you all there!

Future Chefs Competition

Please join us on Wednesday, March 20 in Nathan Hale High School’s cafeteria as our own Dayzia Marek competes with five other finalists in Sodexo’s Future Chef Competition. Dayzia will be preparing her Crunchy Apple Salad. Judging begins at 5:45 pm with sampling for all our guests to follow. Award Ceremony at 6:30 pm.

Hope to see you there!

Inquiry Fair Update!

There has been a change of date for the Inquiry Fair.  Students will "go public" with their projects at Mitchell's Inquiry Fair on Thursday, April 18th. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming inquiry fair.

4th Grade Field Trip to the State Capital

On Wednesday, March 20th, the 4th graders are taking a field trip to tour the State Capitol building and the Veteran's Museum. Look for a field trip permission slip if you haven't handed it back in. Permission slips are due back by March 13th. Please email me if the permission slip does not make it home. I can email you a PDF of the permission slip. I will post more information about the trip as it nears.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Inquiry Fair!

We have reached the point in our unit on the Northeast and Southeast Regions to begin digging deeper into topics of interest. Students have selected an area of interest from the following categories:

1. Colonization
2. The American Revolution
3. Slavery
4. The Civil War

Students then selected a "thick question" that they wanted to answer. A "thick question" is one that is not easily answered using a single source. "Thick questions" require deeper research using multiple resources and reading strategies. Answers often are not specifically laid out, instead students need to infer and draw conclusions when reading.

This is an exciting time! Students are working with topics of high interest. Ask your child about their research. You will be surprised with the information they will be able to share with you.

Students will "go public" with their projects at Mitchell's Inquiry Fair on Thursday, March 21st. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming inquiry fair.