Updates and Information

I can't believe how quickly time has gone.  We are approaching the end of 2nd quarter which means the end of first semester and half of the school year is over!  We are working on several things in class, and I wanted to keep you updated on the expectations.

• All students are expected to have their assignment books filled out and signed by parents each night.  This ensures that you are kept updated on what is going on in the classroom, and also allows us a place to communicate daily.
• Students are still expected to read for at least 100 minutes per week.  I would love to see them reading more as this is a "practice makes perfect" skill!
• We are working on responsibility each and every day.  Students are expected to complete homework outside of class time.  The new health and wellness policies mandated by the state requires that all students are physically active for a specific amount of time throughout the day.  This means that if they do not complete their work at home, I CAN NOT keep them in from recess on a regular basis to complete it.  Therefore it is imperative that the work be completed outside of the school day. 
• We are also working on being outstanding learners and doing our personal best each and every day.  I believe that every student is capable of doing well in class if they put forth effort, and follow directions and expectations. 
• Finally, if your child will be going home in a manner other than what they normally do, please send me a note.  If I do not have a note, I am required to send them home the usual way.
• Benchmark testing will be conducted over the next couple of weeks.  These tests are very important and I encourage students to come to school well-rested and ready to "SHOW WHAT THEY KNOW!"

I am looking forward to a great rest of the year as I see students learning and growing each day!  Enjoy the next couple of weeks before holiday break.  I know these can be busy, stressful times for everyone.  Take some time to enjoy your family!

Mid-quarter

I can't believe that it is already the middle of second quarter!  Mid-quarter grades went home today.  They included a detailed report of all assignments collected thus far.  Please log in to Powerschool's Parent Portal regularly for updates on your child's progress. 

Please take some time over the Thanksgiving holiday to practice multiplication facts, and 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication.  In addition, remember to continue to have your child read on a regular basis.  Continued reading practice will increase your child's ability to read accurately and fluently.  Remember to also talk to your child about what they are reading.  Ask them to summarize what they have read or to tell your their favorite part and why.  Any reinforcement that you can provide at home will serve to increase your child's success at school!

Enjoy the break and have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

This Week

Hello Parents! 
We have a busy week ahead of us in 4th grade!  Parent Teacher conferences will be held Tuesday, October 19th and Thursday, October 21st.  Please come prepared with any questions that you may have for me.  I look forward to visiting with each of you!  On Friday there will be no school.  Hopefully the weather will be as nice as it has been this weekend!

With the start of the new quarter, students will be revisiting their behavioral and academic goals from 1st quarter, and will be setting some new goals for 2nd quarter.  We will continue to have a strong focus on high expectations both academic and behavioral.  I'm looking forward to a fantastic second quarter.

See you later in the week. 

Open House-Thank you!

I want to send out a big THANK YOU to all of you who were able to attend Open House this evening.  We had a great turnout, and I know the students enjoyed showing you all of their hard work.  If you were unable to attend Open House, I will be sending e-mails this week so that you can sign up for a conference time.  Thank you again for your time!

Social Studies Test on Thursday

We will be having a test over Missouri Maps on Thursday.  This test will include the 4 regions, cities, rivers, and surrounding states.  Please help your child to study! 

A couple other reminders:

• Please help your child study their multiplication facts (more information will come regarding multiplication contracts)
• Please encourage your child to read AT LEAST 100 minutes per week.  This should be documented and signed in their Friday folder. (more information will come regarding reading contracts)
• Study spelling words nightly.  Each week, our new list is included on Spelling City
• Be sure to check grades regularly.  These can be accessed on PowerSchools Parent Portal.  They are updated every Sunday night.

I'm looking forward to another FABULOUS week!

Upcoming events

• This Monday, September 27th is Grandparent’s Day. Please come as close to the scheduled program time as possible to help with traffic and parking!

       o Our time for 4th Grade is 12:30.
       o All students will be eating in their classrooms and sack lunches will be served. Please plan accordingly.
• October 4th- 29thCoat Collection: please bring clean coats to donate to those in need!
• October 5th-- Open House and Chili/Bingo night
       o 4th grade: 7:00-8:00
• October 11th-- Can the Tigers! More information to follow
• October 19th and 21st-- Parent- Teacher conferences ** You will be able to sign up for a time during Open House!

Happy Thursday!

I am so amazed at the growth the we are already seeing in our classroom!  What an amazing week we have had!  I am so proud of them.  I want to remind everyone that every Friday we have our Math Checkup, DLR quiz, and Working With Words quiz.  I also wanted to make you aware that the students have been asked to put all of their daily work in the purple folder in their binder.  This way, they can bring home their daily work for you to look over and review. 

Please see the newsletter for additional upcoming events and announcement!  Have a great rest of the week!

SOARing Students

Wow, what a week this has been!  We have been working hard on using appropriate classroom behavior, and we had a fabulous day today!  As we emphasize SOAR in the classroom and school building, we encourage parents to practice these traits at home as well.  This week we have focused on being respectful and responsible.  One thing that we are looking for in the classroom includes listening when others are talking.  We emphasize "Give Me Five".  The students are expected to:
1.  Eyes are on the speaker
2.  Lips are closed/voices off
3.  Ears are listening
4.  Sitting up straight
5.  Hands and feet still.

Thank you for all of your support.  I am so appreciative of all of my students and their families!

Grandparents Day

Grandparents and Grand Friend’s…Mark Your Calendars!!!

Come and Celebrate Grandparent’s Day with us
at Mathews Elementary
on Monday, September 27th, 2010
Please come as close to the scheduled program time as possible to help with traffic and parking!

Kindergarten 10:30
1st Grade 1:30
2nd Grade 9:30
3rd Grade 11:30
4th Grade 12:30

If you have any questions, please contact our school counselor, Mrs. Brock at 417-449-3115
or shaynebrock@nixaschools.net

Grades

Parents,
You will now find all grades entered and up-to-date on the PowerSchool Parent Portal.  I will make every effort to have grades posted by Sunday evening each week.  I Hope everyone is enjoying the 3-day weekend!  See you on Tuesday!

Reminders

Good Afternoon!

I hope that everyone is having a fabulous week!  We have spent a lot of time this week talking about expectations and hard work.  We are really starting to get in the groove.  We have some amazing students!

Please remember that tomorrow is our quiz day.  We will have a Working With Words quiz, a Math Checkup, and a DLR quiz.  Use tonight to go over math skills that the students may still be struggling with or to review spelling words to prepare for tomorrow.  Spelling City would be a great online resource!

I can hardly believe that we have already had two weeks together! Last week we immersed ourselves in the regular curriculum, so school is in full swing. I know that the students are feeling that fourth grade is tough, but as I told them, we are going to reach those high expectations together. We completed our first DLR quiz, Working With Words quiz, and our second Math Checkup. The first set of tests are always the most difficult as the students learn what the expectations are. As we continue through the year, they will become more comfortable and will achive high levels of success.

Please spend time each night studying Working With Words (check out www.spellingcity.com/Golmen/) and making new, transfer words. In addition, remember to read and practice those multiplication facts! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have ANY questions!

I would also love to hear your comments on our blog so feel free to leave a comment by clicking the comments button below.

Wow! This week is flying by. So far we have had an amazing week and I am enjoying working with all of my students! You are fabulous!!!!! The past couple of days have been spent learning procedures and expectations as well as getting to know each other and having some fun too. We have really emphasized the importance of our "classroom family" over the last couple of days. In addition, we have read several books about accepting each other, working together, and being ourselves. I hope that everyone has had a chance to share some of these stories with your parents.

Parents, I would like to encourage you to ask your child about their day. If your child tends to have a difficult time talking about or remembering their day, it may help to share your daily best and worst event or activity. This is a great way to stimulate conversation and keep in touch with your child. It also gives you a chance to share your best and worst with your child because they love to hear about your day too!

I can't wait for tomorrow. Everyday is a new adventure in learning :)

Welcome Back

Wow! I can't believe that another school year is starting already! I am so excited to work with all of my fabulous students and their families! We are going to have a lot of fun this year, and we are going to learn a lot of new things. Please be sure to wear tennis shoes on Monday because we get to have P.E. on our first day :) Come to school ready to get to know me and your classmates because I have a lot of fun activities planned so that we become comfortable with our classroom family! Remember that tonight (Thursday, August 12th) we have "Meet the Teacher" from 4:00-5:15. I am looking forward to meeting you and your families!

Please remember to also check our class website for more detailed information including a calendar, great links, Working With Words information, parent information, and much more.

I can't wait for Monday! Enjoy your last weekend of summer!

Love,
Mrs. Golmen

Summer Time Fun!

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer! I'm having some fun with the family, but I'm also working hard to get ready for the upcoming school year! I hope that you are also preparing for the upcoming year by making sure that you are reading and working on multiplication facts! Knowing your multiplication facts is extremely important in 4th grade, so please spend some time over the summer practicing and learning! Some fun and easy ways to practice are:

• Make up songs or raps to go with multiplication facts
• Make flash cards and practice with friends or family
• Use a deck of cards and compete against friends or families by each drawing 2 cards, and the person with the highest product (answer to a multiplication problem!) gets to keep all of the cards!

In addition to practicing math facts, it is a great idea to continue reading throughout the summer. A big reading focus in 4th grade will be reading chapter books from start to finish, and if you continue practicing reading over the summer, you will be in great shape when the new school year starts.

Let me know if you have read any great books over the summer, and I will try to read them too so that we can talk about them in the fall! I'm looking forward to the upcoming year :)

Getting to Know You!
I'm so anxious to learn about you! Access my e-mail and tell me about yourself! I want to know your interests, what you like to do for fun, your summer plans, what you expect from 4th grade, and anything else you can think of. This is also a great time to ask questions. I will be sure to send an e-mail back anytime you send one to me.

You can also access our class website for lots of great links and information. It is important to keep your brain working all summer! Be sure to check back often for any news, updates, and important information. I can't wait to have a fabulous year together!

Mrs. Golmen
brigettegolmen@nixaschools.net