Holiday Party

We will be having our Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 19th.  Students may bring a snack and a drink for themselves, and a board game if they'd like.  We will eat, drink, and play board games.

Reminder--Early Out on Wednesday for professional development.

READING PROJECTS

Students reported having a great time making their art projects for their books.  It was a fun way to share what we have been reading, and for others to get ideas on new books to read.  We had very creative projects as you can see from the photos below.

Google

Mr. Slabaugh recently taught us how to use our information to sign in to Google docs.  Students will then be able to create a document and share it with each other and/or a teacher.  We will be using it in the near future.

FYI--READING--Students have a reading assignment to do over the weekend. It is an art project to represent a book they read in the first quarter. They have a rubric which tells what they will be graded on, and a paper to fill out.  Get creative and have fun!

Please join Kalona Elementary Parent Boosters for a

Beef and Noodle Meal

And

Homemade Dessert Auction

Fundraiser

Please mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, December 8th at M-P Middle School for a fun evening! Beef and noodles, green beans, bread and dessert will be served from 5pm-7pm in the cafeteria. Cost for the meal will be a free will donation. The live auction will begin at 7pm in the gym. All items being auctioned will be homemade and include cheesecakes, pies, specialty cakes and cinnamon rolls. Invite grandparents, neighbors and friends for a fun evening!

Math Facts in a Flash

Math Facts in a Flash

Why Math Facts in a Flash?  It is becoming more and more evident that students do not know their basic facts, including addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  Ideally, these facts would be automatic so students can spend more time analyzing the larger problem (i.e.:  multi-digit addition, subtraction, or word problems) without having to spend their energy figuring out 7 + 4 or 6 x 3.  There is not enough time in the day for this type of practice, and often, memorization.  We would rather spend our math class time on higher order thinking problems and processes.

Earlier this year, Mrs. Pennington and Mr. Slabaugh learned about a program, Math Facts in a Flash, that is being used at Wellman Elementary and Washington Township.  Recently, we were able to purchase it for Kalona Elementary.  The program takes students through the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and then goes on to other topics such as fractions, decimals, percents, etc.  Students must achieve mastery at a particular level in a specific time frame before moving on to the next level.  We spent time in class on Monday getting started.  Fourth graders will have approximately 30 minutes in school a week to work with this program.  However the good news is that students can access this from home as well--what a quick and easy way to get in 5-10 minutes of fact practice each day!

The payoff will be immense!

To access Math Facts in a Flash, go to:

goo.gl/w4tjz

Username:  First name (capitalized) and then last initial (capitalized)  JohnD

Password:  Initials (both lowercase) jd