4J Christmas Play

4J was disappointed not to perform our Christmas play, "A Flea on Santa's Tree" for our grandparents. However, we did perform for many classes.  Mr. Slabaugh made a video.  You can view this video here:  http://youtu.be/y2Bp2VI97-8 


We hope you enjoy it!

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

Thanksgiving Plays in 4J

To view our two Thanksgiving Plays from 4J go to:

Play #1

Play #2

November 12, 2012

planting the outdoor classroom...

Thank you to JW's for donating A LOT of perennials to our outdoor classroom, and to Mrs. Fisher (former KE teacher) for organizing them.  Mrs. Yoder's class spent time on a Friday afternoon planting.  We even found some new friends.

Iowa Assessment party...

All 4th graders worked incredibly hard during the two weeks of Iowa Assessments.  A HUGE thank you to the families who supplied brain food during our tests.  We had a great time celebrating the end last Friday afternoon.

Veteran's Day celebration...

On Friday, November 9, five veterans visited KE to help us honor our active and retired military service men and women.  After the school recited the Pledge of Allegiance, Mrs. Juilfs' class recited a poem of appreciation.  We then watched a short video before singing as a school.  Fourth graders were extra honored as the veteran's visited our classroom to answer questions about the military.  Thank you, Veterans!

math news...

We are working through problem solving and number sentences in math.  We worked with map scale to determine the distance between Washington, D.C. and other cities in the world.  After doing our calculations and multiplication (1 inch = 880 miles), we used the ipads to look up the actual distance.  It is amazing that even though we had plastic globes and tape measures (not very high tech tools!), we were very close to the actual distance; in some cases, we were only off a couple hundred miles.  

social studies news...

Now that we have studied natural resources, we watched to movie The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (the original movie, not the feature length one that was recently in theaters.)  We discoverd hat seems to be a simple children's story is really a story about natural resources, the environments, pollution, and habitats.  It sparked some great discussion.

We are now preparing for our first Mystery Skype of the year.  On Monday, we will be skyping with another 4th grade class somewhere in the US.  We do not know where they are located and they do not know we are in Iowa.  We worked to develop yes and no questions to narrow down where they are located.  Mrs. Yoder's class will do this first skype and, if all goes well, we will work to find other classes willing to skype with us.