Monday, January 21

field trip reminder...

On Thursday, January 24, we will be traveling to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Arts Center in Cedar Falls to see a play, "Walk On:  The Rosa Parks Story."  Please read the notes below.

*The bus will leave promptly at 7:45.  We will be in the front hall meeting students at 7:30.  

*If your child ordered a sack lunch from school, we will have those ready.  We will have a cooler for drinks (please label.)  We will be eating in the UNIDome.

*Breakfast will not be available that day.  If your child normally eats breakfast at school, please make other arrangements.  

*We are not allowing electronic devices (DS's, ipods, cell phones, etc.) to be taken.

*We are not planning on stopping along the way.  Please watch what your child drinks on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

*Your child is welcome to bring a snack to munch on.  Please, no drinks except for those with lunch.

*This is a unique opportunity for students to experience the true theater experience.  We are asking students to dress in "theater attire."  Keeping in mind that we will be on a bus for 4 hours, we are not asking for uncomfortable clothes, but we would like the kids to kick it up a notch.

social studies news...
We have spent a lot of time focused on civil rights this past week, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and also as preparation for our field trip on Thursday.  We have had great discussions about Jim Crow laws, segregation, Rosa Parks, boycotts, marches, peaceful protests, and standing up for what we each believe is right.

We were also able to have another mystery skype, this time with a school in Orlando, Florida.  The questions asked were great...the kids are really catching on.  They also realized that they can use visual "context clues" when they noticed that the other students were wearing shorts and t-shirts and their room was decorated with palm trees.  We have two more skypes scheduled with classes in...ooops! You will have to hear that from your child.  We are going to try using "Today's Meet", a website that serves as a backchannel, allowing students to have a conversation with the other class while we skype.

math news...
We finished Unit 4 last week.  It was a difficult unit, focusing on decimals including tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.  Tests will be sent home on Friday.  Please review these with your child.  We will be moving on to multiplication, both single digit and multi-digit numbers.  Please practice basic facts at home as knowing these will make multi-digit multiplication much easier.

spelling reminder...
When spelling packets come home, please double check to make sure your child is following the directions for the writing portion.  The directions vary from week to week, often asking students to write a paragraph, but sometimes a list, a letter, a poster, etc.  This allows students to practice writing in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons.

Field Trip Information

On Thursday, January 24, we will be traveling to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Arts Center in Cedar Falls to see a play, "Walk On:  The Rosa Parks Story."  Below are a few bits of important information:

*We will be leaving school at 7:45 am.  This is before buses arrive at KE.  Everyone indicated in the form I sent out earlier that you will be able to make arrangements and you will have your child here by 7:45.  If this changes, please let me now as soon as possible.

*We will not be back to KE in time for lunch so sack lunches will be needed.  I will send a form home on Friday (in Friday folders) asking you to indicate whether your child will be eating a lunch from home or if you would like to order a cold lunch from school (your child's lunch account will be charged.)  Please return this form as soon as possible so we can inform the kitchen.

*I am looking for 3 chaperones from each class to accompany us.  If you would like to chaperone, please let me know as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, the numbers we can take are very limited so this has to be first come (contact me), first serve.

*Please contact me with any questions.  syoder@mid-prairie.k12.ia.us

Have a great week.  Keep practicing those basic facts in math.  Don't forget Math Facts in a Flash!

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