School Spirit Days

May 15th  Crazy Hat/Hair Day

May 16th  Crazy Sock Day

May 17th  Mix Match Day

May 18th  PJ Day

May 19th  Dress Down Day (no logos or characters) – ready for field day

May 18th – 3rd Grade Party

May 18th  5:30pm    5th Grade Parent Meeting – Welcome to the Redwoods!

May 19th  Field Day

May 19th    5:00pm  Junior High Graduation 

May 20th  9th Grade Cookout!

May 23rd  10:30am  Early Childhood Graduation/Bridging to Lower EL on the field (this is for am and pm kinders and will include ceremony and a chance to picnic lunch, at 12:00 pm kinders can go to class if they choose or be checked out early by parent/guardian)

May 24th  10:30am  Lower EL to Upper EL Bridging Ceremony –  on the field

May 25th 9:30am  Graduation breakfast for the 6th graders and their parents.  All students will be able to eat, but only the parents of 6th graders are invited.

May 25th 10:30am 6th Grade Graduation – in the gym

May 26th Last Day – Yearbook Distribution and Kick ball game

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Conferences are on May 22nd 23rd, and 24th.  Please sign up here:  https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/mljsc

Hello!

Some reminders about this week…

Tomorrow is spring pictures.  Be sure your child comes prepared if you would like them to take pictures.  You can order online or through the papers that were sent home.  This is an especially fun opportunity for 6th graders who get to take graduation pictures.

The school’s art club begins on Thursday after school.  It costs $50 and runs for 5 weeks.  Please let me know if you would like more information on how to sign up for this after school activity.

Our class is SAGE testing on Friday.  It is important that everyone comes to school that day and is well fed and well rested.  We will be doing the writing test.  We have been doing a lot to practice and prepare at school, but I would encourage students to use Utah Compose at home to complete the essays they are not finishing in class.

The 4th grade Utah History Fair is on Monday, so this is a reminder that projects need to be completed and ready to present that day.  Most of the students have told me that they haven’t even started yet.  Please help your 4th grader choose a topic that has something to do with Utah and Utah History to research.  They should type up their research in a report as well as have something to display about their topic.  The packet that went home several weeks ago has many ideas that they can choose from.

Our class will be SAGE testing in Language on Tuesday.  Please be sure you child is at school that day and is prepared to test with a full stomach and a rested body.  Remind students not to stress and that this is an opportunity to show all that they have learned and worked on this year.

I can’t believe we are so close to the end of the school year!  Encourage your students to hang in there so we can finish strong!

Kirsten

Our annual summative testing begins after spring break.  With that in mind, it is important that your child rests well, eats healthy meals and comes to school on time in order to do his/her best.  These things are important for your child every day, but are particularly important during testing in order to eliminate the anxiety that can come with taking an exam.  We have regular conversations in the classroom that this assessment is simply an opportunity for students to show what they know, and to demonstrate what they have been working so hard on all year.

Although SAGE is only one measure of your child’s progress, it is important to enter into the test with an attitude of working hard and doing their best.  (When would we ever encourage a child not to do their best?)  Students often reflect what has been discussed at home, if you model a positive attitude toward the test, your child is likely to do better when test time arrives.

• Friday, April 14 – Writing
• Tuesday, April 18 – Language
• Wednesday, May 10 – Math
• Thursday, May 18 Science

If you have any questions about testing, please let me know.

Hello!

I hope you are all doing well!  I know I am enjoying the little glimpses of sunshine and warmer temperatures that we are getting.  I look forward to Spring!  Things are very busy right now in our class.  Here are some things you need to know.

Biography book reports were due yesterday, March 6th.  I have really enjoyed all of the presentations so far!  I look forward to seeing the rest of the reports tomorrow from those that are late.

We are having our special classes tomorrow instead of Thursday, so students should come prepared for PE.

Thursday is our field trip to the State Capitol!  I am so excited!  Students should arrive at school and be picked up at normal time.  They should be wearing nice clothing and dress appropriately for the weather.  They also need a sack lunch that does not need to be heated in the microwave.  Their lunch should include a drink/water bottle.  We will be traveling by school bus.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

March 14th is Pi Day!  Our class loves to celebrate Pi Day and learn all about circles, diameter, radius, and calculating pi.  The favorite part of Pi Day is eating pie, of course!  We will be baking apple pies as a class, but we’d love to have you sign up to bring a pie that day to help us celebrate.  Please sign up if you can bring a pie and let us know what kind you are bringing so we don’t get too many repeats.  https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/hgrxb

March 17th is an early release day and there is no school on March 20th!

The 4th and 5th grade students all have a large home project that they should be working on.  The 4th graders should be preparing for the Utah History Fair.  Their projects are due on April 17th.  They received a packet of information about their project a couple of weeks ago.  If you haven’t seen it yet, ask your child about it.  The 5th graders should be preparing for the STEM fair.  Their projects are due on March 27th.  They also received a packet of information to help them prepare their projects.  Please help your students plan appropriately for these assignments and avoid procrastinating until the last minute.  They will be given limited class time to work on their projects, but they should mainly be done at home.

On March 29th, the 6th graders will be going on a field trip to the Planetarium in Salt Lake.  A permission slip should be coming home soon.  This field trip is an important reinforcement of the things that we are learning in science this year.

March 31st is our annual class egg drop!  Look for more information as this day gets closer.

Last but not least, Spring Fever is setting in for many of the students.  Please reinforce with your children at home that it is important to respect their classmates and teachers and do their best to meet expectations and follow the rules.  Your support is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for all you do!  I love your children!

Kirsten

Hello!

Studio Friday papers are due back tomorrow.  I am still missing 11 of them.  If your child lost theirs, they can print another one at home and fill it out and bring it to school tomorrow.  You can find the papers here:  studiofriday

Our class is in charge of putting together a movie basket to be auctioned off at the school’s gala fundraiser.  We are looking for donations to fill the basket.  Some ideas might be movie passes, DVDs, popcorn, treats, a blanket, etc.  We need the basket to be completed by Friday, March 3rd.  Please let me know if you are able to make a donation or simply send it to school with your child.

Biography book reports are due on Monday, March 6th.

The maturation program for 5th graders is on March 7th.  Permission slips went home today.

Our field trip to the Capitol is on March 9th.  I still need several permission slips for that as well.  I also need 1 parent to ride the bus with us and help chaperone.  If you would like to attend, please let me know.

The 4th grade Utah history project is due on March 27th.  They received a guideline for their project, so if you  haven’t seen it yet, please ask them about it.

Our snack sign up is pretty empty for the rest of the school year.  Please sign up if you are able to help.  Its really important to the students.   https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/qgsbx

Finally, thanks so much to everyone who came to parent teacher conferences.  They were wonderful!  If you were unable to attend, please let me know so we can schedule a time to meet.

Thanks!

Kirsten

So, its February already!  I can’t believe it.  I guess time does fly when you’re having fun!  Here are a few things you should know about.

Parent Teacher Conferences are next week.  This conference is student led, so please make sure your child attends with you.  If you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet, please do so here:  https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/cazxd   I look forward to meeting with you!

Our next home project is a biography book report.  The students should choose a person in honor of either Black History Month or Women’s History Month.  They have to actually read a book about their person and not just search them online.  All of the students were given an expectation sheet or packet to guide them in their report.  This report is due on March 6th.

Valentine’s Day is next week.  We decided to have a little party that afternoon.  If you would like to come and help with an activity, please contact our room mom Shanna Klaasesz at sbanana01@yahoo.com.  Also, we will be doing a valentine exchange.  We have 24 students in the class.  If your child chooses to participate in the exchange, they need to bring a valentine for everyone.  They should also bring a bag or box to collect all of their valentines.  Some of the students have asked for a class list to label their valentines.  I will e-mail a list rather than post it on the blog for privacy reasons.

I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but at least this is a start.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Kirsten

Here are some pictures of some of the things we’ve been up to this school year!

Its time for Parent Teacher Conferences again!  This time the conferences are student-led, which means your student needs to come with you.  Your child will be able to share what they have been working on in class.  They will also be able to review the progress they have made on accomplishing their goals and set new goals for the rest of the school year.  I’m so excited for this chance to meet with you and your children!  If you are unable to attend these conferences, please contact me so that we can schedule an alternate time.

Please sign up for a conference time here: https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/cazxd

Welcome to 2017!  I hope everyone had a nice break from school and enjoyed spending time together as a family.  I know I did!  It is good to be back at school, though.  I missed everyone!

In class today, we talked a lot about setting goals and having a growth mindset as we start a new year.  It is half way through the school year and a great time to reflect on how the year is going so far and what we would like to do better for the second half of the year.  One thing that I am working on is following through with the classroom rules and behavior plan that we established at the beginning of the school year.  I am known for giving way too many chances and warnings to students who are having a difficult time following the rules.  Thus, you may see a lot of behavior letters coming home while we readjust to being back at school and meeting expectations.

For 5th graders and new to the school 6th graders:  We have a field trip coming up to JA Biztown on January 25th.  This is an exciting opportunity for these students to learn some practical life skills while running a town for the day!  Biztown is located at the Discovery Gateway museum in Salt Lake City.  We are in need of at least 2 parent volunteers for this field trip, or we will not be able to attend.  The parents will be assisting students in running their businesses, although parents will not be working in the same business as their child.  The parents will also need to be willing to help transport students to Salt Lake.  Permission slips will be coming home tomorrow with more information.  Please let me know ASAP if you are willing and able to help with this field trip.

For all 6th graders:  The science fair is coming up on February 8th.  This is a mandatory project for all 6th grade students.  I need a topic from all students by Friday.  The topic should be a question that can be answered through an experiment.  For help finding ideas, please visit www.sciencebuddies.org.  This website will be invaluable as you work through all of the steps to completing your project.

Finally, we could really use some help with snack for the rest of the school year.  You have no idea how much the students miss snack when we don’t have it.  If you think you can help, please sign up at this link:  https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/qgsbx

Thanks so much!

Our Nutcracker field trip is coming up on December 5th.  We were only able to get 5 parent tickets for the performance.  I have had 3 parents contact me already and express a strong desire to join us.  That leaves 2 more spots.  Because we have 25 students to transport to and from the theater, I will need the parents who attend to be able to transport about 5 students each.   Parents will need to pay $3 for their ticket and will need to be available from about 11AM-3PM. Please contact me if you would like to come watch the ballet with us!  There will be transportation for all of the students, so there is no need to contact Shanna or I about finding a ride for your child.  I am still missing several permission slips, so please try to get those turned in as soon as possible.

Thanks!