Friday, May 31, 2013

Dear Parents,

Hard to believe we have one more full week left.  Your child was given a spelling list to study today, and there only homework for the week is to prepare for the spelling test on Thursday.  I left it up to them as far as how they want to prepare for it.  I will not be collecting any homework from them on Thursday.

A huge congrats to the three ladies who gave their wonderful ASB speeches today and their families. It takes guts to put yourself out there and take a risk, and all three of these ladies made it look easy.  We are all proud of them.

If your child is currently missing work, you received an email and I sent a printed out list of what they are missing in their Friday folders.

Please let me know if you need anything.

Have a great weekend!
Brad

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dear Parents,

I would like to start by saying what an incredible job your kids did on the field trip yesterday.  They should feel proud of the way they represented our community.  Thanks to all the parents who came along and spent the day with us. 

A couple of random things this week:

·         The students will be making collages in class next Thursday.  The collage will be about themselves/their lives/things they like.  They can put pictures, decorations, or anything else on there that can be glued to a piece of paper.  It’s a good idea not to send any irreplaceable pictures or items, as they will probably never be the same.  Ask your child what kinds of things they would like to put on theirs.

·         No school Friday, May 24^th or Monday, May 27^th.

·         10 out of 29 students turned in completed homework today.  With spring upon us, I need your help keeping the kids accountable.  Thank you!

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a great weekend!

Brad

Friday, May 10, 2013

May 10, 2013

MSP TESTING

What an amazing job your children did on the MSP this year.  Regardless of what the scores say, I know for a fact that each and every child worked incredibly hard and should be very proud of their effort.  Nicely done, 4^th graders!

FIELD TRIP

The field trip is coming up on Thursday, May 16^th.  Please fill out your child’s permission slip and send $5 to school with your child ASAP (please let me know if you need some assistance with the $5).   

WHERE IS MY CHILD’S FRIDAY FOLDER?

Mr. V was the principal designee today, so Friday folders were not sent home.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Many thanks!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Dear Parents,

In your child’s Friday folder you will find a permission slip for our upcoming field trip.  On May 16^th, from about 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., we will be headed downtown to visit Red Robin to hear about running a business, then we will go to the Mobius Science Center, and we will finish off at Riverfront Park.  The cost for the trip is $5.00.  If you need some help with this please let me know.  Chaperones are welcome.  Please let me know if you would like to join us. 

MSP next week is on Tuesday and Thursday.

The kids have been presenting their PowerPoints in class on their non-fiction books.  They have been super impressive!

An extra credit spelling list was sent home today.  There is no official homework this next week due to MSP.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Have a great weekend!

Brad

Friday, April 26, 2013

April 25, 2013

MSP TESTING

I am truly impressed by the efforts your children have put into the MSP this week.  They are all working extremely hard and are doing their best work.  I simply can’t ask for more.  We have a break from MSP next week, and will then finish up the following week.  The next testing dates are:

Date	MSP
Tuesday, May 7th	Writing Session 2
Thursday, May 9th	Math

Important tips for success on the MSP:

1.      Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before each assessment.

2.      Make sure your child gets a solid breakfast on the morning of each assessment.

3.      If you can send your child to school with a healthy snack on MSP days, that would be great!

4.      Please try to reschedule appointments that may conflict with our testing days.

5.      Reassure your child that they will be just fine!  They are ready and will do great. 

IS THERE HOMEWORK THIS WEEK?

Yes.  Since we aren’t MSP testing next week, the kids do have some homework.  It was given to the kids today.

WHERE IS MY CHILD’S FRIDAY FOLDER?

Mr. V was the principal designee at the middle school today, so Friday folders were not sent home.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Many thanks!

bvandyne@freemansd.org

291-4791 ext. 135

www.mrvandynesclass.blogspot.com

Friday, April 19, 2013

April 19, 2013

MSP TESTING STARTS NEXT WEEK

Next week marks the beginning of our MSP testing.  This is very exciting!  We have been working towards dominating these assessments all year, and it will be great to start showing how much we know! 

Important tips for success on the MSP:

1.      Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before each assessment.

2.      Make sure your child gets a solid breakfast on the morning of each assessment.

3.      If you can send your child to school with a healthy snack on MSP days, that would be great!

4.      Reassure your child that they will be just fine!  They are ready and will do great.  Kind of like that one show on Travel Channel says:  In the battle of Man vs. MSP, Man Wins!!!

Here is our MSP schedule for the next few weeks:

Date	MSP
Wednesday, April 24th	Reading
Thursday, April 25th	Writing Session 1
Tuesday, May 7th	Writing Session 2
Thursday, May 9th	Math

WHAT ABOUT HOMEWORK?

On the weeks where we are MSP testing, I do not give homework.  I want the kids to spend their evenings relaxing and spending time with family.  So, there is no homework for this next week.

CLASS PICTURES

Class pictures for 4^th grade is on Wednesday 4/26.  This will not disrupt our Reading MSP.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Many thanks!

Friday, March 29, 2013

March 29, 2013

It was great to meet with all of you this week.  Thanks for your time and for all of your support.  I appreciate you trusting me with your awesome kids each day.  I hope everyone has a great spring break!

Were the kids assigned homework today?

No.  Due to spring break, I did not want to give them a new packet of homework.  They will receive their homework on Monday, April 8^th when we get back from break.

Where is the Friday folder?

Again, due to spring break, no Friday folder was sent home today.

What should my child be doing over break?

1)  Having fun and relaxing.

2)  Reading their nonfiction book so they are ready to start their PowerPoint

presentation in class after break.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Many thanks!

Friday, March 22, 2013

The quote of the week comes from a young lady during math today.:

"When I don't pay attention, that's when good things happen to me."

I wonder if she notices the good things happening... :-)

March 22, 2013

I am looking forward to meeting with everyone next week!

Conferences

Your conference times are in this Friday folder, and our system should have sent you an email with the date and time.  Please let me know if your date and time do not work. 

Social Studies Magazine

Please consider donating $1.50 to help us purchase a Social Studies magazine that will help us cover many interesting topics about Washington this spring. 

Informational Book Talk

The grading rubric for this project is below.  The kids should be reading their books at this point, and I will provide computer time for them to work on their PowerPoints at school.  The due date is April 24^th. 

	Possible Points	Points Earned
Was your book approved on time?	5
Did you complete your project on time?	10
Was your power point organized, colorful, attractive, and easy to read?	10
Did you include pictures or illustrations?	10
Slide 1- include the book’s title, author, and your            name, date, and a picture	10
Slide 2- List of important vocabulary words that pertain to your topic with their definitions	10
Slide 3-Photo album : include pictures of one or two people, places, or events with captions from your book.	10
8.       Slide 4- continuation of pictures with captions from page 3	10
9.       Slide 5- write an note in memo format to a friend telling him/her why you would recommend the book to him/her	10
10.    Slide 6- design a souvenir to correspond to your book’s topic (use Paint program)	10
11.    Slide 7- Write four questions that could be answered by someone reading your book	10
Slide 8- Write a reflection piece about your book.  (Did you enjoy it, how did it make you feel, any questions you now might want to research, or other books you might like to read, etc.)	10
Are the spelling, punctuation, and grammar correct?	10
Was your presentation informative and convincing?	10
Did you make eye contact for most or your         presentation?	5
Did you acquire new knowledge?  Did you answer your classmate’s questions?	10
TOTAL	150

 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Yesterday, Landon and I were chatting outside during recess.  We were talking about soccer and I mentioned how I was never very good at it because I am not good with my feet.  He considered this for a moment and then replied, "Well, you're good at walking!"  Made us both laugh.  That I am, Landon, that I am.  :-)

Conferences

Conference week is March 25-29.  Please schedule your conference online at your earliest convenience.  The last day to do so is Wednesday, March 20^th.  After that, I will schedule a time for you. 

End of Quarter

Somehow, the end of the 3^rd quarter is here.  This is hard to believe!  The last day to turn in work is Wednesday, March 20^th.    

Social Studies Magazine

On Monday, I sent home a letter asking for $1.50 donation to help us purchase a Social Studies magazine that will help us cover many interesting topics about Washington this spring.  If you are able to donate, we would greatly appreciate it!

Late Start Day Moved to Wednesday 3/20

This was originally scheduled for 3/13.

Informational Book Talk

Next week I will be introducing this assignment to the kids.  They are to read an informational book about a topic that interests them.  Then, they will be creating a PowerPoint presentation in class about their book.  This should be fun.  I will distribute information and a grading rubric next week. 

Please let me know if you need anything.  Many thanks!