Readers' Theatre and Props

Tomorrow afternoon, fourth graders from Mrs. David's and Mrs. Taylor's rooms will be performing winter skits and poems for each other as part of a readers theatre performance. We've been building fluency, improving our intonation and expression, learning to work with a small group to build a wonderful performance, and working on performing in front of an audience.

Readers theatres typically require few, if any, props. I did tell the kiddos that if they would like to bring in very simple props (i.e. reindeer antlers, elf ears/hat, wear whatever color clothing or type of clothing their character would probably wear, etc.) they are more than welcome. I don't want anyone buying anything and imagination is a big piece of readers theatre, so simple is okay. I wanted to give everyone a heads up just in case your child is talking about needing to wear or bring something special tomorrow. I can't wait for them to perform for their peers. Thanks and have a wonderful Monday evening! Happy Holidays!

We are having a Christmas Breakfast Wednesday, December 20th, rather than a traditional afternoon party. We will be making pancakes for students and accepting parent donations for breakfast sides. If you are interested in donating, but didn’t fill out the party form with your info at the beginning of the year, please contact one of us and we will gladly add you the list.

Students will not need to eat breakfast that morning at home,unless they are early eaters. We will begin eating around 7:50.

Thanks!

Fall Break

We will miss the kiddos next week as we are off for Fall Break. If your child will be home and you would like for them to work on academics, they can always visit our Google Classroom and visit any of the links we have shared on there. They can also read, practice math facts, etc. I will not be sending home new vocabulary words until after Fall Break. However, I will attach a snapshot of the roots and words to this blog post in case you want them to get a jump start on studying them. They can practice them on my Quizlet site, the link can also be found in Classroom.

Thanks and have a wonderful week with your kiddos!

Friday Notes

We wanted to send out a few quick Friday notes...

#1-- We WILL NOT have new Word Study (vocabulary) words until AFTER Fall Break. Your child won't bring home a new list until the following Monday, which means the next test won't be until Friday, November 3rd (wowza that does not seem right... November, already??). 

#2-- We have been updating data binders this week in preparation of our student-led conferences on Wednesday night. We are really trying to get students to think about the WHY behind the hard work we, and especially they, should put in throughout the year, not for just improved test scores, but for life skill purposes. Growth is so important. Responsibility and ownership of their growth is so important. If they stand still with growth, they fall behind. We want them to be ready for 5th grade next year and well beyond school. Being confident with academics is a huge piece of that puzzle. Reading and math are so important into adulthood. We have added:

• a conference script to help your child present that night
• NWEA test results (that's the computer-based test we take three times a year for math and reading)
• ISTEP results (you should have seen these this summer or late last Spring when the state sent out paperwork)
• Next week we will add the report card.

#3-- Please let us know if you have any questions about conferences. Your child is
"running the show" but Mrs. David and I will be popping around the room to meet with each student and their guest(s). Conferences will be held in the computer lab. We hope to see you there! :)

Have a great weekend!

Thanks,

Mrs. Taylor

WORD STUDY (vocab) ASSESSMENTS and DATA BINDERS

Happy Monday!

Today was exceptionally busy with library, language arts lessons, and a social lesson from Mrs. Clendening, so we did not get to conference one-on-one with all students during language arts. Therefore, some kiddos have their Reading Counts reports in their data binders, and some do not. They ALL should have their Word Study Assessments if you are wanting to see their scores, but may not actually bring home their data binders until tomorrow when they get the Reading Counts reports. Everyone will have updated binders tomorrow when we can finish up conferencing with them.

Students have one week to review the new items added and get their data binders signed by an adult. There is a Parent Signature section at the very front of the data binder. We are giving 5 Dojo points for getting it signed within a week (just needs to be an adult at home) and we are now going to start deducting 5 Dojo points if they do not have it signed. We have a lot of students who are not sharing language arts and math assessment scores with family and that is where we will be placing those all year. We want you to be in the loop. If your child hasn't brought their binder home, please have a conversation with them about it. They are reminded almost daily, here at school, and we have a feeling some are choosing not to follow through. We will be sending home NWEA, ISTEP, report cards, and grade information in their binders as well. Please watch for those over the next few weeks. They will be placed in front near the Parent Signature page. All data can stay in the binder until at least mid-year. We will purge as needed if it becomes to bulky.

Thanks and have a wonderful week! We appreciate you!

CHANGE IN CALENDAR:

Wednesday, September 27th- PICTURE Retakes....Bring original photo packet back to school if you want replacements....or get a first photo taken!

Webb will be celebrating College Go Week this week!  It is a time to think about post-high school plans: college, apprenticeships, military, employment, or technical training.  This is a list of our spirit days:

Mon, 9/25: "Hats off to College" (hat day)

Tues, 9/26: "Time to Interview Tuesday" (dress for success day)

Wed, 9/27: "We want to be... Wednesday" (career dress-up day)

Thurs, 9/28: "College Gear day" (college gear or colors day)

Fri, 9/29: "Successful Spider day" (Webb spirit wear or colors day- black and gold)

Reminders and Notifications

We hope everyone's week is going well! 


Please read through the following items. We just wanted to send out some reminders/notifications about some things.

• If your child did not get their picture taken at Meet the Teacher night OR needs a retake, picture retakes are next TUESDAY, September 26th. 

• We have our word study test this Friday. This is the same list your child has been working on since last Monday. They will always have two weeks with their words to really study and get to know them. Application is key! They should know HOW to use them in a sentence or be able to describe them, not just memorize the definitions or be able to spell them. Don't forget that Quizlet is a great technology resource if you need one. We are on "chapter 10" words. 

• Flat Rock information came home with your child TODAY unless you attended the meeting last night and picked up information then. There is a waiver (permission form), information about what we will be doing, and payment information included in the packet. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. 

• Parent teacher conferences are on October 11th. A paper went  home last week asking for time preferences for that evening. If you have not sent it back to school, please send it back by Friday. We are meeting on Monday to set times and schedule siblings with other grade levels to make it easier on parents. 

• Homework-- We've had a few questions about homework. We expect kiddos to read every night for 20-30 minutes AND study their math facts. Word study words need to be reviewed, as well. Other than that, we will not plan on sending home any paper/pencil type of homework this year. Please let us know if you have any questions.

• Data Binders need to be taken home at least once a week and shown to an adult in the household. There is a signature page at the front of the data binder. We update these weekly with some type of data, whether it be their Reading Counts reports, math tests, word study tests, or special testing such as NWEA or Dibels. We give students five Dojo points for having it signed within the week. We are going to start taking five Dojo points for responsibility if they are not bringing it back signed by the following week. They will have Monday to Monday to get that done. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. 

We know that was a lot of info, but wanted to keep you in the loop. Also, if you are willing to volunteer during the day, please contact us. We could use some extra hands throughout the week to work with students one on one or in small groups. We could also just use clerical help, if you'd rather do that. Let us know if you are interested and we can coordinate days. 

Have a great rest of your week!

FLAT ROCK Overnight Field Trip Parent Meeting Tonight

Fourth Grade Families:

This is just a reminder about tonight's Flat Rock (overnight field trip) parent meeting. It is at 6:30, in the Webb cafeteria. 

• We will be passing out parent trip packets with trip cost, basic information, activities, a packing list, and the waiver (permission form) to attend. 

• A Flat Rock representative will be here to present information and answer any questions. 

• We will also be accepting payment in the form of cash or check. It is NOT mandatory or even necessary to pay tonight, we just wanted to offer that as an option for those interested. The cost for the overnight field trip is $59 and we will talk more about payment options tonight, as well.

We hope to see you there! Students do not have to be present, but are also welcome to attend with you. Thanks!

The parent packet we are sharing is linked below. We will have copies for everyone, so no need to print. Thanks!

http://bit.ly/FlatRockParentMeetingPDF

Flat Rock Parent Meeting Night NEXT WEEK

Please watch for the following flyer to come home today (some kiddos might have taken it home yesterday). We are hosting the Parent Informational Meeting Night NEXT WEEK for our overnight field trip to Flat Rock River Camp. The meeting is on Tuesday, September 19th, at 6:30 p.m. Please join us as a rep from the camp, Mrs. Moran, and the fourth grade teachers present information and answer any questions you might have. We hope to see you there! Thanks!

Grades and Flat Rock 🙂

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and some extra time off of work. We've had a great few weeks of school! 

A few pieces of information:

I am going to start entering grades in the gradebook for language arts. If you see your child's grade dip down, don't be alarmed. This is a time of year when students are getting back into the swing of things with work efforts and organization. I do give correct and return opportunities for kiddos who choose to do so. They can correct the assignment and resubmit it, but it is up to them if they do it. I will write a "C+R" at the top of the page just as a suggestion. Correcting it allows for the opportunity to reread and refocus on the assignment. I always have them bring them home first to show parents and then correct it. That way you are aware of mistakes, struggles, etc., and can help remind them to get it corrected at home. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Also, we are going to be going on an overnight Flat Rock Camp field trip, leaving the morning of Thursday, November 2, and returning the afternoon of Friday, November 3. The cost is $59 per student. We will be hosting a parent meeting sometime in the next 3-4 weeks to go over what we will be doing there, costs/payment info, packing lists, and to answer any questions you might have. At this time, we are not planning on needing parent chaperones. We are recruiting enough staff members to make sure we have an adult for every 5-6 kiddos that attend. We will let you know if something changes. Last year we spent a night in southern Indiana, but are trying something different this year. Needham Elementary has attended this camp for years and both Mrs. David and I have taken students there several times, when teaching at Needham years ago. It is an amazing experience! 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions. Don't forget to check out our Fourth Grade blog at teamfourth.blogspot.com. It will also have important info leading up to our trip and throughout the year.

Have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thanks for sharing your kiddos with us! We love them. ❤️

Flat Rock OVERNIGHT Field Trip Date Correction

We are still gathering information and will be sending home more information soon, but I posted the incorrect dates on our blog. We are actually going on Thursday-Friday, November 2nd-3rd. Please change these dates in your calendar if you entered them already. Thank you!

First Full Week

Well, we survived our first Monday of the school year and are now day #2 into our first full week of school. We are so excited to be learning and growing with your students this year. We wanted to send out a few quick reminders to all fourth grade families. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks and have a great week!

REMINDERS:

• Please fill out and return any paperwork that has been sent home as soon as possible. We have been sending various things from the office or nurse (for some, not all students) in yellow take-home/communication folders. Double check with your child to see if anything was sent home with them. We appreciate it! 

• Don't forget to sign the permission form for the Colts sponsored fitness camp being held on August 31st. This is a no-contact fitness camp that Mr. Hartman has signed on to participate in, along with Needham's fourth grade students. If you need an extra permission slip, print the one attached below or contact Mr. Hartman at hartmanj@franklinschools.org or email one of the teachers in fourth grade to let us know.

• Students may bring water bottles and/or snacks each day. 

• We are taking NWEA this week. We started the Reading test yesterday and will begin the Math test tomorrow. We will get their scores to you within the next few weeks. 

• We do have an overnight field trip coming up on November 2nd-3rd (Thursday-Friday) to Flat Rock Camp. We will send more information home about this trip within the next few weeks. Last year we went to southern Indiana for the historical tour, but are changing it up this year and staying closer to home. We'll update you with info soon. 

WELCOME TO FOURTH GRADE!

We are so excited to begin a brand new school year with your kiddos! Wowza, the summer zipped on by in the blink of an eye. We welcome them, and you, to fourth grade. Fourth grade works strongly together as a team and will be focused on helping your child set and achieve their goals, while enjoying their final year here at Webb with us. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mrs. Taylor or Mrs. David. Please check this blog frequently for weekly (sometimes daily) updates. There is a list of important dates that we keep updated to the left of the blog entries. We also have important websites listed for easy access to the left of these entries, as well. Again, welcome to fourth and we look forward to a wonderful year!

Today was a wonderful day! The party this afternoon ran very smoothly and the kiddos seemed to have so much fun rotating through the various stations. We crafted, we played games, we danced, and we climbed the rock wall in the gym. A big thank you to those who volunteered. That was a HUGE help for sure! 

You will find a few last minute/reminders for the last two days of school below.

Fourth Grade Party and Awards Reminder

Parents, don't forget that this Thursday afternoon  is our Fourth Grade Celebration Party AND next Tuesday is the Fourth Grade Awards Program. We also have Webb's field day, called Webb Olympics, on Friday morning, up until lunch time. That afternoon is Webb's Color Run, starting at

CBIS Announcement

Fourth Grade Party is now on May 25th:

The office had to move our Awards Day to May 30th, in the afternoon.  This was suppose to be our fourth grade party time.  We are moving the fourth grade party to MAY 25th.  A volunteer sign-up sheet went home earlier this week.  We asked the students to adjust the dates for us.  This post is to help communicate the change, in case it wasn't made on your volunteer sign-up copy.  We need help with the following stations:
Lunch:
Food Set-Up (10:30-11:15)
Food Clean-Up (11:45-12:15)

Stations:
Relay Races, Dancing, Rock Wall, and Craft.  Stations will run from 12:00-2:00.

You will need to have a  clear criminal history report, on file, in the office, for this school year.  This check can be done in the office by using your driver's license.  If you need to do a background check, please have this completed by May 20th.

April 28th Field Trip Reminders

Just a few gentle reminders for April 28th's field trip:
1) Please make sure your child has returned their permission slip and lunch choice of either bringing it from home or ordering a sack lunch.
2)  Please pack the lunches in throw away bags.  Here at school, ALL lunch bags will be placed in large, easy to carry boxes.  NO COOLERS will be taken.  Please keep this in mind when selecting items to put in your child's lunch.  No mayo, meat, or other perishable items. Drinks will be served at room temperature.
3) Please watch the weather.  Dress appropriately.  This is a WALKING tour of the track.  We will walk to various centers to learn about different aspects of the race.  Comfortable shoes are a must!!

Welcome back!

Spring Break was a great time to push the reset button and get ready for the final weeks of school. We have A LOT going on in fourth grade this last nine weeks. I am going to list a few "important dates/events" below to keep you in the loop.

• CBIS-- Tomorrow, Tuesday, we are going to head over to CBIS from 8:15-9:45 to take a tour of CBIS and meet some of the staff. No permission slips are necessary since we have "blanket" permission slips on file in the office for each of our fourth graders. 

• Book Beat-- We kicked off Book Beat before break and some students are already on their second and third books! Book Beat is an annual competition we participate in, held at the Johnson County Public Library. Each student needs to read a MINIMUM of four books to attend. We have a list of 14 books to select from and the more they read, the more they will help their team during the competition. The librarian reads a line from a "mystery book" and students must use their schema to recall from which book it came. Book Beat is on May 18th.

• James Whitcomb Riley-- On Friday, we will have a special visitor in fourth grade. James Whitcomb Riley (actor portraying him) will be speaking to our students. We are focusing on learning about him and his poetry this week in language arts to prepare for the visit. We are learning about "couplets" and "dialect" this week as we analyze his poetry.

• Spring Book Fair-- April 14th-20th is the Spring Book Fair. Students can shop during their lunch/recess time that week. Anytime next week, students can order s'mores for 50 cents and those will be delivered the week of the book fair. The money will go toward rebuilding classroom libraries. 

• ISTEP+ Round 2-- Round two of ISTEP+ is just around the corner, as the window is open from April 17th-April 28th. This portion is computer based and all multiple choice. Please try to avoid making any doctor appointments during the week of the 17th, as we most likely will be testing the first week of the window. 

• Webb's 50th Birthday Bash-- On Sunday, April 23rd, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Webb will be throwing itself a birthday bash. We are inviting ALL Webb alums and current students and families to be a part of this celebration. More information will be coming home soon.

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Field Trip-- Our annual field trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be on Friday, April 28th. We will be there all day and will be limited on the number of chaperones we can take with us. Permission slips will be going home sometime this week and we will be accepting chaperones on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Music Program and Talent Show-- During the evening of Friday, April 28th, there will be a music program (all grades) and a talent show at Webb Elementary. A pulled pork dinner will be available, with more information coming home soon. 

I will also be updating the calendar on the right side of the blog, so watch that for any changes/updates as we have a lot going on in May, as well. For those of you that like to attend, but need advance notice, the Webb Olympics are being held on May 26th this year. We will also have the Color Run and the fourth grade end of year celebration toward the end of May, as well. Have a wonderful Monday and let us know if you have any questions. 

Ag Days on March 15th

The fourth graders will be traveling cross town to the Johnson County Fairgrounds for Ag Days, on Wednesday, March 15th.  Once there, we will rotate to the various centers learning about Agriculture in our area.  The centers include various crops, animals, and how we use the different products in our every day life.   We will be traveling by bus.  We will be leaving around 8:15 and returning around 11:15, just in time for lunch.  We will not need any additional chaperones for this field trip.  Please have your children dress appropriately for being outside, as some of the centers are in the cattle barn and it is NOT HEATED.  

Report Cards

Report cards are going home today!  Please take a minute to find and discuss the positives.  Did your child's grades go up in any subject?  How about his/her behavior marks?  Skills under each subject?  If the grades went down, can you make some short term goals to help bring them up?  As always, we are here to help however we can.  Don't hesitate to call or conference if you have any questions.

ISTEP Clovers

Please look for a white envelope in your child's yellow folder.  This is a super secret project.  There is a letter in the envelope that explains what to do.  Please put your child's name on the outside of the envelope and return it, by this Friday.

Thank you!

Language Arts Updates

I hope this finds everyone enjoying the last day of January! I cannot believe how rapidly this month zipped by us, and without much snow. Please read the information below on all things language arts and my upcoming medical leave.

WRITING----We have been working hard on building our writing skills. We've been focusing on APPLYING what we already know about organization and conventions to create pieces with voice, strong word choice, and interesting details. The students are wrapping up a writing piece they are submitting to the Daily Journal for their "Junior Journal" writing contest. I believe that ALL the stories will be published, but only a few will be awarded prizes. We are competing against the schools in Johnson County. I'll keep families posted if I hear any news of one of our kiddos winning. I will be displaying their writing in the hallway by my classroom for everyone to see, but students can also show you at home, if you have access to the internet and they log on to their Google Drive.

DATA BINDERS----These are updated weekly. Please remind your child to show you their binder and sign the parent page, adding comments if necessary. Several students are not meeting their weekly Reading Counts goals and we will write notes about their progress on their reports. Please let us know if you have any questions.

VOCABULARY/WORD STUDY---- This past Friday, we took our Chapter 6 vocab/word study assessment. These have been graded and added to their data binders. I allowed them to use their study guides if they had them in their yellow folders since we hadn't had much time to review the words in class. I passed out Chapter 7 study guides and packets today. Their study guides will be in the outside, back, clear pocket of their yellow folders. They can take them out to study at night, but need to bring them back to school each day. The picture below is of the roots and words. I spilled water on it last night and it dried wrinkled. ;)

ISTEP----As ISTEP is approaching (the window for round one testing is February 27-March 17th), we need to make sure students are ready to apply what they already know. We often see them zipping through passages, writing prompts, and questions and missing key details. We KNOW they are more skilled than what they sometimes show on assessments and in class throughout the day. If you could give your child a pep talk about really bringing a positive attitude and their very best effort to school each day, that would help them navigate their day and find more success.

MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE----I sent home a letter today and an email out, as well, announcing that I would be off work for three weeks. I will be having surgery on Tuesday, February 7th, and will not be released for work until at least February 28th. My sub will be Katie Hammaker. She has subbed for several long and short-term leaves in our district since the start of the school year. She comes highly recommended and I have confidence the kiddos will be in great hands.

Happy rest of your week and please contact me with any questions or concerns. Thanks!

January Updates for Language Arts (and class general info)

We were so happy to see all of our kiddos breeze back through the door on Monday morning. We missed them so much over break! We hit the ground running this week, with many (small) changes to our daily schedule and a few new faces in our building. Hopefully your child shared information about our new PE teacher, Mr. Hartman, and our special Japanese visitors this week.

I wanted to post a few pieces of information and will list them below to make it easier to refer to, if you need to revisit.

• Freedom Train Field Trip-- We are going to watch the play, "Freedom Train", on Thursday, January 26th, at Clowes Hall at Butler University. Permission slips were sent home on Monday. The cost is $8.00 per child. We will be back to Webb by lunchtime, so sack lunches will not be necessary. Permission slips and money are due by Friday, January 20th. Please send those in asap. To prepare for this field trip, we've been learning about Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists that had a major impact in the fight against slavery. 
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Field Trip-- On Wednesday, February 15th, we will be attending the play, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", at Franklin Community High School. There is no charge for this play and permission forms are not needed. Again, we will be back to Webb by lunchtime and do not need to pack sack lunches. 
• Report Cards-- Report cards were sent home yesterday (Thursday, January 12th) and were placed in your child's data binder, along with updated NWEA test scores and goal pages. We are working on setting goals with your kiddos here at school, but would love for you to discuss those goals (and add some, if need be) at home.
• Vocabulary-- I am sending home a new list today. I will attach a snapshot of the words below, but your child is also bringing home their list, with definitions and examples, today. The test will on January 27th. I am also challenging students to learn how to accurately spell 150 "no excuses" words that they should know how to spell fluently by 4th grade. That list has been in their yellow folder since Monday and will stay in there until they pass, with 100% accuracy, all 150 words.