It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas is almost here and we are very busy with lots of activities. Today we made gingerbread glyphs with our kindergarten buddies. The gingerbread man tells all about us such as how many brothers and sisters, when our birthday is, and what our hobbies are.

Pictured here are Gavin and Eric with their gingerbread glyphs.

We also finished reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It is a hilarious story about the awful Herdman children who learn the true meaning of Christmas. We had a lot of laughs in this book. We particularly enjoyed when Claude Herdman took his crazy one-eyed cat to show and tell. Monday brings the much anticipated movie day and Tuesday will be the annual Christmas assembly. Merry Christmas!

Open House and Conference Day

Open House is on Thursday, November 6th from 6:30 - 7:30. I hope you will be able to stop in and visit your child's classroom and see what we have been busy working on. Conference day is scheduled for Friday, November 14th. Please return your child's conference paper so that I can begin scheduling conferences.

Native American Projects

We just finished up a unit in Social Studies on the Native Americans in Pennsylvania.
Students worked in groups and researched a Native American tribe in Pennsylvania. The main tribes to live in PA were the Lenape and the Susquehannock. The Erie, Seneca, and Shawnee also lived in PA. The students did a very nice job creating their informative posters. Pictured here are Maddie, Reese, and Misty with their poster on the Erie Indians.

Animal Classification

In our animal unit, we have been classifying the animal kingdom. Today in Science the students did a classification activity. They had to first classify animals as either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. Then they had to classify all the vertebrates as a mammal, bird, reptile, fish, or amphibian. They had to classify the invertebrates as arthopods, mollusks, echinoderms, or ringed worms. Pictured here are Casey and Noah.

Spelling - Week of October 6-10

This is a review week for spelling. Students should be studying the words from units 1-5. I will be sending a new list with the students today in case you no longer have the list. This week's test will be a bit different. It is a 25 point multiple choice test, and students will have to choose the correct spelling of the word from 4 different choices.

4th Grade Presents Stone Soup

Room 202 has been working on the musical Stone Soup in music class with Mrs. Nesta. Please be sure your child is practicing their lines and the songs. Students also need to be sure that they have a costume to wear for the performance. Room 202 will be performing for parents on Friday, October 10th at 2:30. Hope you can join in the fun.

Leaf Critters

On Friday, we did an art project with our kindergarten buddies in Mrs. Campbell's room. The students used leaves of various shapes and sizes to create leaf critters. They came up with some pretty creative critters.

Message in a Bottle

We played a game in Social Studies today to practice using latitude and longitude. Students were trying to rescue castaways from a ship wreck by using latitude and longitude coordinate clues that the castways sent out as a message in a bottle. Pictured here are Nick and Maddi.

Fill the Bill Science Activity

We have been learning about animal adaptations in science class. Today we did an activity called "Fill the Bill." Students had to determine which bird beak (utensil) was best fitted for each type of food. One station was nectar (a narrow vase with water) and the beaks included a strainer, an eye dropper, and chopsticks. The students determined that the eye dropper was the best beak to get the nectar. They also learned that a hummingbird has a long narrow beak like an eye dropper to get the nectar inside a flower. Other stations included getting worms out of mud, caterpillars off a log, tiny water plants and animals, and even flying insects.

Ride the Wave Day

Friday, we will be kicking off our anti-bullying program. Our theme is Ride the Wave to a Bully Free School. Tomorrow we will be having an assembly to launch this program with the students. We are asking students to dress in surfer shorts and beach shirts tomorrow. Sunglasses and hats will be allowed at the assembly. Following the assembly we will be having our first class meeting to discuss what bullying is. Class meetings will be held on a weekly basis on Fridays. Please be sure to talk with your child about what we are discussing about bullying in our class meetings.

Welcome to Room 202

It is hard to believe that school is starting already. Where did the summer go? I am looking forward to a fun, exciting, and learning filled year. Parents, please check my blog frequently to stay up to date on the happenings in Room 202. You will also find the weekly spelling words posted on this site.

Accelerated Reader Reward Trip

Last week, the top 10 Accelerated Readers in grades 4, 5, and 6 were treated to an afternoon of lunch and mini golf at Wolf's Camping Resort. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Titley at the campground for donating the lunch and mini golf. Before returning to school, the students were treated to ice cream at Renningers. Congratulations to the following top 10 readers in 4th grade: Danie, Chad, Hunter, Tyler, Kierstie, Rebekah, Tuesday, Lizzie, Emily, and Shawntelle. Thank you to Mrs. Sliker for the pictures.

PA Trivia Finalists

Congratulations to the following PA Trivia Finalists: Josh, Tuesday, Ethan, Cassie, Chad, Danie, Hunter, Austin, Ashlyn, and Rebekah. The fourth grade competition will be held on May 27th at 2:00. Please join us to cheer your child on.

PA

Clear Creek Field Trip

One of the favorite parts of the field trip was the stream activity. The students explored the stream and caught "critters." Some of our finds included a dobsonfly nymph, a stonefly nymph, a mayfly nymph, a salamander, and many water striders. The water was freezing cold, but it was lots of fun. Pictured here are Nately and Ashlyn.

Pennsylvania Trivia Contest

Fourth graders are busy learning their PA trivia. Each student has a big list of trivia questions to be studying. We will be having our classroom competition on May 14th. At our classroom competition, we will narrow it down to the top 10 in Room 202. The top 10 from each 4th grade class will compete in the competition on May 27th. Study those trivia questions!!!

Clear Creek Field Trip

On Tuesday, May 13th, the fourth grade will be taking a field trip to Clear Creek State Park. If your child has not already returned their permission slip, please be sure that they do. At Clear Creek, the students will be digging the Allegheny River watershed in the beach area. They will also learn about the logging industry in the 1800's. Please be sure your child dresses for the weather. We will be hiking, so be sure your child is wearing tennis shoes and long pants. They should also take an extra pair of pants and shoes because we will be wading in the creek to find the litter critters that live there.

Animal Research Reports

The animal research report is due on Friday, May 2nd. Please be sure your child is working on it and not waiting until the last minute. The students will receive their book as soon as they have completed their rough draft. Each 2 page spread in the book needs a picture. The pictures can be drawn by hand or printed from the internet. They can either write directly in the book or type it on the computer and then cut and paste into the book. The students have a paper explaining all of this. I am excited to see the final product.

Earth Day News

We celebrated Earth Day yesterday with a water pollution activity called Fred the Fish. We traveled down the river with Fred as he encountered many types of water pollution. Poor Fred swam through litter, pesticides, toxic waste, untreated sewage, and many other things that polluted his habitat. By the end of Fred's journey, the water was very dirty and poor Fred was dead. This was an eye opening experience for the students, and they saw first hand how their actions everyday effect the rivers and wildlife around us. Sorry I forgot to take pictures.

On Friday, we will be heading outside with our kindergarten buddies to collect garbage around the school. It always surprises me how much garbage we find.

Field Trip Info

On April 30, 4th grade will be visiting Quiet Creek. Quiet Creek is an organic farm near Brookville. We will be spending the day outside, so be sure your child is dressed for the weather. Remember to pack some sunblock. Quiet Creek is providing lunch.

On May 13, we will be going to Clear Creek State Park. We will spend the morning digging the Allegheny River watershed on the beach area. Students will be digging the Allegheny River and its tributaries. They will also be building towns along the river. At the end, we will fill the river with water and watch it flow to Pittsburgh. Later, the students will hike the Ox Shoe Trail, find aquatic critters in the stream, and learn about the early logging history in Northwest Pennsylvania.

For the Clear Creek trip, we will be outside. Children will need a change of clothes and shoes. They always end up getting wet in the creek. Remember the sunblock. Dress warmly - it is always a little bit colder at Clear Creek. You will be getting information and permissions slips soon for this trip.

Animal Research

The outlines for the animal reports are due Thursday, April 17. Many students already have their outlines turned in and checked and have moved on to the rough draft. Some students have even started publishing in their hardback book. Your child will receive their book when they are ready to begin publishing. The books are due on May 2nd. Please be checking your child's progress so they are not trying to finish everything at the last minute.

Middle West Test

We will be having our chapter 7 test on the Middle West on Wednesday, April 9th. On Friday, April 11, students will be tested on labeling the Middle West states and the Great Lakes on the map.

Animal Research Reports

We have begun our animal research report in my language arts class. Each student is researching a different North American animal. Each student will publish their final product in a hardback book. The students are very excited about this project and have already found lots of interesting information about their animal.

Fourth Grade News

This week, fourth grade classrooms are participating in centers to review for the PSSA test. Students are doing a fun activity in each classroom.

Later this week, students will begin their North American wildlife report. They will be publishing their final project in a hardback book.

March News

On Friday, we did an Easter craft with our kindergarten buddies. We dipped yarn in glue water and wrapped it around a balloon. After the yarn dried, we popped the balloon to create an Easter egg. It was a great experience in working together.

Room 202 is busy preparing for the PSSA's. We will be testing during the week of March 31st. Please be sure your child is well rested for the test.