May 14-25, 2012

Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. - George S. Patton Jr.

Dear Parents,

Well, we are in the countdown for summer.  I can tell the kids are excited to be out, but I still expect them to do their best while they are here and finish up with a bang!

The Reading Celebration was great fun, we have such an awesome PTA here at South.  Thank you!

I will be sending home Missing Assignment print outs for those who are missing assignments.  The last day to turn in work will be Tuesday, May 22. 

Important Dates:

• May 14, Celebrate Hope's Birthday! (6/5)
• May 14, Reading Celebration
• May 15, Celebrate Abi's Birthday! (6/7)
• May 15, Family Literacy Night, in our school library. 
• May 16, Celebrate Trevor's Birthday! (6/10)
• May 16, Book Fair in library, Buy 1 Get 1 Free
• May 17, Celebrate Zoe's Birthday! (7/12)
• May 17, 4th grade Program, notes went home Monday with information, 2:30 in gym
• May 18, Celebrate Dallas' Birthday! (6/12)
• May 18, Battle of Books with winners of 4th grade classes
• May 21, Field Day, outside most of day!
• May 22, Celebrate RaeLynn's Birthday! (7/13)
• May 22, Banana Split Celebration!
• May 23, Celebrate Emeline's Birthday! (6/17)
• May 25, Last day of school, out at 2:30

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language #32, due on Friday.  This will be our last homework for the school year.  Thank you for helping your child each week with this! 
• Nightly reading.  Even though we have turned in the May reading calendar, please keep reading each night for the rest of the school year and through out the summer.  This will help your student as they go into 5th grade.

Banana Split Celebration:
Here is a list of the supplies/ingredients I need and what I already have.  If you can help with one or more of the supplies, please send me an email.

• napkins - have
• bowls (30) - Shonna Meisner
• spoons (30) - have
• bananas (14) - Brittany Pierce
• ice cream (3-5 cartons)
•  vanilla, 2 - Renel Sobel
•  chocolate - LeAnn Wankier
  
•  mint
•  
• toppings (3 different flavors) - Shonna Meisner
•  chocolate/fudge
•  carmel
• butterscotch
• cherries (small bottle)
• sprinkles (3 bottles) - Lynette Harris

Thank you again for your beautiful children!  It has been a blessing to be their teacher!

Michelle Komarek

April 30-May 4, 2012

 He who is really kind can never be unhappy.  He who is wise can never be confused.  He who is really brave is never afraid. - Confucius

Dear Parents,

Wow! Can you believe that we only have four weeks of school left? We have lessons, testing, reviews, and projects that we are still working on. 

Last week I mentioned that library books were due on two different days; library books due this week and take home books are due on May 7. 

We will be celebrating all of our summer birthdays throughout the next month. Treats are optional. 

On Monday we had the opportunity to go to the new SUU Natural Museum of History. Much thanks to MaryJo Tufte for organizing this wonderful learning opportunity for our students! 

Please look over the dates, so much going on!

Important Dates: 

• May 2, 10:45, Science testing.  I changed the time so student's wouldn't be tired after our field trip on Friday.
• May 3, Cereal Box book report due 
• May 3, April reading calendar due 
• May 3, LA Testing, 10:30 a.m. 
• May 4, Frontier Homestead field trip, we will be riding bus then and walking back to school for lunch. Thanks to parents who are taking time out of their day to volunteer during the field trip. 
• May 7, Battle of the Books 
• May 9, Celebrate Melo's Birthday! (8/9)
• May 9, Math testing, 10:30 a.m. 
• May 10, Celebrate Japrix's birthday! (July/22) 
• May 11, Math testing, 10:30 a.m. 
• May 11, Celebrate Alyssa's Birthday! (July/26)
• May 14, Celebrate Hope's Birthday! (June/5) 
• May 14, Reading Celebration-MAY READING CALENDAR DUE!! This is your ticket to the celebration.
• May 15, Celebrate Abi's Birthday! (June/7) 
• May 15, Family Literacy Night 
• May 16, Celebrate Trevor's Birthday! (June/10) 
• May 17, Celebrate Zoe's Birthday! (July/12) 
• May 17, 4th Grade Program, 2:30 p.m. 
• May 18, Celebrate Dallas' Birthday! (June/12) 
• May 21, Field Day! 
• May 22, Celebrate RaeLynn's Birthday! (July/13) 
• May 22, Banana Split Celebration, times tables
• May 23, Celebrate Emeline's Birthday! (June/17) 
• May 25, Last day of school, out at 2:30 

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language #30, due on Friday
• Nightly reading, 20 minutes!

Do I have any parents that would be interested in donating items for our Banana Split Celebration?  Will you please email me if you are interested in helping.

Thank you for all that you do!  

Michelle Komarek

April 23-27, 2012

We can do no great things-only small things with great love. -Mother Teresa

Dear Parents,

Good morning!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend. 
Today we are off to have a day of outdoor learning!  We will be reviewing our science units and hiking. 
Our school Reading Celebration will be on May 14th this year.  The requirements to go for our class is to read 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week,  this has been the requirements for reading all year long.  Since I don't require students to turn in reading minutes everyday,  the April reading Calendar is due on May 3rd and the  May reading calendar will be due on the 14th of May.  If the reading calendars are not turned in on time and does not meet the required reading minutes the student will not be able to attend the celebration.  
This will be the last week of Parent Helpers, thank you so so much for all of the help that you have given your child this year!  It has made a difference!
We will be celebrating our summer birthdays starting in May, look for the date when we will be celebrating in the important dates section of the newsletter.
I extended the time for the Cereal Box Book Report , it will be due on May 3rd.  One more note, I mentioned in my email on Friday that the Kite Festival was on Saturday, I was wrong, it is this Saturday.  Sorry for the mix up!

Important Dates:

• April 23, all day field trip to Zion National Park
• April, 24, guest speaker from Living Planet Aquarium
• April 28, Kite reading festival at CMS, you can count your reading minutes that you have done for class!
• April 30, 9:00 a.m. LA testing
• April 30, walking field trip to SUU Museum of Natural History
• May 1, all library books due
• May 3, 10:30 a.m. LA testing
• May 3, Cereal Box Book Report Due
• May 3, April Reading Calendar due
• May 4, Frontier Homestead State Park field trip, I need at 2 parent helpers, email if you are able to help.  9:00 to 12:00
• May 4, 1:00p.m. Science Testing
• May 7, Battle of the Books
• May 7, all library books due
• May 9, 10:30 a.m. Math Testing
• May 10, Happy Birthday Japrix! (July 22)
• May 11, 10:30 a.m. Math Testing
• May 11, Happy Birthday Alyssa! (July 26)
• May 11, Banana Split Celebration

Curriculum News:

• Daily 5 - We will be having a spelling test this Friday!  We start our LA testing next week. When we are done with LA testing I will continue on with our small groups in literacy time.  I will also be doing end of year reading assessments.
• Math - We will be starting Topic 17 tomorrow, this unit will be on data and graphing.  I won't be doing any more end of topic tests, instead I will use any extra time on reviewing and preparing for testing.
• Science - We are on our last unit of science, Soils!  We will finish this unit on Thursday.  Monday we will be going to the SUU Natural Museum.
• Social Studies/Art -  We will start understanding more about the Utah Pioneers and work on complying our student portfolios.

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language #29, due on Friday
• Nightly reading, 20 minutes, 5 nights a week
• Cereal Box book Report

Please make an effort to have your students here on testing days.  I have the dates and times listed above.  Thank you again for all of your help and your terrific 4th graders!

Michelle Komarek

April 9-13, 2012

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. - William Arthur Ward

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new week!  I hope that you all had a wonderful Spring Break.  We are on the downhill of our school year, 7 more weeks.  Wow!  This year has gone by too fast!

I will be sending home Progress Reports this week.  Please look this over with your student.

End of level testing will start for us at the end of April, in the mean time we will continue to prepare and finish up our units of study.  Please try to have your student here on the days that we will be testing.  I will have the dates and times listed below of when they are scheduled.

We have several field trips planned in the coming weeks.  A permission slip went home last week with all the field trips listed on it.  I need that returned with your signature in order for your student to attend the field trips.  First field trip is on Thursday.

The window for requesting a teacher for next year is open.  It is the first two weeks of April.  There is a form on the school's website that will need to be followed.  Our wonderful 5ht grade teachers are Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Payne, and Mrs. Little.

Important Dates:

• April 10, 9:00 a.m. LA test practice in computer lab
• April 11, Kindergarten registration
• April 11, 11:00 a.m. Math test practice in computer lab 
• April 12, Walking field trip to Heritage Theater.  
• April 12, Marvin & Jesse play
• April 18, Happy Birthday Kelton!
• April 23, all day Field trip to Zion National Park
• April 28, Kite reading Festival at Cedar Middle School
• April 30, 9:00 a.m. LA Testing
• April 30, Walking field trip to SUU Museum
• May 1, all library books due!
• May 3, 10:30 a.m. LA testing

Curriculum News:

• Daily 5 - Spelling test this week.  Small group time is focused on word patterns,  comprehension, fluency, and accuracy.  In writing students are finishing up past writing assignments.  We will start writing a persuasive paper next.
• Math - We are on Topic 16, Standard and Metric Measurement.  Each week we are having a times tables test to earn parts of a banana split, please continue to practice at home to keep the facts fresh in your mind.
• Science - We have started our last unit in science, Rocks and Soils.  Students will be doing several investigations to learn more about the rock cycle, different types of rocks, how to classify rocks, and the different layers of soil.
• Social Studies/Art - Students will begin learning more about the pioneers of Utah in the coming weeks.  Our art will be tied in to math, science, and writing lessons.

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language # 27, due on Friday
• Nightly reading, keep track of minutes on April calendar.  March reading calendar due today.
• Cereal Box book report.

Thank you for all you do!  Have a great week!

Michelle Komarek

March 26-April 6, 2012

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.  -Samuel Johnson

Dear Parents,

Congratulations to all of my amazing students, their terrific science projects, and a big shout-out to Hope Tufte, who was the 1st place winner of 4th grade!!  

End of Level Testing is fast approaching, please try not to schedule trips during that time.  I will let you know of our testing dates, times, and subjects.  All 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades will be testing in the computer lab.

I sent home information for our new book report.  During library I had students choose a book from the Battle of the Books list.  I tried to help with interest and reading ability.  Hopefully this will be a fun book report.  It is due April 23.

If you are interested in requesting a teacher for next year the window for that is the first two weeks of April.  There will be a form on the school's website at the end of March.  Our wonderful 5th grade teachers are Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Little, and Mrs. Payne. 

Important Dates:

• March 28, Happy Birthday Veronica!
• April 4-8, Spring/Easter Break
• April 10, 9:00 a.m. in lab for LA practice test
• April 11, Kindergarten Registration
• April 11, 11:00 a.m. in lab for Math practice test
• April 12, Walking Field trip to Heritage Theater
• April 12, Marvin & Jesse play
• April 18, Happy Birthday Kelton!
• April 23, all day Field Trip to Zion National Park
• April 28, Kite Reading Festival at Cedar Middle School
• April 30, 9:00 am, LA testing
• April 30, walking field trip to SUU Musuem
• May 1, All library books due!
• May 3, 10:30 am, LA testing
• May 3, 1:30 pm, Science testing 

Curriculum News:

• Daily 5 - Spelling test this week.  In writing students are finishing up comics, poetry, and we will be beginning a persuasive paper.   During small groups we are working on comprehension, fluency, characters, settings, plots, and accuracy in our reading books.
• Math - We are moving right along in our math books.  This week we will finish up topics 14 and 15, both have been on geometry.  Topic 16 is on measurement, standard and metric.  Please continue to work on times tables at home.  We are doing a weekly times table test to keep them fresh in our minds!
• Science - This will be our last week on fossils.  Our next unit will be on the rock cycle, minerals, and soil.  The fossils that they have made will be coming home this Friday.
• Social Studies/Art - I have been tying in our art projects with math, writing, and social studies.   Art's Night last Monday was a great success.    Once we finish up Mt. Men we will begin learning about Utah's Pioneers.

Homework:

• Daily Math &  Language #26, due on Friday
• No homework next week
• Nightly reading, mark minutes on reading calendar!
• Cereal Box book report

I just cant thank you all enough for your wonderful children.  It is a pleasure to be with, teach them, and to see their improvements!
Michelle Komarek

 

March 19-23, 2012

I have no special talents.  I am only passionately curious. - Albert Einstein

Dear Parents,

We have a busy week ahead of us, it is Art's Night tonight, Science Fair on Thursday, notes on green paper about where to place project on Thursday is coming home today and the School Musical will be on Thursday and Friday evening.  Good luck to all those in our class who are participating!

Today is the first day of 4th term!  I can't believe how fast this year is going!  I will be sending home final 3rd term Progress Reports and goals from SEP's this week.

There is a link on my blogspot where the students can take practice test to help prepare for end of level tests at home.  We will be practicing and preparing in class, but it is good for the student's to be able to practice at home as well.   All your student needs to do is click on the link that has utips.sedc in it.  This will take them to a page that they can then pick which test/subject/standard they want to take.  Click on the test, put in first and last name and then "login/start".  Their scores will be emailed directly to me when the test is completed.

If you have questions or are interested in requesting a teacher for next year, the time frame is April 1-15.  More information will be posted on the school's blog at the end of March.  Our outstanding 5th grade teachers are Mrs. Little, Mrs. Payne, and Mrs. Williams.

Curriculum News:

• Daily 5 - New word study words are coming home today, test will be on March 30th.  I love our small group time and I am seeing a lot of progress.  My focus continues to be comprehension, fluency, and accuracy.  We are also working on characters in novels.  In writing students  are working on their comics and tall tales.  Last week students wrote a Limerick for their March poem.
• Math - Students will be testing on Topic 13 today and starting Topic 14 tomorrow.  Topic 14 is on Geometry: Area, Perimeter of rectangles and triangles.  We have started our next times tables challenge, a Banana Split Celebration.  Continue to work on those times tables at home!
• Science - We are still learning about fossils, students are working in groups to research the different extinction theories.  They will be presenting their findings to the class on Wednesday.  We will be finishing up this unit this week and starting Rocks, our final unit, next week.
• Social Studies/Art -  I am putting our Mt. Man Unit on hold while we focus on Math for the next couple of weeks.  For Art each student has their Recycled Art which will be in Art's Night tonight.  They are also creating Comics.

Important Dates: 

• March 19, Art's Night
• March 22, Science Fair and the Musical "WELCOME"
• March 23, Musical "WELCOME", 6:30 p.m.
• March 24, Happy Birthday Avery!
• March 28, Happy Birthday Veronica!
• April 4-8, Easter Break
• April 3, March reading Calendar Due
• April 11, Kindergarten Registration
• April 12, Field Trip to Heritage Theater, CCMA-New York Polyphony, Male Vocal Group
• April 18, Happy Birthday Kelton!

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language #25, due on Friday
• Nightly reading
• Finish up Science project

I hope you all have a great week this week, I know that we will here in 4th grade!  Thank you for getting your cute kids here each day ready to learn!
Michelle Komarek

March 12-16, 2012

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go. - An Irish Blessing

Dear Parents,

Thank you, thank you for coming last week for SEP's.  This week is the last week of 3rd term.  I will be sending home a note of missing assignments.  Please help your student get everything turned in.

We have a lot going on the next two weeks of school: spring pictures, science fair, school musical, and Art's Night.  Dates will be listed below in the Important Dates section.

Curriculum News:

• Daily 5 -There will be a spelling test this week on individual words.  In small group I am working on comprehension and fluency.  In writing students are writing comics and our poem for this month will be a Limerick.
• Math - Students are bringing home math tests from Topics 10, 11, and 12.  We started Topic 13 today.  This week students will be rounding decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and multiplying and dividing decimals.  We have also started a new times table challenge.  Students will be earning a "Banana Split Celebration". 
• Science - Students have been learning about the different types of fossils and what kind of environments fossils came from.  This week we will continue to explore and compare fossils and find out where in Utah fossils came from.
• Social Studies/Art - In art I have combined our art project with a writing.  Students are creating comics.  Students are still finishing up their Mt. Men books and reports.  I won't move on until every one has finished.

Important Dates:

• March 16, end of 3rd term
• March 16, SPRING PICTURES
• March 19, Arts Night
• March 22, Science Fair and the Musical "WELCOME", 6:30p.m.
• March 23, Musical "WELCOME", 6:30p.m.
• March 24, Happy Birthday Avery!
• March 28, Happy Birthday Veronica!

Homework:

• Daily Math & Language #24, due on Friday
• Nightly reading
• Science project

Thank you again for coming in last week!
Michelle Komarek