Must Have Permission to Watch!

As I mentioned yesterday, we will be viewing the movie HOOT tomorrow in class. It is rated PG. Therefore, I will need to obtain your permission in order for your child to view it. Please sign their planner with a yes or a no and your initials. Without this they will NOT be allowed to watch the film.

Hoot is about three kids that team up against a construction company that is going to bulldoze a forest full of owls. These owls are endangered. They pull pranks and stand up for what is right. It has a lot of humor and is AWESOME!! Kids can make a difference too!

PLEASE BRING IN YOUR BAKE SALE TREATS TOMORROW MORNING BEFORE SCHOOL! EARN $100 FOR EACH BATCH! THANKS!

WooHoo Toot Toot!

Hello. What an amazing concert today! Trust me and my ears...they came a LONG way in a short time. Amazing talent from both them and Mr. Goodheart! If you missed the concert you can see the recorded version at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-you-better-believe-network. So cool! Mr. Goodheart's cousin (?) is also a music teacher in another state so they tuned in and watched his concert live. LOVE IT!!

On Friday, we will be watching the movie HOOT. It ties into our environmental/endangered animal studies in science. Students may bring a drink of their choice. I will provide the popcorn. I owe them for all their AWESOME sub behavior last month!!! If anyone has the DVD of this movie could you please lend it to me tomorrow. Otherwise, I will go rent it. Thanks!!

In Social Studies we have been touring different states found in the MW region. Today we stopped off in Detroit, Michigan and read about Henry Ford. Last week we oovooed in with Patrick from Michigan and he told us that Detroit is famous for the car industry. So, we made our own Model T cars with I must say some major improvements: flames, peace signs, spiky wheels, and all. Come check out the hall display. Yesterday, we stopped off in Kansas. We learned about cowboys and prairies. We sang the song, Home Home on the Range. Then we got into groups and created new verses for the song. As you can hear below, they are quite funny and since when is my class shy????

Pennies for the planet is rocking!!! We have collected over 40 dollars in pennies!! We are making a huge difference in the Everglades Pather's life!! WE could save the species!! Keep looking under those couch cushions! :0)

Have a wonderful evening!

Our Own Home on the Range Songs

Home, Home on the Range...Erickson version

Grocery Bags

Important!

Please check take home folders. There should be four important things in there.

1. April Lunch Menu

2. Bake Sale Request

3. Recorder Concert Live

4. Report Card-Return Cover Only Tomorrow Please

Thanks! Cya tomorrow!

Bully Talk with Mr. Senitte

Today Mr. Senitte and Mr. Ashcraft were in our room. The purpose of their visit was to discuss some bully issues happening at Bitterroot Elementary. Now, these are not severe issues but we are doing everything in our power to nip this behavior in the bud before it gets there. Bitterroot is known for its strong respect for rules and safety. We will do everything to keep it that way. Some of the issues we are seeing are swearing, name calling and rumor spreading. Mr. Senitte addressed the swearing issue with giving alternatives to swear words. At school, the word sucks is considered a swear word. I have heard this in our classroom recently. It will not be tolerated beyond this point. Mr. Senitte was right today when he said we are a school of respect and we need to demonstrate that with our words when we communicate. Name calling was also discussed in length. What we are seeing a lot of is words being used that are probably not really understood by 9 and 10 year olds. Words like gay, lesbian, and hooker. Students most likely have heard these words on TV or at home and have brought them to school. These words have been used by some 4th graders and it will no longer be tolerated. Mr. Senitte did not go into the meaning of these words, but did encourage students to have at home conversations about them. He also addressed the phrase, think before you speak. This is a phrase that I use as well in class. Students need to make sure they are saying things that make others feel good about themselves or nothing at all. We all know the saying, if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. Lastly, we talked a lot about rumor spreading. This has been a huge problem in our class. We have been talking about this for over two weeks now. The strategy I have taught the kids, and they are finally starting to understand and use, is when they hear a rumor stop passing it. Go directly to the source and get the real story. Ask them directly if they said this or that. Most of the time, by the time one hears a rumor it is so far from the original truth that it is even more hurtful. So, I encourage you to tell your child the same thing when they come home with a story about so and so said this or so and so said that. I encourage you to say to them, did you go to the source and ask them if this is true? It is also important to say to them, have you told this to anyone else or did you stop the rumor in its tracks? Students need modeled behavior. There is no better model than you their parents and us their teachers. Together, we can solve all three of these bully type behaviors quickly. I appreciate all that you do already, and please feel free to talk to me openly about any of these issues.

Monday!

Great start to the last week before spring break. Petey is getting really good, and our journey through the Everglades is getting a little wet, then dry, then cold, then wet, then dry...ask your kids what that is all about!

Pennies for planets is going great! We have collected over 30 dollars. We are ahead of Mrs. Hankin's class but we are NOT getting cocky! Keep checking under those couch cushions!!

The recorder concert is this Wednesday at 1:00 in the gym. If you are unable to attend...no worries! I will be broadcasting it LIVE on the interned on our classroom ustream channel. WOOHOO!! Live is best, but if you really can't make it try to get near a computer at that time. It will also be recorded and can be viewed later. Watch for the address on tomorrow's blog or on the information sheet coming home in the take home folders tomorrow. Yes!!

Have a super night.

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!!! WE ROCKED!!

WOOHOO!

A Day FULL of Testing...but we are DONE!!!!!!

Recycling At School

What a Packed Day!

It all started with our visit from MCC (Montana Conservation Corps). Crew Member Chris talked to us about Michigan and Alisa talked to us about Minnesota. The whole crew shared about themselves and life in MCC by sharing a very entertaining rap. The kids really got into it as well, as you can see. Then we had our second guest speaker: A real live Irish man named Allister, accent and all! He started off his talk by clearing up some misconceptions that Americans have about Ireland and the Irish. It was very, very interesting. If you would like to view the Ireland talk you can go to my ustream channel at http:www.ustream.tv/channel/the-you-better-believe-network. Finally, we ended the day with the green contest and our candy auction.

Tomorrow we test our very last two math sessions. Students may bring a morning and afternoon snack. Then we will say goodbye to our MONTCAS testing for the year! I am so proud of the students. Wow!

Have a wonderful evening!

Happy Irish Day!!

Top o' the mornin to ya! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Students may wear green today as long as it is not body paint or hairspray or anything else that might wipe off or smear on our MontCas tests. Hats are great!

Thank you to everyone for bringing back your pictures. Go Team Erickson!

We will be testing today. What better day than when you can have the Luck of the Irish on your side??? Perfect! Protein snacks are encouraged.

We will have two guest speakers in the house today. MCC is coming to talk about two of our ME region states :Minnesota and Michigan. And my dear friend Allistar from Ireland will also be here this afternoon. He is actually from Ireland! SWEEEEET!!!

We will also have a small candy/St. Patrick's day/Easter auction today. Your kids have WAY to much money and the bank is going broke! I will remind them to save at least 3000 dollars for upcoming field trips before they start to spend. Fun!

Student's should have shown you their take home folders last night. Inside there were two important articles. One was on Pennies for the Planet. As you know, we are studying the Everglades in Florida. I happened to stumble upon this article asking for kids to collect pennies/coins in order to help save the Florida Panther. Perfect! I just love when I find opportunities to allow a child to learn what it feels like to give back, and Mother Earth is the perfect one to give back to. So, we have challenged Mrs. Hankin's class to see who can raise the most change over the next two months. Now, we do have a slight advantage because in our classroom we are pumped up and huge BELIEVERS! :0)

The other important article was on the Census. The census came up in Social Studies awhile ago. We have discussed it in class. You should have or will be getting your census in the mail. I received mine the other day. It is so easy to fill out and all that is wanted is the number and names of the people living in your house presently. Then simply mail it back, no stamp needed. If you do this civic duty, please write a note in your child's planner and I will reward them $100. This census is SO important to the educational system and we, in Montana, can't afford to lose anymore of our federal funding. Thanks in advance!

Lastly, the March Volunteer sheets came home yesterday. We will be joining up with MCC again to do a clean up on their adopted road, which is Rheberg and Shiloh. Please have your child at Albertsons on Grand and 32nd at 9 am this Saturday. Pick up time is at 11 am. The weather may change on us again, so dress prepared. We will go, rain or shine or snow! Well, it is Montana! :0) Parents are welcome to stay too!!!

Have a LUCKY day! Hope you are wearing green!

Rumors...

I am wondering if I could ask a favor. There has been some recent rumor activity in our room and on the playground. A lot of class time is being taken by trying to sort these rumors out. In class, we have been talking about the fact that when one hears a rumor, they need to not believe it until they go directly to the source and ask that person. So many times, rumors are not the true story and end up twisting the truth. I would love it if you could have a discussion abut this at home around the dinner table as well.

Thank You.

Spring Forward!

This week we will be taking the last of our MontCas tests: Math. We will be taking these on Wednesday and Thursday. Please do everything in your power to make sure you child is at school on these days. So far, we have had 100% attendance and have had to do NO makeup tests! This is awesome and it really does make a difference! Yay team!

Thanks to all of you that have sent back your picture money or packets. If you have yet to return them, please do so by Monday. Students will be fined $100 per day that they are not returned at this point. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Jensen for taking car of this for our class!!

See everyone tomorrow...and hopefully we all remembered to turn our clocks one hour ahead.

Rock on Garret!

Thanks Garret for teaching us about Kentucky being the Blue Grass State. I am so proud of you going above and beyond the call of duty! Hope you get to learn to play that one day!

Testing is done for the week. The kids did GREAT! Thanks for all of your support. We will take the Math sections next week on Wednesday and Thursday. Math...my favorite! They are ready! Bring it!!!

The SE gameboards are AWESOME! I am so impressed with the "strange, crazy, funny facts they found." The creativity of the gameboards themselves was impressive as well. We will be playing and learning tomorrow!

The writing prompt tonight requires a parent's help s be ready to do some homework too!

Have a great night!

Due Dates

Testing went very well today. Please continue to encourage your child to stay focussed, read carefully, answer the entire question, show proof when writing the essay questions, and to SHINE! They are doing great. Tomorrow we have the last two reading sessions. We will take one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Snacks may be brought in for both. (Protein Packed!) Thanks for all the great breakfast choices. I heard about them today at morning meeting. Nice!!

Library is tomorrow. Please remember to remind them to bring their books.

Gameboards for SE states are due tomorrow at 8:30 AM. Remember each board needs to have...

1. 25 squares total (no more, no less)

2. 10 squares need fascinating facts about your state

3. 3 places or landmarks drawn on your board and labeled.

4. 3 symbols or words drawn on your board and labeled.

5. Start and an End

6. State Name

7. Creativity and Cooperation are needed

We will be playing these games tomorrow in class and Friday with Mrs. Hankin's class. I have already learned a ton just by grading them. Some funny stuff!!!

Have a wonderful and restful evening!

Reminders.

We have MontCas testing tomorrow for the Reading section. This test is the most challenging due to kids getting tired while reading 4-5 passages. It will really help if they have that full 8 hours of sleep tonight and a good breakfast packed with protein. PLEASE avoid sugar cereals tomorrow. Eggs and peanutbutter toast is a great start! Kids can bring a protein snack as well. Hard boiled eggs are always good, just shell before class please. Peanutbutter on a spoon is also a great treat!

We have been studying animals in science. As an introduction, we have been studying some rare and strange animals from all over the world using Jeff the Zoo guy youtubes. Very cool. Next week we will start an indepth project and study into different environments and the animals that are found there. There will be many components to this group project. Students will need to stay on top of it and contribute to their group. We will also start our journey into the Everglades of Florida with a fun story read by our dear friend, Mrs. Caskey.

There will be a volunteer opportunity this month finally!!! We will once again partner up with MCC and do a road cleanup by Shiloh on the west end. MCC has adopted these miles of road. It will be on March 20th in the morning. Watch for permission and information forms this week.

Spring pictures came home today. You will need to view them and then decide what to do with them. You can purchase all of them, part of them, or none of them. Please send in checks and/or unpurchased pictures by this Friday. $100 reward to those that meet that deadline.

Thanks!

Scraminals Website

Hi. The scraminal website is http://www.switcheroozoo.com/zoo.htm. Click on make a new animal and then choose your first animal. Then you can mix and match it all up! Have fun if you dare! :0) Remember this is optional for your writing journal tonight.

Stars of the Week: Philip and Camo the Frog and Groovy 70's Day Outfits

Skate One...Skate All

Hope to see you all tonight at Skate Night, 5:30-8:30, behind Famous Daves on King Ave.

On another note, we have been asked by Mr. Senitte to remind you to make after-school arrangements before kids come to school in the morning. Kids need to know where they are going or who they are going with before they leave the house and will not be allowed to call home at the end of the day. Thanks.

TOMORROW IS 70'S DAY! DISCO, HIPPIES, FLOWER POWER,...SCHOOL APPROPRIATE.

One Test Down...8 More to Go!! Shine, Shine, Shine!

Well, we have session one of nine done for the MontCas Testing. Tomorrow we will complete the last two sessions in Science. Again, it is imperative that your child is at school on time. We start testing at 8:45 tomorrow morning. Students will not be admitted into the room after the testing starts. They will have to wait until the session is over and will be held in the office until then. Good night's rest and a healthy breakfast are recommended as well. Kids may bring an egg or peanut butter snack to eat in between sessions tomorrow. Please have students de-shell their hard boiled eggs BEFORE bringing them to class. Thanks. The test went AWESOME today and EVERYONE took their time and did their best. I am very proud of all of them.

Don't forget tomorrow is skate night! :0)

It's Test Time!

SCIENCE MONTCAS TESTING STARTS TOMORROW MORNING!!! PLEASE make sure your child is AT school and on time tomorrow and Thursday. A good nights sleep and a protein breakfast are HIGHLY recommended. AVOID sugar cereals. If possible, bring a hard boiled egg for snack! It is time to SHOW THEM WHAT YOU KNOW!!! Yay!!!!!

It's TEST time! Time to Show Off!!!!!

As you might have seen tonight our rock candy experiments came home today. We waited FOREVER for them to evaporate, but with the cold weather the sugar water just kept freezing. However, today we discovered that they were working the entire time. So, kids got to taste their rock candy treats. Ask them about the video above and the process we went through with the different states of matter. Yum!

Speaking of science, we will be taking our MontCas Science tests this Wednesday and Thursday. It is imperative that your child is here at school on time for these tests. When absent, they have to make them up in a private room instead of their natural environment and studies show that test scores often drop for this reason. It is also helpful that your child get a good night's sleep and eat a good breakfast full of protein. I also suggest sending a hard boiled egg as a snack this week that they can eat before the test. Again, studies say this really helps. Avoid sugar cereals at all costs. They tend to give them a rush and then they crash!

I LOVED seeing all of you at the carnival last Friday! What an awesome turnout. Over half of the class attended! The fourth grade made over $500 between the cake walk and our Candy basket! Wow!! We could not have done it without you . The amount of cakes was amazing. What awesome parents we have. We are truly lucky here at Bitterroot! Thanks!

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss' birthday. We will be doing a school wide drop everything and read. If kids wan to bring a Seuss book that would be great. We will also be oovooing in with the Alabama class we met with last week and doing some Seuss activites with them. Should be fun!

March calendars came home tonight. Make sure to note your own calendar with upcoming events. The 4th grade recorder concert is soon and you wont want to miss that. I will most likely be recording it and broadcasting it live so you can tune in from work or home as well. Watch for permission slips soon. Very cool feature!!

Have a wonderful evening! And Happy Birthday to Robert and Jewel! Preston...it is almost your turn!! :0)