Hester's Happenings

End of the Year Farewell

Parents and wonderful, treasured students:

The school year is almost over and I want to take this time to thank you all for all that you have done this year.

Parents, without you, my class would be chaos and my job much harder. Thank you for your support, contributions, and, above all, your children. You acknowledged that it takes a village to raise a child and were supportive along the way. Thank you.

Students, I love each and every one of you. We’ve had some wonderful adventures in learning this year. My hope is that you continue to aspire for more learning as you grow into the adults that will one day run our country (I can’t say I’m worried). You are all unique and deeply treasured. Thank you to those who beat to the sound of your own drum. You certainly kept our class hopping! Thank you to my leaders who love to be heard. Thank you to my quiet, thoughtful ones. I see a lot of myself in you. Thank you to my bubbly, energetic ones. You took on every project with spunk. Thank you to my sweet, sensitive ones. Your kindness was evident in all that you did. I have enjoyed teaching you and learning from you (you do know that you never stop learning?) as we have had celebrations, testing, hikes, field trips, and the many other learning inspired events. You are all why I do what I do. I hope you all have a magnificent summer filled with learning and rest. I look forward to seeing those of you who will be returning next year and will miss those of you who are going on to other schools.

Reminders

Just a reminder of a few upcoming days:

Monday, May 12th, we will be taking the math post test for the last nine weeks.

Tuesday, May 13th, we will be celebrating science.

Wednesday, May 14th, we will be celebrating health.

Thursday, May 15th, we will be analyzing advertisements.

Friday, May 16th, is field day.

Our end of the year celebration will be Wednesday, May 21st. Mr. Magee will be cooking up a fiesta and we will be having an mini celebration in the classroom.

Tonight's Homework

Tonight's math homework is questions 1-10 only. There are 16 questions on the sheet, but we will do them in class tomorrow. The problems are spaced very close together and can be done on a separate sheet of paper or on the back. We've been working very hard on long division, but some students are still struggling with it. If your child reaches frustration level and your not sure what to do (this may not have been the way you learned it), please send a note with whatever they were able to work on.

Field Trip

Just a reminder, our class will be going on a field trip to Vulcan next Wednesday. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Boff, and Mr. Johnson will be our class chaperones. If you have not sent in your child's permission slip, please do so as soon as possible.

Mock Relay for Life

Hi parents!

This Friday our school will be participating in a Mock Relay for Life. We have been collecting money to show our support for our p.e. teacher, Mrs. Hammond, and her fight against cancer and will continue this show of support in the form of a race. Please send your child to school on this day in comfortable shoes, clothing, and with a water bottle, if possible. Please also continue to send in those dollars for cancer research!!

News and Happenings

Hi parents and students! Tomorrow starts the CRCT. Please remember to get a good night's sleep tonight, eat a good breakfast, dress comfortably (we have P.E. tomorrow), and arrive to school on time.

On May 7, 2008 our class will be taking a field trip to the Vulcan Quarry. We will leave at approximately 9:45 and arrive back at the school around 12:45. We will need to know whether or not your child is bringing a lunch or buying one from the cafeteria. If you have not sent this note in and/or the permission slip, please do so as soon as possible. I need to give our cafeteria our lunch numbers by Thursday.

On another note, our school is raising money for Relay for Life. Our goal is to collect $1 from each person who spends their day at Big Shanty. In turn the students will take part in a Mock Relay honoring our collaborative fight against cancer on Friday, May 2nd. If we reach 100% participation for a total of $885, the students will have a special surprise that day! We will be dedicating our walk to our P.E. teacher, Mrs. Bridget Hammond while also recognizing two of our Big Shanty students who have won the battle against cancer and remember two of our former employees who lost the battle. Please, please, please, send in $1 (of course, you can send in more as well)!

Our school is also having a book sale. We are collecting gently used children's books to sell in our cafeteria for 25 cents!!This money will go directly to our school. I will have a box available to begin collecting books.

Thank you all for your continued support and cooperation!!! You are all magnificent!!

Parents, ask your children about today's lessons! What truly smart and unique children you have!

What's Happening

Well, the CRCT is almost upon us. The reading portion will be on the first day of testing, Wednesday.

In addition to practicing for the CRCT, we've been learning a lot of new things!

In math, we are learning how to solve division problems with 2 and 3 digit dividends by 1 digit divisors. While today was a little rough, I am hopeful that repeated exposure will ease the "pains" of long division. :)

In writing, we are continuing our study of poetry with the ever, relaxing haiku. Yesterday, we read Haiku Hike, written by fourth grade students from St. Mary's Catholic School in Massachusetts. Afterward we took our own hike on our school's nature trail, making field notes as we went. Today, we worked on turning those field notes into haiku poems.

Please be on the lookout for a CRCT reminder packet. It will be sent home tomorrow along with a variety of other pieces of info from the school.

Remember, the school carnival is this Friday. I hope to see you there!!

As always, if you have any questions, please email me or send a note. (My email is amy.hester@cobbk12.org)

News and Happenings

Well, our spring break is almost upon us. Please remember that there will be no school next week. We will return on April 14.

The CRCT begins on Wednesday, April 23rd this year. We will begin with the reading portion first.

I will be sending home a CRCT packet for work over the break. Students will have until we come back to complete the packet and it can be completed all at once or over the entire span of the break.

Remember that students can take practice tests online. If you have misplaced your student's id and password just send in a note and I'll send home the information.

This week we brainstormed a list of strategies that we could implement at home and during the test. Students then created a flower choosing one strategy for home and one during the test that they felt they could use.

Thank you to Karla, Katherine, Nick, Patrick (both of them), Adrienne, and Robert for coming to Author's Night. I've been told it was a fabulous night. I was sad that I had to miss it!

Our class really enjoyed Sport's Day today. High school student from North Cobb came over and showed our third graders some of the sports available at North Cobb. Volleyball, Football, Cheerleading, and Baseball were among some of the favorites.

Spring Carnival Basket

Hi parents!

You should have received (in your child's binder) a note from our room mom, Mrs. Boff, about the spring carnival. Every class will be donating a basket filled with different themed goodies. Our theme this year is "A Day at the Spa". Any spa item will do (loofas, bath salts, body washes...) and would be greatly appreciated. Please send in any items with your child.

Thank you for your continued support!

Zoo Research

Below you will find websites to use for researching your zoo animal. EVERY student will be completing the research, so even if you aren't going on the overnight trip you'll still be learning about animals, habitats and animal adaptations.

Parents, information will be sent home tomorrow regarding the zoo trip. You'll find information about what to bring and what to leave at home.

Thursday, March 20 -students board buses at 4:45 p.m. for overnight field trip to Zoo Atlanta, we will return to Big Shanty at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 21 (we can not refund Zoo fees or add students or adults at this time since the final count and nonrefundable payment has been made to Zoo Atlanta)

Zoo Research Links

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/

~ Average reader friendly. Well organized to find

information

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rnfrst_animal_page.htm

~ Rainforest animals. Well organized for average readers.

http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_information.htm

~ Zoo Atlanta

site. Average reader friendly.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WorldTour/

~Smithsonian World Zoo. Need to really read and search to

information, but great information for average to

high reader

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/

~ Smithsonian World Zoo. Animal cams and information.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm

~ Another way into the Smithsonian World Zoo.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/

~ Well organized and kid friendly-average reader friendly

site.

http://dromus.nhm.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=information/regions

~ Click on animal category at top and then find the animal

name. Click on its Latin name beside it. Great

information. Average-high reader.

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/index.htm

~ High reader friendly to search for information

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/animal.html

~ Limited animals listed. Easy to read information

http://animal.discovery.com/guides/atoz/atoz.html

~ Click on the green category that your animal is. Then, find your specific animal and click on that link.

http://animal.discovery.com/

~ On the top of the page are several categories in yellow

boxes. Put your mouse over “Wild Animals” and choose a

category.

http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/animals/

~ The

Phoenix

Zoo. Average reader to find info.

http://home.cfl.rr.com/gatorhole/

~ Information on alligators