SKYWARD ACCESS

This is a direct report from PK Yonge:

We have recently opened Skyward’s Family Access for parents and will work to get all families “on board” between now and the winter holidays.  Information is posted on the PKY web site front page and in detail on page: http://www.pkyonge.ufl.edu/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=192057&sessionid=7da04b4a9987481fff362ebc2485181b.  
 

The Family Access User IDs and Password are intended for parent use and are not for students.  Our procedure in place is for the parent to personally come to the Main Office or Admissions Office which picture ID to receive their User ID, Password and have their account activated.   In the mean time, students can view their grades, etc. along side their parents, which could be a really good thing!
 

These are my current observations:

What we see as teachers on SKYWARD is different from what you will see as a parent.  I've already noticed that when I list an assignment, but don't enter the students' grades, that particular grade will show up as "missing" on the parent's log-in side (the assignment will be highlighted).  However, I actually have a special button on my side to check when I am actually missing an assignment from a student.  Once I check that button, it immediately affects the student's assignment grade and overall average for that specific subject.  Otherwise, if I haven't yet entered a grade for a student on a particular assignment (for example: it might be one that I'm in the process of grading or it's blank because a student is in the process of making up the assignment due to being absent, etc...), it will be highlighted on your side, but you will see that your child's grade and average is not affected.   I hope this explanation makes sense as I have not actually seen the parent log-in side.  Please let me know if I can be of any more help.  Our local PK Yonge SKYWARD expert is David Holt, who can be reached at: dholt@pky.ufl.edu. Otherwise, feel free to contact me with your questions.  This is a new system for both teachers and parents, and we are learning together. 

 

 

December Class News

Salutations!

Let me share with you what is happening in fourth grade.  We are wrapping up our Everyday Math Unit 5, and will have the Unit 5 Math Test on Tuesday, December 14th.  Your child will bring home a Study Guide sheet for review in his/her Take-Home folder.  This week, we reviewed solving multi-digit multiplication problems (using various algorithms), estimated & rounded large numbers (into the billions), and learned about scientific notation (with powers of 10).  I do want to let you know - on the Unit Test, students may use any algorithm to solve the multiplication problems.  We have discussed in detail how important it is for them to choose the method which works best for them, and the specific problem they are attempting to solve (for example: 23 * 5 or 483 * 97).  Please remind your child of this when he/she is reviewing for the test this weekend., and remember to use the resources available on www.everydaymathonline.com. 

In Reading, we are continuing to learn about a variety of topics dealing with Westward Expansionism - the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, the Trail of Tears and Indian Boarding Schools (Native American Relocation and Acculturation), the Gold Rush, the Transcontinental Railroad, and the Industrial Revolution.  Tomorrow, students will choose a focus topic (from the list above) which they will then continue to learn more in depth, and eventually do for their research project.  The deeper learning and research part will happen once we return from Winter Break. 

Also, students have the option of choosing to join a Westward Expansion "Book Club."  There will be 3-4 historical fiction chapter books from which students may select to read.   This is just another opportunity for them to be exposed to the content and culture of this time period, while enjoying quality literature.  I will let you what research topic and possible book club choice your child has made before Winter Break. 

Also, I will return Home Reading Journals next week to students, with the next entry due by the week of January 3rd.   Many students have shared with me that they are not reading a chapter book at least 20-25 minutes daily.  Also, I've noticed that several have a difficult time sustaining their reading with one book, from the beginning to the end.  I am going back and reteaching the importance of reading a "just-right" book from cover to cover with the students in class, and encourage you to monitor your child's reading at home, too.  Is your child picking up a book, only reading a few chapters, then switching it a few days later for another book?  Is the book he/she chooses too easy or too hard? Have you seen your child reading a book from beginning to end on a regular basis?  If so, how often?

One of the most simple and effective things you can do with your child is to talk to them about their reading.  This is beneficial on so many different levels!  Here are some questions you can ask your child about his/her book:

• How and where/when the book begins... 
• What do they predict will happen next...
• Who is their favorite/least favorite character (and why)... 
• Does this book remind them of anything else they've read or seen?  
• Is it a funny/scary/mystery book?  How do they know?  
• If they were the author, would they change anything about the story?  
• What happens to ____?  What happens in ____?

These are just a few of the questions/conversation starters you can use when talking to your child about his/her book.  I would be more than happy to create a resource sheet with questions like these which you can keep on hand at home.  When children choose chapter books which interest them and are on their reading level, they are much more apt to read.  And - when children truly get into books and read, they become better readers.  Let's all work together to help our children develop that love for reading and achieve as readers, too.  It takes a village!  If you would like to know more about how to choose a "Just-Right" book, please visit the PARENT FILES section of our 4th grade website for a download-able pdf document.  As always, thank you for your support!  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Class News - Week of November 29th

Welcome back, families!  

I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving Break.  It was a little like "first day" deja-vu all over again on Monday, as the students and I settled back into routines.  Let me share some current happenings:

In Math, the students learned how to multiply large numbers using the Partial Products Algorithm (Lessons 5.5-5.6).  Tomorrow, I will teach them the traditional method (which we adults frequently use). On Thursday, they will learn the third and last multiplication algorithm - Lattice (Lesson 5.7).  Please refer to Everyday Math Online's website (use your child's student login information) to obtain resources on all of these various algorithms.  Once the students have learned all three methods, they will pick one which they can confidently use. 

In Reading/S.S., we completed the culminating project for our Native American Project on Voicethread.  I will share the link for you to view, soon.  We are now moving forward in history to Westward Expansionism, and have spent the last couple of days discussing this concept:  How did people get to America in the first place, if only the Native Americans were here, and from where did they come?  Why did they want to come here? Once settlers were in America, why did they continue moving West? What changes occurred as a result?.. etc..  These next few weeks before the Winter Break, we will be building our foundational knowledge, in addition to working on the reading strategies of inferring and determining importance. If you're curious about some of the books we'll be reading, take a look on my Shelfari (to the right).

In Writing, we will work on revising our papers, and go into the genre of Fictional Narratives.  In Science,  we will look at flower reproduction and dissect flowers.

We are continuing Home Reading Journals (HRJ) this week, with the next Journals due on Monday, December 6th. If you have forgotten which day your child's HRJ is due,  please refer to the PARENT FILES folder on our 4th grade website.  In the folder, you can download the document - Geiger Class HRJ Schedule.  I'd like to also remind you that your child needs to read at least 25 minutes a night, M-F.  Research proves that the simple act of sustained reading (a "just right" book) on a regular basis improves a child's reading level and vocabulary knowledge.  It is so important!  

This is the last week for our Pre-Interns, Ms. Ross and Mr. Cole.  They have been such a tremendous help in the classroom this semester, and the students have grown to appreciate their input and support.  Fortunately, Mr. Cole has chosen to stay with our class for his Internship this spring.  We will get to see him after the Winter Break in January.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.  Thank you for your continued support! I hope you have a great week!

- Ms. Geiger

Geiger Class News - week of November 15th

Our Native American Unit is coming to a close, and the students have been working hard on their Final Project Summaries.  This coming week, they should have the summaries completed by Tuesday (Wednesday, at the latest) – which means that your child will most likely come home with his/her Project Summary in order to finish it within the timeline.  In fact, many students have taken their notes (in their Reading/S.S. folder), and their flash drive home so they could work on it this weekend.  Your child might need your help in proofreading what he/she’s written.  Also, make sure -  as students take these items (folder, notes & flash drive) home over the next few days – that they bring them back to school, daily.  Otherwise, when we work on them in class, they’ll have nothing with them.  After the summaries have been published, students will then transfer their Project Summaries onto www.voicethread.com, for the technology component (this part will be done in class).  

In Math, we are moving into Unit 5, which gets into the various algorithms for solving multidigit multiplication problems.  Students will learn the 1) partial products method (which helps them understand the place value reasoning behind it all, and why we multiply the numbers in each column); 2) the traditional method (how we learned back when we were in school); and 3) the lattice method (believe it or not, this algorithm has been around since the 1200’s – the kids really love it, once they get the hang of it!).  Hence, it is equally important that students be fluent in their multiplication facts – at least numbers 0-9 – in order to experience success when completing multiplication problems with several digits!  Practice those facts with your child in the car, while shopping at the grocery store, etc.  Also, don’t forget all the valuable (and fun) resources online!  Once we get to the different algorithms, you can use your child’s Everyday Math Online log-in to access videos and tutorials for each multiplication method, in addition to various printable resources!  The direct link is on our 4th grade website: PK Yonge 4th Grade webpage

As for multiplication fact practice, here are some games students can play on EM Games: Multiplication Top-It, Baseball Multiplication, Beat the Computer, and Factor Bingo.  There will be a game called “Multiplication Wrestling” which will help students practice the PARTIAL PRODUCTS ALGORITHM, which they learn in lesson 5.2 (on Tuesday).  This game is also available on EM Games. 

Our St. Augustine Field Trip is this Friday, and will be an all-day event.  Please make sure that your child is at PK promptly at 7am, in order for us to get everyone on the bus and leave on time.  Last year our departure from PK was delayed due to tardy students, and did not get to do everything on our St. Augustine itinerary, as a result.  Students will need to bring a brown bag lunch (no lunch boxes or coolers), because the lunches will have to travel with us.  It will make it much easier on your child (and the adults initially loading the 4th graders’ lunches) to have something lightweight and disposable that he/she can throw away when finished.    We will have a little shopping time either on St. George’s street, or at the museum we will attend, if your child would like to bring a few dollars for a souvenir.  However, he/she will be responsible for all he/she brings.  NO electronics (such as Game Boys, DS’s, iPods, etc…) will be permitted.  Your child may bring a camera, though (and a book, or a deck of cards for the bus ride).  The bus will return to PK by 5pm.  If you have any other field trip questions, feel free to contact me.  As always, thank you for your continued support!

June 4th Update

Wow! Can you believe that we only have one week left of school? It seems like only yesterday the students came in as new fourth graders, and now they are leaving, ready for fifth grade. We have experienced an amazing journey together as a class, and I will miss everyone over the summer! Let me give you the plans for next week:

Tuesday, June 8th - 20th Century Project Presentations:
Our fourth graders invite you to come see their culminating project on conflict and change. We have a special time set up for friends and family members to stop by, between 10:20-11am. Please feel free to stay for lunch, if you'd like. From noon to about 1:15pm, we will open up our classrooms to other elementary students and teachers so that they can view our projects.

Wednesday, June 9th - Friday, June 11th: These are early release days. Dismissal begins at 12:15pm.

Thursday, June 10th - 4th Grade Celebration:
We have sent home a request for each student to bring in one selected item for the hotdog picnic. The "festivities" will begin around 11am, and parents are welcome to come, help out, and enjoy the atmosphere. Feel free to turn in your donated item anytime before Thursday. I have a refrigerator in the classroom, and there is a freezer in the teacher's lounge to keep items cold.

Friday, June 11th - Last Day of School:
Students will leave school with their belongings (journals, notebooks, etc.), their final CBM data sheet, as well as their results of the SAT-10 test they took back in March. The fourth quarter report cards will be mailed to you a couple weeks after school is out.

Also, Friday, after dismissal, there are some End-of-Year Parties to attend, if your student is interested:

• Katherine Robinson's family is throwing a pool party at their abode beginning at 1pm
  
• Heston Humphries family also invites you to their home for a pool party, from 4-6pm
  

May 24th Update

Salutations!

I just wanted to give you a few important updates and reminders before our Space Camp departure on Friday morning. First of all, all students and chaperones attending the field trip MUST wear a PKY Blue Wave t-shirt. These shirts cost $12 each, and may be purchased up until this Thursday afternoon (at the absolute latest). I have the shirts in my room, and accept cash or checks (made payable to UF).

On Friday, please pack a lightweight, disposable brown bag lunch for your child. We will be "on the go" and will not be able to carry heavy coolers or lunch boxes along. Friday's dinner and Saturday's breakfast will be provided at the Space Center, so you only need to pack food for Friday's lunch.

Any chaperones who are driving their car to Kennedy Space Center will get a parking pass once we arrive at the front welcome area. Only children of chaperones may ride in the cars; children without chaperones must ride on the bus.

Please pack light! Once we get to the Space Center at noon, we can leave our luggage in the bus/cars while we have lunch, tour the rocket garden, see the Imax movie, shop, etc. We will go back to retrieve our luggage once we exit the visitor complex and begin the "Overnight Adventure" portion, at 4pm. It won't be until close to 10pm when we will get to set down all our gear. So, you will be responsible for carrying your luggage during that time.

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Stepping away from the Space Camp talk - Today, the students chose which media they would like to use to design their 20th Century Project Presentation. They had a choice of Glogster (an online scrapbook style poster), Microsoft Photo Story (a multisensory slide show), or PowerPoint. Our Project Design workshops begin tomorrow, with Mrs. Bostic leading Glogster, Ms. A. leading Photo Story, and Ms. Geiger leading the PowerPoint sessions. The students are thrilled to begin this final, creative stage of their projects!

There will be more to come, soon. As always, please contact me if you have any comments or questions. Thank you for your continued support!

Space Camp Checklist

Hello, Families…Here’s a list of items that students and chaperones should pack for our galactic adventure! Remember to pack light because YOU have to carry everything you bring with you until we are able to set it down by our sleeping area:

NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES! - THIS INCLUDES MP3 PLAYERS, WALKMANS, NINTENDO DS, GAMEBOYS, ETC…

1. Sleeping bag or Air mattress
2. Warm pajamas (it gets very cold where we sleep!)
3. Blanket
4. Pillow
5. Toothbrush
6. Toothpaste
7. Any other necessary toiletries (NO SHOWERS)
8. Money for souvenirs
9. Camera
10. chapter book (for the bus)
11. deck of cards (for the bus)
12. comfortable shoes
13. Change of clothes for Sat. morning
14. A stellar PK attitude! (most important!)

DEPARTURE: We will be leaving promptly at 7:30am on FRIDAY, 5/28, so chaperones be here between 7:00-7:20am! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

RETURN: We expect to be back at PK on Sat., 5/29 at 12:30pm. Please be prompt to pick your student up on Saturday.

May 19th Update

Greetings to all!

We are already a week and a half into our 20th Century Project research, and the students are finding great information on their perspective topic! The goal is to find at least 5 facts about the experiences their group of people (i.e. soldiers, African Americans, Latinos, women, children) endured in each of the four 20th Century conflicts - WWI, The Great Depression, WWII, and the Civil Rights Movement. Then, they write a brief, one paragraph summary for each conflict. The students will use these summaries in their presentations. They will have a choice of a variety of media in which they will present their project information. The media workshops for the "design" portion of the project begin next week; the students are very excited to get to put all of the pieces together to create something unique and memorable! FYI - Your child might bring his/her flashdrive home one night this week (and most definitely this weekend) to finish his/her conflict summaries. All conflict summaries should be complete by Monday, May 24th.

Also, our Space Camp Trip is steadily approaching! Ms. A, Mrs. Bostic and I will be sending home information on what to pack, our schedule, and other specific details by the end of this week.

Our Math Unit 12, which covers rates, will come to a close with the End-of-Unit test on Monday, May 24th. I will send home a Study Guide today.

Thank you for your continued support! I will send more information, soon! Until then, have a wonderful week!

May 3rd Update

Greetings to all!

Our Space Camp trip is quickly approaching, and an email was sent out to all parent chaperones from Stacey Smart last Thursday in regards to completing a background check. It is super important that you follow the instructions in the email, and complete the screening - otherwise you will not be allowed entry into Kennedy Space Center. If you are a chaperone, and have not received an email, or have any questions, please contact me as soon as possible.

This week is a busy week - being Teacher Appreciation week, having our last Wacky Wednesday, starting the Z to A countdown on Thursday, and wrapping it all up with our Unit 11 test on Friday. Please look for the Unit 11 Study Guides in a future parent email. Also, end-of-year progress testing has begun, and it is important that your child come to school on time and well-rested. I will send more news your way soon! Until then, take care, and thank you for your continued support!

Here is the Z to A schedule, which begins May 6th:

Z – Wear zebra colors (black and white); eat Oreos or Zebra Cakes

Y – Wear yellow; bring yo-yo’s for recess; eat a yummy snack

X – Make and wear x-rays; eat x-ray fish

W – Wear white; wear a wig; eat watermelon

V – Vegetable can drive; eat vanilla wafers

U – Wear University of Florida gear

T – Wear a t-shirt; walk as slow as a turtle; eat Tootsie Rolls

S – Wear stripes and socks; eat Skittles or Starbursts

R – Wear red; eat raisins; read your favorite book

Q – Queen’s Day (Girls get to make the rules!)

P – Wear purple, pink or PKY gear

O– Wear orange; eat oranges outside

N – Wear a necktie; eat nuts

M – Wear mustaches or make up; walk like a mouse in the halls

L – Wear light colors; eat lollipops

K – King’s Day (Boys make all the rules.)

J – Jump everywhere; wear jumbo t-shirts or jackets

I – Wear indigo colors; eat ice cream; study insects

H – Hat day; help one another; give a friend a hug; happy faces

G – Wear green; eat grapes

F – Wear flowers; eat fruit

E – Wear elegant clothes

D – Wear dark colors ; dance in the halls, eat Doritos

C – Wear crazy clash; eat cookies; cleaning day

B – Wear blue; boogie; blow bubbles

A – Wear animal print; say "Adios" or "Aloha" (Wear a lei!)

April 28th Update

I have great news! We found the missing Harriet Tubman book, thanks to some special student sleuths in the classroom. Whew!

Our Math Unit 11 is progressing well. This is another short Unit, the culminating test is planned for next Friday, May 7th. I will email the study guides by the end of this week. I will also be updating the gradebook this weekend, so be sure and visit http://www.mygradebook.com/ by Sunday to check your child's 4th quarter grades.

P.K. Yonge's annual Z to A Countdown to the last day of school will officially begin on May 6th. If you were not here last year, this list is a fun way to help keep those last 26 days novel and exciting. Each day has an alphabet letter assigned to it in which you can wear, do, or eat something that goes along with that letter.

Class Update - April 25th

Dear families,

Our 4th grade Scholastic Bookfair Fundraiser was a great success this past week, thanks to all the volunteers who donated their time and services! We couldn't have done it without you! Your help is truly appreciated!

The students are super excited about our journey into 21st century learning, having initiated a "paperless" Reading / Social Studies block. They are now looking up information, reading about specific topics, answering questions and recording their thinking all on the laptop computers. It has been a work-in-progress, but I am truly impressed how quickly the students have acquired the necessary skills to become successful in these tasks. Likewise, I have noticed that they take ownership and are more engaged in their learning.

We will begin learning about the struggle for Civil Rights this week, and will then begin our 20th Century Projects. These are the big end-of-year, culminating projects that the students will spend most of May researching and composing so that they'll be ready to present by June. The students and I have already been discussing in class the possibilities for project choices. Students must choose a topic which answers at least one of these guiding questions:

1. How does war/conflict change people?
2. How are people affected by conflict and change?
3. How does conflict and change affect me?

At home, you can talk with your child about what he/she has learned this year in regards to war and conflict. We have covered the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, Great Depression, World War II , and will have explored the Civil Rights movement, too. There are so many parallels to these conflicts, which is what I am hoping they will take away from this year. This project will be focused on the 20th century - so the students will have to take what they've previously learned about conflict, apply it to their new learnings, select a topic based on one of the 3 questions, and synthesize it all into a deep and meaningful project. It will be difficult. Therefore, once the research begins, your child will need all the cooperation from both home and the classroom.

For that reason, home reading journals will be temporarily suspended. I will be giving the students one or two tasks a week related to their research studies, and will post the assignment on the blog. The weekly "home reading" will be the activity on the class blog site, with the student completing the activity and responding on the blog. I will give you a more detailed description when this version begins, the week of May 2nd. Hence, there will be no HRJ's this week (April 26-30).

In Math, we wrapped up the Symmetry Unit (Unit 10) by taking the test on Friday, April 23rd. On Monday, it's off to Unit 11, which covers Geometric solids, and revisits addition and subtraction of negative/positive numbers from the last unit. There is a Credits & Debits Game (have your child play the advanced version) on the EM Games website, which will be a great practice! The link is:
https://www.emgames.com/kids/kids_login_once.html

The deadline for Space Camp money was Friday, April 23rd. If you have not turned in your payment, please do so by Tuesday afternoon, 4/27, at the latest. Please feel free to contact me or Ms. A if you have any questions about the field trip. Chaperones will be receiving an email in a couple of weeks (from another company which NASA contracts) in order to get background information for individual security clearances.

I have a request:
During our Civil War studies, I checked out several books from the Alachua County Library to bring to the classroom as extra resources for students as the began their research into their projects. I have received a notice from the library that one book is overdue/missing:

• Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent : How Daring Slaves and Free Blacks Spied for the Union during the Civil War / written by Thomas B. Allen

The library is charging me $26.00 for the book, and I have searched all over the classroom. Could you have your child double check at home to see if it might be there? I greatly appreciate your help! I know that many students had Harriet Tubman as a main topic or a subtopic for their Civil War project, and the book might be lying around somewhere unnoticed.


This week's Specials' Schedule:

• Monday - March Of Dimes Walk-a-Thon
  
• Tuesday - PE
• Weds. - none
• Thursday - Music
• Friday - Art
  

Future upcoming events:

• PK Yonge Performing Arts: Curtains Performance - April 29,30 @ 7pm
• Teacher Appreciation Week: May 3rd - 7th
• PK Yonge Performing Arts: Curtains Performance - May 1 @ 2pm, 7pm, May 2 @ 2pm
• Space Camp Field Trip: Friday, May 28th - Saturday, May 29th