Writing

I am so proud of the writers within our classroom!  Students just finished up their persuasive letters and because of one students persuasive letter to me, the entire class got out of having homework for one night.  To finish off the week, we started to learn about procedures and how we do things on a daily basis in order.  These conversations will lead students in the direction of writing their own procedural letters.

Upcoming Dates

Friday, April 29th- Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Month, Wear a hat for $1.00
Thursday, May 5th- Class Picture Day

Guided Reading

This week in guided reading your child worked on reading with inflection and intonation as he/she worked within a group to perform a reader's theater called, "Cry Out Liberty".  Ask your child what the terms volume, pitch, tone, and stress mean when it comes to reading.

Spelling Words

Week Of:

May 2-6

1. paint

2. repaint

3. pay

4. repay

5. group

6. regroup

7. new

8. renew

9. turn

10. return

11. check

12.  recheck

Summer Academy

Families...
Your child may be selected to participate in Summer Academy this summer.

Summer Academy is a four week program (3 weeks in June and 1 week after the 4th of July).  The times are Mon.-Wed. 8AM-noon and Thursdays are a field trip day from 8AM.-3PM. (no Fridays).  Students invited to Summer Academy are selected for continued learning in reading/writing and mathematics based on assessments from report cards and Read Well by Third Grade data.  Your child may receive an invitation soon for the Summer Academy opportunity.  This will allow time for you to decide if the dates work and if you can commit your child to attend 95% of the days.  There are 36 slots for the K-3 program.  Confirmation of acceptance will be sent home early May along with a contact form and a field trip permission slip.

Summer Academy is a great opportunity for students to have fun and keep their minds growing for a little longer.  Summer Academy helps to prevent summer academic loss as well! You will need to provide transportation to and from school each day. Car pooling works well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Harlan, Ms. Carlson, or Mrs. Tongen. 

Mr. Ronnenberg's Blog

Perseverance...

School provides students with difficult tasks on a regular basis.  Whether it is cleaning out your locker, completing the MCA test, or even drawing a self portrait in art class, students have a choice--to give up or continue to work despite the complexity of the task at hand.  Last week we completed the half mile run in kindergarten, first, and second grade as well as the mile run in third through sixth grade.  In my opinion, a challenge, like this, is one of the best ways to teach perseverance in P.E.  Very few students take the time to go run a mile on their own, making this particular activity daunting and often times creates anxiety for students.  I am happy to say, nearly all students took the challenge head on and improved their time from the fall.  Although the time is of little importance to me, it is a great way for the students to measure themselves and truly find the benefits of perseverance.  So proud of all students--Way to go!!

Field Trip Reminder

Just a reminder that parents are required to attend a volunteer orientation before helping with field trips.  This only applies if it's been three years or more since you've attended an orientation or renewed it.  Any questions about this please contact Celeste Dahlstrom in the high school.  

Spelling Words

Week Of:

April 25-29

1. fair

2. unfair

3. happy

4. unhappy

5. load

6. unload

7. fold

8. unfold

9. afraid

10. unafraid

11. likely

12. unlikely

Hat Day

A little over a month ago, Kenlyn Marsicek, one of our 4^th graders at MLE, applied and went through an interview process to be considered as a participant with the 2016 Youth Corp as part of the Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk in August.  Kenlyn received a phone call a few weeks ago informing her that she was selected to be a team member with this year's Youth Corp.  She will be part of a 15 member team that will follow the 3 Day route with their leaders to provide service and motivation for the walkers and will be camp "helpers" while in camp for the event.  As a participant Kenlyn has committed to raising $500 in donations.

We will be helping Kenlyn raise this money! See details below:

Hat Day

Friday, April 29, 2016

Pay $1-Wear a fun hat!

If anyone would like to help with a donation, checks can be made out to:

Susan G. Komen 3 Day

Upcoming Dates

Monday, April 25th- Volunteer Training (6:00-6:30), Elementary Media Center
Wednesday, April 27th- Wellness Wed. (Wear Workout Clothes)
Friday, April 29th- Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Month, Wear a Hat for $1.00

Music

Please check out Mrs. Hoselton's latest blog:
http://maplelakemusic.blogspot.com/2016/04/and-students-go-boom.html

Math

Listed below are the math topics covered in each math class this week:

Mr. Hammerschmidt's Math Class- Rounding (nearest ten and dollar) and subtracting double-digit money amounts.
Mrs. Skay's Math Class- Adding and subtracting double-digit money amounts
Mrs. Schneider's Math Class- Double-digit addition and subtraction problems with and without borrowing and carrying

Writing

This week in writing your child continued to work on his/her persuasive letter or letters by also focusing on including different adjectives and adverbs within their letter(s).  Students were taught this week that an adverb tells us when, where, or how something is or was done such as: quickly, quietly, etc.

CAFE Strategies Taught this Week

Using the I-Pick method to choose a good-fit book.

I- Students(I) pick a book
P- Purpose (What is your purpose for choosing the book?)
I- Interest (Are you interested in the book?)
C- Comprehend (Do you understand what you just read?)
K- Know (Do you know most of the words?)

We also spent time this week practicing the reading strategy, trade a word/guess a word that makes sense, when a student comes to an unknown word while reading.  When students are able to use or trade a similar word while reading when they encounter an unknown word, their reading continues and the meaning of the story stays intact.

Upcoming Dates

Friday. April 15th- Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Month
Friday. April 22nd- Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Month, Earth Day
Wednesday, June 1st- Field Trip to Como Zoo

Spelling Words

Week Of:

April 18-22

1. close

2. closely

3. friend

4. friendly

5. real

6. really

7. gloomy

8. gloomily

9. happy

10. happily

11. angry

12. angrily

13. quiet

14. quietly

15. safe

16. safely

17. luck
18. luckily

Math

Listed below is the topics each math class is currently working on:

Mr. Hammerschmidt's Math Class- Double digit subtraction
Mrs. Skay's Math Class- Adding and subtracting situations including estimating, rounding, and money
Mrs. Schneider's Math Class- Double digit subtraction

Science

In science your child has been learning about various characteristics that are associated with Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, Insects, and Spiders.  Next week your child will begin to learn about the life cycle of living things as they begin to plant seeds.  Your child will also begin to work on an animal report in the upcoming weeks.  

Title 1

Next Friday, April 22nd will be the last day Mrs. Pesch will be taking students for reading groups.  Throughout the month of May, Mrs. Pesch and Mrs. Seibert will be testing all second graders on their sight words and guided reading levels.

Box Tops

Keep collecting box tops!  Our school still needs a lot more box tops collected in order to reach our school wide goal.

Upcoming Dates

Monday, April 11th- Wear MN Twins Attire or Red, White, and Blue for the Home Opener!
Tuesday, April 12th- 2 Hour Late Start (Wear an Irish Shirt), Trash to Cash Collection Day
Thursday, April 14th- Book Orders Due
Friday, April 15th- Wear Blue for Autism Awareness Month
Wednesday, June 1st- Field Trip to the Como Zoo

Spelling Words

Week Of:

April 11-15

1. ease

2. easy

3. squeak

4. squeaky

5. need

6. needy

7. gloom

8. gloomy

9. snoop

10.  snoopy

11.  goof

12.  goofy

13.  jerk

14.  jerky

15.  thirst

16.  thirsty

17.  worm

18.  wormy

Guided Reading

Your child is becoming a very fluent reader.  Please continue to spend time reading with your child his/her guided reading book that is sent home with your child every night.  If you are unsure of what your child needs to read each night, please refer to your child's yellow reading sheet that is in his/her book bag.  Your child has made some big gains in guided reading and we want him/her to continue to advance and take their reading to an even higher level.

Writing

Your child continues to work on his/her Persuasive Writing skills.  With Persuasive Letter Writing our class talked about how these types of letters often have a specific audience in mind, often these types of letters use strong or powerful words, and within this type of letter strong arguments are presented.

Mr. Ronnenberg's Blog

Jump for Heart and Springtime P.E

First of all, I need to apologize for the lack of blog entries over the last two months.  To get things back on track, I would like to the recap our Jump for Heart event that took place throughout the month of February.

Jump Rope for Heart was a massive success for the second year in a row!!

Jump for Heart is a great service learning project for students because of the message it contains.  By jumping rope and learning about the heart, several students took it upon themselves to collect donations for an incredible cause--the American Heart Association.  The American Heart Association uses Jump for Heart to spread the word about heart disease and how it can be prevented.  This February the students of Maple Lake Elementary raised over $4,000 dollars helping the AHA and their fight against heart disease!!  Thanks to all the students involved, you truly make a difference.

Springtime in P.E

Spring brings on some needed sunshine, green grass, and MUD...  Please remember to wear your gym shoes in the gym to limit the amount of dirt on the gym floor. 

It also means we start thinking about physical fitness testing.  In P.E we test students in five different areas--pull-ups, sit-ups, shuttle run, v-sit, and the mile or half mile run.  As we begin these tests I like to take time to discuss physical fitness and its importance.  According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, being physically active can increase academic achievement, reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity, and help improve academic behavior.  Although we track the results of these tests, I am constantly reminding students that the results are not defining us as people.  The effort we give throughout the test is what is really important.  I am so much less interested in the outcome of each test than I am in the process of how we got there.  Do you best, bring your positive attitude, and treat others the way that you like to be treated and tests will take care of themselves. 

Have a great spring!!