VW 4th Grade Blog 2023-2024

Good Morning,     Although this past week was a short week for the kids, I still wanted to give an update on the week and what we have coming up next week. The field trip Tuesday at Point Beach turned out wonderful in the fact the weather cooperated with us, no major injuries, and everyone got to experience the Ice Age Trail which I hope all involved will look back on it as a memorable experience. I want to share with all of you what has been going on with me personally so that you hear it from me because as your child's teacher you should know what is going on, and I didn't share this with the students so they wouldn't know what has been happening. This past week I had to leave school Monday afternoon, and then was out yesterday, and I pride myself as an educator by showing up everyday and being my best self for the kids. My wife and I found out shortly before the school year was starting that we would be expecting our first child. Unfortunately, over the weekend th...

Good Afternoon,      This week was another week filled with learning and growth, and it's hard to believe that we have finished our last full week of school in October. 4th Grade year at NDLC is a special year so making sure to enjoy every day along this learning journey is especially important. I am thankful for the group of students we have, and the supportive families as these first couple of months of school have been fantastic, and I'm looking forward to continued growth, success, and memories along the journey. Week in Review: Leader in Me: Our class talked about taking initiative. Ask your child, “How can you take initiative?”  Writing: Writers completed their second realistic fiction story this past week with an eye on using everything we know about strong narrative writing to make it the best it can be. We used a comparison between a clean shoe and a dirty shoe, where both will get noticed on whether it is taken care of or not, similar to revising and editin...

Good Afternoon,     I think we have officially reached Fall as the temperatures outside have been around the sweatshirt and jacket kind of weather. I'm excited about our upcoming feel trip to explore and hike the Ice Age trail as the students will be able to experience it in person is something I believe is special in their education. Students have been continuing to work on their WIGS (wildly important goals) to help continue to push themselves to do their best learning daily. Lastly, I want to thank everyone for making Storytelling and Coffee as tremendous success because the students seeing so many people as an "audience" for their stories really empowers them as writers, so thank you again for your willingness to come and join us. Week in Review: Leader in Me:  Our class talked about the need to stop and think before responding. Ask your child, “Why is stop and think a powerful tool?”  Writing: Our storytelling and coffee event to kick off the week was an awesome...

Good Afternoon, As the temperatures outside start to reflect that fall feel more and more these past couple of days, the growing and learning in the classroom continues to rise. Students engagement in their learning has been great as they have continued with their goal setting trying to improve their daily work to try and make these goals into habits with their hard work. I'm proud of all of the students of their daily efforts, and looking forward to seeing them continue to push themselves seeing that self gratification of achieving goals in their learning. Week in Review: Leader in Me: Leaders learned more about Habit 1 Be Proactive, which is our focus of October. Our lessons this week centered around choosing your weather. Ask your child, "What does choosing your weather mean when talking about being proactive?" Writing: Writers worked extremely hard in the revision process this week to lift the level of their narrative stories to be the best they can be. They are all e...