Halftime of April!

Good Afternoon,

This week the students finished up yet another round of forward testing with just the math sessions remaining next week. I have been proud of their continued efforts as testing can take a lot of time and energy, but remaining consistent with their effort is imperative. For them, finding the motivation to continue to be their best self, being kind, safe, and respectful as we head towards the end of the school year because as the weather gets better it can get harder to want to keep that energy high in the classroom as well. I'm excited for them to finish the school year strong, and be proud of all the growth they have made.

Week in Review:

Leader in Me: This week we discussed how we can be upstanders, not bystanders, in bullying situations. A bystander is a person who is present at an event or incident, does not take part, and doesn’t help. An upstander is a person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person being mistreated or bullied. Invite your learner to teach you about the 3 criteria for bullying: repeated, imbalance of power, done on purpose. Invite them to explain how they can be an upstander.

Writing: Writers created doodles of possible characters they wanted to create for their upcoming graphic novels. We then took one of the character ideas, and created a book map around that character which in creating a graphic novel is the next step in the process. I'm excited to see their book map plans come to life in their graphic novels. 

Math: This week we analyzed specific math standards that the Wisconsin Forward exam zooms in on as they will have math forward testing this week. It was awesome to see the confidence students had solving these problems, and felt like a review of concepts of things we already have covered throughout the week.

Reading: Readers worked on building up their reading stamina this week, and continuing to do their best thinking while reading in their independent books whenever they finished up their testing during the week.

Content: This past week we focused in on specific content that is on the Wisconsin Forward science sessions, and how to best analyze these type of questions sets. It was three sessions of science forward, and the students have done an amazing job of maintaining focus, and giving their best effort on all of these forward exams.

VW Paternity Leave - I decided back in August that when my wife and I welcomed our first child that I wouldn't take my paternity leave right away at the beginning of the year. She had been in education for 9 years, and understood my reasoning behind not wanting to miss the beginning of the school year with the students to get them started on their learning journey for this school year with me there with them. With that being said, I will be taking my paternity leave from April 19th - May 7th. That will put me out 12 school days, but I am confident in the 4th graders abilities to help lead and guide during this time I am gone with their substitute teacher. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. The sub for the class will be Ahna Magness on Monday Mornings, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; her email is: magnessaj@gmail.com. On Monday Afternoons, and Wednesday the sub for the class is Pamela Mach; her email is: Joeymach1@yahoo.com.

A Look Ahead:

  • Forwards Testing Dates & Times
    • If you could try and avoid appointments, have students here during these times it would be greatly appreciated.
  • April 19th - No School
  • April 19th - Summer School Registration Opens at Noon
  • April 19th - May 7th - VW Paternity Leave
  • April 24th - Culver's Order Due
  • Skate City Field Trip - Friday, April 26th
    • Permission slip due by: Friday, April 12th
  • May 3rd - Field Trip to PAC for Dog Man The Musical
  • May 17th - Family Night & Community Clothes Closet
  • May 22nd - 4th Grade Concert
  • May 23rd- 4th Grade Walk To Library & Picnic at Horseshoe Park at 12:30
    • This is for 4th Grade students and their Parents/Guardians/Grandparents for an End of Year/NDLC picnic 
    • Head Count for Picnic so we can plan accordingly for Lunch
  • May 29th - Last Day of School


That's all for this week!

Have a great weekend!


Mr. VW



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