Welcome: Mrs. Hawthorne's Classroom Blog

April 25

2011-04-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Testing
The kids did awesome today on the first day of testing. I think they even surprised themselves.

Tomorrow we will do Part C of Reading.

Remember to get a good night's sleep, a good breakfast and be on time!
Thanks for the extra breakfast treats and snacks. They came in handy and the children enjoyed them. If you would still like to send one in, please do.

No Homework this week! That will be fun!

April 27
Spirit Day wear your GSE gear

April 28
Eco Club

April 29
Spring Carnival from 5:00-8:00
If you would still like to send in something UK for our auction basket please hurry we need stuff. If you have already thank you so much. If you want to donate time, small toys or baked goods please send in a note so someone can contact you. It is for a good cause. The kids. You can also send them into me and I will get them where they need to go.
Contact numbers are 219-9031 for Rene or 223-3008 for Heather. Ms. Wiley, Maddie's mom, can also help you.

Wednesday Folder
Look in Wednesday folder for information about our year end field trip and conferences.

April 10, 2011

2011-04-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back!

Spring Break will soon be over and I hope everyone is feeling healthy and rested. I never got sick but my husband sure did! We weren't going to go anywhere but once he started feeling better we decided to Edisto Beach in South Carolina for a few days with the dogs.

Testing

We will be the first class to start MAP testing in the lab on Monday. I am not sure if we will be taking the Reading or Math test first. The testing window for the CATS state test starts on 4/25. While we are testing, it is important to be at school on time and try not to schedule any appointments before lunch. I will not assign homework during the CATS test. Eat a great breakfast and get a good nights rest! Bring a jacket/sweater in case it gets cool in the room.

Carnival Time

Each Class will be responsible for a basket to be auctioned off during the carnival to raise money for the PTA. We are so lucky! Our theme is UK so we have to donate things related to UK for our basket. So we will need to start looking and collecting some items. Just send them in to me and I will get them to Ms. Wiley. I will also donate the picture quilt that hangs outside our room for auction too.

Other

We are planning our last field trip and Business Night. Information will sent home as soon as we have scheduled the events.

It is an important time coming up so please make sure that the your child remembers that we still have a lot of school left and we have to continue to work. It is also important that they continue to treat each other with respect. They have been with each other all year and at times they can treat each other like brothers and sisters which can get ugly. People are getting their feelings hurt with comments. We cannot put our hands on other people. Many of the boys argue at recess over the rules of ball and who won or lost. Ms. Sharp has said she will ban games that cause arguing and injury. I don't want that to happen because I think they really enjoy playing their ball game.

Reminders

Snack calendar went home before Spring Break.

Spirit Day April 13
Eco Club April 14
Spanish Club April 14

November 30

2010-11-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am still on Thanksgiving break and it is not that long until Winter break! It is hard to believe. I hope everyone had a great time with family and friends. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves. I had a great break on the beach with perfect weather.

I will send home a snack calender in Wednesday folder tomorrow. I will cover it this week. I forgot all about it. That will give family's time to plan.

We had the Chorus Concert today from 1:30 to 2:30.

We will finish our Science test tomorrow. I have been helping them with the Open Response Question. We can still do that until January then Ms. Sharp wants them to become more independent. It will be part of their assessments next year so I want to get them used to doing them. I hope to send them home next week and put the ORQs in the hallways.

We have finished our 2nd On Demand writing piece and will start our third this week. It will be a letter to the principal. Ms. Sharp has loved their pieces so far. I am so proud of their hard work.

We are still working on Chapter 8: Government in Social Studies.

We will be starting fossils in Science then move to Rocks and Soil.

In Reading: My class will not have a vocabulary test this week. We have changed it to next Thurs. With the break, some of the children didn't have their packets to study and we hadn't spent any time in class reviewing. I showed the children a sample question and I think they feel more comfortable. It is multiple choice. Then the next week will be Spelling. We will have not have any other tests until after Winter Break.

In Math: My class is still working on subtraction with regrouping and learning to solve word problems using bar models.

We got all our Cafeteria Compliments so we earned a "Pop your Top" party tomorrow. We will also eat in the room at 10:15 before going on the field trip. We will leave for the field trip at 11:00. We will be seeing the play Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells Batman Smells.

Ecology Club meets on December 2. That is the only club other than academic teams that I have listed to meet for this week.

If you haven't sent back the coupon book and don't plan on buying one, please do so they can give it to someone who may sell more than one. If you need more then let us know.

Have a great week!

November 24, 2010

2010-11-23T23:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from St. Pete, Florida

November 18, 2010

2010-11-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Science Test tomorrow! We haven't had much time to review in class so I will help them through it but read over information tonight.

New Arrival....

November 17

2010-11-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Club announcements: There will be Spanish Club and Ecology Club tomorrow. There is Chess Club on Friday.

First chick is hatching!

November 16, 2010

2010-11-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check Wednesday folders....

The P.T.A. is sending home an envelope with a coupon book for sale. They have completed the envelope and attached the information on the outside of the envelope.

Our first field trip permission slip to the Lexington Children's Museum is due by December 1, the day of the trip.

My reading group will start having a vocabulary test every other week. We will alternate spelling one week and vocabulary the next week. The vocabulary test will be multiple choice. I will give them the packet in Wednesday folders and they will have test on December 2nd. We will work on them in class too! We will see how it goes and adjust things if necessary.

Science Test on Friday. I went ahead and sent home study sheets today because we always have interruptions to our schedule. Yesterday we had guidance and today there was an assembly. We will review in class too. I don't want to wait because of Thanksgiving break and we need to start Fossils and Rocks.

I will be out next week for two days for Thanksgiving break to go to Florida. So I am trying to get a lot wrapped up this week. I have requested Dr. Smith substitute for those two days. I have told him how great my class is and I think he is really looking forward to working with the children.

We are working on our Reading ORQs for the hallway and another On Demand Letter in writing.

Next week no Reading Log. I will send home a new home on Monday after the Thanksgiving break.

Our chicks will hopefully hatch this week...keep your fingers crossed.

Picture money for retakes is due tomorrow, Wednesday 17th.

November 5

2010-11-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

We only have one day of testing left on Monday. There are some that have some make up tests to take next week. They have worked hard.

There will be no Reading Log or Spelling next week.

We finished our owl pellets.

October 27, 2010

2010-10-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

My BLOG!

Ms. Sharp has agreed to allow the students to dress up on Friday if it is tied to a book and a book character. So they would need to be prepared to present their character to the class. I had bought each of them a small pumpking to paint if anyone wants to come in and help that would be great. We have to do it around JA. It is at 10:00, so I could start at 10:30ish.

They may film some of our class for JA to be aired on Channel 13. We will find out! It is our last JA class too so we will make Mr. Sieman "Thank You" notes tomorrow.

Hopefully, everyone got their makeup pictures completed. If they wanted them I sent them. If you ordered pictures and haven't gotten them then I put them in your Wed. folder. Monday I forgot and Tuesday with the power outage so left before I could give them to them. Sorry for the delay.

I hope to return Social Studies test to them by Friday. They are half graded.

Report Cards are going home today in Wednesday folders. Please sign and return just the envelope. We will reuse them and you can keep them at the end of the year. Thanks.

Snack Calendar is attached. Thanks for your help. If someone has forgotten then we have pitched in and provided for them.

Next week in Science, we will be dissecting owl pellets. I hope they enjoy that! Our chicken eggs to hatch are suppose to come today.

Support the P.T.A.
Send in Box Tops

Happy Halloween!
Patty Hawthorne

October 19, 2010

2010-10-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying having conferences with all of the parents. If you still need to schedule one, then just send in a note or return the form.

The Family Resource Center is having a Food Drive so bring in can goods for those less fortunate.

3rd grade is winning Box Top contest. We are beating the 2nd grade. Bring them in while you still can.

Thanks for all the snack donations.

I am sending home a calendar for Chess Club and 3rd grade Spanish Club. Mr. K said some parents were confused about dates and times. Hope this helps!

CORRECTION! REPORT CARDS GO HOME NEXT WEDNESDAY!   I had the date wrong. Sorry for the confusion.

Primary academic teams have been set up so if you have not been contacted, please let Ms. Downs in the office know and she can help you.

We are having hearing screenings in the classroom on Thurs. Oct. 21 at 1:15.
We already completed our vision screenings.

The entire 3rd grade will be testing for Gifted and Talented services in November. The testing window begins on November 3. Ms. Moses is in charge of testing and she is thinking of starting on the first day. Sooo... you may not want to schedule appointments in the mornings of Nov. 3-Nov. 12 . I will let you know the exact dates as soon as I know them.

We don't have school on Nov. 2 because it is an Election Day.

We are having a Social Studies test on Friday. I gave the kids a study guide. They are welcome to bring home their books too. It is over Chapter 7. We will begin Chapter 8 next which is Government.

In Science, we finished researching Ecosystems. We have started talking and doing activities with Animal structures and adaptations. We will finish up with the food chain. We will then have a test in Science. I will determine the date next week. I have a study guide all ready for them.

In Writing, we have been working on an On Demand writing piece about how to make and keep friends.

In my reading group, we have been working on summarizing, main idea, details, fact and opinion, and using context clues. I have moved Spelling test to Thursdays.

In Math we are working on subtraction with regrouping.   I must say they are doing very well. I am impressed.

Reading Logs are due Monday.

For our Paw Print letter last week, we wrote Coach Joker Phillips. We didn't get them finished and had to wait until Monday which was a blessing because WE WON!  So notebooks didn't come home.

Our First Nine Weeks Accelerated Reader Winner is Praneeth Bhatt! Way to read! He has some kids challenging him for the spot so watch out!

Our Students of the Month were Sydney Rizk and Michael Marshall. Way to go!
Student of the Week is Emma Grace Manley. Great Job!

You all are winners in my book! I love you all!

October 11

2010-10-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Fall Break! Welcome Back!
Reading Logs are due on Monday.
Mrs. Hawthorne's Reading's Class will have Spelling on Thursday and the test will be next Thursday. Our homework was Drops in the Bucket C-4. We will be working on On Demand writing, summarizing, fact and opinion.
Mrs. Hawthorne's Math Class had a math sheet for homework. We are reviewing for a Math test on addition with regrouping. We will begin subtraction with regrouping next chapter.
In Science, we will be studying Ecosystems.
In Social Studies, we read Time for Kids today. We will review and finish our citizenship chapter. I will send a review sheet home for Test next week.
In writing, we finished our articles. They are great!

We are still collecting Box Tops and boy do we have a bunch. Yahoo!
We are having a school-wide food drive. More information to follow.
If you have not sold any Innisbrook fundraiser items, it is not too late. They extended sales.

If you haven't signed up for a conference, I will send home another round of sign ups!
Thanks to all for attending!

Let's have a great week!

September 30

2010-09-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you for returning all the conference form sign up sheet. I will return the date and time for your child tomorrow. I will also send home reminders after Fall Break.

We will have "Pajama Day" tomorrow. It is our compliment party.

The Fifth grade class is raising money for their Washington trip. If your child would like to wear a hat on Friday then they can bring a dollar. It is for a great cause. I pay $2.00 to wear jeans every other Wednesdays.

A few students are finishing up writing their "Together We Can" pieces and the rest are busy typing. We are almost there!

Friday in Junior Achievement the children will be assembling their city. The Science program learning about creepy crawly things will be from 8:00-9:00.

I sent home new snack calendar for October. Remember, there is no school Wednesday-Friday next week.
There will be no Spelling Homework for Mrs. Hawthorne's Reading group. There is no Reading Log for Mrs. Hawthorne's Homeroom.

Saving Box Tops? Send them in!

Thanks for your patience and support.

September 24

2010-09-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Maddie Wiley for being our GSE student of the week!

We also want to watch for students from Garden Springs performing in the Opening Ceremonies of the World Equestrian Games. Mara and Lily will be performing Irish dancing! How exciting!

We had JA today.

Spelling and Reading Log due on Monday.

Some of the children are anxious to type their pieces, Together We Can ... but we are going to doing that in class next week. We will be using Publisher to create articles. We have the mini laptops checked out. Some of them did not like using the outline format but I think they will really love their articles when they are finished.

I got an e-mail that Tansylvania University is providing free tutoring one hour a week. The e-mail is remiller12@transy.edu . If your child could use some extra help one hour a week, please contact them.

Third through fifth grade teachers have release day on Monday for training in the building. I will be around but there will be a substitute. Please talk to your child about being on their best behavior. Thank you.

I spoke to Ms. Downs, she hopes to have the primary academic teams formed this week. She was still looking for 2 coaches. Sorry for the wait.

I will have conference form sign up sheet in Wednesday folders along with new snack calendar.

Pictures due the 10/1
Send in $1.00 for program on the 10/1
Fundraiser due 10/1
Lego Club 9/27
Kentucky Kids Day 9/28 bring in a shirt to draw on new or slightly used. We will use markers.
Ecology Club 9/30
Chess Club 10/1
Spanish Club 9/30

I hope I didn't forget anything if I did just keep reminding me. :)

September 20

2010-09-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

Reading Log and Spelling are due on Monday.

Picture Proofs went home today. Orders are due October 1. Picture retakes is October 27.

Bring an T-shirt that they can decorate on Kentucky Kids Day on or before Sept. 28. Light colored new or slightly used. As designer Tim Gunn says, we will "make it work"

I forgot to take home Science ORQs so I didn't get them graded. Spelling tests are graded will go home tomorrow.

Some children are wondering when their clubs meet and so am I. They are posted out on a bulletin board in the primary hallway. Next meetings. I am checking on academic teams.
Lego Club Sept. 27
Eco-Club Sept. 30
Spanish Club Sept. 30
Chess Club Oct. 1

Chow Night at Chick-fil-A is Sept. 30 come and support the PTA.

We will get our chicken eggs to hatch at the end of October. That is always fun!

Have a great evening :)

September 15

2010-09-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

The PTA has sent home the Innisbrook Fundraiser packets today in the children's Wednesday folders. If you do not want to participate please just return the packet. The last day is Oct. 1st.

Today Ms. Long arranged for us to see an Opera performance by UK here at school. It was all about nutrition and it was in English, thank goodness! It was an excellent performance and reforced the importance of healthy eating habits.

There are several clubs meeting this year after school. If you signed your child up for one please let me know. I sent all those sign up sheets to the office and I am not sure who will be staying after school. I don't mind them calling if you don't.

Remember to get your homework turned in on time.

First Math Test were sent home in Wednesday folder. I made copies because I put their Open Response Questions in the hallway and there were multiple choice questions on the back. Sorry, I wanted you to have them. They did very well.

We are still MAP testing in the lab. Hopefully after our next session we will be finished and I will set up conferences.

How are you all doing? Everyone settling in? Anyone reading this?

Love, Mrs. Hawthorne

September 13

2010-09-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

We were so excited today to see our butterfly had emerged. It was beautiful! We took a picture to share.
Some of our grandparents that came for lunch got to see it fly to freedom!

Thank you to all of our grandparents for coming today. It meant a lot to the children to have lunch with you!

Book Fair is open! Many have gone already. They can go before school and if there is a time during the instructional day that is not disruptive to them or Ms. Castle, I will let them go then too.

I gave them a new Reading Log, YEA! It is due on Monday. Notice the week of Fall Break, we will not have any homework.

Spelling is due on Monday.

The Geography paper Parts of a Map is due tomorrow.

I gave them a study sheet for a Science Open Response Question for Friday. Please study. We will review in class too.

If you were with Ms. Ream today, Ms. Foster may have given you a Drops in the Bucket sheet to complete. No homework in Reading.

Have a great evening! I am going home.

September 9, 2010

2010-09-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy week! They all looked beautiful for Picture Day!

Book Fair starts next week. They can shop before school and during Library. We had Library today so they will have it again next Friday.

The boy scouts met with the boys and Ms. Runyon sent home a flyer to the girls about a new club, Girls on the Run.

The office sent home sign up forms for other clubs in their Wednesday folder.

We will begin Junior Achievement soon. The children really enjoy JA.

Spelling and Reading Log due Monday.

Friday we will be participating in a recycling program.

Have a Happy Friday!

September 3, 2010

2010-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Hannah Curtis. She is Mrs. Hawthorne's class' Garden Springs Student of the week.

Our first writing theme will be "Together We Can" for the PTA Reflections Contest. They will be due the first week in October. We will be busy writing!

Mrs. Moses asked that I announce that SCAPA has scheduled an Audition Information Meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 6:00-7:00. You can meet with teachers and visit rooms following the meeting.
There is also an Audition Workshop for current 3rd graders. Pre-register for workshop by calling 381-3338 prior to Sept. 15. I will send a copy of flier home too.

Garden Springs September Word of the Month is compassion.

The Book Fair is Sept. 13-Sept. 20. If you want to help please contact kay.castle@fayette.kyschools.us or 381-3389. Donuts for Dads and Muffins for Mom is Sept. 15.
Please do not buy me anything, I would rather you buy your child an extra book they would enjoy.

Sorry I forgot to remind the kids to write in their planners. I had my math class write in their planners then forgot to remind my homeroom.

Have a great long week-end!

Mrs. Hawthorne :)

September 2, 2010

2010-09-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Students of the Month for the month of August are Hannah Burke and Mallory Ripley. Way to go!

Scholastic Book Clubs has changed their on-line book orders. I sent home a letter today which explains the process. I believe you will register using your own user name and password then use the classroom code provided at the top of the letter. I called to Scholastic once it was brought to my attention (Thanks Mara and her mom) and they walked me through it. Sorry for the confusion.

I put the snack calendar on-line and a link to our classroom blog on my website. I appreciate the snacks. Emily, Praneeth, and Hannah B. have really brought some yummy treats.

Today in Science, we continued to study plants. We looked at seeds. Homework is to bring in a couple of leaves so we can classify them. They can bring in seeds to share too! I had collected some seeds out of my yard. We talked about simple plants and looked at spores on a fern frond. We looked at the parts of a seed using peanuts. They opened them up, found the seedlings, and stored food. They recorded their observations in their Science notebooks.

Mrs. Sharp visited us in Reading and watched us practicing our "Daily Five". In my Math group we used place value blocks to help us learn about place value.

Picture Day is Tuesday!

Reading Log and Spelling are due on Tuesday.

I hope everyone has a great holiday week-end!

Mrs. Hawthorne :)

September 1, 2010

2010-09-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment so I was fortuate that Mrs. Powell a former Garden Springs third grade teacher was able to come and substitute for me. She loved your children! Thanks for being so wonderful!

We had our monthly store this morning. I hope that will encourage the children to earn lots of bulldog bucks. I will purchase more exciting things. If you see something that you think would go over big and want to donate, please feel free to send it in to me.

Monday night after I had brought in our Monarch caterpillar or larvae transformed into the pupa or chrysalis. It is green to help hide it from predators. We are excited.

Monarch Butterfly chrysalis

Our next life cycle we will start tomorrow is the meal worm.

Ms. Moses came today for guidance. She talked to the children about bullies.

Have a great evening!

August 30, 2010

2010-08-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

My son found a Monarch butterfly caterpillar so my husband and I found some milkweed for it munch on. We will be watching it at school to see if we have a beautiful butterfly soon. Keep your fingers crossed.

Homework: Spelling and Reading Logs are due Tuesday because no school on Monday! My math class had a Drops In The Bucket sheet.

I was going to introduce cursive today but quickly realized only a few students had previously been taught how to write cursive so I am backing way up and we will start over with different practice sheets. They are excited to learn. Remember, muscles have memory and they will need to practice the letters correctly.

I forgot about store so it is rescheduled until Wednesday because I forgot that I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow. The positive side is they have an opportunity to earn more bucks.

Our goal: we are working on side conversations when the direction is no talking. Several staff members have reported that we are being to noisy. We can do it! They are a great bunch of children.

August 27

2010-08-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Curriculum Covered this week:
Math: reading, writing, and counting to 10,000; using place value; standard form, word form, and expanded form; comparing numbers

Reading: characters, setting and plot; summarizing; main idea and supporting details

Science: classifying organisms; basic needs

Social Studies: using a globe; righs and responsibilities

I am sending home snack calendar today!

We are sending home our Paw Print Notebooks too!

Homework due on Monday: Spelling, Reading Log, and Paw Prints Letter

They are awesome! Thanks for letting me love them. Have a great week end!!!
patty.hawthorne@fayette.kyschools.us

August 25, 2010

2010-08-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Wow! Everyone gets "LUNCH BUNCH" on Friday for turning in their Reading Logs. Let's do it again next week. Remember your Reading Log and Spelling Homework are due on Monday. Give them a big hug and kiss for a job well done! They probably owe you one too for all your help.

Look for your Wednesday folders. They were chucked full of information today.
We had a bus safety assembly today. The children got to meet Buster! He is a mechanical school bus that teaches us about how to be safe on and around the school bus.

We have started our Daily Review sheets. These are for morning work and once they get the hang of the type questions asked, can be completed quickly. We provided spelling homework this week and the test will be on Monday.
Next week I will add cursive handwriting. I think they love it or hate it. We have been talking about building our stamina and that our muscles have memory. This is why it is important to practice our school work and after school activities.
We also do calendar every morning and there is a sheet to go along with that program. I have introduced it to them but we may not get to it daily.

Paw Prints will go home on Friday, along with a copy of my blog, and a snack calendar. Please write a short note back on the back of their letter.

We will have store to spend Bulldog bucks earned on Monday, the last day of the week. I hope this will encourage them to earn lots more.

The third grade team has set AR goals for 10 points per child. A letter was sent home providing instructions so that you can monitor their progress.

If you child is a student for Ms. Ream, she will start pulling them out on Monday mornings. I don't expect them to make up work that they have missed because they should be working hard for her.

patty.hawthorne@fayette.kyschools.us

August 23, 2010

2010-08-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome! I am going to use my blog this year as my daily communication and weekly newsletter. I will print this off once a week and send it home. Now technology doesn't always like me so keep your fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong!

Happy Birthday Michael! He brought us some delicious cupcakes in ice cream cones. It is a great idea!

Homework:
Reading Log due next Monday. Read four nights for 15-20 minutes.
Spelling Homework sent home today is due Monday. We will have our tests on Monday.

Announcements:
Bring a sweater, the air conditioning can feel cool.
In order to get Friday Lunch Bunch, work/homework is turned in on time. Next week that will be reading log and Spelling. We are building our stamina!