Voting Tomorrow

Voting Day in Monroe – Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Tomorrow, voting on our town budget will take place in our gymnasium from 6:00am-8:00pm.  As you know, this can cause congestion during arrival and dismissal times with the added traffic due to voting.  If you choose to pick your child up tomorrow, please be patient and allow extra time for the pick-up and drop off process, especially if you plan on voting at the same time.  If you don’t plan on voting at Fawn Hollow during arrival or dismissal, we strongly recommend sending your child home on the school bus to allow ample parking for voters.

Our dismissal procedures for student pick-up will begin at 3:25 in the APR. Please use the front door to access the building and remain in the foyer until a staff member admits you to the APR.  Parking in front of the school is not permissible due to bus arrival.

Thank you for honoring our voting day procedure.

Top 10 Math Websites

It can be difficult for parents to keep math on the front burner, especially when it is hard to know exactly what their child should be learning. Here are some of the best websites to help your child maintain their math learning and have fun at the same time!

1. www.mathforum.com This online community includes teachers, students, researchers, parents and educators who have an interest in math and
math education. The site includes Ask Dr. Math, Problems of the Week, discussion groups and much more.

2. www.AAAmath.com Customized by grade level and topic, AAA Math features explanations of various mathematical topics, practice problems and fun, challenging games.

3. www.coolmath.com This fully interactive site and allows the user to sharpen basic math skills, play games and explore new math concepts.

4. www.figurethis.org Created by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, this site helps families enjoy mathematics outside school through a series of fun and engaging challenges.

5. www.mathcats.com Math Cats provides playful explorations of important math concepts through games, crafts and interactive projects. Includes a magic chalkboard and an art gallery.

6. http://www.mathsisfun.com This website is for parents, students, and teachers. It is complete with lessons and activities on numbers, geometry, measurement, algebra, etc.

7. http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Ask Dr. Math is a question-and-answer service for math students and their teachers. A searchable archive is available by level and topic, as well as summaries of Frequently Asked Questions (the Dr. Math FAQ).

8. www.mathleague.com The Math League, designed for students in fourth grade through high school, specializes in math contests, books and computer software. The “Help Facility” is handy reference guide for math topics complete with examples, definitions and explanations.

9. http://chilimath.com/ A great resource that covers key concepts in Algebra, with material that ranges from introductory to advanced. Detailed examples and diagrams help to build confidence in students, as they develop their mathematical skills.

10. www.funbrain.com/numbers.html This site includes 17 original games based on soccer, car racing and much more Other games include Math Baseball, where a child can score runs with correct answers and Operation Order, where students can build pyramids with their
knowledge of algebra

Next Math Unit

We are starting our next Math Unit or Module tomorrow - Fraction Equivalence, Ordering, and Operations.

The following is an overview - hope this helps:

In this unit, students build on their Grade 3 work with unit fractions as they explore fraction equivalence and extend this understanding to mixed numbers. This leads to the comparison of fractions and mixed numbers and the representation of both in a variety of models. Benchmark fractions play an important part in students’ ability to generalize and reason about relative fraction and mixed number sizes. Students then have the opportunity to apply what they know to be true for whole number operations to the new concepts of fraction and mixed number operations.

Terminology 

• New or Recently Introduced Terms 
• Benchmark (standard or reference point by which something is measured)
• Common denominator (when two or more fractions have the same denominator) 
• Denominator (e.g., the 5 in 3 5 names the fractional unit as fifths) 
• Fraction greater than 1 (a fraction with a numerator that is greater than the denominator) 
• Line plot (display of data on a number line, using an x or another mark to show frequency) 
• Mixed number (number made up of a whole number and a fraction) 
• Numerator (e.g., the 3 in 3 5 indicates 3 fractional units are selected) 

Familiar Terms and Symbols 

• =, <, > (equal to, less than, greater than) 
• Compose (change a smaller unit for an equivalent of a larger unit, e.g., 2 fourths = 1 half, 10 ones = 1 ten; combining 2 or more numbers, e.g., 1 fourth + 1 fourth = 2 fourths, 2 + 2 + 1 = 5) 
• Decompose (change a larger unit for an equivalent of a smaller unit, e.g., 1 half = 2 fourths, 1 ten = 10 ones; partition a number into 2 or more parts, e.g., 2 fourths = 1 fourth + 1 fourth, 5 = 2 + 2 + 1) Equivalent fractions (fractions that name the same size or amount) 
• Fraction (e.g., 1 3 , 2 3 , 3 3 , 4 3 ) 
• Fractional unit (e.g., half, third, fourth) 
• Multiple (product of a given number and any other whole number) 
• Non-unit fraction (fractions with numerators other than 1) 
• Unit fraction (fractions with numerator 1) 
• Unit interval (e.g., the interval from 0 to 1, measured by length) 
• Whole (e.g., 2 halves, 3 thirds, 4 fourths)

Reminders....

Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 23, Fawn Hollow students will be dismissed at 1:35pm.  Students being picked up at the end of the school day will be dismissed from the gymnasium following our regular dismissal procedures.  Please be sure to send a note to school if you plan to pick up your child.

Remember also that lunch will be served.  Please make the necessary arrangements.

Last call for book orders!  Taking into account that this is a busy time of year, Lauren Tarshis and Alan Katz book orders will be accepted through tomorrow morning. 

Hope you are enjoying these last few days of 2014.  Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

What We're Doing....

First night of Hanukkah.  Christmas next week.  This month is flying by!

Thanks so much for making sure the December project got done.  I hope your child had some fun creating this picture ornament that represents all the great things your family does during the month.  I'm sure they couldn't do it without you, so again, I thank you!  I know the picture doesn't do the work justice however, our tree adds a festive touch to the room and reminds us of what this month is truly about - family, giving and sharing.

Remember also that gifts for our annual Gift Exchange are due by this Friday, December 19.  Two gifts are needed: a new book and something gently used from home that is gender neutral and can be given as gift.  No food is allowed and both gifts need to be wrapped.

These gifts will be exchanged on our last day together, Tuesday, December 23, before the holiday break.  Please remember that lunch will be served and students will have a recess period as well.  Mr. Peterson will be doing his annual Holiday Sing-a-Long and we will have our own class celebration starting at 12:30 where students will be working on a craft and get to eat some treats provided by Mrs. Alderman and Mrs. Schwartz.  Permission slips did go home today for those treats.  Please make sure to sign and return by Friday, December 19.

Now for academics!!  As I said at conferences, learning math facts is a must!  Please make sure that your child takes time each day to practice all facts - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Today, we started working on a pretest/study guide which we will complete tomorrow in class.  They will take this home to study for the mid-module assessment on Unit 3: Multi Digit Multiplication and Division which will be given on Thursday and Friday, December 18 and 19.

In reading, students have been looking for books in both our classroom library and school library to research a topic of interest.  Students have been taking notes and will use the information for our next unit of writing - Information Writing.  Students got to read a "how to" book on showing cows written by a sixth grader.  Students have been given a brief overview of the unit and what will be expected but I wanted to give them time to research a topic of interest so that they will be better prepared once we start the lessons in the new year.

I hope that you are enjoying these last few days of 2014 and wish you all the best in the coming new year.  All the best this holiday season - to you and your family.

What We're Doing....

Always busy around here!!  Students have been working hard and continue to do so.

In these past few weeks we have ended some units and started some new ones.  Students were also asked to research a President and have some fun transforming a pumpkin into its likeness.  We celebrated Halloween, ran at Masuk, honored veterans and had "Dinner with the Smileys."  

In math, we started our new unit on unit conversions and problem solving using metric measurement.  Students will be assessed this Friday on their knowledge of the concepts.  Students will also be tested again on their fluency of facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  The results will be shared with you at our upcoming conferences at the beginning of December.

In writing, we completed our Realistic Fiction unit and have moved on to how to write a personal and persuasive essay.  A trainer from Teacher's College came and worked with students one morning in October and students have been working on taking their opinion and backing it up with supporting details. 

In reading, we are currently focused on informational texts and text structure.  This study should have helped your child when researching their President.  The projects were wonderful to listen to and many interesting facts were shared.  I have two bulletin boards filled with pictures and information of the Presidents that were researched.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful visit from Bridget's grandfather who talked to us about his years of service in the Air Force during the Korean War.  He also shared his father's decorated shirt which included many ribbons and even a purple heart for his work and bravery.  It was a wonderful culminating activity to the work done in class.  Students came away having a better appreciation of our veterans and the work done to protect our country and freedoms.

Today, we had a visit from the Smiley family.  Mrs. Sarah Smiley is the author of Dinner with the Smileys, the uplifting true story of a wife and mother's yearlong experience inviting one new guest (from senators to school teachers, artists to professional athletes) to dinner for each week that her husband was deployed overseas.

I hope your child is sharing with you all of the great things they learn and we talk about daily.  Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to discussing your child's progress at our upcoming conferences. 

Halloween Info....

Halloween at Fawn Hollow:

Costumes

Students participating in the Halloween parade should carry their costumes to school in a bag. Costumes are not to be worn to school. Students need to be able to put their costumes on by themselves. They will also need to take their costume off prior to boarding their bus home. We kindly ask that students refrain from wearing hair paint, face paint, and/or scary costumes or masks. Also note that anything construed as a weapon will not be allowed.

Parade

Our Halloween parade will begin at approximately 2:45. Parents are asked to remain outside where they may find a viewing spot on the back field or along the parade route. The parade lines will exit the building’s front doors where students will march around the building and across the back field before reentering through the front doors. Please keep the front sidewalks clear for our marchers.

Dismissal

Please send a note to school if you plan to pick up your child after the Halloween parade. Once the parade begins, we ask that parents not reenter the building to sign out their children out in the office. Our dismissal procedures will begin immediately following the conclusion of the parade. All students being picked up will be dismissed from the gym. Parents are asked to wait outside the gym doors at the conclusion of the parade, and staff members will call students to the gym for dismissal.

Please know that there is an alternate activity for students who would prefer not to participate in the Halloween activities. Contact the office if you would like your child to participate in this alternate activity.