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• Ms. Kempfer's last day with us is fast approaching.  Please sign up to donate a small gift on behalf of the class and send to school by Tuesday, May 3rd. 
• Please return permission slips for our 2 upcoming field trips at your earliest convenience.     
• Continue encouraging your child to use the ALEKS website at home.  Kids who complete the 4th grade pie by May 12th can participate in our class pizza party! 

• Monday, May 2nd 
• MAP Math Testing, Session 1
• Open Gym with Mr. DC, 6:30-7:45 pm 
• Tuesday, May 3rd  
• MAP Math Testing, Session 2 
• Wednesday, May 4th 
• Parent Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast @ 8:00 am
• Thursday, May 5th 
• Ms. Kempfer's last day 
• Strings Spring Concert, 6:00 pm @ LHS 
• Friday, May 6th  
• Happy birthday, Miss Dausmann (May 7th!)
• Happy birthday, Ivy (May 8th)!
• Happy birthday, Scarlet (May 8th)!

During Science, students make sure to pick up any trash they found outside to place in a trash can.  Thanks, Ivy! 

Iqra uses binoculars to study birds in a distant tree.  

Christian & Sanni explore bug life under a large rock. 

Miss Kempfer helps Autumn & Jayden capture insects to study in the bug jar. 

Christian lets a spider rest on his hand before releasing. 

Brenden searches for living & non-living things to record in his Science Journal. 

Scarlet & Sanni discuss how a tree produces sap.

Madison, Monissa, & Scarlet take notes about a tree.  

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• 2 permission slips will be sent home Monday regarding upcoming field trips.  Check 'em out and return at your earliest convenience.  
• We're collecting peanut, tree nut, & gelatin free snacks for our Mega Monster Trail Mix.  Please send this in on Monday or Tuesday.  
• MAP Testing for our class is coming up soon.  Here is more information about the test.  We will test ELA on April 27-29 and Math on May 2-3. 
• The Teachers' Lounge supply store is selling Summer Bridge Workbooks.  The books include a combination of 4th grade review skills as well as upcoming 5th grade skills.  Look for the pink flyer coming home today if interested in ordering one for your child.  
• Continue encouraging your child to use the ALEKS website at home.  Kids who complete the 4th grade pie by May 12th can participate in our class pizza party! 

• Monday, April 25th
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• Tuesday, April 26th 
• No LEAP
• Wednesday, April 27th 
• MAP ELA Test, Sesstion 1 
• Thursday, April 28th
• MAP ELA Test, Session 2
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Friday, April 29th 
•  MAP ELA Test, Session 3

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• MAP Testing for our class is coming up soon.  Here is more information about the test.  We will test ELA on April 27-29 and Math on May 2-3. 
• Thank you to parents who have completed the Parent Homework!  
• The Teachers' Lounge supply store is selling Summer Bridge Workbooks.  The books include a combination of 4th grade review skills as well as upcoming 5th grade skills.  Look for the pink flyer coming home today if interested in ordering one for your child.  
• Continue encouraging your child to use the ALEKS website at home.  Kids who complete the 4th grade pie by May 12th can participate in our class pizza party! 
• Students need to bring an old beach towel next week.  During Science, we'll be doing a lot of work outside and will use the towels to keep our pants dry while we study nature. 

• Monday, April 18th
• Midterm Reports come home; please sign & return.  
• Open Gym: Dads & Mr. D.C. @ 8:00-9:15 pm 
• Tuesday, April 19th 
• No LEAP
• Wednesday, April 20th 
• Early Release @ 1:40 pm
• Thursday, April 21st
• Parent Homework due; thank you so much for completing this! :-) 
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Laura Davidson Craft Night @ 6:00-8:00 pm 
• Dad's Night @ Smugala's, 7:30-8:30 pm
• Friday, April 22nd
•  Poetry Celebration @ 2:15-2:45 pm in Room 28.

• 10 Ways to Promote Healthy Self-Esteem
  My favorite on this list echo's Carol Dweck's book Mindset.  Encourage your kids using phrases that compliment the work ethic and effort not ability.  Enjoy!   

Kate & Jayden work on Scratch, a computer programming app.  

Autumn writes code to program the Dash & Dot robots. 

C.J. & Monissa build lego scenes before creating a comic to go along with them. 

Aniya deconstructs a laptop at the Take Apart station. 

Haylee & Miss Kempfer program a lego robot together. 

Shel watches Miss Dausmann's class as they hunt for books. 

• Monday, April 11th
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• Tuesday, April 12th 
• Service Team after school 
• Wednesday, April 13th 
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• Thursday, April 14th 
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Friday, April 15th 
•  MAP Assembly @ 2:00 pm
• *Miss Dausmann's Class will test on April 27th, 28th, 29th & May 2nd, 3rd 

• 5 Ways to Make Sure Your Child Isn't Acting Entitled
  This a great article I found that shares some specific strategies to implement in your household if your kiddo(s) could use a dose of humility.  I especially enjoyed reading about the power of "No," allowing failure to be a learning experience, and modeling gratitude.  

Monissa & Jayden read together. 

Autumn & Ivy research reconstruction together.

C.J. & Kamden work together to create an anchor chart to share new information with the class.  

• Monday, April 4th
• Open Gym for Dads with Mr. D.C. @ 6:30-7:45 pm 
• Tuesday, April 5th 
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• Wednesday, April 6th 
• 4th grade Girl Scouts after school  
• Thursday, April 7th 
• Dads & Donuts before school @ 8:00 am 
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Dining to Donate: Chick-Fil-A @ 4:00-8:00 pm 
• Friday, April 8th 

C.J., Monissa, & Aniya record information about the Kansas Nebraska Act.  

Scarlet & Sanni write about the Kansas Border War. 

Students learn about electrical safety from Ameren workers.  Here they show the power of live wires by roasting hot dogs on them.  

Kids try on a safety glove made of rubber, an insulator that will not conduct electricity.  

Mrs. Branding's & Miss Dausmann's Classes 

Autumn measures the height of the treasure box to the nearest half inch. 

Kamden measures a bookshelf to the nearest half inch.

• Monday, March 14th 
• Intruder Drill  
• Tuesday, March 15th  
• Yoga after school until 4:30 pm 
• Wednesday, March 16th 
• 4th & 2nd Grade Concert; students should be at Lindbergh High School Auditorium at 6:30 pm.  The show starts at 7:00!
• Thursday, March 17th 
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Mad Science after school 
• Friday, March 18th 
• February & March birthday celebration during lunch 
• Happy birthday, Madison! 

Madison & Scarlet explore a new app they'll be able to utilize during Library & Maker Space time.

Christian & C.J. work together on a "game" called Scratch, which allows kids to practice writing computer code. 

Iqra & Jayden work on Scratch. 

This week, students listed things "smart kids do" in their Writer's Notebook.  During Class Meeting, we discussed how being smart isn't something we are or aren't born with, it's something we choose to be.  Kids said that growing minds use their resources wisely, including tools, anchor charts, books, and classmates.  They said smart kids think critically about the world around them and ask smart questions.  Finally, we agreed smart kids respect other people and their thinking, even when it's different from our own.

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• Monday, March 7th 
• Spring Conference forms will come home on this day. 
• Open Gym with Mr. DC @ 6:00-7:15 pm, Dads only 
• Tuesday, March 8th  
•  Yoga after school until 4:30 pm 
• Wednesday, March 9th 
•  PTO @ 6:30-7:30 pm
• Thursday, March 10th 
• Choir before school @ 8:00 am
• Friday, March 11th 
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• Saturday, March 12th
• Trivia Night, St. Elizabeth's @ 6:30-9:00 pm 

Author Jackie Polys came to visit and share her book about the Rally Squirrel who joined the St. Louis Cardinals on the field a few years ago.  Christian, Jayden, Haylee, Parker, Madison, & Scarlet welcomed Mrs. Polys by wearing Cardinals gear.

Mrs. Polys showed her first draft of her book compared to her published piece.  She explained that her editor required many corrections and revisions to her first version of the story.  It took a lot of work for the story to be ready to be made into a picture book!