October 28, 2016

Students learned about Habit #7 this week: Sharpen the Saw  This habit is all about finding a balance between work and play.  Every day should opportunities for growth, challenge, health, & relaxation.

• Sunday, October 30th
• Trunk or Treat @ 4:00-6:00 pm

• Monday, October 31st
• Halloween Parade @ 1:30 pm, Classroom Parties @ 2:00-3:00 pm 
• Tuesday, November 1st
• 
  

• Wednesday, November 2nd
• Fire Drill   

• Thursday, November 3rd
• Library  

• Friday, November 4th
• Field trip permission slips due 
• Happy birthday, Carter!
• Kids Voting

• Please review & return your child's Weekly Reflection on Monday.
• Our field trip to Busch Stadium is coming up on November 10th! Please return the permission slip & $18 fee before Friday, November 4th.

October 21, 2016

This week, students learned about Habit #6: Synergize. To synergize means to work together, allowing each individual to use his/her strengths to benefit the group.
We brainstormed ways to synergize at home, in the classroom, and on a team.

• Monday, October 24th
• Book Fair through Thursday
• Parent Teacher Conferences 
• Tuesday, October 25th
• Boy Scouts @ 6:30 pm 

• Wednesday, October 26th
• Parent Teacher Conferences  

• Thursday, October 27th
• 4th Grade Girl Scouts after school 

• Friday, October 28th
• 
  
• Saturday, October 29th
• Girl Scout Celebration in the gym @ 5:00-8:00 pm  
• Sunday, October 30th 
• Trunk or Treat in Crestwood parking lot @ 4:00-6:00 pm 

• Please review & return your child's Weekly Reflection on Monday.
• Parent Teacher Conferences are this week! I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress in fourth grade.
• Next week, watch for a field trip permission slip. Fourth grade will be taking a trip to tour Busch Stadium!

Javaeh shares three multiplication strategies from her Math Journal. 

Carter practices multiplication.  

Becca & Logan study Cynthia Rylant's "Slower than the Rest" and write about character development.  

Jazzy rereads part of "Slower than the Rest" to write about the story's theme.  

Emma & Andrew show off their memory sheets.  In Writing, students worked on creating complete paragraphs with an introduction, three or more details, and a conclusion.    

Jayden & Becca show their memory sheets about Abilities Awareness Day.  

October 17

This week, students learned more about Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. We created and practiced "understanding starters." These are phrases you might say to better understand a person before jumping to conclusions or sharing your point of view. Choose one and give it a shot!

• Monday, October 17th
• 
  
• Tuesday, October 18th
• 
  

• Wednesday, October 19th
• Early Release @ 1:40 pm 

• Thursday, October 20th
• Library 
• Fundraiser Limo Ride 
• Dad's Club @ 7:30 pm, Smugala's 

• Friday, October 21st
• Rolling with Character Reward Recess 
• Saturday, October 22nd 
• Beth's Battle 5K @ 9:00 am, Crestwood 

• Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up on October 24th & 26th. Please take a few moments to complete this questionnaire to help ensure we make the most of our time together.

• to the families of Desmond, Ava, Emmah, Brady, & Jayden for donating delicious snacks & treats for our fun celebrations this week.  Friday was a BLAST! 

During class meeting this week, we learned about Habit #4: Think Win-Win. Having a Win-Win attitude means approaching situations on the hunt for how both parties can "win." For example, we created a t-chart about the Book It! reading program. We listed student wins and teacher wins. Kids decided they win because they get a free pizza, become better readers, and have an easy way to keep track of their minutes. They believed my wins include having fun handing out pizza coupons and getting students to read more minutes each week. Thinking Win-Win doesn't mean any situation is perfect, but it does mean we can find positives for each person involved.

• Monday, October 10th
• Rolling with Character Reward Recess 
• Tuesday, October 11th
• 
  

• Wednesday, October 12th
• Cookie dough fundraiser pickup in the gym @ 3:30-6:30 pm 

• Thursday, October 13th
• Abilities Awareness Day 
• 4th Grade Girl Scouts after school 

• Friday, October 14th
• All 1st quarter Box Tops due 
• Half day; school releases @ 11:50 am 

• Your child is bringing home Weekly Reflection today. Please be sure to review & sign, so (s)h can return on Monday.
• Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up on October 24th & 26th. I will email confirmation times or requests to schedule early next week. I will also email a questionnaire to get a sense of your priorities of discussion during our time together.

Robert, Desmond, Griffin, Andrew, & Carter listen during Class Meeting.

Javaeh, Becca, & Hailey listen to others share joys &/or concerns during Class Meeting.

Brady & Katie study multiplication facts.  

Becca & Andrew study before their Rocket Math. 

During our Writing Celebration, Ava shares her story with Silas. 

Desmond's dad & Emmah's mom enjoy reading personal narratives.  

Students enjoy a snack to celebrate their hard work.  

Cyrus & his mom read his story The Bottle Flip.  

Students reviewed their "on demand" personal narratives, stories we wrote about a month ago.  They compared their previous story to their published one and shared ways in which they grew is writers.  

• Monday, October 3rd
• Informational Meeting regarding Halloween parties @ 6:30 pm in the Library 
• Tuesday, October 4th
• Dad's Build Night @ 6:30 pm 

• Wednesday, October 5th
• 
  

• Thursday, October 6th
• Happy birthday, Claudia!
• Library 

• Friday, October 7th
• Writing Celebration; Look for an invitation to come home this week! 

Consider signing up for Beth's Battle 5K!

During class meeting this week, we learned about Habit #3: Put First Things First. Students shared their after school activities: sports practice, dinner, homework, playing outside, device time, talking with family, personal hygiene, etc. They learned every evening can't include every activity and practiced prioritizing the most important things.

• Monday, September 26th
• 
  
• Tuesday, September 27th
• Happy birthday, Javaeh! 

• Wednesday, September 28th
• Picture Day 

• Thursday, September 29th
• FREE pizza for Crestwood families @ Incredible Pizza, 4:30-7:00 pm 

• Friday, September 30th
• Star of the Week Lunch 

• Please review, sign, & return Midterm Reports and Weekly Reflections on Monday.

Students from SLU came to Crestwood to present Tar Wars. 

Students learned about the harmful effects of smoking and tobacco products.  

Cyrus and Carter served as each team's "sticky person."  Teams brainstormed the negative things  smoking can do to a person's body.  

Katie shared a special item as part of Star of the Week, a wooden pen from Albania.  

This week during class meeting, we focused on Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind. Students worked together on an an online jigsaw puzzle. Without seeing the picture ahead of time, making sense of the pieces was difficult and stressful. We struggled to make progress. After taking a look at the picture, we were able to put the puzzle together fairly quickly. Knowing the intended outcome helped us to make smart choices to get the desired result.

• Monday, September 19th
• Happy birthday, Desmond!
• Intruder Drill
• Tuesday, September 20th
• 
  

• Wednesday, September 21st
• SLU Tar Wars Presentation (anti-smoking & tobacco)
• Midterm reports come home 

• Thursday, September 22nd
• Moms & Muffins @ 8:00 am 
• Library (every other Thursday)
• Staff vs. 5th Grade Kickball Game @ 1:45 pm 

• Friday, September 23rd
• No school, Professional Development day for teachers 

• There is no Weekly Reflection coming home from last week; we had a busy Friday and prioritized some other items.
• Students will bring home Midterm Reports next Wednesday, 9/21. This serves as a reflection of each student's academic and behavioral performance during the first five weeks of school.

Hailey & Brady play a game to practice directions using a compass rose.  

Claudia uses die to practice adding large numbers.  

Becca & Andrew quiz each other on the 7 continents.  

Emmah & Griffin review the 5 oceans.  

Sandra & Cyrus work together during Social Studies.  

Students practice locating places based on lines of latitude and longitude.