Hello to all of our 4H families. The past week went by so fast! We made science class a priority during the first half of the week, testing the properties of four minerals for clues to their identities (calcite, quartz, gypsum, fluorite). Our students proved to be very good geology detectives! During the second part of the week, we dove into a new writing project. We began sharing our stories today, and we all enjoyed hearing the many different directions each of our imaginations can take us. I am impressed by the descriptive writing being produced as well. New books have been circulating our classroom this week, with the arrival of our April Scholastic Book Order (including many new books for the classroom library from the bonus points our orders earn). We've had many requests for silent reading time, so we did our best to make time for this opportunity as well. Unit 10 in Math this week is very different from past units. Our daily class time has us drawing lines of symmetry, reflections, translations, and rotations - trying to picture (and sketch) shapes and objects moving into new positions has been a challenging brain exercise for all of us. We are close to agreeing upon a test date next week for our latest spelling list (science vocabulary). Yes, no wonder the week flew by... plenty of stimulating activities and subjects to keep us busy and learning.
In other news items: You may have seen PTO announcements about one more Box Tops For Education drive this year. During the month of May, any class that can reach 750 Box Tops collected will be rewarded with a special treat. So families, we have one more push to cut out and collect, beg and scrounge, for those little cardboard squares! It has actually been quite impressive this year: West Middleton has collected 20,000 Box Tops amounting to $2000 to spend on improving our playground equipment. Wow! Also, this coming Monday, April 30, is the deadline to send in $14 for your student's own copy of the West Middleton Elementary Yearbook. Another PTO announcement is that on June 5th there will be a family picnic event in honor of our principal, Mr. Rykal. More details will come in May.
If you have been keeping track of our 'adopted' bald eagle family in Decorah, Iowa through Ustream, you know those babies are getting bigger and hungrier everyday. Their fuzz is transforming into feathers, and the parents are leaving them alone more often, as they begin to also move about the nest more as well. The growth has been fascinating to witness. They should 'fledge' in late June or early July - that will really be something to watch. Today's Wisconsin State Journal featured another kind of bird family on its front page, and we tuned in at school today for another first hand peek into nature (see go.madison.com/hawkcam). Right on Dayton St. near the Kohl Center in our own Madison, WI. is a camera set up by university students to watch the adorable family of two beautiful red tailed hawks and their three fuzzy white babies, hatched within the past week. They are perched precariously on a narrow concrete ledge outside a window several stories up from the ground - yikes. Take a look for yourself!
Next week brings us all into May. We are going to fill our last full month to the brim with creative projects, ambitious lessons, and lively discussions - as always, we will keep you posted on the details from Room 117! Melanie Hannam
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