Weekly News

Thank you for the wonderful gifts that you sent for our special Purdy families. Please take a minute to read the note below:

December 18, 2009

 

 

 

Dear Students in Ms. Moon’s Fourth Grade class,

 

Thank you so much for your generous donations to a boy and girl at Purdy during this holiday season.  Your caring to help other families was appreciated, and it will help these children enjoy the fun and excitement that we all love to share.

 

The families that received your gifts were overwhelmed by your generosity and the work you put into your project of giving.  You truly showed the spirit of our Purdy school community in caring about each other.

 

Again, many thanks for your thoughtfulness, and have a wonderful New Year with your friends and families.

 

 

Sincerely,


Mrs. Wilner and our special Purdy Families

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I would like to thank you all for making my birthday such a wonderful experience. I treasure the cards from each of the children and the wonderful gift certificate to my favorite store, the Yarn Garden. Thank you, as well, for the other gifts and cards for the holidays. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful Purdy "Family" to work and play with. I am doubly lucky to have not only wonderful children to teach, but also the best parents ever! I truly appreciate you all.
 
Please have your child take the student technology survey below.
Student Technology Survey : sl.psd401.net/stu-survey



Reminder: No late book reports or projects will be accepted for a grade. However, all students who do not turn in book reports will lose recess until the work is completed. It is very important for parents and teachers to instruct the children on the importance of meeting deadlines. Thank you for your support.
 
  

I am encouraging students to stick to due dates, especially on long-term projects. Therefore, no late book reports or book projects will be accepted. Students will lose recess until work is completed, but will not receive a grade. Please help me to teach good study skills and responsibility.

 
Students can check their grades on the website using their student numbers from school. Please keep in mind that the grades are percentage grades and do not always transfer exactly on the report card. This is a way for students to learn the effects of studying and doing well, as well as the effects of not studying. It is also a way for parents to monitor your child's progress.
 
If you are able to donate yarn to our classroom, I would really appreciate it. Our knitters are really busy and are using lots and lots of yarn. Thank you in advance!
  
Students are not supposed to bring their Workshop assignments home. I want them to work on managing their time at school and I want them to ask me for assistance when they need it. It is a good gauge for me to know their understanding and I want them to feel comfortable asking questions and calling "clinics." By the way, Workshop is heavy on math practice for the next few weeks in order to help to get everyone on target.
 
Please make sure that your child does not come to school ill. We will do everything we can to keep everyone healthy this year. I encourage hand-washing both before and after lunch. I will wash desks with the wipes that you have sent in at least once a week. Your child may eat snacks that are nutritious throughout the day, whenever they are hungry. Water bottles are an excellent idea for children to bring as well.
 
Because families have very busy schedules, I generally do not assign nightly homework. If your child has homework, it is almost always because work was not completed in class. They do have book reports monthly, with the first one being an oral report (the format is on this site - "book review form"). The genre is the student's choice. Book reports are always due on the last school day of the month.
 
Students should have memorized their times tables and I have noticed that many have not done so. They will need to practice their times tables nightly, either with flash cards provided by you, or you may use the practice activities on the website. Mulitplication facts are essential for success in fourth grade math, and fourth grade math skills are intense. I really appreciate your help making sure that your children practice nightly if they do not have them memorized yet.
 
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 http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev100.shtml
 
Kid Friendly News: http://www.dogonews.com/
Google Apps
http://googleapps.psd401.net. Go into Google Docs. Sign in with your student number @edtools.psd401.net.  Google Apps is a secure site for students to work together and with their teacher. This is not "open" like a regular g-mail account. They are not exposed to the whole Internet community. Students can create sites designed for group work on specific projects (for example, if four students are assigned to write a report on a wild animal together, they can collaborate from anywhere to do it with googleapps, in real time or not). They can write essays and send them to their teacher for edit/revisions or to a partner for the same activity. There are a multitude of different things students can do using googleapps in a secure environment. The only people who can see what they are doing are the District Technology Dept and whomever in the District that the student designates. They have been instructed to share with only Mr. Stark in the tech dept, me, and their fellow students. The students and I are learning as we go. Please feel free to observe your children as they learn and "play" with this application. When they are more secure within the environment, you will see assignments using googleapps. Please don't hesitate to ask questions. E-mail at my regular address or at moonn@edtools.psd401.net


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You can download Microsoft Powerpoint Reader for free so that you can see your student portfolio if you don't have PowerPoint on your computer. This is a read-only program. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=428d5727-43ab-4f24-90b7-a94784af71a4&displaylang=en

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Feel free to e-mail me at moonteacher@aol.com with any questions, comments or concerns.I check my e-mail daily during the school year at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. My phone number at school is 530-4658. Please do not call this number with absences or transportation information. This number automatically goes onto electronic message from 8:30-3:30. If you call during those hours, I will pick up your message as soon as possible.