Happy Halloween!

Cookie Dough Fund Raiser: The PTO would like you to know that this fundraiser is the BIG fundraiser for the PTO grades K through 4. This fundraiser does not include the middle school. So please push, push, push!!!!
The sale is through November 14th and the orders will be in on December 16th.

Spirit Wear Sale: One week only! All orders must be turned in by next Friday!

Thank you so much to all who supported our students' efforts in both the Walk-a-thon and the Harvest for Hunger! With the economy affecting everyone, it's nice to experience the generosity that the CNE Elementary community has offered. Our class was the top collector for the school in the Walk-a-thon and placed second school-wide for the Harvest for Hunger:)

Analogies

The class asked for this website to be posted since they had such fun playing it today: Analogies Jeopardy.

We have been working very hard getting ready for our programs today. We will be performing for the other classes at school and of course the grandparents! I hope everyone can attend the evening performance. We have asked the students to look their best, so everyone can take great pictures to remember one part of their fourth grade year.

In math class we have completed and tested on chapter 2. Some of the students are still struggling with addition and subtraction with regrouping. Please continue to work on this at home in the evening. If you can only spend 15 minutes it still will help! We will be moving on to multiplication next week, but will review other concepts frequently.

This week in reading we have been incorporating a bit of Spanish with a historical fiction story entitled Coyote School News. The students have enjoyed listening, reading and learning a little bit of Spanish every day!

Reminders!

*Market Day orders have to be placed by this Saturday at noon. All profit will go directly to the fourth grade classrooms. This is one of the best ways you could help out our classrooms and you don't have to do anything, but order great food to eat! We can also use parent volunteers to help unload the trucks and sort the food:-)

*We are beginning to finalize pricing for the extended day trip to Camp Campbell Gard on May 20, 2009. The estimated cost of the trip is $50.00. This includes lunch and dinner. We will leave at approximately 8:45 and return that same evening at approximately 8:00.

*Washington D.C. deposits are due to Crosswell by December 1!

Math Day

Thanks to Mrs. Maciag, a former CNE teacher, our students in grades 1-4 were able to participate in Math Day. Stations were set up around the school for students to practice their math skills using hands-on activities. Our class's favorite activities were problem solving with fruit loops and making a scarecrow after figuring out how much it cost to build one. Thanks too, to the volunteers who worked with our students today, especially Mr. Browning.

We recently received more postcards from Washington D.C. (Terra), Sterling, Kentucky(Haley) , Cottonwood, Arizona (Casey) and Seattle, Washington (Abbey).

Congratulations to Westin, Hailey and Terra for moving up in multiplication times tables.

This week's spelling words are irregular plurals. For more practice with irregular plurals, click here or here or here or here or here.

Coyote School News

This week's story is Coyote School News. For helpful study guides and other information, check out the links below.
Powerpoint on Coyote School News
Vocabulary Study
Vocabulary Quizlet
Coyote School News Hangman

Biography Literature Project

This week every student made a literature project kit with all of the materials and instructions to make a hero sandwich. This project is optional-if a student would rather create his/her own project, that is great! Projects can be presented at any time before the due date-ask Lydia how good it feels to have hers finished!

On Thursday, the fourth grade students will perform their show "All About Ohio" three times-once for the second and third graders, once for their grandparents and in the evening at 7:00 for their families. Please take the time to come to one of the performances-the students have really been working hard to learn their parts and songs.

We will have a math test on Wednesday. It will cover addition and subtraction with regrouping, rounding and estimation, beginning algebra and properties of addition and multiplication.
Commutative Property
Commutative Property video
Distributive Property
Distributive Property video
Associative Property
Associative Property video

For math flashcards to practice basic facts, click the following link: Math Flashcards. You do NOT have to fill out the personal information for this link to work.
For all kinds of math practice activities, click the following link: Math Activities.
For more information on mass, weight and capacity, check out the following links:
How Stuff Works
Weight and Capacity

Second Quarter

This week we will be back to the reading book and reading What Jo Did. To the right are some resources that go along with this selection.
In science we will continue to learn about measurement. We will focus on weight and capacity this week. Here are some links to some fun activities to help with capacity:
Which Holds More?
Count Us In
Weigh It Up
Your Weight on Other Planets
Weight and Capacity Video

Remember there is an early release day on Wednesday. Students will be released 2 hours early.

Also, don't forget to order Market Day. This month all the profits go directly to 4th grade! To place your order online, click here. You can pick up the orders at the elementary school on November 6th.

Update

If you were unable to attend the meeting this evening about our Washington D.C. trip, don't worry! You can send in a note, or contact Mrs. Bower for more information. Email her at bower_b@cneschools.org, or call her at 732-0661 ext. 425. She is our expert coordinator for this trip.
If your child is unable to attend the Washington D.C. trip, another choice could be the extended day trip to Camp Campbell Gard. We are planning to go on the Wednesday of the D.C. trip.

Katherine's journal is now in the Middle East visiting some our country's heroes-the U.S. military.

Tomorrow marks the end of the first quarter. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed! Students who have no missing work AND have not earned a red card since interims have earned a ticket to a Good Attitude movie. They are permitted to bring a snack (doesn't have to be healthy) and a drink. Students who have missing work will spend the time catching up on their assignments. Those with red cards will contemplate the reasons for the poor behavior and hopefully decide to make better choices in the future.

Don't forget-literature projects are due tomorrow! The book must be a mystery!

Freebie

I have one free Ohio Achievement test preparation book that I will give to the first person who requests it. The answer key (for parents) comes with it. Value: $14.95. To order, click here. Holcomb's also carries them.

We finished reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing today. Tomorrow we will take an open book test on Chapters 6-10.

Lots of students have received postcards: Abbey from Germany, Zach from Iraq, Haley from Kansas, Amber from Mason, Casey from Washington, Terra from Korea and Courtney from Florida, Nashville, Georgia, Baton Rouge, Oklahoma and Texas.

Roar of the Tiger!

CNE Elementary has heart and Bengal spirit. Click the following link to vote for CNE to win Local 12's office party.

http://www.local12.com/ugc/cat/BN_officetailgate/default.aspx

Homework

During the month of October each student will be responsible for creating 10 journal entries. Students were given a list of 20 writing prompts to help them start. The goal is for 3 entries to be completed per week so that we can spend October 27-31 taking one of the pieces through the writing process.
The mystery literature project is due on October 17. I am sending home the directions to make a story skeleton just in case you can't think of a project to do with your mystery. If you would rather do a different project, that is fine. If you can't decide on a book to read or need help making a selection, there are many people who can help. The Owensville branch of the Clermont County Public Library has a table devoted to our literature projects. Mrs. Fetter and Mrs. Sumner have access to lots of mysteries in the school libraries. Mrs. Lindsey and I also have books in our classrooms that we can share.
Today's assignments:
Read chapter 9 in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and complete worksheet.
Complete the diagnostic assessment in the math text for chapter 2 (p. 60-61).
Complete the place value practice sheet "Artistic Find".
Weekly State Dailies is due on Friday.
Complete first entry in writing journal for October.
Rewrite edited paragraph answering the question "Would you like to spend the day with Fudge?" Use details from Chapter 6 of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to explain your answer.

Paragraphs

Although students begin writing paragraphs in second grade and should have mastered paragraph writing in third grade, our class needs much work on this skill. In order to write a good paragraph, students must first be able to write in complete sentences. Please encourage your child to always write and speak in complete sentences. Answering a question with, "No, because..." is not a complete sentence.
For more help on paragraph writing, check out the following sites:
Paragraphs: This site has all of the rules in paragraph writing, including grammar skills like punctuation and capitalization.
Paragraph Punch: This site offers one free tutorial that is very helpful.
Descriptive Paragraph: This site tells how to begin each sentence.
Sandwich Chart: This is a graphic organizer to use when writing a paragraph.
How to Write an Apple: This site goes through the writing process step by step.
Writer's Window: This is a fun way to get writing ideas.

Happy October!

We are beginning a measurement unit in science. Our focus will be on selecting the correct tools to use in measuring capacity(volume), length, weight, and temperature. For practice measuring, check out the following sites:

• The Ruler Game


• Fun Brain Ruler Game


• Measuring Pencils (they use the British spelling of centimetres)


• Interactive Measurement Games


• Measurement Powerpoints

We will finish our measurement unit by estimating and measuring pumpkins. Each student will need to bring in a pumpkin by October 27 for these activities. (The pumpkin should not be bigger or heavier than a fourth grader can carry on the bus.) Our pumpkin science study will coincide with the reading aloud of the book Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy who visited our school yesterday.

We are extending our study of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing for another week or so due to our very interrupted October schedule.

October 2: Math test

October 6: PTO meeting

October 9: Market Day

October 10: Picture Day

October 14: COSI on Wheels

October 15: Field trip to Sycamore Park (pack lunch, wear outdoor clothes)

October 17: Mystery literature projects due; Attitude movie; end of first quarter

October 22: 2 Hour Early Release

October 24: Report Cards

October 30: Grandparents' Day; Evening Program

October 31: Walk-a-thon