The Smitizen News...

Happy Thanksgiving and Countdown

mrssmits — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:35:50 +0000

Hello Everyone!
I am having a hard time believing that Thanksgiving is in just a few short days and Christmas is right around the corner. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and can find some time to relax and enjoy loved ones. I am blessed and thankful for all of you, my students, and families of Spring Lake Public Schools. What a great community we live in.

As for looking ahead… I have added a Christmas Countdown “widget” to the right side of our blog, so stop back often for the countdown…

Also, we only have two half days this week, so it will be short and go fast!

Enjoy!

Moon Study

mrssmits — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:06:55 +0000

We have been working hard at learning all we can about the moon. It is so fascinating! Here are some great websites to visit. One website is a calendar that how shows the different phases the moon will go through during the month of November. So interesting! Enjoy!

November’s “Moon Calendar”

Watch the Phases Here…

Cool Moon Facts

Interesting Moon Facts

A HUGE Thank You!

mrssmits — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:23:37 +0000

The “All-Stars” from Room 12 would like to thank the Szewczyk family for their GENEROUS donation of three brand new bean bags for Reader’s Workshop! We LOVE them! Thanks again!

Where does the Time Go?

mrssmits — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:55:17 +0000

Oh my! We have been doing SO much, but the time is getting away from me. Where do I start? I guess I will just tell you all that we have been going to the Aquatic Center for our PE lessons and it has been great! The students are working on their swimming skills and getting some free time at the pool. It is great…

The other big news is that we have a mobile lab of laptops that we have been using. We are hoping to post our first project here this week, so stay tuned… We have 24 laptops and everyone had an opportunity to use them. They will be a wonderful addition to our curriculum!

Check out the pictures below and come back to visit our blog often…

Multiplication Practice

mrssmits — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:23:19 +0000

Yes, it is true… I have lots of pictures to share, but I promised the kids that I would post some multiplication sites that they can use to get prepared for Friday. We have set some goals about how to practice and master our math facts… Here are some sites for them to use. Go kids Go!

Multiplication Practice – 4th Grade

Multiplication Problems – Timed

Another Multiplication Site

Halloween Fun!

mrssmits — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:34:10 +0000

Friday was filled with rain, candy, energy, and fabulous costumes! We had a great day and it all ended with a wonderful parade (lead by the three blind mice) and terrific party. The kids had a really good time and we all appreciated the time and energy that was put it to it by the parents. Thanks to all who made it special for the kids. Here are some photos of us in action…

Halloween Schedule

mrssmits — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:47:14 +0000

Tomorrow is the day that we will have our costume parade and classroom party. Students should not wear their costumes to school. Look below to see the afternoon schedule…

1:45 Put costumes on
2:00 All School Parade
2:20-2:50 School-wide Double Recess
2:50-3:25 Classroom Party

Thanks to everyone that is helping, sending things in, etc.! We could not do it without you! A big thanks to Mrs. Kelly for organizing our event!

H1N1 District News

mrssmits — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:20:26 +0000

Hello everyone. I have really enjoyed talking with all of you about your wonderful children this week. Please see the note sent out to parents about the district’s information on H1N1. Have a great night!

Click on the link below…
Supt_letter_October_09[1]

Fluency

mrssmits — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:19:22 +0000

We have been working hard this week in Reader’s Workshop. Our main focus has been fluency. We have worked on what it sounds like to be a fluent reader. The fabulous students in this room know that reading fast does not make a fluent reader. They know that you need pausing, phrasing, stress, intonation, rate, and it all should be integrated when they read aloud. They are all doing a great job.

To practice fluency, each child is responsible for practicing reading a picture book that they will record themself reading aloud. We will be sharing these wonderful podcasts soon, so watch for them to come… They also wrote book reviews for each of the books and had their picture taken with the book. You can read those at conferences. I have included their pictures today. Some kids even dressed up for the photo session! What a great group of fluent readers I have!

Classroom Update…

mrssmits — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:28:10 +0000

Hello to everyone! We are having a great week! I just wanted to share a few updates with you…

* MEAP – We started our MEAP testing today. It will continue on Thursday, October 15, Tuesday, October 20 and finish up on Thursday ,October 22. Please help your child remember to get some good sleep and eat a good breakfast before each testing day.

* Conferences next week – I am looking forward to meeting with each of you next week to talk about your wonderful children. Remember that there will be half days on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

* Book Baggie Book – Thank you for helping your child remember their book baggie book each day. Some of the kids wanted to be able to check for just right books from home. The Scholastic Book Wizard is a great tool. Here is the site: Book Wizard

* The Book Fair will be open all next week. Your child will do a little visit on Monday, but you are more than welcome to send money in any time. Here is a link to preview some of the books… Book Fair