Parent Teacher Conferences

Parents,
  If you have not signed up for a conference, here is the link to the schedule.  At the conference, we will review your child's report card (though modifications can be made through the end of the first Trimester, officially November 16) and discuss goals and next-steps.  Please remember if you are scheduled after 3:45pm, you'll need to enter through the Jungle; parking is available on the side by the tennis courts and in the back of school facing the baseball field.  We are Room 220.

Also, just a reminder that there is no school (nor Jungle; the school is closed for visitors other than voters) on Tuesday.

Thanks!

p.s.  There are a few families who are not receiving emails directly from me---thankfully the Blog is another form of communication---if you did not receive the original Conference email, and it is not in your Spam folder, please email me at kerri.wilkinson@oldham.kyschools.us so I can update my Distribution list.  

...for the WIN!!!

Did you hear...or see?!?  Team Wilkinson won first place in the Fall Festival Door Decorating contest, sponsored by PTA!!!!  Our adorable monster (shockingly, we never named him?!?) is the result of 27 tiny hands, 2 assembly helpers (thanks Mrs. Calijan!) and 1 very artistic and creative Mrs. Traughber!!!

We're keeping him up until Fall Break, he really adds some spunk to the end of the hallway...come check out our work if you didn't get a chance to the other night.  I brought my nephew Rees and he giggled like crazy.  Too bad "Aunt Kerri" can only multi-task when performing the duties of  "Ms. Wilkinson", as I left my phone in the car getting him out of his seat and safely through the parking lot; so I wasn't able to capture the look on his face when I brought him to see it.  But he loved it!!!

THANKS AGAIN to Mrs. Traughber for her hard work getting it assembled and working hard on our class pumpkin, Mrs. Calijan for coming in to help us put it all together!  We appreciate it!!

Padlet Reflection - October 11 2016

Use this link to access today's Padlet.  Remember to include your first name in your reflection and explain your opinion using reasoning.

Reflection 1 - Tuesday

Reflection 2 - Tuesday 

Multiplication Vocab Cards

https://quizlet.com/_1l4nv8

TOP SECRET Math Challenge!

This week we received our first "Top Secret Math Challenge" and welcomed Mrs. Higdon to help us experience the fun in problem solving collaboratively!!  We learned that multiple strategies can be applied to solve the same problem, talking through your problem promotes understanding, and that sometimes...it's OK to just throw out a logical guess and work from there!!  

We really enjoyed the opportunity to work through this word problem with Team Wilkinson, since we typically solve our problems in our Flexible Math Groups.  We also enjoyed the chance to discuss our thinking in detail!!  

Check us out sharing our strategies and thanks again Mrs. Higdon!!  (Can you see her?  She really blends in well with our Team 😀) 

Congrats to our Leader of the Week!!

Spencer earned the first "Leader of the Week" honor in 4th grade at Huddle today because of his consistent display of all 7 Habits in the first weeks of school!!  Spencer puts first things first each day in the classroom and uses additional time in transitions to help other students with their materials or make our classroom clean and tidy.  I am especially proud of the synergy he has used to welcome our 6 new students and make sure they feel at home at Kenwood Station.  

Way to go Spencer, we're proud of your leadership!!!

MAP Test, Round 1

...it's not so bad when you're comfy!!  This year we are testing in the "comfort" of our own rooms, so for Team Wilkinson, we really mean comfortable!!!   

MAP testing is a tool we use to design lessons specifically tailored to meet our kiddos' needs...it helps me pace units and plan extension opportunities; it also helps me know what concepts need revisiting.  This year, all students will test in the Fall and the Spring.   

THANK YOU!!

This update is so important that I'm writing while the kids are!   Just wanted to express my gratitude and excitement that I am currently feeling.   We sat down to do Family Journals a few minutes ago and I see SO many kiddos reading responses from you.  Your participation and support of this practice is very helpful for our students...so I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! 

I really appreciate the time you all took to write back, and I absolutely understand that there may be weeks where this isn't possible (because some weeks we'll face the same and you'll get a half of a letter and they'll say "she told me to just tell you the rest!").  

I hope you all have a restful, enjoyable long weekend! 

Thanks again!!

Ms. Wilkinson 

Team Wilkinson CARES...

Today Team Wilkinson pledged to prevent bully behavior because we CARE:

C- Choose not to bully

A- Always include everyone

R- Respect & stand up for one another

E- Everyone reports bullying 

Maze Challenge, Update 1

Have you heard about the Maze Challenge??  Team Wilkinson is working on developing engineering practices.  Last week we created blueprints for a Maze and this week we turned our plans into a model.   

Isn't it amazing what we can do as a TEAM...

Second Day Selfie!!!

I must be honest, these have been the greatest "First Day" and "Second Day" experiences of my career.  Your students are thoughtful and kind, lend a helping hand and have energized me greatly with each new activity we share. On Friday we will write our first Family Journal; please take the time to read these over the weekend.  You are more than welcome to respond to your student as a way of opening conversation and developing writing habits at the same time.  

Here's a look at our Second Day selfie and a few other pics from the day.   I'm really looking forward to watching these amazing kids grow this year!!

        Team Wilkinson Second Day Selfie

  Listening to some friends lay out expectations...

The Minions were our funny friends, but would not have been successful in fielding Kenwood's expectations 

Synergizing to describe what our classroom rules look and sound like...

 More working together!!   The Minions were good for something 😉

The most amazing Classroom Collaboration I have seen for a Day 2 effort!!   This crew has some real insight as to the meaning and purpose of our Rules. 

Already we are pitching in to help and are keeping our room happy, healthy and safe.  

Congrats...you found us!!

Welcome to Team Wilkinson!!!  I am looking forward to a great year with your family.  I use this Blog to show you the FABULOUS things happening in our room and to share important resources as well.  Please feel free to check out the Pages by clicking on the tabs on the right side of the screen!!

Some important reminders from Kenwood Kickoff:

-School starts Wednesday at 7:40am; dismissal is 2:20pm

-Please make sure pages 40-42 of the Handbook are completed and returned ASAP!!  The rest is yours to keep for reference throughout the year.

-I expect agendas to be signed by a parent/guardian each night...our nightly HW routine is a reading log and I frequently communicate personally through this resource.

-Our lunch is 11:52am-12:17pm and visitors are always welcome!!

-This year, all transportation changes must go directly to the office---notes in the morning are preferred--no email changes will be accepted.  Please call the office before noon if possible (if a note was not sent in advance).

-Your child is welcome to bring a healthy snack to consume in the morning (or afternoon) but please keep in mind that we are a "NUT FREE" classroom.

Leaders of the Week!!

Team Wilkinson was honored x2 at Monday Huddle with Leaders of the Week!!  We are so proud of Ethan and Isaac for their hard work and leadership!!  Congrats gentlemen, keep up the great work!!

Padlet Reflection - Monday

Team, here is the link for your Literacy reflection:
http://padlet.com/kerrialexiswilkinson/abd2epegu4g9

Padlet - Friday

http://padlet.com/kerrialexiswilkinson/xfipx1dpjkl1

Congrats!!!

Congrats are in order for Amanda!! Last night, Amanda and 5 other rockstar Tigers "defended" our title and led Kenwood to a win at the District competition!!   We are so proud of her for her preparation this year...and kudos to all our readers who tried out for the team!   

Here she is with her 1st place medal!!

 

Have you completed your Career Inventory?

Career Day is Friday!!  If you have not completed your interest inventory, please go to this link.  Be sure to print your results so you can visit the best stations for your style!

Multiple Perspectives

This morning we enjoyed listening to Ms. Wilkinson and Mrs. Kremer read aloud the story of Cinderella, but presented the stories from 2 different perspectives.   Ask your kiddo which story they liked better...and have them explain the similarities and differences they found!!

Leader of the Week!!!

Congrats to Natalie E., who was named 4th grade Leader of the Week!!!

Snow Break!

Did you see the amazing snowflakes Thursday morning?!?   After persevering through the distraction nature's beauty to complete our fractions test, we headed outside to enjoy, simply, being kids!!! 

Today was a big day in 4th grade...Battle day!!  We are so proud of our representatives who led Team Wilkinson to a 3rd place finish in Battle of the Books.  We are also proud of the many others that diligently read in order to tryout for the team and our cheering squad who supported us this morning. 

Way to go Team!!!

 

"Wonder"ful Volunteers!!!

Special thanks to Mrs. Kroll and Mrs. Billion for giving our hallway a makeover this afternoon!!   Team Wilkinson is no short of obsessed with our read aloud, "Wonder" by RJ Palacio; today our helpers prepared a fabulous display for our work in connection to the story.  

Ask your child about how the theme (Choose kind) has developed over the course of the story so far.  Looking forward to sharing the end of the story with the Team next week...although I will sure miss the deep conversations we share over Auggie's experiences.  I imagine these will leave lasting impressions with our kids about acceptance and kindness towards all.  

Thanks again to our volunteers, we LOVE our board!!!! 

Bucket Filling Recess

Mrs. Kremer and myself were spoiled with some Bucket Filling artwork today during indoor recess....thanks to our "chickadees" for your messages!!

Kahoot! Reviews

Team--
  Here are directions that will allow you access to my Kahoot! account, so you can play some review games with your child, if you want!  You will need 2 devices (or 1 computer and 1 device).

On one device go to : www.create.kahoot.it
1.  Log in as Ms. Wilkinson:
usnm- kerri.Wilkinson@Oldham.kyschools.us
pw - KWtigers13
2.  Select a Unit 9 Review (there are about 15 created by students this week; I revised as frequently as I could for errors, but I image there are a few I couldn't remember encountering during class today)
3.  Hit purple "PLAY" button
4.  Hit "Launch"
5.  A pin number will then appear for your child to use on their device
***This device is the facilitator...you can advance the quiz by question and skip problems***

On the student device: www.kahoot.it
1.  Enter the pin number on the facilitator and select "Enter"
2.  Give yourself a nickname
3.  Wait for your facilitator to hit start on their device

The student device only allows them to select an answer...they need to be able to see the question using the facilitators screen.

Kiddos are free to play as many games as they want.  Please remind them to log me out of the account when they are finished, so we don't get locked out!

Have fun!!!

Unit 9 Helpful Hints

Measurement Cheat Sheet!!!

Due to the Snow Days, our Unit Assessment has been moved from Friday January 29 to Friday February 5; the test will cover Area & Perimeter, Time and Measurement (Customary and Metric).  Here is a cheat sheet for the measurements we have been converting and exploring, which need to be memorized for the test.

Money:
5 pennies = 1 nickel   ($0.05)
10 pennies = 1 dime  ($0.10)
25 pennies = 1 quarter  ($0.25)
4 quarters = 1 dollar  ($1.00)
100 pennies = 1 dollar ($1.00)
**students are also responsible for adding/subtracting money, including making change**

Time:
60 seconds = 1 minute
60 minutes = 1 hour
24 hours = 1 day
7 days = 1 week
365 days = 1 year
52 weeks = 1 year

Customary Length:

***Length measures an object from end to end***12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
5, 280 feet = 1 mile
1,760 yards = 1 mile

Customary Weight:

***Weight measures how heavy a solid object is***
1 pound (1 lb) = 16 ounces (16 oz.)
2,000 lbs = 1 Ton

Customary Capacity:  (Remember the Land of a Gallon story and visual...you may write this on the test as soon as you get it!!)

***Capacity measures liquid volume***
1 gallon = 4 quarts
1 quart = 2 pints
1 pint = 2 cups
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces (8 fl. oz.)
1 gallon = 8 pints
1 gallon = 16 cups

Metric:  (Think: "King Henry Died Unusually Drinking Chocolate Milk!)  Our prefixes come from our saying and are ordered greatest to least:
Kilo-, Hecto-, Deca-, UNIT, Deci-, Centi-, Milli-

1 kilo- = 1,000 units
1 unit = 100 centiunits
1 unit = 1,000 milliunits

Metric Conversion Rule: When converting a larger unit to a smaller unit (left to right on our chart), we use MULTIPLICATION.  When converting small units to a larger unit, we use DIVISION (right to left on our chart).  These movements represent powers of 10; moving 2 columns to the right is the same as multiplying by 100 (10 x 10) or moving 4 columns to the left is the same as dividing by 10,000.

In the metric system, when we are measuring LENGTH, we measure in meters; when are measuring WEIGHT, we measure in grams; when we are measuring VOLUME, we are measuring in liters.  In our room, we have been focusing primarily on units such as: millimeters, kilograms, liters, and centimeters as these are the most familiar to our lives, but students needs to have an understanding of the system on the whole.

Share Chair!

Today our writer's were introduced to the Share Chair!!  We enjoyed hearing each other's creative stories inspired by the Shel Silverstein poem "Writer Waiting".