A Dictionary/Thesaurus of my very own!

Thank you so much to Mrs. Ziegler's Great Uncle Joe from Oklahoma for coming to visit our classroom and giving us an incredible gift.  As part of the "Dictionary Project" each student received his/her own copy of Webster's Dictionary/Thesaurus from the Cross Timbers Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma.  
Joe spoke about the importance of literacy and reading to learn.  He said, "I'm planting a seed.  He hopes that they will use this dictionary this year and in the years to come to grow in their learning.  

 To learn more about the "Rose Rock" (Oklahoma's state rock) visit, http://roserockmuseum.com/

To learn more about the Dictionary Project, visit www.dictionaryproject.org/about/

STUDENT COUNCIL!

It’s time to elect our classroom representatives for student council.  

This election is not a popularity contest, and students should only run if they are ready to work hard and attend all meetings as well as participate in all activities decided by student council. 

Next week (Sept 14-18) is Student Council Election Week!

The student council is a group of students who are elected by their classmates to represent them (like a student government).  Members attend monthly business meetings where they discuss and plan activities, which improve our school and community.  It is a great way to meet other students while doing something worthwhile for your school.

We will have speeches and vote on Thursday, September 17. 

There is a stapled informational packet available to all students interested in running.  Please read over all the pages carefully.  Only decide to run if you are ready to work hard, attend all the meetings, and participate in all the activities.

We will elect 2 representatives from each fourth and fifth grade classroom.  

For ideas for your poster, look at some of these:
http://missliefer.blogspot.com/2010/11/student-council-elections.html 

After the monthly meetings you must report back to the class what happened. 
Here is a sample video of how you can report back to the class:
http://missliefer.blogspot.com/2010/12/student-council-december-meeting.html 

For more about student council search the "student council" label on our my old blog missliefer.blogspot.com  (There you can view more posts from previous years' representatives).

Cahokia Mounds hosts Atlatl Competition

There is an atlatl competition at Cahokia Mounds this weekend!
This fits SO PERFECTLY with what we have been studying in class!

Ask your 4th grader about the atlatl and Cahokia Mounds!

Cahokia Mounds ~ In social studies we have been studying the Mississippian Mound Builders (one of the Native American Tribes that lived in Illinois).  They are the tribe that built Cahokia Mounds!

Atlatl ~ We also have been studying the tool called the atlatl.  It was a tool first developed by the Archaic Indians (another Native American Tribe that lived in Illinois).  The atlatl helps hunters throw a spear further and with great force.

Check out our social studies packet for more information about the tribes we've been studying... the test is scheduled for next Friday!

Check out this link for more information about Cahokia Mounds!
http://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/cahokia-mounds-hosts-american-indian-educational-days-and-annual-atlatl-competition-sept-1113-8738.cfm

Bill the Bull

Cindy Hedeman, author of the children’s book “Bill is No Bully” is coming to our school!








Cindy Hedeman is an elementary school teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience.
She and her husband former professional rodeo bullfighter have joined with Bill the Bull to promote bullying awareness.





 You can order a copy of her book (and get it autographed!).  
Cost is $10 each.  
Don't Forget....Orders are due by Sept. 15, 2015

Fall Farm Festival

Katie Kelley (the guest speaker we had Tuesday) told me about this event.

Check it out if you're free Saturday! It sounds like fun!

Sock It To Cancer Campaign

As some of you may know, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and what better way to get involved then to participate in a school-wide “sock it to cancer” campaign?

Your student was given a sock as part of:

Kellsie’s Hope Foundation- Sock it to Cancer Campaign.

The mission of the Kellsie’s Hope Foundation  is to lighten the load of families that have children suffering from cancer by offering support for trips, and gifts that might otherwise be unattainable to a child with cancer. Kellsie’s foundation is also dedicated to raising funds to support research into childhood cancers such as hers and supporting the nursing field with a nursing scholarship each year.

To Participate:

• The student uses the sock to start collecting change to fill the sock.
• The sock can be decorated in order to participate in the “best decorated/most creative” sock contest, but it is not required.
• Return the sock and it’s contents by Wednesday, September 30th, to your homeroom teacher.

That’s it!

The class that collects the most money will receive a pizza party, provided by the Kellsie’s Hope Foundation.

Every sock collected, whether it have a few coins or it be completely full, helps the mission of finding a cure for Childhood Cancer!

If you want to know more about Kellsie’s Hope Foundation, visit their website at KellsiesHopeFoundation.com .

3 Sisters Harmony

Katie Kelley came to our classroom yesterday!

Miss Kelley is the Monroe County Agriculture Literacy Coordinator.

She taught us about the importance of crops to Native Americans. 

Corn, beans, and squash were sometimes called the "Three Sisters". 

Corn was planted first. 

When the corn started to grow, the women planted beans that grew up around the cornstalks. 

Later, the women planted pumpkins and other types of squash. 

The vines from the plants covered the ground between the cornstalks-- helping to keep the weeds away. 

To read more about this and more Native American topics - see page 59 in the social studies textbook. 

Reading the Pumpkin AgMagazine Newspaper.  We love learning!