Last Days of School and Study Guide Update

Dear Parents,


Thank you all for the gifts, cards and mementos you sent with your students for teacher appreciation week. They were very sweet, especially the peanut butter cups! :-) I have to say, I have really enjoyed this year of teaching; if I could afford it, I would do it for free. It is a privilege to be allowed to gift my students with knowledge to help them make their way in the word.

Once again, please remember that all students do need to be in attendance on Monday and Tuesday of this coming week in order to take their final tests. I said previously that math and history tests are Monday, but I was misinformed. MATH and LITERATURE tests are on MONDAY, and history and science are on Tuesday.

Wednesday is going to be more of a fun day. We don't have any more classes or tests, but we will spend some time signing yearbooks, packing up, and saying goodbyes. We also have an all school assembly in which various students will be recognized for the virtues they've shown throughout the year. Attendance for Wednesday will not affect students' grades, but we would love to have them all so we can give them a proper send off for the summer.

PLEASE make sure your students bring BACKPACKS ON WEDNESDAY! They will need them to pack up their lockers and desks.

As you go through the Friday folders today, please be sure to look for any “Try Again” assignments and have your students complete them promptly. They will (obviously) need to be return by Wednesday for students to receive credit for their redo. Also, last night’s math assignment was composed of problems similar to those that will be on the test (It was a six problem worksheet on simplifying fractions, finding any fraction equivalent to a given fraction, and finding a fraction equivalent to a given fraction when the denominator of the answer is given. Please go over it with your students to find what they need to focus on when studying for the math test. If it’s not there it means they haven’t turned it in to me yet.

I did title this post "Study Guide Update" and I have updated the copy of the science study guide that I emailed you on Wednesday. changed some things in numbers 5 and 6 and I have added a completely paragraph, number 12. Please use this updated copying when helping your student study for science.


These are all the notes I have for you this week. As always, please feel free to email me if you need anything.

Sincerely,


Miss Wycklendt

UPDATED Water Cycle Study Guide

1.       The atmosphere is made out of a mixture of gasses. We call this mixture of gasses “air.” There is NO DIFFERENCE between the words “air” and “the mixture of gasses that makes up the atmosphere.” They are two ways of saying the same thing.

2.       Pressure literally means “pressing.” It is a kind of force.

3.       Atmospheric pressure refers to the atoms of air/gas that make up the atmosphere pressing down towards earth.

4.       The higher you are, the less atmospheric pressure there is. The lower you are the more atmospheric pressure there is. This is because an object that is high in the air has some atoms of air/gas above it pressing down on it, but it also has some atoms of air/gas beneath it. An object that is on earth has all the atoms of air/gas in the atmosphere pressing down on it because all the atoms are above it and none of them are beneath it. Therefore, the object on the earth experiences more atmospheric pressure than one in the air because there are more atoms pressing down on it. (Students should be able to use this information to correctly identify which of two objects experiences more atmospheric pressure and why. For instance, if a bird is flying in the air and a dog is walking on the ground, which one experiences more atmospheric pressure and why?)

5.       The water cycle refers to the way water is renewed on earth.

6.       There are four main steps to the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

7.       Evaporation: When the sun heats liquid water on earth, the water becomes an invisible gas called water vapor and rises into the air.

8.       Condensation: As water vapor rises it gets colder because the air around it gets colder. When the water vapor gets too cold to be a gas it changes back into drops of liquid. These liquid water droplets make clouds.

9.       Precipitation: When clouds get too heavy and full of condensed water droplets, they release rain, snow, or hail.

10.   Collection: The water comes back to earth in the form of rain, snow, or hail and gathers in puddles, snow drifts, or hail drifts.

11.   The fifth step of the water cycle: The cycle starts all over again with evaporation!

12.   Myth: Jars and glasses of ice water “sweat” in the summer when it gets hot out. Fact: Water vapor (that is water gas) in the air around the jar touches the cold outside of the jar and the cold causes the water vapor to condense back into liquid water on the outside of the jar. 

Week 37

Dear Parents,

This upcoming week is the last full week of school. After that, we have three half days and then summer break. Of course, the students are starting to get anxious for summer, but please encourage them to persevere in their efforts to learn until the final day.

On that note, please be aware that the half days next week are still intended to be serious study time for students. Fourth grade students will have finals in math and history on Monday of next week and finals in science and literature/writing on Tuesday of next week. Please keep your students in attendance to take these exams. Unexcused absences will result in a 0 grade for your student’s final exams.

We will end our study of science this year by continuing to learn about the water cycle. We will end our study of math this year by studying decimals in both math lab and math class.

Regarding our science test from last week: I had announced in third quarter that I would start sending every other test home.  This is the test that I keep, so if you would like to know how your student did, please email me.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me at rwycklendt@archwaytriviumeast.org. Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Week 36

Dear Parents,

Last week was long and busy but lots of fun! Congratulations to our drama club students who successfully performed their first play, “The Firebird!” It was a real treat to see the results of all their hard work, and to laugh along at their comedic efforts. Mr. Ohbayashi and Mr. Elefson did a wonderful job directing.

Congratulations to Ms. Sassaman on a successful week of concerts! I did not get to see the 1^st-3^rd concert, but the 4^th and 5^th graders sounded lovely. I was especially impressed by the fourth grade students harmonizing in “Going to Ghana” and the fifth grade students giving such a beautiful rendition of “The Road Not Taken.”

As always, thank you to all of you parents who support your students as they prepare for and perform in these school events. We know this takes a lot of time and effort on your part, but rest assured, your work does not go unnoticed!

Of course, this post would not be complete without mention of our art walk! While the rain threatened to spoil our fun, I think you can all agree we had a great time. Thank you to all of you who hung black paper and pictures, made donations to baskets, collected donations for baskets, and of course attended and supported this fundraiser. A big shout out especially goes to Ms. Stephanie Dean, our receptionist who took on organizing the whole event! Also, Mrs. Walters and Ms. Lipmann took the lead in collecting donations for 4A’s baskets and putting them togather.

We have a few more standardized assessments to complete before the end of the year. These are not state tests but rather tools we use at Trivium East to help teachers understand in what areas their students need to grow. On Monday we will have our multiple choice Galileo math test, and on Tuesday we will have our multiple choice Galileo language arts test. Next week we will also have an Algebra Readiness assessment for fourth grade students; further details will be included in next week’s blog post.

In math this week we will be simplifying fractions. In science, we will learn about clouds and the water cycle. On Wednesday we have a science test on what we have learned about meteorology so far. Here is the study guide:

1.       Meteorology is the science of earth’s atmosphere and weather.

2.       The atmosphere is a blanket (or bubble) of gasses that surround the earth. The gasses are held around the earth by earth’s gravity.

3.       Components of the atmosphere: The gasses that make up the atmosphere include nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and others.

4.       What the atmosphere does for us: The atmosphere allows us to breathe and protects us from outer space.

5.       The gasses in the atmosphere are, of course, composed of atoms and molecules. These atoms and molecules press down on us from above. This is called “atmospheric pressure.” (Pressure literally means “pressing.”)

6.       Just as the inside of the earth has layers, so does the atmosphere. The main layers of the atmosphere are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere.

7.       The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere that starts just above the earth’s surface and extends 11 miles above the earth. The air around you right now is part of the troposphere. Most clouds and storms are in the troposphere.

8.       The stratosphere is the layer above the troposphere. It has a few clouds and (as a result) a few storms. It also contains ozone.

9.       Ozone is a special kind of oxygen atom found mostly in the stratosphere. It protects the earth from the harmful ultra-violet light rays of the sun.

10.   The mesosphere is the layer after the stratosphere. Meteors falling from outer space usually burn up in the mesosphere.

11.   The thermosphere is the layer above the stratosphere. It’s temperature is about 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit! The thermosphere absorbs most of the heat from the rays of the sun that come towards earth, protecting us from getting too hot.

12.   The exosphere is the highest layer of the atmosphere. The atoms and molecules of gas are extremely far apart from each other in the exosphere. Some scientists consider the exosphere part of outer space.

13.   Air takes up space! You can feel that air takes up space when you wave your hand quickly and feel the air moving past your hand. We also proved that air takes up space in our experiment with the jar under water. When we put the jar straight down underwater, no water got into the jar. Then we tipped the jar to the side and saw air bubbles come out of the jar as water moved into the jar. This proved that air had been in the jar, and it was taking up space in the jar because it had to move out before the water could move in.

14.   Air has weight! We proved this when we blew up two balloons to the same size, attached them to the ends of a ruler, and then balanced the ruler at its center. The fact that the rule balanced proved that both of the balloons were the same weight. Then we popped one of the balloons. The ruler no longer balanced but rather tipped toward the full balloon, proving that the balloon full of air was heavier than the empty balloon. The air has weight which is weighing the full balloon down.

As of this week we have only two full weeks until the end of the school year and three half days the week after. Fourth graders will devote their half days to studying for and taking their finals. As with the finals before Christmas, these will NOT be cumulative tests; they will only be on material taught in class since the last test. However, the fourth graders will have 4-5 tests over the course of those half days in order to practice the skill of studying for several tests at once. More details will be given as we get closer to the last week.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, do not hesitate to email me at rwycklendt@archwaytriviumeast.org.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

A Busy Week!

Dear Parents,

As I'm sure you heard, we had a lot of fun at our 4A ice cream party. This long overdue bash was to congratulate 4A students on being the second class to fully fund their classroom art and also served as an end of year party. Thank you to everyone who helped with this event. First, a huge thank you to Mrs. Walters and Mr. Conklin, who coordinated to event. Mrs. Walters brought ice cream, set up the party, monitored, and cleaned up! Next, thank you to Ms. Lipmann, who helped set up, serve ice cream, run games, and clean up! Thank you to Mrs. Colberg, who helped supervise and run games. Last but not least, thank you to all the families who donated ice cream toppings. They were scrumptious!

After a low-key week, we now have a busy week full of school events. We have music concerts, the drama club play, and our first annual art walk fundraiser!

On Wednesday of this week, our drama club students will present their first play, “The Firebird.” Based on a Russian folktale, it is being directed by Mr. Ohbayashi and Mr. Elefson, and many of the actors are fourth grade students. The show starts at 5:00pm in the MPR, and everyone is welcome to attend. There is no charge for admission, and attendance is not required of any of the students. However, As many of the actors are fourth graders, it will be a lot of fun for the students to see their friends in the play, and we certainly encourage them to attend.

Thursday is our 4th-5th grade spring music concert. Performing in this concert is mandatory for fourth grade students, and it is part of their final music grade. The concert is at King of Kings Church in Goodyear. There is a dress rehearsal beforehand. Please have your students at the church in concert attire by 5:00pm so they can start rehearsing. At the same time, please plan on waiting in the gathering space outside the actual church so the students can have privacy for their rehearsal. Letters regarding dress code were sent home in students homework folders last week. Any questions about concert dress or other details can be directed toward our music teacher, Miss Sassaman. You can email her at msassaman@archwaytriviumeast.org.

Friday is our first annual art walk! We are raising money for beautiful art to decorate the hallways outside our classrooms. There will be food vendors, a bouncy house, and a dunk tank with teachers inside! There will be supervised arts and crafts projects for kids to work on while parents bid on our silent auction of themed baskets and view the art gallery of art that will be purchase with the funds raised by the auction. There will also be displays of the best student artwork in the hallways. All in all, it should be a great time, and we hope to see all of you there!

On that note, the 4A class silent auction basket is themed “A Basket Full of Dates!” It will be filled with gift cards and treats for fun nights out for parents. If you would like to donate to the basket, please contact our lovely 4A class parent, Mrs. Walters. You can email her at lwalters15@cox.net.

As for classes, we will continue to work on equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions in math class. In math lab we will continue to work on decimals. In science class we will keep studying the atmosphere and the water cycle.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt