MAP Testing

Team Believe is finishing up our winter MAP testing.  Students took the math and reading tests.  Most students have finished both tests.  There are a few that will be finishing up today and tomorrow.

Culture Food Share

Team Believe enjoyed a tasty afternoon at our Culture Food Share!

Culture Food Share

On Monday, December 14th, we will be having our Cultural Food Share.  Your child is able, but not required, to bring in a dish for other students to sample that represents his or her culture or a tradition that your family has.  Students will be able to share the food with their classmates.  The idea is for students to have a very small taste of the food, so please do not feel as if you need to bring enough for 30 students.  If you will be bringing food in a crockpot or dish, please make sure to provide a serving utensil.  The classroom teachers will provide eating utensils and plates.

Also, in order to share our traditions and culture, and keep in mind students who have allergies, we are asking that students also write out the recipes to the food.

Food should arrive to school with your child in the morning.

Culture Family Share

Team Believe invites you to join our fourth and fifth graders as they share their Cultural Inquiry project!  We will be hosting a "museum walk" for families to join us and move freely from classroom to classroom seeing different students' projects.  Our museum wal will take place from 10:30-11:30 on December 18.  We hope to see everyone there!

Students Teaching Students

Today the Believe 2 researchers presented what they have learned about the culture they have been studying.  After a mini-lesson on "preparing for a presentation," our student presenters were given time to prepare for their presentations and rehearse them.  Students were placed in smalll groups for their presentations.  When it wasn't their turn to present, students demonstrated their active listening skills and took notes on the culture being presented.  It was great to see so much teaching and learning on our team today!

Culture Writing Project

All of the students have selected a culture to research.  Students have been learning about taking notes using multiple sources of information and organizing their notes to reflect the structure of the text they are reading.  All students will be writing a paper about their learning.  Students are being given work time in class for their research and note taking.  Please consider making a trip to the public library to find more books about the culture your child is researching.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday, November 25.  School will resume on Monday, November 30.  Enjoy this time with family and friends.  Please encourage your child to continue to read daily over the break and fill in their Six Flags reading log.

Report Card Envelopes

We are still missing a few report card envelopes.  Please sign and return the envelope if you haven't already done so.  Please contact any of the Team Believe teachers if you have any questions about your child's progress.

Reading and Inquiry

Students have been working on their culture research projects.  All of our reading mini-lessons have focused on researching and taking notes.  Students have been applying these skills to their inquiry work about the culture they have selected to learn more about.  We were also able to learn more information about cultures at the Folk Fair last week.  Our reading lessons next week will focus on synthesizing information from multiple sources.

Report Cards

Report cards were sent home with students last Friday.  Please review the report with your child and contact one of the Team Believe teachers if you have any questions or would like to discuss the report in more detail.  Please keep the report at home and return the signed envelope to school.  

Thank you!

Six Flags Reading Incentive

Six Flags reading logs were sent home at the end of October.  Those students wishing to earn a ticket good for one child admission to Six Flags should continue reading and filling in their logs at home.  Completed logs need to be returned to school no later than February 16.  Students may only earn one admission ticket.

Text Structure

Students have been busy researching.  We learned that researchers notice the structure of the text that they are reading and take notes in that same structure.  The text structures we have been studying are boxes and bullets, sequential, compare/contrast, and cause/effect.  Students have been researching "healthy me" topics.

Rounding and Estimating

The 4th graders worked with a partner to practice rounding numbers.  Students use what they know about rounding to help them estimate before solving problems to be sure that their answers are reasonable.

PTA Fundraiser

Wednesday, November 11, West Allis Panda Express will be donating 20% of all sales to Wilson PTA to help fund numberous activities and events sponsored by Wilson PTA.  Students will be brining home the flyer this week.  Please bring the flyer with you on November 11.

Math Games

We know ways to play because it helps us learn!  Mrs. Wilke's math group played a math.  They used their understanding of place value and probability to try to form the largest 4-digit number.  

Six Flags Reading

Students are bringing home reading logs for the Six Flags reading program today.  After completing six hours of reading outside of school, students should return their logs with parent signature to school no later than February 16.  Each student who submits a completed log will receive one free child admission to Six Flags.  Please contact your child's teacher with any questions.  Happy Reading!

Achieve3000

Congratulations to Katie for having the top school score on Achieve3000 for October 26!

Homework

Please note that students did not receive math or word study homework this week due to the short week and evening time being spent at conferences for many of the students.  Mrs. Wilke's students will be put in new word study groups beginning next week and will get a new word sort at that time.  Please contact me with any quesitons or concerns you may have.

Conferences

Thank you to all of the 4th grade and new to Wilson 5th grade families that attended conferences last night.  I hope you found the information that was shared valuable as we continue to work as partners in your child's learning.  Please let me know if there are any questions you have that were not addressed at the conference.  I look forward to meeting with those of you that have a conference scheduled for this evening.

Please remember to stop by the P.T.A sponsored Scholastic Book Fair during conference times in the gym!

Google Classroom

Mrs. Wilke's math class is now using Google Classroom.  Mr. Kelly has been joining us during math time to show us how to complete assignments and submit them using Google Classroom.  After students complete and submit their work, Mrs. Wilke gives students feedback that she sends electronically.  Students can then make changes and resubmit their work electronically.  Students have also posted comments and questions they have about math on the electronic message board so we could see each other's ideas and respond to them.

Multiplication

Mrs. Wilke's math group is exploring strategies to multiply two-digit by two-digit numbers.  We started by using area models and then talked about decomposing numbers and using "boxes" to multiply.  Students have been using their factor triangles to learn about the relationship between multiplication and division.  This week's math message:  Depth Is More Important Than Speed.

Narrative Writing

We are wrapping up our narrative writing unit.  Students completed the end of unit writing assessment today.  Our next unit will be informational writing.  We will revisit narrative writing again later in the school year.

Conferences

Fall conferences for 4th graders and any 5th graders new to Wilson this year will be held the evenings of Monday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 27.  Students should attend the conference as it will be a student-led conference.  An email sign-up invitation was sent to families.  If you have not yet signed up, a paper invitation is being sent home today.  Please confirm that the scheduled day/time work for you and return the bottom portion of the slip to school.  If you have already signed up using Sign Up Genius you will not be receiving the paper invite.  Please contact Mrs. Wilke or Mrs. Erickson with any questions.

Multiples

Mrs. Wilke's math group is exploring patterns on the hundred chart and using the hundred chart to find multiples.  We are using our knowledge of multiples to help build multiplication equations.

Conferences

Conferences are being scheduled for all 4th graders and any 5th graders who are new to Wilson.  An email sign-up invitation has been sent to all 4th grade families.  Please contact your teacher if you did not receive the email.  Conferences are being held the evenings of Monday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 27.

PTA Writing Challenge

Please remember to have writing for the PTA Writing Challenge submitted by October 16.  Write something that will give goosebumps!

Bake Sale

Wilson Harvest Dance and the Monster Bookfair need your Harvest themed baked good donations!

Wilson School Harvest Dance

Friday, October 23, 2015

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Wilson Field House/Gym

Dress in your favorite costume (optional) and enjoy an evening filled with great music, games, crafts, and fun!

Reading Stamina

Team Believe students are building their reading stamina and applying the strategies they are learning in their reading mini-lessons to their independent reading.

Book Check Out

Book check out for room 308 is on Fridays.  Please remember to bring your library books to school on Fridays so that you may check out new books.

Word Study

Students in Mrs. Wilke's word study groups are given new words each Friday.  We work with the words throughout the week studying spelling patterns and word meaning and using the words in our writing.  Students should complete 2 activities with their words at home each week.  A list of suggested activities was sent home with students.  Students will take a written assessment on the words the following Friday.  Please contact Mrs. Wilke if you have any questions.

Writing About Reading

Students in Mrs. Wilke's reading group have been focusing on writing about reading to lift the level of both their writing and reading.  We studied examples of powerful writing about reading done by fifth graders to determine just what makes the writing strong.  Students are working to include those qualities in their own writing about reading.

Reading Logs

Students should continue to fill in their reading logs when reading at home each night.  Completed logs should be returned to Team Believe 2 teachers so that those reading minutes get counted for the PTA Reading Challenge.  Please contact a Team Believe 2 teacher if you have any questions.  Happy Reading!

Shh...Silent Conversations Taking Place

Team Believe 2 students had silent conversations about our first shared reading book.  Students viewed images from the book and wrote what they were thinking about the images on chart paper.  As the papers were rotated, students read the thoughts that their classmates had written and responded to them.  We also completed this activity for our second shared reading book.

Penny War

Save your change!  Wilson PTA is sponsoring a school-wide penny war to help kick off Wilson School's Scholastic Book Fair.  Each classroom will be collecting pennies.  The goal is to have the most pennies in your class bucket.  The three classrooms with the most pennies will earn an extra $25 to spend at the Book Fair plus the money that was in their class bucket. Dollar bills count as 100 pennies.  You can sabotage other classrooms by adding silver coins to their bucket.  The Penny War will run October 5-October 19.

PTA Reading Challenge

Please continue to read at home and record your minutes on your reading log.  Reading logs should be returned to your teacher to count towards the PTA Reading Challenge.