The Bailly Beacon: April 2016

Thursday, April 28, 2016

News for the week of April 25, 2016!

Bailly Elementary!

Word of the week : Imagination – create ideas in the mind, especially of things never seen or experienced by you.

Quote of the week: " Logic will take you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere." -Albert Einstein

Just a quick reminder the last day for high ability services is Thursday, May 19th. There will be no services next week (5/2-5/5 and 5/11-5/12). My husband accepted a promotion in Phoenix, AZ and we will be taking our first house hunting trip. It was a very difficult family decision, I will miss these kids dearly!

Tomorrow, Fri. 4/29 is the last day to enroll your child in High Ability Summer School! It's a unit planned around the theme of "Time Travelers in Ancient Egypt" taught by Mrs. Pethes. Currently identified HA students in first, second and third grades are invited to attend. A brochure went home a few weeks ago. Simply fill the information at the bottom of the form and return it to the office along with your check. It's a great opportunity!

Another option is Camp Invention offered at Liberty Intermediate School. Their curriculum is new each and every year to ensure participants have a dynamic and memorable summer experience! It's only five days, but an all day program. It's a bit pricey, but worth it if you have a real science minded child!

Kindergarten Math:

This week we learned about tally marks, collecting data, and making a chart. The kids walked around Bailly asking what teachers and staff's favorite colors were and made a tally mark next to each color. Then we made a chart of the favorite colors. Next class we will look at our data and write out conclusions.

Kindergarten LA:

This week we finished up our worksheet packet about Knuffle Bunny. We also talked about fact and opinion and did another worksheet packet. Next class we will begin our first persuasive writing assignment by proving the item they brought in is the most special.

First Grade Math:

This week we did some predictions and measurement using yarn. We also did some worksheets for beginning multiplication facts.

First Grade LA:

This week Emmersynn finished up her self portrait using letters. We started a new lesson using speaking, listening, and collaboration skills to solve a problem based learning activity. Emmersynn also completed a Jump Back Cipher. Next class Emmersynn gets to create a poster for the cafeteria that uses problem resolution for a story called Cafeteria Chaos. She's a great artist so these projects are a lot of fun for her!

Second Grade Math:

This week we practiced another timed multiplication test and we worked on a new packet that has Sudoku. We also used Sumdog on the laptops which is nice for kids to work at their own levels and pace. They have user names and passwords so they can play at home from computer or tablet! We also had a guest teacher from 3rd grade come down to play "Around the World", DJ did a great job!

Second Grade LA:

This week we only had class on Tuesday. We welcomed our secret guest speaker... The Mad Hater! Or wait, is that Mr. Zeck?! The kids are really enjoying the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. We talked about the characteristics of the main character and gave examples from the book. Who will be our next guest reader?!

Third Grade Math:

This week there were a lot of kids missing because of iStep testing. We worked on our timed math fact tests and completed a Super Math Comic! The kids have also been working hard at Sumdog. They have user names and passwords so they can play at home from computer or tablet!

Congrats Rowyn & Isabella!

We did it, we all passed!
Who's ready for an ICE CREAM PARTY!!!!

Third Grade LA:

This week there were a lot of kids missing because of iStep testing. I paired up kids and we began writing a "Troy Cummings inspired" book. We used our journals to brainstorm the title, main character, plot and problem, sketches of what the monster would look like, etc. Using all of the things they learned from meeting the author and illustrator a couple weeks ago. We will continue with this at our next class!

Fourth Grade Math:

This week we finished up our Lego packet. It was a lot of fun working with fractions using Lego. We also did our division timed test and worked on Sumdog. They have user names and passwords so they can play at home from computer or tablet!

Fourth Grade LA

This week we the kids and we began writing a "Troy Cummings inspired" book. We used our journals to brainstorm the title, main character, plot and problem, sketches of what the monster would look like, etc. Using all of the things they learned from meeting the author and illustrator a couple weeks ago. We will continue with this at our next class!

#ALLSTARS

Thank you to this weeks #AllStars! Kids get a star if I catch them doing something Extraordinary!

Aly & Jany

Olivia & Becca

Who's the LEADER of the club

That's made for you and me?

Hey 3rd grade!
Meet the this weeks Mouse-kateers!

Ella & Aubrey

Each week I'll be picking two kids who

show leadership in class. They get wear the lucky
Mickey Mouse Club lanyards all day and come down to my class for

a special lunch and fun in the classroom!
Great work kids!

Friday, April 22, 2016

News for the week of April 18, 2016!

Bailly Elementary!

Word of the week : Compatible – being able to live or work together without conflict.

Quote of the week: "What you do for yourself dies with you when you leave this world, what you do for others lives on forever." -Ken Robinson.

Picked by Jacob, 4th grader.

Riddle of the week: From what heavy seven-letter word can you take away two letters and have eight left? Bring in the answer on a piece of paper with a parents signature and you can pick a treat from my treasure chest!

Just a quick reminder the last day for high ability services is Thursday, May 19th. There will be no services the week of May 2nd. My husband accepted a promotion in Phoenix, AZ and we will be taking our first house hunting trip. It was a very difficult family decision, I will miss these kids dearly!

That also means summer is fast approaching! If you are looking for great programs to enroll your child in, keep in mind High Ability Summer School! It's a unit planned around the theme of "Time Travelers in Ancient Egypt" taught by Mrs. Pethes. Currently identified HA students in first, second and third grades are invited to attend. A brochure went home a few weeks ago. Simply fill the information at the bottom of the form and return it to the office along with your check. It's a great opportunity!

Kindergarten Math:

This week we finished the math word problem packet and started a new fun addition packet! We also did a little Go Noodle dance about skip counting!

Kindergarten LA:

This week we had so much fun with their special item from home, thank you for sending them in! We colored a picture of our item and wrote about why that item was special and talked about higher level questioning strategies. They are doing great! We'll continue with a little more Knuffle Bunny next week too!

First Grade Math:

This week we took a break from measurement and had some fun with math facts and dice doing math facts. We also did some Go Noodle, they loved it! Next week we will begin a lesson on multiplication!

First Grade LA:

This week Emmersynn solved a plow writing cipher, it was really easy for her. We also read the book Walter Was Worried and she began drawing her own self-portrait to illustrate feeling using individual letters of the feeling word like the book. She's quite the artist! We'll finish this lesson up next week.

Second Grade Math:

This week we did our timed test on multiplication (2's & 3's). Congrats Jany, Kali-Grace and Nate for passing in 60 seconds! We also finished up our packet from last week and enjoyed a little Sumdog.

Second Grade LA:

Meet firefighter Nate Williams from the Chesterton Fire Department who stopped in to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. We also had a second guest speaker, the one and only, "the most beautiful librarian in all of Bailly"... Mrs. Ward! Thank you for taking the time to make our class feel super special, the bean bag chairs were so cozy!

Guess who next weeks guest reader might be? It's SO exciting!

Third Grade Math:

This week we continued with mad minute timed tests. We have 2 more kids that need to pass the multiplication so we can have an ice cream party! Please practice "x 12's" at home! Most have moved onto division. iStep testing really made our class time a little crazy so we spent time having a little fun with some math puzzles, extreme dot-to-dot and Go Noodle! The kids really enjoyed the break since testing can be a little stressful.

Congrats Amadeo!

Third Grade LA:

Our week was a little wacky because of iStep testing. We s tarted a new lesson about creative problem solving. We watched a movie and read the story "The Emperor's New Suit". We brainstormed issues related to cheating and created a problem and a solution statement.

Fourth Grade Math:

This week we continued with timed division tests, solved Riona's now famous "problem of the day" and worked on the Lego fraction packets. We even managed to sneak in a little Sumdog on the laptops too!

Fourth Grade LA

This week we finished up the lesson called "Historical Documentation of Change". We are discussed Tecumseh and learning the difference between primary and secondary sources. We also teamed up boys vs. girls for a grammar worksheet. Congrats to the girls who worked great together as a team and won!