Bartholomew Bats!


Our school is located in Round Rock, Texas which is near Austin. Austin and Round Rock both have huge populations of Mexican Free Tailed Bats that live under our bridges. A colony of bats lives beneath the Ann Richards/Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin and in Round Rock, another colony resides under the Interstate 35 bridge over McNeil Road. Each evening from March to about October, the bats fly out from beneath the bridge and search for insects to eat. The emergence of the bats is a wonder to watch. We are also thankful that all these millions of bats eat the bugs by our homes.

Our class mascot is the Bat to honor the mammals that live so close to us and help us. (also because Bat and Bartholomew both start with the letter B!) The bats in Central Texas live together in a group and help take care of the young. Then they migrate together as a team. Our class will also live together in our classroom, work together as a team, and help each other out. We are the Bartholomew Bats!





Friday, September 28, 2012

Pen Pal Visit was Wonderful! Fundraiser due Monday. Book orders due online today. Sign up for conferences.

Hi,

We had a wonderful visit with our pen pals on Friday. Everyone was excited and it was amazing to see everyone sharing stories and so engaged! Using photos from the playground and foam shapes, the children each made a present for their pen pal. They also each wrote them a card. We interviewed the pen pals using questions generated by the kids. Then the kids shared their Texas maps and played games. Everyone had a fun time. (One of the pen pals kept talking and didn't want to get on the bus!) Thank you to those parents who were able to stop by and interact with the pen pals as well. The pen pals will be coming again on October 17 from 9:30-10:45.

We had fun with our dads this morning. The kids measured a 25 cm by 25 cm square and made aluminum foil boats. Their task was to create a boat that would float and hold as many pennies as possible. We had fun and some frustration making the boats and then testing and revising them as we tried floating them and piling on the pennies. We discussed the models of boats that held the most and the surface area of the boats. We all had a great time.

Education Go Get It Week has been amazing! We colored pennants representing our favorite college, we dressed in college t-shirts and dressed up to represent our future profession. We wrote resumes and talked a lot about the importance of effort in all that they do. Being smart is important, but even the smartest people need to put effort into their learning to succeed.

Our class Moodle page is up and running. The kids can go on line on the Moodle at home and at school to participate in discussions with others in our class, write in a journal, link to websites, etc... Go to our school web site, for students, Moodle, then the log in using their 126/lastname/first initial and their id number (used in the cafeteria etc...) Then click on Bartholomew 4th grade and get started.

We had a great turn out for our first FCE Service Club meeting! We will be meeting at the Round Rock Serving Center tomorrow from 9-10 to volunteer. Everyone is inviting to come and join us! (You don't have to be a service club member.)

Read about our week:

Reading-We used post-it notes to leave tracks of our thinking as we read. On the post-its we wrote our questions (and included answers when possible), predictions, connections, as well as our thoughts and feelings about what we read.

Writing-We are finishing up our personal narratives by adding more details using "show, not tell". We aren't just telling what is happening or how we are feeling, we are showing it using our senses, slowing down the action, and zooming into the details.
We also worked on revising our endings to include the reasons why this event was important or meaningful to us and what we learned from it.

Math-We worked on more multi-step problem solving using multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. We also worked on strategies to use when subtracting with regrouping especially using larger numbers with several zeros. We also always add to check when subtracting. Keep practicing facts at home as well as finding math in everyday situations.

Social Studies-We worked in groups to make a large map of Texas which shows the regions, major cities and rivers, as well as products and resources and where they are found or produced around our state.

Science-We are beginning our unit on matter this week.


Dates to Remember:
Friday, September 29-Book orders due online
Saturday, September 30-Volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center
Monday, October 1-Fundraiser money and orders due. Chick Fil A Family Night-Pflugerville
Wednesday, October 3-Walk to School Day
Monday, October 8-No school for students-Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 17-Pen Pals come to FCE

FYI:
Explore UT: Save the Date



Mark your calendar for “Explore UT: The Biggest Open House in Texas!"



When: Saturday, March 2, 2013, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: The University of Texas at Austin

Who's invited: Students K-12, teachers, and families. Everyone is welcome

Cost: Free, no sign-up for activities. Lunch is NOT included

Web site: www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut Look for an updated website by mid-December.

Thank you for sharing your child with me. Be sure to read, write,and do math each day. Have a safe and fun weekend!

Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
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