Friday, August 23, 2013
School Starts on Monday! It is going to be a great year!
Hi,
We will begin our fourth grade year with lots of activities to help us create our classroom community. This classroom will be a safe, accepting place for all students to share their ideas, ask for help, learn independently as well as in groups and to grow together. We will all respect each other and live by the HOWL motto.
H- honor yourself and others
O-own your actions
W-work toward your best
L-listen and be heard
I feel so lucky to be here to help facilitate this process!
We will also be setting up expectations and routines around the school(hallway, bathroom, lunch, recess, specials) and in our reading/writing workshop, math class, read aloud, and science/SS class.
Reading-We will be working on building our reading stamina using self-selected books. We will also read and discuss the characteristics of fiction books as a whole group as well as in small groups. We will discuss themes or author's message and make lots of inferences as we read. Writing reading responses will be done daily. Reading daily at home will be an expectation.
Writing-Writing about special people, places, and things will be our focus. We will do this in a personal narrative and personal essay format. Talking about our writer's notebooks and gathering ideas for writing will also be important this week and throughout the year. As always, writers are expected to write using capital letters, punctuation, and neat handwriting so that they can communicate thier thoughts effectively for others. We will be continuing to work on cursive writing throughout the fall.
Math-In math, we will be problem solving daily using multi-step problems and will be sharing strategies together. We will also be working hard to improve our math vocabulary and use math language daily. Our first unit of study will be numeration and place value. Playing games will help us practice. Working on facts will be an expectation as part of daily homework.
Social Studies-Texas history is our focus in fourth grade. We will begin learning about maps and the regions of Texas. Using the photos of students in areas of Texas will help us learn. We will also take a virtual bus ride through Texas using video clips and photos. Thank you for bringing in your photo!
Science-Science safety and tools will be our first unit. We will learn what to do in a lab and how to do it safely. We will also discuss the scientific process and practice some of those steps.
It is going to be a great first week! I am working hard to make sure that our classroom is ready for lots of engaging and interactive learning!
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns! Email is the best way to reach me.
Thank you so much! I will see you on Monday!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
pam_bartholomew@roundrockisd.org
Friday, August 16, 2013
Welcome to a new school year! 2013-2014!!! It is going to be a great year!
Hello!
I am so excited to meet all of our new Bartholomew Bats and welcome you to 4th grade.
The beginning of a school year is one of my favorite times of year. We all get to make new goals, meet new friends, and learn new things. I can't wait for us to all get to know each other, share our summer adventures, and get down to some awesome learning!
I look forward to seeing all of you on our School Supply Drop-off night on Thursday, August 22. If your last name begins with A-L, come between 4:00-4:30. If your last name begins with M-Z, come between 4:45-5:15.
See you on Thursday! This is going to be a great year!
Love,
Mrs. Bartholomew
I am so excited to meet all of our new Bartholomew Bats and welcome you to 4th grade.
The beginning of a school year is one of my favorite times of year. We all get to make new goals, meet new friends, and learn new things. I can't wait for us to all get to know each other, share our summer adventures, and get down to some awesome learning!
I look forward to seeing all of you on our School Supply Drop-off night on Thursday, August 22. If your last name begins with A-L, come between 4:00-4:30. If your last name begins with M-Z, come between 4:45-5:15.
See you on Thursday! This is going to be a great year!
Love,
Mrs. Bartholomew
Monday, June 3, 2013
Thank you for a wonderful year!!!!!! Have a safe, fun, reading-filled summer!
HI,
Thank you for an amazing year! I loved coming to school each day to learn with these wonderful students.
Be sure to read A LOT this summer. Email me and tell me about your summer and the books you are reading.
Go to Think Through Math and I-Station to practice skills and have fun.
Record your reading minutes on the Scholastic Summer Challenge website for our class.
Go to our class moodle page and write posts. Check back and respond to your classmate's posts.
Write me a note and send it in the envelope that I gave you so that we can be pen pals.
Feel free to go visit your pen pal from The Court or write him/her letters.
Email me and let me know what you are doing. I would love to hear from you.
Be active, have fun, and be safe. See you in August!
Love,
Mrs. Bartholomew
Thank you for an amazing year! I loved coming to school each day to learn with these wonderful students.
Be sure to read A LOT this summer. Email me and tell me about your summer and the books you are reading.
Go to Think Through Math and I-Station to practice skills and have fun.
Record your reading minutes on the Scholastic Summer Challenge website for our class.
Go to our class moodle page and write posts. Check back and respond to your classmate's posts.
Write me a note and send it in the envelope that I gave you so that we can be pen pals.
Feel free to go visit your pen pal from The Court or write him/her letters.
Email me and let me know what you are doing. I would love to hear from you.
Be active, have fun, and be safe. See you in August!
Love,
Mrs. Bartholomew
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Visit with Elephants in Tennessee today! Architect tomorrow!
Hi,
We visited elephants in Tennessee today! We had a video-conference with a scientist from the Elephant Sanctuary. We began researching elephants at the sanctuary after reading the book, The One and Only Ivan. The book is told from a gorilla's point of view about his life in the circus mall with a performing elephant. Ivan helps the animals find homes in a zoo with other animals. We then started discussing and researching pros and cons of zoos and wrote persuasively about zoos using info from our research. While I was researching, I found the elephant sanctuary website and inquired about their e-learning program.
The kids chose an elephant from the sanctuary and learned about her. They took notes and wrote their questions and some did posters and powerpoints. We've been watching the elephants on the elephant cam at the sanctuary also.
Today, we met with Mr. Montgomery through our video cam and saw videos and information about the elephants and asked him lots of questions. We heard many interesting and amusing stories about the specific elephants and ended up having to switch our lunch time quickly because our 30 minutes conference lasted 80 minutes! It was wonderful. Ask your child about their favorite part and what they learned about helping and caring for all animals.
Mrs. Korfanta featured our class on her blog. http://forestcreekcoyotech.blogspot.com/
Check it out!
Tomorrow, we have an architect coming to speak with us about his job and how he uses all academic areas as well as interpersonal skills at work. It will be fun!
More excitement to come on Thursday!
Sincerely,
Pam
We visited elephants in Tennessee today! We had a video-conference with a scientist from the Elephant Sanctuary. We began researching elephants at the sanctuary after reading the book, The One and Only Ivan. The book is told from a gorilla's point of view about his life in the circus mall with a performing elephant. Ivan helps the animals find homes in a zoo with other animals. We then started discussing and researching pros and cons of zoos and wrote persuasively about zoos using info from our research. While I was researching, I found the elephant sanctuary website and inquired about their e-learning program.
The kids chose an elephant from the sanctuary and learned about her. They took notes and wrote their questions and some did posters and powerpoints. We've been watching the elephants on the elephant cam at the sanctuary also.
Today, we met with Mr. Montgomery through our video cam and saw videos and information about the elephants and asked him lots of questions. We heard many interesting and amusing stories about the specific elephants and ended up having to switch our lunch time quickly because our 30 minutes conference lasted 80 minutes! It was wonderful. Ask your child about their favorite part and what they learned about helping and caring for all animals.
Mrs. Korfanta featured our class on her blog. http://forestcreekcoyotech.blogspot.com/
Check it out!
Tomorrow, we have an architect coming to speak with us about his job and how he uses all academic areas as well as interpersonal skills at work. It will be fun!
More excitement to come on Thursday!
Sincerely,
Pam
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Thank you for all the wonderful, thoughtful presents! Award for Service Club, Science Day tomorrow, Pen Pal Trip, Symphony Trip, Texas Heroes essays and presentations due on Thursday, May 16, read on...
Hi,
Thank you for all your generosity during Teacher Appreciation Week. You are all so wonderful! Thank you, especially, for all of the flip flops for Honduras! I am so excited to be helping the children there and for your children to be a part of it.
Our Service Club won an award! We were chosen the Youth Volunteer of the Year for Forest Creek Elementary and will be accepting an award at a ceremony on Thursday, May 23 at the Performance Arts Center on McNeil Road. There will be breakfast at 7:30 am and presentations begin at 8:00. The ceremony should last about an hour. All of your children are encouraged to attend (then come to school). You would have to provide transportation. Our entire class, whether they were able to stay after school for Service Club or not, have helped in all of the projects that the club did. Many of you also came to the Round Rock Serving Center to volunteer on Saturdays. (We are volunteering this Saturday from 9-10) We would love to have you come and accept the award with us. Then we will come back to school to learn more the rest of that day.
Science Day is tomorrow. We will be participating in activities that deal with science and music, nurses, toxicology, Archaeology, and the Grand Canyon. It is going to be a fun day!
Next Tuesday will be our trip to The Court at Round Rock Assisted Living Facility to see our pen pals. We are so excited to see them and go on this trip. We are going to have a tour of the facility and play some games. We are also going to take our recorders and play a song for them. It will be so wonderful! You are all invited to join us. We will be leaving at about 9:15 and returning at about 11:15.
The Symphony trip will be on May 21. Please let me know by Friday morning if your child needs a sack lunch from the cafeteria. I will only order a lunch for him/her, if you let me know. Thanks so much!
This week we had a wonderful time with our mealworms. Some of them have turned into pupas and we are waiting for the final transformation to beetles! Your children used their creative skills to write diaries from the meal worm's point of view. They are wonderful, imaginative, and funny. We will bring the diaries to share with our pen pals and then I will send them home. Enjoy!
We read a lot of non-fiction about science this week and summarized as we read. We read an article about how animals adapt to hot temperatures and how they use color to protect themselves from predators. Continue to read fiction and non-fiction over the summer and be sure to talk about what was read.
Our read-aloud book, The One and Only Ivan is quickly becoming a favorite. We described each character today thinking about inner characteristics based on their actions, as well as outer characteristics or appearances. Ask your child about this book. The language used is so rich and the characters are very memorable. I love it.
In math we are learning more about division and about measuring angles. We will be using protractors to measure and will be doing more long division strategies in problem solving context. Be sure to continue to practice facts over the summer as well as math vocabulary. Find math in everyday life and discuss.
Our Social Studies Texas Hero essay and project is due on Thursday, May 16. Be sure that your child is researching, including a bibliography, and ready to do a presentation. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you again for all the wonderful treats and gifts this week. I feel very appreciated. I so appreciate your support and enjoyed talking with you during our conferences. I definitely appreciate the hard work and kindness of your children all year and especially at this time of the year. They are wonderful!
Sincerely,
Pam
Thank you for all your generosity during Teacher Appreciation Week. You are all so wonderful! Thank you, especially, for all of the flip flops for Honduras! I am so excited to be helping the children there and for your children to be a part of it.
Our Service Club won an award! We were chosen the Youth Volunteer of the Year for Forest Creek Elementary and will be accepting an award at a ceremony on Thursday, May 23 at the Performance Arts Center on McNeil Road. There will be breakfast at 7:30 am and presentations begin at 8:00. The ceremony should last about an hour. All of your children are encouraged to attend (then come to school). You would have to provide transportation. Our entire class, whether they were able to stay after school for Service Club or not, have helped in all of the projects that the club did. Many of you also came to the Round Rock Serving Center to volunteer on Saturdays. (We are volunteering this Saturday from 9-10) We would love to have you come and accept the award with us. Then we will come back to school to learn more the rest of that day.
Science Day is tomorrow. We will be participating in activities that deal with science and music, nurses, toxicology, Archaeology, and the Grand Canyon. It is going to be a fun day!
Next Tuesday will be our trip to The Court at Round Rock Assisted Living Facility to see our pen pals. We are so excited to see them and go on this trip. We are going to have a tour of the facility and play some games. We are also going to take our recorders and play a song for them. It will be so wonderful! You are all invited to join us. We will be leaving at about 9:15 and returning at about 11:15.
The Symphony trip will be on May 21. Please let me know by Friday morning if your child needs a sack lunch from the cafeteria. I will only order a lunch for him/her, if you let me know. Thanks so much!
This week we had a wonderful time with our mealworms. Some of them have turned into pupas and we are waiting for the final transformation to beetles! Your children used their creative skills to write diaries from the meal worm's point of view. They are wonderful, imaginative, and funny. We will bring the diaries to share with our pen pals and then I will send them home. Enjoy!
We read a lot of non-fiction about science this week and summarized as we read. We read an article about how animals adapt to hot temperatures and how they use color to protect themselves from predators. Continue to read fiction and non-fiction over the summer and be sure to talk about what was read.
Our read-aloud book, The One and Only Ivan is quickly becoming a favorite. We described each character today thinking about inner characteristics based on their actions, as well as outer characteristics or appearances. Ask your child about this book. The language used is so rich and the characters are very memorable. I love it.
In math we are learning more about division and about measuring angles. We will be using protractors to measure and will be doing more long division strategies in problem solving context. Be sure to continue to practice facts over the summer as well as math vocabulary. Find math in everyday life and discuss.
Our Social Studies Texas Hero essay and project is due on Thursday, May 16. Be sure that your child is researching, including a bibliography, and ready to do a presentation. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you again for all the wonderful treats and gifts this week. I feel very appreciated. I so appreciate your support and enjoyed talking with you during our conferences. I definitely appreciate the hard work and kindness of your children all year and especially at this time of the year. They are wonderful!
Sincerely,
Pam
Monday, April 29, 2013
Flip Flop Drive, Mealworms!, Sam Houston to visit!, Early Release on Wednesday, Conferences this week!
Hi,
We are excited about a fun filled week of learning!
Each of the students has a container on their desk with some meal worms inside. We are learning about life cycles and metamorphosis. We learned that a mealworm goes through a complete metamorphosis which means that it has 4 stages of growth-egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Butterflies, ladybugs, and beetles go through a complete metamorphosis. Frogs and other insects like walking sticks go through an incomplete metamorphosis which means they have 3 stages of growth-egg, nymph, and adult. We actually saw one of our meal worms in its pupa stage and an adult! We are observing, measuring, and giving our meal worms tests to record their reactions. We will be bringing our meal worms home at the end of next week. Feel free to set them free!
Sam Houston is coming to visit on Wednesday! We will enjoy a presentation and learn about the life of Sam Houston. We have begun to research him and will continue this week then we will write an expository piece about Sam Houston and his life.
Wednesday is also early release day and conferences will begin at 1:00. I attached the conference schedule. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so soon. Please bring your child to the conference so that they can help share their accomplishments this year and examine our goals.
Pen Pal Visit-Our class will take a bus to go and visit our Pen Pals at The Court on Sunrise Road on Wednesday, May 15. We will leave FCE at about 9:15 am and returning at about 11:00 am. This will be our last official visit of the year. You are invited to come with us for our trip. I would love to have a few parents join us. There will be room on the bus so you can ride with us (I will check and make sure) or you can meet us there. Let me know if you are able to attend. Feel free to go and visit our pen pals over the summer and beyond. Just call first to be sure that the pen pal is at home and up for company. I know that they would love to continue to see the children.
The FCE Service Club is collecting flip flops for the children of Honduras. Our goal is to collect 125 pairs of flip flops for the children at the orphanage as well as the people who live in Mt. Olives. Thank you in advance for your caring and giving spirit!
Be sure to remind your child that we are still in school and that the effort level should not be decreasing. I am excited by all the wonderful projects and activities the our class will do before this year is out. We are done with our testing for the year but will continue to learn and grow each day. Thank you for your support.
Our visit to volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center will be on Saturday, May 11 from 9-10. Come join us!
Thank you!
Pam Bartholomew
We are excited about a fun filled week of learning!
Each of the students has a container on their desk with some meal worms inside. We are learning about life cycles and metamorphosis. We learned that a mealworm goes through a complete metamorphosis which means that it has 4 stages of growth-egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Butterflies, ladybugs, and beetles go through a complete metamorphosis. Frogs and other insects like walking sticks go through an incomplete metamorphosis which means they have 3 stages of growth-egg, nymph, and adult. We actually saw one of our meal worms in its pupa stage and an adult! We are observing, measuring, and giving our meal worms tests to record their reactions. We will be bringing our meal worms home at the end of next week. Feel free to set them free!
Sam Houston is coming to visit on Wednesday! We will enjoy a presentation and learn about the life of Sam Houston. We have begun to research him and will continue this week then we will write an expository piece about Sam Houston and his life.
Wednesday is also early release day and conferences will begin at 1:00. I attached the conference schedule. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so soon. Please bring your child to the conference so that they can help share their accomplishments this year and examine our goals.
Pen Pal Visit-Our class will take a bus to go and visit our Pen Pals at The Court on Sunrise Road on Wednesday, May 15. We will leave FCE at about 9:15 am and returning at about 11:00 am. This will be our last official visit of the year. You are invited to come with us for our trip. I would love to have a few parents join us. There will be room on the bus so you can ride with us (I will check and make sure) or you can meet us there. Let me know if you are able to attend. Feel free to go and visit our pen pals over the summer and beyond. Just call first to be sure that the pen pal is at home and up for company. I know that they would love to continue to see the children.
The FCE Service Club is collecting flip flops for the children of Honduras. Our goal is to collect 125 pairs of flip flops for the children at the orphanage as well as the people who live in Mt. Olives. Thank you in advance for your caring and giving spirit!
Be sure to remind your child that we are still in school and that the effort level should not be decreasing. I am excited by all the wonderful projects and activities the our class will do before this year is out. We are done with our testing for the year but will continue to learn and grow each day. Thank you for your support.
Our visit to volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center will be on Saturday, May 11 from 9-10. Come join us!
Thank you!
Pam Bartholomew
Friday, April 19, 2013
Newsletter-Lots of Effort This Week! Geometry Vocab. test on Monday, Reading Log due on Monday, STAAR testing on Tuesday and Wednesday
Hi,
We worked so hard this week at school and at home. Our entire class should be proud of the effort that they put into their learning. I sure am proud of them! Thank you for your help and support at home.
The kids are coming home with a math packet that has problems from category 1 which includes place value, numeration, operations, fractions, and decimals. We went over the whole packet today in class. Please review this with your child over the weekend. You can make a game where you change the numbers and you do a problem and share your strategy, then your child does a problem (or the same problem) and shares his/her strategies. Be sure to encourage checking over work (always add to check after subtracting) and being sure to answer the question that was asked.
Continue to read and discuss books this weekend also. (summarize the story, look at tricky words in context and discuss meanings, how did characters change throughout book, how would you describe characters, what imagery or figurative language did the author use) Reading logs are due on Monday.
As you know, next week is our STAAR testing. Your child will take the Math STAAR on Tuesday and the Reading STAAR on Wednesday. Be sure to get to bed early, eat breakfast, and send water and healthy snacks. Breakfast is free at school all week! Effort is very important as well as focus and taking time. The test is timed but the children will have plenty of time to finish. Taking breaks as needed is a good way to refocus and be ready to continue working. I am excited for the class to get a chance to show off all the great things that they’ve learned this year and throughout their lives. I am very proud of this class and know that they will try their best.
The Forest Creek Service Club is continuing to collect food and books for the Round Rock Serving Center. Please send in items and put them in the box by the office. We will be going to volunteer at the Serving Center on Saturday, May 4 from 9-10am. Anyone is welcome to join us!
Reading –In reading this week we read about Antarctica. We read an article about the people striving to reach the South Pole and were surprised by the ending! We also read a journal about the author’s time in Antarctica and a small book about birds, heroes, and the land of Antarctica. We wrote summaries, discussed cause and effect and met in small groups to talk about our thinking.
Writing-We wrote and published pieces for our school’s Rising Star book. We will be submitting poems, narratives, and essays and the teachers will choose about three or four from each category to be published in our campus book. Results will be in by next Friday.
Math-Measurement, geometry, problem solving, operations, etc….. We have done some of everything this week! We will continue reviewing on Monday and will have our geometry vocabulary test. Be sure to play games to practice our words over the weekend. Think Through Math is another great way to practice at home.
Science-We started learning about the water cycle and the sun and will continue with these concepts next week.
Social Studies-We will be learning about Statehood next week. We will have a Sam Houston presentation on May 1.
Thank you for all your support. Look for another email regarding conference dates and times.
Sincerely,
Pam
We worked so hard this week at school and at home. Our entire class should be proud of the effort that they put into their learning. I sure am proud of them! Thank you for your help and support at home.
The kids are coming home with a math packet that has problems from category 1 which includes place value, numeration, operations, fractions, and decimals. We went over the whole packet today in class. Please review this with your child over the weekend. You can make a game where you change the numbers and you do a problem and share your strategy, then your child does a problem (or the same problem) and shares his/her strategies. Be sure to encourage checking over work (always add to check after subtracting) and being sure to answer the question that was asked.
Continue to read and discuss books this weekend also. (summarize the story, look at tricky words in context and discuss meanings, how did characters change throughout book, how would you describe characters, what imagery or figurative language did the author use) Reading logs are due on Monday.
As you know, next week is our STAAR testing. Your child will take the Math STAAR on Tuesday and the Reading STAAR on Wednesday. Be sure to get to bed early, eat breakfast, and send water and healthy snacks. Breakfast is free at school all week! Effort is very important as well as focus and taking time. The test is timed but the children will have plenty of time to finish. Taking breaks as needed is a good way to refocus and be ready to continue working. I am excited for the class to get a chance to show off all the great things that they’ve learned this year and throughout their lives. I am very proud of this class and know that they will try their best.
The Forest Creek Service Club is continuing to collect food and books for the Round Rock Serving Center. Please send in items and put them in the box by the office. We will be going to volunteer at the Serving Center on Saturday, May 4 from 9-10am. Anyone is welcome to join us!
Reading –In reading this week we read about Antarctica. We read an article about the people striving to reach the South Pole and were surprised by the ending! We also read a journal about the author’s time in Antarctica and a small book about birds, heroes, and the land of Antarctica. We wrote summaries, discussed cause and effect and met in small groups to talk about our thinking.
Writing-We wrote and published pieces for our school’s Rising Star book. We will be submitting poems, narratives, and essays and the teachers will choose about three or four from each category to be published in our campus book. Results will be in by next Friday.
Math-Measurement, geometry, problem solving, operations, etc….. We have done some of everything this week! We will continue reviewing on Monday and will have our geometry vocabulary test. Be sure to play games to practice our words over the weekend. Think Through Math is another great way to practice at home.
Science-We started learning about the water cycle and the sun and will continue with these concepts next week.
Social Studies-We will be learning about Statehood next week. We will have a Sam Houston presentation on May 1.
Thank you for all your support. Look for another email regarding conference dates and times.
Sincerely,
Pam
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