Dear Santa!!

Check out Donors Choose to see what my kids need in the classroom! If you can't donate anything, please consider sharing my project with others!
https://www.donorschoose.org

I am Thankful!!

I am so thankful for such an amazing school, all of the supportive staff, and these AMAZING students!! They really know how to light up my life! Check out these pictures from this past week!!!

Our Beautiful Pop Art!!!!! I am in love with how these turned out!!

We use Mountain Language every morning! The students are asked to complete certain numbers every morning. A great way to wake up their sleeping brains! :)

Part of "The Facebook" project!!!

Mixed Media Art from the 4th graders!!!!

Happy November!!

What a great week!!
This week sure has been busy! I hope everyone had a great and happy Halloween! This Friday we will have our quarterly rewards! We will be going bowling! This is to reward students that have had no below the line slip, no missing assignments, and passing grades!! I am so excited that we have such a high number this quarter!!!

Congratulations to my Star Students:
Hayden and XXAXX

Congratulations to these Stars who were acknowledged at today's academic success assembly:
Sarabeth, Micayla, and Hayden!

I am so proud of these kiddos!
As a school on Monday we celebrated reaching reading 1 million words in that month! Woohoo!!!!

If you are in need of PTO Dinner tickets, please see me or the office! It will be a GREAT time!!
Remember to check out my Donor's Choose page! I really would love to have the bean bag chairs in my classroom!!
https://www.donorschoose.org/mrs.havelka

Important Announcements!!

On Monday October 31...the students ARE allowed to wear costumes to class!! They MUST be school appropriate and the costumes/props must not interfere with learning. We will be having small treats/snack throughout the day, so if you would like to contribute, you are more than welcome to!!!!

Speaking of snacks.....our classroom's snack supply is starting to run low. I had provided snack for the kiddos at the beginning of the year and was lucky enough to get snack from Donors Choose! I am in the process of writing another Donors Choose project for more snacks for the kiddos, BUT if you are ever shopping somewhere and feel the need to bring in a box of snacks!
In the mean time...please try and share my donors choose link!!

https://www.donorschoose.org/mrs.havelka

BookIt and student of the week!!!!!!!

YAY! The new book it program has begun for the year!!!!! The students will be given a reading log and they will be asked to turn it in at the end of the month for a coupon for a FREE personal sized pan pizza at the end of the month (if not more!). I am sending home the October calendar. It is OK to go back and fill it in to the best of your memory. I have a goal that the students should be reading 20 minutes everyday independently. Majority of the students get 20 minutes on a daily basis at school, so this should be EASY for the students to accomplish! Turn in Octobers by the end of NEXT week (November 4) to receive the coupon.

We are also implementing a student of the week program. Subway is giving away a coupon weekly for the student that is chosen for student of the week! Students of the week are students that are completing homework assignments on time, cooperating, being respectful, responsible, and safe during the school day, and being an over all outstanding citizen in Emerado! The last two weeks Mikaela and Hayden have been our students of the week!! YAY!!!!!!

Donors Choose

Are you looking for a way to make a difference? Please consider donating to my project to make my classroom more fun and a better learning environment for everyone!

We do have some Hokki stools already, and the increased attention span of the students and positive behaviors warrants EVERYONE to be able to have a hokki stool in my classroom!

Please help us!! 

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/wiggle-wiggle-wiggle-worksome-more/2214381/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=project&utm_campaign=facebook&rf=facebook-siteshare-2016-10-project-teacher_1670352&challengeid=289531&post_id=10102025845281905#_=_

October 17-19

Short week!! Woohoo!!!
A few things are happening next week PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS!! There will be a separate post outline this.
http://mrsamyhavelka.blogspot.com/2016/10/dress-up-week-october-24-28.html

This past week was fun and fast! 4th graders started a new chapter in math. We also started Opinion Writing in reading class!
German we were talking about Autumn words. Can you figure out which German word belongs to which English word?

In art we were having fun with foam craft projects! Have a great LONG weekend!!!! 

DRESS UP WEEK!! October 24-28

Dress Up Week 

October 24-28

Monday- Pajama Day-Come strolling into school after the long weekend in your pajamas!

Tuesday- Super Hero Day- Come dressed up as your favorite hero! (no masks please. Keep it school friendly!)

Wednesday- Flash Back Day- Pick your favorite decade (era) and show it off!!! 

Thursday- School Spirit/Jersey Day- Show your team spirit by sporting your favorite school or team apparel!

Friday- Down Syndrome Awareness Day!!  October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  Let’s help raise awareness and show our support by wearing BLUE and YELLOW!

Since October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, Emerado school would like to show our support by doing “DIMES FOR DOWN SYNDROME”!  What is this you may ask?  We are going to help bring awareness and acceptance of the Down Syndrome community by having students/teachers/staff bring in dimes (pennies/nickels/etc…) to be donated to B.U.D.S. (Better Understanding of Down Syndrome) at the end of the week.   But just bringing in dimes isn’t quite exciting enough…. Let’s make it a contest!!  The class that brings in the most will win a secret prize!!!  Yahoo!!

Ms. Sanders, Mr. Hockert, and some surprise guests will be visiting ALL classrooms through out the week (next week) and teaching students about Down Syndrome, inclusion, acceptance, awareness, and the “R” word.”  Awareness and acceptance are so very important.

October 10-14

What a great week (as always! ;) ) !
We had the pumpkin patch, finished our Halloween Canvas Paintings, Completed Chapter 1 in our Math Series and finished our very first Steve Dunn writing model on Compare and Contrast!!!!!
Check out the Common Curriculum website for next weeks lesson plan!
http://commoncurriculum.com/sites/xw3smc
I will be gone tomorrow (Friday October 14th) to help Ms Annie prepare for her wedding!! I cannot wait to see my good friend finally become Mrs Annie! :) :)
Enjoy some of this weeks highlights!

Our shirts turned out so beautifully this year!! (Despite the cold!)

Oh Mr. JJ!! :)

Our Paintings! <3

Happy First Week of October!

The first week of October is coming to a close!
This past week we started acrylic painting in art class. I can't wait to show off our final product. The kids are doing amazing!
In Math we finished our first unit! It was kind of a toughie trying to remember how to round digits with six place values!
In writing we finished our first Steve Dunn writing workshop on compare and contrasting. It was amazing to see what these kids could think of!!


Remember we have our pumpkin patch field trip on the 12th. The cost is $8.00. Why is this so high?! I have a tradition with my students that we make matching TShirts to go to the patch every year! This is a fun tradition which is SUPER cool this year because this was the first year that I have been able to make TShirts AGAIN with the kids! Back in first grade we made Tshirts with our handprints...I wonder what we will decide this year?!?!?! :) :)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR! PTO Annual Fall Dinner is NOVEMBER 19TH!!!! It is Roaring 20's themed. Come dressed up ready for fun and a chance to win some money! Tickets for the dinner will be ready for sale soon! All proceeds will go towards more equipment for our playground!

Look at XXAXX go with all of those Hula Hoops at the BullDog Assembly!

Bull Dog Assembly!

Lego Dog!

Our awesome Steve Dunn writing workshop!

Super Apple Man assembly!

Our 7th and 8th grade German Luncheon!

SURPRISE 4th GRADE!!!!

And you thought I could resist the pumpkin patch this year like all of the other middle schoolers..... ;) NO WAY!!!!!!
We are going on a Field Trip!!!!!!! October 6th!!!!!!!!! We will leave the school at around 9 and be back by 11:30. That day is also an early dismissal day! Information will be sent home this week!
Want to know the best news yet...... We will be making a TShirt like we did in First Grade!!!!!! EEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!! The cost for the field trip will be a bit more than the other students. If this causes a financial burden...PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!
As always, the students will all receive a pumpkin from the patch!
I can't wait!!!

HAZMAT Visitors from the base!

We have some visitors from the Air Force base out today talking about Emergency Response and how they help people in need with natural disasters. It was neat to check out their gear!! 

Thank you!!

Thank you so much John Waters, Mrs Waters, and Petunia for educating our students on service dogs and educating us!! We always love these visits!!!

A huge thanks to Sandi Sylver for giving us an amazing assembly!!!!!!

September 16

Wow! Is it Friday already?!?! We had an amazing week!!!!
In German class we covered standards 1.1.1 Participate in brief oral or written guided conversations related to students' needs and interests (i.e., dialogues, interviews and role plays). and worked with more color words in the younger classes and general introductions in the older classes. 
Talk with your child about these words:


Guten Morgan! (Good Morning)

Wie Geht's? (How are you?)

Ich bin gut! (I am good!)

Tchüß!! (Good Bye)

Deutschland- Germany

In 4th grade math we have been still working on refreshing our memories by talking about place value, adding double/triple digit whole numbers, and covered this standard:

4.NBT.1 Recognize that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right. 

In art we discussed perspective drawing. I am SO impressed with these students and their artistic abilities!!! Check out some of the pictures!!! It covered the North Dakota art standard: 8.2.1 Know the effects of visual art structures and functions. 

We were unable to cover much health, but we will be talking about acne, braces, and personal hygiene this coming week!

Hockey Anyone?!?!

Is your child interested in hockey at all this year?
Join Manvel Hockey! Attached is the information sheet and scholarship info!
Not sure if your child wants to play hockey...check it out! This is a perfect opportunity to check out it out and see what Manvel Hockey is all about!!!


Hockey Informational Sheet

Hockey Scholarship Info

http://themanvelfreeze.com

Hokki Stools!!!!!

Look what we got in our classroom this week!!! EEKK!!!! I will be creating another Donors Choose project requesting more stools because they are such a big hit with the students!
The students are able to wiggle and wobble while doing their work! It gets their energy out, enabling them to focus and put their energy towards their school work!!!!

Check out our amazing art projects!!!!!!

Story Bird

Hello Parents! This week the students have been very busy writing amazing stories on StoryBird!!

As a parent you are free to check out our amazing works of art! Simply click on:
https://storybird.com/parents/
then enter code:
MCQ4C

Tada!!! You are able to see the amazing pieces of writing! The students are allowed to work on their assignments on home and have a blast with this website! The best thing about this site...if your child creates some remarkable that you cannot live without...you have the opportunity to purchase it!! Check it out!

German

Check out the videos the students have been watching for German class!

Elementary:
https://youtu.be/cIqrkriGfUg?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

https://youtu.be/pf0t8gI8Gc0?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

Middle School:
https://youtu.be/edBtiGeB2ec?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

https://youtu.be/iB_sassbnOw?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

Library Contract

Every student needs to have a library contract signed and turned in before they are allowed to check out books. They will be given one at school, but attached is a copy for your own records or in case the paper "goes missing" ;)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TfzadvElB2X2oyKWwgaUh2YNvjM8ppeYsipuB1raH4g/edit?usp=sharing

What a great week!!!!

Wow we were busy this week!!! The 4th graders covered 2 units in math already. We talked about place value and how we compare these numbers.
In reading class we wrote some AWESOME stories! Stay tuned for some pictures!!
In health we talked about peer pressure and how we need to stay strong about making our own smart choices. We also talked about personal hygiene. If your child would like to bring deodorant, toothbrush, or toothpaste to keep in their locker...it is highly encouraged!! :) :) The students can keep it in there locker and is highly encouraged to use them!! If they are need of any toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, or any other personal hygiene please let me know. I can make arrangements.
In writing the students all wrote a short story based on various topics.
Check out what the art students made in art class!

First week done!!

We made it!! First few days of school are done! Those days are always the hardest because we are getting used to new rules, new books, and a new classroom environment.
This year we have added a new Math Curriculum school wide! I am so excited and I know the 4th graders are really going to flourish! The books the students have received are their math books. I really pushed how important it is to NOT LOOSE THE BOOK!! This is their workbook and their math book. We are really teaching responsibility at this age level, but I have no doubt they can rise to the task!

In german class we talked about colors. As always, if the students don't use it...they loose it! Encourage the students to talk to you about the colors of the rainbow at home! I will be attaching the video here so they can watch it at home several more times with you! Next week we will be continuing the discussion on colors.
https://youtu.be/cIqrkriGfUg?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

The 7th and 8th graders talked about greetings and picked out their own German name. They also watched a video to help them practice what they have learned.
https://youtu.be/edBtiGeB2ec?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv
I have assigned homework for the 7th and 8th graders. The homework will be completed on Edmodo.com (see post about Edmodo in my blog under useful tools). Each student received a code to join our group.  Edmodo is great tool because it can be accessed on any piece of technology. Parents can also log in at anytime and see the students work, grade, and even see the conversation going on in the class! I am very excited about this! If there are any questions about this program please email me at
amy.havelka@emeradok8.com

In library the students will be receiving a contract to check out books. The contract just ensures that the student will be help responsible for the books they check out. All books or fees must be returned /paid by the end of the year or a Below the Line slip will be handed out. The Below the Line slip will be handed out due to lack of responsibility. If the child receives a Below the Line slip (for any reason regarding behavior, not just library fees! :) ) they will be unable to attend the end of the year Splashers swim trip and picnic party at the end of the school year. If there are any questions please let me know!! This policy is set in place so we do not loose books. Every year hundreds of dollars of books go missing. It is hard to keep a well stocked library when I need to constantly replace books on top of obtaining new ones! :)

I am SO EXCITED for this year!!! I really encourage communication via this blog, email, texting, or phone calls. I really appreciate everything you do for your child and how we can work together to give them the best year ever!!!!!
Thank you!!!

Mrs. Havelka

HELLO AND WELCOME!!!

Welcome to a NEW YEAR!!! I am so very excited for this new year.
Most already know me, but a quick synopsis....I have been at Emerado for 8 years. I have taught 2nd grade, 1st grade, and now this is my second year teaching 4th grade. I am also the schools librarian, PTO president, German teacher, and middle school art and health teacher (with the exception of 6th grade). I graduated from UND in 2005, and this December I will be graduating with my Masters in Education, emphasis in Elementary Education, from Valley City State University. I am married and have three kids who are ages 11, 9, and 5.

There will be several things different this year that I would like to point out to parents. The biggest thing is...well..you are already here!!!!!
I will be hosting a blog. This is where I post updates, any pertinent field trip information, and just general information about the classroom.
The art students do SUCH amazing things...I really wanted to share it with the world!

Few points to consider....I will be taking pictures....USUALLY I DO NOT take pictures of students. I have an app where I blur faces out, etc. Sometimes I like to get to action shots of students (from the side or back view). This is a public blog....which means that this is a great way for other friends and relatives to see what the students are creating in class! It also means that anyone who has the address can access the pictures.
If you do not want your child's name or even side pose of your child in ANY picture...PLEASE let me know immediately. Example.....if Johnny Bob makes a beautiful mask...I will take a picture of his mask and said "mask made by Johnny Bob". IF you DO NOT want that.....I will just state "mask made by 5th grade student". PLEASE talk with me of any concerns or questions.

My classroom will be a Flipped Classroom this year. This means that the students will be doing "homework" based on the content they will be taught THE NEXT DAY. How is this possible?
A lot of the content will be intro videos I make (especially my German homework) or something the students need to discuss. ALL of the 4th graders-8th graders will have their own Chrome Book for usage during the school day. This makes getting homework done during the day a lot easier! Students can also utilize Encore time for their homework. At home, the students are then able to complete their assignments on a program called Edmodo. Edmodo is like Facebook for school. The students will be assigned into groups and will access assignments, discussions, and anything else they need right on the website. This makes it easy for parents to access the site and see EXACTLY what is assigned (no more having to wonder if little Johnny really doesn't have homework, or if he is trying to pull a fast one)!

My blog has some previous posts about the various technological tools we will be utilizing throughout the school year. I am sure there will be lots of questions, so please feel free to comment directly here, or email me personally at
amy.havelka@emeradok8.com

I am VERY excited and I cannot wait to get this year kicked off with a bang!!!!!!! :)

Kahoot!

• Kahoot is a great tool for students to further their learning in any subject area, and with a fun competitive twist on it!
• Teachers can create an exact Kahoot that will help extend their lesson plan. A Kahoot can have several different layouts and ending goals. The teacher can write the Kahoot to have several same answers to provoke a conversation between the students. The Kahoot can also have open ended answers in which the students would have to verbally explain. The possibilities are endless and can really bring a unit to life. 
• There are not costs associated with Kahoot.
• Kahoot can be found at https://getkahoot.com
• I anticipate using Kahoot in my German classes this year! The students will use this as an end of lesson assessment. Here is an example of a short end of lesson assessment: https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/82ca46d8-abe8-4822-b3e8-6650237347d5

     

I could not figure out how to actually play a game without knowing other people that are "on" to play against, but I was able to search around the website for all of the various games available to the public and attempted to play several of them.  I really enjoyed the option of playing with teams or individually. 

• ISTE Standards used by students:
• 2a
• 2b
• 4d
• 5b
• ISTE Standards used by teachers:
• 1a
• 1b
• 2b
• 2d
• 3b
• References:

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-lp/standards-for-teachers

https://getkahoot.com