Well it is finally here.  I cannot believe that a whole school year has gone by.  I am already beginning to miss each student and I know that this will be a memorable class as it was my first class.  I hope to hear great things from each and every one in the years to come, I know they will all be bright successful people.  

Now, on a slightly different note some more pertinent information about events in the days to come.  

Thursday 6/6 will be our 4th grade celebration and design challenge.  The design challenge will take place in the morning with the lunch taking place during our regularly scheduled lunch time (11:45 - 12:15).  I welcome any parents or relatives that would like to attend lunch or watch during the design challenge.  Feel free to contact me if you have questions.  A huge thanks also goes out to those that donated towards both our Dojo pizza party today and the design challenge. 

Friday 6/7 in the morning we will have a cultural arts assembly followed by some time in the classroom then we will head out to Super Kids Day (12:30 - 2:30).  Students should plan to bring a change of athletic clothes for the afternoon, a towel, and an extra set of shoes.  Sandals and a pair of tennis shoes would be fine.  

Monday 6/10 we will be doing a big cleanup of the room to prepare it for our rising 4th graders in the Fall.  We also take a little time to read, watch a slide show of pictures that I have accumulated throughout the year, and maybe even watch a cartoon version of one of the Jungle Book stories that we had as a read aloud recently.  

If you are aware that your child will not be attending school on Monday for any reason, please let them know that they should be prepared to bring home any items from their desk or cubby by the end of this week.  

I hope that covers a lot of questions that many of you might have but as always feel free send me an email should you have any questions.   

I discovered this morning that there is a pizza party for band tomorrow so the Class Dojo pizza party will be moved to Monday 6/3.  It will be during our regularly scheduled lunch so there should is minimal impact to our regular schedule.  

EOG Update
The latest and greatest information for the NC Department of Public Instruction is that official results for the EOG test students completed last week will not come out until October 2013.  As always, the test does not have any bearing on report card grades, a fact I have reminded students of a number of times since last week.  

Dates and Times
It's all about the when and the where these last few weeks of school.  The following are a list of important dates and times, but please check back as they me be added or modified.  

Thursday 5/30 - Measurement post test 
Thursday 5/30 6:30 - 7:30 PM - 4 & 5th grade band performance 
Friday 5/31 11:45 - 12:15 - Class Dojo pizza party
Thursday 6/6 Time -??? - Tentative 4th grade end of year party and design challenge  
Friday 6/7 12:30 - 2:30 - Super Kids Day (otherwise know as field day) 
Monday 6/10 - Last day of school (yes, it really is on a Monday)

This morning I asked students to make a note to bring in a donation of $2 for the Class Dojo pizza party and $3 for the 4th grade party/design challenge.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. 

Finally 
With the exception of the math test things are getting pretty exciting around room 605.  We are a fantastic group, but it is always helpful for students to hear a reminder or two about making sure to keep heads on straight in these last few weeks.  I have issued several reminders that report cards are still pending.  

It's hard to believe that this time next week I will be writing my last blog post for the 2012/13 year.  It has been truly memorable. 

Tomorrow we will begin taking the EOG test, a glaring indication that we have almost come to the end of a 4th grade year.  I am apologize for the late nature of this update, but it seems that all the changes to the EOG this year have made for a rocky transition.  I have consolidated a list of answers the most frequent questions that I have been getting from students and parents in bullet form below.  If you have additional questions, please feel free to email any time. 

-The test will last two days with math calculator active and inactive on day one (5/21) and language arts on day two (5/22) 
-We will begin testing at about 8:30 both days.  Testing should be finished by no later than noon. 
-There will be a three minute break for each 60 minutes of testing.  Testing will conclude when all students have finished. 
-Breakfast will be provided free of charge in the cafeteria each morning.
-We will have a snack as soon as testing is complete.
-Our regularly scheduled lunch time has been moved to about 12:30
-As always, the EOG test scores do not impact students grades.  

I have reminded the class that we have seen a similar format three times throughout the year with Case 21, and that they have this routine down.  I also recommended to students that they get a good nights sleep, eat a good breakfast, and good dinners the night before.  Most importantly, I have urged the class not to worry, everyone will do great. 


Last but not least, don't forget that we will all enjoy a well deserved day off on Monday 5/27 for Memorial Day.  

Although it seems to me like it was just yesterday we were getting back from  winter break, May is here.  There are several events coming up at Hilburn both academic and social, so I wanted to take a moment to list them all out at a glance.

5/8 - Boosterthon Fun Run
5/8 - 4th and 5th grade choir concert
5/18 - Carnival 
5/21 - 4th grade EOG
5/22 - 4th grade EOG
5/27 -  Memorial Day (no school)
5/30 - 4th, 5th, 6th Grade Band Performance

In classroom news, we have just started a new measurement unit in Math.  We will be discussing measurements of volume, weight, and length in both customary and metric units.  This unit will take us all the way to the EOG testing dates.  This week  on Wednesday or Thursday will be the first quiz on metric units of measurement.  


In science this week we are going to begin our animal studies unit.  This is a very exciting unit as it involves the investigation of LIVE animals in our classroom.  We will take the week this week to set up habitats for millipedes, frogs, and crabs, learning about what exactly will make them comfortable in their new homes as we go.  The following week our friends will arrive!  


STEM Summer Camp
Please click here for some information on an exciting summer learning opportunity for students.  It will be hosted right here at Hilburn. 

Boosterthon
Today you child participated in the kick off pep rally for Boosterthon! The event will culminate with a fun run on 5/8/13.  Students that attended the pep received a pledge book with login information for the event website.  Please feel fee to email me with any questions. 

EOG Countdown
We are on the home stretch! Our official EOG test dates are 5/21 - 5/22.  In the coming weeks, we will be reviewing skill that we have learned in reading throughout the year in preparation for the test.  In math we will begin a new unit in measurement this week that continue all the way up to test day, however, we will take some time in between to review key math concepts.  For math review at home there are several great option.  The first is review of flipped videos, especially multiplication and division methods.  A second option is through the website Moby Max, all students should know their login information but let me know if you need assistance accessing the site.   Finally, you can access the practice tests provided by the state department of education (see the buttons on our class homepage).  Over the next few weeks, I will begin to discuss the test with students.  Please feel free to contact me should any questions arise at home.   

Ms. Felton, our guidance counselor is also holding a voluntary lunch session to discuss strategies to help beat that test anxiety. Please see the following information from her below:

The EOG tests will be here shortly and while these tests are an important element of our instruction here at Hilburn, they can also bring about worry or anxiety for many of our students.  The guidance department will be offering a voluntary lunch session on May 8 for 4th graders to discuss helpful strategies for preparing for the EOGs and managing any worries about them.  Students will create their own personal iKnow board of test taking strategies!  Please feel free to contact Kelsey Felton, school counselor, with any questions ([email protected], 571-6806).




 



 

Monday Folders

Dear Students, Parents, and Visitors,

Monday Folders

Since all student work was graded for conferences prior to break there will be no Monday folders this week.  Next week, however, report cards will come home in Monday folders, so be on the lookout.

Writer in Residence

This week we have a writer in residence visiting our classroom each day for an hour.  Our guest will be talking to students about her experiences writing and publishing children’s books.  She will also guide students through writing their own story throughout the week.  The process will culminate in a writers celebration where students will be able to share their stories with the rest of the class in an open mic format. 

STEAM Expo

Next Wednesday from 6:30 – 8:30 Hilburn will present the Spring STEAM Expo.  Fourth grade is working on a landform project that incorporates our discoveries science and writing throughout the 3rd quarter.  Please plan to stop by and see what we have been working on.  Take a look at the official flier here.

End of Grade Testing

Dates for end of grade testing (EOG) have been set for the week of 5/20.  I recently posted a link to some new practice tests from the NC Department of Public Instruction.  You can find there here on the home page for Mr. Herter’s Hawks.

Upcoming:

STEAM Expo: 4/17  

Wish List: (updated 4/8)

Kleenex/Tissue

Pencils

Dry erase markers  

I just have some quick updates this week as I hope to see many parents in person over the next two days. 

Spring Break
In the event that you are not counting down the days like we are in room 605, our well deserved break begins on Thursday.  So make sure that you do not come to school Thursday unless you want to be put to work with a bunch of teachers.  I will look forward to many pictures of chocolate being consumed and playing outside on April 8th. 

I had the unfortunate realization today that my last post stated student led conferences would be today and tomorrow.  My intention was to say that they will be Tuesday and Wednesday (3/26-3/27).  With so many dates and events flying around here it's hard to keep track of all of them I guess.  

If you were planning to come today, I will be here.  The only consideration is that you might not get the whole student led package as we will be finishing up our work on that part today and tomorrow. 

If you do see this and are planning to come, please shoot me a quick email at [email protected] to let me know so that I can plan on seeing you.  

-Mr. Herter