January 3

Gillespie Gazette...January 3

Blog: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

Phone: 801-446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year! I hope all students have set some personal resolutions for this new year. They can reflect back on their SEP goals and start there. I appreciate all the students that are working towards theirs.

Thanks again for the many wonderful Christmas gifts. It was so fun today unwrapping. My family thanks you also. They are amazed at the quantity and quality of the gifts, teachers are given. You are thoughtful and kind.

A special thanks to Dara Williams. She serves the school as PTA President and also volunteers in the classroom. Today, she popped in to help the class with the Christmas Party. She brought treats. We played two fun games and they left happy and ready for holiday break.

Rebecca had a short week as student leader, but it was her second turn so she was okay with it. She sure is an awesome student.

On Tuesday, Jan 4...we are celebrating Utah's Birthday. We will eat cake and enjoy playing games or toys with the other 4th graders. All students are invited to bring a new Christmas game or toy and we will be in the gym playing and sharing. I look forward to it. This is tomorrow, so hopefully your child will remember to bring theirs.

The spelling list, word-search, and parent letter #14 is due this Thursday. They should have all had plenty of time to complete this assignment first given to them on December 20.

Sign below or blog a comment

______________________________________

Parent signature_________________________

Student name________________________

December 21

Math Homework tonight is page 131 (1-6)

Don't forget the White Elephant gift for Christmas game tomorrow and a treat to share if you want.

If you want to come hear the students sing and play recorder...come at 9:00 in the gym.


Students will be assigned to write an essay having to do with the Character Development topic of Respect. They will be expected to write at least three paragraphs, stick to the main idea (respect), use good conventions, and use good word choice...not using the same words over and over (add variety by using synonyms and antonyms.)

Parent letter and spelling wordsearch assignment will be due on January 6, Thursday. No excuses cause they have had plenty of time. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

December 20

Gillespie Gazette: December 20

Blog: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

school: 446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for the Christmas gifts! Wow, I felt loved. I will be giving the students a gift on Wednesday, and I know they will love it. I love Christmas. I wish you the best of holidays. We come a half day on Wednesday and will dismiss at 1:25. Any volunteers to help with a short
Christmas party? If not, I will just put something together simple. Let's do a Christmas White Elephant exchange...rule #1: Don't go shop at the store...instead find a old "something" slightly used and wrap it up. I love it when students bring a book they have already read and want to let someone else read it. Rule #2: Wrap it up like a new gift and disguise it in pretty wrapping. We will play a game with this gift exchange.
If you want to bring a treat to share, that would be great. We have a School Sing Around the Tree that starts at 9:00 AM. Don't forget to bring your recorders.
Party will be the last half hour of school from 12:45 to 1:15.

School resumes on January 3.
Have a nice break!

London was my helper last week. Thanks, London. I missed you on Friday.

Parent Letter #14 is attached. Please help your child be successful.

Spelling words:
barber
ornaments
marble
Christmas
barge
partner
please
cardboard
carton
barn
sledding
unwrapped
youth
piano

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

____________________________________

Parent signature________________________

Student name_______________________

Or blog in comment

December 16

Math Homework is page 127 Problems 8-20.

December 15

Math homework: page 123 (6-28)

Spelling letter and Spelling story is due tomorrow.

December 14

Math Homework...page 113 (54-65)

December 13

December 13, 2010

Blog address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

Email Address: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

School: 446-3200
Cell: 801-623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Brianna is a talented young lady. She can sing, write, and create. I loved the great card she and Averee created for me. I predict she will be a teacher when she grows up.

Parent Letter #13 is due on Thursday. Please help your child achieve this goal. They also have a Spelling Story due on that day.

They need to know these words by Thursday:
freeze-dried
vegetables
buy
bye
by
fry
deny
lie
lye
sly
can't = can not
awesome
hair
highway
dry
there
skylight
enough
doesn't
sight

Any books order? I hope so.

Please know we are having a major food drive. We want to help people. If you will bring in can goods, macaroni, etc. (There is actually a schedule for the foods needed...see attachment) However, you can bring in anything. We are trying to beat the other 4th grade classes in amount brought in, so that our class can win the Pizza Party! Please help...every can counts. If every student brings in a can...we have a great chance of winning. Do you know how much I love pizza? Pretty please. Tuna fish, tomorrow...Peanut butter on Wednesday, Canned tomatoes on Thursday. But of course, it won't matter if you bring anything and everything!

The students enjoyed Tool Day. I learned a lot right along with them. Don't forget to bring your recorders this week so we can practice for the school "Sing A Round."

The Living Planet Aquarium came today and we enjoyed a great presentation. It was on classifying. This is part of our Utah Core. There was a lot of learning going on.

_________________________________________

Student Name____________________

Parent signature___________________

Or blog a comment

December 9

Homework page 119 (3-10)

Dec. 8

Math homework is page 107 problems 58-66.

Spelling Sport's Script is due tomorrow along with the Parent letter #12.

December 7

Homework page 106 problems 22-57

December 6

Math homework page 111 (1-18)

Spelling Sports Script and Parent letter #12 is due on Thursday.

Your children and their great art skills helped me today. Tell them thanks.

Don't forget to read the Gillespie Gazette and sign on blog.

December 5

Gillespie Gazette...December 5

Blog address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

email address: annagillespie@hotmail.com

School: 446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Averee had a good time and opportunity to be the student of the week for a short week and then a regular week. Lucky girl. Thanks for the poster and the help. She is a fun student and had very fun ideas.

I had a wonderful time with my family in Texas, but I have been playing catch up every since. I apologize for it. Eventually it will be back to normal. I will be checking on students who have not turned in their SEP goals and will have to resort to 'no recess" until turned in. Please visit with your child and make sure they have turned this important document in. Every parent and child was given an SEP form at Parent/Teacher Conferences. I am hoping tomorrow at school, I will have an accounting of each one. Thanks to all that have taken care of this already.

Parent letter #12 due on Thursday. Parents, please take the time to check your student's work. I am glad for the signature, but every once in a while I am noticing that the assignment was not done properly because the parent is not helping the child with the instructions. Thank you for your support and help in your child learning spelling concepts.

Spelling List:
1. struck not stricked
2. strike
3. command
4. printer
5. turned
6. here
7. her
8. stick
9. article
10. molded
11. every
12. healthy
13. treats
14. sprained
15. ankle
16. painful
17. there
18. mechanical
19. outside

We worked hard to get the poems finished, typed, and mailed to the publisher. They usually send a letter around March or so to those students worthy of making it into the book. Please let me know if any of your students get published. I sent a stamp and your address of each student that completed a poem and that stamp will allow the publishing company to notify them. They will not notify unless their poem was worthy of publication.

I have attached a Book Order and encourage you to order books. There are three students that will be getting free books because they ordered on line last time. (Max, Brianna, Lindsay) Please take advantage of the online ordering. I will do better on my part. (I didn't know I had to complete the order....sorry about that.) Please give me another chance. I have been doing the 'old school" method for so long, it is hard to get used to the new ways. I will take orders either way and make sure they get completed in a timely way. Orders will be taken until December 22. Books will be here first thing in January. Please contact me by phone or email or blog if you need more information on how to online order.

Congratulations to Reflection Winners. All students that entered were winners! Our class had the most entries. Bailee and Rebecca earned 'Honorable Mention' in their categories. And Jason earned an "Excellent" and his entry will be sent on to the district competition.

We are having a major food drive and our class is determined to win! Please help you child help others by donating food to the Christmas Food Drive. Thanks. A can a day keeps hunger away!


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Parent signature___________________________

Student name__________________________

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Dec. 2

Homework is page 109 (7-25)

Please help your child memorize addition math facts so they don't have to use their fingers.

Thanks, Anna

December 1

Sorry this is so delayed. I actually have spent hours getting all the poems typed up and in the envelope and got them mailed off tonight.

Math Homework is page 105 (1-21)

Spelling sentences and Parent letter #11 is due tomorrow.

november 30

I'm Back! Math homework is page 102 problems 1-25.

I am being kicked out of the building and there is no time to write more. Catch me tomorrow.

November 23

I am off to Texas! Mr. Griffith subbed today and the Homework assignment is page 99 problems 10-27.

Homework tomorrow will be (if all goes well with the sub...page 89 problems 1-7.)

There will be no Gillespie Gazette on Monday, the 29th...(I will be driving home from Texas!

Monday night homework will be page 101 problems 4-9

Happy Thanksgiving to ya'all (practicing my Texan lingo)

November 22

Gillespie Gazette...November 22

Blog address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

email address: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

School...446-3200
Cell...623-7625
Home...801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

We enjoyed cute London as our Student of the Week. She proved to be working on her SEP goal and that was fun to see.

I need to have any SEP goals that have not been turned in, to please do so. I have about six students that have not set their goals. Parents, please help your student to think of one goal they would like to work on during Second Term if you haven't done that and send it to me. I will make a copy and return a copy to you. Thanks to most of you that have done that.

Parent Letter #11 sent home and due on Thursday of this week.

Spelling List:
1. neighbor
2. heard
3. herd
4. there
5. their
6. the scientist's invention
7. money
8. computer
9. a lot
10. hardware
11. parade
12. chooses
13. menu
14. it's
15. its
16. pointing
17. mouse
18. why

We finished our Poetry Unit and the students should be able to write a poem worthy of publication. Please encourage them to do so. They are due on Tuesday, Nov. 23. I will type them up and submit them to the Anthology of Poetry to see if they get chosen to be published.

We enjoyed two assemblies this week...one on literature and the children were exposed to wonderful books and encouraged to read. It was a great presentation. The other was on our Social Studies Unit about Mountain Men. I think the students enjoyed them both. Ask them about them.

I will be teaching the students about the character trait of Diligence. They will be expected to write an essay on the topic in school Tuesday morning. They will have been instructed on the six traits of good writing and the importance of having a beginning, middle, ending in their essay. They will need to have at least three paragraphs to earn a 4 on this essay. They will be expected to stick to the main idea throughout this essay.

Mr. Griffith will be in our classroom helping on Tuesday. He is "subbing" for me, while I get the poems typed and off to the publisher and also getting ready for my substitute on Wednesday (Short Day) and Monday, the 29th. I am leaving for Texas. My son and his wife had their first baby and our tenth grandchild. We will be going there for Thanksgiving. The baby blessing is on Sunday and it is a 24 Hour trip. So I have to miss two days of teaching, something I rarely do. I probably won't be blogging much next week and don't look for a Gillespie Gazette next Monday.
However, let me take this opportunity to say how thankful I am for the beautiful children I teach each day. They bring great joy to my heart. They are advancing in so many ways and it is a pleasure to be around them. I am thankful for good parents that support their children and my efforts to educate them. I am very thankful for parent volunteers that help in the classroom. There, I said my "Thanksgiving" thoughts. I wish you Happy Holiday.

_______________________________
Parent signature________________________

Student name_______________________

Or Blog a comment to me!

November 18

Okay...so maybe it's just because I think Roman Numerals are fun and cool, but I gave the students another one to do for homework tonight. Actually, I do think they are pretty awesome to know and hey, if they don't learn it in fourth grade...maybe they will never be taught. What grade did you learn them?

Please make sure your student has done both Roman Numeral worksheet because I am taking a grade from each one. If they have lost theirs along the way, have them come get another one from me. If they didn't get a 100% on any worksheet, they can fix it until they do.

Tomorrow, they will be given time to write another poem and I will send it in for publication. Ask them about how their poem is turning out. We spent a lot of time on the Poetry Unit and I hope they use some of the ideas I gave them to make outstanding poetry.

November 17

We had fun learning about Roman Numerals. They have a worksheet to do tonight for homework.

Radio Announcement and Parent letter #10 due tomorrow (Thursday)

November 16

I took a grade on page 84 from every student. (Last night's homework) If your child did not do his homework last night they will need to do page 84 and do it to 100% in order to receive a grade of 70% (consequence for not doing homework when scheduled on Monday, November 15)

If your child did attempt the homework and did poorly or missed any...they are allowed to fix until they receive 100%. Understanding the concepts on page 84 reviews Chapter Two. Students will be expected to understand concepts being tested on page 86. I told the students they could study and go over the concepts on page 86 in preparation for the test to be given tomorrow.

They will not be able to fix their test score!

I instructed all the students to take home Parent Letter #10 and study with parent. Please sign them off if they did so.

Homework (besides fixing and studying) is on page 85. Just do problem #4

November 15 homework

Oops! I just realized I sent the Gillespie Gazette home without attaching Parent Letter #10. Darn it...I hate it when I make mistakes! Please forgive!

The students will bring it home tomorrow.

Math homework page 84 problems 1-14

The students were given their three times each spelling list and many have already started the Radio Announcement that is due on Thursday.

Thanks, Anna

November 15

Gillespie Gazette...November 15

Blog Address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

Email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

School: 446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024


Dear Parents,

Thank you to Tenney for bringing in an amazing poster for her Student of the Week. I could tell her mom spent a lot of time helping her put that together. Thank you Tenney for always setting a good example to the other students.

I appreciated all the parents that made the effort to attend Parent Teacher Conference and SEPs. It was great to visit with you all. Please know that if you haven't had a chance to spend time helping your child decide on a goal for 2nd Term, I need you to do that. Most of you have returned the SEP. I have made copies and will return them to your child for you to have a copy and periodically remind them of their goals they have set for themselves.

I would like to add and addendum to the last Gillespie Gazette. It was brought to my attention by our awesome principal, Mr. Griffith, that I might want to clarify that the study of counties does fit nicely under the study of Utah history. When the students study about their particular county, they will come across many facts about our Utah history. So it does reinforce the study of Utah history. For instance, we recently learned in our Utah text book about the word "cache" Mountain Men dug caches and put their goods, furs, etc. in the ground to be able to come back later and dig it up. We had a student realize that is how Cache County got its name. There were so many mountain men digging caches there that it started the name of the county when we became a state. I thought that was so interesting. So Mr. Griffith is right. There is a lot of history in each of the history of the 29 counties of Utah. Thanks for pointing that out.

Parent letter #10 and spelling list is being sent home on the 15th.

Please make sure you child knows how to spell the following words by Thursday of this week:

thank
knitting
beautiful
rarely
beaten
beet
would
wouldn't
softly
laughed
clouds
threatening
a totally awesome video game
an awesome video game

Please remember that tomorrow is Picture Make-Up Day.
__________________________________________________________

Parent Sign_____________________________
Student name_____________________________

or comment on Blog

November 10,11

I am sorry that I haven't gotten on the blog...please forgive. I guess parent teacher conference has been my focus. Homework has been easy. Page 99 (four problems ) and tonight is something like 103 four problems. I am at home and I left the assignment on the board. But if it isn't 103, something like that...just let it go and see if we can have the students do in on Monday.

November 9

Math Homework...page 81 (1-7)

We are doing a Poetry Unit and learning how to write poems. The students have been "inspired" by one of their spelling words. They got to choose one and start writing their poem ideas. Most of them have done a "rough draft" They will be revising Wednesday and maybe Wednesday night and getting some help from you.
Parent letter #9 is due on Thursday.

November 8

We have a new student. Welcome to Kayden. He has already told me what a fun and great class we have...so I think he will enjoy us.

Report Cards are attached. This reflects the level of work and competence your child has displayed during First Term.

It was a fun day. We had several students give their County Reports and that means we are more than half way through. We have had 14 reports given! Please remind your student to be prepared for their "lucky" day when they get to give their report. I have to explain to you that the study of Utah Counties is not part of the official Utah State Core. It is more like a tradition than a requirement. Because we are expected to teach the Core requirements, it is necessary to put some things in perspective of importance. I am required by law and contract to teach the core requirements set by the Utah State Office of Education. This includes things like language, reading, writing, grammar, math, science, social studies (Utah History...not counties) art, music, healthy life style and PE, computer, cursive penmanship, basically all the things listed on the report card. But county reports, Bring and Brag, birthday celebrations, County Fairs, Halloween Parties, and etc. are extra fluff that are a blast and we do it to make the school experience enjoyable...but it is not required. I hope that this clears up any wonderment about why County Reports are still on going. I teach reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and social studies every day and if we get to a report...YaHoo...but not at the sacrifice of the other academics.

The Book Fair will be available during P/T Conferences. Plan to get some of your Christmas shopping done.

Thank you to Bailee's, London's, and Danielle's moms for coming in and having the Halloween Party. It was great fun for the students.

I have attached your SEP Parent Teacher Conference Schedule for you and your student. Please make sure the student comes with you. Thanks to all of you that pre-scheduled on line. Your child will be setting goals and so we need to have them there at the conference.

Congratulations to all the students that turned in their Reflections Projects. WE had some real "winners" in my opinion.

We appreciated the service that Braden and Rebecca rendered as Students of the Week. They are both hard working, smart students that always set a good example in most all areas of our school day.

Parent letter #9 is attached and due on Thursday, November 11. Please remember that there is a short day on Thursday, November 11 for 1st-6th grades and no kindergarten will be held at all on the 11th of November.

Spelling List:

1. cousin
2. skate
3. think
4. silliest
5. typical
6. string
7. doorknob
8. science
9. then
10. there
11. their
12. there
13. young
14. seems
15. eleventh

See you all at Parent Teacher SEP Conferences.

November 4

Math Homework tonight is page 79 problems (4-21)

We are hoping to get lots of County Reports heard and games played tomorrow. We can do several during Bring and Brag. This can be your child's Bring and Brag...so they won't need to bring anything else...(hint, hint)

November 3

The students are worried about the Spelling Game tomorrow. Please reassure them there was no parent letter due on Thursday. They must have their matching assignment done to play a very fun game. And it would be nice if they had the list memorized...(hint, hint)

Math Homework page 77 problems 1-11

November 2

No Gillespie Gazette this week. I am running short on time! No Parent letter this week. Look for regular schedule next Monday. Sometimes, when we don't have school on Monday, I take the liberty of not writing a Gillespie Gazette. (It is very time consuming for me.) But next week, I will be back on schedule.

This week is the beginning of Term 2 and I encourage the students to have a "fresh start" in doing their very best work this term.

Report Cards will be sent home next Monday attached to the Gillespie Gazette.

Math page 89 (1-7) is homework tonight.

October 28

Students are invited to wear costumes to school tomorrow. If anyone can come at 9:00 and walk with my class through the halls, I would appreciate it. It will be fun. You see everyone's costumes as you walk through the school. You won't miss a thing and it will really help me. Thanks.

Please remember to sign the Orange Planner to document the amount of minutes your child has read this term. The minutes expected to have read is 815. Your child will receive a score under Independent Reading according to this documentation. This will effect their reading/language grade so it is very important. Thank you for reminding them to bring back to school and for initialing all the minutes they have read since the beginning of school. Twenty minutes of reading five times a week is what fourth graders are supposed to do. Thanks.

Reflections are due tomorrow on the 29th. We have had some good ones turned in so far.

Math Homework...page 75 (4-24)

October 27,

Signed Parent Letter #8 due tomorrow.

Math Homework tonight is page 71 (1-20)

End of Term is Friday October 29...please make sure all your work is in on that day.

Please document your child's home reading in the Orange Planner and make sure they return it on Thursday so I can count the minutes and enter a grade for independent reading on Friday, the end of first term.

October 26

Math homework...page 69 (3-17)

Reflections due on Friday, the 29th.

Halloween Parade starts at 9:00. Is there a volunteer that can come and walk with my class so I can walk in costume with the Fourth Grade Teachers? We are dressing alike as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We are Lewis, Clark, Sacaguia, (spelling..sorry) and Seaman (the dog) Thanks for any volunteer.

October 25

Make sure you read the Gillespie Gazette Post...this is just an after school reminder about the simple homework in math which is on page 73, problems 1-3.

Please sign Progress Report and have your child come get help if they need it.

There were assignments (Fixes) that the students were working on today that may not be reflected on the Progress Report because I didn't have a chance to regrade and put a new score in the computer before the end of the day. I will try to update daily to these changes. Report Cards will be sent home on November 8.

Thanks. Sorry I was delayed in getting some of the kids out the door. It was a hectic day.

October 25

Gillespie Gazette...October 25, 2010

Blog Address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com
Email Address: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us
School: 446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all the parents that have made donations to Mrs. May so that we can have a super, duper party on Friday, October 29. The Halloween Parade will begin at 9:00 and the party will be after the parade. Thanks to Mrs. May and any other parent that is helping her.

Please notice the attached paper that explains how you can go in and pre-schedule your Parent/Teacher Conference. Parent/ Teacher Conferences are scheduled for November 10 and 11. November 10th runs from 4:00 to 7:30 and November 11th hours go from 2:00 to 6:30. You will have until midnight on November 3 to schedule what times will be best for you and your child. After November 3, I will assign a time for you and your child to come. The attached note explains the process. Please know that your child will be setting goals for the upcoming term and so come prepared to discuss these goals. The child needs to attend this conference.

I have had only one parent turn in the Reflection Student Entry Form. And I have only seen one student that has shown me evidence that they are working on a Relection's Project. Please know that these projects are due on October 29. If you write a quick note in the planner that your child is working on this goal and assignment, I will not worry. Please sign a note in the Orange Planner to indicate that this is happening, otherwise, I will assign them an essay on the "Together We Can" theme and turn it in to the PTA. There are many fun and easy projects that your child can do, so please take a minute tonight and discuss this with them.

Parent letter #8 and spelling list is attached. This is due on Thursday, October 28.

Please notice the Progress Report that is attached to this Gillespie Gazette. Please know that this is not a Report Card, but instead a Progress Report "warning'. End of First Term is on October 29, so your child has this week to complete any missing assignments, fix any mistakes on assignments to improve scores. All work must be turned in by October 29 (Friday) The students have a 'Fix It" File that I put any work that can be corrected in their file. They have been encouraged to look at this often during the school day and fix the mistakes. Most of the students have been following this procedure. Some have not. If you are dis-satisfied with your child's first term scores, please encourage them to look in their "Fix It' File and get to work fixing. They can fix any score, except a test score. If they are willing to do the work, they can all receive high scores of 4 and 3 in all subjects. If you see a score of 50 next to an assignment, this means that it is either in the "Fix It" file or in their desk. Your student might want to give up some recess time to accomplish these fixes. They can also bring one home a night and get help from you to complete them. I don't encourage them to take all the assignments home at once, because there is time during the school day that they can use to do this work. If you notice a '1' next to an assignment, this indicates that your child did not do the assignment at all. Please know that they can fix this situation by October 29 by working hard and do the assignments that the other students have been doing all during first term. Just to let you know that our Skyward program does not allow us to plug in a zero for a missing assignment, we have to give it a low value of 1 point to have the parents know that the child was given this assignment but has chosen to not complete.

I will ask you to make sure the "Independant reading minutes are initialed in the Orange Planner. To receive a top score of 100% in reading minutes, your child should have read a total of 820 minutes by October 29. If your child has been reading twenty minutes a night, this will be the minutes totaled. Please remind your child to bring their planner to school every day this week, but particularly on Thursday and Friday the 29th...as I will be calling for them to check the parent signatures. Thank you, this is a very important part of their reading and language grade.

I loved having Lindsay being our student of the week. She showed a lot of leadership skills, and truly was my 'right hand girl" Thanks for the great poster.

We had a fun Red Ribbon Week and discussed "Saying No to Drugs" all week.

We also had a wonderful learning experience when the Natural Arts Museum came and taught the students about being a scientist and following the science process and learning about fossils. Our students were very well behaved and learned a lot.

Spelling List for this week:
1. weather
2. whether
3. missed
4. mist
5. friends,
6. excited
7. after
8. doctor
9. note
10. not
11. three
12. hose
13. straight
14. twine
15. twin
16. dropped
17. which
18. witch
19. loose
20. work

Congratulations to Bailee and Ashton for winning money in the Money Machine because they were so successful in selling Happening Books for the fund raiser. Thanks for everyone that participated in the fund raiser.

October 21

Reminder to send a boiled egg to school tomorrow for our Science Project.

Math Homework: page 67 problems (6-28)

October 20

Today the students had a great science learning experience. Ask them about it.

They were also introduced to the six traits of good writing and taught about what it means to be responsible. They were instructed to write an essay about responsibility and use two of the six traits of good writing. They were to use good conventions and "stick to the main idea of responsibility" They are to use a topic sentence to introduce their main idea. I will be taking a grade on this writing and they will be able to fix it as needed. So far the three that I have graded have been very good. If they have not finished this assignment, please encourage them to complete.

Tomorrow is Thursday and they will be expected to turn in letter #7 and the dictionary assignment on the spelling words.

Math homework is page 65, problems 1-6

October 19

Math Homework is page 64 (1-17)

October 18

I just want to make sure you scroll down and catch all the blogs posted. I have the Gillespie Gazette which is a couple of posts down written on October 13, but it is today's Gazette. Thanks.

October 18

Tell your kids thanks for singing to my daughter, Lachelle for her Birthday. I sure like your kids!

Remind students that Spelling Dictionary Assignment and Parent Letter #7 is due on Thursday. They have had more than seven days to complete these assignments.
Reflection Project is due Oct. 29
End of Term is Oct. 29.
Everything must be turned in and corrected by October 29 if they want a good report card!

Math Homework for Monday night is page 61 Problems 7-21

October 18

Gillespie Gazette...October 18

Blog address: www.gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

School: 446-3200
Cell: 623-7625
Home: 375-0024


Dear Parents,

Brigham is a new student from my home town...Phoenix, Arizona...so of course, I was crazy about him right from the start. He was a very fun student leader with lots of ideas and suggestions. Thanks, Brigham.

PTA Reflections Due (mandatory) on October 29. Your student will be assigned an essay on the topic of "Together We Can" if they don't have solid plans for another reflection project in the making. If your child has lost the entry form, please have them come get another one.

The students were excited to receive their recorders and get going on that. I noticed there were a couple of kids that would still like to order their recorders, so if that is your child, please know that there are a few more (we ordered a few extra) and they can receive one, when they bring in their money to pay for it. Recorders are only $4.50 and the book is $3.50. Recorder class is taught on Wednesday.

The students had a short week last week and since we didn't have a Thursday in school...I extended the spelling assignments (parent letter #7 and dictionary assignment) to be due on October 21, Thursday. Because of the longer time, I am hoping to have 100% of the students enjoying the spelling game with us.

Red Ribbon Week begins on October 18 and goes until Friday. Wear a red hat on Tuesday. Bring a stuffed animal on Wednesday, and wear a red Head Band on Thursday. On Friday, wear your shirt backwards. And all week and for the rest of your life, let's be DRUG FREE!

Math Homework on Wednesday (October 13) night was Page 60, problems 3-6.

This week I will be teaching your child about the six traits of a good writer. We will concentrate on teaching them about the importance of sticking to a main idea and writing a 'topic sentence" in their beginning paragraph. Please know that your child will have time in class to complete an essay that will be on Responsibility. This essay will be due on October 20, Wednesday. I hope they will all be responsible and get this essay written. Below is the rubric for how the essay will be graded:

To earn a grade of a 4: Student will have conventions that show 90% correct spelling, punctuations, and grammar. Students will write in cursive. Student will begin with a topic sentence and stick to the main idea of responsibility.

To earn a grade of a 3: Student will have conventions that show 80% correct spelling, punctuations, and grammar. Students will write in cursive. Student will stick to the main idea.

To earn a grade of 2: Student will have conventions that show 70% correct spelling, punctuations, and grammar. Student will write in cursive. Student will attempt to stick to the main idea most of the time.

To earn a grade of 1: Student will have conventions that show 50% correct spelling, punctuations, and grammar. Student will write in cursive. Student will turn in.

Please encourage your child to earn a score of 4 on this assignment.

I will be sending home a Progress Report next week so please encourage your child to have all assignments turned in and fixed (check Fix It File)

___________________________

Student name___________________
Parent Signature__________________

Or comment on BLOG

October 12

Don't forget...it is a half day tomorrow. Dismissal bell at 1:25. Have a great Fall Break.

Homework tonight will be easy...page 51 (1,2,3)

And look for homework tomorrow. It is a Wednesday and I need to have the students do a short assignment to keep me on track teaching them all they need to know in fourth grade. Thanks.

Dictionary and Letter number 7 isn't due until next Thursday...which is October 21.

October 11

Be sure to scroll down to the previous blog so you can read the Gillespie Gazette Blog and comment to get credit for reading it.

Math homework is page 59. It is only two problems, but please make sure they have written answers to the ABCD sections of one and two.

I sent home Parent letter #7 and the spelling list is inside the Gillespie Gazette....Please notice. I have also told the students there is a Dictionary assignment due. They might think it is due the end of the week, but because of the short week, I am postponing the due date to the following Thursday (October 21) That is the day we will play the assessment game for spelling. So if they get stressed about the assignment, please relax them a bit this week. Everyone should get to play the game since we have longer time to spend on the assignments.

Picture Day tomorrow...come with that great smile.

October 11, Gillespie Gazette

Gillespie Gazette...October 11

Email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us
school...446-3200
cell...623-7625
Home...801-375-0024


Dear Parents,

What a wonderful day with our County Fair, well behaved kids, and our first County Report was a terrific example to the rest of the class. we will hear the rest of them next week. Thank you to our parent volunteers:
Conner's Mom
Ronaldo's Mom
London's Mom
Courtnie's Mom
Jason's Mom
Thanks to all that donated soda pops. We had a perfect amount.

Tysten is a very nice young man. I enjoy working with him. His poster was great. He did a great job popping Bailee's balloon for her game and answering the questions from her report.

We have set a goal to try to catch up with Brayden on the amount of jumping jacks we can do. I could only do 80 in one minute. Brayden could do 92 for a class record. Most of the class was below 80. We are asking everyone to practice at home and during recess and once a week, we will test off and hopefully we will have a few more join the ranks of being a Gold Metal Student. Parents, give it a try. We are expected to do 100 in one minute.

Now that county reports are completed...please start looking at the PTA reflection Project that is due the end of the month. Students can register in and let me know the plan they are doing and if they don't have something in the making, by October 25, I will get them started on an essay titled..."Together We Can". Together we will achieve the goal of every student entering into the PTA Reflections. Let me know if you need another copy of the consent form that must be signed by parent. It is on the back of the packet that was sent home two weeks ago.

Recorders are here! Yippee!! We are engraving names on each one that was purchased. If you ordered one and haven't paid yet, we have it, but we will wait to engrave and give to the student when monies are received. I have two students that ordered but have not paid yet.

Spelling Parent letter was given to your student today. Check out spelling list below to review with your students.

School pictures are going to be taken on October 12. I sent home the info packets last week attached to the Gillespie Gazette.

We have a short week this week. It is Fall Break on Thursday and Friday, the 14th and 15th. It will be a short day on Wednesday, the 13th. Dismissal bell will be at 1:25.

Spelling List:
1. happily
2. breaks
3. broke
4. somewhere
5. news
6. chosen
7. holiday
8. London, England
9. which
10. they
11. laughed
12. published
13. hopped
14. hoped
15. a lot
16. more
17. Georgia

Your comment will record that you received this. Thanks

October 7

Hope tonight is not too stressful. County Reports are due tomorrow and perhaps the Pumpkin decorating project. Although, I think they won't actually be judging until October 11 (or so I hear) so it might be wise to save that for a weekend project.

Math homework is on page 45, problems 1-4. I told the kids to survey as many people as they want, but not to go over 30 minutes of surveying because they will need to make their graph. Hope they remember to have a title and also label the scale. Help them decide what scale to have (what to count by) This scale will depend on the survey results.
I did give them graphing paper.

October 6

Math Homework page 53 problems 12-22

Tomorrow their Cursive Penmanship Test is due. This was their in school assignment for spelling. Also the parent letter #6 is due

Decorate the Pumpkins by Friday.

County Fair Project is due on Friday. We have had lots of great floats turned in. To earn the Fantastic Falcon, they need to have their County Fair Assignments done by October 8.

October 5

Welcome to a new member of the Blogging Group...Rebecca's Mom. That means we have Courtnie, Max, Jason, Tenney, and Rebecca joining the Green Ranks. I will try, maybe have your students remind me that I will only have to send home 22 paper copies. Think of the trees I will be saving. Thanks for your comments because that lets me know you have read the Gillespie Gazette and I can credit your student.

Homework tonight is page 46 (problems 1-15) I am not sure what it has to do with math...but whatever. We are suppose to teach about Venn Diagrams so I did my duty.

I hope your child is excited about decorating their pumpkins. I REALLY want to win that pizza party!

County Report is due this Friday. Parent volunteers please be in the classroom by 9:00 on Friday, Oct. 8 so I can line you out for our County Fair jobs.

I am hoping that I can do a better job of explaining my grading system for any of you parents that are accessing Skyward and are confused. Let's discuss math first. I assign the students a review page for homework, to give them extra practice and one on one support from parents as needed. Then when the students come to school the next day, they grade their own papers and give themselves a score after I read off the answers. I then tell them their percentage score which they are supposed to write at the top of the page. Then the students are invited to know that if they scored below 70%, they are invited to stay in the next recess and let me help them understand the math concepts that they messed up on. I then call on one student (randomly selected) to come show me his/her homework and I check to see how he/she did, check to see if he/she graded it correctly and then enter the score into the math homework section under math in Skyward. If there is no grade next to your child's name, that simple means that he/she has never been randomly selected by me yet. The date of August 31 is the date that I first set up the "math homework" assignment...but I have graded twelve or more students since that day. They have opportunity and encouragement to fix their mistakes and bring it back to me fixed and I will then change their low score to 100% ( I will not bother to change grades until they have fixed all problems to 100%) This is what I do with the students that attempt to do their homework. If they made no attempt and then get randomly selected...I give them a score of 1 (out of 100) because Skyward doesn't allow me to give a zero for some reason. Then the student is encouraged to do the assignment to a 100% and then I only put in a score of 70 because they hadn't even tried to do the homework until they found out I was going to score them. I count it as "late" and they cannot get full credit for the late turn in, but 70 points is way better than one point. If your child has not been scored for homework yet, they have an * next to their name and if they never get scored (highly unlikely) by the time it is Report Cards, I will plug in 100 points and just suppose they have been doing well on their homework this entire term. If you notice in their math notebooks that they have been scoring low on lots of homework assignments, please help them or encourage them to get help from me so we can reteach them the concepts. Hope this helps clear up any confusion.

October 4

I had to call my daughter to find out what I did wrong in posting the Gillespie Gazette since I couldn't get it to publish. I think it is there now. I feel bad because old habits are hard to break and I actually sent home paper copies to all my students even though four of you are "green" Thank you to Courtnie, Max, Jason, and Tenny's parents who are doing the "green" thing. Give me another chance (week) to get better at this. Thank you.

Math homework tonight (Oct. 4) is page 47 Problems 1-8

Also a special sneak preview if you are a blogger is to tell you that I will be testing the students on page 44 on the math text book and so if you want to review the students to make sure they know how to do such problems...they will have an advantage.

County Reports are due on October 8, this Friday. We already had a float turned into today and it looked great.

Don't forget to do spelling letter #6.

Here is the spelling list for this week to review words with students...

Spelling List:

1. wolves

2. dear

3. missed

4. mist

5. threw

6. through

7. guard

8. injure

9. either

10. here

11. hear

12. break

13. wiggle

14. whirling

15. beginning

16. you're

17. your

18. except

19. sold

20. something

Gillespie Gazette October 4, 2010

Blog address: gillespiegazette.blogspot.com

Email: anna.gillespie@jordan.k12.ut.us

School: 446-3200

Cell: 623-7625

Home: 801-375-0024

Dear Parents,

Max has a sense of humor! I call him Mr. Max. We also have seen the dramatic side of him when we were singing a birthday song over the phone and heard his wailing cry. What a fun kid. Thanks for the great poster.

County Fair: October 8…County Projects are due on that day also. Please come prepared with game, float, oral report, and the county book finished. The web sites should be helpful. Take advantage of them. Please note (cause two parents have been confused.) There is no “written report” due. The students can use their notes (3 X 5 cards) to peek while they tell their oral report. Their game should be questions from their oral report so the other children will be encouraged to listen. It is not required, but lots of students like to bring treats as a reward for winning the game they have put together.

I am going to try to copy and paste this Gillespie Gazette onto my blog and “go green” If you are interested in going that way, just make a comment and I will know you have read the Gazette and will give your child credit for that. So far, I have five parents that are interested in doing the Blog approach versus the paper Gillespie Gazette. Think of the trees we are saving. Thanks for giving it a try. See Blog address above.

Parent letter #6 is attached and will be given to our blogging students also. Spelling list will also be on paper and on the BLOG. (if copy/ paste plan works)

Thanks to the parent volunteers and all the soda pops that have come in. We could use lots more two litter bottles of soda to make it more fun with more winners. Please thank these parents volunteers that will be helping us on Friday, October 8:

Conner Adams’s Mom…Tara

Ronaldo’s Mom

Jason’s Mom…Jana

Courtnie’s Mom…Katie

Londan’s Mom…Lindsay

Thank you so much. We will need to have you be in our classroom by 9:00 on October 8, so I can line you out.

I have attached a flyer explaining the PTA Reflections. This is due on October 29 and is a mandatory assignment from Mrs. Gillespie. I love the PTA Reflections and support it 100%. Please go over this with your child. They can do all sorts of fun projects and enter in different categories. They will be assigned an essay and entered into the literature category if they do not have another fun project going by October 25. They will be able to do that essay in class. But it will be much more fun for them to come up with a “Together We Can” idea on their own and enjoy the creativity.

Please notice the Pumpkin Decorating Contest flier. Our class can win a pizza party (and you know how much I love pizza and winning!) by having the students participate in this fun project. The students will be given the pumpkins to take home and decorate at home and then return to the school by October 11 for the judging. Each grade will have a winner so they will compete only against their same age group.

_____________________________________________________________________

Parent signature ________________________________________________

Student name______________________________________________

October 4, 2010

Yikes...I am hoping that I gave clear enough instructions about homework tonight. I am beginning to wonder, as I have had two phone calls already. The page number is 43, Problem #4. They only have to solve for their name...NOT THE ENTIRE CLASS! We will compare tomorrow the numbers of everyone. Sorry about the confusion!

Please know that page 42 (problems 1-8) was a review of chapter one and I invited all the students who missed more than three to stay in during recess on Friday so that I can reteach the concepts that they missed. We will be having a test next week and want them to be successful. I told them I would pull all the cards to black of students who scored 63% or below. This is considered below 70% and is looked on by Jordan School District as "flunking" and not understanding the concepts taught. I must help them understand. Please help your child to understand it is in their best interest to learn the concepts in chapter one so they can advance to chapter two with complete confidence. They will be able to re-do and fix the page 42 and show they have understanding and then I will change their grade to 100%. Thank you.

September 29

Thanks for all the positive comments about the blog. I think I am going to like this too.

Math homework is page 42 (Problems 1-8)

Hope everyone is doing okay on their County Projects. It must be done by October 8 to qualify for the Fantastic Falcon goal. Good Luck...do a little each day so the stress will be reduced.

Homework September 28 for Math is page 39 (Problems 12 a,b,c,d, don't do #13, but do 14-33)

Reminders: Parent Spelling letter #5 due Thursday, (9/30) Crossword Puzzle created by student from spelling words due Thursday (9/30)
County Oral Report, float and booklet, and game due October 8
No Written report is required unless they want to read notes for their three minute oral report.

September 27

Hey, someone actually read my blog...this is kinda fun. I commented on the comment and now my daughter (mentor) told me that I probably should not comment on the comment but instead, post a new blog.
The question was raised if you read the Gillespie Gazette on the blog, then can you just sign it on a blog comment instead of on the paper? And the answer is, YES! Just comment and then I will know that you prefer reading the Gillespie Gazette on the blog and will save paper (go green) and I will quit sending them home with your child. Your short comment will serve as the signature. And I do mean short. You can simply write a comment as short as this..."I read the GG" signed Katie and boom I will log that into my grade book and your child gets credit for it.

Here is what was assigned today, Monday September 27:

Three times each Spelling List
Crossword Puzzle due on Thursday September 30
Gillespie Gazette sent home
Spelling Parent Letter #5 (Crossword puzzle) due Thursday, September 30
Math homework page 38 (Problems 3-11)
Read for twenty minutes
Sign Orange Planner for reading minutes

Welcome to my First Blog Experience

Welcome to my first attempt at turning green. Thank you to my daughter for helping me set up this blog. I am responding to an idea given to me by Dannielle's mother suggesting I set up a blog. I am eventually going to attempt to post the Gillespie Gazette on my Blog giving parents the option of receiving a hard copy brought home by students and/or simply going to my blog. I am going to try to start posting homework and school assignments daily and see if that helps parents realize what is expected. My goal is to help us all be on the same educational page and help each child succeed and advance.

I will be posting every day, the math homework assignments and also all of the spelling assignments and their due dates. Please remember that each week the students bring home a Parent Spelling Letter homework assignment that is due on Thursday. This assignment is mandatory to being allowed to play the fun spelling game on Thursday. It is also mandatory to have the school spelling assignment completed by Thursday. The Monday parent letter (task 5) and the School assignment are both crossword puzzles. The parent letter crossword puzzle will be done at home and the school crossword assignment will be done during the school day. Students will create the puzzle using the list words given to them on September 27. I will help them with this assignment.

If you prefer to use the Blog and read the Gillespie Gazette from the Blog instead of the hard copy sent home on Monday. Just comment and let me know. Your posted comment will let me know that the Gillespie Gazette was received and the student will not be held accountable for getting the signature and returning it to me signed by parents.

If you do not comment, I will assume that you are not viewing the Blog and wish to continue with the 'old school' method. Either way is fine with me. Please know this. I am trying to do what works the best for each parent.

I do understand that each child is at a different level of "organizational skills" and this might be a help to parents that are wanting to help their child be successful, yet are confused by communication from their child as to what is expected. By using the Blog daily you will be able to hear it "straight from the horses' mouth" (idiom)

I am new at this, so please let's be patient with each other and see if this will even be worthwhile. I am hoping it is. I know there are several 6th grade teachers that use the blog so I am excited to give it a try.

Thank you...wish me luck.