Gardner Gazette
APRIL 2021
SPRING BREAK
IAR TESTING
There is no remote option for the assessments. Parents of students who are remote, please complete this survey. Email Mrs. Washausen at jwashausen@wcusd5.net with any questions.
During these two weeks of April, please encourage your child to eat a healthy breakfast and get plenty of sleep the night before. Please arrive to school by 8:00 a.m. to ensure enough time to be ready to start the assessment at 8:10. We will be encouraging students to do their best but not to stress about the assessments. We are confident that our teachers have done a tremendous job this year to prepare students during the pandemic.
GARDNER GETAWAY T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST
Here is an opportunity to show your skills in art design. Gardner is in need of a slogan and t-shirt design for this year’s Gardner Getaway. Any Gardner student can enter their design into a contest. The final design will be voted on by the whole school. Yes… That’s right… BY YOU and YOUR PEERS!
Here are the rules:
Design must be school appropriate, including the wording.
The shirts this year will be white so the whole design should in the colors of orange and black with a white background.
All designs should be submitted to the office by April 16th.
The whole school will vote on the best design on April 23rd.
The winner of the shirt design will be awarded by having their design on shirts for the whole school!!
Remote students: Please drop your design off at the school office or in the cabinet (but please let us know it is out there).
In person learners will receive a hard copy of this letter at school as well.
Here is what you need to do to enter:
Come up with a slogan for this year’s Gardner Getaway.
Make sure you have clear lettering and numbers.
Make sure your design is in orange and black colors.
Turn your design in before April 16 to your teacher or the office.
Make sure your name and teacher’s name are on the back of your entry.
Any questions contact Mrs. Dillard at adillard@wcusd5.net.
OUTSTANDING STUDENT
VFW ESSAY WINNERS
YOUNG AUTHOR
The ROE received 208 Young Authors manuscripts! How awesome is that. There are some very talented young writers in our schools. The Young Authors page on their website is published. On it, you will find the names, grades, titles, and teachers of your Young Authors. The page can be found at: https://www.roe45.net/young-authors.html#/. Audio recordings of select stories will start appearing on this page over the next few weeks. (The ROE will choose one student from each of K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 for each school building.)
A WORD FROM COACH HOGAN
4TH GRADE NEWS
Spring has sprung! The warm, sunny springtime days are calling our learners outside! While school is still in session, it is important for us all to remember that this year´s fourth quarter is not the same as last year. We are still covering new material. We still assign homework daily. Here are some ideas for keeping those brains in shape along with the rest of the body.
Allow your child to do their homework outside! Fresh air is good for the brain.
Spring sport practices or games in the evenings? Take along a book to read or math flashcards to practice in the car on the way.
Keep your learners on the same bedtime/wakeup routine. The sun is going to bed later, but we still have to rise and shine early each day.
Remind your learners of this important fact-- They will never again have a school year like this one. They are making history! They need to pay attention to, and be engaged in everything this school year has to offer.
Rest assured that we will continue to offer the best educational experiences- infused with as much fun as possible- until the last day of the school year.
5TH GRADE NEWS
Hard to believe April is here and the school year is in the final quarter of the year.
Here are a few reminders to help your fifth grader finish the year strong. First, if your child is a remote learner, be sure to encourage your child to watch all of the lesson videos posted on the daily student agenda. Second, students should be checking their email daily. Third, make sure all assignments are completed and turned in on time. Lastly, if your child is struggling with their work, whether they are remote or in-person, they should reach out to their teacher for help.
As we begin the month of April, students will be finishing up their second unit over fractions with dividing and multiplying fractions. We will be starting Unit 6 over multiplying and dividing decimals. In reading, students are enjoying the book Maniac Magee that addresses topics such as homelessness, discrimination, and friendship. In writing, authors just finished up their first run at opinion writing. Now they will pick another topic to write an informational paper. Lastly, your budding scientist is starting the last unit of study of the year which is how energy transfers through the ecosystem. They will investigate food chains, what plants need, and the importance of decomposers. As you can see, the fifth graders have a busy start to the new year.5th GRADE BAND NEWS
5th Grade Band will start band lessons the week of April 12th. Band information was sent home with all 5th grade students. The band information can be found on google classroom under the music topic. The sign up forms and rental arrangements are due April 7th. If renting from Nottelmann’s Music, the instruments will be delivered to school on Friday, April 9th. I can’t wait to listen to all of the great sounds that will happen in the band room.
MUSIC NEWS
What’s Sounding in the Gardner Music Room?
Music classes will be learning how to read and play the notes on the treble clef staff using tubes. We will be reviewing musical elements from the previous quarters. The fourth grade will begin looking at the families of instruments and learn how to join the band. Each week there is a worksheet to complete and turn in by the next music class. The worksheets are a review and practice of the music ideas we learn about in class.
Rhythm Raptor Challenge Award
The rhythm raptor challenge round 2 winners from 4th grade are Mrs. Ahren’s class and Mrs. Cooper’s class, and 5th grade is Mrs. Lloyd’s class. We are all becoming great rhythm readers.
Remember if you are remote learning check your google classroom. Each week there will be lessons and assignments posted on google classroom under the music topic for your class. Please complete the lessons each week. Your music grade will include the remote learning assignments.
A WORD FROM OUR READING TEACHER, MRS. JONES
April showers bring May flowers….. And showers are certainly making their way through the midwest. I actually love the rain… It is the perfect time to cuddle up with a book. Although there is much reading to be done with the regular classroom homework, your student will improve his or her reading skills by reading material that they enjoy. You can help your child select easy material that is interesting for them. Hobbies, sports, favorite heroes, pets, and even TV shows can be the basis for selecting material that will keep them interested. If they don’t like what they are reading, it certainly won’t be any fun for them. Some ideas to help your child to develop a love of reading are:
-Plan a reading dinner. Announce the meal in advance. That night let everyone bring a book to the table. Talk about each family member’s choice and read excerpts aloud.
-Encourage reading in bed. Help your children develop the read-in-bed habit. Push lights-out time back 15-20 minutes if your child is in bed and reading.
-Keep reading materials in convenient locations in your home. Encourage your child to use them.
-Also, let your son or daughter see you reading, too. Share books and stories from your childhood. Pick a favorite to read together. Be sure to share memories from when you first read the story.
All of the above work perfectly for rainy days or just to add into your daily routine. This makes for an easy way to talk, think and discuss what your kiddo is reading which promotes comprehension. In additon, they will also be needing a reading book for IAR so it is the perfect time to get into a book!!! Win-Win situation!!! We, as teachers, are always here to help too. Please feel free to ask for recommendations for books. Happy Reading.
APRIL CALENDAR
- April 1st -5th - Spring break
- April 6th - Classes resume
- April 12th, 13th, 14th - IAR testing - English - 4th & 5th grade
- April 15th, 16th, 19th - Science Assessment - 5th grade only
- April 20th, 21st, 22nd - IAR testing - Math - 4th & 5th grade