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Hi Parents!

For those of you new to Ignite and new to me as a teacher, my name is Nicole Keech. I’ll be teaching 4th and 5th Grade ELA/Social Studies this year. I graduated from East Carolina University with a BA in English Literature (minor in Ethnic Studies) and a MA in English (Multicultural and Transnational Literature). My daughter Abigail will be in 1st grade this upcoming year at Ignite. In addition to teaching at Ignite, I have also taught First Year Composition (FYC) at East Carolina University and currently teach FYC at Pitt Community College. I love writing and books (I mostly treasure Multicultural Literature – specifically Jewish and Arabic immigration literature – and Southern Lit), and believe one should be well-read in various genres to be successful in other academic areas. I believe students are an integral part of the learning process and not a target at which information should be hurled, therefore I teach with a student-centered approach. It is my belief that students have to take ownership in their own learning in order to be fully invested (and isn’t it much more exciting that way?). I will do my best to communicate with you at all times about the school and your child, but if you have specific concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail me (nkeech@ignitepitt.org) or come by.

Your child’s 4/5 team will be as follows:
Nicole Keech – ELA/Social Studies
Kathleen Pierce – Science, EC
Lindsay Elks – Math

Supplies: 4/5 has moved to the “new” wing which is separated from the older wing by a crosswalk. Some of you have already seen the supplies list for 4/5. This was from last year and reposted again for this year. For 4/5 ELA/Social Studies, I will ask students have a 1 to 1 1/2 inch binder with pocket dividers.

Student Mailboxes:
Each student will have a mailbox in the classroom. They will be responsible for checking it daily (when they come in) for graded work, parent handouts, and missed work. If you are in the building, you may also come check your student’s mailbox.

I will be using Remind to communicate with parents about important events, last minute notifications (as soon as I get information, I will send it to you), emergencies, etc. You can also use it to reach out to me. You can download the Remind App or use the website www.remind.com. 4th Grade will be split into a 4A and 4B group, but there will only be one Remind account. See below for Remind Codes:
4th Grade Remind code: search @keech4 or text @keech4 to 81010
5th Grade Remind code: search @keech5 or text @keech5 to 81010

***There will be a 4/5 Blended Class with a mixture of 4th and 5th Grade Students. For now, just sign up on Remind for your appropriate grade level above, and I will move you to the 4/5 Blended Group once that roster is finalized.***

I update this blog at a minimum once a week (usually on the weekend before the school week starts), but often I post more than that. You will find what I hope will be helpful information throughout the school year including weekly homework, anchor charts as I make them, upcoming events, class happenings, pictures of students and their work, etc. Once I post a blog, I send out a Remind text stating a new blog is available.

Some of the resources I use in the classroom (that your child can also use at home with their login):
–NewsELA (non-fiction texts)
–StoryBird (creative writing)
–SeeSaw (for journal writing – you will have access to this – they typically write in journals every other day for about 10 minutes at the beginning of class)
–NoRedInk (for grammar)

Some parents have reached out to me asking if I have a wish list. I do have one below if you feel inclined to get anything for the classroom (and thank you, in advance, if you do!), but please do not feel obligated. I’m looking forward to seeing you all next week at open house.

Mrs. Keech

Upcoming Events:

8/9/17 (Wednesday): K-2 Open House (6-8pm)
8/10/17 (Thursday): 3-7 Open House (7-9 pm)
8/14/17 (Monday): First day of school

June 8

My children will not be reduced to a number.

Parents,

Tomorrow your children will be told their EOG scores and you will receive written correspondence with their scores next week. Some soared and made tremendous growth. Some made great progress. Some didn’t change as much and a few scores make no sense whatsoever based on what they have consistently been doing. No matter what the number says, it does not tell me how smart your chid is. It does not tell me how thoughtful they are or how sharp their critical thinking skills are. It does not tell me about their individuality or reflect all the “ah-ha!” moments they had.

Many of you are aware of a letter Ms. Stricklen wrote to her students about her own personal struggles with testing. I, too, was not a good test-taker. I did “okay” on tests, but my teachers could never understand why my EOG scores didn’t reflect the work I did in class. I froze up on tests and overthought the questions. It’s as simple as that. I say that as someone who has been succcessful academically, as someone who went on to graduate from graduate school (and subsequently turned down acceptance into a PhD program to focus on my family — and maybe to avoid taking out more loans!) and has strong relationships with her professors to this day. Most of you know I also teach college writing. My students do not have tests. They have assignments, reflections, papers – but never tests. That’s because 1. testing takes the passion and excitement out of writing/literature and 2. they are assessed only by me (and the manner in which I choose to assess them) – their teacher who has been with them all semester and who has seen what they have produced and what they are capable of. Unfortunately, that is not how K-12 works in North Carolina. Regardless, I know what your children are capable of. I have seen their minds work, the questions they ask, their progress, how they collaborate with others, and the work they have produced – and that has told me everything I need to know. I will continue to remind them of this as they receive their scores, and I hope you will, too.

Great love,
Mrs. Keech

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings | LEAVE A COMMENT

June 3

Weekend Blog (Week of 6.5.17)

Parents,

It’s that time – EOGs. While we all know the EOG does not measure a student’s intelligence or abililty and while it may not be how we all prefer to assess students, they still are incredibly important. Testing will take place Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (Science — not for 3rd or 4th grade), and Friday (EOG make-ups). I wanted to provide breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday to students, but I found out we are unable to do so because we aren’t part of the lunch program. It is incredibly important students are at school on time those days. We will take attendance at 8:05 and begin testing shortly after. Some tips and reminders for these days:

Make sure students eat a well-balanced breakfast (nothing too greasy since we don’t want stomach ache)
Make sure students get good rest the night before
Make sure students are wearing comfortable clothing appropriate for the weather. I have seen many children wearing sweaters and long-sleeved shirts. If they are comfortable with that, that’s fine, but we definitely don’t want them to get too hot. Preferably something that can be removed (like a pullover or sweatshirt) if they do get warm.
Most importantly, remind students how smart and capable they are. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this with all the anxiety around testing. I know what they can do and you know what they can do — we just need to remind them so they believe it themselves! I will have a handwritten note to give each student on Monday as well as some small end-of-the-year gifts, but we want them to feel that confidence from everyone at home and at school. The more confidence, the better!

On Monday, 4th grade will have an end-of-the-year party during lunch. I have had parents volunteer to bring chips and donuts or cookies (thank you!). If you feel inclined to bring something during lunch, please let me know. I have plates, and I plan to pick up whatever we are still in need of.

Again, thanks for all you do as parents and volunteers. It really does take a village!

Reminders:
6/6-6/9 (Tuesday – Friday) – EOGs/Early release at 1 pm (after school is open until 6 pm)
6/13 – Field Day for grades 3-6; last day of afterschool (6/12 – Field Day for grades K-2).
6/14 – last day of school/end of year celebrations – 1 pm dismissal – no afterschool
-Yearbooks ($20) can be purchased by going to strawbridge.net and using the school code 112118. Or you can make checks payable to Strawbridge and pay for at the front office. We will have a day where students will be able to have yearbooks signed by staff and peers.

Have a great week!

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings, General | LEAVE A COMMENT

May 29

Weekend Blog (Week of 5.30.17)

I hope you are spending some quality time with your family relaxing and making memories on this Memorial Day weekend. This is the last week before EOGs begin so we will be working hard on tying up loose ends, reviewing, and getting ready for next week. Neither 3rd nor 4th grade will have any more spelling tests moving forward, as the end of the grading period is ending. In addition, there will be no homework. Please see below for what we will be doing next week.

What is my child learning this week?

3rd grade will be focusing on reviewing material we have already covered as well as reviewing key items for the EOG. We have an exciting day planned this week where students will become surgeons and dissect textual elements/features of nonfiction texts. Stay tuned for pictures!

4th grade will be finishing up unit 7 and will have their unit assessment on Thursday. We will be reviewing material from the unit in preparation of their assessment on Thursday. Anytime we have in between will be dedicated to editing/revising cause/effect essays. At this point, their essays should be entirely written, but need polishing and rewriting. This will probably carry over into the next week after EOGs since we only have a four-day week and need to review.

Enrichment will be watching a documentary on Misty Copeland and discussing the film afterward discussing different types of barriers people face. Students will continue to work on StoryBird (which they love!).

Reminders:
5/30 – Regular 3:00 dismissal resumes
6/2 – EOG Pep Rally; last day of specials
6/7-6/8 – EOGs, 1 pm dismissal (after school will be available until 6 pm)
6/9 – EOG makeups, 1 pm dismissal (after school available until 6 pm)
6/12 – Field day for grades 3-6
6/13 – End of Year celebrations for grades 1-6
6/14 – Last day of school – early dismissal

Yearbooks ($20) can be purchased by going to strawbridge.net and using the school code 112118. Or you can make checks payable to Strawbridge and pay for at the front office. We will have a day where students will be able to have yearbooks signed by staff and peers.

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Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings | LEAVE A COMMENT

May 19

International Day

Parents,

I just want to say how proud I am of 3rd and 4th grade for all the great presentations they did on International Day. Countries were assigned by homeroom, so I worked very closely with 4th grade on their Qatar research. Below are some pictures from 4th grade’s Qatar presentation. I have to say that they did all of this themselves. They scavenged for cardboard and paper and pieces of cloth to make a replication of a hospital in Qatar, a Qatari home, a basketball court, and an airplane model. They completed the research themselves (with guidance from me) and chose their own topics based on their own interests. I am so, so, so proud of their creativity, research, and ability to engage the other students and staff members with what they learned. If this was a graded assignment, they all deserved an A+. Special shout out to Kailayia, Luonzo, Dakota, and Maybrie for presenting our Qatar projects on behalf of the 4th grade. I am so proud of every single one of you!

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings | LEAVE A COMMENT

May 15

Blog for the week of 5/15/17

Parents,

I hope you all had a nice weekend and Mother’s Day. I apologize for the late blog. I’ve been battled a sinus headache for most of the weekend, but am feeling a bit better today. See below for class activities we will be doing this week:

What is my child learning this week?

3rd grade will be reviewing the suffixes -ous (“full of”), -ive (“relating to”), -ly (“in a __ ___ way”), -ful (“full of”), -less (“lacking”) and will also review quotation marks/punctuation placement, and capitalization. Spelling words can be found on 11.2 of the workbooks (some of these words are repeats). We will be practicing spelling words with the sounds /ae/, /k/, /s/, /j/, and /n/ which I will also post them below. The spelling test will be on Friday. We will sort words according to their sounds (letters in black) and make meaningful sentences with the words. We will begin learning about singular and plural possessive nouns, as well as reviewing proper/common nouns.

3rd grade homework:
Monday – Complete 9.2/9.3
Tuesday – No homework
Wednesday – 12.2 in workbooks
Thursday – No homework/spelling test on Friday

4th grade has no spelling words this week as we are a few days ahead. We will continue practicing subject-action verb agreement. Students will be working on their second and third body paragraphs of their cause/effect essay this week. We will be performing two vignettes this week to help with writing our essays about the cause/effects leading up to the American Revolution. We will introduce pronoun-action verb agreements and review the prefixes im– and in-. 4th grade has PE this week so they should bring swimming clothes to go swimming on Friday.

4th grade homework:
Monday – Finish cause/effect essay (introduction and body paragraph essay)
Tuesday – Complete 7.3 in workbooks
Wednesday – Complete 9.3 in workbooks
Thursday – Complete 9.1 in workbooks
Friday – No spelling test

Enrichment – Since Thursday and Friday is our rescheduled International Days, enrichment will spend a good part of the week working on their specific country projects.

Reminders/Important Dates:
5/26 – Last day of 3:30 dismissal (return to normal 3:00 dismissal)
5/29 – Memorial Day Holiday/No school
6/7 – 6/8 – EOG (may have a 1 pm dismissal on these days)

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings, 4th Grade Homework, Enrichment/Genius Hour, General | LEAVE A COMMENT

May 12

Happy Mother’s Day!

I just wanted to wish an early Happy Mother’s Day to all the 3rd and 4th grade moms out there! Thank you for being dedicated to your children’s education, for working on homework with them, being involved in the classroom, and for sharing them with me each day.

We enjoyed having the 4th grade moms (and grandmas) come spend the morning at Muffins for Moms.

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings | LEAVE A COMMENT

May 8

Weekend blog 5/8/17

Parents,

Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weekend we had here in Eastern North Carolina. We only have a few more weeks before the EOG and the end of the school year. I also wanted to thank all the parents/students who showed appreciation this week to the teachers. Ignite has the sweetest, most thoughtful students. Thank you so much for making my week!

What is my child learning this week?

3rd grade has started on their Astronomy unit (Unit 7). We will review spelling words with the spelling pattern /n/. We have two class periods carved out for either review of conjunctions or lapbook writing (so we can wrap this project up). We will be identifying cause/effect in sentences and practicing using different conjunctions to join simple cause/effect sentences. We will review previously studied suffixes as well as add double suffixes (-ous or -ful and -ly) to words. On Friday we will take our spelling test for words with the pattern /n/.

4th grade had a task hunt last week in preparation for their unit test. Each group was required to complete each station (correctly) in order to move on to the next station. I loved watching each student participate, and they seemed to love the competition! Pictures are posted below. 4th grade will have a spelling test on Friday for content words related to the American Revolution. Like 3rd grade, 4th grade is also practicing identifying cause/effect in a sentence. We will do several activities in regards to cause/effect this week. Additionally, 4th grade will be writing a cause/effect essay based on events that lead to the American Revolution. We will take this step-by-step beginning by writing an introduction paragraph, moving on to body paragraphs, and finally a conclusion paragraph. 4th grade will also learn about transitional words (words used to smoothly lead into a sentence or paragraph). We will practice the root word “port” (meaning “to carry”). Last week, we read a vignette about the American Revolution where students were able to volunteer for different speaking parts. We will read another this week. 4th grade will begin identifying subjects/predicates in a sentence and adding the prefixes im- and in- (meaning “not) to our prefix wall (while also reviewing other prefixes meaning “not” including un-, non-, dis-, il-, ir-). It will be a busy (but fun) week in 4th grade this week! Below you will find some charts I will be using in class that may help you at home with your child.

Enrichment was privileged to have Cadence’s parents join us (with donuts!) for Cadence’s Genius Hour presentation. Cadence completed her Genius Hour project on the weather, engaged the class with questions, and answered her peers’ questions confidently. Awesome job, Cadence! Last week we also constructed our own marble mazes, constructed buildings (or other creative makings) with craft sticks, and planted catgrass eggheads (pictures below) which we will continue to monitor. Students also played Oregon Trail for the first time. It was special to share this with them because I first played it in 4th grade. I really wanted to introduce this to them because it requires critical thinking and cause/effect. I was a little scared that the outdated graphics would disinterest them, but they loved it! This week, students will make memory books of their year at Ignite. We’ll do small enrichment activities between this, but that will be the focus of this week. We are still waiting for our second round of penpal letters from Spain. I’m told that they are putting together some information about their area for us.

Reminders:
1. Spelling test on Friday for both 3rd and 4th grades. More students have been bringing water bottles to school. Thank you!

Cadence – Genius Hour project on weather

Cadence – Genius Hour project on weather

Eggheads. Soon they will grow hair (like chia pets — hopefully) and they will be able to bring them home. Students are interested in seeing if the roots crack the egg shells. Stay tuned.

3rd grade working hard in small group

4th grade Unit 6 review (task competition)

4th grade Unit 6 review (task competition)

4th grade Unit 6 review (task competition)

3rd grade spelling words

4th grade spelling words

4th grade homework

3rd grade homework

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings, 4th Grade Homework, Enrichment/Genius Hour, General | LEAVE A COMMENT

April 30

Weekend Blog (Week of 5/1/17)

It’s hard for me to imagine we are already beginning the month of May. We have about a month and a half of school left! I saw some of the kiddos at the Spring Carnival yesterday, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun! We had a busy week of MAP testing last week, but will get back into the grind of things this week. A big THANK YOU to all the 4th grade families who donated to our “Family Night” basket!

What is my child learning this week?
3rd Grade is beginning Unit 7 (The Solar System) this week. We will introduce spelling words and test on those words on Friday. We will discuss what homophones are (words that sound like, but have different meanings and may be spelled differently) and begin sorting words based on spelling patterns. We will add the conjunctions “so” and “or” to our list of studied conjunctions. Students will learn to identify the cause and effect in a sentence using the conjunctions “or” and “so.” We will add the suffixes -ful and -less to our suffix wall and practice making more complex/compound sentences by adding adjectives and adverbs. Group one should be finishing their lapbooks/typing up essays this week using Google Docs.

4th grade will be reviewing Unit 6 (Geology) for the first half of the week (see study guide below) and will take their Unit 6 assessment on Wednesday. We will begin Unit 7 (The American Revolution) on Thursday by reading a play based during the American Revolution. We will review comma rules (see picture below), introduce the root word port (Latin meaning “to carry”), and learn about cause/effect (see chart below). Later in the unit we will begin writing a cause/effect essay. There will be no vocabulary for 4th grade this week since we are ending a unit and beginning a new one.

Enrichment will participate in some hands-on activities this week. We will have an engineering activity where students will replicate famous architecture of their choice using different crafting materials. Students will make their own marble maze and also (if we have time) make eggheads with eggshells. We will have Genius Hour this week on Tuesday and Friday.

Reminders:
The weather is getting warmer. Students should bring drinks with them to school or a water bottle (highly recommended) to refill throughout the day.
Scholastic flyers went home with 4th graders last week. Please let me know if you would like to order anything.

3rd grade spelling words

4th grade study guide

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Enjoy some pictures below from last week.

Writing watermelon rhyming poems

Summer’s almost here. We’re hanging in there!

Words of encouragement for the EOG.

Playing an EOG card game

Enrichment made simile sandwiches

Making our simile sandwiches

Watermelon rhyming poems

Gabby and Se’riyah being silly

Recess jump rope tournament

More simile sandwich making

Category: 4th Grade Class Happenings, 4th Grade Homework, Enrichment/Genius Hour, General | LEAVE A COMMENT

April 23

Welcome Back!

I hope you all had a restful, but fun Spring Break! We are down to the wire — only 6 more weeks of school before the summer. Monday begins the 8:00 – 3:30 schedule which will run through May 26th. The daily schedule has changed a little bit because of the extended time. This week we will have MAP testing Tuesday through Friday.

MAP Schedule
Tuesday – Math
Wednesday – Language
Thursday – Reading
Friday – Science – 5th grade only

Because of MAP testing and the new daily schedule, I will only have a full day of instruction with each class on Monday of this week. There will be no vocabulary and no homework this week.

4th Grade – the time I have with 4th graders this week will be spent on reviewing Unit 6, as they will have their assessment next week. Assessment date TBA. 4th grade has swimming this week.

3rd Graders will not start Unit 6 (Norse Mythology) until next week due to the limited time I will have with them this week. We will focus on lapbook writing and discussing author’s purpose, inference, main idea, etc., during the time we have.

Enrichment – Since April is National Poetry Month, Enrichment will be working on several different poetry activities this week, which I hope they find fun. They will learn about different poetic devices and then apply them to their own writing. If we have time, students will be able to work on Genius Hour projects.

Reminders:
4/24-5/26 – 3:30 dismissal
4/25 – 4/27 – Spring Book Fair
4/26 (Wednesday) – Kona Ice Day
4/28 – Relay for Life
4/29 – Spring Carnival

Below are some pictures from Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R Day):