By Colleen Vaughan on 10/29/2007

Vaughan's Voice - October 29, 2007

Please send in coloring books for our community service project and anything you would like to donate to our classroom "Family Night" Gala basket by Friday, November 2nd.

Our Halloween party is on Wednesday, October 30, from 12:30 to 1:30. Please have your children bring in costumes that can be put on in the classroom. There is no way to fit 120 kids in the bathrooms to change and put on make-up. Please adhere to the rules of the school for costumes.

Science - We are wrapping up our unit on weather within the next 2 weeks. This week we are finishing up clouds and learning to read a thermometer. For an in-class project, we will be keeping track of the temperature and looking at clouds to study the relationship between the two.

States (Mrs. McLeod's class) - There will be a test on Tuesday, October 30th on the seven states that we have studied for the last 5 week ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 10/21/2007

Vaughan's Voice - October 22, 2007

I will be attending an Everyday Math conference on Monday and Tuesday so I will have a substitute on those days. If you need to reach me, I will be checking my email a few times each day.

What's happening this week in Theme:

Weather: Our plans changed last week, so we will do the experiment on direct and indirect sunlight on Monday. On Wednesday and Friday (and into next week), we will be learning how to tell the temperature on a thermometer, different clouds types, and doing a small in-class project to go along with what we learned. We will be wrapping up our unit on the weather in the next couple of weeks so there will be a final test and project coming soon. More information will be sent home next Monday. Our next unit will be economics.

States (Mrs. McLeod's class): We will be learning about Alaska this week and continue to work on our passports. Students should be starting ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 10/11/2007

Vaughan's Voice - October 15, 2007

Thank you so much for attending conferences! It is so important for parents and teachers to communicate, so please to email or call anytime you have a question or concern.

Please remember to send in any items for the Gala basket and coloring books for the community service project.

Upcoming in Theme:

• Learn about the states in Mr. Burns' class.
• Weather
  • Experiment on the sun.
  • Learn more about wind and the different instruments used to measure wind speed and direction.

Last week in Theme:

• "Lady Liberty" presentation. Dramatist Barbara Daubenspeck dresses up as The Statue of Liberty and gave us a fascinating account of the way she came to be.
• States - The students the middle southern states with Mr. Burns. He has sent home ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 10/7/2007

IMPORTANT: We have our conference schedule finalized. Please check your child's Monday folder for the conference day and time that has been assigned to you.

Please remember that this is a short week. The students get out of school at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 10th and do not have school on Thursday and Friday, October 11th and 12th.

Coming up this week in Theme:

• For our studies on weather, we will be watching a movie on wind and doing an experiment on the sun.

Last week in Theme:

• Reviewed what we have learned so far about the Scientific Process and weather.
• Learned about air pressure.
• Began our states unit - learning where the location, capital, abbreviation, and major geographical features.  

By Colleen Vaughan on 10/7/2007

3rd/4th Grade Community Service Project:

For our first 3/4 community service project we will be collecting coloring books for children that have been referred to Social Services. We would like our students to EARN the money to buy a coloring book to donate to this cause. Please have them do a chore around the house, such as load and unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, help clean the house, or clean their room.

Gala Basket:

The Stargate Gala is coming up in November! Our class is going to make a "Family Night" basket to donate for the auction. Please donate at least item for the basket. Ideas may be: games, popcorn, movies, etc.

Check your child's Monday folder for more information on both of these.

 

By Colleen Vaughan on 9/30/2007

Please check your child's Monday folder for a sign-up sheet for conference times. The sign-up sheet is due on Wednesday, October 3rd. Remember, the earlier you get your form turned in, the better your chances of getting the time that you request.

Here's what we did last week:

• Conducted an experiment with balloons to prove that air has weight.
• Took notes on the first four layers of the atmosphere .
• Third graders learned more cursive letters and fourth graders are continuing to practice and perfect their cursive writing.
• Map project to assess if the students have learned directions, compass rose, and parts of a map.

Coming up this week:

• More weather experiments.
• Begin studying states in the six regions of the United States.
• Continue cursive writing.

By Colleen Vaughan on 9/22/2007

I would like to thank everyone who came to Curriculum Night. I really appreciate your interest in your child's education.

Coming next week:

• Maps and Globes - we will be studying the continents, equator, latitude, and longitude.
• Weather -  another experiment showing that air has weight. We will be studying air pressure and temperature.

Here's what we did in theme this week:

• Monday, Sept. 17th was Constitution Day. It's a law that we must teach the kids about the Constitution on day in September every year. We studied the Preamble to the United States Constitution and sang a song about it from School House Rock.
• We did two experiments about air and how it takes up space and is all around us. Ask your children about what happens when you turn a cup upside down in a container of water and what happens to crackers if ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 9/14/2007

This week we began switching classes for literacy and math. It was an big adjustment for me, but I have to say that the students did very well. Here's what we did in theme:

• Talked about the difference between weather and climate the different things that effect weather.
• Learned the 4 steps to the scientific process and the need to think "out of the box" and be good observers when we do experiments. Ask your child how we were able to balance a tile on the edge of a piece of paper.
• Created our own product maps.
• Learned how to use a map key/legend and scale.
• We found cities in Colorado that begin with each letter of the alphabet using a grid map.
• Mrs. Amos came in and talked to us about teasing and bullying and how to deal with those issues if they happen to us.
• In read aloud, we began reading a true story called " ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 9/8/2007

I have already sent home this letter home with your child, but just in case you didn't get it I decided to add it to my blog also. So here it is:

I would like to tell you a little about myself. After spending many years in the business world as a bookkeeper, I decided to go back to college and get my teaching license. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It took two intensive years of classes, many late nights, and lots of hair pulling, but I earned my Master’s degree in education and teacher’s license from Regis University in May.  Last fall I was a student teacher at Hunters Glen Elementary and in the spring I held a three-month substitute position at Carbon Valley Academy, a charter school in St. Vrain School District. Both of these were in third grade.

Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 9/8/2007

This week was another busy and tiring week of testing, but we are finally finished! The 3/4 team teachers will be finalizing our needs-based literacy and math groups the beginning of this week. Hopefully we will be starting those classes by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Homework folders will be sent home starting Monday. They must be taken home and signed by a parent everyday, even if they do not have any homework. 

I have put some weather websites at the bottom of my blog page under "Useful Links" for your child to access at home.

Here's some of the highlights of our week:

• We continued our unit on map skills. We're still working on our directions and have been singing the song "Never Eat Slimy Worms" to learn North, East, South, and West. We learned about five types of maps including political, physical, weather, product, and population and learned about map keys/legends.
&l ... Read More »