Mr. Burn's Blog

May 27 - 30

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:23:37 GMT

The students did a great job on their state fair projects. They were a lot of fun to grade.

On Tuesday, children’s author Justin Matott visited Stargate and told us stories from some of the books he’s working on.

In science we took an open note quiz on the planets.

We are having our class party tomorrow, 6/3, from 12:45 – 1:45. Thanks to Mrs. Hahn and Mrs. Studt for helping with this.

Field day is Wednesday. They will need a sack lunch and appropriate dress for the activities. I encourage a hat, good running shoes, and sunscreen. The PE teacher, Miranda Lamonski, is looking for volunteers. If you’d like to help out, you can e-mail her at Miranda.N.Lamonski@adams12.org.

We have an early release Thursday at 11:30.

I want to thank you for all your support this year. Have a safe and fun summer.

May 19 - 23

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:29:32 GMT

Our overnight to the Denver Zoo was a success. I want to thank all the parent volunteers for helping out and the students who behaved so well. Way to go!

In science we learned about the “planet of the week” which was Neptune. We’ll have an open note test over the planets and space soon. I’ll keep you posted.

We also studied the rainforest by reading the book, The Great Kapok Tree. We completed a crossword puzzle about endangered species and watched a National Geographic video on animals of the rainforest.

Field day is on Wednesday, June 4^th. They will need a sack lunch. Our P.E. teacher, Miranda Lamonski, is looking for volunteers. If you’d like to help out, you can e-mail her at Miranda.N.Lamonski@adams12.org.

The state fair project is due tomorrow. They need to bring in their costumes also. They can change into them here. Also, they’ll need everything that goes along with their presentation. On Thursday morning, all of you are invited to visit our “State Fair” from 8:30 – 10am. Hope to see you there!

May 12 - 16

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:49:31 GMT

This Friday we are going on our overnight to the Denver Zoo. We’ll meet at the school lobby at 5 pm. They should have all their overnight stuff with them. (See the attached file on the 3/4 homepage called “Important info about the overnight” for what to bring.)

We visited the Denver Art Museum and Denver Mint on Thursday. The students were very well behaved.

In science we learned about the “planets of the week” which included Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. We did an experiment using a washer tied to a string which demonstrated the effect of distance on the orbiting speed of planets.

Our final project is the state fair project which is due on Wednesday, May 28^th. The students will do their presentations for their peers then. On Thursday morning, all of you are invited to visit our “State Fair”. More details to follow.

May 5 - 9

Mon, 12 May 2008 18:01:27 GMT

We’re visiting the Denver Art Museum and Denver Mint this Thursday. They will need a sack lunch. We went to see the Slim Goodbody Health Musical last Thursday at the Lorretto Heights Theater in Denver. We learned about all of the major systems of the human body along with some fun songs.

In science we learned about our “planet of the week”, Venus. We’re going to have a quiz over space TBA. It will be an open note quiz. We also had a guest speaker from Lockheed Martin come by and talk to us about space, Jim Paradise.

In social studies we finished up with Louisiana and reviewed for the test. Some of us presented our brochures to the class. (It was not required.) We took the states test on Friday.

Congratulations to Skyler Price for winning the 3/4 spelling bee. Stargate is competing in the district spelling bee next year.

Our final project is the state fair project which is due on Wednesday, May 28^th. The 3/4 teachers are assigning less homework the rest of the year so the students have time to focus on the project.

April 28 - May 2

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:59:11 GMT

We’re going to see the Slim Goodbody Health Musical this Thursday at the Lorretto Heights Theater in Denver. They will need a sack lunch. We’re also visiting the Denver Art Museum and Mint on Thursday, May 15^th.

In science we finished presenting our space stations.

Our final project is the state fair project which is due on Wednesday, May 28^th. The 3/4 teachers are assigning less homework the rest of the year so the students have time to focus on the project.

In social studies we finished up with Texas and studied the aspects of Arkansas. Their brochures are due this Thursday, May 7^th. They have the states quiz this Friday. They will need to know the capital, state bird or flower, a natural resource, and another interesting fact for extra credit.

On Friday we studied the planet Mercury. It’s part of our “planet of the day” lessons.

April 21 - 25

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:12:23 GMT

We are all set for the overnight at the Denver Zoo. We posted more info about the overnight on our 3/4 homepage under documents.

We celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday by watching the Dr. Seuss short called, “The Lorax”. (It has an environmental message.) Then we went out to the playground and picked up trash.

In social studies, we covered the natural resources, geographical features, and capital of Texas. Their brochures are due on May 7^th. The brochure template is on my homepage.

The student presented their space stations to the class this week. I’ve been impressed with the job they’ve done.

We’re going to see the Slim Goodbody Health Musical on Thursday, May 8^th. We’re also visiting the Denver Art Museum and Mint on Thursday, May 15^th. Field trip permission slips are due back this Friday, May 2^nd. (Please make sure to sign both sides.)

April 14 - 18

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:36:43 GMT

The students voted on which animals they would like to donate and here’s what they came up with: 1 water buffalo, 3 sheep, 3 llamas, 5 pigs, 2 heifers, 9 rabbits, 10 flocks of ducks, 3 groups of honeybees, and 2 sets of tree seedlings. Wow!

In science, we learned about some of the important astronomers in history such as Aristotle and Copernicus, and Galileo. We watched a video from Magic School Bus called, Lost in Space. Also, we read an article about the solar system from our Kids Discover magazine.

In social studies, we’ve been studying New Mexico and Oklahoma. We’re learning about the capitals, natural resources, geographical features, and much more.

Space stations and the one page report are due this Wednesday. (They may bring them in early if they want.)

April 7 - 10

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:04:26 GMT

The 3/4 grades have raised over $3,300 for the Read to Feed Campaign. I’m overwhelmed at how they rose to the occasion to help those in need. We’ll be voting this week to determine which animals we want to purchase for the less fortunate families.

In science, we read an article called, “How Big is Big” about the universe. We also reviewed the characteristics of each planet.

On Thursday, we reviewed the states we’ll be studying in social studies. Those states are New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. They will be creating a brochure on a state of their choice. The brochures are due on May 7^th. (The template is on my homepage.)

We get to build our own space stations as part of our science unit. They may use household items such as cardboard, aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, etc. They may also use Legos or any building blocks. The space stations and a one page paper are due on Wednesday, April 23^rd. (The space station sheet template is on my homepage.)

Overnight field permission slips are due back by this Friday. (Please remember to include a check for $35 made out to Stargate.)

March 31 - April 4

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:37:14 GMT

I’ve been very pleased with the generous donations to our Read to Feed program. We will add up the contributions and discuss as a class what animals or plants we want to purchase for the families. Thanks again for all your help with this.

This week in science we finished up with the human body unit. We colored and labeled the organs of the digestive system. We also watched an entertaining and educational video on the digestive system from Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

On Wednesday, we started our new science unit on space. I read the picture book, Postcards from Pluto, a Trip Through the Solar System. We discussed the characteristics and features of each planet.

We get to build our own space stations as part of our science unit. They may use household items such as cardboard, aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, etc. They may also use Legos or any building blocks. (The space station sheet is an attachment on my homepage.)

Overnight field permission slips are due back by April 18^th. (Please remember to include a check for $35 made out to Stargate.)

Just a reminder, we don’t have school Friday due to teacher in-services.

March 17 - 21

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:06:10 GMT

The students are done with CSAP testing for the year! I’m sure they all did a great job.

This week in science we visited Fiske Planetarium. We learned about clouds of gas that will one day form new stars, unusual pairs of stars, clusters of stars that form a halo around our galaxy, and much more.

We finished up our Read to Feed campaign with a Read-A-Thon this last Friday. Mrs. McPherson came in during literacy to read her favorite picture books to our class.

We’ll be collecting checks for the Read to Feed program after spring break. Please make your checks out to “Heifer International: Read to Feed.”. Thanks for your participation in this program. I hope you and your families have a wonderful spring break!

Overnight field permission slips go out today. They are due back by April 18^th.