Week One was Spectacular!

About Last Week...
On the very first day, students completed Who Am I? paragraphs and we spent the week reading them aloud to get to know each other. They ended the day with a team building activity called "Saving Fred" that required making a plan with a flowchart, and then working together to complete the task using only paper clips to put a gummy worm (Fred) into a plastic cup (his boat) in a gummy ring (his life preserver). It was great to see everyone working together to meet a goal!

What's important this week?
ELECTIVE CHOICE FOLDERS are in Monday Folders today. PLEASE be sure to number your child's top choices for each period. I need these back by Friday.

PLEASE TURN IN $6.00 for Agendas and all beginning of school forms sent home last week in the Monday Folder if you have not already. Thanks to all the families who returned these last week!

DAILY AGENDA SIGNING: for the first month of school, parents will sign agendas daily to show that their child has read 20 minutes and completed assignments. Completing homework is the child's responsibility, so if your child does not do the work, don't sign the agenda for them. If your child gets stuck on a homework question, have them circle the question and ask me in the morning. This is good feedback for me as a teacher, so that I know what areas need more reinforcement.

It has been a great start so far. I will be posting upcoming events and more information later this week! Please don't hesitate to email me at sandrews2@wcpss.net if you have any questions.

2015-2016 Welcome to Fourth Grade

 It is Sunday August 23, and tomorrow is the first day of school. You will not read this until tomorrow at the earliest. I hope you all had a fun-filled summer. I have been busy getting ready for our year over the past two months. This blogger page will be a spot to get information on our classroom events, assignments and school activities. I will post a new entry each Monday afternoon. 

Parents: Please follow this link to fill out a brief  information sheet for my classroom records:

 https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/18sBs3YT3uz2s6cYh4MhwUJbe7eF0jPRfQFdnfX7bfYc/viewform?c=0&w=1

All about Ms. Andrews

 This outfit in the picture was from Norway,
where my grandfather grew up. 

This is my kindergarten picture. I went to kindergarten when I was just 4 years old at Carrboro Elementary School. My twin sister Katherine was all ready to go, but I was not. My kindergarten teacher said that I was great at napping. Luckily, instead of sleeping away my education, I woke up and went on to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa and then to get my Master's degree in teaching from the University of Oregon. I have been teaching in Wake County since 2000. 

I live with my daughter and my cat in Raleigh. We love to get outside when the weather is nice. My favorite book is Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. I can't wait to get to know all of you in this year's class and read many exciting books and articles together.

I love teaching because I learn new things everyday. Helping students discover their talents and grow in their skills is very rewarding. Working together with parents is very important to me. Our classroom is a place where I want children to wonder, discover, collaborate and grow.

This summer I had the chance to go backpacking in the largest stand of Giant Sequoia trees in the world! My daughter Naomi (the tiny person in the blue jacket) and I went to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park in California in July.