Mrs. Bond's Blackboard

2012-01-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to the most wonderful group of fourth graders! As we prepare to begin 2012 together in our classroom, I wanted to take a minute tell you all how fortunate I feel to have such a GREAT group of young people and families to work with in this new year. I have been so impressed with your reading, writing, and math abilities, and I been delighted with your creativity and eagerness to learn during our first semester together. I have enjoyed watching you get excited about your learning and taking part in your enthusiasm during fun activities like our author's chair and our Thanksgiving play. What a talented bunch of you people you all are!!! I am looking forward to a productive, fun, and energetic new year. I can't wait to see you all very soon!

2011-08-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my classroom! My name is April Bond, and I am so pleased to be your child’s teacher this school year. This will be my 14th year teaching here in Goddard. Wow! Where has the time gone? I am committed to working closely with your family to make this year a success for everyone!

I am originally from Holcomb, Kansas. I earned my teaching degree from Fort Hays State University in 1998 and a master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from WSU in 2002. I am the proud mother of 3 boys. Michael is a fourth grader and Bradley is a 1st grader here at Earhart, and Treyson is 3. My wonderful husband, Adrian, is also a teacher in Wichita.

I feel very fortunate to teach here in Goddard with such involved and caring families, and I look forward to doing my very best to help your child have a happy, healthy, and productive 4th grade experience!

Kansas Day is Coming!

2011-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to our great state on January 29th!!! Did you know Kansas is turning 150 years old this year? Our class is learning about the history of our state and has begun our 'Famous Kansan" research project. The students will research a famous Kansan and write a report telling about that person's life and their connection to our state. Students should dress up as their famous Kansan and use at least one prop. A letter with further details is in your child's take-home binder today.

We are also planning on several other fun classroom Kansas Day activities to celebrate this occasion. We will even get to enjoy "Kansas Day at the Capitol". The public is invited to view the ceremony for Kansas 150 on the south steps at 10 a.m. Friday, January 28. The 30-minute event will be televised on Kansas PBS affiliate stations.

Finally, we would like to participate in "Bake a Cake for Kansas Day". The public is encouraged to take part in this grassroots effort to bake a birthday cake for Kansas Day. The advisory committee suggests that people share the cake with their community. Who knows? Maybe these gorgeous 4th grade faces will end up in the local newspaper! Are there any fabulous cake bakers/decorators out there who would be interested in making a Kansas Day cake (or I've done sunflower cupcakes before that are cute) for our class to eat on January 28th?

January News

2011-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of the super parents who helped make our first class "gem jar party" a success. My students have been working so hard to earn compliments, be kind friends to one another and be all-around good kids in order to earn "gems". They had a blast wearing pj's to school, watching a movie, eating lunch together in our classroom, enjoying some free choice time in our classroom, and eating root beer floats. Whew! What a fun day!

Please remember that 2nd quarter report cards are being sent home today. I have personally stapled each child's report card in their agenda on the January 7th entry. Let me know if you do not receive your child's report card. I am so proud of them all for their excellent grades. Good job, fourth graders!

We are looking forward to Math and Science Day on January 21st. This will be a fun day for everyone. Your donations of toilet paper rolls and 8 oz. water bottles with lids are greatly appreciated. Also, Mrs. Wilson is looking for volunteers to assemble items and stuff baggies on the 13th and Friday the 14th during the school day.

We are working very hard to prepare for state assessments. They will be here before we know it! We will take our Reading tests on Tues., March 1st, Wed., March 2nd, and Thurs., March 3rd. The math test will be taken on Tues., March 15th, Wed, March 16th, and Thurs., March 17th. Please do your best to schedule doctor’s appointments or trips around those dates.

As always, thank you for your support at home and for letting me work with such a GREAT group of kids!

Mrs. April Bond

2010-10-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

How can our first 9 weeks of 4th grade really be over so soon??? It is hard to believe! Grade cards will be sent home with your child on Friday, October 15th.

I want to give a big "THANK YOU!!!" to everyone who was able to help support our mitten tree fundraiser today by sending donations for our store and by sending money for your child to purchase items. It was fun for everyone, and we are looking forward to making Christmas brighter for a child in need. Thank you all for making this learning service project possible. I would especially like to thank Sheri Delmar and Jodie Menges for running the store for us. What a long day you ladies put in for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Did you know that next week is Red Ribbon Week at our school? By bringing in a food donation, students can participate in the following fun activities:

Monday, Oct. 18th - Team up against drugs – Wear clothing representing your favorite team.
Tuesday, Oct. 19th - Wake up! Don’t do drugs! - Wear your cool PJ’s
Wednesday, Oct. 20th - Don’t be wacked out on drugs! - Wacky hair (you know what to do)
Thursday, Oct. 21st - Saying no to drugs is no sweat - Wear those comfy sweats.
Friday, Oct. 22nd – Show your support for Red Ribbon Week! – Wear Red!

I am also looking forward to visiting with everyone at parent-teacher conferences the following week. Please call the office and schedule a conference if you haven't already done so. Kids are certainly welcome at conferences, but it is not mandatory. You do what feels right for your family.

Finally, don't forget about our fall party on Monday, October 25th. We will start with our costume parade followed by a party in our classroom. Mrs. Vickers has been working hard planning fun activities for the kids and has already purchased many fun projects and prizes for the event. What an incredible room mother she is! It sounds like the kids are going to be treated to a GREAT time. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to send goodies. Many have already sent them and they have gone home to Mrs. Vickers. My students are so lucky to have such great families!

Classroom Update

2010-09-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our first quarter of school is already half over! Time seems to be flying by! I can’t stress enough what a truly WONDERFUL group of kids this is! I am so impressed with their maturity and kindness towards all of our friends in our classroom community. They make me so proud of today’s youth each and every day! Congratulations to all of you for raising such great kids. You deserve a big pat on the back, moms and dads!

I hope that you got a chance to view your child's progress online through the district Skyward Family Access system where you are able to view your child's grades any time. As you probably already know, fourth grade is a transition year in which your child will still receive M's and N's on specific skill indicators, but overall subject grades (A’s, B’s, etc.) will be given as well. I am so proud of all of my students’ hard work and positive attitudes that are reflected in the grades they have earned so far.

We are looking forward to Grandparent’s Luncheon on Friday, September 24th. Fourth grade will eat from 1:05-1:40. I look forward to meeting the grandparents who will be able to join us, and they are welcome to spend some time with our class back in the room before or after the luncheon. (We may even have a fun interview for them to complete with their grandchild and a special project to present to them during that time.) I’m sure it will be a “GRAND” day! 4th graders who don’t have special visitors on that day are serving as school ambassadors to escort grandparents to classrooms and help younger students who don’t have visitors. They will be a big help to ensuring a successful day for us all!

Finally, please notice that there is a new "Spelling City" link on the side of my blog. (We got tired of the old spelling game sites already.) I have already entered the weekly spelling lists in my Spelling City account, so your child can access them from home and play the fun games available online through this neat website. I hope this makes it easy and fun for your child to practice at home for the weekly spelling test. Students were able to familiarize themselves with the site during literacy centers last week and should be able to navigate Spelling City on their own. Have fun!

Mrs. Bond

Classroom News

2010-08-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

Please remember that your child will bring home his or her first spelling pretest on Monday (practice test). This will allow you to see which words he or she is struggling with, and it helps me individualize spelling lists for the students each week. I have placed a fun "Hangman Spelling" link on my blog that already has the weekly words set up to give you an extra tool to use at home to help your child practice the words. However, nothing beats some one-on-one practice time with mom or dad!

Please don't forget to have your child read our weekly story selection "Because of Winn Dixie" on Tuesday night. He or she should have our reading textbook in their backpack that night. Encourage your child to model for you the fluent reader voices we will be practicing this week! I appreciate your help in making sure the textbook gets returned to school on Wednesday.

Also, we have only received about 10 boxes of kleenex so far. I'm afraid that won't last us throughout this school year. If you haven't sent a box with your child's school supplies yet, please send those when you can. In addition to that, we still have a few students without a separate pair of tennis shoes at school for pe. It isn't necessary to buy a new pair of shoes. A rock-free pair of old "kicks" would be perfect! I know this is such an expensive time of year for us parents, so whenever you are able to take care of these items, it is surely appreciated! :-)

Finally, I hope your child enjoyed the first week of school and is ready for a busy and fun week 2. I know I am! What a truly awesome group of kids this is! I hope to see many of you at our Shade Party on Tuesday night. I'll be the one chasing an ornery 2 year old around the playground!

Mrs. Bond

And We're Off...

2010-08-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to announce that we are off to a GREAT start to our school year. This is truly a very NICE and FUN group of kids. I am enjoying my time with them and look forward to a productive and entertaining year for us all. :-)

Tonight, in your child's take-home binder you will find several notes.

Wednesday, August 18th will be our first "book talk". Please have your child bring one of his or her favorite books to share with the class. They will tell a bit about the book and then explain why they liked it so much.
On Friday, August 20th we will make a classroom friendship mix for our morning snack. If you are able, please send an item for your child to add to our mix. Ideas include cereal, chocolate chips, raisins, marshmallows, M&M's, goldfish crackers, or any other dry snack food that you find appropriate. NO NUTS, PLEASE! :-)
Students are welcome to bring healthy snacks and water bottles each day.
When sending snacks, please be aware that we have a students with a nut/treenut allergy. Please do not send peanuts, peanutbutter snacks, almonds, cashews or any nuts for your child's snack. We are not allowed to have any nuts in the classroom this year. Thank you for your help in keeping all of our classroom family members happy and healthy!

Thank you for your help!

Mrs. Bond

WELCOME 4TH GRADERS!!!

2010-08-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my classroom! My name is April Bond, and I am so pleased to be your child’s teacher this school year. This will be my 13th year in education, all here in our great Goddard district. Wow! I am committed to working with your family to make this year a success for everyone!

I am originally from Holcomb, Kansas. I earned my teaching degree from Fort Hays State University in 1998 and a master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from WSU in 2002. I am the proud mother of 3 busy boys. Michael is a third grader here at Earhart. My middle son, Bradley, is starting kindergarten. My youngest, Treyson, is 2. My husband, Adrian, is also a teacher in Wichita.

I feel very fortunate to teach here in Goddard with such involved and caring families, and I look forward to doing my very best to help your child have a happy, healthy, and productive experience in 4th grade. I truly believe that all children can succeed in a classroom where they feel safe and engaged. I know this will be a great year for us all!

:-)Mrs. Bond

End of School Reminders

2010-05-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that the end of this school year has already begun. My how time flies when we are so B-U-S-Y and having so much F-U-N! Here are a few reminders and important dates for you to mark on your calendar:

May 13 is our CDS Field Day - 3rd grade participates in the afternoon.
May 14 is the last day to turn in all library books and materials.
May 21st is our CDS Beach Party in the afternoon. Kids are encouraged to wear OLD clothes and bring waterbottles, sunscreen, beachtowels and sunglasses. Students are not allowed to wear swimsuits or bring lounge chairs. The fire department will be here to spray down the kids, assuming they don't get called out first.
May 21st is also the deadline for meeting your 4th quarter reading goals. We have enjoyed reading Holy Enchilada from the Hank Zipzer series and are looking forward to a multicultural reading celebration on Monday, May 24th.
Thursday, May 27th is our last day of classes.

Happy Birthday to You...

2010-05-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating Mrs. Bond's birthday on April 26th! Our wonderful room mothers, Linda Gee and Tarena Winkle surprised us with birthday treats and a photo album full of pictures of this wonderful group of kids! How nice!!! Mrs. Bond was also thrilled to get a JCPenny's gift card from all of the students and their families! What an incredible gesture from you all. Thank you so very much! I appreciate your kind gift and birthday greetings. What a great bunch of families you are. I appreciate you all!!! Thank you for making my birthday so special!!!

Third Quarter Reading Celebration

2010-05-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our third nine weeks' reading celebration was a hit! We read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the students worked very hard to earn reading points. Each point resulted in a Wonka Buck earned for our readers. They then got to visit Mrs. Bond's Chocolate Factory to puchase candy with their money. Some lucky kids even found a "Golden Ticket" in their chocolate bar and won a special prize! Cool!

Students also got to rotate rooms where they played Wonka games online, played Wonka bingo, and watched the movie. Students who doubled their reading goal got to go to a special "Wonka lunceon" in Mrs. Bond's room where they ate pizza (no cabbage soup for us, even though it is in the book) and dip treats in our own chocolate waterfall (like the book). What a great reward and motivator for our readers as they have transitioned into reading big-kid chapter books this year! I am so proud of you all!!!

Thanks again to all of my students' wonderful parents for sending all of the treats and even providing our chocolate waterfall! You are THE BEST!!! Thank you to our incredible PTO as well for providing the money to purchase pizza for our kids who doubled their goal this nine weeks!

Skating Reward Party is a BLAST!!!

2010-05-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun skating as a reward for all of our students' hard work on state assessments! Thank you, PTO, for providing that reward for our kids. They certainly deserved it!

President's Day Play "By George"

2010-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

We had fun learning about our nation's first president and presenting a play to Mrs. Kress' class on President's Day!

State Assessments Coming Soon

2010-02-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

Please note that we will be taking our state reading assessments on March 8-10. State math assessments will be March 29-31. Please help to ensure that your child is ready to do his or her best by helping them get plenty of sleep and a good breakfast. We have worked so hard to help all of the students prepare for these assessments. I appreciate your help at home! I am confident that they are all ready and well prepared!

2009-10-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

HALLOWEEN FUN!

Thank you so much to our room parents, Linda Gee and Tarena Winkle, for planning such a fun party for our class. Your hard work and creativity was so nice! Thank you also to everyone who was able to send snacks and treats for the treat bags. We were also happy to see so many of you who were able to come to our parade and party. You are all so very much appreciated!!!

Caressa, Kelsey and Jalen are using their sense of touch to feel the items in the "monster lab". Austin, Quentin, Hailey, Briley, Lane and Melania are mugging for the camera.

Baby Jay (Brooklyn) thoroughly enjoyed all of the yummy treats that were sent!

Justin, Brooklyn, Robby, Luzianne and Riley with big smiles for the camera. :-)

Kelsey, Samantha, Drayton, Dalton, Caressa and Jalen were all dressed up and ready to party!

READING FOR THE RECORD

2009-10-10T13:09:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, October 8, 2009 Mrs. Bond's reading class worked to help set a new world record for the most people around the world reading the same book on a single day! We met our Kindergarten Book Buddies in the cafeteria for the activity. Each third grader had a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar which they read to their book buddy from Mrs. McAnally or Mrs. Dayhuff's kindergarten class. The third graders then helped their book buddies retell the story using a caterpillar pipe cleaner and pictures of each of the foods the very hungry caterpillar ate in the story. The kindergarteners then ended their pipe cleaner with a beautiful butterfly! After retelling the story, the kids all enjoyed a butterfly treat. Mrs. Martin, Hailey's mom, was so kind to come help us with the activity and pass out treats. I was so proud of all of the third graders for their patience and maturity as they led their book buddy in the activity, and I look forward to more book buddy activities throughout this school year!

2009-10-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to report that several of our students have already earned their CDS Reading T-shirt by meeting their first quarter reading goals. Please help encourage your child to read each night and either take an ar test the next day or do a written report so that I can record extra points on his or her pink goal sheet located in the take-home folder. Students have until October 16th to meet their goals! You can do it guys!!!

2009-10-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today it is October,
The tenth month of the year.
Summertime is over
And autumn weather's here.

How amazing it is to think that we have already entered autumn, and parent-teacher conferences are just around the corner. I look forward to visiting with all of you regarding your child's progress both academically and socially.

We have been very busy learning about various story elements and working on comprehension and vocabulary skills. We are especially excited to begin reading with our Kindergarten Book Buddies! Next Thursday, October 8th we will help set a new world record for the most people across the globe reading the same book on a single day along with our new book buddies. Third graders will read the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar to their kindergarten friend and then have a sequence activity to complete with them. If you have a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at home, PLEASE SEND IT as soon as possible. I have 15 copies, but am in need of 12 more! Thank you for checking those bookshelves at home.

In math, we have finished up our money unit and will continue to practice it a little each day to fully prepare for state math assessments. You can help at home by asking your child to count your change/money for you whenever you get a chance. Hands-on real world practice is always the best!

We have now begun reviewing addition with regrouping. Most students seem to do well with this skill. However, those who don’t have their basic addition facts memorized are so bogged down trying to figure out the simple facts, that completing an entire worksheet with four digit plus four digit numbers is OVERWHELMING to them. Please help your child by making sure your child is practicing math facts at least two times a week. Flash cards are always a great way to practice facts when mom and dad make it fun. We are also so fortunate to have internet today. There are so many fun and FREE websites where kids can practice math facts. Look at the bottom of my blog for some good ones. We are spending some time each day working on mental math skills and trying to help students build automaticity, but like everything else I still wish we could devote more time to it. Your help at home is so very much appreciated!

Picture Day Tomorrow!!!

2009-09-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Please remember that all students will take individual pictures tomorrow. Our class is not scheduled to take pictures until 1:10, right after lunch. I will do my best to encourage the kids to eat carefully and clean little faces before we go. If you would like to order pictures, you must send your envelope and money tomorrow. If you have lost your envelope, you can get more in the office. You can also let me know today and I'll send one home with your child. These are our yearbook pictures, so we do take everyone's picture even if you are not ordering. No bedheads tomorrow. :-)

Continents and Oceans

2009-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

We will have a test over the 7 continents and 4 oceans this Friday, September 18th. All students will bring home a study map tonight. Please help them prepare for the test.

Here is a fun song we sing to practice the names.
(It is sung to the tune "7 Bottles of Milk :-) on the Wall".)

To learn the 7 continents
Think of the letter A.
And when you're down to only one
An E will save the day.

There's Africa, Antarctica,
Australia, Asia too.
The oceans run between them
With their aters deep and blue.

There are also two Americas,
North and South you see.
Now we're comint to the end
Europe starts with an E!

Books, Books, Books

2009-09-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our first book order is being sent home on Friday, September 4th. If you would like to order some inexpensive books for your child and help earn free books for our classroom, simply return your child’s order by Friday, September 18th. Please make your check payable to Scholastic

You can now place your Scholastic Book Clubs orders online, if that is easier for you!

Browse all the great monthly Book Club selections at low prices and order online. Plus, our class earns a FREE Book every time a parent orders online.
Here's how it works:
1. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site.
2. Browse the titles with your child and place your order with your credit card.
3. Your order will come to me, and your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic's secure server. There's no need to send money to school.
4. After I submit the entire class order to Scholastic, your order will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home.
To get started, go to the Web address below and enter our class’s personalized user name and password in the sign-in fields on the right side of the page. Note: You do not need to create your own user name and password.

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs

User Name: MrsBonds3rdGrade
Password: ClubOrders

Ordering online is the most convenient way to use Scholastic Book Clubs. You can order anytime, right up until the online order due date. You'll also get instant access to over 500 additional titles plus online-only specials and discounts.

And don't forget: Every time a parent places an order online, we earn a FREE book for our classroom library!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank your help with this!
Mrs. Bond