What a Week It Was!

Good Afternoon,

Conference week is always one of my favorite times of the year. It offers a wonderful opportunity for families to connect and for students to showcase the incredible progress they’ve made. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for your support throughout this week as students proudly presented their learning. The 4th graders truly shined, beaming with pride as they shared their accomplishments, and I’m excited to see what else they will achieve this school year. Today’s celebration was well-deserved, and I hope you felt the same sense of pride and excitement I did as we all celebrated their growth and enthusiasm for learning.

Week in Review:

Leader in Me: This week, we talked about the importance of planning. We have been working on our long term vision and next steps we can take to achieve our dreams. Work together to create a vision board that represents everyone’s goals and dreams. Consider sharing a picture of the finished product with your learner’s teacher.

Writing: Writers focused on several key activities to strengthen their writing skills. They practiced for upcoming conferences, working on presenting their work confidently. They also spent time drafting essays with the goal of creating a publishable piece. Finally, the week ended with a celebration to acknowledge their progress and achievements in writing.

Math: Mathematicians focused on understanding and applying fractions. They explored division and how it connects to fractions through the concept of "Fair Shares." They also investigated the relationships between equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and improper fractions. To deepen their understanding, students modeled equivalent fractions with the activity "If This is One-Third..." and applied their fraction knowledge in a hands-on way with the "Egg Carton Fractions" activity.

Reading: Readers focused on developing their skills in analyzing texts closely and thinking deeply about what authors want readers to understand or feel. They examined various nonfiction texts, including Weather Watching Past and Present and Tools of the Trade, with a special focus on text structure and the author's craft. Readers also worked on understanding how nonfiction authors achieve their goals and applied these insights in their post-assessments to show their growth. Activities like Dodging Disasters and Storm Chasers helped them explore both text structure and the use of author’s craft in nonfiction writing.

Content: Students discovered the basics of how their eyes work, and figured out some of the causes of vision problems. In the activity, Eye Model, students developed a working model of a human eye. They used a magnifying lens as a model of the cornea to explore how the structure of this lens is related to the function of our eyes. Students went further into the workings of the eye, exploring the function of their iris and pupil. In the activity, Pupil Card, students added a smaller pupil to the eye model that they created in the previous lesson. Then they observed how the changing size of the pupil controls how much light enters the eye.

  • Thank you to a parent who shared this great resource which can benefit your 4th grader and family! Every fourth grader in the US is eligible to receive a free pass for their family to visit America’s natural wonders and historic sites, which accesses hundreds of parks, lands and waters for an entire year! Visit everykidoutdoors.gov/rules.htm for more information and to get your pass!


A Look Ahead:

  • DATE FOR MADISON FIELD TRIP
    • Thursday, December 19th. 
    • We try to accommodate all chaperones as we know this is a popular field trip for all. If you could get permission slips turned in sooner than later it would be greatly appreciated to help us with the planning process!
  • November 19th & 21st - Conferences
  • November 19th & 21st - Book Fair
  • November 21st
    • Recorders are due back to school on Thursday, November 21-Day 1 for their next belt testing day
  • November 22nd - Early Dismissal
  • November 27th-29th - NO SCHOOL
  • See below on information from the District for subbing opportunities!


That's all for this week!

Have a great weekend!


Mr. VW


Do you want to make a difference in Kaukauna? 
Would you like to help your child's school out? 
Do you like kids?
Are you good with kids? 
 
Then you should become a KASD SUB!! 

Talented and skilled substitute teachers and educational assistants are critical to our district. Becoming a sub aids in the instructional and procedural continuity of the district. We are so thankful for our wonderful subs! 

To become a Certified Substitute Teacher the state requires a minimum of an associate's degree and the completion of an 8 hour Substitute Training Program - in person or self guided modules from the comfort of your own home - through CESA 6 (see first link below). Once the 8 hours are complete, you will receive the certification of completion. You will then log onto the Department of Public Instruction website (DPI) (see second link below) and apply for the Short Term Substitute License. In the application, DPI will require you to upload your completion certification from the substitute training program. 

Here is the link to the CESA 6 substitute training program: 

https://www.cesa6.org/teachers/educator-licensing/substitute-teacher-training

After the program is complete, here is the link to DPI - where you will need to go after you acquire the certificate from CESA: 

https://dpi.wi.gov/licensing/apply-educator-license/sub-permit

To become an Educational Assistant Substitute no degree or certification is necessary! You just have to like kids and be reliable! Please log onto WECAN, and apply today to become an EA sub. Your school and district thank you!

Both positions - Certified Subs and EA Subs - are posted on WECAN.  Here's the link:https://wecan.waspa.org/    Please apply when you're ready and I will reach out to you once your application comes through.  

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions. 

Thank you!



Holly Parks
Human Resources and Business Services Associate
Kaukauna Area School District



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