Dear parents/guardians,
    The end of the school year is fast approaching. I wanted to fill you in on what special events are happening this month.

1.  Friday, May 17 - Students will not have school. Teachers will be scoring their Interim Tests in Writing and Math.
2.  Tuesday, May 21 - Students will be enjoying Field Day. We will have activities in the morning starting at 9:30 and again in the afternoon at 1:30. There will be instruction taking place during the rest times. Children should come to school lathered in sunscreen. They should also bring 1-2 water bottles if it's a hot day.
3.  Thursday, May 23 - The fourth grade will be going to the Museum of Nature and Science. We will leave school at 9:15 and return around 1:30. Students should pack a sack lunch and beverage for this trip. We will  be seeing the IMAX presentation of the Mastodons and then viewing the exhibit. We will also be looking in other areas of the museum when we first arrive at the museum. Volunteers are not needed for this trip as our class sizes are small, and we will have our very talented student teachers with us. Sack lunches are needed for this trip. Four students and I are having the lunchroom pack our lunches. Everyone else will need to bring one from home.
4.  Friday, May 24 - Yearbook signing will start at 2:45. Yearbooks are still available. The deadline is fast approaching to order them.
5.  Wednesday, May 29 - The fourth grade will be spending much of the morning at Observatory Park for our class picnic. Feel free to bring a lunch and join us. We will be serving pizza to the kids. Room parents are arranging for a cold dessert (popsicles, etc.) and beverages. Send your child covered in sunscreen that day, please. They may bring outdoor games, balls, etc.
6.  Thursday, May 30 - Students will attend an assembly from 1:30-2:15. At this assembly the Penny Harvest Team will be presenting checks to the nonprofit organizations they chose to benefit from our fundraising efforts from earlier in the year.
7.  Friday, May 31 - I will be rewarding those students who have 15+ Wizard Hats this trimester with a snack and a movie rated PG. I believe at this point that the whole class will be participating!
8.  Monday, June 3 - I would like you to join us for teatime and a celebration of your students' writings at 9:45.  Students will be reading aloud in 3 circles to share some of their writing this year.  
    Also, students will be meeting the 5th grade teachers for next fall! Hopefully this will ease any anxiety they might have about entering 5th grade. I will also be collecting textbooks and chapter books this day. So, please check at home for any of my books and the school's books that are are sitting around the house, under beds, and in dresser drawers. I'd appreciate your help with this.
8.  Tuesday, June 4 - this is the last day of school for students. Report cards will go home this day.
9.  It's time to stock up on books for summer reading. I sent the catalog order forms last Thursday. Book orders are due Monday, May 20. You may order online or send the order to school, and I will complete the order here.

I have enjoyed working with your students this year and wish you and them the best in the years to come!

Mrs. Durkee

 

It's been a while since I've written. But, better late than never! I have taken some photos of your wonderful kids in the last few months. In February we went on a field trip to the Young Americans Bank. Ameritowne is on the 2nd floor of the bank building in Cherry Creek. Here are William and Bianca at AmeriTowne. They are standing in front of the mutual funds office looking to make a purchase. 

The medical center was busy all day meeting with patients and offering them advice for a healthy lifestyle.

Besides all of this fun, we have been working hard to build our skills and content knowledge. In Math we have been working on geometry, fractions, decimals, longer multiplication and division, and now we're adding percents to the list. Parents, please check the Thursday folders for the family newsletters in math. They are a wonderful resource for you and should help you if your child has any questions on homework.

There's never enough time in the day for science. But, we do cover it slowly. We are finishing up the ecosystem unit this week and moving on to physical and chemical properties after Spring break.  With Ameritowne done we are focusing on states in Social Studies. Students will be studying and reporting on a national park as well as part of the literacy nonfiction curriculum.

 TCAP ends on Wednesday this week for the 4th grade. The class worked hard on the exams and deserve a restful, fun holiday next week.
Mrs. Durkee

Dear Parents/Guardians,
    January is a busy month. Students are working on their realistic fiction book reading and report which is due the last school day of the month. They have seen examples of what is expected and a book report packet was sent home to remind them and share with you the book report expectations. We will be working on the difference between theme and main idea as well as the literary elements of fiction here at school. The literary elements are setting, characters and their traits; theme; summary with a good topic sentence, problem and solution; and a critique. Many of the kids were not sure about reading this genre, but they are finding they enjoy it.
    In Math, fourteen of the students have moved on to division facts. Of the 14, four have mastered their division facts! Those that have not mastered their multiplication facts will be spending part of their recess in with me over the next few weeks until they can demonstrate mastery. We have begun long division in Unit 6. Mastery of facts makes this unit much easier.
    Before winter break we completed the poetry unit. I hope you will read the poems I have added to this website. Also, we are hard at work preparing for AmeriTowne. The field trip will be February 12. Students can opt to order a sack lunch from school or bring one from home. If your child did not pay for the trip at the beginning of the year by collecting Spelling sponsors, please send the twenty dollars by the end of the month. If you are having hardships at this time, please give me a call, so arrangements can be made. This is a valuable learning experience for the kids.
    Stop by to see the classroom pond aquariums. We are now studying ecosystems in Science.
Have a great month,
Mrs. Debbie Durkee
    

Dear UPark families,
    The weeks slip by when you're having fun and are engaged in activities that challenge your mind. In Math we are in the middle of Unit 5 about double digit multipication and estimation. Hajar, Blake Jaeyeong, Sam Bianca, Owen, Peter, Aidan, Sigge, and William have mastered their multiplication facts and are now working on their division facts! Keep practicing at home about 10 minutes every night.
    Recently, we have had speakers from the fire department visit our school. We learned to always be prepared for an emergency. Designate a meeting place in case you are separated from your family. Check the fire alarms in the home each month and practice stop, drop and roll while protecting your face with your hands. Everyone should know two safe exits from the house in case of an emergency. On Tuesday we watched a video about how fast a fire can move through a room. There's no time to waste in exiting a burning building. In the smoke trailer we practiced how to exit a burning structure as the "smoke" spread through the trailer.
    Finally, we have started the Young AmeriTowne economics unit. Now, we will begin to learn the basics about running our own businesses when we get to AmeriTowne in February. But, there is one small itsy bitsy problem. And, here it is...when we go to Young AmeriTowne, we will need two parent volunteers to help from 9-2:00 on the day of the trip at the Towne. Just let Mrs. Durkee know if you're interested.
Have a great winter break,
Valerie, Hajar and Mrs. Durkee

PS  We will be having a Winter Break party on December 20 at 2:00. We plan to watch the movie
Happy Feet and eat healthy snacks. If you do not want your child to see this movie, please give Mrs. Durkee a call.

Dear UPark families,
    October is always a very busy month. Halloween was a fun time. The class finished their Science erosion unit, and the kit was returned to the Science office. It is now time to move on to Social Studies where we will be studying the peopling of the U.S. In Math we are wrapping up Unit 3 on multiplication and division facts and number stories. Unit 4 covers decimals and their uses. Students will learn about place value to tenths and hundredths and how to compare and order decimals. The Family Math Letter was sent home in the Thursday folder. Please continue helping your child practice their facts. Responses should be rapid and accurate by now.
    The class has been researching topics in order to write their feature articles for writing. The kids are working on the drafts now and will soon be publishing their stories. In reading the kids continue to learn more reading strategies to help them become better readers of nonfiction text. Our next unit the class will learn about poetry. Figurative language and imagery are a focal point in this unit.
    This month we had a grade level spelling bee. The winners were: 1st Peter Carpenter, 2nd Nick Pratt, 3rd Holly Franzen, 4th Sander Squibb, and 5th Dana Adibifar. These 5 students will go on to the schoolwide spelling bee on Thursday, November 29.
    We had special guests from Junior Achievement in November come to discuss business with the class. The kids enjoyed the activities and games. Our guests were students studying some aspect of business at DU and were fabulous as mentors for the kids.
    I had planned to have photos for you of our various activities, but unfortunately the chip got stuck in the school camera and had to be broken to remove it from the camera. Perhaps, I'll have some awesome pictures of the kids for the next newsletter!
    Please continue to do head checks of your children. Another student in class has lice. I think we'll go back to using lockers for a while. They have seen doctors and are following the appropriate steps to become louse-free.

Have a very relaxing Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Debbie Durkee














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Dear UPark families,
    Our school year has had an exciting start. Back to School Night, the learning landscape dedication ceremony, fundraisers, learning the classroom rituals and routines, testing for reading and writing, the 4th grade Spell-A-Thon, and now Curriculum Night for parents this Thursday evening have kept all the teachers and students very busy. Whew! On top of all that, the class has covered Unit 1 (geometry) in Math. The test will be this week, Wednesday. Encourage your child to study their journal pages and worksheets. In Science, we studied the effects of weathering on tombstones in the first chapter. In further chapters, we will look at weathering and erosion on a larger scale. We start Social Studies this week and will learn about the different types of social scientists. Students will need to bring artifacts from home in a small paper bag. Directions will be sent home for completing this activity this week.  In writing the students are writing small moment stories. They are learning to write great leads and endings, to be a peer editor, to use a rubric to improve their writing, and how to generate ideas to write about.  Finally, the students are learning to make better choices for their independent reading choices.  If your child is making more than 3 errors (not counting proper nouns) without coaching when reading one page of the book, then the book is too hard for them to read independently.  Many in the classroom have been picking books way above their abilities.  Miss Gourlay and I have listened to many read, and we are directing them to books at a more appropriate level.  Many of the books in the classroom library are mine.  I do allow students to take them home. Please help them to remember to return them when they finish.  I love to share my books and am doing this on the honor system.
    At this time, students should be collecting money from their spelling sponsors. This helps pay for the field trip and materials for Young AmeriTowne ($20).  Leftover funds go toward the field trip to the theatre in April. We will view the new Disney film that ties into Earth Day. In the past we've viewed Cats and Gorillas.  This ties into our science unit on ecosystems.  And finally, if there are still funds, the money goes toward purchasing pizzas for the 4th grade end of the year picnic.  Thank you for supporting the 4th grade in raising funds for these activities. 
    Please take a moment to welcome my apprentice teacher from DU, Miss Ainsley Gourlay.  She has graduated from DU with a degree in Psychology and has returned to study elementary education through the DU master's program.  She will be at UPark Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for the 1st two trimesters. She'll be here four days a week for the last trimester.  Ainsley will be working with all of the students as the year goes on.  She will be a great asset to the classroom!
 
See you soon,
Mrs. Debbie Durkee