Keep Your Eyes Peeled...
For the Fort Lupton Press to be issued on Wednesday, May 17th! Eight students from Mrs. Jeffries' class are having their poetry professionally published in the Young American Poetry Digest and that accomplishment will be celebrated in a newspaper article!
Important Dates / Reminders:
- Monday, May 8th: No School for Students
- Friday, May 12th: Butler-wear day!
- Monday, May 15th: Last day to bring in white tee-shirts for tie dye-ing for field day!
- Friday, May 19th: Field Day!!
- Monday, May 22nd: End of Year Awards Assembly (If your child is receiving an award, you will receive an invitation to the assembly in their Wednesday folder soon!)
- Thursday, May 25th: Annual Talent Show and Last Day of School!!
Science Experiments!
4th Grade students have been rotating for science time to work on different experiments using the scientific method! Students asked one of four questions:
p.s. Don't forget! If your child qualified for the Rockies game, the game is tomorrow! Students should bring a sack lunch and money for anything they choose to buy at the game!
- Does mint actually cool things down?
- How can we make a solid from a liquid?
- Can we separate salt from saltwater?
- Who has better short-term memory, boys or girls?
p.s. Don't forget! If your child qualified for the Rockies game, the game is tomorrow! Students should bring a sack lunch and money for anything they choose to buy at the game!
Jog-A-Thon Fun!
Our students had a BLAST raising money for Butler and having fun running in our jog-a-thon during specials today!! A special congratulations to Mrs. Richards' class for taking second place in raising the most money for our school! Here are some pictures of our runners:
PARCC and Updates!
PARCC testing is underway and our students are working so hard! I am incredibly proud of how they are all taking their time, showing their work for every problem, and thinking critically to problem solve. Next week we have three tests:
Here are some other upcoming important dates to mark on your calendars:
Thank you for all of your continued support as we help our students show what they know on the PARCC test!
The 4th Grade Team
- Monday: Math test #4
- Tuesday: English Language Arts (ELA) #1
- Thursday: ELA test #2
Here are some other upcoming important dates to mark on your calendars:
- Friday, April 14th: No School!
- Monday, April 17th: ELA Test #3 (Our last PARCC test!!)
- Thursday, April 20th: Butler Walk-a-thon!! (I will be passing out tee shirts the morning of the 20th)
- Wednesday, April 26th: Battle-of-the-Books Competition to be held in the Butler Library
- Thursday, April 27th: Rockies Day!! Students whose attendance makes them eligible will be notified soon.
- Monday, May 1st: No School for Students, PD Day for Teachers
- Wednesday, May 3rd: Talent show auditions will be held after school.
Thank you for all of your continued support as we help our students show what they know on the PARCC test!
The 4th Grade Team
Spring Break!
Dear families,
We hope that you have a wonderful spring break, and that you have many opportunities to spend time together as a family. Remember, reading together is always a great opportunity to bond with your child!
We will be starting PARCC testing when we come back from Spring Break, and tests will be spread out over three weeks. During those three weeks we want to encourage students to eat healthy, and get a good night's sleep. During those three weeks fourth grade teachers will not be sending home reading logs, nor expecting planners to be signed. Students will have math homework on Monday, April 3rd and Tuesday April 4th, but then not again until Tuesday, April 18th. We hope that this break in homework will give students the opportunity to relax, recharge, and come to school ready to kick PARCC butt! :) Please see below for testing dates, and further information about expectations.
Have a great week, and thank you for all of your support!!
We hope that you have a wonderful spring break, and that you have many opportunities to spend time together as a family. Remember, reading together is always a great opportunity to bond with your child!
We will be starting PARCC testing when we come back from Spring Break, and tests will be spread out over three weeks. During those three weeks we want to encourage students to eat healthy, and get a good night's sleep. During those three weeks fourth grade teachers will not be sending home reading logs, nor expecting planners to be signed. Students will have math homework on Monday, April 3rd and Tuesday April 4th, but then not again until Tuesday, April 18th. We hope that this break in homework will give students the opportunity to relax, recharge, and come to school ready to kick PARCC butt! :) Please see below for testing dates, and further information about expectations.
Have a great week, and thank you for all of your support!!
PARCC
Dear Parents,
The time for testing will arrive soon! Students are scheduled to take the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exams in English Language Arts (ELA - reading & writing) as well as in Math. These tests are as follows: 4 60-minute math tests and 3 90-minute ELA tests. Here is our schedule:
We will not be having any reading logs for the three weeks of testing, April 3rd-April 21st. There will also be minimal math homework. Parents / students can expect math homework on the nights of April 3rd, 4th, 18th, 19th, and 20th.
If you have the opportunity, I recommend that you explore the available practice tests online by visiting these websites:
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/english/
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/math/
We thank you, parents, for all of your support and effort this year in helping our students be successful. Please contact us if you have any questions: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Thank You,
The 4th Grade Team
The time for testing will arrive soon! Students are scheduled to take the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exams in English Language Arts (ELA - reading & writing) as well as in Math. These tests are as follows: 4 60-minute math tests and 3 90-minute ELA tests. Here is our schedule:
- Thursday, April 6th: Math #1 and Math #2
- Friday, April 7th: Math #3
- Monday, April 10th: Math #4
- Tuesday, April 11th: English Language Arts #1
- Thursday, April 13th: English Language Arts #2
- Monday, April 17th: English Language Arts #3
We will not be having any reading logs for the three weeks of testing, April 3rd-April 21st. There will also be minimal math homework. Parents / students can expect math homework on the nights of April 3rd, 4th, 18th, 19th, and 20th.
If you have the opportunity, I recommend that you explore the available practice tests online by visiting these websites:
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/english/
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/math/
We thank you, parents, for all of your support and effort this year in helping our students be successful. Please contact us if you have any questions: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Thank You,
The 4th Grade Team
A Few Updates
We can't believe it is March already! We have been working hard on writing our non-fiction chapter books, which students are very excited to share with you next week at conferences. We have also been studying the sun and the moon, including how their positions in the sky change each day/night. Here are some important upcoming dates:
We look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next week!
The 4th Grade Team
- Thursday, March 2nd: Read Across America Day (Wear red and bring your favorite book to school!)
- Tuesday, March 7th: Our students will be walking to the high school planetarium for a presentation in the afternoon.
- Wednesday, March 8th 4-8pm: Parent Teacher Conferences
- Thursday, March 9th 4-8pm: Parent Teacher Conferences
- Friday, March 10th: No School
- Sunday, March 12th: "Spring Forward" - don't forget to turn your clocks forward one hour!
- Friday, March 17th: Saint Patrick's Day
- Thursday, March 23rd: Spring Picture Day!
- Monday, March 27th - Friday March 31st: Spring Break!
We look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next week!
The 4th Grade Team
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Important Events
Just a few reminders of dates for the coming weeks:
- Tuesday, February 7th: Language Arts Benchmark (afternoon)
- Wednesday, February 8th: District Spelling Bee at 6pm in the Butler Library.
- Tuesday, February 14th: Valentine's Day! We will be having a party from 2:45-end of day.
- Friday, February 17th: No School
- Monday, February 20th: No School
- Tuesday, February 21st: No School for Students, PD Day for Teachers
Butler Elementary in the Press
Valentine's Day Parties!
Dear Families,
We will be having classroom Valentine’s Day Parties on Tuesday, February 14th from 2:45-3:15. We will be watching “A Charlie Brown Valentine” and passing out Valentines. If your child would like to bring in valentines it is important that they bring valentines for each child in our class. Children are also welcome to bring their own snack, and we will provide some small snacks, however students will not be bringing in snacks for the whole class as in previous years. If you have any questions feel free to email us at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected] Sincerely, The 4th Grade Team |
Spelling Bee!
The fourth grade teachers are immensely proud to say that 4th grade SWEPT the Butler Spelling Bee!!! 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students have been diligently studying for weeks and it really showed with their stellar spelling skills. The winning word was engineering! Thank you to all of the parents and community members who supported our students. Keep an eye peeled for a featured article in the Fort Lupton Press due to come out next Wednesday, February 1st. Here were our winners:
1st Place: Marissa H.
2nd Place: Mia B.
3rd Place: Anais M.
Each of these students will be representing Butler Elementary in the district spelling bee on Wednesday February 8th at 6pm in the Butler Library. They will be competing against students from Quest Academy, and the winner of the district bee will be representing Weld Re-8 at the State spelling bee.
1st Place: Marissa H.
2nd Place: Mia B.
3rd Place: Anais M.
Each of these students will be representing Butler Elementary in the district spelling bee on Wednesday February 8th at 6pm in the Butler Library. They will be competing against students from Quest Academy, and the winner of the district bee will be representing Weld Re-8 at the State spelling bee.
Welcome Back!!
We are fully re-immersed into our new units and back in the swing of things! There are a lot of fun and exciting events coming up so keep your eyes on Wednesday folders for any new notices. Here are some important upcoming dates:
- Monday, January 16th: No School for Martin Luther King Day
- Thursday, January 26th: Butler Elementary School Spelling Bee
- Wednesday, February 8th: District Spelling Bee
- Tuesday, February 14th: Valentine's Day Party (More info to come...)
- Thursday, February 16th: Father-Daughter Dance
- Friday, February 17th: No School
- Monday, February 20th: No School
- Tuesday, February 21st: No School
A Few Updates...
It sure is beginning to look a lot like winter! As our holiday vacation approaches, we are packing learning in until the very last second! It is important to maintain consistency right up until the end of the semester. All things considered, we do have a few important and FUN events coming up:
- Friday, December 9th - Butler Pride Day! Wear your favorite Butler gear!
- Monday, December 12th - Mrs. Hughes' Birthday!
- Tuesday, December 12th 5:30-6:30 - Butler's Holiday Library Night!
- Friday, December 16th - Mrs. Jeffries' Birthday!
- Friday, December 16th - We will be watching the film "Akeelah and the Bee" during the day!
- Friday, December 16th 2:30-3:25 - Our classes will be holding a party! Please see this weekend's Wed. folder for information!
- Friday, December 16th - Last Day of School before Winter Break!!
- Monday, January 2nd - No School for Students or Teachers
- Tuesday, January 3rd - No School for Students
- Wednesday, January 4th - Back to School!
The History Colorado Center & The Capitol Building
4th grade had a wonderful time today visiting the History Colorado Center and the Capitol building in Denver. Students were able to visit a house that was in the midst of experiencing a dust storm, explore a mini-town called Kyota from the 1800s and carry out typical chores of the time, explore the furs and practice trading at Bent's Fort, and some even got to "set off" dynamite in a mini-mine at the museum! Students also got to see the marker at the capitol that tells you that you are exactly 5,280 feet above sea level as well as some of the inner chambers of the building. Students will be bringing home buffalo shaped wristbands that help them to return to the museum with a parent for free! We encourage you all to go back and visit- your students can be your guides! Thank you to the wonderful parents who came with us today to support our learning. We had a fantastic field trip! Ch Ch Check it out....
A Note From our Superintendent
It is with an extreme sense of gratitude that I write this letter of thank you to the community of Weld County School District Re-8. Yesterday, you, as a community of people, voted to approve a $48.6 million dollar Bond that will improve each and every school in our district. You have clearly stated that our kids deserve a safe and secure learning environment where optimal learning will occur. The breakdown on the money will allow each school to receive new furniture in every classroom, safety improvements including fire sprinklers, American Disabilities Act compliant door hardware, lighting, technology, classroom acoustics, as well as enhancements to the secure entrances. The cost breakdown on your investment is as follows:
This process served to unify our community to provide educational opportunities for ALL of our students. This was a team effort as many meetings were held beginning in January of 2016 which allowed the voices from the community to be heard in order to identify the areas of needs. The Facilities Committee, formed during this process, carried the work throughout the summer and into the fall with the campaign for Ballot Measure 3E. I want to thank the many people behind the scenes who were committed to this moral imperative.
I know each of you had a choice to make when supporting any increase in taxation and understand the trust you have placed in our school district represents an increase of $2.39 per $100, 000 of your home’s value. As I have attended various groups this fall, the one area of focus for our community is the pride we have in who we are. I am excited and committed to continue to build on this pride with a partnership to insure all of our students, who are our future, receive the very best education in the best environment. There are several steps in the process of moving into the actual build stage and will ask for your support in creating Design Advisory Groups at each building as well as a Budget Oversight Committee to guarantee that your hard earned dollars address the areas we have promised.
Recently the Colorado Department of Education released the School Performance on each of our five schools. We have 4 of our 5 schools that received the highest available ranking from the state in regards to academic performance. We are committed to moving all 5 of our schools into this top ranking!
Thank you on behalf of all the staff and students in Weld Re-8.
Alan J. Kaylor
- Fort Lupton High School will receive $10.692 million.
- Twombly Elementary School will receive $6.804 million.
- Butler Elementary School will receive $7.29 million.
- Fort Middle School will receive $972,000.
- New building for Early Childhood Center combination Administrative/Board Room $5.346 million.
- New building to replace the temporary buildings at Quest. Quest will receive $17.496 million.
This process served to unify our community to provide educational opportunities for ALL of our students. This was a team effort as many meetings were held beginning in January of 2016 which allowed the voices from the community to be heard in order to identify the areas of needs. The Facilities Committee, formed during this process, carried the work throughout the summer and into the fall with the campaign for Ballot Measure 3E. I want to thank the many people behind the scenes who were committed to this moral imperative.
I know each of you had a choice to make when supporting any increase in taxation and understand the trust you have placed in our school district represents an increase of $2.39 per $100, 000 of your home’s value. As I have attended various groups this fall, the one area of focus for our community is the pride we have in who we are. I am excited and committed to continue to build on this pride with a partnership to insure all of our students, who are our future, receive the very best education in the best environment. There are several steps in the process of moving into the actual build stage and will ask for your support in creating Design Advisory Groups at each building as well as a Budget Oversight Committee to guarantee that your hard earned dollars address the areas we have promised.
Recently the Colorado Department of Education released the School Performance on each of our five schools. We have 4 of our 5 schools that received the highest available ranking from the state in regards to academic performance. We are committed to moving all 5 of our schools into this top ranking!
Thank you on behalf of all the staff and students in Weld Re-8.
Alan J. Kaylor
Happy Halloween from Mrs. Jeffries' Class!
Go Blue Devils!!!
Mrs. Jeffries had such a great time supporting her Blue Devils this weekend. These guys showed so much hustle and perseverance- way to go big blue!!
We LOVE Mealworms!!
Halloween Events
- Wednesday October 26th: Halloween Literacy Night from 5:30-7:00. Come wearing your favorite costume and we teachers will be passing out candy and engaging in fun literacy activities!!
- Monday October 31st: Our classroom parties will take place from 2:45 to the end of the day. Teachers are planning to send home letters about possible food donations for our Halloween parties soon! Please let us know if there is anything you can contribute to making our party a success! Students are welcome to wear their costumes all day. Prior to the party we will be watching the movie version of Little House on the Prairie, a novel we have been reading in class! Wednesday folders this week will also contain information about what costumes are appropriate. Due to the recent scares in the news we are asking that no students come dressed as clowns. Thanks for your patience!
4th Grade Pumpkin
We love to work at Butler Elementary!!
Fire Assembly
Conference / Late Start Reminder
Thank you to all of the parents who have signed up for a time for a parent teacher conference!! We appreciate your dedication to your child's education. We will not be sending home reminder slips with times, but you should receive a reminder email regarding the time for your child's conference. If you have not yet signed up for a time, please do so immediately using the links below.
Remember, students will be released from school at 1pm on Thursday, and there is no school on Friday!!
Remember, students will be released from school at 1pm on Thursday, and there is no school on Friday!!
Parent / Teacher Conferences
It's that time of year again! We are greatly looking forward to meeting all of you parents and celebrating all of the hard work our students have put in so far this year. Conferences this year will be Wednesday, October 12th from 3:40 - 7:40, Thursday, October 13th from 1:20 - 7:40, and Friday, October 14th from 8:00 - 12:00. Rather than sending home sign-up sheets, we are asking parents to go online and reserve a conference time through the system Sign Up Genius! To sign up for a conference time, please click on the link below and reserve a spaces by including your name and your child's name:
Mrs. Jeffries' Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA729A7FD0-fall
Mrs. Ketchel's Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA72EAAFD0-fall
Mrs. Hughes' Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA722A2FE3-fall
Mrs. Richards' Class:
Just a reminder, because of our conference schedule, we will release students at 1:00 pm on Thursday, October 13th, and there will be no school for students on Friday, October 14th. Mrs. Richards will be in attendance at her students' conferences.
Mrs. Jeffries' Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA729A7FD0-fall
Mrs. Ketchel's Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA72EAAFD0-fall
Mrs. Hughes' Class:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084DACA722A2FE3-fall
Mrs. Richards' Class:
Just a reminder, because of our conference schedule, we will release students at 1:00 pm on Thursday, October 13th, and there will be no school for students on Friday, October 14th. Mrs. Richards will be in attendance at her students' conferences.
Upcoming Dates / Information
Friday, October 7th: College Gear Day- represent your favorite college by wearing a t-shirt to support them!
Wednesday, October 12th: Parent Teacher Conferences 4-8pm.
Thursday, October 13th: Students will be released early at 1pm. Buses will still take students home. Parent Teacher Conferences will take place from 1:30 - 8:00 pm.
Friday, October 14th: Parent Teacher Conferences from 8am - 12pm.
Thursday, October 20th: Picture Re-take Day!
Friday, October 21st: College Gear Day- represent your favorite college by wearing a t-shirt to support them!
Wednesday, October 26th: Halloween Literacy Night from 5:30 - 7pm. Dress up in your best spooky costume for some literacy fun!
Monday, October 31st: Classroom Halloween Party from 2:40 - End of Day. (More details to
Wednesday, October 12th: Parent Teacher Conferences 4-8pm.
Thursday, October 13th: Students will be released early at 1pm. Buses will still take students home. Parent Teacher Conferences will take place from 1:30 - 8:00 pm.
Friday, October 14th: Parent Teacher Conferences from 8am - 12pm.
Thursday, October 20th: Picture Re-take Day!
Friday, October 21st: College Gear Day- represent your favorite college by wearing a t-shirt to support them!
Wednesday, October 26th: Halloween Literacy Night from 5:30 - 7pm. Dress up in your best spooky costume for some literacy fun!
Monday, October 31st: Classroom Halloween Party from 2:40 - End of Day. (More details to
Spirit Week at Butler!
Fuel Up to Play 60!
Realistic Fiction
Hello Friends and Family!
Our classes have spent the last 6 weeks working on writing realistic fiction- stories that aren't true, but sound like they could be true! Today students shared their writing with students from other fourth grade classes and we got to celebrate their writing! Students were encouraged to use sentence stems to talk about their writing, including: "I can tell that your main character learned _______. I know this because in the story ________." or "I can tell this story is realistic fiction because __________." Ask your students about their stories tonight, they will be excited to share!
Sincerely,
The 4th Grade Team
Our classes have spent the last 6 weeks working on writing realistic fiction- stories that aren't true, but sound like they could be true! Today students shared their writing with students from other fourth grade classes and we got to celebrate their writing! Students were encouraged to use sentence stems to talk about their writing, including: "I can tell that your main character learned _______. I know this because in the story ________." or "I can tell this story is realistic fiction because __________." Ask your students about their stories tonight, they will be excited to share!
Sincerely,
The 4th Grade Team
Butler Family Reading Night!!
You’re Invited to our
Family Reading Night
at
Butler Elementary Library
September 15th
5:30 – 6:30
Did you know Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies?
So…bring your favorite teddy bear and come
read with us, enjoy a snack, and take home
a new book!
Family Reading Night
at
Butler Elementary Library
September 15th
5:30 – 6:30
Did you know Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies?
So…bring your favorite teddy bear and come
read with us, enjoy a snack, and take home
a new book!
Painting Salt Dough Maps
Many students will be bringing home their salt dough maps of Colorado today- ask your students what region each color represents!!
Salt Dough Maps of Colorado
Fourth grade classes are currently working on a unit about Colorado geography and landforms. Today we began creating Colorado salt maps showing the 5 regions of Colorado: Great Plains, Front Range, Mountains, Western Slope, and the San Luis Valley. Students will be painting their salt maps on Friday and (hopefully!) taking them home at the end of the day. Check out our projects!
We are COLLEGE Bound!!
Everyone is off to a great start, and we are already learning so much. We have started our first vocabulary packet, so hopefully your students will be showing you their vocabulary packets and what they have been learning. Feel free to help them practice using / defining their words. We have also spent a lot of time thinking, dreaming, and talking about where students want to go to college. As an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) School, our students know that they can and WILL do anything to earn a college degree! Here are some of our future graduates:
p.s. Picture Day is coming up quickly...Thursday, August 24th! Don't forget to bring in your picture orders and dress nicely!
p.s. Picture Day is coming up quickly...Thursday, August 24th! Don't forget to bring in your picture orders and dress nicely!
Welcome Back to School!!
Welcome to 4th grade- we are so excited to meet all of our new students and families!! Fourth grade is a wonderful adventure full of new challenges, new ideas and new fun ways to learn. We, the 4th grade team, hope that you find this website informative and useful. Using the tabs at the top of the screen you have access to staff biographies, weekly homework assignments (posted as PDF or Word documents that are easy to print!) student publications, as well as several curriculum aids that you can use at home. Those include vocabulary word lists, printable flashcards, printable practice multiplication tests, etc. We will also post updates on this main page about important upcoming events, student activities, and the goings-on of the classrooms!
Back-to-School night will be held on Thursday, August 11th and I hope that you will all be able to visit. You will get a lot of information, and have a chance to explore your classrooms. If your last name starts with letters A through M you can attend one of two sessions. Session 1 will go from 5:00-5:40. Session 2 will go from 5:45-6:30. If your last name starts with letters N through Z you :can attend either of two sessions. Session 3 will go from 6:30-7:10 and Session 4 will go from 7:15-8:00. We are so eager to get to know all of our new students and to learn from all of you as we work together to help our students grow. Thanks! The 4th Grade Team |