We have two big field trips coming up! The first will be attending a one-room school house re-enactment on Friday, October 5th. The following is the letter that was sent home explaining this event. Please read carefully!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Dear Parent(s),
In October, our classes will be attending the Taylor #4 Country School located at 19 N. 2nd Avenue in Marshalltown. Students will pretend that it is 1913 and do the same things that the country pupils did almost a hundred years ago. All 4th graders in the Marshalltown School District will be taking this field trip at some point this fall. It is related to our Social Studies unit on Iowa History.
We need your help. We would like students to dress as authentically as possible, in clothing that would have been worn at this time in history. Boys can wear bib overalls or dark trousers with suspenders, a plain cotton long-sleeved shirt (no printing or logos), dark leather shoes and dark stockings, and a straw hat. Girls can wear a long skirt, simple blouse, dark leather shoes with black or white tights, and hair should be pulled back (braids with big white bows were popular!). We do not expect you to go out and purchase clothing for this field trip. You might, however, visit the Goodwill Store next to Wal-Mart to find something inexpensive to add to your child's experience. The Historical Society will provide us with some clothing to be utilized. However, complete attire will not be provided. There is NO heat in the school, so please dress for the weather.
Students will carry their lunch in a pail provided by the schoolhouse. To support this experience, we ask you to consider the foods children would have eaten at that time. These would include sandwiches with cheese, jelly, egg, honey or meat fillings, hard boiled eggs, seasonal fresh fruit or vegetables, corn bread, biscuits, and homemade cookies. Water will be provided. We also ask that each item be wrapped in waxed paper or a clean cloth (no plastic or aluminum foil!). If you have a school lunch ordered, this will be taken care of before we go.
The Taylor #4 School was built in 1912, north of Marshalltown. It had grades 1 through 8 for forty three years. In 1955, the Historical Society of Marshall County bought the closed school and moved it into town. A $60,000 renovation restored it to its original appearance in August of 2007. We are fortunate to be able to learn in this way!
We hope that this reenactment will provide your child with lasting memories and a keener appreciation of our local heritage. Thank you for your help as we begin our adventure back to 1913 and the days of the country school; the backbone of American Education.
The following field trip will be on Thursday, October 11th. The whole 4th grade will be going on the same day. Please read the following letter that was sent home in Thursday folders:
September 6, 2012
Dear Parents:
On Thursday, October 11, we are planning a field trip to Living History Farms in Urbandale. Our visit will be in correlation with our Iowa History unit in Social Studies.
The purpose of Living History Farms is to make the public aware of the significance of agriculture in the development of America. Living History Farms will present the changes that have occurred in farming methods, concepts and technology, and interpret the significance of those changes both in historical and modern life. By showing authentic models of historical and modern farming, Living History Farms enables visitors to observe and participate in these processes and relate them to their lives. http://www.lhf.org
A school sack lunch will be provided and charged to your child’s lunch account unless we are made aware of arrangements otherwise. Those arrangements need to made by Friday, September 14, 2012 so that we can notify food service of our plans. If we do not hear from you by this date your child’s lunch account will be charged for a sack lunch.
Mrs. Auld, Mrs. Duff, and Mrs. Freiberg
Homework Schedule:
The following is what homework you should expect to see your child bringing home. On a normal 5-day week, I will assign spelling homework on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. For now, students need to put their 25 words in alphabetical order on Mondays. I will check to see the following morning that they have brought this back. Tuesdays will be sorting the words into the correct spelling patterns. I provide the sheet for this. It needs to be brought back to school. On Thursday evenings, I assign them to take a practice spelling test at home. I will check the following mornign for either the test itself or a signature saying it was completed. This does not mean that students cannot be doing more practice in addition to what I have assigned. An exception to the spelling routine would be in a school week that has less than 5 days. In this case, I will assign the practice spelling test on Wednesday nights if there is no school on Friday.
Most days, students will have math homework. It needs to be brought back to school completed. If a student does not understand a problem on the homework, they need to have an adult sign their name by it so I know it wasn't just a lack of effort. An exception to having math homework would be at the end of a unit when we will spend a couple days re-teaching, etc. I might not assign math homework and would assign the kids to do 15-20 minutes of reading instead. They would need to get a signature in their planner for the reading portion.
On Fridays, in addition to a possible math assignment, I will assign students to do 20-30 minutes of reading. They need to bring their planner back signed for me to know that the homework was completed. The planner is also a good place to communicate between myself and parents. You may always write notes to me in your child's planner.
Thanks for allowing me to teach your children!!!
