Third Week of 4th Grade

We have now began every subject and started to get in the everyday flow of 4th grade. There are a few things that I want to clear up, and I will address them in detail at Back to School Night.

1. Pride Folders- These go home every Friday with graded papers for the week. I would like you to go over both the good and bad papers and discuss them. After you have seen all the work then you need to sign the at the appropriate week.
2. Spelling- In 4th grade I do not have an assigned class time for Spelling. I believe the student needs to take the responsibilty of memorizing the list for Friday's test. We will write the words in cursive once a week to work on handwriting.

This week in my class;

• Math- We will take the Topic 2 Test
• Reading- Toto, a realistic fiction
• Language Arts- start Chapter 1- Types of Sentences
• Science- Life Boat Investigation
• Social Studies- Explore Geography

Lastly I want to encourage you to please show up for our Back to School Night, Thursday, Sept. 1st. There are two sessions, 6:00-6:45 and 7:15-8:00. I will be going over classroom procedures, expectations, and events. Hope to see you there!

Week of Aug. 22-26

Let the learning begin! Starting this week we will begin our Open Court reading, talk about social studies, continue our Swingers investigation, and start our spelling tests. I know Back to School Night is still coming up, but after that this will all make more sense to you. I do encourage you to please attend Thursday, September 1st so I can explain my classroom routines and expectations for 4th grade.


I hope everyone had a great weekend, I definitely used it to rest up and get ready for another productive week.


Mr. Strathman

A Little About Me

As summer comes to a close I hope everyone can look back at great memories. My wife, Lauren, and I had a summer that consisted of moving, surprise, and uncomfort. In June we moved just south of Shawnee Mission NW Highschool into our first house. It was a move that we both deemed necessary because we will be expanding our family to 3 in October. Our first child, a boy, is anticipated to arrive October 11th. In the midst of all this excitement I have thrown a wrench into our plans. On July 3rd in my hometown, Bern, Ks, I tore my Achilles tendon celebrating the win of a sporting event. My cousin and I won a 42 team tournament and as we jumped to high 5, my tendon ruptured. A late lesson learned is to be humble and modest even in the best of times. I am slowly recovering and should be walking just fine in another month.

I am very excited to start another school year at Rising Star. This will be my 4th year teaching, 3 of them being in the 4th grade. You will find that I am a teacher that believes in bringing  high energy to the classroom. The more I can create strong personal relationships with each student, the better experience every student will have. As we begin this year's journey I want you to feel comfortable contacting me for any needs. It is my goal to update this blog once a week to help keep everyone informed on important dates and information. With the combined work of parents, students, and the classroom teacher I believe this will be a successful year and one to remember!

Mr. Strathman