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Mendota School District #289Lincoln SchoolFourth Grade Teacher2025-2026(815) 538-6226bnovak@m289.org
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Mrs. Novak
Stop by often!!
I will be making updates regularly throughout the school year to keep you informed of all things going on in 4-4!!
Fourth Grade Field Trip
Funway in Batavia
Monday, May 4
The Annual Fourth Grade Talent Show
Thursday, April 23
9:00am
Congratulations to Koreeann!!
She won the Young Authors Award!!
We are so proud of your creativity and hard work!!
To celebrate the end of IAR testing and the beginning of March Madness, we enjoyed a little STEAM project in which each group had to build a tower to hold a basketball using just newspaper and masking tape. All the groups did an amazing job and had a blast!! Go ILL-INI!!
Shout out to Mrs. Phalen, our Junior Achievement volunteer, who has started the program with a fun, hands-on activity to get students to think about becoming an entrepreneur!! We are lucky to enjoy five visits in total!!
Check out all this food!!!!!! Many thanks to all the parents who donated snacks, gum, and even drinks to help our amazing test-takers rock the IAT tests!!!!!! They were pumped to get started and had lots to snack on!!
Below is the schedule for IAR testing. Please click on the link to read the entire letter that was sent home on Thursday, February 19.
link will arrive soon
Tues., March 10 1:15pm - 2:35pm ELA1 90 minutes
Wed., March 11 1:15pm - 2:35pm ELA2 90 minutes
Fri., March 13 10:15am - 11:45am ELA3 90 minutes
Tues, March 17 1:15pm - 2:15pm MATH1 60 minutes
Thurs., March 19 1:15pm - 2:15pm MATH2 60 minutes
Fri., March 20 10:15am - 11:15am MATH3 60 minutes
We had another PAW Pride Assembly on Friday, February 27. Many students were able to participate in games and some received prizes. I wish everyone could play and win because all the students deserve it!! Keep being awesome, 4-4!!
We did it!! Together as a class, we completed the entire border of the puzzle we are working on in the classroom. Stay tuned with our progress.
We were finally able to squeeze in some time to build simple machines with our Lego boxes. The students had a lot of fun building them.
Mondays are hard!! I get it!! So I check in on the students after the weekend. Many students check-in with not feeling great, either tired or just not ready for the day. But Monday, January 12 was a different kind of Monday. It was the day after the Chicago Bears had a great win, and everyone was feeling amazing!! We even had a few students celebrate with their Bears gear. Unfortunately, we couldn't celebrate the following Monday, but we are definitely proud Bears fans and already ready for next football season!!
The John Ourth Student Recognition Award honors exceptional students for their citizenship, performance, and leadership abilities. Established in memory of John Ourth, this award is presented annually by the Illinois Principals Association to recognize outstanding students in various schools. The award aims to celebrate those who exemplify the values of good citizenship and academic excellence within their communities. Please let me introduce the 2025-2026 John Ourth Award nominees. Lylah was voted as one of the recipients. Congrats to you both!!
One of my favorite pictures to take throughout the school year is the first snowfall. Students are always amazed by the very first view of it from the classroom windows and are also very distracted. 🤣 I stop what we are doing to take a closer look at it to avoid them staring out the window all day. Let's just hope one of these snowfalls make for a SNOW DAY!!
The winter season is upon us. We are huge supporters of snow days, so click on the link below if you would like to help the probability of a snow day. Thanks for your help!!
One of my favorite school memories is receiving a bottle of Coca-Cola before Thanksgiving break. It was always such a fun way to celebrate our thankfulness in the classroom. That was literally the first thing I thought of when I started teaching, how I can incorporate some favorite "old school" traditions into my very own classroom. I switch Coca-Cola for Sprite and a bottle for a can, but I think the smiles say the students are okay with the changes. The Pringles are for a Thanksgiving Day craft we complete to gift our families with. Happy Thanksgiving, 4-4 Families!!
We are so incredibly proud of the MHS soccer team. We had so much fun giving them some support before they left town for the state tournament. You are literally all like celebrities to us!! We admire your hard work, determination, and love for the sport!! Congratulations on an amazing season!!
This event is one of my favorite traditions at Lincoln School!! JUST 4th graders have the opportunity to show off their kickball skills against the MPD and the MFD. So if you would like to participate, please be at the school by 7:30am on Tuesday, October 28.
4-4 is really excited about the Poetry Cafe. Forms were sent home on Friday. Please turn them in ASAP so that we can plan accordingly. And please remember that it is my first event. I am learning all about what is all needed to make it successful. Please reach out with questions or concerns or even some advise!! If you plan to bring a snack and want to send it in fresh, I will gladly accept them Friday morning instead of Thursday. Thanks!!
We recently enjoyed a lesson from Mrs. Temple at Ag in the Classroom. We learned all about pumpkins and how Illinois supplies much of the United States. We appreciate our farmers and Mrs. Temple for her time and knowledge!!
I absolutely love to end a tough week with a little fun, so I bring out the karaoke machine on some Fridays during PAW time. I put the lyrics on the whiteboard, and we test our singing skills. I actually get some quiet students to really belt out some songs.
EXCITING NEWS!!!!
Mendota School District #289 has a therapy dog!! Willa Mae visited 4-4 on Friday. Students had the chance to pet her, and she enjoyed all the attention!! We are so anxious to get more visits from her.
I was rewarded with a prize box from the Agriculture in the Classroom. The box was full of great resources that I am excited to share, especially since harvest is right around the corner. Biodegradable peanut boxes were included in the box, so we talked about the benefits of biodegradable items and saw them work their magic.
This is by far my favorite picture to take during the school year. We recreate it at the end to show how much we grow.
Meet the students of 4-4!!
I was asked last school year if I would be interested in having a "pen pal" with a Mendota High School student living in Japan for a year as a foreign exchange student. I jumped at the chance!! Phoenix headed to Japan, and we will soon hear all about her adventures!!
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It was such a fun first day of school. I always leave time at the end of the day to incorporate team-building activities. The students did an incredible job at working together. And it's been a few years since students completed a Pringle Ring!!
I strive to be a great teacher and making my students happy and motivated is a big part of that. The list includes items for the students. If you would like to contribute, please click on the link below. Thanks in advance!!
Lincoln School will begin something new this school year. Each morning, all students will recite Lincoln School's Creed right after the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm so excited to add more positivity to the school day!!
Lincoln School CreedI have been busy getting the classroom ready for all the new students. Although I haven't made a lot of changes from last year, it's all new to the incoming 4th graders. Take a look at some highlights in the classroom this school year. 👇🏼
The timeline on the wall in my classroom is a favorite of mine. We refer to it often for not only social studies, but a lot of other subjects. It's a great visual of important happenings in our history.
I used this machine a lot last year, but I feel like any class would appreciate the joy music brings. I bring it into the classroom as much as I can!!
My bookshelves had taken a beating, and I was ready for a change. With the help of our school district, I was able to get these swivel bookcases to save space. They hold a lot of amazing books, and there is plenty of room to add more!!
I've added some things in the classroom to hype up the music celebrations in the classroom. I love to share my passion for dancing to music. It's such a great stress reliever!!
Ordering from Scholastic Book Club will now be 100% online, but don’t fear, it is quite simple to do!! Follow these steps below…
1. Scan the QR code on the back of the flier using your cell phone camera.
2. Click SHOP NOW.
3. Type in your birthdate or your child’s - it does not matter.
4. In the upper righthand corner of the page, click on CONNECT TO TEACHER.
5. Then click FIND YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER.
6. Type in Mendota’s zip code (61342) and hit SEARCH.
7. Either scroll down to find our school or enter LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL and click NEXT.
8. When you click on SELECT TEACHER, a list of the school’s teachers will appear. Scroll down again this time to find my name and click NEXT.
9. Finally, click CREATE AN ACCOUNT for the first time.
10. Once you have created an account, you will just need to SIGN IN.
School Pictures
Wednesday, September 10
If your child is out for whatever reason, a helpful tip is to check TeacherEase for missing assignments. If an assignment is marked as missing and you know your child has turned in an assignment, it may just need to still be graded. If not, please contact me. I check for missing assignments daily, but I may miss something. Thanks so much for your continued support!! Please click on the link below if you need a refresher on how to check for grades and missing assignments in TeacherEase.
There were many changes last year, so I would like to remind you of the grading scale from last year. TeacherEase is still the place to go to find your child's grades, but there will be a newer scale. No more E, M, P, NI, or W to signify what your child earned on classwork, homework, quizzes, and tests. Below is the newer grading scale with the percent range. Please reach out with questions or concerns. Thanks so much!!
Click on the link to view the Fourth Grade school supply list. Reach out with any questions or concerns.
Click on the link to view the Fourth Grade school supply list. Reach out with any questions or concerns.
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