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January 2026 4D News!
January is the start of the heart of the year! The last of the many new concepts arrive and student academic growth takes off!
Winter Star Reading and Math Grade Equivalent scores are on the inside cover of our planners. This is not an exact score of ability, but gives us an idea of how much growth your child has had between the two benchmark tests.
During school and outside reading has truly helped grow our reading levels during the first semester. We are going to be finishing strong, finding new books, classics, and genres to read. We are currently reading SHILOH as our class read aloud(we love it) and will continue to read the Unit stories in Wonders in order to improve Text Evidence Comprehension skills. We made flip books to review the parts of speech and will continue to add to this activity. My plan is to incorporate more writing into our reading instruction.
Writing and Grammar will find us writing a personal narrative story and general paragraph writing focusing on an opinion and topic sentences and details. Morning work finds us usually working on editing sentences and fixing mistakes. We will continue to have an editing piece each week also.
In Math we will be starting our fraction unit then continue on with decimals, all kinds of measuring and geometry. Reviewing the basic X and Division skills will be included this month. Xtra Math will be used daily to practice basic facts (this has really helped everyone).
I have had parents ask “what can I do to help my child with math?”. One suggestion would be to help reinforce the skills in the Simple Solution lessons if needed. Also…I have posted many online math activities on GOOGLE CLASSROOM. Choose a skill you know your child will learn or is learning and find/play a free game together. I also have videos posted to help with math concepts. I recently posted MAMMOTH MATH and RENAISSANCE/FRECKLE to use. Using the Freckle/Focus skills will give your child math problems he/she are having trouble with on the Star test and in general. I can’t tell you how much this is appearing to be helping many students. Ten minutes a night is more than enough screen time to work on a math skill.
Book Conferencing is a plus! Having a chat about the book he/she are currently reading is so helpful to improving comprehension. With the growth your child has had, please don’t stop reading a few minutes each night and use a reading log when assigned to stay accountable.
There are many fun activities happening at SPSL next week for Catholic School Week!
Time to celebrate our Catholic Education !
Laura Zabloudil
Merry Christmas 2025!
We are busy this week finishing up the 2nd quarter of school with book reports, division quizzes, spelling tests and paragraph writing.
The musical was simply amazing!! The students were proud to be a part of something so special. Thank you for the efforts you all put forward to get your children to rehearsal and for your support of the music program at SPSL.
We have a couple of Christmas art projects to complete this week also and will make cards and table tents for the residents of New Cassel Retirement home.
I plan to have most of our assessments completed this week, but may have a few to do over our break. I appreciate your patience and overall support as we could not do it without your help and kindness. As always, check the FRIDAY FOLDERS. The students will also his/her AR Winter point goals on a sticker in the planners for your to view.
We plan to have a Christmas treat and movie mid morning on the 19th as long as our work is done. Thank you to the parents who reached out to bring items for this.
Through our SPSL Wish list program we we able to purchase mini white boards and erasers to use while we work on our Freckle Math. The students can keep them in the desks and get them out when they need to. We also purchased the Premium Xtra math program to keep our math fact knowledge solid. Thank you to the WISH LIST through SPSL.
WISH LIST: WE STILL NEED COLORED COPY PAPER! WE USE IT SPARINGLY FOR SPECIAL NOTES ETC. GOOD COLORS ARE YELLOW, PINK, GREEN, BLUE! AMAZON HAS AN INEXPENSIVE REAM FROM STAPLES IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DONATING.
I hope that you and your families have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Lord during the holiday break!
Blessings,
Laura Zabloudil
4D THANKSGIVING TO CHRISTMAS NEWS 2025
November 16, 2025
We are looking forward to a busy holiday season at SPSL while learning new concepts, preparing for the musical, and finishing our writing/book projects.
Math: After completing our double digit multiplication unit this week, we will be starting long division. We have worked hard on learning the multiplication facts this year and even how to factor. This will help with improving our knowledge of prime and composite numbers which is our 4th grade Math Smart goal. We are using Freckle Focus Skills 10 min a day as a tool to improve the reading and math areas that the students individually scored lower on. Freckle can be accessed from home computer or devices.
Language Arts: We are finishing our biography reports this week with the students sharing his/her learning on Monday, Nov. 24. Our next writing project is a personal narrative while improving our descriptive writing abilities.
In Reading Class, we have started our Literature Circle Teams. We plan to meet 3 times a week and will be completing comprehension questions on each chapter of our books. Our T.A. Mrs. Patch will be listening to Book Conferences by our students. Our Wonders Reading series has taken us to a fairy tale, a tall tale, poetry concepts, and the history of the Plains Buffalo. After finishing Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, our new “read to class” book is Number The Stars. Each student has his/her own book to read along as we discuss history. We try to read it each day! We will continue to complete one Accelerated Reader book during December and create a Book Poster.
Spelling: Thank you for assisting your children in studying for uanit tests. Our reading Smart Goal is to improve the comprehension of Non-Fiction texts. This coincides with the beginning of assigning short comprehension practice pages along with our Spelling packet to complete. These pages will be short and non-fiction in genre. They will be assigned Mon./Tues and due on Thurs/Friday along with Spelling.
As a service project, we plan to create Thanksgiving table tops and notes for the residents at New Cassel. We wrote thank you letters to Veterans this past week.
Religion: Of course, Miss Salter is your student’s Religion class teacher, but in 4D, along with our daily class prayers and intentions, we are going to say a decade of the rosary each week and continue to read stories about the saints to grow our Catholic faith and help our team in teaching as much as we can:) We usually listen to Spirit Radio’s Saint of the Day and short 3 min. videos.
See you all at the musical “Sheep in Heavenly Peace”. I have heard bits and pieces of the music and have seen some fourth grade actors in action and it looks amazing. Thursday, Dec. 11, will be a special night! Please refer to the note that states what your child should wear for the musical performance.
Thank you again, for the sacrifice of getting your child to school early for musical rehearsal. The opportunity our SPSL students have to perform in this kind of show is basically incredible. Not many K-8 schools are able to do this in my experience. We have the greatest music teachers!
Thank you also for your donations to BOLD through the purchase of your child’s photo cube. I was told by Mrs. Smith that the class of 4D had the highest percentage of class photo cubes purchased. This is for the whole school as each grade has it’s own BOLD art project….everyone….even our kids…helping to AC the gym…way to go SPSL community!!
Hoping for a joyful holiday for you all,
Blessings,
Laura Zabloudil
November 2025 Parent Letter from 4D!
Dear Parents,
I love the beauty of October. Omaha has so many trees which brings the fall colors out in so many different ways. Thank you also, for the beautiful ways that you help your child succeed in school. I couldn’t do it without your support and it shows daily!
Just being on time (by 8:15 ) helps start the day out better for your child as we get started with our morning work as soon as we enter the classroom.
Please let me and the office know if you are going to be late or absent. This helps with lunch count that has to be in by 8:30 every morning. Before I hit save on the computer for attendance, I check my phone for the latest REMIND messages and e mails from parents and the hallway.
I’m hopeful that posting needed study guides, word lists, musical schedules, wish lists and other important student helpers on our Google Classroom stream is working for you and your child. I know that students can access Google Classroom and I will keep you up on what is posted on a regular basis. I realize this will add to our REMIND messages, but the more the merrier if it helps even one child study for a test or who needs to find out if they are needed for a rehearsal. We try to write down everything, and I mean everything in our planner! There are times when a test could be missed, but your child has been told more than once when they will happen. All three of the teachers work together when we need to share information. Please check expandables for homework also. If a student is into his/her school assignments this is not a problem. The problems start if a child does not care, then it seems like we are chasing papers , assignments, and possibly redoing tests.
As you have noticed, we try to “Push Reading” in grade 4. It is a critical year of growth for your child due to next year being more “reading to learn” in nature. Putting time lines on completing books does help students complete books from start to finish. Many students read 2-3 books during this time from of over 3 weeks. We have found the longer one holds onto a book without finishing it, the lower the comprehension scores are due to forgetting what they have read. We want to not only have students with excellent word attack skills and excellent fluency, but for them to be able to concentrate on the “STORY” and understand the characters, setting, problems, and solutions. If you could ask your child about their book they are reading and let them share it with you, it may help deepen his/her understanding. Thank you to the parents who are already doing this. Our current time frame is Oct. 14 to Nov. 5.
Students take their AR quizzes after they complete books. The score we have been accepting it 6 out of 10 for the first quarter. It will be moved to 8 out of 10 for the rest of the year. I do let the students look back in their books for answers as this is how they will take reading tests. Sometimes we have students try to take a quiz without reading the book and find that this does not work. If one has read the book, understood the book, and knows the main ideas and details, the AR quiz is easy. Due to looking up answers, all quizzes should be 100%, but we still find students just clicking to get done. When this happens, they are asked to reread or try again.
Please note, I encourage kids to read anything that they want to read that is not too hard for them (even easy books), but I will only let them test books that are within his/her Zonal Level which you can find in the planners. This will help your child’s reading level grow by using their library book as a tool.
Along with our reading time line, your child also has a reading point goal to make by Nov. 11. Today I had 7 students add to their goal as they have made their previous one and want to challenge themselves. I love it!
Our math focus will be multiplication and division in November. Please, if your child is still struggling with math fact knowledge, find a free app, put up post it notes of facts to learn, flash cards, use computer generated worksheets, or anything to memorize them. We do allow charts for kids who are really struggling, but we will really try to put these away in January.
We plan to write a personal narrative and a Biography report this quarter in Language Arts while continuing to work on specific skills and Revising/Editing. We will continue to read different genres from Wonders along with our whole class read. We are currently finishing Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
The Wonders Spelling lists follow a phonetic theme which is helpful. Thank you for making sure your child has finished spelling practice pages for the week. We will always have the word sort to help with the phonics part of the lesson, and will try to have other easy ways to study.
Thank you again, for everything you do for your child. I have been known to say to the kids that school is their job, and the more you try to improve and learn, the better the results will be!!! If you are going to do something, do it well (another common saying in our room).
Blessings,
Laura Zabloudil
Parent Newsletter
Oct. 2, 2025
Dear Parents,
Hopefully the turning of the month to October leads to cooler weather. The students are having fun at recess, but there have been days of being pretty tired after playing during the hot weather.
MATH: We are finishing up our place value unit with reviewing and working on our rounding skills. Our Math series has organized the math activities differently, but don’t worry, we will hit all of the major units of study. Continuing on in October will be a review of addition and subtraction followed by multiple digit multiplication. Please review multiplication facts as it will make math so much easier for your child this year.
READING: We have finished Unit 1 in our Wonders series. Unit 2 will include a non fiction piece about spiders and a fairy tale. We will continue to test our vocabulary words and comprehension skills after every text. Library/AR books are currently due on October 13. It would be great if you could ask your child about his/her story to help build comprehension. If the library book is read well and thorough, the AR quiz is easy. If students do not read, they will not be able to take the AR test. I can reset tests and will have students reread books to help with comprehension.
SPELLING/ENGLISH: We will have two more weeks of spelling tests, then take a week break to focus on other lists of words. After focusing on sentence fragments and run on sentences, we will continue with a review of nouns, verbs, and adjectives this month. Each week we will be editing and revising sentences so that when we do write a story, we will be transferring this knowledge. After reading our Summer Vacation stories to the preschoolers next week, we will be learning how to write a personal narrative.
CLASSROOM INCENTIVES FOR EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR: Using call backs, we are encouraging better transition times between specials and classes. Talking is allowed for a minute, then it’s time to get started. Our class has been earning a point a day if they can keep all of the ROAR letters. Daily incentive equals 10 min of Prodigy at the end of the day. If getting quiet takes longer than is asked, we shorten the time. After so many points we are completing a class reward. The students made enough points to have a short movie on Oct. 2.
Students are also earning ROAR cards and can trade them in on treats, wearing slippers, having lunch in the room, and bringing a stuffed animal to class.
We will keep you posted on a date for our fall/Halloween party and more information on Conferences which will be on Oct. 30.
Thank you so much for your support,
Laura Zabloudil
Please check out my wish list on Google classroom. I need 5 more copies of The Tale of a Fourth Grade Nothing and colored copy paper. If you can help, that would help so much.
Dear Parents,
School routines are cruising along:) We are using a combination of Behavior slips and Roar cards, parent messages to encourage good behaviors.
Bringing expandables, planners, Friday Folders, and AR/library books each day is going well! The back and forth of these items is homework and a practice for grade 5.
MATH: We are continuing to review and learn more about Place Value, Rounding, and Expanded names by using Eureka math, Freckle program, and our SPSL assessment concepts. Xtra math is used daily to reinforce math facts. Addition is to be completed in September. We will be starting to practice multiplication facts next week. If your child needs reinforcement for the X facts 1-12, there are several free apps to use to help reinforce quick recall.
READING: Teaching reading skills will continue by using our new WONDERS reading series. Developing reading stamina, comprehension, and making a long range point goal will be developed by our Assigned AR Library or Mrs. Z’s/home Library Books. We realize that this is a new activity for fourth grade, but we have found that tracking daily reading and setting finishing dates produces growth in reading skills. If we don’t read, we will not become a better reader. I write down the book your child is reading and follow through until they have taken the simple AR quiz. They can use the book to look for an answer if needed.
FRECKLE Program: This program will work on the skills needed for each student individually determined by the results of STAR READING and STAR MATH.
WRITING/LANGUAGE ARTS: We are completing our Summer Vacation Stories for our PRE K buddies with editing and revising with Mrs. Z. Grammar skills that follow Wonders will be used each week along with the anchor text of the week. We have focused on sentence fragments, run ons, simple and complex sentences. Morning work involves editing sentences and Journal writing 3 times a week helps with creating ideas and practicing sentence writing skills. We will be testing each skill.
SPELLING: We are continuing weekly spelling lists using phonics skills. Spelling activities are due at the end of the week, followed by a test of spelling mastery.
GRANDPANTHER MASS ON 9/18. I will be the Grand Panther for anyone who does not have a Grand panther able to attend.
No School on Friday, Sept. 19, due to Teacher Faith Formation and inservice.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED HELP IN PACKING UP BACKPACKS, MAKING SURE YOUR CHILD IS READY FOR SCHOOL AND ON TIME EACH DAY!
Sincerely,
Laura Zabloudil
Dear Parents,
4th grade training time is officially over:) We worked hard on learning routines and expectations!
Due to this, we will now be taking our SPSL ROAR expectations and following them daily. Behavior and Irresponsibility slips will be used when necessary.
Special attention will be given to having assignments completed on time and following classroom rules and expectations.
The students will be choosing ONE WORD that will define their fourth grade year this month.
Daily prayer, personal intentions, praying before classes and lunch, learning about the Saint of the day, and listening to the Catholic Sprouts podcast will be listened to each week.
The September math focus will be PlACE VALUE concepts and review. Adding and Subtraction facts need to be mastered along with Multiplication facts. It is a process and we will be working on these at school daily. Free apps are available to use on your devices. I have math practice websites on Google Classroom available.
Our reading focus this month will be choosing library books within our Zonal Reading Levels that our Star tests revealed recently. We will begin taking Accelerated Reading tests after completing a chosen book. The students will have due dates to follow. We will set a quarterly point reading goal for the students to work for. We will also continue to use our new Wonders Reading Series as our basis for instruction of skills and weekly spelling lessons.
Please sign the Friday folder parent chart and return Friday Folders on the first day of the week. This assures us that you are seeing all of the school notes and communication along with any finished papers that are sent home. Papers can be recycled at school.
I would like your child to share his/her PLANNER, due to daily information shared and noted homework to complete.
Take time before bedtime to pack up items needed for school: expandable with homework completed, library book, planner, filled water bottle, and lunch if needed. This will help your child be ready for the day!
Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the parent meeting last week. I will use the REMIND app for quick weekly text reminders and will e mail you when a longer message is needed. Please let me know if you are not getting the Remind messages. Please feel free to message me anytime before 9:00.
Your children are Gifts from God …. I remind them daily:)
Laura Zabloudil
Parents,
Welcome Back!!
Thank you for getting all of the school supplies to school! The students look great and enjoy unpacking their items and organizing their desks.
The first couple of weeks we will be learning the routines, rules, and schedule. I like to call it “we are in 4th grade training” learning how to follow directions and ROAR expectations, among the other social skills. The first two days is filled with lots of just TALKING.
Everyone needs a school planner. They can be purchased in the office for 5$. We write in our planners everyday to reflect back on what we learned, our assignments, and to share any reminders with you.
We have a new Reading Series this year and will be using the Spelling component it uses. We will be having a spelling test each week. Next week we plan to have a practice week hopefully.
We also have a new math series to navigate. Most of our math practice will be done at school.
Homework this year will be 20-30 minutes of reading (more on this later) and practicing spelling words to get started.
We will have more information for you the night of our Parent Meeting.
Thank you again for your support! I enjoyed meeting you at open house and looking forward to the year!
Laura Zabloudil
Final Parent Newsletter for 24-25 for 4D
The Countdown is on!
May 12-16
We will be finishing up Social Studies, Science, and Book Report projects.
We will have a final quiz on multiplying decimals and dividing whole numbers.
Adding to this list is a quiz on editing sentences, one on revising a written paragraph, and final journal writing effort.
It will be a busy week getting our final grades in, but we are determined to finish STRONG using our best study skills and effort.
The Last Week
May 19…everyone has to be finished today for report cards to be done.
This week will be a week of reflection and learning games to review concepts taught throughout the year.
Thank you again for everything you do for your child to help them be successful in school and build his/her faith.
It takes a village and SPSL has a community that works hard to help this happen!
The love and encouragement you have given me this year is so appreciated!! SPSL is a GREAT school to teach in!
Laura Zabloudil
APRIL/MAY CLASSROOM NEWS!
We are going to finish strong this year! Thank you for everything you have done for your child and for me this year! I have loved being here at SPSL!
READING: We will finish SHILOH and end with a book project. We will also read 2 AR books as an assignment, but keep reading of course to make our point goal. We may have a day of going back in time and reading primary books for fun. Our literature circles will be reading a book of their selection and completing comprehension activities also.
MATH: Decimals and Geometry will be our focus this month! The starred Math IXL concepts will be finished this month.
LANGUAGE ARTS: We are currently working on a Personal Narrative writing piece and will also complete a persuasive and opinion paragraph. Right now we are reviewing Parts of Speech for our tests next week and continuing to learn about text structures and non fiction text features. Spelling lists and tests will continue using flexibility along with editing practice. We will continue to complete the starred IXL concepts to enhance regular classroom learning.
Religion: Our focus will be finishing reviewing the Ten Commandments, the Tridium, Parts of the Mass and the sacraments.
Important dates to remember:
April 7, Lincoln trip
April 8,9 Reading Testing for the Archdiocese
April 15 Star Spring Reading Test
April 24, 25 Science Testing for the Archdiocese
May 7 Star Spring Math Test
May 9 Race for Education
THANK YOU! Laura Zabloudil
Tomorrow we will experience the shortest week in history at SPSL! Good old Nebraska weather! Even though it was a long week for everyone, the safety of our students will always be number one. Hopefully the work I sent to the students through Google Classroom kept them busy during the day. Waiting for the sub zero temperatures to subside gave us time for personal reflection and learning.
During the next two weeks prior to the end of the quarter we hope to accomplish:
Spelling tests on ei , ie spellings
Math: Learning how to add and subtract fractions with different denominators, Simple Solution review work, and reviewing long division, 2D x 2D multiplication
Reading; Complete Animal Report/google slide, start the novel Shiloh, reviewing Figurative Language, Flipbook Book Report on our last AR Book
Writing: Write an personal narrative(hopefully) and complete an editing assessment. Daily Journaling
Religion: Prepare for Lent and begin the review of the 10 commandments
Accelerated Reader: Complete our winter point goal and our 3 AR books a quarter goal.
Enjoy our two Duschene students who will listen to book conferences with each student
Field trip to the Holland Center of Performing Arts on March 7th!
The support you give to me and your children is amazing and I am thankful everyday for this.
We will wrap up this important 3rd quarter, enjoy our spring break, and come back in March ready to finish our school year strong.
Happy New Year! We are ready to tackle the third quarter of fourth grade!
In Math: This month we will be reviewing long division and double digit multiplication. In between reviewing, we will be studying ordered pairs, coordinates, line plots, different kinds of graphs, area and perimeter. We will continue to use Simple Solutions as a math review as it spirals through concepts already taught. Lessons will be checked and quizzes taken. We will take our WINTER STAR MATH test on Thursday, Jan 23.
Language Arts: Using the basal reading series we will be reading the folktale The Emperor’s Kite, and nonfiction stories about a penguin and an orangutan. Comprehension skills reinforced will be summarizing and cause and effect. Compound words, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and figurative speech will be reinforced along with learning how to write a proper paragraph with a main idea and details. Our first Accelerated Reader book was due on Jan. 21, with the next book due on Feb. 3. The kids are working on their AR reading point goal which is due at the end of the Winter Library Quarter, March 1. Being accountable for outside reading for homework has been a big part of our reading program and growth this year. Spelling words lists will continue with tests being given every two weeks. We hope to start the novel Shiloh after Catholic Schools Week.
Catholic Schools Week: There will be many fun activities for the kids the last week of January to celebrate Catholic Schools week. A special mass and a middle school musical are planned for the kids to enjoy. There is a door decorating contest that we will be entering. Our theme is “Saints the we LOVE” . Students will be picking a favorite saint and illustrating it with colored pencils to put on our door. Our students are artistic and should enjoy this challenge.
Religion: We will continue in our Grade 4 Religion book on the chapters that review the Ten Commandments and will begin our study on Lent.
Social Studies and Science: Students are wrapping up Nebraska Agriculture, Natural Resources and will be studying Native Americans soon. Gravity concepts are being studied in Science.
Thank you for reading my REMIND messages and responding if needed. I find it really handy to send quick messages that will be helpful to your child. It also helps me keep a record of our communication if I need to be sure I didn’t miss sending a message. Please reach out! I know that I can sometimes send too many messages, but just want success for all of our students:) More news is better than no news I feel.
Happy Catholic Schools Week!! January 26-31, 2025
Dear Parents,
As we finish up our second quarter of fourth grade, I would like to wish everyone a joy filled and meaningful Christmas time with your families and loved ones. I know I have said it before, but I have been blessed to get to know your children and your families by coming to SPSL
During November and December we researched a famous athlete, made a trading card, and gave small presentations. The first time researching for a report can be challenging, but the students had fun and enjoyed using the research engines provided.
Another challenge was learning how to multiply large numbers and begin the process of working long division problems. January will be filled with review of both of these math concepts. If there are struggles, please know that we are all on the same page with learning happening day by day. Thank you for the help you gave learning math facts!
We continued to meet in Literature Circles to read and discuss our current books and read about Lou Gehrig and Amelia Earhart as a whole group while reinforcing comprehension, english, and study skills.
Our class has collectively read over 3 million words thus far through Accelerated Reader. Your child has a new point goal to make during January and February. The winter quarter of AR reading ends on March 1. They will be in their planner on a sticker next week.
In the spirit of giving, a few of you have asked about what we need at school. These items could double as a gift to the classroom or anyone. Some ideas for you are:
A ream of white copy paper (used to create work papers for math, reading, and language arts)
Gluesticks (used for projects and interactive notebooks)
Skinny colored markers (used as learning markers when writing in math, and
These would be shared with everyone and would make a fine gift:)
Thank you again, for your constant kindness towards me….it has made my move to SPSL wonderful!
Keep the Faith ….Laura Zabloudil
I hope to be done grading and entering our final tests next week in Black Baud. Thank you for your patience.
Have a great Christmas Holiday!!
We are off to a great start! Thank you to everyone who has jumped on the REMIND app as this is the way that we will communicate this year! We have been to mass, have had our first Reading and Spelling test, and have been practicing our procedures and routines. My next step is to begin learning the Black Baud system for assignments and grades. Thank you for your patience. I’ve been trying to touch base with parents the past two weeks. I will also be sharing our classroom behavior plan soon.
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!
Hello, my name is Laura Zabloudil. This is my second year teaching at SPSL. I have over 30 years experience teaching elementary school in Hastings, NE, with 23 of these years teaching 4th grade, my favorite!!!! My undergraduate degree is from UNL and my Master's in Education is from UNK. I grew up on a small farm in Sutton NE attending St. Mary's Parish. My husband and I have 4 sons that live in the Omaha area. We will be moving to Omaha permanently soon. I enjoy music, history, reading, and biking!! plus those cute fourth graders! Feel free to contact me at anytime. We are a team this year!!
