Week of January 8th

Dear 4A Families,

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  I was so proud of the excellent job the students did leading the Epiphany prayer service on Friday.  It was a wonderful way to start the New Year.


Catholic Schools Week this year is from January 28th to February 2nd.  On Tuesday the 30th  the 4th graders will be delivering certificates of appreciation to many of the local businesses that support our school. This has been a 4th grade tradition for almost 20 years!   You have probably seen certificates hanging some of the businesses you visit.  We need parent volunteers to drive/chaperone small groups of students as they deliver certificates on this day. Mark your calendars! Permission slips will be coming home with your children on Monday and you can also access PDF’s of the permission slips on the homework page.   Please have these turned in by this Thursday the 11th, and please consider helping out on this special service project.  Thank you!

Holy Rosary School Student Art Showcase:  Do you love making art?  This is your chance to share your passion and gifts for art with our community!  Your art will be on display in the Holy Rosary Art Showcase around the building during Catholic School’s Week, January 28th through February 2nd.  This showcase gives students the opportunity to share their artistic talents and appreciate the talents of their peers.

Requirements: This is an optional showcase, not mandatory.  1-2 pieces of 2-D art that you have completed outside of school.  Artwork must be done with craftsmanship, be appropriate for school and able to hang on a wall.
Deadline:  Turn into the office by Wednesday, January 24th with full name and class on the back.

Reading: This week we will begin a mini unit on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  and the Civil Rights Movement. This unit will include reading, language arts, and social studies objectives. This unit is part of our larger unit on biographies that will culminate in the big Oral Biography Projects in late March. This unit ties in nicely with the Common Core Standards of reading informational texts. As we work through this unit the students will:

  • Focus on increasing the complexity of the texts students read and discuss, and developing skills in argumentative writing and research.
  • Emphasize speaking and listening skills as an avenue to evaluate, integrate and present information from many sources.
  • Use technology/multi-media to gather and publish information.

Spelling:  The spelling list for Lesson 2 was sent home last Friday and the test will be this Friday the 12th as usual.

Social Studies:  This week we will continue learning about Lewis and Clark and how they prepared for their epic journey.  Students will create a Venn digram to compare and contrast the skills of Lewis and Clark that enabled them to lead the expedition.  Last week I sent home a review sheet for the NE and SE States.  I have created an online practice site here.  The students will take the test on the NE/SE states this Thursday the 11th. We will then begin review for the 50 state test that will take place on Thursday, January 25th.  I will send home review sheets for the 50 state test on Thursday.

Science: This week we will be exploring electrical energy. Students will learn where electricity comes from and how we use it. They will also learn about the relationships between charge, voltage, current, and resistance. We will apply this information when we create simple circuits. Students will be able to see first hand the difference between an open and closed circuit and how a switch works.

Religion: We will continue to review and learn about the Liturgical Year this week in class. Students should be putting in time each night to review for the Liturgical Year tests that will take place on January 23rd.  Remember, this is a two-part test.  It includes filling in a liturgical calendar as well as answering questions about the Liturgical Year.  The students have study sheets for both parts of this test in their filer and you can also (in the tabs above) access the study sheets on our website.

Math: We have been covering a variety of topics, including geometry and measurement along with our multiplication work.  We will also be incorporating some division with remainders.  I will begin pulling small groups to differentiate tasks and focus on skills based on student needs in the coming weeks.  Look for math homework most nights this week.  When I check the progress on Xtramath I can see that many students are not visiting the site regularly.  If the facts are not mastered for accurate, quick recall, they should still be practicing nightly.  I know some students are using flash cards for their practice times and that is acceptable as well.  I will be giving a second oral test next week to chart progress.  This is the test where I hold up a flash card and say the fact giving three seconds to answer.  Thank you for reminding your children to practice each night until mastery is reached.

This Friday is a half-day as a reward for he Magazine Sale, and Monday we have no school in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Enjoy the long weekend.  Next week we will begin our PLTW (Project Lead the Way) lessons on the brain. This is a very exciting project based learning unit that the students will love.  Look for detailed information in next week’s newsletter.

Have a great week everyone.  

 

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