Week of April 8th

Dear 4A Families,

I hope you all had a great weekend. I was so impressed with the quality and creativity of the oral biography presentations last week. The talks were both informative and highly entertaining. It was clear the students (and parents) worked very hard. This is a very challenging project. The students should be so proud of what they were able to accomplish. I know I am!  If students have not turned in the pink reflection sheet or their bibliography, they need to do so no later than Tuesday.  Grade sheets will not be passed out until these two sheets are completed.  Thank you.

Holy Week is fast approaching.  We will be incorporating Palm Sunday and Holy Week readings and activities into our prayers and lessons this week along with finish up our work with the Ten Commandments.  The students will bring home a study sheet on Monday that they typed in the computer lab to review the Commandments.  As part of their test, they will need to be able to fill in missing words in each of the Commandments.  One study sheet will also include a chapter review that matches the types of questions they will have on their test.  The test will be this Friday.


ZZ01E7E8F0Thank you for sending in your Lenten Outreach Items:

  1. St. Vincent de Paul Society collection:untitled  4th grade students are asked to bring in at least one can of food for the Holy Rosary St. Vincent de Paul food drive collection.
  2. Send in at least one Lunch of Love by Friday the 19th.  Students brought home decorated bags last week with suggested items to include in the lunch.
  3. Monetary collections for the Rice Bowl.
  4. This Friday, 4/12 is our final collection date for St. Martin de Porres. We are collecting an additional toiletry item that day. Please announce this in your class newsletters for next week. April 12 – Lunches + additional Items:Last name A-M:disposable razors and travel size shaving cream

    Last name N-Z: travel size toothbrush and toothpaste

Please collect and send in any of the above items from now until Holy Thursday, April 18th. It would be wonderful if the students could do some extra chores at home to earn their own money to purchase items. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Spelling: Study sheets for Unit 15 were sent home last Friday. This test will be this Friday as usual.  There will not be a spelling test next week (Holy Week).

Reading: We are continuing with our novel From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It is a wonderful combination of adventure, mystery and relationships. It contains rich vocabulary and endearing characters. Ms. Corrigan has given a detailed overview of our initial areas of focus.  Please click the attached link.

Language Arts:  All year the students have been learning about and researching quotes on various topics, as well as the people they have studied.  To wrap up our Oral Biography Projects, the students will be creating quotes that match their values and beliefs.  These quotes will be displayed with a quote they have selected from the person they represented in their presentation. We will work on the quotes in class, but they will bring home their quotes on Wednesday night to share with you and perhaps work on a bit.  Final quotes need to be ready by Thursday.

Religion/Steps to Respect:

We continue our study of the Beatitudes this week. The students discover ways to “weave” the Beatitudes into their daily lives. The Beatitudes tie in very nicely with the Steps to Respect lessons as well. Look in your child’s filer for two handouts titled Spreading Rumors is Bullying and Put Downs Hurt.  Fr. Oakland will be visiting the classroom on Wednesday to talk about Holy Week.

 Math: Look for math homework most nights this week. We will be focusing on fractions, simplest form, ordering/comparing, mixed numbers and improper fractions. We will also be using our rulers to measure accuratley with fractions of inches. Thank you for checking over your child’s work for accuracy.

Science:  We are continuing in our Earth Science unit this week. So far the students have looked at what makes a mineral and its properties even placing several minerals on the Mohs Scale. Next, they looked at what makes a rock and compared minerals versus rocks. Now they will look at the three types of rocks and how they interact in the rock cycle.

Social Studies: We will be finishing up our Oregon Trail simulation before spring break. This will lead us into the settling of Washington State.

Homework Overview:  Math most nights.  Study for Friday spelling test.  Recorder and math fact practice.  Make a Lunch of Love!.

On Tuesday this week we will enjoy a special visit from the Kennedy Catholic Excalibur Choir.  Have an excellent week everyone!  I’ve included some pictures of the biography groups.  I will send these pictures individually to familes as well.