Dear 4A Families,
Happy second week of Advent. I hope you all had a nice weekend. Report cards will be emailed this Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions about them. All of the 4th grade students have so much to be proud of this trimester.
Thank you!
This Friday the 4A students will lead the Prayer Service at 8:30. The theme of the service will center on St. Lucy Day (Santa Lucia) day. Join us if you are able. We will begin about 8:35 in the School Hall. The service will also be live-streamed. I will send the link before Friday. The students will have a copy of their part to read (unless they are in the skit). Please have them practice reading slowly and clearly…pausing at punctuation. Thank you!
We can still use a few small jam/jelly jars (no labels) for a little project we will be starting this week if you have any to spare. No worries if you don’t however… Thank you!
This Friday students will enjoy a free dress comfy cozy day. Come to school in your coziest clothes or PJ’s! 4th grade students can also bring in a small pillow or stuffed animal if they like on Friday.
Advent Outreach:
Just a reminder that preschool – grades 6, we will be collecting diapers, pull-ups, wipes, and new or gently used coats and kids clothing for Westside Baby and other local organizations that support families in our Seattle Community. Items can be brought to the classroom by December 14th. The items will be blessed at Mass on the 14th before they are distributed. Thank you!
Religion: Our religion lessons are focusing on the Season of Advent and the Corporal Works of Mercy. We are also incorporating some special prayers and activities around the Season of Advent.
This Thursday, December 8th, the 4A students will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Fr. Oakland. We will review how to prepare and receive this sacrament in class this week. Your child will be bringing home an examination of conscience and the steps for receiving reconciliation on Monday. Thank you for taking time to remind/assist your child in his or her preparations for this special sacrament. Wednesday, during our preparation time I will give the students time to reflect and write notes down for what they want to say while in the confessional. They will bring a small copy of the steps with the notes they write on the back with them, so they do not have to memorize what they say. The sheet they bring home does not need to come back to school. Students that have not received the Sacrament of Reconciliation should take still take part in the reflections. Fr. Oakland invites those students that have not received the Sacrament of Reconciliation or are not Catholic to receive a blessing instead of confession.
Reading: We are getting ready to wrap up our in-depth study of Charlotte’s Web. On Friday, we sent home a vocabulary review sheet that contains the main vocabulary words and their meanings. Students are studying the vocabulary words in class in a variety of ways. We have created vocabulary booklets that contain: each vocabulary word, definition, part of speech, a sentence with context clues, a collection of synonyms & antonyms for each word along with a sketch. In addition, students use the app “Kids A-Z Vocabulary” to practice matching words with definitions and choosing the correct words to complete sentences through different digital activities. Students need to be comfortable with these vocabulary words so they are ready for an end of unit test next week. Studying them at home in addition to the practice at school will help the children feel more prepared. Thank you for your help with this! Directions on accessing the KidsA-Z website are included on the review sheet students have in their filers. https://www.kidsa-z.com/main/Login Students will also be assessed on their comprehension skills in the form of a multiple choice/written response test as well as a quiz in which they match famous quotes from the story to the characters who said them. These will be quotes we have highlighted throughout the unit and written in our Charlotte’s Web folder that we utilize each day.
Language Arts: The students are busy working on their Reindeer stories this week! They are crafting creative paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting details and wrap up sentences. The paragraphs will also include real reindeer facts, figurative language and vocabulary from Charlotte’s Web!
Spelling: This week’s words are vowel diphthongs which are words with /oi/, /ou/ sounds. The test will be Friday, December 9th.
Math: We are wrapping up chapter 4 early next week with a test on Wednesday or Thursday. Students are working on communicating different strategies to solve multiplication problems. Please continue to practice multiplication facts at home with XtraMath or any other method that works for you! Also, please continue to check over your child’s math homework and reinforce the habit of striving for accuracy. Thank you!
Social Studies: The Midwest State test will take place this Friday, December 9th. Students need to know both the locations and abbreviations as well as four of the Great Lakes–Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie.
Science: The students will be continuing to work on their telephone project that involves paper cups, string, and paper clips. They will be using different materials to test the sound and vibrations they hear through the telephone.
