Dear 4A Families,
Happy first 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!
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!
Sacrament of Reconciliation: This Tuesday, December 5th, the 4th grade students will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Fr. Oakland and a visiting priest. We began discussing the sacrament last week and the students brought home an examination of conscience and the steps for receiving reconciliation last Thursday. They should examine their conscience with the questions provided and fill out some ideas of what they would like to say. On Tuesday we will give the students quiet time to write what they want to say and we will review a final time. 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. Students that have not received the Sacrament of Reconciliation should still take part in the reflections. Fr. Oakland invites those students that have not received the Sacrament of Reconciliation or are not Catholic students to receive a blessing instead of confession.
Religion Our religion classes are focusing on the Corporal Works of Mercy. The students will need to have the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy memorized for a test this Tuesday, December 5th. The students will have a practice/review times both on Monday and Tuesday before the test. Along with our lessons on the Works of Mercy we will also focus on the Season of Advent, with Bible readings and activities to support this special time of year.
This week we will also be completing the Circle of Grace lesson. The lesson focuses on Social Media which helps children recognize that all forms of media influence our Circle of Grace and how it helps or hinders living our faith to its fullest. We will send a wrap up letter that we ask you to sign and return by December 13th. This is a requirement for our completion of the lesson.
Advent Outreach: Reminder HRS is supporting the Westside Baby Joy Drive during the month of December as a schoolwide Advent project. We are encouraging families to donate new warm coats, gloves, hats and packages of diapers. Donations can be dropped at the WestSide Baby bin near the office inside the school. Families can also donate directly online using their Amazon Wish List. WestSide Baby works with over 100 social service organizations to support 40,000 local kids each year in King County. The drive will take place 11/27 to 12/14. Thank you for supporting families in need in our community!
Most Needed Items:
- Diapers (sizes 3-6)
- Pull-Ups (2T-5T)
- Rain Boots
- Winter Coats
- Hats and gloves
- Pajamas
- Blankets
- Books & Toys
Reading: We are getting ready to wrap up our in-depth study of Charlotte’s Web. On Monday we will send 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 to take 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 in the back of each student’s assignment book. 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: The spelling words for the week are all words that end with “ed” or “ing” and can be found here. The test will be Friday, December 8th. There will not be a spelling test the week of December 11-15.
Math: This week the students are gaining fluency using the algorithm for multiplying multi-digit numbers. Mastery of multiplication facts for automatic recall remains a high priority. Students should be practicing their facts nightly (Xtramath or flash cards) along with math homework, until the facts are mastered for automatic recall. Thank you for your encouragement and support of this important skill. We will wrap up Chapter 4 early next week and take the chapter test on December 12th.
Social Studies: The Midwest State test will take place this Thursday, December 14th. Students need to know both the locations and abbreviations as well as 4 of the Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie).
Science: In the second lesson, students learn about the connection between sounds and vibration. In the activity, Paper Cup Telephone, students make telephones using cups and string. Students then modify the design of their telephones using different types of supplies to see if they can improve the sound quality.
Have a wonderful week everyone! Enjoy the beautiful signs of the season.
