Final Newsletter of the Year!

ZZ50601E42untitledDear 4A Families,

We made it! The last week of school and the last newsletter of the year. I am always a little sad writing this letter as I say good-bye to my students and their families. It has been a wonderful year with such a creative, enthusiastic and talented group of students. I have so appreciated the kind support of all the 4A families and I will truly miss this special class.

Some important messages:

Please check your child’s filer for a Holy Rosary Band intent form.  They would like these back before the end of the week.  This is not a binding agreements, they just want to have an idea of the number of new fifth graders that are interested.  Thank you. I will also add a pdf here: band

  • Cleaning Days Tuesday and Thursday! We will do the major desk clean out on Tuesday. Students are asked to bring in a sturdy bag or two to bring home most of the contents of their desks on Tuesday— as well as some rags for cleaning. Thank you!
  • untitledReport cards will be sent home on Friday. You will find many important inserts which include directions for the summer reading program Harris provides and the summer math challenge from Mrs. Heuer along with my Mathletics challenge. You will also be receiving information about math placements for 5th grade. I am asking students not to open their report cards until they get home or in their car. That way no important notes will be lost. I will be sealing the envelopes.
  • ZZ0FD933FESummer packets: I will be making a summer math packet for each student. This is not required, but I encourage all students to do some type of math review during the summer. The math packet is just an opiton. I will send the math packets on Thursday. If you are interested in reading packets please let me know if you have not already done so.
  • Be sure to check your child’s filer for recent tests, assignments and grade sheets. Many were sent last week and more will come on Monday. You may receive a few stragglers later in the week. These will be in the portfolio folder the students bring home. This is a good time to clean out filers. If your filer is still in good shape it can be used next year instead of purchasing a new one.
  • On Thursday the students will bring home their 4th grade portfolios. In the portfolios you will find many of the bigger/special projects of the year. This is a nice compilation of fourth grade work neatly stored.
  • ssOn the top of the 4A webpage you will find newly added “Summer Math”, “Summer Reading” and “Summer Writing” tabs. In each section you will find links to great websites, resources and ideas to help with summer review. I am still finishing these up. The links on the right side of the webpage that the students have used all year will remain as well. If you are looking for some fun summer work ideas, be sure to check out these tabs.
  • Those students that can bring in evidence of their summer work in math (worksheets, website online program results, or completed workbooks) should bring them in to me the first week of school for some fun little prizes/goodies to reward a job well done. It is so important to take time to continue to practice math facts as well as review the many math concepts we have learned this year. Summer work does not need to be laborious, just short, focused, regular sessions will make a real difference and reduce the summer slide.

I have to give one more plug for summer reading! It is the best way to keep skills strong and reduce the summer learning loss.

ZZ36411DC5Monday: We have some final tasks and assignments to complete today—most importantly some fun history lessons to prepare for the Underground Tour and practice for our reader’s theater presentation on Thursday.

Tuesday:   Remember to send in a study bag or tow for your child to put the contents of their desks and lockers in. We love to have some rags for cleaning if you have any to spare. These generally are not returned. Along with cleaning and some final tasks, we will have a special visit from Dr. Murphy (Brady’s dad) who will be teaching the students a bit about DNA with some fun activities.

ZZ7BA8AC6CLooks like Sun! Our final field trip of the year will take place Wednesday the 7th. It appears we will not need to stress about rain this year! Sunscreen will definitely be in order. We will first be exploring below the streets of Seattle on the very entertaining and historical Underground Tour. Following the tour we will get back to sea level as we head to Alki to eat our lunches and have some playtime together where the Denny Party landed in 1851. Our room parents will be bringing pizza and ice cream, and a drink for the beach. Students can bring an extra snack if they choose. All student should bring a some extra water to keep hydrated. We plan to be back at school between 1:45 and 2:00. If you signed up to drive/chaperone you should have received an email from me over the last Thursday. (Please let me know if I forgot anyone!) Students may enjoy free dress on this field trip. Please follow all rules regarding free dress days. They should wear good shoes, not flip flops for the tour. It is dusty and dirty below! They may bring flip flops for the beach if they like. It is also fun to have some blankets, towels and beach toys, especially shovels and buckets as it is always fun to make sand castles. We never have enough!!

untitledThursday is a half-day and a free dress day as well. The students will present their reader’s theater to the students of 3A. We will hopefully enjoy a viewing of a slide show (that I am very behind in working on) chronicling our year. It is fun putting the slide show together, and it is amazing to recall all of the great work and many projects the students completed as 4th graders. past year. Mr. Barker is going to help me get the slideshow on a private YouTube link that I will email to you.

Friday is our final day, and the students are asked to dress nicely as we celebrate the final Mass of the school year. Report cards will be passed out after Mass. Dismissal is around 10:00.

That is about all for this last newsletter. Again, I want to thank you all for a wonderful year. I hope you all have a fun and relaxing summer. I am looking forward to heading out to Montana at the end of June. I love to get letters in Montana (and it is a great way for students to practice those writing skills). If I get a letter I will return a postcard from Montana in return! My summer address is:

letterP.O Box 97

Seeley Lake, MT 59868

Blessings for a happy, safe, relaxing and rejuvenating summer break.

Sincerely,

Mary Simpsonuntitled