Dear 4A Families,
Happy first week of December and Advent! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was such a pleasure meeting with you all last week during conferences. I am inspired and excited for the new trimester to begin. The signs of the season are all around us. As we prepare for Christmas we are asked to look for ways we can serve others. As a school we are asked to participate in several outreach/service opportunities.
Thank you all for your contributions to the Lunches of Love. If you have not had a chance to send in your lunch you can do so at any time before Christmas. All this week we are collecting for is our $1 on one for Uganda. It would be great if each student could send in $1 this week to support our Ugandan students: Brenda, Elizabeth, Judith, Sam and Rose. Thank you so much for your generosity.
All Holy Rosary School classes are asked to select organizations to support during Advent, Catholic Schools Week and Lent.
Grade 4 will be working to support the St. Vincent de Paul Society all year. Later in the year our 4th Grade Bake Sale proceeds will go to this very worthy organization. Right now, Advent monetary donations are being collected for St. Vincent de Paul. All students are also asked to bring in canned food as well. Finally, we will be donating greatly needed “warm” items to St. Vincent de Paul. They are in desperate need of hats, gloves, scarves, socks, blankets. Items may be new or gently used.
The students are encouraged to look for ways they can personally contribute to these causes. Perhaps they can do extra chores and earn some money to purchase canned food, socks or gloves, or just to add to the donation jar. These giving opportunities help us to live the Works of Mercy in our lives right now! Thank you so much.
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received,
how much money we have made,
how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
Tomorrow the students will receive the name of their Faith Family Prayer Partners. Each student is asked to pray for his or her partner each day and make a special card for him or her. Directions for this project will be on the sheet of paper with the name of the prayer partner. Nice construction paper will also be provided to make the card. Our hope it that the cards will be “from the heart” showing some real thought and time. This not only includes a nicely decorated/illustrated card, but a personal note and prayer of some type. If students misplace the name of their prayer partner they should ask their Faith Family teacher. Thank you for helping remind your child to add their prayer partner to their Advent prayers!
Religion: Advent marks the beginning of the new Liturgical Year. Our Advent Wreaths will be blessed at this Friday’s prayer service. In religion classes these next two weeks we will be learning about the Seasons of our Church, important feast days, and how to read a liturgical calendar. On Monday the students will fill out two study sheets for their Liturgical Year test that will take place Thursday, December 10th. All students will have the study sheets in their filer. Extra copies will are available on the website under the tab “Liturgical Year”. Students should not wait until the last minute to study! This is a two-part test in which the students will answer questions about the liturgical year as well as fill in and correctly color a liturgical calendar. We will review in class several times before the test and use our texts to further our understanding of the Church Year. You should quiz your child at home on both the calendar and related questions.
The students will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent. We will be reviewing this Sacrament in class and praying the Act of Contrition regularly. The students will be required to have this prayer memorized (most know it already) before the day of the reconciliation. Each student will have a copy in their filer and you can also access a copy on our website. Thank you for reviewing with your child at home.
Math: Thank you for your continued support in practicing the multiplication/division facts for speed recall and accuracy! Our class lessons will focus on multiplication of larger numbers and problem solving.
Reading/Language Arts: Last week the students brought home a large paper and directions for the Charlotte’s Web Quote Poster project. Quote Posters due on or before Dec. 14th: As we’ve read Charlotte’s Web, we’ve practiced selecting and writing down various quotes. The students are learning to choose quotes that have significant meaning or provide insight into the characters. As they work through this project at home, they can use the books sent along to help. The children have been given older, used books, but nonetheless, we’d like them returned once the project is finished. Also, students may use their Charlotte’s Web folders to reference quotes that students recorded earlier. We can send these folders home on weekends, but need them here each day in class.
Students should be careful to choose the BEST quotes for each character. At the beginning of our unit, some students may have started out writing down quotes that aren’t as important as the ones recorded later in the unit (students became better at choosing as we practiced over time). If students need hints from school, that is fine! Just have your child ask for a hint for a specific character and we can lead them to a chapter that will help.
Final drafts should be neat, carefully completed and colorful. Please help your child check that they’ve met the expectations by going over the directions, grading criteria and rubric that was sent home (pink sheet) before Thanksgiving. It should be in your child’s filer.
The spelling words for the week will be sent home Monday. On the back of the study sheet you will find a small assignment that is due on Friday related to the spelling words.
Science: We will discuss the different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, as well as the impact of energy consumption. Students will understand how they use energy and how it is transformed from one type to another. As engineers we will learn the innovative ways other engineers are conserving energy and how energy can be conserved in our own homes.
Social Studies: Wednesday the 9th the students will be taking the combination NE/SE/Midwest State test. Since these are states that have already been tested this test should not be too difficult. I will be offering an opportunity to take the test this Friday the 4th for those students that are interested. I have decided to postpone the Western State test until after the Christmas break. Our class work will focus on early exploration of our state.
There are several homework tasks that require review and quizzing. Parents can help by using the study sheets with your child to ask questions/quiz them on the topics. This includes the Liturgical Year Test, map test, spelling and perhaps flash cards. On Friday the students will be bringing home a Charlotte’s Web vocabulary sheet containing the vocabulary we have been working on in class. Remember, short—but focused and consistent practice is the best way to learn new information.
Christmas Program: The date is Thursday, December 10th. Students can practice their songs with music provided by Ms. Mudge. I have the 4th grade songs linked here.
Nightly review of math facts is expected if facts are not memorized.
- Lesson 8 spelling words.
- Math homework most nights.
- Review for NE/SE/Midwest state test.
- Quote Poster
- Liturgical Year Review
- Pray for Prayer Partner
- We are in need of small, empty jam jars (about 4-5 in. tall) for a little project we will be working on. Please make sure there are no labels on them. We would like the jars in by December 10th. If you have more than one to send, that would be great too. No baby food jars please. Thank you!
Have a wonderful week everyone.
