Dear 4A Families,
Happy first week of Advent. I hope you all had a nice weekend.
This Tuesday the 5th the students will be receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Fr. Oakland. We started reviewing last week and will continue to prepare on Monday in class. You will find an examination of conscience and the steps for receiving reconciliation in your child’s filer to help him or her prepare. Thank you for taking time to remind/assist your child in his or her preparations for this special sacrament. Students can write down notes on the direction sheet to bring with them into the confessional if they would like. Students should continue to practice the Act of Contrition. While they can use their sheet to pray during the service, all students are expected to be able to recite the Act of Contrition from memory before Christmas break.
On Friday the 9th we celebrate the Mass of the Immaculate Conception at 8:35. Students need to come in perfect uniform on Friday. This includes a red sweatshirt, vest or sweater. Join us if you are able. Because of the Mass on Friday we will not have Mass on Wednesday this week.
We will be meeting with our Faith Families on Wednesday and receive the names of our Prayer Partners. Each student is asked to pray for his or her partner each day and make a special card for them. Directions for this project will be on a sheet of paper that will come home Wednesday with directions for the card and the name of your child’s 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. The cards should be brought to school on or before Friday the 15th to make sure we have them all for our card exchange. 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!
Report cards will come home this Friday. I am very proud of the progress the students are making. I will ask the students not to open their report card envelope until they get in their car or home. You can help by reinforcing this request as well. Grades are personal and should not be shared and compared with classmates or other families. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding your child’s grades and or progress during the first trimester. Please note; the overall spelling grade is a combination of spelling tests, spelling practice work and applied spelling (spelling in written work).
Thank you for supporting our all-school collections for Advent. Next Wednesday the 13th we will gather in the church to have the items collected blessed by Fr. Oakland and then distributed to the organizations. All students will have a paper copy of 4th grade’s areas of focus in their filers on Monday.
Grade 4 is collecting in the following three categories:
1. Saint James Cathedral Youth Group’s Annual Winter Toy Drive!
Each year, Saint James Youth Ministers combine forces with several schools in the Seattle Archdiocese to help provide two new toys and a coat for nearly four hundred children of migrant workers in the Skagit Valley. Due to the difficult living conditions and low wage situations, these children’s parents encounter an uphill battle in obtaining Christmas gifts for their kids: We are collecting any unwrapped toys, arts supplies, sports equipment and warm coats for kids aged 3-13.
2. Money to support our Ugandan students.
3. Canned/non perishable food for St. Vincent de Paul Holy Rosary food bank
Thank you all so much for your generosity with all of these service/outreach requests. We are truly doing Works of Mercy!
Reading/Language Arts: Hopefully the students have a good start on their Quote Posters. If they brought home their notebooks over the weekend they should be sure to bring them back to school on Monday.
Spelling: Lesson 9 lists were sent home last Friday. The test will take place this Friday the 8th.
Social Studies: The next set of states the students will be tested on are the SE States. This test will take place on Monday, December 18th. This week we will learn about some of the early explorers by sea to our region.
Students should continue to pray for their prayer partners and be sure to make their card and have it to school by next Friday the 15th. Also, many students have not yet turned in their goal sheet they received at conferences. Please have these filled out and turned in by this Friday. Thank you!
- Spelling test for Lesson 9 on the 8th
- Cool School News notes due on Wednesday the 6th
- Quote Poster due on Thursday the 14th
- SE State test on Monday the 18th
- Practice words to songs for the Christmas program
- Nightly math fact practice (Xtramath and flashcards)
