Last Newsletter of the Year!

untitledZZ50601E42Dear 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:

  • 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!
  • Report cards will be sent home on Friday. You will find many important inserts including scores and information about the summer reading program Harris provides as well as the summer math challenge from Mrs. Heuer. 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.
  • untitledSummer 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 or writing packets, please let me know.
  • 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 on Tuesday. Expect to see two math tests, reading tests, social studies and spelling. This is a good time to clean out filers.
  • 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.
  • On 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. 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 summer slide.

ZZ1E27A2F2I have to give one more plug for summer reading! It is the best way to keep skills strong and reduce the summer learning loss. I sent out an email on Saturday about a great reading app called Epic. Here is a link for free access until the end of July.

Monday: 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.

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, the students will be presenting Blame it on the Wolf to the third graders.

alkiLooks like Sun! Our final field trip of the year will take place Wednesday the 8th. 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, water and juice for lunch at the beach. Students can bring an extra snack or water if they choose. 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 weekend. 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. ZZ7BA8AC6CIt 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!!  We are still accepting monetary donations to help cover parking costs for our drivers. Thank you!

Thursday is a half-day and a free dress day as well. 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. I am working to figure out a way to share out the slide show. I will let you know when I know!

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.

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,

 Ms. Simpson

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