Check out this fun workshop for art fans!
Dear 4A Families,
Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all enjoyed yet another beautiful weekend. 4A had an excellent 2nd week of school. What a great group of students, I know we will have an amazing year ahead! I so enjoyed having the opportunity to meet you all during Back to School Night last Thursday. Please feel free to contact me if you ever have questions or concerns. We are partners in your child’s learning.
This will most likely be the last paper copy of the newsletter I will send. I sent out an email on Sunday afternoon with the subject “Newsletter is Up”. If you did not get it or if there are any changes, additions or deletions you want me to make to our 4A list, please let me know. Thank you!
West Fest! This Friday there will be a half-day for West Fest set-up and a teacher in-service. Perhaps I will see you at West Fest? Let’s pray for sun.
Your child will be bringing a Scholastic book order Monday. Please return order forms to me by next Tuesday the 23rd if you would like to order any books. Thank you!
Be sure to read the attached email from Ms. Mudge about recorders and purchase options. The letter is also available in the tabs above in the “Music & Recorders” tab.
Ride the Wave of Learning
As you have probably seen, the bulletin board outside of our classroom has the students on surf boards. This theme ties in with our “Come to the Water” school theme. Today I talked with the students about some traits/qualities surfers have that help them to be successful in this challenging sport. Many of these qualities also equate with successful students: Courage, Determination, Skills, Humility and Patience. In our lesson we defined and discussed each of these words. We will refer to these ideals often as we Ride the Wave of Learning this year.
Our Class Rules! The students will be expected to have the class rules memorized by next Tuesday the 23rd. Each student will have a copy of the rules in their filer. They will need to know both the rule and the number of that rule. We also have some movements that go with each rule. We will practice in class a couple of times each day. Please review these rules with your child as well.
- Kindness, Respect, Integrity 2. Follow directions quickly
3. Listen attentively 4. Raise your hand 5. Make smart choices
Social Studies: Last week the students received study sheets for a continent and ocean test that will take place Friday the 19th. This is a review of the test they took in 3rd grade. We have practiced in class, but hopefully they have asked mom or dad to quiz them as well. The test will have a word bank of the continents and oceans. Students need to know the locations. The 4A website has links to review the continents as well. Look under the “Map Skills” section on the right-hand links column. The students are also memorizing the Continent poem which is in each filer and available as a PDF in the tabs at the top of the 4A website. I will give practice time in class for this, but memorization should take place at home. The final day to present the poem in class is next Wednesday the 24th. We will be focusing on the concept of latitude and longitude as we gain skills reading maps using coordinates.
Science: In class this week the students will be doing activities dealing with the scientific method. Look for a study guide in your child’s filer. There will be a short quiz related to the scientific process on Wednesday the 24th.
Religion: We will continue to focus on strategies to make and build friendships in our Steps to Respect lessons. In the Sacred Story lessons we will learn about St. Ignatius and how our meditations will help us understand God’s presence in our lives and the meaning of eternity. We will also get some practice looking up Gospel readings, and we will preview this coming Sundays Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16.
Reading: . Our next story is Our Brother Martin with the target skills of author’s purpose, idioms and historical events. We will also read a biography of Langston Hughes. The link will bring you to Ms. Corrigan’s site.
Spelling and Language Arts: New spelling list for lesson 2 : short and long e words, will be in your child’s filer. We did a few of the questions together in class. We will complete activities in class around these words. There will be some homework based around the spelling words as well. Our language arts activities will focus on sentence structure, fluency and types of sentences. Word choice in writing will be highlighted.
Math: The students have all been signed up for Xtramath. We went through a lesson in the lab last week. Look for a flyer in your child’s filer. Even if you already have an Xtramth account, you will need to sign up with the new codes so that I can monitor your child’s progress and assign specific tasks. Please log in at home and set up your account no later than Thursday the 18th. Thank you! Our math lessons focus on place value, ordering and rounding numbers to the millions. On most Fridays this year we will have a special math day (yet to decide on a clever name for this) in which we will explore some of the topics in the second math book. Geometry and measurement will be our initial areas of focus. More to come…
This week in the computer lab I will introduce the Digit Whiz math site to the class and giving them a chance to explore the site and try out some of the activities. I will occasionally assign math homework from this site based on the topics we are covering in class. It is a fun site and a nice (free) alternative to Mathletics. I will send home the student usernames and passwords with them on Thursday as well.
SAFE Environment Training: All volunteers and employees at HRS must complete the Archdiocese Safe Environment training. Listed below is a upcoming training sessions:
Holy Rosary – Tuesday September 16th in HRS School Hall 6:30pm.
Please register for class at: http://seattle.setanet.org This is the initial training so that you can accompany us on field trips or volunteer in any capacity. Once you have taken this training you only need to update your certification with a short module online once a year. If you have taken the initial training, be sure to go to the same site and click on “My Obligations” to be sure you are in compliance. Let me know if you have any questions. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for your support of the magazine sale. This is an important fundraiser for our school. The first official turn-in day is tomorrow (Tuesday). Go 4th Grade!
Don’t forget––PICTURE DAY is next Monday the 22nd. Order forms were sent home last week. More are available in the office if you need them. Students may wear uniforms or free dress for picture day.
Enjoy your week. Be sure to let me know if you have any changes for our email distribution list.