Week of May 20th

Dear 4A Families,

The bake sale was a great success and great fun! Thank you all for your support—the delicious baked goods—and help before, during and after the sale. This year’s bake sale was very successful, raising over $1,000 for the Holy Rosary Chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

ZZ5118A314Field day at Hiawatha is this Friday. Students should dress for a day of activity and wear appropriate athletic shoes. Students should also bring water bottles. We will pray for sun! Remember, this is also a half-day. 4A is wearing green, white and blue as their main colors for the day.  Students may wear any combination of these colors.

If you have not turned in your permission slips for field day (goldenrod) or the Underground Tour (yellow) please do so by this Tuesday Please let me know if you will not be here on Friday as well. Thank you.

ZZ02684493The Book Fair is open though this Wednesday.  Get your books for summer reading!

ZZ0B651878On Monday (20th) the 4th grade students will be given a private band recruitment concert by the Holy Rosary Band students and Francis McKamey. Francis will give the students a preview of the types of instruments that are available to the students so they can start thinking about band for 5th grade.  In September they will have another informational day and will receive sign up information for joining band as a 5th grader.

Flat Stanley Journals are due this Wednesday the 22nd:

Be sure the students read each journal entry aloud before turning them in.  Each entry should have pictures (they can also be drawn), and figurative language.

Spelling: The spelling test for Lesson 23 will take place this Thursday.

Reading: Our whole class novel study of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is nearing the end. We are enjoying this fun mystery/adventure as well as building our reading and vocabulary skills.

Mystery Books: The students should be done, or nearly done reading their mystery books at this point. Students will be sharing their books June 3-5. Next week, on Wednesday, May 29th, all students should bring their mystery books to school.  They will need them for an in class activity we will be completing.  I will remind you again in next week’s newsletter.

Social Studies: The students are learning about the early history of Washington State.  Our focus this week will be on Mother Joseph and early settlements in Washington State.   As we wrap up the year the students will be focusing on Seattle, and the arrival of the Denny Party at Alki Point. We will also learn about the days of downtown Seattle—which will lead us to the reason we have an underground tour! The Great Seattle Fire and the Klondike Gold Rush will be included in this early history our city. Seattle has a very interesting early history that is always a crowd pleaser!  On Tuesday the students will bring home a hard copy of a map study sheet for the Washington State Mountain and River test. Online practice for this test can be accessed here:  Short nightly practice sessions make for better retention that waiting until the last minute. I will give the students practice sessions during our classes as well.  They know many of the locations already from previous tests and activities.  The test will take place on Thursday, June 6th.

Science: Last week 4B was able to test their solar ovens and on Monday 4A will be testing their ovens. Then we will discuss and compare our results. It is interesting to see how each solar oven performs with its unique insulation.

Math:  We will be taking the math portion of the MAP test this Monday and Tuesday.  Our class lessons will continue to focus on fractions and decimals, with some review work peppered in as well.

This Thursday we will get to visit the 6th Grade Wax Museum, which is always a fun and educational event.

 

Homework:

  • Flat Stanley journals due Wednesday the 22nd
  • Spelling test on Thursday for lesson 23
  • Mystery Book Report presentations due on June 3rd
  • Practice the Memorare each night before bed.  All prayers need to be recited by June 7th.
  • Math homework if not completed during class work time I will provide.

Important Upcoming Dates:

ZZ4B238AEEMay 20th: Band recruitment concert for 4th graders 10:30-11:00

May 20th and 21st: MAP Math Test

May 22nd: Book Fair Ends

May 23rd: Spelling test for Lesson 23 and 6th Grade Wax Museum

May 25th: Field Day and noon dismissal. Wear green, white and blue

May 27th: Memorial Day—no school

May 29th: Bring mystery books to school for an activity

May 31st: Final spelling test

June 3rd: Mystery Book Reports due.

June 6th: Washington River and Mountain test and 8th Grade Graduation

June 7th:  Last day to recite the Memorare.

June 11th: Kindergarten Graduation.  Begin classroom cleaning.  Desks cleaned out.  Bring in bags and rags!

June 12th:  Underground Tour and Alki Beach

June 13th: Half day. Finish cleaning, final lessons. Free dress

June 14th: Final Day! Mass and dismissal. Dress nicely.

Enjoy the Memorial Day Holiday next Monday.