Summer Letter
May 31, 2019
Dear 4A Families,
I wanted to take this opportunity to express how proud I am of the progress the fourth grade students have made this year, academically, socially and spiritually. Learning to take on big projects, work independently and be productive group members are all skills that will help make their transition into the upper grades successful. Your support this year has been tremendous as well. I will truly miss this class next year.
As you well know, the students have learned (and will continue to learn) many challenging and important skills this year. They have grown significantly in their reading, writing and math skills. I understand that it is often quite difficult to motivate children to dedicate time to reading, reviewing math skills or writing during summer vacation. The research is clear however; when students to not regularly read, practice math and writing skills over the summer, they lose a significantamount (up to three months) of the progress they made during the school year. This is especially true for reading and math skills.
Please note, I consider one of the most important aspects of summer to be time to play and be a kid! Being outside and taking advantage of all the wonderful adventures summer has to offer plays a very important roll in both physical and mental growth. Summer is “battery recharge” time and we all need that! The summer review I am encouraging is not intended to be long and laborious. In fact, the best practice sessions are short, but very focused and consistent. A regular skill practice routine will build and refine skills and work habits. What we do not want is a “low academic battery” when school begins next year. That being said, here are some suggestions for avoiding the “summer slide.”
To help you out with summer reading here are a few options:
Reading:
Building strong reading comprehension and vocabulary skills have a positive affect on all subject areas. Students should be reading dailyin books at their instructional reading level (not too easy—not too hard). Choosing books from a variety of genres, fiction and non-fiction is the best way to build strong, well-rounded reading skills. Don’t neglect oral reading! Opportunities to read orally to build fluency, expression and pace should be included in summer reading time. Reading a picture book aloud to a sibling is a great way to get some oral reading practice. What could be better than relaxing with an ice-cold lemonade and a great book on a warm summer day?
Summer Reading Packet from Ms. Corrigan:
Ms. Corrigan has prepared a summer reading packet and it is attached to this letter in the form of a PDF for your convenience. In addition to daily reading, students are encouraged to complete some or all of the included activities that can be printed out at any time–no matter where your summer takes you!!! These activities reinforce skills learned in 4th grade and will help students feel confident going into 5th grade. As a bonus, special prizes will be awarded to students who complete the packet and return it to Ms. Corrigan the first week of school in September!! If you have any questions, you can contact Ms. Corrigan at mcorrigan@holyrosaryws.org.
Gr. 4 Summer Reading Packet
Holy Rosary will be offering the annual Holy Rosary Summer Reading Challenge, which I highly recommend. The Summer Reading form will be in the report card envelope. Leslie Sumida from the Seattle Public Librarywill also be here next week to talk to the students about their summer reading program as well. Their summer reading program officially launches on June 15th. Leslie always shares some great book ideas to get the students excited about reading.
Math:
Every 4thgrade student needs to take time this summer to review and practice the many important skills we have learned this year. The students have worked hard on their math facts this year, and most have them mastered. All students must have their multiplication and division facts mastered for fluent recallas they begin 5thgrade, and those that do have them mastered should review so that they keep the facts fresh. All students will receive a math packet they are encouraged to work in this summer. Those students that complete most of the packet can bring it to me for some special treats during the first week of school in September J. There are several sites linked to our webpage where you can run off your own math practice sheets. One site I use often to get extra math fact and skill practice for the students is a site called commoncoresheets.com. Scroll down to “math drills” to run off time test sheets. Check out the other resources on this site as well. If you do choose one of the online programs I mention below, I do also recommended a mixture of paper/pencil and flash cards along with online work as the hand/mind connection is important when reviewing and building skills.
This summer once again Mrs. Heuer will be offering the Summer Math Challenge. You will find information about this program in the report card envelope along with the Summer Reading information.The math packet I send home can also count for time on the Summer Math Challenge.
Writing/LA:
Journal writing, pen pals, letters, creative stories, online programs like Story Jumperand Storybird are fun ways to include writing over the summer. I will be putting links to several fun and useful websites for writing ideas on the webpage especially for summer use as well.
For spelling, vocabulary and writing review, the students can continue to use Spelling Cityall summer. This site also offers self-paced lessons (learning activities and games) for grades 1-12, it is customizable, and you can review the completed grade or get a head start on the next grade!
Costco and Amazon both sell a very good workbook called Scholastic Success With 4thGrade. It has excellent review skills in all subject areas and is less than $8.00 for way more work than you can complete!
As mentioned I will have a Summer Practice Site on our 4A Webpage up and running at the end of the year that you can access all summer for great links to support summer practice. I will also be sending home all of the logins and passwords for the math and reading sites the students have used this year and will have access to over the summer.
It has been an amazing year, but we are not done yet. Your support in helping your child keep focused and on track during these last important days of the school year is very important—and appreciated. If you have any questions or ideas to help with summer studies, let me know.
Sincerely,
Mary Simpson
Dear 4A Families,
I hope you all enjoyed the Memorial Day Weekend. Field Day was great fun on Friday!
Mystery Book Reports: The students will be giving their mystery book presentations next week. The students also have three papers they started filling out last week relating to their mystery. Students should practice their presentations at home so that they are able to present clearly and confidently.
I will be sending out a “Summer Letter” on Thursday this week online and on blue paper that will outline some ideas and opportunities for summer practice. The students have worked so hard this year and have made such wonderful progress. All students should be setting aside some time over the summer to review math and they should all be reading regularly!! Thank you for providing encouragement and consistent time this summer for a bit of review—which will help prevent the summer slide.
Language Arts: The students are working on their final entry for their Flat Stanley Journals. This will be graded separately. This entry will be self-edited by the students giving them a chance to show how they have grown as writers this year. The students were given clear guidelines for this writing, as well as an optional extra credit entry. I will be setting up a time for the students to share their journals with the first grade students soon.
Personal Quotes: Attached you will find a homework assignment in which the students will write their own personal quotes. I will be going over the project in class on Tuesday with the students and pass out the worksheet. The quotes are due by Friday. Please assist your child with wording, spelling, etc. as needed.
Spelling: There will not be a spelling test this week, but there will be a test next Friday, June 7th. The word list will come home later this week.
Social Studies: The Washington State Feature (rivers and mountains) test will take place next Thursday, June 6th. Students should review both with the blank map they all have in their filers as well as the online practice site. Our class work will in these final days will be focusing on early Seattle history which will help prepare us for our Underground Tour field trip.
Science: This week we will analyze the data from our lab last week. This information will help the students choose their insulation in their solar ovens. We will begin building our solar ovens this week and hopefully will test them next week. Please start praying for sun!
️
Math: We are doing a combination of work on decimals, fractions and geometry in our final lessons of the year. Homework will include review of 4th grade skills as well as our daily lessons. The students will be having a fraction test on Thursday this week. Tuesday/Wednesday homework will be a review/practice test.
Religion: We will be finishing up our Beatitude work this week. Our final unit will focus on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and an overall review of topics we have covered this year. Several students have already recited the Memorare. The last day to recite this prayer is Friday, June 7th.
- Math homework each night
- Mystery Book Report
- Washington State Feature test
- Learn the Memorare
Have a great week—I know it is busy—for everyone, but it is so important for the students to remain focused and attentive to their work for these last 3 weeks. Thank you for your assistance.
Summer Letter
May 31, 2019
Dear 4A Families,
I wanted to take this opportunity to express how proud I am of the progress the fourth grade students have made this year, academically, socially and spiritually. Learning to take on big projects, work independently and be productive group members are all skills that will help make their transition into the upper grades successful. Your support this year has been tremendous as well. I will truly miss this class next year.
As you well know, the students have learned (and will continue to learn) many challenging and important skills this year. They have grown significantly in their reading, writing and math skills. I understand that it is often quite difficult to motivate children to dedicate time to reading, reviewing math skills or writing during summer vacation. The research is clear however; when students to not regularly read, practice math and writing skills over the summer, they lose a significantamount (up to three months) of the progress they made during the school year. This is especially true for reading and math skills.
Please note, I consider one of the most important aspects of summer to be time to play and be a kid! Being outside and taking advantage of all the wonderful adventures summer has to offer plays a very important roll in both physical and mental growth. Summer is “battery recharge” time and we all need that! The summer review I am encouraging is not intended to be long and laborious. In fact, the best practice sessions are short, but very focused and consistent. A regular skill practice routine will build and refine skills and work habits. What we do not want is a “low academic battery” when school begins next year. That being said, here are some suggestions for avoiding the “summer slide.”
To help you out with summer reading here are a few options:
Reading:
Building strong reading comprehension and vocabulary skills have a positive affect on all subject areas. Students should be reading dailyin books at their instructional reading level (not too easy—not too hard). Choosing books from a variety of genres, fiction and non-fiction is the best way to build strong, well-rounded reading skills. Don’t neglect oral reading! Opportunities to read orally to build fluency, expression and pace should be included in summer reading time. Reading a picture book aloud to a sibling is a great way to get some oral reading practice. What could be better than relaxing with an ice-cold lemonade and a great book on a warm summer day?
Summer Reading Packet from Ms. Corrigan:
Ms. Corrigan has prepared a summer reading packet and it is attached to this letter in the form of a PDF for your convenience. In addition to daily reading, students are encouraged to complete some or all of the included activities that can be printed out at any time–no matter where your summer takes you!!! These activities reinforce skills learned in 4th grade and will help students feel confident going into 5th grade. As a bonus, special prizes will be awarded to students who complete the packet and return it to Ms. Corrigan the first week of school in September!! If you have any questions, you can contact Ms. Corrigan at mcorrigan@holyrosaryws.org.
Gr. 4 Summer Reading Packet
Holy Rosary will be offering the annual Holy Rosary Summer Reading Challenge, which I highly recommend. The Summer Reading form will be in the report card envelope. Leslie Sumida from the Seattle Public Librarywill also be here next week to talk to the students about their summer reading program as well. Their summer reading program officially launches on June 15th. Leslie always shares some great book ideas to get the students excited about reading.
Math:
Every 4thgrade student needs to take time this summer to review and practice the many important skills we have learned this year. The students have worked hard on their math facts this year, and most have them mastered. All students must have their multiplication and division facts mastered for fluent recallas they begin 5thgrade, and those that do have them mastered should review so that they keep the facts fresh. All students will receive a math packet they are encouraged to work in this summer. Those students that complete most of the packet can bring it to me for some special treats during the first week of school in September J. There are several sites linked to our webpage where you can run off your own math practice sheets. One site I use often to get extra math fact and skill practice for the students is a site called commoncoresheets.com. Scroll down to “math drills” to run off time test sheets. Check out the other resources on this site as well. If you do choose one of the online programs I mention below, I do also recommended a mixture of paper/pencil and flash cards along with online work as the hand/mind connection is important when reviewing and building skills.
This summer once again Mrs. Heuer will be offering the Summer Math Challenge. You will find information about this program in the report card envelope along with the Summer Reading information.The math packet I send home can also count for time on the Summer Math Challenge.
Writing/LA:
Journal writing, pen pals, letters, creative stories, online programs like Story Jumperand Storybird are fun ways to include writing over the summer. I will be putting links to several fun and useful websites for writing ideas on the webpage especially for summer use as well.
For spelling, vocabulary and writing review, the students can continue to use Spelling Cityall summer. This site also offers self-paced lessons (learning activities and games) for grades 1-12, it is customizable, and you can review the completed grade or get a head start on the next grade!
Costco and Amazon both sell a very good workbook called Scholastic Success With 4thGrade. It has excellent review skills in all subject areas and is less than $8.00 for way more work than you can complete!
As mentioned I will have a Summer Practice Site on our 4A Webpage up and running at the end of the year that you can access all summer for great links to support summer practice. I will be sending home all of the logins and passwords for the math and reading sites the students will have access to that we have used this year.
It has been an amazing year, but we are not done yet. Your support in helping your child keep focused and on track during these last important days of the school year is very important—and appreciated. If you have any questions or ideas to help with summer studies, let me know.
Sincerely,
Mary Simpson