Dear 4A Families,
Happy Halloween on Thursday and All Saints’ Day on Friday. We have an exciting week ahead week with practices for our upcoming Masses and a Halloween Party on Thursday! Those of you with children who will be reading parts or taking part in the interviews should continue to practice at home as well. Remember–slow, clear reading for the microphone is best. Be sure to check the Newsletter is Posted email I sent on Sunday for a reminder of the weekend Mass you signed up for.
Thursday, October 31st the students will be busy! We will have our final Mass practice in the morning, and we will enjoy a Halloween Party the last hour of the day. Students may wear Halloween themed free dress, no costumes, face paint or hair dye please. Thank you to our room parents and all those that are helping out during the party. There will be no homework on Thursday this week. Happy Halloween!
Friday, November 1st is the All Saints’ Day school Mass at 8:45. Students should come to school completely dressed as their saint. All students should be in the classroom no later than 8:25. Thank you! Students that usually come in the second group should plan to come in the first group on Friday. Doors open at 8:15
Just a reminder, the School Mass has limited seating for parents on a first come first serve basis. They may open up the choir loft. You will not be sitting with your children during the School Mass. The All Saints Day Mass will also be live-streamed using the Holy Rosary Parish vimeo link for those who are unable to attend. The link can be found here.
Students will be wearing their costumes for a good part of the day
There will be no homework on Thursday this week. Happy Halloween!
Veterans Day Flag Assignment: Last week we sent home directions and a blank flag for the Veterans Day Flag homework project. I went over the project in detail in class as well so that the students should know what to do. The project is due no later than next Wednesday November 5th. On Thursday, November 7th, we will have a special classroom prayer service to honor the Veterans using these flags prior to our days off of school on November 8th and 11th. If you do not know a Veteran you can honor, you can research databases online with profiles of Veterans. Here is one site we have used in the past.
Thank you for your assistance on this special project. Students should work neatly, and spell correctly. They should also practice reading their flags prior to bringing them to school.
Religion: On Friday the students will be making saintly visits in their costumes to the kindergarten and 3rd grade classes (possibly preschool) to teach about their saints. The students share who their saint was, when and where they were born, and how their saint followed God’s path. It’s a wonderful opportunity for the younger students to get a glimpse of what they’ll experience when they reach fourth grade!
Reading: We’re making great progress with Charlotte’s Web, getting to know the unique and charming traits of the characters. The students are really enjoying partner-reading the chapters, bringing the story to life with expressive voices and personality as they read aloud. In addition, we’re focusing on crafting thoughtful and detailed responses to comprehension questions, helping to deepen their understanding of the text. It’s exciting to see their growing engagement and enthusiasm!
Spelling: There will not be a spelling test this week. Words for the November 7th test will come home on Friday the 1st.
Language Arts: We are continuing to make progress on the saint reports. Students are learning how to edit, revise, and add more details to their drafts. The final writing sections include writing a prayer to their saint and reflecting on how they can follow in their saint’s footsteps. In November, there will be two special bulletin boards showcasing the 4th grade saint projects—one in the main hallway downstairs and another by each of our classrooms. You’ll have the chance to admire these wonderful projects when you come for your conference!
Math: We started chapter 3 last week, which is a deep dive into understanding multiplication and division. There is a lot of thought that is going into this chapter, and it can be challenging for fourth graders! Please make sure your child is practicing their multiplication facts at least 3x per week for 10 minutes. Flash or playing cards to multiply can be a fun and effective supplement to XtraMath.
Science: This week the students will be finishing up the last lesson in the Birth of Rocks unit: Erosion, Natural Hazards, and Engineering. In this lesson students will learn about the types, causes, and dangers of landslides. The activity, Slide City, will consist of students being faced with an engineering problem of protecting a house from a landslide and preventing a future one. They will use a brainstorming technique to design creative solutions. The students will have an upcoming test that covers vocabulary and concepts learned in unit 1 on November 15th.
Social Studies: The students received a new set of states to practice last week, the SE State states. The SE State test will take place next Thursday, November 7th–I had originally given the 8th as the test date, but we are not in school that day! The next test is a combination NE/SE test one week later on November 15th. The online practice sites that are linked on the 4A webpage under Map Study Sheets.
Just a reminder, students are expected to CAPITALIZE abbreviations and the names of the additional locations they are labeling—like Lake Erie, or Cape Cod. They should also be spelling locations correctly when they have a word list on their test. I will be taking off points when students have more than one or two errors on capitalization or spelling. Developing the habit of carefully checking over work is an important skill in all subject areas.
