Hi Everyone!

We have just finished our 5th week of school, here are a

few updates and reminders and a peek into 4th grade!

We are continuing our character study during reading time.

We have finished Tiger Rising and are now reading

Because of Winn Dixie. So far we identified common

themes such as characters struggling with loss and

friendship helping characters that have lost something

important. Next week we will compare and contrast the

main characters of the 2 books and identify similarities

and differences in their struggles. Please continue to have

your child read for at least 20 minutes each night.

In math we have moved from area and perimeter to

multiplicative comparisons (for example- recognizing/understanding

that 12 is twice as much as 6, 15 is 5 times as much as 3, etc)

Next week we will extend that work into word problems.

We have finished our intro to NC unit and started out first

science unit, magnetism and electricity.  So far we have tested

a variety of materials and identified commonalities between

magnetic and non magnetic objects. Next week we will build

circuits to operate light bulbs or motors.

Next week we have a HUGE treat! Thanks to the PTA, local poet

Phillip Shabazz will be with each 4th grade class for an hour a day

of poetry workshop. He has been  coming to HES for many years

and is AMAZING at getting children to write some pretty amazing poetry.

Today your child is bringing home their interim report and some

of what we’ve been working on in math for the last 2 weeks.

Please sign and return the interim report.

IMPORTANT DATES:

August 22 early release at 11:35

August 23 picture day

September 3 no school- Labor Day

September 14 last day of the 1st 9 weeks

Hello Everyone!

….and just like that we are in our 4th week of school!

In reading we are continuing our work with describing and analyzing characters
through our read aloud book, Tiger Rising by Katie DiCamillo. We are following the
characters Rob and Sistine as they both struggle through tough times and big life
changes. Students are also working to build stamina during independent reading time.

In math we are moving on from our getting to know you/graphing unit on to our work
with area & perimeter and multiplicative comparisons. As I mentioned at Parent Info night,
having their multiplication facts memorized makes almost every part of 4th grade math
much easier. Please continue to practice those at home. 4th graders are expected to master
facts through the 10’s.

We will finish the last of our SS unit this week (and begin science next week). We are
studying all the different state symbols of NC and students will create their own state
using and justifying the symbols that they think best represent our state. A part of our
SS work has been to practice spelling important words like Hillsborough Elementary,
North Carolina, Orange County, etc correctly.

In writing we are continuing to build a “writing life” by gathering ideas and writing about
important people, places, objects, and memories in our writer's notebooks. Soon we will
choose one of these ideas to “grow” into a full story.

IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT COMPUTERS:

This year the district expectation is that students charge their computers at home at night. We will no longer have the charging cart in our classroom. Please help your child remember to charge their computer each night.

Heads up!

In the next couple of days I will send home info about signing up for parent conferences at the end of this quarter. I will make sure it is on bright paper and hope to send it home either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Important Dates:

August 10 Read-a-thon kick off

August 13-17 Read-a-thon week

August 22 early release @ 11:35

August 23 fall picture day

September 14 last day of the first 9 weeks

October 8 first day of the second 9 weeks