Happy Monday Everyone-

Just a few quick highlights/reminders for this week:

Students may bring valentine cards to pass out this Friday. We will not have a "party" but will use the last 15 minutes or so of the day to exchange cards. Here is a class list:

Kylee

Lucas

Wyatt 

Makaylee 

Kyndall 

Charlotte 

Ryan 

Emilee 

Seamus 

Markus 

Natalie 

Phoebe

 Rachel 

Cameron 

Leo 

Rosa 

Jaidan 

Chase 

Levi 

Cooper 

Jilian

 Azahri 

Joshua

Next Thursday, February 20th is our Science Fun Day. The cost in $24. Please send in money by next Wednesday, February 20th.

*Next Friday, 2/21 is a teacher workday.

4th Grade Update 

This 9 weeks is off to a great start with one of my favorite units of the yea!. As you read in the last update we are about halfway through an integrated reading, writing, and social studies unit focusing on the Civil Rights Era. We have completed nonfiction background work and read many historical fiction picture books. Next week we will begin historical fiction book clubs. Students will be mixed up with 4th graders from other classes with either myself, Mrs. Landstrom, Mr. Kaji, Ms. Sinicrope, or Mrs. Shopmyer. Each group will read a novel set at some point between the 1930's- 1960's. Students will spend time reading independently and in groups discussing their books for the next several weeks. During writing and social studies time students have chosen a broad topic to research and are working to zoom in on some aspect of the topic. Then they will create a driving question for their research. They will create a project to display in or 4th Grade Civil Rights museum that you will all be invited to! (We will finalize the date soon,  it will be sometime during the last week before spring break.) Students have the option to get very creative with their project. The majority of the work will be done at school, but I will let you know if there's anything that would be better completed at home.

In math we have completed our unit on place value and the standard algorithm for addition and subtraction. We will continue to practice these with morning work and homework. Our next focus is measurement. We have worked to build a chart of measurement vocabulary and will focus on metric measurement with a little time spent on customary measurement. 

Next week we will take the next round of the NC Check ins for both reading and math. Please make sure you child has a fully charged computer.

A few reminders:

We are going to the symphony on Tuesday, February 25th. Students only need a completed permission slip, Orange County pays for the trip for all 4th graders.

Please make sure your child has a jacket or coat for recess. Unless it raining or well below freezing we will go outside each day.

Important Dates:

Thursday February 20th- In School Science Field Trip- check yellow folders for info
Friday February 21- No School, Teacher Workday

Friday March 13- end of the 3rd 9 weeks

Congratulations to both of our class representatives at the HES Spelling Bee today! 

1st place- Leo

2nd place- Natalie

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

First, I'd like to thank you for making our end of 2nd quarter learning celebration a success! It was amazing to see so many proud faces, on both students and parents!

Thank you also for all of the thoughtful and generous Christmas gifts!

We have hit the ground running for the second half of the year and are already back in the swing of things. Here is an overview of what we will be working on for the next several weeks in 4th grade:

We have started an integrated Reading/Writing project that focuses on historical fiction and begins with reinforcing our nonfiction work from last quarter to build background knowledge. This week and next we are working to build a timeline and learn about significant events in the Civil Rights Era. Then we will transition to picture books, read alouds, and book clubs using historical fiction literature set during that time. Students will be reinforcing our work from the 1st 9 weeks to analyze characters and try to "walk in their shoes". 

In Science we have a short mini unit that focuses on the phases of the moon and what causes night and day, then we will use our Social Studies time to look at important events in NC during the Civil Rights Era.

In Math we will be focusing on mastering the standard algorithm for multi digit addition and subtraction- adding and subtracting up to 4 digit numbers the "old way". Students have used other methods in 2nd and 3rd grade to build understanding and will now look at how using the standard algorithm is usually the most efficient method. 

A few other important announcements/reminders:

Last 9 weeks you received info about re-registering your child to attend HES next. Thank you so much to those of you have already completed that, if you have questions or need more information please let me know. All students must re register to hold their spot at HES.  

Beginning next week students will have a small amount of math homework each week. Every Monday they will bring home a worksheet with math practice that is either a review or practice of skills we are currently working on. The sheet will be divided into days, Monday-Thursday. Your child may complete each column on the listed day, or however works for your family/your schedule. Completed homework should be turned in each Friday.  

Please help your child remember to charge their computer each night. 

Yesterday students received permission slips for our field trip to the NC Symphony on February 25th. Please complete and return this sheet. No money is needed  for this trip. We usually ask students for "dress their best" for this trip- more info about that when we get closer to the trip.

Important Dates:

January   15 PTA meeting, 6:30pm
                20- MLK, Jr, no school

February   21   Teacher Workday
                 25    Symphonyt Trip

Hi Everyone!

We have just a week and a half until winter break and what a full week and a half it will be!

Next Friday, December 13th from 1-2pm we will host our "Showcase of Learning" for the first semester. Students will choose a piece of work that they are proud of, thought was interesting, felt they did their best on, etc to share. This can be anything from the big reading-writing-science integrated project we are currently working on to a poem written in the first 9 weeks, to an art assignment from Mr. O's class. Students will be prepared to share what they learned from the piece of work they choose and why they wanted to share it. We hope you can join us!

*We would like to have cookies and cocoa during our "Showcase of Learning" . I was planning to make cocoa in a crockpot, I have one, does anyone have another we could borrow? We could also use some styrofoam cups, marshmallows, and cookies. 

Before we leave for winter break we will take the mid year reading and math screeners using Aimsweb. Please make sure students have a fully charged computer each day.

We plan to go out for recess each day, unless it is raining. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather each day and has a sweatshirt or jacket. 

Here are a few pictures from our science fun day last week :)

 
 

Hi Everyone!

We have a lot going on in the next few weeks, here is a sneak peek!

Next Tuesday, 11/22 will be our Science Fun Day. Hopefully you have seen the bright green sheet with all of the details. If you need a new one let me know. The cost is $24, please turn this in by this Friday, 11/22.

You may have read in the weekly Dolphin Dispatch about our new approach to the end of semester Celebration of Learning. On Friday December 13th from 1:00-2:00 we invite you to come to our class and look at student work from this semester. Each student will  choose a piece of work to showcase and write a reflection about why it is their favorite, what they are most proud of, etc.

Tomorrow and Wednesday we will take the first round of NC Checkins for this year. These are assessments created by the NC Department of Public Instruction  to see what objectives students have mastered and what they need extra support with. These tests are similar to the EOG's, but not as long. As always, PLEASE make sure your child's computer is FULLY CHARGED for these assessments. 

Now that the weather is turning colder, please make sure your child has a coat, jacket, sweatshirt, etc for recess. As long as the windchill is above freezing and it isn't raining we make every effort to go outside.

HES Dolphins helping others - Giving Tree

WOW - DOLPHINS FAMILIES YOU ARE AMAZING!  We have had two trees full of giving tags already claimed and there are still more available. Spread a little cheer this holiday season by adopting a tag from the HES Giving Tree. Our Giving Tree will be open for selection on Friday, November 8th. Each tag represents a wish item or a clothing item for a student in need. The Giving Tree is located in the HES main office. Only adults should choose a tag from the tree. Mrs Creech, School Social Worker, is available to help families select wish items through phone or email.  All items should be returned to the main office by Thursday, December 5th. Donations of walmart or grocery store gift cards are also appreciated. beth.creech@orange.k12.nc.us or ext. 25067.  #dolphinshelpingothers

Please fill out the following survey for our PTA:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfa5ZFkGa60cnbmnNsVDzujOPhG7_y67cHYZcWrx21gAOXkoQ/viewform

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Here are some updates and info for this week.

REMINDER:  On Friday, October 25th we will be

visiting Old Salem. All students need to bring a lunch

and drink. We will be walking around outdoors quite a

bit, please dress accordingly. Students do not need any

extra money, but they may bring money to spend at the

bakery. Chaperones- you will need to pay at the visitor’s

center when you arrive. The address for the visitor’s

center is: 

900 Old Salem Rd 

Winston Salem NC 27101

**note from the group coordinator at Old Salem-

PLEASE NOTE: for the next couple of years, there will be major roadway 

construction around Winston-Salem, affecting routing to Old Salem.  The 

day before your visit please check www.business40nc.com for the most 

up-to-date directions.  Allow additional time for travel.

Do you have a large cooler we can borrow

for lunches? If so we would love to have

them by Thursday afternoon.

In both reading and writing we will continue our

nonfiction work. In reading we are doing background

reading about Native American tribes in the 3

regions of NC. Once we have read about tribes in

each region we will compare and contrast differences

in their ways of life and look at possible explanations

for the differences.

In writing we are practicing creating and supporting

a thesis statement based on our writing about

important people to us.

In social studies we will begin studying the Lost Colony

and colonization of each region of NC.

In math we will review multiplication and division and

then have our test for unit 2.

Today students will bring home their "Home Connections"

math workbooks. Every 2 weeks or so I will share pages

they can do for OPTIONAL math homework. I will try to

offer pages that students should be familiar with and

can do pretty independently. For now, pages I suggest are:

1, 2, 6, 7,8, 13, 14, 19,23,33,34,36,41,42,44

HES FAMILY PICNIC

Bring your blankets/ chairs and picnic baskets and join HES families

for dinner and games on Friday, October 25th on the field for food,

fun, and friendship. 5:30pm - 9:00 pm

TRUNK OR TREAT

HES is joining Hillsborough Police department on October 26th at

Fairview Park providing fun activities and a safe trunk-or-treating

experience for families in our community.  Please continue to send

in bags of candy this week through October 25th that we can

use at our Dolphin trunk.

Enrollment for 2020-2021

HES has started hosting prospective families with Spanish interpreters available on some dates. Tour dates and times are listed on the HES website.  If you know of a family that will have a kindergarten student next year, is new to the community, or is a current OCS student at another school and want to be part of our HES family, please encourage them to visit us to get to know about the learning opportunities we have to offer.  Applications are encouraged for new K-5 students and will open in January. Returning families will also re-apply given first priority in January. Help us spread the word.

Fall Scholastic Book Fair will be November 4th - 8th

Mark your calendars!

The book fair will be open from 7:30 am to 3:15 pm Monday through Thursday, and from 7:30 to noon on Friday. That Tuesday we will stay open until 6pm for family and friends who are unable to visit the fair during school hours.

Please join us to shop before the morning bells ring, during your child's scheduled classroom visit, during lunch that week and of course during the extended hours on Tuesday!

One of the keys to a successful book fair is a team of wonderful volunteers! If you would like to volunteer and/or if you have any questions please contact Valerie Lund via email, valerie@briareos.net. Thank You!  

Be on the lookout for more specific information as we get closer!