Happy Fall break!!! I hope you and your family enjoy the 3 weeks off from school! Your child is bringing home at least 1 independent book to read over the break. Please also make sure they spend some time working on and building automaticity with multiplication facts.  Some good ideas for practice:

• flash cards
• quick quizzes in the car
• games like War using UNO cards
• math games at www.sheppardsoftware.com, www.multiplication.com and www.mrnussbaum.com

Here are a few important dates to keep in mind after the break:

October      5     1st day of the 2nd 9 weeks

                  14      early release

             

November 11    Veteran's Day, no school

                  25-27  Thanksgiving Break

December   2    early release

                   11   last day before winter break

Thank you for a WONDERFUL 1st 9 weeks and for being supportive parents! 

A Few Updates & a SCIENCE FUN!

Report Cards:This week and next I will be finishing up conferences to go over your child's progress this quarter and his or her report card. If you aren't sure which time you signed up for or have missed your conference and need to reschedule please let me know. If I have already met with you, or am meeting with you this week I will send your child's report card home on the last day before break.


Tie Dye t-shirts:
If you haven't already done so, please send in $5 and a white t-shirt to be tie dyed. Please write your child's name on/near the tag in permanent marker. We ask that all money and shirts be turned in my next Tuesday, 9/8.

Items for our classroom:
I think we have enough of most supplies to last for the whole year.....except pencils! From what I can tell, the kids are eating them when my back is turned! :) But seriously, many of you have asked if we need anything for the classroom. Going in to the next quarter I think we will definitely need pencils. Mechanical pencils have become a distraction for lots of kids, so I'd love to get more regular pencils. Ticonderoga and Rose Art/USA Gold are the most reliable, sharpen best, don't end up in the trash, etc. 

And now for the good stuff! Here are some pics from our Science Fun Day. I encourage you to ask your child to tell about these, they had so many wonderful experiences today!


"Can you dig it? 
Geologists searching their 'mock rocks' for interesting minerals:

 

"Nature's Niche"

Students learned about different animals and their habitats, and physical and behavioral adaptations. I was so proud of how many of them were brave enough to hold the snake. I wish I could say I was! Despite getting to hold a ball python, the most exciting part of this session was when they discovered that the bearded dragon had pooped in it's cage :/

Fun Fossils & Formations

Students learned about fossils and landforms. They created a volcano, and then built and tested structures to see if they could withstand an earthquake!

 

Updates and Reminders:

Read-a-thon theme week:

Tuesday we will have book buddies with Mrs. Turner's 1st graders. Wednesday is 'dress as your favorite book character' day. Friday we will be writing a class letter to the author of our current read aloud book The Tiger Rising by Katie DiCamillo. We are tracking in class minutes read. Please make sure you are keeping track of minutes read at home so your child gets credit for ALL of their reading. Please send in pledge envelopes ASAP, remember actual money will be collected AFTER the reading part is complete.

Grade Level t shirts

We will be doing tie dyed t shirts for this years field trips. Please send in a white tshirt (with your child's name on the tag) and $5 by Tuesday September 8th.

Cultural Arts Experience
Next week we will have local poet, Phillip Shabazz for a week long residency with each of the 4th grade classes. This wonderful writing experience is paid for by the PTA! In place of our regular 10 minutes of writing homework he will have short writing assignments for the kids each night.

Science Fun Day
Our first in-school field trip with Science Fun for Everyone will be Monday, August 31. If you have not yet paid, the cost for this is $23. Be prepared to learn all about fossils when your kids come home that day!


Other Important Info:

This Wednesday, August 19th is an early release day. In light of the longer school day this year, early release time is now 11:35. If your child's transportation plans will be different than normal, please let me know. 

I'm noticing that many students are getting very hungry either before lunch or later in the afternoon before dismissal. Our lunch time is pretty late, and the longer school day seems to be catching up with all of us. Please make sure your child has at least 1 snack in their backpack each day. Feel free to send in snacks to be kept in their lockers, like a box or granola bars to last the whole week so you don't have to remember each day to pack something. 

Report card conferences will begin next Monday, 8/24. If you have not yet signed up for one be on the lookout for a half sheet with an updated list of the remaining available times. 

A peak into our week....

In Reading we have spent lots of time talking about how to choose "just right" books and why it is so very important. This week, we are working on reading "faster, stronger, longer". Today and tomorrow we are focusing on reading stronger and what that means to each student. Here is what we created to explain what it means to read stronger:

After determining overall what students should do to read stronger, I asked each of them to choose one area that they felt was weakest for them to focus on during independent reading time. Tomorrow they will write about what they worked on and how they feel they can continue to improve in that area to be a stronger reader.

In math we are working mostly on multiplication and division word problems using multiplicative comparisons. Some examples of problems we have used are:

A red scarf cost $3. A blue scarf cost 6 times more than a red scarf. How much does a blue scarf cost?

A book cost $18. That is 3 times more than a DVD. How much does the DVD cost?

We also using some time first thing in the morning to build and strengthen our number sense using a "number of the day" activity where students have to use the number in multiple ways.

This week we are a trying a "stations" or "centers" routine for math. Students work in groups of 4 and rotate through different stations. One of the stations is teacher lead, one uses their computers, one reviews 3rd grade skills to be maintained, one works on problem solving, and the last station is a game. I have used this type of approach successfully in years past and hope that it proves to be a productive and effective method this year. Here is one of our games, "Pamlico Pirates Reappear":

In writing students have chosen either their best or worst day ever to be the first idea that they take through the writing process to compose a narrative story. We began by planning and now students are drafting and conferring with me about their drafts. For this first piece of writing our only revision will be to add enough to make a 3 paragraph story and then edit. Later we will focus specifically on skills such as descriptive language, "hooking" your reader, including action, using transition words, etc.

Our class rules and specials schedule:

                              

Reminders:

- Spirit wear orders due this Friday

- Wed August 19th is an early release day

- Mon-Thurs homework is to read for at least 20 minutes and write for at least 10 minutes

Welcome back to HES 

&

 to the 2015-16 school year!

We are off to a great start here in room 108! Thank you so much for all of the supplies you donated, we will work hard to make them last as long as possible :)

A few important reminders/info:

- please return beginning of the year forms
- school now ends at 2:50
- if your child's afternoon transportation plans change after they get to school, please call the office (919-732-6137)- I don't always get to check email and phones messages until after dismissal
- students may bring snack each day, they may also keep water at their seat but may not bring candy or other drinks in the classroom

Homework Info:

To start off the year homework will be:

- 20 minutes of  reading
This can be independent, being read aloud to, or a combo- please don't hesitate to continue reading aloud to your child even through 4th and 5th grade, especially if there is a challenging book that they really want to read!

-write for 10 minutes in your Writer's notebook
This week I am giving students an assigned topic. In class we are generating ideas for an "idea box" that will be in their notebooks. Starting next week they will choose their own topics to write about each night. While my expectation is NOT that this writing be like a final edited copy or "perfect", I do expect students to proofread their work for capital letters, punctuation, spelling of high frequency words, and that sentences make sense. 

*Math homework will be completed in class during our "study hall" time at the end of the day. If students use this time wisely and have a little extra time they can start on their 10 minutes of writing at school. If a student isn't working hard or is wasting time I will send home the math homework to be completed over the weekend.

Important dates:
July 23    Parent Info Night  
  AIG/EC-4:00-5:00,  2 reg classroom sessions- 5:00 or 6:00

Aug 19       Early Release @ 11:35*
(*please note the time change from last year)

Sept 11      End of the first 9 weeks

The final countdown….

...believe it or not there are just 2 short weeks of 4th grade left!

They will be 2 very busy weeks so here are some reminders and important info.

~no school Monday 5/25 for Memorial Day~

EOG’s will begin WEDNESDAY 5/27 with the reading test. Please make sure your child is on time, well rested, and has a good breakfast each day. We will eat lunch much later than normal and will not have a snack time. We will take the math test on THURSDAY 5/28.

We will celebrate the end of the EOG’s and our economics unit with a grade level ‘market day’ on Friday 5/29. Students have come up with an idea for a business to provide a good or service to their classmates in exchange for money they’ve earned for classroom jobs and good behavior. We will work on their products to sell after testing, there will be NO HOMEWORK next week so they may also work on their businesses then.

On Tuesday 6/2 we will have field day. Please make sure your child brings a water bottle and towel, and wears clothes and shoes appropriate for being outside most of the day. Also, I suggest applying sunscreen before coming to school.

We are working as a class to earn paper clips for good behavior. If our chain of paper clips makes it to the floor in time, we will have extra recess and possibly reading and lunch time outside on Wednesday. June 3rd.

Our second semester awards assembly will be held on Thursday, June 4th at 10:00 in the gym.

Our last day will be Friday, June 5th and we will dismiss at 11:20 that day. Report cards will go home the last day and should contain the EOG score report.

**If you have plastic grocery bags just taking up space at your house, our kids offering locker and desk clean out services as their business would love to have them.

Please email me if you have any questions :)

The home stretch

Believe it or not the 4th quarter is in full swing!

Here are some important dates and info to remember.

Tomorrow, April 9th is the Spring Concert in the gym. The students have been working so hard on their songs, I hope you enjoy their performance. They will be on the stage so please bring blankets or folding chairs to sit on.

Report cards for the 3rd quarter will be sent home this Friday, April 10. 

*April 29 was originally an early release day but is now a full day, also remember that we will be dismissing at 2:55 for the remainder of the year except our last day, June 5th, will be an early release day. 

EOG's will be given during the week of May 18. Our practice and prep for them will focus on how to read/interpret the test, just like we have studied other genres of reading throughout the year. I try very hard to minimize anxiety about these tests, while still emphasizing that students should do their best and use them as an opportunity to show all they've learned. If your child seems to be very stressed about the EOG's or you have questions please let me know. 

*May 25- Memorial Day, no school

For the next few weeks in reading we will be reading aloud the book Wonder by RJ Palacio. The novel is about a boy with many rare birth defects and his first time going to school as a 5th grader. We will be discussing social issues and looking for those in our independent books as well. The book is one of my most favorite to read with students as it is an amazing opportunity for them learn about/show empathy and hear/see things from a point of view that they themselves will thankfully never experience. Please ask your child their thoughts about this book and the main character Auggie, they're going to love it and will probably surprise you in a great way with their feelings toward him :)

In writing we will be crafting examples of traditional literature. First, we will read many examples of a fairy tales set all around the world and look for commonalities and differences. So far we have compared the typical, Disney-ish Cinderella to the book Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella by Alan Schroeder and Cendrillon- A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci. 

Right now in science we are studying food and nutrition. As part of this unit we are keeping food diaries and will be setting small goals for next week. Our main focus will be on identifying and increasing healthy habits and behaviors.

In math we are finishing up our measurement unit by studying the metric system. While this always seems to be more difficult than the customary system, I am focusing on how the math aspect is easier because you always using a factor of 10. 

Lastly, we will likely not have air conditioning for some time (we were told  something about it not being turned on until there were 3 consecutive days with the outside temperature above a certain point). As you could guess, even on a day with temps in the 60's,  25 warm bodies in a room makes for a pretty stuffy environment. As always, students are allowed to have a water bottle that they can refill and keep on their desks.