Mardi Gras Celebration (See a note from the organizing parents at the end of this post)
le 13 au 17 février 2023
Upcoming Dates
- Monday, February 13: Report cards come home with students
- Monday, February 14: Valentines Day – no cards needed from home, project in class.
- Monday, February 20: NO SCHOOL, Presidents Day
- Friday, February 24: Mardi Gras celebration at school from 5:30 – 8:00 pm
- March 14: Field Trip to South Eugene High School for music event. See below for more info.
Report Cards
Monday, mid-year reports will come home with your child. You may keep all of the the documents, there is nothing to return to teachers. A reminder that a score of “2” means that your child is progressing in the standard. This is a typical score for this time of year. A “4” is rare and is reserved for when a student is consistently going beyond grade level expectations in that area.
What’s up! Quoi de neuf?
Please send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides the weather prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep your child home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080 or for our secretary, Eliza Drummond, at drummond_e@4j.lane.edu.
Le français:
Mme Jana, French & Science kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu
•We speak exclusively in French during French class.
•We write in complete sentences and can identify many parts of speech.
•We are learning world geography.
Many students have completed their geography packet, but the rest should have time to finish up this week.
Most students have completed the last “J’observe…” writing project, so we’ve moved on to the next. Classes got to pick their photos this time. Red class picked a photo of me with a former intern singing on my desk, and blue class picked a fox in the snow.
We made Valentine’s Day (La fête de la St Valentin) cards for ourselves that we will use on Valentine’s Day. They look awesome.
I showed the kids a cool National Geographic site where you can add layers to world maps. They liked it and may want to explore it a bit more. Try it here.
There is no French homework this week, but we will continue to study expressions using avoir (to have) in the classroom.
Les sciences:
Nothing much to report until we begin the Énergie unit. My goal is to begin next week, including homework with our beginning science terms.
Mme Shelli, English & Math
hopper_s@4j.lane.edu
Math
Unit 6: Understanding Decimal Fractions and Notation
•We can relate understanding of base-ten place value to numbers written with decimals.
•We can read decimals and understand their value.
In fourth grade, students should be able to identify place value from hundredths to millions.
Last week, students brought home a few math assessments. One was the Unit 5 test on ordering and comparing fractions. Another was our mid-year assessment where students were to demonstrate their understanding of some key math concepts from the year. If you did not see these, please ask your child for them.
This week, students will be solving problems with decimals. Students will demonstrate their understanding with models. One model students will use is decimals on a number line. This is challenging for many students. Students will be asked to place numbers such as 1.8 0.8 8.0 0.18 and 0.08 on a number line and will solve complex problems with addition and subtraction of decimals. In math, students are reading decimals not as “one point eight” but instead reading their value, “one and eight tenths.”
There IS math review homework this week.
English
Literature & Writing: Unit 2 Extreme Settings
Reading/ Writing:
Last week, small groups of students researched mountain ranges of the world and presented information about one famous range in the form of a poster and short speech to the class. This was the first small group project and the first “speech” this year. We had some good conversations about how all students need to contribute, stay on task and include others in group work. Some students were nervous about their first speech, but everyone took their task seriously and presented well.
This week, we start a novel, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This short adventure/ survival novel brings together our study of extreme environments and elements of fiction. While students read the novel, they’ll be writing short fictional narratives. The narratives will follow a typical plot diagram and will feature a character who is in some type of survival situation and must overcome a difficulty. With in the short story, students will include an “exploded moment” which is a brief break in the action of the story to slow down and focus on sensory details and character’s thought and feelings. Last week, students should have brought home to you an exploded moment text they wrote. If you didn’t see it, ask your child about it.
This will be a fun and busy few weeks!
Information about this ELA unit can be found here.
Volunteers Needed for Mardi Gras on Friday, February 24!
Field Trip Chaperones needed
We could use 3 fourth grade parent chaperones for a field trip with Mme Doyle on March 14 at about 11:30-2:00. Please email Shelli (hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) if you are interested. You will need to have a 4j background check before going. Contact Eliza Drummond (drummond_el@4j.lane.edu), our secretary, to get the process started.
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