le 26 au 30 septembre 2022

Upcoming Dates:

• Monday through Friday, Sept. 26-30: School safety week (one drill per day)
• Friday, September 30: School picture day

Please ensure that you email BOTH TEACHERS when you communicate with us. Your child will begin with his/her homeroom teacher again this week. So red class will begin with Mme Shelli and blue class will begin with Mme Jana. We communicate weekly on this 4TH GRADE BLOG (please bookmark) and send a weekly email reminder when we update information. You can also find links to French, Math, English, and other supplemental activities on the red tabs at the top of the blog.

Our French intern:

We are delighted and so lucky to present our French Amity intern, Lisa Himpens, who will be working in 4th and 5th grades this year. She joins us from the region of Picardie in the north of France. This is her first experience in the United States, and we encourage families to include her (and our other intern in 2nd & 3rd, Laurine) on an excursion somewhere in Oregon. Or maybe invite them to visit the coast with you, go on a hike, or invite them to a homemade dinner or a local dinner out? If you’re interested, please reach out to Mme Jana or Mme Shelli via email, and we will put you in contact with Lisa. Merci!

Le français:

Mme Jana, French & Science kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu

We continue our cursive writing instruction with the letters u, y, i, j, k, r, & s. We’ll go through all lowercase (minuscule) letters, then progress and work through all uppercase (majuscule) letters. This past week, the students completed the writing, comprehension, and reading assessments. The only remaining assessment is the speaking one, which they will complete this week. I’ve been impressed thus far with how they’re doing! We’ve also begun French-only for 10 minutes at a time. We’ll move up to 15 minutes at a time later next week. We’ll begin reading and FLA groups the first week of October. We’ll also begin French homework the first week of October.

Most students nearly completed their practice art projects in my absence, so, we’re starting our final project, which is twice the size of the practice one. Next week, I’m planning to begin the “Moi!” project which is all about them… in French. It includes writing and drawing, and they end up really sweet.

Les sciences:  

The kids are excited to start science, and Lisa has begun sorting and preparing the science kit ingredients for us. There is a lot of mixing and prepping in these science kits. We will begin our first science unit experiments, Soils, Rocks, and Landforms (La terre, les pierres, et les formes du relief) in early October. 

Mme Shelli, English & Math
hopper_s@4j.lane.edu

We continue the math unit “Applying Place Value Concepts in Whole Number Addition and    Subtraction.” The key concepts in this unit are:

• Digits in numbers represent ten times what they represent in the place to the right.
• We can use our understanding of place value to round numbers.
• There are multiple strategies for adding and subtracting numbers. One efficient strategy is the “standard algorithm.”

This week, we will review forms of numbers (standard form, base-10 form, expanded form, expanded notation). We will create “function machines” as we explore x10, x100, x1000 and ÷10, ÷100 and ÷1000 in relation to place value. Here is an online game similar to the puzzles we will make in class this week. We will also discuss how rounding numbers to the nearest ten, hundred or thousand can help us estimate sums or differences.

GAME of of the week: Skunk

Here’s a game for your family to play at home. We will learn this one in class this week. You can also find a number of resources for additional both online and tech-free games on this site under the tab “Math.”

English:

We continue Module 1 A Great Heart. Last Friday, students defined and explored the word “greathearted.” Students gathered facts about the life of one three famous women, Clara Barton, Helen Keller, or Anne Frank. This week, students will look closely at their actions to determine why people might say that they were “greathearted.” 

We will analyze the organizational structure of an informative paragraph (hook, thesis, supporting points, concluding statement.) Then, students will write a well developed paragraph about the person they chose to study. The structure of the paragraph will eventually lead to writing an organized essay following a similar model to the one on the right.

Over the course of this unit, students develop a deep understanding of the heart, both how the literal human heart functions in the body, as well as how the figurative heart represents the center of the human spirit and emotions.  You can find out details about our first unit “A Great Heart” on this Parent Tip Sheet

You can learn more about the 4th grade curriculum here.

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 le 19 au 22 septembre 2022

Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, September 22 Curriculum Night from 6-7 pm.  Childcare will be available in the cafeteria from 6-7. Schedule: 

           6:00-6:20: Grades 1-2 Presentations in Classrooms

                                             6:20-6:35: PTO Meet & Greet in Gym

                                             6:40-7:00: Grades 3-5 Presentations in Classrooms

• Monday through Friday, Sept. 26-30: School safety week
• Friday, September 30: School picture day

Please ensure that you email BOTH TEACHERS when you communicate with us. Your child will begin with his/her non-homeroom teacher this week. So blue class will begin with Mme Shelli and red class will begin with Mme Jana. We communicate weekly on this 4TH GRADE BLOG (please bookmark) and send a weekly email reminder when we update information. You can also find links to French, Math, English, and other supplemental activities on the red tabs at the top of the blog.

Le français:

Mme Jana, French & Science kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu

I am so sorry that I had to miss the whole week. My mom’s surgery and recovery had some issues. Her blood pressure was all over the place. My daughter is taking family leave from her work next week, so I will be present.

Since my subs are not Francophones, most of the work they did was in English, except of course, we have the wonderful Lisa Himpens as our amity intern in fourth grade this year, so she took over some of the French routines. They continued our cursive writing instruction with the letters h, t, p, e, l, and f. We’ll go through all lowercase (minuscule) letters, then progress and work through all uppercase (majuscule) letters. This week I’ll be able to work on verb conjugations, reviewing the four major irregular verbs, avoir (to have), être (to be), faire (to make or do), and aller (to go). Students seem ready to jump back into conjugating, so we’ll review what they’ve already learned, then we’ll dive into conjugating additional commonly used verb conjugations. Since I wasn’t present this past week, the only French assessment that took place was listening. I felt I need to be present for the instruction for the other French assessments which include writing, speaking, comprehension, and reading so they go as well as possible. None of the assessments are very long, and we won’t do them all on the same day. Students also went around and “Read the Room,” i.e. read everything on the walls, and got to explore my in-class French library.

Students may have continued the first art project in my absence, so I’ll see where we are on that when we get back into the classroom. It takes a few weeks, but you should see those lovely projects soon as we hang them on our walls. This week, we’ll try to begin the “Moi!” project which is all about them… in French, we just have to get through the assessments.

Les sciences:  

This past week, I had my guest teacher, Clare, do a KWL chart with each class. First, they told her what they Know about soils, rocks, and landforms, then what they Want to know, and after the unit, we’ll do what they Learned. We will begin our first science unit, Soils, Rocks, and Landforms (La terre, les pierres, et les formes du relief) in early October. 

Mme Shelli, English & Math
hopper_s@4j.lane.edu

This week we will continue to practice mathematical routines, play some math games to build fluency with addition, subtraction and place value. We also begin our first math unit “Applying Place Value Concepts in Whole Number Addition and    Subtraction” The key concepts in this unit are:

• Digits in numbers represent ten times what they represent in the place to the right.
• We can use our understanding of place value to round numbers.
• There are multiple strategies for adding and subtracting numbers. One efficient strategy is the “standard algorithm.”

This week, we will observe powers of ten in place value. Students will identify place value of digits through millions and will begin to compare numbers through millions using < > and =.

GAME of of the week: Roll and Place (aka Build a Bigger Number)

Here’s a game for your family to play at home to build on the concepts learned in class. You can also find a number of resources for additional both online and tech-free games on this site under the tab “Math.”

English:

Our English Curriculum,”Wit and Wisdom,” integrates reading, writing, listening and speaking goals while building deep knowledge and vocabulary about art, science, and history topics. You can find out details about our first unit on this Parent Tip Sheet.

We begin Module 1 “A Great Heart” this week with the focus question: How does someone show a great heart, figuratively?  Students explore the word heart, considering its literal and figurative meanings. Students begin the process of reading, annotating, and analyzing texts by working with these two short quotations that use the word heart literally or figuratively:

“It is infinitely better to transplant a heart than to have it devoured by worms.”

-Christaan Barnard, first cardiovascular surgeon to transplant a heart.

AND

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

-Confucious, a Chinese philosopher

Over the course of this unit, students develop a deep understanding of the heart, both how the literal human heart functions in the body, as well as how the figurative heart represents the center of the human spirit and emotions.

PE Note from Mme ErinMarie

Music(al) note from Mme Doyle:

Welcome back, or welcome for the first time to…Music! Mme Doyle is excited to welcome you all back into the music classroom this new school year. Your child will have Music on Monday and Wednesday

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 le 12 au 16 septembre 2022

Upcoming Dates:

• Monday through Friday, September 12-16 – Mme Shelli will be with 5th grade at Canoe Island; Mme Ginger, our 5th grade teacher, will be our guest teacher in English.
• Monday, September 12 – Mme Jana will be absent. Her sub will be Debra Gelzer.
• Thursday, September 22 – Curriculum Night – Visit your child’s classrooms and hear from teachers. More info coming later.
• Monday through Friday, Sept. 26-30: School safety week
• Friday, September 30: School picture day

Please ensure that you email BOTH TEACHERS when you communicate with us. Your child will begin with his/her homeroom teacher again during the first full week of school.

Le français:

Mme Jana, French & Science kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu

First, thank you for sending your kids to school ready to learn! I think we had a great short first week. It’s nice for school to almost be back to “normal.” 😜

I will be gone this Monday because I am the caretaker for my 89-year-old mother, who unfortunately fell and broke the head of her femur about 10 days ago. I will, undoubtedly, be gone some other days to help with recovery, so please be patient with me during this time. My mom was walking five miles a day up until this, so we’ll hopefully get her up and moving smoothly and soon.

We mostly went over school and classroom routines this week. The students did a little alphabetizing exercise for me, and most students were able to do it perfectly. Everyone also wrote his signature, which we will redo about six times this year to monitor progress. We began our cursive writing instruction with the letters c, a, d, and g. We’ll go through all lowercase (minuscule) letters, then progress and work through all uppercase (majuscule) letters. Students seem ready to jump back into conjugating, so we’ll review what they’ve already learned, then we’ll dive into conjugating additional commonly used verb conjugations. This week and next will include French assessments which include writing, speaking, comprehension, reading, and listening. None of the assessments are very long, and I don’t put them all on the same day.

We also began our first art project which involves concentration and fine motor control. It takes a few weeks, but you’ll be seeing those lovely projects soon as we hang them up on our walls. This coming week, we’ll begin a “Moi!” project which is all about them… in French.

Les sciences:  

We will begin our first science unit, Soils, Rocks, and Landforms (La terre, les pierres, et les formes du relief) in early October. 

Mme Shelli, English & Math
hopper_s@4j.lane.edu

English:

In English last week, we began to set up our English Writing & Reading journals.  Students explored our class library and made a wish list of books they’d like to check out from our library. Every student has a choice book to read in class going into this week.  This week, students will begin to learn some routines around reading and writing with our guest teacher, Mme. Ginger.

Music(al) note from Mme Doyle:

Welcome back, or welcome for the first time to…Music! Mme Doyle is excited to welcome you all back into the music classroom this new school year. Your child will have Music according to the following schedule:

PE, MUSIC, & Library (Repeated from last week)

PE & MUSIC will be on Mondays and Wednesdays, so please help your child wear PE-appropriate shoes and clothing on those days. Our library time will be on Fridays starting in October.

We communicate weekly on our 4TH GRADE BLOG (please bookmark) and send a weekly email reminder when we update information. You can also find links to French, Math, English, and other supplemental activities on the red tabs at the top of the blog.

School supplies

Most school supplies are supplied by the district this year. Here is a list of the items your child should bring to school beginning Wednesday, September 6:

• 2 folders – two pocket folders. Any color but NOT binders- just a flat folder to carry papers.
• 2 masks – every day (optional)
• water bottle if desired, although we do have water fountains in classrooms
• daily nut-free snack 
• 1-2 boxes of good tissues (no lotion please)

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Upcoming Dates

• Tuesday, September 6 – Visit your new classrooms and teachers in rooms 15 & 16 from 3:00-4:00(optional)
• Wednesday, September 7 – First day of school. You may come into the cafeteria for breakfast at 8:00 and at 8h20 students will walk to classes. Classes begin promptly at 8h30. 
• September 12-16 – Mme Shelli will be with 5th grade at outdoor school; Mme Ginger, our 5th grade teacher, will be our guest teacher in English.
• Monday through Friday, Sept. 26-30: School safety week
• Friday, September 30: School picture day

Welcome to fourth grade at Charlemagne! We are working hard to prepare an amazing year for your children. 

Your children will spend half of the day with Mme Jana and half with Mme Shelli. The homeroom (red/blue class) is for organization only, so please ensure that you email BOTH TEACHERS when you communicate with us. Your child will begin with his/her homeroom teacher both the first day and the first full week of school.

Mme Shelli English & Math                                                    Mme Jana French & Science

hopper_s@4j.lane.edu                                                          kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu 

Room 15 (Red)                                                                     Room 16 (Blue)

PE & MUSIC will be on Mondays and Wednesdays, so please help your child wear PE-appropriate shoes and clothing on those days. Our library time will be announced soon.

We communicate weekly on THIS 4TH GRADE BLOG and send a weekly email reminder when we update information. You can also find links to French, Math, English, and other supplemental activities on the red tabs at the top of the blog.

Most school supplies are supplied by the district this year. Here is a list of the items your child should bring to school beginning Wednesday, September 6:

• 2 folders – two pocket folders. Any color but NOT binders- just a flat folder to carry papers.
• 2 masks – every day (optional)
• water bottle if desired, although we do have water fountains in classrooms
• daily nut-free snack 
• 1-2 boxes of good tissues (no lotion please)

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It’s summer break! C’est l’été!

Merci, merci, merci!

Thank you parents and families for supporting your 4th graders this year. It has been a fun year, and we enjoyed getting to know each of your children. Here is a link to some photos from field day. Thanks to many parents and Mme Erinmarie for making a quick pivot to an indoor field day due to the rain. This annual event capped off a great year!

Moving on to 5th grade 

Teachers will send a supply list of items for your fifth grader to bring to school. NOTE: Ask your child if they passed on their current pencil pouch this year. We delivered all of their pencil pouches to 5th grade. This would be a great way to reuse materials & a little gentler on the environment and your wallet. Here’s the 5th-grade teacher’s website:

5th grade website

Not returning to Charlemagne?

If you know that you will not be returning to Charlemagne next year please send a note to Mme Bernadette at conover_b@4j.lane.edu so she can work to transition your student’s files to his next school.

Upcoming Dates

First day of school: Wednesday, September 7

Choir Concert Recording

In case you missed it, here is a clip of the 4th & 5th grade choir concert from last Wednesday.

Le français:

Mme Jana, French & Science kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu

It’s been a great year, and many great strides were made in French in fourth grade. Since we’re still recovering from the not-so-great Covid learning experience, please don’t let those hard-won advancements slide! Consider getting a French tutor if your child got a two (2) on his/her/their overall French score on the report card. Also, please see the links above for lots of FREE French resources. Make sure your kids UNPLUG this summer, connect with nature, and read! Have them watch some of the Netflix movies in French, and please peruse the above link, Le français, which has tons of free French sites. They change often, so please try another if one doesn’t work.

Mme Shelli, English & Math
hopper_s@4j.lane.edu

Summer Math Enrichment

Set aside some fun time to play math games and to read this summer.

Here are some videos demonstrating games to play that review math concepts – great for parents, tutors or babysitters to play with children.

 

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