9/16-9/20
The rain has decided to come early and it makes me think we should be deep into fall, but it is still summer! I am hoping we still have some sunnier days ahead of us. I am so proud of how the class has adjusted to being back at school and working for longer periods of time each day. This week we are starting our social studies unit on maps! Next week I hope to start science – just waiting on some live critters 🙂
I am still trying to get the kids into appropriate groups and hope to start reaching out for volunteers later this week. Here are the times that I know I will need help:
- Thursdays from 11:45-12:30 to read with groups of kids or answer their questions while I work with a group at the back table.
- Fridays from 10:00-10:40 to work with a math extension group.
- Tuesday and/or Thursdays from 1:05-2:00 for science.
If any of these tasks appeal to you, please let me know!
This week we have picture day on Tuesday and Information Night on Thursday. I will talk about classroom expectations and big projects that happen in 4th grade. This is a great way for you to know what to expect and allows me to get the same information out to all parents. I hope you can make it at 6:35!
***A T-shirt form for the Fun Run went home today. Every student will get a shirt for the run and we just need to know your child’s size. Please fill out their name, my name, and their shirt size so that they get one that fits!***
I am excited to get into all of our routines and keep this school year rolling!
9/9-9/13
We had a very successful first couple days of school! I was so happy with the classes ability to practice the school rules, play games cooperatively, and create classroom expectations. This week we will begin learning more routines for math, jump into our reading curriculum and health, and take the EasyCBM assessments. We are slowly building our stamina for learning and being at school all day.
I have gone through the packets you filled out about your child. I really appreciate you taking the time to complete them! As we get into our regular routines, I will reach out for volunteers during tier 2 math and reading, and science. I am sending home information on signing up for Seesaw. This app will allow parent-teacher communication and will allow me to assign tasks to the class. I can then create portfolios that can be shared with you. Please sign up as soon as you can 🙂
I have purchased a couple of snacks for the class and would love some more donations. Please consult the healthy guidelines for 4J for snack ideas. I do have a small refrigerator in my room for string cheese or any other snacks that might need to be kept cold!
I look forward to a great year!
6/17
We have finally come to the last couple days of school. This is always bitter sweet for me – I am definitely ready for summer and nice weather and am also bummed that the school year is over. I always miss the consistency, structure, and craziness of the kids. The end of this year is also strange as Dr. J will be moving to a district position and the uncertainty of a new principal and change is new to me. Change is never easy.
As we finish this year I would like to say thank you to all the parents who volunteered in the classroom, came on field trips, and brought in snacks. Your support is so appreciated by me and helped in so many ways. Thank you!!
Here is what to expect this week:
- Monday I will be sending home as many things as possible. If you could please send an empty backpack with your child, or a shopping bag to fill that would be great!
- Monday afternoon from 1:15-2:30 is field day for 3rd-5th graders. We will be in the sun and it would be very helpful if you could pack sunscreen/hats/water bottles/etc for your child.
- Tuesday we will play Minute to Win It games in the class, do a last minute check for items, and say our goodbyes.
- School is out at 11:45 and a sack lunch will be provided for students who would like to take one home. Student accounts will be charged for these lunches.
6/3-6/7
Happy June! Last week was so busy, and super fun. Thank you to all the parents, guardians, and family members who were able to come and watch our Wagon’s Ho performance. I know it is hard to take time in the middle of your day, and it was very appreciated!
This Thursday is the Holt/Willagillespie Track Meet and Sheldon High School. Today, students chose 3 events that they want to participate in and I am looking for a couple parents who could be at the finish line keeping time for the races. I also need a parent to stay at our home base at the track meet to keep track of students who are not participating. This is only our second track meet and it was so fun last year. Please let me know if you are available to help. The track meet goes from 9-12 and we could definitely switch people around if someone needs to leave early.
This is our last week of homework for the year. I will send home a progress report on Friday with updated grades. Students can make updates or turn in anything that hasn’t been turned in. I had them clean out their desks last week and was able to really catch up on grades this last weekend. I can hardly believe it is the end of the year, however, we will keep busy up till the very last day!
5/28-5/31
Our last book talks will happen this week! The kids have worked so hard on their papers, speeches, and visuals and I am so excited to listen to them. You are more than welcome to come and listen as well! Here is the schedule for the week with names:
5/28 from 11:00-11:40: Noah, Paige, Katie, Tori, and Ella
5/28 from 2:00-2:45: Brandon, Madison, Mikayla, Callie, Andrea, and Lulu
5/29 from 11:30-12:30: Preston, Levi, Jace, Jenny, Kalel, Sam, Lucy, and Lizzy
5/30 from 1:05-2:10: Joel, Kaiden, Blake, Joy, Bobby, Ricardo, McKenna, and Ryan
Thursday we will have the Willagillespie Egg Drop! I hope that this was a fun at home project and am excited to see what everyone came up with. If your child needs an extra sheet to record their design, please let me know. Thursday evening we will also have Math and Science Night. This year there are many new activities! It is a fun, free event for the entire family and starts at 5:30. The evening will end with some 5th graders launching rockets 🙂
Friday is our Wagon’s Ho performance at 11:30. Please plan to be at the school by 11:15 so you can park and check in at the front office. This performance is one of a kind and the kids have been working so hard to learn dances, write journal entries, learn songs, and many new instruments! We ask that the kids wear plain jeans or dark pants, plaid shirts if they have one, boots, etc. Please no neon clothing or brands showing. This helps keep the performance as authentic as possible – and the kids look adorable all dressed up! Hope to see you there 🙂
5/20-5/24
There are only 9 school days left in May…and there is so much to do. This week we will complete the Smarter Balanced Math CAT, reading comprehension for EasyCBM, go to Salem, and book talk visuals are due on Friday. Next week we will give book talk speeches, complete the Smarter Balanced Math PT, have an egg drop, Math and Science Night, and will end the week with our Wagon’s Ho performance. Yikes!! The end of the year always seems to go so quickly as we have so much to wrap up. Please help your child be ready for these busy weeks by making sure they are getting plenty of sleep and eating breakfast!
This week I am not sending any homework home so that students can finish their book talk visual and speech cards. We have been writing and typing their biography papers the last couple weeks and a final draft should be going home by Tuesday at the latest. As with the last two book talks, you are welcome to come and listen!
Wednesday we are going to Salem! This is a great field trip that ties in with the social studies we have been working on all year. We will be touring as an entire class and it is really important that students are able to walk in the group and be respectful to the tour guide. We have been practicing walking around the school this way and not interrupting me or each other. If you are chaperoning the field trip, I really appreciate your help with this goal! After the tour we will eat lunch in the park across the street. Chaperones, please make sure to pack yourself a lunch!
5/6-5/10
It feels like summer is already here! What a nice week and weekend we are about to have 🙂 With the warm weather coming our way, our classroom becomes very hot in the afternoons. Please pack a water bottle so your child can stay hydrated. Also remember that the students need to be dressed appropriately at school even if the weather is warm. If you are questioning an outfit, it probably isn’t school appropriate.
Book talks will not start until the 24th of May. A paper was sent home before spring break with the details about this final book talk. If you need it sent home again, please let me know. We will begin writing the paper in class today and next week I will send home the note cards so kids can start working on their speeches.
Here is our testing schedule this week:
Monday: 9:15-10:15
Tuesday: 11:15-12:15
Thursday: 1:15-2:15
Friday: 9:30-10:30
The class has been doing an AMAZING job with testing so far. This week is the performance task, and it is really important that kids do not discuss what they are writing about. Thanks for encouraging them these weeks!
4/29-5/2
I am sorry that I have not posted in a while, but the last couple of weeks have been very busy! We are in the home stretch of the school year and although people are excited about summer and maybe weekend trips, it is really important that students are at school each day. We start our Smarter Balanced testing this week and will be testing Tuesday-Thursdays each week. Each testing session will be an hour and when students are done they can read or work on a reading packet that I have put together from our reading curriculum. If you know your child will need to gone from school just keep in mind that they will have to make up the test when we are doing lessons. If you have any questions please contact me or Tammy Coleman our testing coordinator.
During testing days I will give students a jolly rancher, starburst or mint to suck on while they test. For most this helps with their concentration. Kids are also encouraged to wear headphones because some of the questions require them to watch or listen to a piece. If your child doesn’t have headphones at school it would be very helpful if you could send them with a pair. I do have some extras that can be used.
We are also getting close to allergy season, nice sunny weather, and potentially a hot classroom. Students should continue to wear closed toed shoes for PE and recess. The bark can puncture through the bottom of sandals…It is also helpful if students have a water bottle to keep on their desk so that they can stay hydrated!
4/01 – 4/05
Happy spring! I was so glad to have some sun over our spring break. I hope you and your families were able to relax and make some memories together. April is a great month because there are zero no school days! This can seem long and daunting to some, but I appreciate all the time we have to get work done. April also marks the beginning of state testing season. The fourth grade team hasn’t made an official testing schedule yet, but as of now we do not plan on starting before April 29th. We have been preparing in class and have taken some practice math tests already. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding testing.
I hope everyone recovered from sicknesses over the break. I am finally feeling better and am so thankful for that! I really hope the sicknesses are behind us now. The last few months of school always seem to fly by and it is super important that kids are here every day as we are trying to finish the year strong. Also, with testing, it is harder to make up missed work. We work hard every day!
The spring can also bring excitement for summer and nice weather. When kids come back tomorrow we are going to review classroom expectations as well as refine a couple of them. A big one for me is active listening. We will be working on not playing in our desk, looking at the person who is speaking, and focusing on the directions given. We still struggle to follow directions the first time and many times the excuse is that they did not hear the directions. I use the microphone almost every day, so that every student can hear me no matter where they are in the room. I hope that you can practice active listening at home as well!
I am excited to see everyone tomorrow!
3/18 – 3/22
This paper is going home on Thursday, March 21st. I know that some people are already gone for spring break and I want everyone to have the information. Also, this can serve as a resource if the paper is lost 🙂
Dear 4th Grade Families,
We have finally reached our last book talk presentation! This will be a biography and therefore a little different than the previous book talks. Each student will choose a person that they want to read and learn about, and therefore a book, before spring break. Students will be writing a paper and making a poster or PowerPoint for this book talk. The paper will be written entirely in class and the visual must be made at home. There are very specific guidelines so please feel free to contact your child’s teacher with any clarifying questions!
Students should have their biography paper outline with the visual requirements attached. As your child reads their book, they should answer the questions on the outline in complete sentences. This will be the information we use in their papers. Some of the information might need to be looked up. If you do not have access to the Internet or a computer, students can look up some of the information in class. It is very important that your child reads and answers the questions at home! All outlines are due May 2nd. This will allow us time to write the papers together in class. All book talk visuals are due May 24th.
As for the visual, we are requiring either a poster board or a PowerPoint presentation. The last page of the packet has the information that needs to be displayed about their person. We will be purchasing the poster boards for students who need one. Students may also choose to dress up or do something in addition to the poster board or PowerPoint! Just like the emphasis of the historical fiction was to learn about the time period or historical event, this book talk is about learning about their person!
Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please ask your child’s teacher!
Sincerely,
The 4th Grade Team