Weekly Update

This has been a week full of lots of fun and learning. We began the week celebrating the girls earning 25 compliments. On Monday, I brought the girls a chocolate chip cookie sandwich and on Tuesday, we went outside for extra recess. The girls enjoyed being the only class on the new playground!

On Thursday, we had our first meeting of the year with our big sisters from Mr. Berry's 8th grade advisory. We played an ice breaker game in the classroom and then went out so the "big" girls could explore the new playground. It was a blast! Here are some pictures from the event.

Today, the girls did a fantastic job leading chapel. We introduced a service project called Lend a Helping Paw. There is a flyer in the Friday folder with information about it. Our class will help by going to other classrooms to collect any donations. They girls are very excited! Here is a link to watch the chapel in case you were unable to attend.

Curriculum Updates

Math: We are at the end of unit 1. This unit is full of complex math skills and we encountered one this week. We learned order of operations using an acronym called GEMS.

This is a helpful way for the girls to remember which step comes first in a multi-step expression. This was overwhelming for many girls so we will continue to practice this skill next week. It will also be the computation focus on next week's Pick 8. From my observation, one source of errors was in recalling basic facts. It is essential that the girls become adept at addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division basic facts. Several students have their basic facts memorized, but many students still need daily practice for automaticity. This is why their only math homework during the week is the facts contract. We will be wrapping up unit 1 next week and reviewing for the test. Once I finalize the date for the test, I will the girls know.

Language Arts: We are all loving our class read aloud, Fish in a Tree, including me! The girls have all finished their Buncee presentations and they are under Clever Classwork on the blog. On Monday, the girls need to bring in their notes on their book project book. We will create a Buncee in class on the story elements from their novel. We mixed emojis and writing this week and it was a hit. Using this site, the girls wrote sentences using their Wordly Wise words. This was a very popular activity and one we will complete again! We began our second writing lab which focuses on turning a simple sentence into a descriptive paragraph. We will finish this up next week.

Reminders and Announcements

• Blessing of the Animals- Monday@ 8:15 on The Green (a note went home in today's folder)
• Swimming starts Tuesday! Our class will have our swimming unit in PE from October 2 - 12 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of each of those weeks. Information here.
• Science Atom Project due: Friday, Oct. 12th 
• * We have decided to cancel our Parent Technology Night since attendance was going to be sparse. We want to keep everyone in the loop regarding our instructional technology practices in fourth grade. Click here for our "how to" videos.   
• Information about volunteering in the community garden
• Scavenger Hunt!