Final Update

Girls, I miss you already! I was working in my classroom today and it was very quiet!!! I hope your summer is off to a great start.

We had so many fun memories this year and I want to thank each of you for a fantastic school year. You are a special group of girls that I will always remember. You all grew so much this year and I am so proud of each and every one of you. You are a sweet and thoughtful group of girls. Please stay in touch and come and visit me!

Sending lots of love to you all!

Weekly Update

I hope that everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend! We are in the homestretch and I am savoring these final days with this awesome group of girls! Next week, we will complete some fun projects to document our memories of fourth grade.

We have been working through the states and capitals of the US by combining math and geography. The girls work with five states at a time as they solve riddles about each capital city and practice rounding at the same time. We will finish these this week.

They took an end of year cumulative math test on Thursday. Next week, I will conference with each student about how they did. I am proud of their hard work on this final assessment!

Reminders and Announcements

• Juliet and Amelia are our carpool helpers next week
• SCAVENGER HUNT! 
• On Wednesday morning, the girls may bring in their yearbooks for signing across the grade level.
• There will be required math work for the summer. You will receive a hard copy from Middle School. Here's a copy just in case.
• Fifth grade required summer reading
• Fourthie End of Year Party! We will celebrate on May 31st. From 10:30 - 11:30, there will be a Pool Party (girls will need a swim cap, one piece suit, towel), then a Pizza Lunch and Movie Time until the end of the school day!! Girls may choose to wear their suit to school. There will be time to change if they would rather not wear the suit under their clothes. 
• Final Assembly Information is here! Please be mindful of the rehearsal schedule if you need to make any appointments for your daughter:
  
  Thursday, May 30 @ 1:00 – 2:00
  Friday, May 31@ 9:00-10:00
  Monday, June 3 @ 8:30 – 9:45 (Please note-this is a half day. Dismissal is at noon.)
  Tuesday, June 4 @ 1:00 LS Final Assembly – Kenny Center

Weekly Update

It is really hard to believe that we only have 8.5 days of school left this year! Wow!! This year has flown by and I have loved this precious group of girls. They are a sweet group and have worked really well together this year. We are going to have fun in our remaining days.

The girls have achieved 125 class compliments, which is quite an accomplishment. We will celebrate this week!

Immigration Day was great fun! Each girl presented three interesting facts from their country and shared a few of their diary entries. They did a fantastic job walking in someone else's shoes and imagining what it would have been like to come into the United States via Ellis Island. I am really proud of their hard work!

Today during art, the girls helped Mrs. Minarik with a very special project in the school's community garden. Her father passed away several months ago and the Lower School gave her a limelight hydrangea in her father's memory. Our class had the privilege to help her plant it today and she was so appreciative.

 

Reminders and Announcements

• No Friday folders came home today. I will send them home next Thursday.
• Claiborne and Addisyn are carpool helpers
• Scavenger hunt
• End of Year Party on Friday, May 31 from 10:30 - 2:30. The girls and I discussed the party today so please ask them for details!
• Monday, June 3 is a half day and we will dismiss at noon. No lunch will be served!
• Final Assembly Information is here! Please be mindful of the rehearsal schedule if you need to make any appointments for your daughter:

Thursday, May 30 @ 1:00 – 2:00 – Kenny Center

Friday, May 31@ 9:00 - 10:00 – Kenny Center

Monday, June 3 @ 8:30 – 9:45 – Kenny Center

Tuesday, June 4 @ 1:00 LS Final Assembly – Kenny Center

Weekly Update

This was a great week and the highlight was the girl's visit to the Middle School on Wednesday. They had an opportunity to share what they are excited about in Middle School and also what they feel nervous about. Click on the adjectives to see what they had to say!

The girls are progressing well with decimal computation. They enjoyed a shopping project where they were given $200.00 to spend on a wardrobe. They visited several web sites to go shopping. Their challenge is to come as close to $200 without going over, which is hard. We will finish this up early next week. Next week, we will also focus on multiplying and dividing with decimals. After that, we will review concepts from the whole school year.

We visited a neat, interactive site about to tour Ellis Island. The girls spent some time exploring what it would have been like to comes into the United States through Ellis Island. They then took on the role as an immigrant and began recording what life was like in a diary. They will write some more entries next week as we prepare for Immigration Day next Friday. For this, they will dress up as an immigrant from the country they researched. They will share several of their diary entries to help us understand what life was like leaving one country to come start anew in the US.

Reminders and Announcements

• Vivienne and Emily are carpool helpers
• Scavenger hunt
• Final Outreach project - extended through next Friday - information here 
• Lower School Book Fair (5/15 and 5/16)- Our class is going on Wednesday @ 12:10.
• Immigration Day is next Friday, 5/17 - The girls may come dressed in humble outfits and they will share information about the country they researched. 
• Final Assembly Information is here! Please be mindful of the rehearsal schedule if you need to make any appointments for your daughter:

Thursday, May 30 @ 1:00 – 2:00 – Kenny Center

Friday, May 31@ 9:00 - 10:00 – Kenny Center

Monday, June 3 @ 8:30 – 9:45 – Kenny Center

Tuesday, June 4 @ 1:00 LS Final Assembly – Kenny Center

Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous moms!

 

Weekly Update

We had a great week and were productive! It was nice to have a week back on schedule. Next week proves to be off schedule with the visit to the Middle School on Wednesday and a picnic lunch on Thursday with our big sisters. These are all fun activities! Here are some curriculum highlights.

Math: On Thursday, the girls took a quick quiz on unit 6 and these came home in the Friday folder. I gave them a practice test that was the exact same format but with different numbers. The only difference was an additional EdPuzzle to practice problem solving. I plan to grade this separately and we will go over it on Monday and make corrections. For the rest of the year, we will work on computation with decimals and area and perimeter. Next week, we will have our last facts contract of the year! We will end with one more review of all facts. For the weeks following, we will review concepts from the whole year.

Language Arts/Reading: We are really enjoying Number the Stars and will continue to read it next week. The girls are doing well with the comprehension checks. To finish up all of our Wordly Wise and spelling lists, we are studying the lists for just one week. I am allowing the girls to use their flashcards to help on the WW assessments. This week, I discovered a cool feature of the website Quizlet. It is called Quizlet Live and here is a description of it from their site:
Quizlet Live is an engaging in-class game where students work in teams to correctly match terms and definitions. The first team to match all terms and definitions correctly in a row wins the game. 

The girls loved it! Here is a video to show it in action.

Reminders and Announcements

• Sloane is our carpool helper next week 
• Middle School visit (5/8 from 9:00-1:00) The girls will get a bird's eye view of fifth grade.  
• Big Sister Lunch on the Green- 5/9 (A bag lunch will be provided for your daughter if she usually eats dining room food.)
• Lower School Book Fair (5/15 and 5/16)- Our class is going on Wednesday from 12:10 - 12:30.
• Immigration Day- 5/17 (The girls will receive more details as the day approaches.)
• SCAVENGER HUNT!
• Final Assembly Information is here! Please be mindful of the rehearsal schedule if you need to make any appointments for your daughter:

Thursday, May 30 – Kenny Center

1:00 – 2:00

Friday, May 31 – Kenny Center

9:00-10:00

Monday, June 3 – Kenny Center

8:30 – 9:45

Tuesday, June 4 – Kenny Center

1:00 PM – LS Final Assembly

Weekly Update

This was another fun and special week with Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Thursday! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone's guests and seeing the proud look on the girls faces as they showed them around. They completed a 3WT together and we will look at those tomorrow and share them one another.

The girls did a fabulous job at the Maypole yesterday. All of their hard work paid off and it was special to see them in action.

We are working hard through decimals and I hope to wrap up the unit this week. When we work more on decimal computation, we will complete a fun shopping project, which I know the girls will enjoy.

We are all looking forward to a normal schedule this week! For one of our final writing labs, we will be doing something special for Mother's Day and Father's Day. If you could please email me either a picture of your whole family including your daughter, or individual mother/daughter and father/daughter pictures, I would appreciate it. If I could get the pictures by Wednesday, it would be great!

Reminders and Announcements

• Riley is our carpool helper next week
• Middle School visit is May 8 - the girls will get a bird's eye view of fifth grade 
• Lower School Book Fair (5/15 and 5/16) - more details to follow including fifth grade summer reading selections
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

The Naturalization field trip is always a class favorite but this year was really special. The girls watched close to seventy new American citizens take their oath and among them was our very own Mrs. Dorion. It was such a privilege to be able to witness the event! The girls also learned about the US Marshal Service, toured holding cells, and visited Judge Lauck's chambers.

The girls are really getting into our novel study, Number the Stars. They are doing well on the comprehension checks. Pleas ask your daughter to log in to her Quia account so you can see the quizzes (both reading and Wordly Wise). For this weeks 3WT, they completed it as a collaborative Google slide document. We have completed it this way before but they tend to get more concerned with pictures and videos to include. This week, I instructed them to only focus on their writing and they did a much better job. Here is their work!


The girls enjoyed an edible math activity where they found decimals on different snack packages and then converted the decimals into fractions. We will finish this up next week and keep moving through our study of decimals.

 

Reminders and Announcements

• Alice is our carpool helper next week
• Grandparents' Special Friends' Day is on Thursday. We will enjoy time with our guests from 10:30-12:30. Box lunches will be served to all students and their guests.
• April is Autism Awareness Month - Details here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

This was our first "normal" week in some time since our production of Mary Poppins. I am moving quickly through curriculum and the girls are trying hard to stay focused in the midst of spring and fun activities. We had a blast at Zazoli's on Tuesday!

Here are some curriculum updates and reminders.

Math: We finished up our unit on measurements and the girls took a quick check on Tuesday. It came home in today's folder and the girls did well with this. We have started our decimals unit and will keep on working on these important skills.

Language Arts/Reading: The girls wrote a brief paragraph about themselves to share with students in Malaysia who are learning English. After they wrote their paragraph, they recorded themselves reading their writing to help the Malaysian students improve their English skills. These are the videos we have so far. This week we began our next class novel, Number the Stars. This is a fantastic story by Lois Lowry about a ten year old girl living in Copenhagen during the second World War. The story follows her life as well as her best friend, Ellen, who is Jewish. It is a great story and we will continue with it next week. We will read some in class and the girls will be assigned some pages to read for homework as well. In their Google Drive accounts in the share with me section, they have a folder that contains audio files of the book being read. They are welcome to listen and read along if they would like.

Social Studies: We started working in the 1940's decade since our class novel takes place in 1943. In pairs, the girls solved an EdPuzzle with an overview of the decade. We will continue working in the 1930's and 1940's over the next few weeks. Next week, we will continue researching our country for the immigration project.

Reminders and Announcements

• Wear red on Monday for our Palm Monday chapel
• On Wednesday, we have a field trip to attend a naturalization ceremony downtown. All of the details are here!
• Friday, April 12, is a half day for Good Friday. The girls will dismiss at noon and no lunch will be served.
• Grandparents' and Special Visitors' Day is Thursday, April 25
• April is Autism Awareness Month - Details here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

This week was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Reminders and Announcement

• To celebrate the class earning 100 compliments, we will visit Zazoli Sweets on Tuesday afternoon. Your daughter may bring in $5.00 to use in the store.
• Thursday, April 11, is the official conference day so there is no school for the girls
• Grandparents' and Special Visitors' Day is Thursday, April 25
• April is Autism Awareness Month - Details here.
• Everyday Parenting Solutions - program at St. Catherine's on April 10th. Details here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

via GIPHY

Most of our week was spent rehearsing as a grade level for our Mary Poppins musical. The girls are doing a great job and we look forward to the parent performance next Wednesday, April 3 at 9:45 in the Lower School Assembly Room. Costumes were due today so please send them in on Monday if your daughter still needs to bring hers to school. Details for the costumes are here and and here are the details for their hairstyle. We would like for your daughter to come to school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with her hair already styled in the designated style.

The girls are working well on the Greg Tang Spring Math Challenge and they are earning lots of math chicks for their nests. We are continuing to work on measurement as well.

This week, we started an immigration project. The girls explored their family names using this site: https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/. They will assume the identity of an immigrant and research that country. This project will span several weeks and will be completed in class. We will witness a Naturalization Ceremony as the culmination of our immigration unit. This is always a favorite field trip for the Fourthies.

More than 200 Newsela articles were read in celebration and appreciation of Women's History Month. Way to go Fourthies!

Reminders and Announcement

• Grandparents' and Special Visitors' Day invitations went home last week. There is still time to register. Our guests are joining us for lunch so we need an accurate headcount. Please click here to register.
• Spring Conference Sign Up 
• Rehearsal schedule for the Monday and Tuesday. 
• Girls may wear jeans on Monday in honor of April is Autism Awareness Month - Details here.
• Shepherd's Way Outreach Project- Fourthies are asked to bring razors and deodorant for the shelter. The collection ends on April 5! Thanks for what you have already sent in.
• Everyday Parenting Solutions - program at St. Catherine's on April 10th. Details here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

We had a great week back from spring break and I enjoyed hearing the girls share stories from their week off from school. We used a site called Mentimeter for the girls to share something about their break. Here is the word cloud they developed.

We have launched into unit 5 on measurement. This week, we spent some time converting between various metric and US customary units. We also learned how to add and subtract compound units. The girls are grasping these new skills well and seem to be enjoying something instead of fractions! For the next two weeks, we will not have a facts contract because of the play. Instead, I am asking them to work on the Greg Tang spring challenge and I would like everyone to participate and complete it by May 1. 

The Fourthies ushered in spring with haikus and used water colors to paint bamboo drawings. The haikus and bamboo drawings created a serene look on the bulletin board outside our classroom.

We finished reading A Song for Harlem. Not only does this novel teach about the Harlem Renaissance, it also explains and reinforces the elements of writing that we work on during language arts. Next, we will read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

Reminders and Announcements

• Abby is our carpool helper next week
• PE Bike Day is Monday. Details are here. Please contact Laurie Marshalek (LMarshalek@st.catherines.org) if you have questions. 
• Mary Poppins Costume Requirements 
• In the Friday folders, there are invitations for Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day. There is still time to register here.  Our guests are joining us for lunch so we need an accurate headcount. 
• 3D Design Project Form- Please respond. A hard copy is in your daughter's work folder. 
• Play practice is in full swing!  Rehearsal schedule for the next two weeks. All lines should be memorized by Monday.   
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Spring Conference Sign Up  
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

We all enjoyed the several days of sunshine we had this week and hope for more! There is nothing like outdoor recess for the girls. It is hard to believe that we have 4 1/2 school days left until spring break begins. If your daughter will not be at school next Friday, please let me know because we will be having our Innovations Day. Knowing ahead will help me in preparations for this event. As next Friday is a half day, lunch will not be served!

We are winding up unit 4 and the girls will have their final quick check for this unit on Tuesday. We will spend Monday going over some fraction of word problems. Here are three practice pages for the girls to use for a review, in addition to what we review on Monday.
Practice 1
Practice 2
Practice 3

To align with our study of the 1920's, we started a short novel called A Song for Harlem. The girls are enjoying reading about Lily Belle Turner and her experience attending a summer writing camp in Harlem in the 1920's. After a few chapters, the girls took a quick comprehension check on Quia. We will continue this as we read this book. On another note, the girls have almost finished their animal reports and I will update the blog with their presentations when they all finish.

Reminders and Announcements

• Juliet and Amelia are our carpool helpers next week.
• Graded papers will come home next Wednesday instead of today.
• Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day- Please sign up here. 
• Maypole- A Fourthie Tradition!! All details are here (Fourthie site>Everything Else). 
• Please consider our play rehearsal schedule when making dental, doctor, etc. appointments for your daughter. Practice begins on 3/22.
• "Growing Up Healthy" ends next week. Please send in a toiletry bag for your daughter for Wednesday's class.
• The parent performance for Mary Poppins is Wednesday, April 3 at 9:45 in the Lower School Assembly Room.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

This was a great week! The class is enjoying their health class with Nurse Blanton and they are very open with me about what they discuss in class. They even asked me to attend class with them on Wednesday when they were discussing "big" things. It was a very entertaining 45 minutes! I encourage you to read the email summaries that Nurse Blanton sends because it gives you a clear idea of what the class is like and what the girls are thinking.

Overall, the girls did well with the second quick check on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. We moved to the next concept of multiplying a fraction by a whole number. I added a catchy video to the blog that they watched to help remember the steps. We have a few concepts left in this unit and I plan to finish up the unit by spring break. We will have one or two more quick checks and that will conclude the assessments for unit 4. The next unit covers measurement so it will be a nice change from fractions!

We did a fun activity this week using a site called Flipgrid. The girls access this site with a code and they have a picture or video prompt to which they respond. They respond by making a quick video of themselves and their job is to include some Wordly Wise words. They did a great job with this and asked for more next week. There are so many great activities we do to supplement the WW workbook, like Flipgrid. Here is one example:

We are wrapping up the 1910's decade with our discussion of the Titanic and we will briefly discuss WW1. I hope to finish the 1920's by spring break.

Next week, we will work more on our animal projects and write a report from the first person perspective of the animal they researched.

Reminders and important information:

• Selah, Addisyn, and Claiborne are our carpool helpers next week
• Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day- Please sign up here. 
• Maypole- A Fourthie Tradition!! All details are here (Fourthie site>Everything Else). 
• Band Sweatshirts - order form. 
• Please consider our play rehearsal schedule when making dental, doctor, etc. appointments for your daughter. Practice begins on 3/22.
• Wondering about "Growing Up Healthy" class? Mrs. Blanton has all assignments, lessons, etc. on a website. Take a look here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

We had a fun week full of celebration! We started the week with our 75 class compliment celebration....slime was the most common fidget toy, which was interesting and fun. Valentine's Day was great fun and I loved seeing the girls show their creativity in their costumes. Check out what everyone wore!

 In math this week, we learned how to add and subtract mixed numbers. The girls did well with this new skill and applied previous fraction concepts into this new computation. I plan to give them another quick check on Tuesday. We will work through some word problems in the morning and then take the quick check in the afternoon. Today I gave each girl a front and back practice sheet to help review, and here it is electronically in case they misplace it. 😉 To keep with our Mary Poppins theme, the girls completed another musical moment on the song, Jolly Holiday.

The girls are reading about key events in the 1910's. They spent time reading and learning about the unsinkable Titanic. They examined the survival rates of passengers and crew. Working through math equations they found out that the wealthy passengers received preferential treatment. This inequality did not set right with the girls. They learned that the first crossword puzzle debuted in this decade. Each girl created her own crossword puzzle using last week's Wordly Wise words.

The girls continued reading articles in Newsela about the contributions of Black Americans. The quizzes are tough and the girls are doing well working through this month long project. In addition to the Newsela project, they are researching individual women and working with paraphrasing. This is a tough skill and we will continue practicing. The girls made paper dolls of the prominent women they are researching.

Reminders:

• Vivienne and Emily are our carpool helpers next week
• I finished all of the mini-conferences with the girls and loved that one on one time with each of them.
• Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day- Please sign up here. 
• Maypole- A Fourthie Tradition!! All details are here (Fourthie site>Everything Else). 
• Band Sweatshirts - order form. 
• Please consider our play rehearsal schedule when making dental, doctor, etc. appointments for your daughter. Practice begins on 3/22.
• Wondering about "Growing Up Healthy" class? Mrs. Blanton has all assignments, lessons, etc. on a website. Take a look here.
• Final Assembly Information is here!
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

The votes for our 75 class compliment celebration are in, and we will be having hot chocolate and bringing in a fidget toy on Monday. Today, we discussed the parameters for the fidget toy. They may bring in a fidget spinner, fidget cube, squishie, or slime, but only one item. I will allow them to have the item out in our class during the day but if it becomes a distraction, they will be put away. Wish me luck!!! We will have the hot chocolate and a cookie as well.

I hope that many of you were able to attend the meeting in January with Nurse Blanton about the "Growing Up Healthy" class. The class begins this Monday and all of the details are here. The class will meet during science for the next few weeks.

This week in math, we worked on adding and subtracting related fractions. We also practiced addition and subtraction of related fractions in word problems. For this next unit in math, I will be giving the girls mini checks focusing on one skill at a time. With all of the fraction concepts, I think this will be simpler approach for the girls. We will have our first mini check on Monday and I offered the girls some practice problems today. Most of the class took me up on the offer, but not all! So, the practice problems are here if anyone would like to access them at home. The mini check will not be this long but if they want to practice some of these problems, it would be great. The fractions test from the last unit is in their Friday folder that was sent home today.

The girls finished their friendship machines and created their very own business cards. They look great! Here are a few examples.

 
The girls had some time in class to research their animals using the school's library database. I also offered them time to read some articles for the Black History Month project on Newsela.

Reminders:

• Sloane is our carpool helper next week
• The "mini-conferences" are going really well and I will finish up next week.
• For Valentine's Day, the girls will need to bring in a box to collect their valentines from their classmates. They maybe as creative with this as they would like. They may starte bringing in their boxes starting Monday.
• We will have another Wordly Wise Dress Up day on Valentine's Day so put your thinking caps on and get creative! The girls may choose any word from list 1 through 11.
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Update

We had a great week! The girls have earned 75 class compliments and we will vote on Monday and celebrate one day next week. The girls and I had a productive conversation about taking their learning seriously while being silly at the appropriate times. We love to have fun in class but it can be a challenge for some, to come back and focus on the task at hand. I am glad we are able to talk about these things and learn together. Here are some curriculum updates.

Math: The girls finished their math tests on fractions and the scores varied. I passed the tests back today and they had an opportunity to make corrections. I will average the two scores together and send home the tests next week. We will start into the next unit on computation with fractions and mixed numbers. The girls continue to enjoy earning math chicks by solving puzzles from MashUp Math. They also worked through a musical moment based on the song Let's Go Fly a Kite from Mary Poppins.

Language Arts: This week's writing lab was all about friendship. In fact, we are in the friendship business. The girls brainstormed the meaning of friendship and then the creativity began. Each girl designed a machine that promotes, fosters, and encourages friendship. They are putting the finishing touches on their machines and will write about them next week. They will be the CEO, manager, owner, etc. of the company that produces these machines. Naturally the girls will need their own business cards. Stay tuned.
The girls received the graphic organizer for their animal project. Manny have already taken lots of notes. This will need to be complete by February 19. I checked out an additional book for each student on their chosen animal from my public library to ensure their have several sources. In addition, we will use the school's library database to get further information.

Social Studies: We wrapped up the first decade of the 20th century and will move into the 1910's next week. Their finished their earthquake projects and they are all here. February 1 marks the start of Black History Month so we began Friday morning with a Cluster Chapel with the third grade girls. Mr. Tullner gathered mini-biographies of prominent black women. The girls read and shared information about these women. A Newsela text set has been set up for the girls to read and learn about the contributions and struggles of black individuals throughout history. Look for more activities throughout the month.

Reminders and Important Information

• Riley is our carpool helper next week
• The "mini-conferences" are off to a great start. I am enjoying this individual time with each of your daughters to learn more about their learning and anything else they want share. I will continue the meetings this week.
• Hand warmers are due by Tuesday to support folks at Shepherd's Way
• For Valentine's Day, the girls will need to bring in a box to collect their valentines from their classmates. They maybe as creative with this as they would like.
• We will have another Wordly Wise Dress Up day on Valentine's Day so put your thinking caps on and get creative! The girls may choose any word from list 1 through 11.
• Scavenger hunt

Weekly Updates

Dress up weeks are always fun and this week was no exception! The girls looks fabulous on our spirited dress days starting Wednesday. They had fun at the Cheer Rally today and my ears are still ringing! 😉

Here are some curriculum updates.

Math: We have finished working through unit 3 on fractions. We will have a brief test on Tuesday and will review a bit more on Monday. Our next unit is on more fractions! It includes lots of computation with fractions and they will have an opportunity to apply the skills we have been working on, including finding equivalent fractions. I am proud of them for their perseverance with this challenging topic.

Language Arts: We have wrapped up our novel study on All of a Kind Family. In several weeks, we will begin a shorter novel called A Song for Harlem. On Wednesday, the girls checked out a book about an animal of their choice for our next book project. At this point, they should enjoy reading about the animal and learning more. Next week, I will give them a graphic organizer for their note taking.

Reminders and Important Information

• Alice is our carpool helper next week
• On Monday, January 28, we will hear from the author Russell Ginns
• I will be conducting "mini-conferences" with each student starting Wednesday. This provides an opportunity for me and your daughter to discuss what is going well for her in school and any areas in which she could improve. They signed themselves up for a slot this so I look forward to this one on one time with each student.
• To further support Shepherd's Way, the Lower School is collecting hand warmers. When I served there this week with Mrs. Cavallo's class, Pastor Collins said they have an immediate need for hand warmers with these cold temperatures. We will collect them from Monday, January 28 to Tuesday, February 5. Thank you for your support!
• Mrs. Dorion asked that I share some work from your daughters in Chinese class, which concluded last week. Each girl researched a Chinese speaking country and made their own eBook about that specific country, researching food, languages, currency, population, landmarks, fun facts, and etc. Check them out here.
• Scavenger hunt

 

Weekly Update

We had a great four day week and the girls worked hard after our snow day on Monday. This is the time of year when everyone feels very comfortable with one another as well as with me, which is a really great thing. Sometimes this level of comfort can lead to some bossy and unkind behavior. It is always good to check in as a class and reinforce how we all want to be acting towards one another as well as to ourselves! Thank you for your encouragement at home.

Here are some curriculum updates and reminders.

Math: We are persevering through unit 3 and we identified mixed numbers and improper fractions, and have started to learn how to convert between the two. This week I had the class reflect on this past quarter and make goals for the next quarter. When I asked about things they have not enjoyed, math seemed to be a big theme for many, and specifically fractions. In Singapore Math, we go in depth with fractions, which can feel overwhelming. I am asking the girls to try their best and listen carefully. They are doing a great job and we will continue working through fractions. From this week's Pick 8, there are a handful of girls who still struggle with multiplying by a two digit number. I will review this skill whole group and individually. If they scored an N on this week's Pick 8, I would like for them to practice at home as well.

Language Arts: The girls are almost finished writing their persuasive essays. They are very convincing in their stances on various topics. This is a great experience for them to learn how to write a multi-paragraph essay. We will finish this writing lab next week and move on to our next friendship themed writing lab.

Social Studies: We completed the web quest about MLK and had a nice discussion about his life. The girls created portraits of him and they look great. They are also in the midst of creating their earthquake movies about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. We have lots of work in progress projects that we will finish up next week. 8 members of our class are in the Inclusion club and did a great job leading us in chapel today and sharing their experience when they visited The Faison School.

Reminders and Important Information

• Next week is Spirit Week! On Wednesday they may dress as a holiday; on Thursday, they may dress as a decade, and on Friday they may wear gold or white for the cheer rally that day
• Spanish begins next week
• Scholastic Book Order is due by Friday, January 25
• Scavenger Hunt
• From Mrs. Irving: Author Russell Ginns is coming to St. Catherine's School on Monday, January 28th. He is visiting to celebrate both the paperback release of Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans and the upcoming March release of the next book in the series, Samantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs. bbgb, our local bookshop, is offering the opportunity to purchase autographed copies of Russell's books.
  Order online to pay with a credit card at  http://bbgbbooks.com/book-buzz/. We are receiving a 15% discount on the books. When ordering online, use coupon code cat15.  Please place your order by Friday, January 18th. Note: the new Samantha Spinner book (Samantha Spinner at the Spectacular Specs) releases on March 12th, so Russell will sign customized book plates during his visit and these books will be delivered to your child's classroom on release day. You may call bbgb with any questions at 804.353.5675.   
  
  
  

Snow Day!

Happy snow day! As we discussed on Friday, I am posting some work for you to do today to keep us moving with our classwork. Remember that everything you need should be in your binder. You can squeeze this in between your sledding!

Classwork

Math

1. Complete the adding and subtracting fraction worksheet
2. Watch the Matholia video about improper fractions (login, go to learn, click on D6 and watch. He calls fourths, quarters. It means the same thing!)

Wordly Wise

1. Cut out flashcards for list 9 and read through the definitions

Reading

1. Read/reread the article on Newsela about the San Francisco earthquake and take the quiz!

 Homework

The homework is listed on the blog!

Weekly Update

This was a very special week with our visit to Shepherd's Way. The girls impressed me so much with their cheerful attitude and kind demeanor. As Pastor Collins said they not only fed the guests with food but fed their souls with their friendliness and positive attitudes. I hope the girls will carry this memory with them! Here are some great pictures taken by Jennifer Harter, who works in our Marketing and Communications office.
Here are some curriculum updates.

Math: We are working through this first unit about fractions. We worked on adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators, continued to practice simplifying fractions, and ordered and compared fractions. The girls watched two cute EdPuzzles to practice these skills. Next, we will move into mixed numbers and improper fractions.

Language Arts: The girls had a homework assignment to read a Newsela article, take the comprehension quiz, and then highlight five adjectives. Many girls did this correctly but many had a hard time recognizing adjectives in context. I plan to review this with them on Monday and assign a similar activity with Newsela next week. On Thursday, we started a writing lab on how to write a persuasive essay. The girls will choose from six "controversial" topics for their age, such as wearing uniforms and writing in cursive. I look forward to seeing how well they will convince their readers on their opinion.

Social Studies: We started a fun project where the girls work in pairs to research the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and create a movie to share their findings. I will post them when we finish. We also started a project about Martin Luther King, Jr. where the girls explored his life through a web quest. They will also create a portrait of him and participate in a reader's theater about his life.

Reminders and upcoming events

• In the event of a snow day, I will post some work for the girls to complete on the blog. It will not be super time consuming but will help to keep us going. 
• In today's folder, I sent home a Scholastic Book Order that is due by Friday, January 25
• Scavenger Hunt
• From Mrs. Irving: Author Russell Ginns is coming to St. Catherine's School on Monday, January 28th. He is visiting to celebrate both the paperback release of Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans and the upcoming March release of the next book in the series, Samantha Spinner and the Spectacular Specs. bbgb, our local bookshop, is offering the opportunity to purchase autographed copies of Russell's books.
  
  
  Order online to pay with a credit card at  http://bbgbbooks.com/book-buzz/. We are receiving a 15% discount on the books. When ordering online, use coupon code cat15.  Please place your order by Friday, January 18th. Note: the new Samantha Spinner book (Samantha Spinner at the Spectacular Specs) releases on March 12th, so Russell will sign customized book plates during his visit and these books will be delivered to your child's classroom on release day. You may call bbgb with any questions at 804.353.5675.