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.   
  

Weekly Update

These first two days of 2019 were great fun and I was happy to see all of the girls again! Next week, we will get back into our routine and start delving into the curriculum. January and February are always months where we have less distractions and can really work hard.

Pastor Sigmund Collins from Shepherd's Way Relief Center, came to St. Catherine's yesterday and spoke to the fourth grade girls and the boys from St. Chrsitopher's. He had a great message to the students about his vision and talked about what it looks like to show compasssion to those in need. I am very excited for our class to go down to Shepherd's Way this Wednesday to serve breakfast. Thank you for your support of this meaningful project. If you are donating food, please be sure to bring it to my classroom between 2:30 and 4:00 on Tuesday afternoon. I will take the food down ahead of time and they will start warming it Wednesday morning. The girls may wear jeans for this field trip and we will leave school at 8:15 to return by lunch.

Today was a special day because we not only went to see a movie during school, but the girls found out a special message from Mrs. Ivens. Check it out! We had a blast at the movie and the girls were very well behaved.

Reminders and Announcements:

• Shepherd's Way Relief Center information. This letter provides the details and a sign up for food. Please remember to deliver the food on Tuesday afternoon between 2:30 and 4:00 to our classroom.
• The Family Life class will be taught by Nurse Blanton in February. Next Thursday, January 10, she will host a parent information session. Here is the letter from Dr. Kapetanis about this details. 
• 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.  

• Scavenger Hunt