Today's Writing

Write two paragraphs answering: What would the be biggest change in your life without books? What do you like most about books. Each paragraph has a topic sentence with 3-5 supporting detail sentences.

4 WEEKS!?!?!

A-Team,

I only have 4 weeks left with you! Where has the school year gone? I don't know about all of you, but it has been lightning quick for me. With that said, there is only 4 weeks left to turn in all missing work and get those grades up to 3s.

All students were given a copy of their progress report today (which is always viewable online in CLI) highlighting the work they have missing. Please review this over the weekend with your families and let me know ASAP if there are any assignments you need a new copy of. Otherwise, TURN IT IN!!! :) As always, your success is up to you - the 4th grader!

I'm looking forward to the remaining 4 weeks. Remember school is not over yet! Keep up the hard work!

Xtra Math

A-Team,

We all have access to a new web-based program called Xtra Math. I have asked the students to try to login each day and complete the 10 minute daily challenge. Each session is only about 10 minutes and the students can do more than one activity a day. This is great way for me to see how the students are doing and a great way for the students to practice their facts daily. I sent home a flyer with user IDs and the pin numbers yesterday, Wednesday 4/4. Let me know if you need an additional copy.

Thank you for your support of our awesome learners!

Field Trip Wednesday!

Just a reminder that our field trip is Wednesday. Students should wear their Arizona Rocks T-shirt and jeans. They will want comfortable shoes, we will be doing quite a bit of walking. Students will need a sack lunch and something to drink. We will not have access to vending machines or a cafeteria. The bus will leave at 8:30 and return before dismissal at 1:45. Parents are encouraged to ride the bus, there should be plenty of room. Let me know if you have any questions.

Missing/Late Work

All missing, or late, work must be turned in by Friday, March 9th. The quarter ends the following Friday on March 16th.

Field Trip

The 4th grade will be going on a field trip to the State Capitol Museum on Wednesday, March 14th. We will leave Carden at 8:30 am, and return about 1:30 that afternoon. We will be back before the 1:45 release time. Please keep this date open if you would like to chaperone.

Thank you!

www.lib.az.us/museum/

Progress Reports

Check today's Tuesday Folder for progress reports. Please sign one copy and return to school.

Thank you!

The Big Wave

This week in class the students will be reading The Big Wave. Instead of reading the excerpt in our Open Court Reader, we will be reading the novel. It is only 57 pages and I am confident that all students will be able to read the novel and complete the activities in one week. I am loaning all of the students a copy of this book. If you would like to purchase a copy of the book, it can be found at Barnes and Noble for just a few dollars.

When Someone Forgets Their Math HW

Sometimes students might forget to bring their math HW books home. Here are the steps to printing the HW page from the online math book:

1.       Go to http://macmillanmh.com/ose/

2.       Enter in our access code: D9BDD83D9F

3.       Using the table of contents, choose the chapter the assignment is in – click the gray triangle to drop down the lesson numbers

4.       Select the lesson number of the nightly homework

5.       Click the “Resources” button, at the top next to the table of contents

6.       You can then select the Homework Practice

7.       The Homework Practice PDF will pop up in a new window, you can send to your printer.

Let me know if for any reason you aren’t able to access the math online student edition, or have any questions about how to do this.

Vocabulary Sentences Reminder

Reminder on how vocabulary sentences are to look:

All sentences will have at least 7 words in them (7-Up sentences); have a capital letter and punctuation mark; and answer at least TWO Ws (who, what, when, where, why, or how.) Students will skip lines so they can box their vocabulary word and label the Ws. Example: I know that it is treacherous to drive on icy roads in December. This sentence answered what: drive, where: icy roads, when: December. The students are to write two sentences per word; an example of the word, and a non example.

100th Day of School Math Problem

The students are competing in a math challenge. The challenge is to use the alphabet, with points associated to each letter, to create words worth 100 points. Three students will win a mystery prize! Prize A: the longest 100 point word found. Prize B: the shortest 100 point word found. Prize C: the most 100 point words found. Here are the point values:

A = 1   N = 14
B = 2   O = 15
C = 3   P =16
D = 4   Q = 17
E = 5    R = 18
F = 6    S = 19
G = 7    T = 20
H = 8    U = 21
I = 9     V = 22
J = 10   W = 23
K = 11  X = 24
L = 12   Y = 25
M = 13  Z = 26

GOOD LUCK!

Island of the Blue Dolphins

A-Team,

We are beginning a novel study on Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell. We will be taking about 2 weeks to read the story and do activities related to the book. I have loaned all the students a copy of the book. If you would like to purchase your own copy, there are about $7 at Barnes and Noble. Happy reading!!

Division Steps

1. Divide
2. Multiply
3. Subtract
4. Bring down (or in case of remainder, bring up)

Repeat these steps for each new number created by bringing down.

Check your answer by multiplying the quotient (the answer) by the divisor (the small number.)

Dates this Week

• WinCon Thursday night
• 4th grade assembly Friday at 1:45
• Scholastic book orders due tomorrow
• Class book (student authored) orders due before Winter Break

Thank you!!

Thank you so much for all your help and support with our Fall Festival booth on Friday. We had a great time and it was so great seeing you all there! Let’s do it again in April with International Festival! Egypt!!

Fall Festival - Cupcake Walk

A-Team,

This year for Fall Festival our class is hosting the “Cupcake Walk.” I would really appreciate anyone who would bake, or donate, cupcakes for our class booth. For those unfamiliar, a cake walk (or cupcake walk as we are doing this year) is very similar to musical chairs. As the music plays, participants walk around a circle; when the music stops so do the participants. Whoever is standing on the number that is drawn from a bucket wins a cupcake. This event has been so much fun in years past. If you would be willing to donate/bake some cupcakes for our class I would really appreciate it. Several parents have signed up to help me run the booth that evening, but I need a few more.

Thank you for all your support and I look forward to having a fabulous Fall Festival!

Quarter 1 Achievement Awards

The quarter 1 achievement awards assembly will be on Monday, November 14th, at 1:30. I emailed all parents who have children receiving an award. We will be honoring: perfect attendance, note-worthy effort, and students who show character/leadership qualities. I hope you will be able to attend.

Upcoming Dates

Here are some important dates coming up in November:

11/9 Parent-Teacher conference from 2:30 to 4:00
11/10 Early Release @ 12:30; Parent-Teacher conferences from 2:30 to 8:00
11/10 Picture Retakes
11/11 No school – Veterans’ Day
11/18 Fall Festival
11/23 Early Release @ 12:30
11/24 – 11/25 No School

The 4th grade awards assembly will be in November, the front office has not given me the date for that yet. As soon as I know, I will send home a letter.

Candy

Parents,

I know most students will be trick-or-treating tonight, and getting lots of candy. Please only allow one piece of candy to come to school. Students do not learn well, or stay focused, while on a sugar-high. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Have a fun night and be safe!

Literature Day, Friday, 10/28

Our class will be representing Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We’ve been reading this novel as a class since September. We will be reading all 5 books in the series throughout the school year. Children can dress up as a character from the story. If they would like, they may bring in a plain t-shirt to paint on. We will be painting “Camp Half-Blood” on the shirts.

We will be painting shirts in the afternoon on Wednesday, October 26th to ensure they dry on time. If parents would like to come in to help supervise the painting, I would really appreciate it. Just give me a call or send me an email and I will get you more details.

The students would like to have a little party after the parade. (Our parade will be at 9:30, starting at the basketball court.) If you would like to contribute to the party, please send in healthy snacks – we will have a whole day of learning still ahead of us.

Thank you for all you do, and all of your amazing support!