March and April Updates 3/16

Dear 4th Grade Parents,

Wow! What a crazy March it has been so far. We hope you enjoyed playing outside in all of the fresh powder we got this week!

Crazy Hair Day!

Field trip to check out the local solar panels

In reading we are currently reading "dog" themed stories to go along with the reading Iditarod. We are focusing on point of view and using evidence to predict what will come next. When you come in next week you will have a chance to see some of the work students did with our Asian reading unit.

In writing we are wrapping up our unit on literary fiction. Students are using a variety to techniques to elaborate on authors craft, theme's and the morals of short fiction stories. They used their work from the previous persuasive writing unit to provide evidence and examples to support their thesis about these stories. You will enjoy seeing your students work when you come in for our Student Celebrations!

In math we are digging deep into fractions and decimals. We have been using arrays to understand fractional parts and are now beginning to use this understanding to add fractions together. When you visit next week you will have an opportunity to play some of the math games your students are enjoying to become more comfortable with fractions.

We will be sending home book talk forms and an orange permission slip for the History Fair mentors tomorrow. Be sure to ask your students for them and return the slips! Mark your calendars for History Fair on May 11th. The groups will be assigned soon!

Reminders:

• Pinball Tournament-Rescheduled to Tuesday, March 21st at 7:30am
• Book Talks-dueApril 14th
• 4th Grade Student Celebrations- March 20th and 22nd *sign up here
• 4th Grade Concert-March 22nd at 6pm
• Spirit Week- 
• Switch the Seasons-Thursday, March 24th
• Dress for WES-Thursday, March 30th
• Quarter 3 Grades close-March 31st
• Show Your Stuff Dress Rehearsal-April 10th 2:50-6pm
• Show Your Stuff-April 14th
• Spring Break-April 17-21st
• History Fair-May 11th

Have a great weekend!

Best,

Kelley & Cindy

March 7, 2017

Happy Town Meeting Day Parents,

Tomorrow we will be going by school bus out to the solar array a mile from the center of Woodstock on Rt. 12.  Eric Wegner, from Woodstock Aqueduct will be there to explain to us how the panels were assembled and where the power is used.  This trip ties into our study of energy and how renewable forms create sustainability.  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD WEAR BOOTS, LONG PANTS AND A JACKET.

In STEM we are creating various devices that use a battery and complete circuits to do a job or perform a task.  Soon we will hear about an island off the coast of Denmark, where all of the energy used on the island is produced there.  Students will then create their own "Energy Island".

Yesterday, Monday, March 6th the official Iditarod race started in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is 350 miles to the north of Anchorage.  It was -15 degrees at the start and last night it got down to -40.  The dogs are bred to run in this cold but the snow is very deep, which means that 71 teams are making deep ruts until they spread out over the next 900+ miles.  There are lots of veteran mushers racing and contending for the championship.  The students picked a musher to follow and you can access their progress on www.iditarod.com.  Unfortunately, to see most of the videos, you have to pay to be an "Insider".  Mrs. Siegler is a member so she will be showing them during snack each day. There are other sites available like the Anchorage Dispatch News:  adn.com.  (Outdoor/adventure)

Back by popular demand...we started the Reading Iditarod on Friday, March 3rd.  You should have seen the sheets that were sent home and by signing them you acknowledge knowing your child should be reading and recording 1/2 hr. each school night and 1 hour on the weekend days.  The goal is shorter this year due to less checkpoints(just like the real race).  In 17 hours your child should finish.  We will have the celebration on either the 23rd or the 24th.

In Math we just completed our unit on addition and subtraction of numbers up to 10,000.  Children have several strategies for finding the answers to such problems.  Tomorrow we will begin a new unit on fractions and decimals.  This a great time for functional skills with recipes, money and time.

By next week every reading group will have finished reading an Asian book and will be reading a book with a dog theme.  We are working hard to see "beyond the text" and understand inferences.

Our Music Concert is at 6:00p.m. on Wed. March 22nd.  Art work will be displayed at this time.  We also hope to make two afternoons available for Student Led Curriculum Celebrations that week.  Rather than a student led conference, your child will take you to stations, where you will see activities he/she has been doing. A notice with exact times will be forth-coming.

Mush on,
Cindy & Kelley