April 10, 2017
Happy Spring Parents,
Dare we think this fine weather will last? We want to bring you up to speed with events occurring before and after the spring vacation.
Grades for the third quarter have closed and report cards are in the process. Look for them in the mail at the end of the week after April vacation. There are no comments for this term so feel free to contact us for any clarification should you need one.
History Fair mentors have been hard at work with your children, researching subjects at the History Center, taking field trips and pulling together resources to make history come to life. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons(except for this Friday due to Show Your Stuff) are VERY important. After the break, groups will be formulating a presentation for the History Fair that will occur on Thursday, May 11th from 6:00-7:30p.m. All students are expected to attend! (Coaches of spring sports should be given a heads' up.)
Writing and Reading are taking a thematic view of non-fiction historic events in Vermont. Each child will be writing about a topic of his/her choice; then reading about it in resources such as books, articles and on the computer. This topic may or may not be related to the History Fair project but it will deepen his/her understanding of Vermont history.
Our next Math unit, which starts today, is multiplying large numbers. Students who are still skip counting to figure out facts are going to find this challenging.
In most cases, just working on specific difficult facts will be helpful.
We have our end of the year class trip planned for Tuesday, June 6th. This all day event is at the Lotus Lake Discovery Center in Braintree, VT. We will leave at 7:45 by school bus and return by 3:00. We have room for a couple more chaperones. Let us know if you are interested.
Last but not least, April's Book Talk is due on Friday but if students need the vacation they may have it. One more to go for May- due on the 31st. There will be a Scholastic News this week but only two left for the month of May. Effort for this homework does impact grades. Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Cindy & Kelley
Monday, April 10, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
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!
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:
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!
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| 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
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
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
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
Monday, February 13, 2017
The Week of Feb. 6-10th Pictures and News
Pictures from our day at Billings' Farm
(If your child is not shown in multiple pictures, it is because the students were divided into 4 groups. Our apologies.)
Our New Math Unit + and - to 10,000
How big is 10,000? Making a class chart is one way to see...
Synchronized writing is very efficient.
Author Visit
Author, Dan Hammel reads his book on bullying
This week before vacation is filled with special events, not to mention our Nor'easter!
Tuesday, Feb. 14th will be Valentine's Day with a special snack and card exchange. On Wednesday, the cafe will serve an Asian meal that we have been involved in preparing. Students in each literature group designed table tents with information from the country featured in their books. Additionally, we will have a presentation about alternative energy from the VEEP folks. Thursday at 2:00, we will exchange our gifts for Winter Wishes. Of course, Friday begins our February vacation. If you have been wondering about February's book talk, it is due March 10th as a (shhhhh...)Valentine's gift. No rushing over the vacation. 😍
Cheers,
Cindy & Kelley
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