Week 9

We have met our Kindergarten Buddies and had so much fun with them this week! We've received many compliments for the way the class is helping their buddies. Students in class 4-303 are great role models!!!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We will have Character Dress Up Day on Wednesday. You child received a letter explaining this last week and we've discuss what types of costumes are appropriate for this activity. Please try your very best to show your character's personality and trait through their dress.
• Mrs. Au has been gathering materials for our class contribution to the Winter Fair. The plan is to make a dream catcher to auction. We will make individual dream catchers this Family Friday. Please join us and invite grandparents as well!
• We will also have our Unit 2 Math test on Wednesday. This test will cover addition, subtraction, bar graphs and statistic terms, along with some review questions on polygons.

During this colder climate, please use your best judgement for sending your child in if he or she is under the weather. We have also discuss how to cover our faces when coughing and sneezing, along with not putting pencils or other objects into our mouths for sanitary reasons. Please reinforce these good habits.

Here are some pictures of our Community Code Assembly.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Week 8

My thanks to all of you for checking your child's homework folder and keeping up with all the progress comments on the bottom of the page. The support you give your child has made a noticeable difference in behavior and work habits. I will continue to write weekly so please keep checking.

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We are starting our second essay in our writing unit. This essay will be based on a topic we are learning in school. Students will form a thesis (opinion/ idea) about something we have studied in a content area and write an essay using facts from documents or books. This will tie our writing work with our reading work as this will involve reading for facts. The essay format will remain the same but our students will have the added advantage of drawing information from other texts.
• We will meet our buddies this week! We are paired with K-210, Ms. Witkowski and Mrs Sheehan's class. Our fourth graders have always gone the extra mile to be excellent role models for the younger children!
• Please check out the IXL Math Games link. Games A.1 and A.2 can supplement our work on place values and will provide additional practice for your child. The Unit two exam will take place the week of October 29.
• There has been a noticeable improvement in the weekly Reading Response entries. Students have been much more diligent about following the directions and answering the questions in the prompt. The next reading log will have a different third question. Please watch out for that. In class, we have discussed how supporting characters are often different than the main character so that the supporting character can help the main character grow. This new question asks your child to keep that in mind as he/she interpret while reading.

Have a safe and fun Boo Bash! Our thanks to the parents that volunteered and made an amazing transformation of the MMR!

Week 7

Thanks go out to Max's parents, Matias's mom, Lucas's mom, and Tali's mom, who came on our very first trip this year. Our visit to Old Stone house was educational and exciting as we got to learn about the way our environment sustained the early inhabitants of New York. It was a great launch to our Native American studies.

I also have to thank all the parents who came to the Curriculum Conference. There was a packet with slides from our power point presentation and I can send a copy home by request, to the families who were unable to attend.

As we move along our writing unit, parents can help students develop more informed persuasive essays by talking about the topic your child chose.  For instance, if your child is writing to convince others that dogs make the best pets, you might want to discuss the reasons why dogs are useful (helps to guard the home, provides companionship, easy to train, etc.).This will help students gather content to use in supporting their thesis statement. Try to push your child be asking them to tell why they think so, using facts or personal experience to elaborate.

Here's what is coming up next week:

• Due to my absence this Friday, I will add progress comments to your child's homework folder this Monday.
• We will make our first visit to the Armory on Tuesday. Please make sure your child wears clothing appropriate for exercise and sneakers.
• We will launch our Word Study program this week. The Words Their Way cards will travel with your child in his/her homework folder. Encourage your child to look over the words as needed and to name the spelling rule as they sort they words.

Have a cozy weekend!

Week 6

We had a fun Family Friday with Flavia's mom sharing her knowledge of gemstones and minerals! The kids were very excited and eager to explore the artifacts and tools. Thank you parents for coming in. We still need volunteers for upcoming Family Fridays. Please consider sharing a talent with us :)

Here's what's coming next week:

• Fourth grade curriculum conference will take place in our room (303) at 8:00am on Tuesday. Please join us if you can but if you cannot there will be a packet with slides from our Power Point presentation.
• We will go on our first trip this year. On Thursday, we will be at Old Stone House to participate in a workshop about the way early New York inhabitants used resources in New York State. Chaperone letters will go home on Tuesday. 
• The unit one Math test will be returned to students next week. Please keep an eye out for your child's test folder. Review and sign the attached sheet and return the test and folder by Friday. We are starting a new unit on Number sense. This will include explorations with larger numbers, up to the millions and some graphing work. 

Have a wonderful weekend!