Week 37

We are closing fast on the final days of school but before we bid farewell to the fourth grade, there are some big events coming! We will take our final State exam on Monday. The Science test will have multiple choice and short answers. It will not count towards promotional criteria but is included in your child's testing history. We are also heading into the home stretch for our Shakespeare program. We will perform the comedy, Twelfth Night, on Thursday June 13.

As we begin the process of ending the school year, please look through your home to make sure any books borrowed from our class is returned within the next weeks.

Here's what's happening next week:

• We will take the written portion of the NYS Science test. This exam will be administered in the classroom. Please make sure your child arrives on time. The test will start at 9:00am. 
• Wednesday will be the last day of Extended Day morning class. If your child participates in this, they will not have to report to class at 8 am after Wednesday.
• June 6th is Brooklyn Queens Day. Students will not report to school that day. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 36

Music Concert, May 22

The concert on Wednesday was delightful! In my unbiased opinion, our kids were fantastic and easily my favorite performance of the night!

Here's what to expect for next week: 

• Schools are closed on Monday for Memorial Day.
• Please continue to send in any shirts and items of clothing we can use for the Shakespeare play.
• The Science fair starts on Thursday. Your child's project is due in the MMr on Thursday morning.

Have a great long weekend!

Week 35

We are in full swing with our Shakespeare production! My thanks to all of you who swiftly offered to help and donated your time and materials when the letter for volunteers went out. Once I've received your letter, I will notify you with more details!

Please go through your child's homework folder with your child. There are many folders that are filled with homework and notices from many weeks ago. There was a new science packet from Mrs. David with practice for the upcoming science tests.

Here's what to expect next week:

• The Science Manipulatives test will take place next week. This test will include hands on experiments. Mrs. David will take small groups (not the whole class) to the science lab to work on this. Your child will be scheduled for a specific day. Once I receive the schedule, I will let the children know what day they will need to be at the science lab. 
• We are going to meet with our Shakespeare teaching artist two times a week instead of once. Rehearsals will begin in earnest. Children have to memorize their lines and practice their  physicality and stage entrances. 
• We will begin Shakespeare Book Clubs and your child's reading response next week will be based on that. It will not take them a full week of reading to go through the story, so it is important your child keeps reading chapter books at their level. 

Have a great weekend!

Week 34

This has been such a wonderful way to cap off the week! Thank you all for the lovely cards, treats and flowers on Teacher Appreciation Day. The kids have been very sweet and I really got a sense that they were making this the best day!

We have cast our Shakespeare play and the kids were really supportive of each other, whether they got the role they wanted or not. It showed a great deal of maturity and good sportsmanship on their part. It is an exciting project and every child will be actively involved in all our workshops and rehearsals.

Working on  a salt dough map of the Thirteen Colonies

Here's what to expect for next week:

• There will be a lot of meetings I have to attend during class time next week. All teachers are working on Exemplars training so that we can better help our students meet the challenges of this rigorous new curriculum. You may hear from your child that there is a substitute in the class but they will work on independent assignments and projects during that time.
• Jacqueline Woodson, an award winning author (The Other Side, Each Kindness) will be here on Thursday! We've been waiting  one time for this and our children have read many of her picture books with great excitement. 
• We have our last music class this week. The music concert will be on May 22 at 6:30pm. A notice went home today with final instructions from the music teacher regarding dress and where the children will meet as they get ready to perform. They sound great!

We want to wish all the amazing ladies and caretakers in our lives a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Have a marvelous weekend!

Week 33

Thanks to the many parents who came to Family Fridays today, we were able to make our recyclable craft. Our fourth graders did a great job of showing their buddies how to make a pom pom and a tube noise maker.

Here's what's happening next week:

• We are in our third week of our Shakespeare work. Students have received copies of our act of the play and we will begin assigning roles soon. Everyone will have a part in the play, whether they have a lot of lines or not. Some parts will not have a lot of lines but those parts will be heavier on physical comedy and movement. The focus of the program is to learn tools for presenting and focusing.  In class, we have been reading and rereading Twelfth Night in order to understand the play and the characters in it. We will eventually move into book clubs to study some of Shakespeare's other works.
• Tuesday is an Armory day! Please dress appropriately for physical activity. 

Please note that the Music Recital for fourth graders will be on May 22, at 6:30pm. It has been requested that students wear a white top and black bottom. 

The culminating performance for our Shakespeare unit will be on June 13 at 9:30 am. 

Have a wonderful weekend!