January 23rd - 27th, 2017

• Students are expected to continue working on their multiplication tables at home until completely mastered! Many students have studied for the in class test, and then have forgotten their facts during math! As we work on division and fractions in our math unit, a complete recall of multiplication facts is critical for success!

• Classroom Supplies: We have run out of spiral notebooks for math! If you have any extra unused spiral notebooks at home, we would appreciate if we could use them for math.

Dates to Remember:

• February 4 -   Spelling Bee, 10:00 LMC 
• February 14 -  Class Pictures / Valentines Parties
• February 17 - Early Release, 1:00
• February 18 - President's Day Weekend, No School
• February 20 - President's Day, No School

• 150 minutes outside classroom reading, due Friday recorded in students planner.
• MATH -  IXL locators:  Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, Q6.  Students that take the time and put effort into this IXL practice are showing significant gains in understanding our in class concepts.  

January 16 - 20, 2017

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a marvelous winter break!

• Van Arsdale night at Chipotle, this Wednesday, January 18th!  The Chipotle on 64th and Ward is offering an amazing 50% of the proceeds back to our school if you show the following flyer!  Thank you Chipotle.  See you there!

• Mrs. Nisely out of the building this week:  I will be out of the building all week!  My dear friend and fellow teacher, Mrs. Burner, will be filling in for me.  I will be at a reading and writing conference on Wednesday and the other days I will be helping my daughter as she just had a baby and is home from the hospital.  I'll still be checking in with Mrs. Burner and also checking my emails. 
• Classroom Supplies: We have run out of spiral notebooks for math! If you have any extra unused spiral notebooks at home, we would appreciate if we could use them for math.
• Genius Hour Update:  Students are currently wrapping up their projects by using Screen Castify and revising as they listen to their presentations.  They are becoming experts by teaching each other and Mrs. Curran.

Dates to Remember:

• January 16- Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School
• January 28- Spelling Bee

• Remember, students will need to continue to complete their weekly at home reading and record their reading minutes by each Friday in their planners. The requirement is still 150 minutes of reading to meet fourth grade standards!

Science - 

• Please watch the following YouTube videos about the rotations of the planets in the solar system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT49AiYFV98

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_RAEESmsrs

• Math:  Students must spend some time on IXL.com this week practicing the concepts we have been learning during Math Workshop.  Our final test on unit 4, algebra will be this week.  Here are the concept letters: J.5, J.6, J.7, F.2, F.4, F.6, G.1, G.2, G.3, G.4, G.5.   These locators are all indicators of what we have been working on.  10 or 15 minutes a day on one of these has proven to be an amazing support!

December 12 - 15th, 2016

• No take home note or reaction sheet for winter break! The only homework over winter break required from student's is the Reading Log. Enjoy your holiday break!

• Santa's Wishlist
• Genius Hour, News from Mrs. Curran:
  It's getting fun!  We learned how to do screen casting!  After the kids have finished animating, imaging, and choosing their layouts, they can screen cast - record their presentation.  This is the final part before presenting.
• Dates to Remember:

• December 21 - Last day of school before winter break
• January 9th - Students return from break.

Literacy - Weekly Reading Log (150+ minutes)

Math - As always, continue to practice your multiplication facts! IXL is an amazing resource to reinforce all of the math we have been learning this year!  See the "Classroom Resources" on the left hand side for math games and videos.

We have been working very hard this year, and been very good, learning and growing as fourth graders (aka fifth-graders-in-training). Unfortunately, our supplies are dwindling! If you need some ideas for stocking stuffers, we are running low on spiral notebooks, PENCILS, composition books, and dry erase markers.

December 5th - 9th, 2016

• Students continue to impress me with their writing and the way they take time to brainstorm, plan, edit and revise their in class writing and any at home writing! Thank you for having conversations with your son/daughter regarding the writing they have completed in the classroom and at home. I'm so pleased to see  many students  using strong descriptive words, beautiful language, and graphic organizers in the power paragraphs we've been working on in class. 

• Please be practicing your math facts. There are math games linked in the "Classroom Resources" as well as multiplication videos.

Dates to Remember:

• December 9 - Geo Bee
• December 21 - Last day of school before winter break
• January 9th - Students return from break.
  
  Literacy - 
• Weekly Reading Log (150+ minutes)
• Work on President's Piece  
• Remember to be using rich vocab, details and beautiful descriptive language! Please see the rubric listed as "Writing Rubric" under Classroom Resources.
• 
  
• Math - 
• • Practice your multiplication facts! See the "Classroom Resources" on the left hand side for math games and videos.

November 14th - 18th, 2016

• No Blog post next week!  Happy Thanksgiving Break!

• Still Needed:  Nine volt batteries. 

• Free Park Passes: President Obama enacted this program to get all 4th graders a free pass to the parks for them and their families. It is a great program:

        https://www.everykidinapark.gov/get-your-pass

• Grandparents Day: Friday, November 18th from 1:35 to 2:30. Students are encouraged to dress up on this day in order to represent our school and show respect to our guests. Also, we are looking for someone willing to contribute some snacks for our guests on Grandparent's Day. Nothing too elaborate, just something for the grandparents to snack on while visiting the class.  Some ideas include finger foods like banana bread, brownies, mini muffins, cheese and cracker trays, fruit or veggie trays, cookies, etc.  Also needed are plates, napkins, and forks 

• No President writing this week. Please be working on your Turkey Piece. Dress your Turkey is due on Thurs
  day!

• Please be working on your multiplication facts for our weekly fluency tests! You may miss a maximum of 4 problems to move on to the next level.

Dates to Remember:

• November 18 - Grandparents Day (1:35 - 2:30)
• November 21st-  25th - Thanksgiving Break

• Weekly Reading Log (150+ minutes)

• "Dress This Turkey!" Writing: 
• This Turkey Needs Dressing! Students received a turkey copied on card stock. Cut out the turkey, and use scraps of cloth, paper, foil, glitter, and your imagination to dress up a spiffy he or she turkey. Be sure to name him or her and then, write a story about your terrific turkey. Your dressed turkey, and turkey story are due Thursday, November 17th. See the rubric above.
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