Hello Fourth Grade Families,
Our first few days of school were great! Your children are
already working hard. I am so proud of them! There are many new
routines and procedures that we are all learning and practicing together.
Attitudes are positive and smiles are ready… I know we’re off to a fabulous year
in 4thgrade!
Announcements:
Feel free to send a small healthy snack with your child each
day. Suggested snacks include fruits, vegetables, cheese, or graham
crackers. We will have a quick “snack and stretch” each morning at
approximately 10:00. WE ARE A NUT FREE
CLASSROOM.
4th Grade News: Please look for all important
information to be consolidated in one email at the beginning of the week.
Homework: This year, your child will be keeping track of assignments and homework on a weekly planning page we call the binder reminder.
At home, please feel free to check the binder reminder
(located in the front of the binder) to support your child’s homework
habits. It is also posted on our classroom blog daily.
Monday Take Home Folders and Reading Logs are due back every Tuesday: Most corrected papers, signature requests, and important communication will be sent home in a green folder on Monday afternoons. Please look for a sign and return weekly update (providing teacher and/or student updates on behavior and effort), as well as sign and return items such as tests or permission forms. Empty green take-home folders, signed reading logs, and signed updates are due back every Tuesday morning. Getting parent signatures is a student responsibility. The children and I have been talking about how parents are very busy people, and it's the student's job to make sure papers get signed.
Goal for the Week: Make quick and quiet transitions between activities and lessons
Math Facts: One of the performance expectations this year in math
is to learn all math facts and related division facts up to 12. Please visit the
4th grade blog to learn strategies and interactive ways you can help support your child’s learning of math facts at home. Students are asked to practice math facts for at least 5 minutes a night.
Math: Soon you will receive a letter explaining the online resources
and your student’s log in information. It may be a new experience to have
the electronic textbook, quizzes, and games available from a home
computer. We will also be continuing with the IXL on line skill practice
that your students used last year. Target practice skills will be posted
on the 4th grade blog and written in their binder reminder.
Reading: We began our Strategy Workshop which reviews the 6 strategies that can help students become better readers. These are predict/infer; phonics/decoding; monitor/clarify; question; evaluate; and summarize. Next week, we will start reading from our Houghton Mifflin text book.
At-home Reading:
Students are expected to read 20 minutes a night, with a goal of 100 minutes each week. Your signature is required on their weekly minute totals every Monday evening. I will be checking for signatures every Tuesday
morning.
Writing: We are focusing on narrative writing; 5 paragraphs starting with setting, beginning, middle, end and wrap up. Students will also focus on the organization and ideas traits with our project, Summer Sandwich. The children are enjoying sharing stories about their summers!
Social Studies: This week we begin our study of map skills.
Bio-Collage: Last week your child came home with a piece of colored, 9x9 construction paper. Their job is to create a collage about themselves and their interests. They can use photos, clip-art, words, drawings and magazines to create their collage. The collages are due on Thursday, 9/12. There are pictures of sample collages posted on the 4th grade blog.
Volunteer Opportunities: Thank you for your support. The classroom volunteer calendars for September and October will soon be posted on our classroom blog. I couldn’t do it without you!! I appreciate all the folks who volunteered for at-home correcting. Thanks, again, for all you do to support children, teachers and learning!
Phew! The first few newsletters are always some of the
longest! They will be more concise in the future! : )
In our partnership to ensure success for your child, good communication
is critical. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t
hesitate to e-mail me at bernardod@svsd410.org. I’d love to hear from you and look forward to working with you this year.
With thanks,
Danielle Bernardo
[email protected]