| Students are sharing a favorite summer memory by writing and illustrating a postcard. Their goals are to create fourth-grade quality artwork and include descriptive details in their writing. Finished postcards will be on display next week on the library wall at the end of the 2nd grade hallway. |
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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 4th grade!
4th Grade News: Welcome to the class newsletter! Please look for important information to be consolidated in one email at the beginning of the week. The same newsletter will also be posted on the class blog.
Permission Forms and Beginning of the Year Paperwork: To help build our learning team and get to know one another, I’m collecting some information. If you haven't already, please complete the following online forms as soon as possible: Class Directory and Parent Input. This will help me and the students get off to a great start, and ensure that I can assemble and distribute the class directory as soon as possible. There were also two permission forms in the yellow Welcome packet at meet the teacher - if you haven't had a chance to sign them and send them back, please do so as soon as possible. Electronic copies are attached to this newsletter.
Our goal this week: Turn in all my homework so I can play Homeworkopoly on Friday.
Some items in this Monday's (really Tuesday this week) take-home folder:
Sign and return: Library Birthday Club Forms (optional)
Review and keep at home: Ticket to the Puyallup Fair, Book Order flier (see attached note - online order)
Important Dates:
9/10 PTSA ice cream social: Buck-a-Bucket (5:30 – 7:00 pm)
9/15 Read, review and sign the classroom handbook (in your child’s binder)
9/16 Bio-Collage due
9/16 PTSA Volunteer training: 8:30 in the MPR
9/28 Curriculum Night (grades K, 2, 4,)
10/8 PTSA Walk-a-thon
11/11 No School - Veteran's Day
11/20, 23&24 Parent Conferences
From the National Park Foundation: Beginning September 1st all kids in the fourth grade (and their families!) have access to their own Every Kid in a Park pass. This pass provides free access to national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and more! The Every Kid in a Park pass is good for the 2015-2016 school year, until August 31, 2016. Information on obtaining the pass is available by clicking here.
Scholastic Reading Club Order: Our first reading club flier went home in today's Monday (this week Tuesday) folders! (We were a few fliers short, but I'll try to get fliers to those kids who need them tomorrow. In the meantime, I've attached the book order information and all of the fliers are viewable online on the Scholastic website.) To place an order, go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs, select "parent" and Continue. You'll need to create an account with your own user name and password (if you don’t have one yet), and use class activation code GPZ63 to connect to our class order. Books will be delivered in 1-2 weeks after the last day to order. As always, our class gets free books and materials with every online order placed. Thanks in advance for helping us expand our classroom library and programs! The last day to order books will be Monday, September 14th. If you have any questions, please let me know.
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 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.
Bio-Collage: This week your children will home with pieces of purple 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 Wednesday, Sept 16. There are pictures of sample collages posted on the 4th grade blog. If students need a picture printed at school, please email me and I can print a black and white copy.
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. 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.
Volunteer Opportunities: Thank you for your support. Anyone who volunteers in any capacity at CVES this year must fill out and turn in a newly updated background check form (attached here) to the secretaries in the front office. 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!
Math Facts: Fourth grade students must be fluent in all multiplication and related division facts up to 10. Please visit the 4th grade blog to learn strategies and interactive ways to practice math facts at home. Students are asked to practice math facts for at least 5 minutes a night.
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.
Coming Up This Week in Class: We are starting Math Topic 1 (Multiplication), applying for class jobs, starting math fact tests, finishing biographical poems and summer postcards, reading a non-fiction piece about candy, starting our map skills unit, practicing presentation skills by introducing one another to the class, and playing our second round of Homeworkopoly!
Please visit our 4th grade blog…. http://cves4.weebly.com/
Phew! The first few newsletters are always some of the longest! I promise 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 larsone@svsd410.org. I’d love to hear from you and look forward to working with you this year.
With thanks,
Emily Larson
[email protected]