Thank you to all of you who have so generously signed up to help with our classroom parties. We are in need of a person or persons to take the lead role for our class. If you are able to take on this leadership role, please contact Mrs. Peggy Brandenberg at [email protected].
0 Comments
It has been a great first full week here in Room 16! Thank you to all of the families who were able to attend last evening's curriculum presentation. There is always so much to share and so little time!
In case I did not say it in so many words last night please understand that the moment your child walked into our classroom, they also walked into my heart. As I have told them, I carry them with me wherever I go. I think about them, wonder about them, and yes, worry about them. I am here to lift your child up. To help them reach just as far as they can go. One of my most important goals for the school year is to help "our" children become independent thinkers, problem solvers and learners. In the fourth grade we begin to shift more responsibility to the student for their learning. It has been my experience that when children realize that they have a stake, a say, if you will, they truly do "step up to the plate"! Everyone has strengths and challenges to celebrate and nurture. Together we will make this a year of tremendous growth and accomplishment! This week we've been busy... ...in Math, refreshing our memoriesand practicing place value and rounding. Today your child is bringing home thier login information for Think Central the website that supports our Math Expressions curriculum. ...in Writing, collecting potential story ideas from topics we feel that we are "authorities" about and special people that are important parts of our lives. We also completed our annual "Fall Writing Sample". A personal narrative written completely on our own to show off our awesome beginning of fourth grade writing skills! ...in Reading, identifying and practicing behaviors that support reading; such as, getting started right away, rading the whole time, and selecting "just right" books using the IPICK method. ...in Social Studies, using several different types of maps to learn more about the state of Michigan. ...in Science, investigating our "mock rocks". Man-made rocks that will allow us to become better geologists as we learn about physical properties of rocks. In the effort to create a class email group, I would appreciate if each family could send me a quick email so that I can capture your email address for sending out reminders and other information throughout the school year. March continues to roar like a lion, so please continue to send your child to school with outdoor wear for the cold weather. As the weather does begin to warm up, you may want to continue asking your child to wear boots when on the playground due to muddy conditions.
We have been ever so busy this month here at Bemis! We have already enjoyed our Spring Open House, Donuts with Dad, Spring Conferences,our annual March Read-in, a visit from Sooper Yooper author , Mark Newman, the fourth grade Disability Awareness Workshop and, a Paws for a Cause visit ( See the link at the bottom of this newsletter)! There are still many special events to come in this last week of the month including a visit from my son, Officer Hebert, who will share a story with us tomorrow, the optional 4th Grade Bake-Off, also tomorrow and our annual Spring Book Fair which begins next week! In math we are learning about fractions including mixed numbers and improper fractions. In reading we are enjoying book clubs where each child is a part of a group of three to six students all reading the same book and sharing their thoughts, feelings and ideas about what they have read. We are looking at persuasive letters in writing and preparing to write some of our own, so don't be surprised if your son or daughter writes a letter to you with come compelling reasoning to change your thinking! Science finds us looking at a variety environments; noticing how living things, such as plants and animals can be impacted by their environment. We would like to thank all of the parents who have been able to help us with special events such as the recent Disability Awareness Workshop. We couldn't do it without you! Upcoming Dates: March 31 Book Fair Preview April 1 Book Fair Buying April 4 No school for students- end of third marking period April 7-11 No school - Spring Break April 17 1/2 Day April18 No School Valentine's Day is fast approaching! We will celebrate with a classroom party on Friday , February, 14, from 2-3:15. An email has been sent with additional information from Mrs. Gupta including opportunities to join us for the party, or send in needed items.
I have sent a copy of our class list home with each child for the purpose of addressing Valentine cards they may be readying for this event. See the link below to an electronic version of this list. As I have shared with the children, if they plan on sharing cards and/or treats with thier classmates I ask that they have one for each child in the class. We are well on our way with our study of Michigan Lighthouses. Each student has randomly selected a lighthouse to research and collect information about. Thank you to those who have already brought in their clean, empty Pringle's cans as well as other "building materials". We look forward to sharing our lighthouse models and more at our March 6th Celebration of Thinking! Happy New Year to all of our Room 16 families! Hopefully you had a restful,
re-energizing, suprisingly extended winter break. We have jumped right back into our schedule and routine here at school. There are a lot of important dates on the horizon: Monday January 20 No School MLK Day Friday, January 24 1/2 Day for students - End of marking period Wednesday, January 29 Rehearsal Athens H.S. (1:20-3:00) Wednesday, January 29 District -Wide Fesitval of Song (7:00 arrival, 7:30 concert begins) In addition we have been busy here continuing our learning... ...in Writing - beginning to write informational books on a topic that we know a lot about already. ...in Reading - learning important strategies to help us grow as readers of informational text. ...in Math - delving into algebraic expressions in Unit 4. ...in Word Wisdom - increasing our vocabulary with helath related words. ...in Science building electrical circuits. ...in Social Studies expanding our Michigan history knowledge with tales of voyageurs and European explorers. Next week on Wednesday, January, 22, we will hold our second Round Table election of the school year. FIrst, students who have decided to become a candidate have turned in persission slips and will have the opportunity to share a short 1-2 minute speech with their classmates. Then, later that same day, students will cast their votes for the two candidates they feel can best represent the class. There is still time to bring in a permission slip before the Wednesday election! Coming up in February will be our annual fourth grade Lighthouse Unit. During the course of this unit, students will research, write about, paint a picture of and build a working model of a Michigan lighthouse. All of these activites will take place at school, but we will need some behind the scenes assistance! Each student will need an empty, clean Pringle's Potato Chip Can (these are used for our light house models). In addition each student will need to bring in a size "C" battery. These models are built out of recyclable items: small cardboard boxes, clear plastic domes such as the lids from slurppies or other beverages. Please keep an eye out for potential "building materials". As always I wish you well, Karla Hebert I would like to wish all of our Room 16 families a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I always count you as one of the things I am most thankful for.
A big thank you to Mrs. Gupta for planning and organizing our Halloween party. Thank you as well to the many parents who joined us and/or sent in items for our classroom party. The children had a wonderful time playing the games and enjoying the yummy treats!
As we enter the month of November we have many important dates and events on the horizon: November 12 Sheepshank Sam Visit * (A celebration of the lumber industry in Michigan) November 13-14 Parent - Teacher Conferences November 19 The Parade Company Field Trip (more info to come) November 27-29 Thanksgiving Break *If you have not yet sent in the requested $5 for this event, please do as soon as possible as these funds are needed for the lumberjack breakfast for the children as well as the fee for the wood craft and logging activities we will be doing with Sheepshank Sam. With a month of fourth grade under our belt we are becoming more comfortable and confident in our classroom routines and expectations.
We have completed our first unit in math featuring a variety of strategies for addtion and subtraction of large numbers as well as place value and math stories. We are now beginning unit two which features multiplication. In science we are working as geologists to learn about rocks and minerals in addition to other earth materials. In reading I have been getting to know your children as readers and we have been hard at work instilling behavoirs that support our reading and practicing selecting "just right" reading material. In writing we have crafted some of our first personal narratives. We are currently working on revising our writing to begin with an enticing lead, include more details and examples, and end with a statisfying conclusion. Our vocabulary development in Word Wisdom is already spreading out into our reading, where we are noticing many of the interesting words we are learning, our writing, where we are begining to include some our new vocabulary, and our speaking! During our time in the computer lab each week we have been posting responses to questions, sharing our thinking and reading and responding to the posts of classmates. We invite you to take a peek at our class blog. You can find a link to it just beneath the "Other" tab at the top of this page. Upcoming important dates include: Classroom Halloween Parties - October 31 No School - End of Marking Period - November 1 Sheepshank Sam Lumberjack Day - November 12 It was such a pleasure to be able to spend time with so many of our Room 16 familieslast night at Curriculum Night. I know that I shared a lot of information in a very short length of time! I am providing a link to a document below that has a summary of the information that I shared. If you were unable to join us, or if you just want to take a second look I hope that you find it helpful.
Your child will bring home an important permisssion slip for our first fourth grade field trip that is planned for next week! On Wednesday, September 11, 2013, we will be traveling to the Cranbrook Institute of Science to participate in the 2013 Rouge River Water Fesitval. See below for additional information about this event. Please complete the permission slip and return it to school as soon as possible. The only cost involved is a $2 transportation fee which must be paid through the district PaySchools program. You may access PaySchools through the Bemis webpage, or I have provided the link below: https://www.payschools.com/user-login.asp?src=custom
|
AuthorMrs. Hebert Archives
June 2015
Categories |