Dear 4B Families,
Welcome to the new school year and to 4th grade! It is such a privilege to be a part of the Holy 
Rosary school community and teach the amazing 4th grade students! I am looking forward to getting to know each and every one of my new students and their families.
Expect to see a class newsletter each week. These newsletters will contain information about our weekly studies, upcoming events, permission slips, book orders and all you will need to know in order to keep up with the goings on in 4B. Please take time to read the newsletter each week, as it is an important form of school/home communication. I work hard to keep the 4B website updated weekly with many helpful links and resources. Beginning the week of September 17th, newsletters will be distributed online only. I will go over the features of the website on Parent’s Night, but please feel free to check it out before then! The site is up and running today.
I look forward to meeting you all at Back to School Night this Thursday the 6th. At this time I will discuss our academic program as well as the ins and outs of life in 4th grade. If you are unable to attend, please let me know so that I can get the information packet to you.
Attached to the newsletter you will find a student profile sheet and an iPad user agreement. Please return the iPad user form by this Friday the 7th and the student profile no later than next Friday, September 14th. The profile is confidential and helps me to better know your child. I truly appreciate the time you spend on these profiles. Your insights and comments are invaluable.
This week we will be spending the majority of our time learning classroom and school expectations as well as practicing the procedures and routines that will help our school year run smoothly. We will focus on social interactions and community building. The time we spend now will help to ensure our school year runs smoothly and efficiently and is a place where all students feel valued and respected. Our school theme this year is “Blessed Are the Peacemakers”. I will be incorporating this theme into many of our classroom activities throughout the year. The class schedule will be in the Parent’s Night packet, but there are a couple of things I wanted to share regarding our schedule:
- We do have our Opening Mass this Wednesday (tomorrow) at 8:35. We will have weekly Wednesday Masses at 8:35 all year. Students should plan to always come in proper uniform on Wednesdays. Because it will be quite hot on Wednesday, students do not have to wear their sweatshirts, but do need to wear their white uniform shirts.
- Friday is a noon dismissal. We will have the kick-off assembly for the Magazine Sale at 11:00.Thank you for your support of this important fundraiser.
- Health and Fitness (P.E.) in 4B is scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridaysthis year. Students should be sure to wear appropriate shoes for P.E. class on these days. On PE days students are expected to wear their PE shoes to school, due to our schedule they will not be able to change shoes prior to PE time.
- The students will meet their Social Studies teacher, Ms. Simpson, during their first Social Studies class next Monday the 10th. Ms. Simpson is looking forward to meeting and working with the 4B students.
Students may bring a healthy snack to school each day. I ask that snack choices be healthy such as fruit, veggies, cheese, yogurt, crackers, etc. No chips or sweets please. Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle.
Filers will be coming home this Friday, along with directions and section labels to be placed on the tabs. Please assist your child with placing the labels neatly in the order given on the direction sheet. If your child is reusing their filer from 3rd grade, the new labels can be placed right over the top of the old labels. Please complete this task over the weekend and send the filers back to school on Monday. During the year tests, newsletters, and homework will be sent home in the filers. The first tab will be labeled School/Home. Please check this section of the filer nightly and remove any papers found there. This is also where you will place any correspondence that you need to return to school.
Good communication is the key to a successful year. If you have any questions, concerns or insights, please do not hesitate to contact me. I check my email regularly and it is the quickest form of communication. My email address is: mpodell@holyrosaryws.org
I will be sending home the spelling list for next Friday’s (September 14th) spelling test with the students this Friday. This first list consists of “number words”. This list ties in with our first math chapter on place value. A pdf form of the spelling list will always be available on the website each week as well.
I will be creating a 4B email group list so that I can send out important information throughout the school year. This list is important for quick and efficient communication between home and school. Please send me an email with the email address(es) that you would like included on our 4B list. I would like to have all emails by the end of the week if possible. Thank you!
I am so excited to meet and get to know my 4B families. I know that we will have an amazing year together.