Newsletter January 22

Dear 4B Parents,

Catholic Schools Week Schedule:

  • Friday the 25th: Primrose Planting We are moving the date for planting up this year so that the grounds will look nice for the opening Mass and Open House on Sunday.  Students may wear jeans/free dress on Friday.  They may also bring planting tools if they like.  Please label them with your family name.
  • Sunday the 27th:  Mass and Open House.  The Catholic School’s Week Mass will be at 10:30.  The Open House and reception will take place from 12:00-1:30.  Please plan to attend one of the weekend Masses to help celebrate the start of Catholic School’s Week. Students are asked to wear their uniforms to all masses on the weekend! Thank you.
  • Monday the 28th:  Students should wear Gator Gear or CYO gear today. CYO pictures will be taken for the yearbook.  Look of some special letters of appreciation for parents today—one in your child’s filer and one in your email. We will also have an All-School Bingo and Read-in for the last hour of the day.
  • Tuesday the 29th:  Community Appreciation/Outreach The 4thgraders will be delivering certificates today from 10:30-12:30. This is a perfect uniform day for 4th graders during their certificate delivery.  I will be sending out information to all parents that have signed up to drive/chaperone this field trip with directions.  Thank you so much!
  • Wednesday the 30th:  Grandparent Lunch day Perfect uniform day. No homework—spend some family time together!
  • Thursday the 31st: Perfect uniform day. Spelling Bee Day Grades 1-4 at 8:30 and Grades 5-8 at 9:30.
  • Friday the 1st:  Olympic Theme Day!  The Spirit Assembly is from 9:30-10:45. 4B has been assigned the country of Japan. In the afternoon the crowd pleasing 8th grade vs. teachers volleyball game starting around 1:30.

Look for additional information in the eFC. Most importantly, Catholic Schools Week is an opportunity to celebrate our wonderful school and community!

Religion/Second Step:  Corrected Works of Mercy tests are on the back of last week’s spelling test.  Our Second Step lesson this week will focus on Understanding Complex Emotions. This is very important as children begin to navigate their changing emotions and how to handle them appropriately.

Along these lines, we will be reviewing and reinforcing our classroom and school behavioral expectations.  We have much to learn, and respecting the learning environment is always expected.  The skills that will be reinforced are active/respectful listening, using kind/respectful words and actions and following directions quickly and respectfully.

Prayer Service: Please mark your calendars for the 4B prayer service on Friday, February 15th at 8:35am in the school hall. Please attend if you are able.

Reading/Language Arts: This week we will continue our focus on the Civil Rights Movement.  The students will read the biography of Cesar Chavez.

Spelling lists were sent out last Friday for Lesson 19 The test will be this Friday.  Next week there is not a spelling test.  We will also be conducting our classroom spelling bee this week to determine our finalists for the School Spelling Bee next Thursday.  

ZZ711D18D2Math: Ms. Simpson’s Group: Last week the students took an assessment on double digit multiplicaiton.  I am very proud of the good progress they have made with this skill in my group.  I will be working with the students on any corrections and added support they might need with this objective.  We will also be moving into our next unit on long division.  Look for the math tests from last week to come home on Wednesday, which will give the students time to complete any corrections.  I am moving all students to division on Xtramath (if they are not already there). Students must visit Xtramath 4 or more nights a week until they have mastered the facts.  This skill is the foundation for almost all math skills this year and moving into the upper grades. Mrs. Podell’s Group: Last week the students took the Chapter 5 test on 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. I was very pleased with how well they did. This week we will be switching gears in our next chapter and moving to division. I have asked the students in my group to focus on Freckle or Redbird for extra practice. 

ZZ7FE26AAFSocial Studies: The 50 State Test will take place this Thursday the 24th. The students will have a list of states when they take the test and will be asked to write the abbreviation of each state.  I will offer a list with some abbreviation help (on “M” states and a few other tricky abbreviations). I sent home a packet last week for practice/review. The links on the 4A site under the title: Complete 50 State Practice offer some good online practice for both locations and abbreviations.  We are making our way along the trail with Lewis and Clark. The Corps will be Crossing the Rocky Mountains and reaching the Pacific Ocean in upcoming lessons.

Science:  This week students will finish building their sails and begin to test them. Depending on the results of the test, they may decide to improve their sails, which is an important step in the Engineering Design Process. After they are satisfied with their sail designs they will complete an evaluation on the entire process. Hopefully, toward the end of the week we will take what we have learned in sail design and apply it to our final project, building a working windmill.

Homework Overview:

  • 50 State Test on Thursday.  All students should have a packet of blank tests in their filer to review with as well.
  • Continued math fact review until all multiplication and division facts are mastered for speed recall.  Math work that is not completed at school will be sent home as homework.
  • Spelling Test on Friday for Lesson 19

Have a wonderful week everyone!