Newsletter Week of September 28th

Dear 4B Families,

Happy Fall! The past few weeks have been full of learning and hard work. I am so impressed with the students’ perseverance and independence. Let’s keep the positive momentum going!

Materials Pick-Up Days: This week is the next pick-up for student materials. Each 4th grade student will receive a paper grocery bag containing packets labeled for each subject area, newly blessed Bibles, a science experiment bag, and possible miscellaneous items. The pick-up days are Friday, October 2nd, 12:00-4:00 and Saturday, October 3rd, 9:00-12:00. Prior to pick-up day, please help your child organize their filer and materials. This includes removing completed papers that have been submitted and neatly putting them in the red “Completed Work” folder. We will also have time during class to organize. After receiving materials, please assist your child with carefully filing packets and organizing the new materials. Students should not take apart the papers yet. We will do that together in class. We would love to have some student work hanging in our school! Please drop off your child’s Stormalong ship project and their “My Favorite Place” writing sample during the pick-up days. (They will be completing this in class. See reading section below.) Thank you for your support!

Bible Blessing:  The 4th grade Bibles will be blessed at Mass this Wednesday at 8:45. Kennedy, Indy and their families will represent the 4th graders during the Mass, and Ms. Simpson and I will be there too.  Because of this, all students will need to sign in to Mass on their own Wednesday.  All 4th graders are expected to watch this Mass!  You can view the livestream of the Mass at: https://vimeo.com/holyrosary.  Since Ms. Simpson and I will be in the church, the students will not sign in to our Zoom class until Mass is over.  All students should sign in right after Mass.  Thank you for your help getting students logged in to both the Mass and class afterwards.

 

Spelling/LA:  This week’s spelling words have a VCCV and VCV pattern (vowel consonant/consonant vowel).  The list is available on both the class website and Google Classroom.  All students have Spelling City activities assigned to practice the words, and we will complete practice activities in class as well. We will continue to review cursive forms, grammar and punctuation.  We will also work with paragraph composition in preparation for the upcoming saint reports.

All students have a copy of the Prayer of St. Francis that they should be practicing daily for memorization. The students should have the prayer memorized no later than October 26th.

Second Step: Our lesson this week will focus on listening with attention and being assertive. We will continue to study empathy, respect, and kindness throughout the year.

Religion: Our religion this week will focus on some introductory lessons on Saints.  Students will learn that the Saints are models of faith and that following their example helps us grow in holiness.  We will also wrap up our mini unit on bullying prevention.

Reading: We are wrapping up our study of Stormalong and Tall Tales on Monday. Students will complete a Tall Ship of Tall Tales as a culminating project. Tuesday, we will begin a new story called I Could Do That! This is a fitting story as we recently commemorated the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment and as we embark on the upcoming election. Students will learn about the constitution and new vocabulary from the story this week.

Science: We are continuing with our PLTW Brain Module! Last week, we did some partner research on the nervous system, the brain, and the spinal cord. Next, we will use clay to model the different parts of the brain and use labels to mark what each of the parts control in your body. Remember, our final project will answer the question: How can we prevent and detect concussions and other brain injuries?

Social Studies: The students did well on the continent and ocean test last week, despite all the tech issues with the test forms I created!  I am learning everyday and the students are so helpful and patient! We also had some great parent helpers in the background too!  Thank you! 🙂   All students need to recite the continent and ocean poem by this Thursday, October 1st.    Last week the  students were introduced to latitude and longitude.  This week they will learn how to locate places on world and United States maps using latitude/longitude coordinates as well as read population, rainfall and elevation maps.

Math: We will finish up the Chapter 1 Assessment on Monday and begin chapter 2 on Tuesday! Chapter 2 is all about addition and subtraction of large whole numbers. Students are continuing to work on developing good habits in math class and all subjects. Reading carefully and following directions completely are the focus.

We will work through some addition/subtraction fact work in class, with a focus on accuracy and fluency (speed). It is expected that students do at least one session of Xtramath nightly.

 

It is assumed by 4thgrade students are able to add and subtract basic facts from memory. Xtramath is a great website to help students build fluency in an interactive way.  We will spend a couple of weeks focused on addition and subtraction review while we are on this chapter in math. The majority of practice will focus on fluency with multiplication and division as we move forward.  Thank you for your support!

 

The Magazine Drive site is ready for registrations and sales.  Our theme this year is GATOR STRONG!  Our community makes HRS strong and by working together we will have a successful fundraiser. Now more than ever fundraising is a key to our school’s success, please help us reach our goal.  Thank you for your support!

ONLINE FAMILY REGISTRATION WITH AP MAGS
  1. Go to www.apmags.com
  2. Click on I’M A PARENT/GUARDIAN OR STUDENT
  3. Enter ROSARY in the code field and submit
  4. Follow the steps to create the account
  5. Once account is created, familiarize yourself with the various selling tools available. These include avatars, e-mail blasts, printable flyers, social media, etc.
  6. Complete all steps needed to quality for the bonus incentive!
  • Register by Tuesday, September 29 at 9am for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Husky Deli. All families who complete the 3 steps by 9am will have their name entered to win.
  • See Randy’s video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9P2hfqZMp0 

 

Have a wonderful week!

Thank you for your support of the Magazine Sale!

Ms. Benson