Week of January 17

Dear 4B Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful, long weekend and were able to take some time to honor the legacy of Dr. King.

There is an upcoming opportunity for which we need some feedback from you: Catholic Schools’ Week Service Project:

For over 20 years, the Holy Rosary 4th grade students have been delivering certificates of appreciation to our local businesses during Catholic Schools’ Week. While we cannot deliver the certificates as part of a school field trip as we have in the past, we plan to keep this tradition alive as we did last year by asking families to volunteer to deliver a set of certificates after school throughout the week. This year, Catholic Schools’ Week is celebrated January 29-February 5, 2022. Volunteers will choose a day that week (either on the weekend or in the afternoon/evenings after school) and deliver certificates to various businesses in the West Seattle area. We will provide a script for your 4th grader to read as they deliver the certificates. Student volunteers will wear the Holy Rosary perfect uniform when these deliveries are made. Here you will find a link to a survey that will that will let us know if you would be willing and able to deliver some certificates. This is not required; however, families have shared over and over that this outreach opportunity is fun and rewarding. If interested, please fill out this form by Monday, January 24th so that we can prepare the certificates. Let us know if you have any questions, and thank you in advance for your support of these very special deliveries.

Religion: The students will practice reading their Cool School News articles as reporters and share these with the class! It’s been humbling and impressive to hear about so many good works happening in our community. This week, we will learn more about the Liturgical Year. Students should be able to name and label the main seasons in the Liturgical Year. The students have filled out a color-coded calendar and will complete the entire study packet in class. We’ll quiz ourselves using various online practice sites posted on Google Classroom. Students can also use these resources as well as their study packets to prepare for next week’s chapter assessment, which will be on Tuesday, January 25th. Students will bring home the completed study packet at the end of this week.

Language Arts: Everyone was able to recite the months of the year in order! We also have mastered the Month Poem! It was fun to practice these together in a variety of ways.This week, students will be creating a self portrait poster illustrated with one of Dr. King’s quotes that they find inspiring. We continue to review correct cursive letter formation and connections.

Spelling: The spelling words this week focus on words with long and short “e” sounds. We review open and closed syllables. Spelling words are posted on Google Classroom. The test will take place this Friday the 21st.

Reading: This week, students read a biography of Cesar Chavez: Our target comprehension skills are: drawing conclusions and making generalizations about Chavez’ life, character traits and achievements. As a preview to the topic and vocabulary, the students will learn about the Dust Bowl and the challenges faced by farmers during that time. In addition, we discuss the Catholic Social Teaching: Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers. Students make connections between Chavez’ leadership and positive impact on workers’ rights and that of Dr. King’s accomplishments and influence on the Civil Rights’ Movement.

Math: We are continuing to practice multi-digit multiplication. During this unit, your child may need additional support. Please check over your child’s homework with them, as there are several steps involved and therefore many opportunities for small errors, which are common at the beginning. We encourage you to have your child complete one or two problems; then parents check for accuracy. In this way, children do not complete the entire page making the same errors. Thank you! A chapter 5 assessment will be given this Friday and will provide feedback for all of us on how well the students are learning two digit by two digit multiplication. Students are realizing how critical it is for them to master their multiplication and division facts. Thank you for continuing to have your child work on Xtra Math and flash cards nightly until all facts are mastered.

Social Studies: The students are practicing identifying the West/SW states. All students have a filled out practice sheet and have a blank one to use to study. The West/SW test will take place on January 28th.You can access extra practice sheets and the links for online review sites in the “Map Study Sheet” tab at the top of Ms. Simpson’s 4A Webpage. Students are continuing to learn about some of the Washington State symbols and features this week.

Science: This week, students continue to learn about volcanoes. We will, of course, discuss the very recent eruption of the undersea volcano in the Pacific Ocean. Student interest is high in this topic, but even more so with this real-world connection.

Have a wonderful week everyone!