Tree Dedication and Cultural Arts Fair!

On Thursday, the fourth graders will dedicate a tree in memory of Ken Graves, Lauren Graves dad. Please join us at 9:15 on the school playground.

Wednesday, May 19th will be our annual Cultural Arts Celebration. All students are expected to be there by 6:15. The program will begin at 6:30.

Students continue to work hard on their poetry books. They will be finished by the end of the year. I hope you take the time to read through their books. They are inspirational and very poetic.

Students will finish their novels this week. They have been discussing their novels in discussion groups. Students will watch both movies after they have taken their quizzes.

Students will have their final science test on Wednesday, May 19 on weather. Students will have their final math test on Thursday, May 20. Review sheets will be sent home in advance.

Students are reading about and discussing the Beatitudes in religion. Originally, students were going to have a quiz, but I have decided to cancel the quiz.

On Wednesday, May 26, the fourth graders will be going to Pin Heads for an end of the year party to celebrate all their accomplishments this year. We will leave around 10:30 and be back by dismissal. Thank you to those parents who have volunteered to chaperon.

The last day of school will be Friday, May 28th. Students will dismiss at 1:00. Report Cards will be given at this time.

Please continue to encourage your child to do his/her very best these last few weeks!

Ken Graves Memorial Service!

On Thursday, May 20th, the fourth grade class will have a tree dedication for Ken Graves at 9:25 on the school playground. A tree will be planted in his memory and we will have a little memorial service. All are welcome to attend.

 

Students will have their final social studies Test on Friday, May 14. Students were given a review sheet. Students will complete a project next week.

 

Students will have their final science test on Wednesday, May 19. Students were given a review sheet!

 

In math, students continue to study measurement. Students have been measuring line segments to the nearest inch, ½ inch, ¼ inch, and 1/8 of an inch. Students have been converting customary units of length, capacity, and weight. Students will begin measuring to the nearest millimeter and convert units in the metric system. Student will have a test on measurement on Thursday, May 20.

 

Students are reading their last novels independently and discussing questions in discussion groups. It is great to hear how much they are enjoying their books. Several students are reading Bridge to Terabithia and some are reading Pictures of Hollis Woods. Students will watch both movies next week.

 

In religion, we began studying the Beatitudes. Students will have a quiz on Thursday, May 20. They will have to match the beginning of each Beatitude with its ending.

 

In English, we continue to study punctuation. We will begin discussing where commas are placed in sentences.

 

Thank you again for all my wonderful notes and gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week. I felt truly honored.

 

Please continue to encourage your child to work hard these last couple of weeks. Thank you for your cooperation!

 

 

News!

We have a very busy month. I will keep you updated each week on upcoming events and tests! Many thanks to the FSF for giving us teachers an afternoon off to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. We are truly grateful for this gift of time.

 

Tomorrow, a parent survey will be coming home in your child’s Thursday Folder. Please take 5 minutes and fill it out, so we can plan for next year! You input is greatly appreciated. Please return surveys by Thursday May 13^th.

 

Final Tests for the Year!!!!!!!!

• Spelling test, Thursday May 6 on homophones
• Social Studies test, Friday May 14 on Chapter 6
• Science test, Wednesday May 19 on weather
• Math test, Thursday May 20 on measurement.

 

On Friday, May 7 the third through eight grades will be attending an Indiana Fever Game to celebrate all their successes this year. We will leave around 8:45 and return at dismissal. Students may wear jeans with Spirit Wear attire or they may wear their uniform. They do not need to bring a lunch! Lunch will be provided. Students may bring money if they would like to buy concession stand items.

 

On Wednesday, May 12 students will be working outside to help make our playground beautiful. Students may wear play clothes on this day!

 

On Sunday, May 16, students are being asked to attend the 10:30 mass to collect Walk-A-Thon donations. This is optional! Please continue collecting money for Walk-A-Thon. The annual Walk-A-Thon will be Friday, May 21^st. If you would like to help that day, please let FSF know as soon as possible.

 

 

On Wednesday, May 19 is our Cultural Arts Celebration starting at 6:30 in the gymnasium. This is mandatory and students need to meet in their classrooms by 6:15. I hope all of you can join us.

 

Friday, May 28 will be the last day of school. We will have a 1:00 dismissal.

 

Enjoy the beautiful weather.

 

April 28 News!

Progress Reports will be going home today! Please sign and return as soon as possible.
We have one more day of ISTEP! Students will be finished tomorrow morning! Thank you for making sure your child is getting adequate sleep and eating a healthy breakfast. It makes a huge difference.
On Friday, April 30, we will have a 1:00 dismissal! There will be no NYO. Please make arrangements to pick up your child!
On Friday, May 7, the 3rd-8th grades will be attending an Indiana Fever Game. This event is to celebrate the end of ISTEP and to congratulate all of our students on their successes. We are so proud of them!
During the month of May, students will have the option to read Bridge to Terabithia or Pictures of Hollis Woods. They will read the books independently, answer questions, and discuss these questions in their groups. I will allow students to take an AR quiz on the book because they are reading them independently.
We will begin our unit on measurement on Monday. Students will be able to measure to the nearest ½, ¼, and 1/8 of an inch by the end of our unit. They will also be able to convert units of measurement. This will most likely be our last math unit for the year!
In social studies, students are learning how Hoosiers helped in World War I and World War II.
In English, we will begin our unit on end punctuation. Students will discuss where to place commas, periods, exclamation points, etc. in phrases and sentences. This unit will take us to the end of the year!
In religion, we continue to study in depth the Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Commandment.
Students will complete one more review unit in vocabulary! For the remainder of the year, students will have spelling tests on Friday! A list of words will come home each Monday!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!

News!

For Earth Day on Thursday, the students and I will plant green peppers in the community garden. We started growing the plants in the classroom and will transfer them to the garden on Thursday!

ISTEP testing will begin next Tuesday. Please make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and gets plenty of rest. There will be no homework or tests next week! We will spend the rest of the week reviewing past concepts in math and language arts.

Congrats to all the students who participated in the Math Pentathlon Tournament on Saturday! I was proud of each and every one who came. Students received extra credit in the class of their choice.

On Friday, April 30, there will be a 1:00 dismissal for professional development. NYO will be open!

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

News for the week of April 12-16th.

The spring ISTEP tests will the last week in April. Students in the fourth grade will be tested in math, science, and language arts. Please make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and gets plenty of rest. Students will be testing in the morning! Please make sure your child arrives to school on time and please do not schedule any appointments for that week! I appreciate your cooperation.

Congratulations to all the students who earned Honor Roll Certificates. The students worked extremely hard during the third quarter. Please encourage your child to work just as hard these last couple weeks of school.

The annual Math Pentathlon tournament will be held at Ben Davis High School on Saturday, April 17, 2010. A letter with a few reminders will be sent home in Thursday folders for students who are registered to attend.

Students have been writing letters to their pen pals in Kenya. Students will meet their pen pals’ teacher on Friday, April 23, when she comes to St. Joan of Arc to talk to the fourth and fifth graders. Everyone is excited to meet her.

Students are reading Maniac Magee. Students will finish the novel by the end of April. For May, I will allow students to choose between two novels for their final book of the year. Their choices will be Pictures of Hollis Woods or Bridge to Terabithia. Students will be split into two reading groups based on the novel chosen. Students will read the novel together and complete activities for the novel. At the end of the year, the students will watch both movies.

Upcoming Tests:
• Chapter 5 Social Studies Test, Friday, April 16
• Math Test, Friday, April 16
Reminders:
• Sign and return Thursday folders
• Sign planner on a nightly basis

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Fourth Graders are Awesome!

I am so impressed with all the wonderful comments I get from specials’ teachers and substitutes in the building. They are always commenting on how well behaved the fourth grade students are in class. They are awesome.

Today we had some special visitors in the building from Teachscape.  They observed in the classrooms and gave us some advice on how to help build your child’s problem solving skills! I appreciated the input!

On April 21, the fourth and fifth graders will be going to the Children’s Museum. We will leave around 11:00 a.m. and return by 2:00 p.m.  I need two volunteers. Please email me and let me know if you would like to go with us. On May 7, the third through eighth grade students will be attending an Indiana Fever basketball game.  I will let you know as soon as possible if I need any volunteers for this day!

The Unit 16 Vocabulary test will be on Friday, April 9. This will be last vocabulary test of the year! Students will complete a review unit and a cumulative review unit.

Students continue to study elapsed time, line plots, bar graphs, and pictographs. Next week, students will learn how to construct each graph. Students will have a math test on Friday, April 16.

On Friday, April 16, students will have a Chapter 5 social studies test. Students will complete a review sheet in class on Monday and play a review game on Tuesday.

In English, students are studying parts of a sentence. Students should be able to identify the complete subject and complete predicate in a sentence.

This week in writing, students wrote couplets. Have your child explain to you what makes a couplet a couplet. At the end of the year, students will bring home a Poetry book and a folder of all their writing from the year! I am sure you will enjoy reading them as much as I did.

Middle School students are having a spring flower sale. Please support their efforts by ordering lots of flowers. 

Pretzel order forms are due tomorrow.

Have a terrific week!