Post #33

Wow! What a week! So much going on at St. Catherine's and in Room M02! It was such a treat to meet all the grandparents and special friends. The girls were gracious hosts and great collaborative partners with their guests. I can't wait until I can attend a "Grandparents' Day" with my sweet granddaughter.

The girls are rolling along with fractions- adding and subtracting with unlike denominators and reducing to lowest terms. They are grasping these concepts and solving fraction equations independently. I've been making  "how to" tutorials for new math concepts and this has allowed for even greater independence. Many have commented that the videos are great tools. So... several girls have started making "how to" tutorials on their own as a way to remember concepts. Love that they are recognizing strategies that work for them!

We've been keeping the beat with poetry. The girls wrote songs and performed karaoke style. Several were HYSTERICAL and others so tender that they brought tears to my eyes. Creative writing was oh so clever this week. Take a look:



On a personal note- One of my favorite events this week was a surprise birthday party that the girls had for me. I have the best job in the world! These girls are unlike any others. See for yourself.

Hope to see everyone at Daisy Days. I'm watching May Pole practice right now and it looks like they have perfected this St. Catherine's tradition. 

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Meg will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar-Leslie will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-Homework is posted for family planning- it's spring, girls are busy, please encourage them to plan ahead.

* Book Fair is on May 17th

Girls- Your mystery blog question... What color is Emily's sippy cup ? Post your answer here.

Post #32

And that's a wrap! 

A fabulous show by a bunch of talented and spirited Fourthies!

We are getting back to our regular classroom business. We worked with haikus this week and talked about writing from the heart. The girls used water colors to illustrate their haikus. They will teach their grandparents and special friends how to write haikus and tankas (a lengthier haiku) next Friday. I'm really looking forward to Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day and so are the girls. The schedule is at the bottom of this post. 

Unicorns are still floating around and seem to be everywhere. Even Starbucks has caught the unicorn fever. The girls worked with unicorn problem solving in math, read about the newest Starbucks creation. They even played around with virtual realty. Ask your daughter to explain. We started looking at equivalent fractions- more on this next week. 

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Meg will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Molly will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-Homework is posted for family planning- it's spring, girls are busy, please encourage them to plan ahead.

* Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day is on Friday. Fourth grade celebration will begin at 12:45 with a performance in the Lower School Assembly Room. Following the performance, our guests will spend time in the classroom and in a special before snacks on the green. Here's the schedule:

A message from Taryn Chesshire (fifth grade English teacher) regarding summer reading:

The rising fives will all read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia.  

Then, they will choose (at least) one of the following to read: 

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Wildings by Eleanor Glewwe

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

The books will be on sale at the spring book fair but I thought you might want a heads up.

Girls- Your mystery blog question... What time does Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day begin for Fourthies?   Post your answer here.

Post # 31

It's spring and unicorns are everywhere!

Not really, but the girls have been working so hard during our play practices that we had to have a little fun and silliness. We are working with fractions of a set and problems solved with mythical figures among other adorable things. 

The girls completed their biography book projects. They learned that Excel is not just for math. With a few margin tweaks and page set-up details they created a 15" x 20" poster. The independence displayed during this project makes me confident that the girls are ready for Middle School. They watched a tutorial and explored Excel on their own. Each poster is unique. We have them on display in the classroom. Here are Meg's and Alex's to give you an idea:

"How to" essays were revised and edited and video tutorials were created. We enjoyed watching them today. Here's the link. Hope you like them too!

The girls keep reminding me that April is National Poetry Month. I promise we will enjoy lots of poetry after the play. The girls will be writing haikus, tankas, free verse, and more. Stay tuned.

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Meg will be our next Special Week girl during the week of 5/1.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Anne will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-NO homework next week!

* Play production for parents on Wednesday @ 2;30!!

* Final Assembly- Please click here to let us know how your daughter's name should appear on her Promotion certificate.

* Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day is April 28th. Invitations were given to the girls to give to their grandparents/special friends.

* The girls will spend the morning in Middle school on 5/10. They will go to the Middle School after chapel and return at 12:30.

A message from Taryn Chesshire (fifth grade English teacher) regarding summer reading:

The rising fives will all read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia.  

Then, they will choose (at least) one of the following to read: 

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Wildings by Eleanor Glewwe

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

The books will be on sale at the spring book fair but I thought you might want a heads up.

Girls- Your mystery blog question... Why do you think we are having a homework free week?   Post your answer here.

Post #30

We are knee deep in play practice. Thanks so much for bringing the girls on Thursday during the exciting weather. The girls know that today was the last day to have scripts in hand. Girls should be encouraged to work on lines, singing, dancing, etc. Costume requirements are on the Fourthie site. Please take a minute to look things over and complete the shoe request if your daughter need shoes. It's going to be a great show!

I enjoyed meeting with everyone during conferences (and I look forward to the two next week). It's always a treat to highlight your daughters' progress and strengths. We have a special group of Fourthies in room M02! 

The girls completed chapter 6 in math and were assessed on Wednesday. They made test corrections on Friday. It's great that they can find their errors independently and make corrections. After all that's what real mathematicians do. Our next unit will focus on fractions, multiples, factors, and more fraction problem solving. We'll take a fact check break next week and will resume after Easter.

The girls did some problem solving in the 1920's. They compared prices and learned that an average car in 1925 costs less than an iPad. 

So many ways to tie a scarf. The girls are in the process of writing a "How To" essay explaining the process of tying a scarf. Each girl is putting her own spin on a scarf tying technique. More on this next week.

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Powell will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Piper will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-posted for family planning.

* Play help needed. Please see the sign-up sheet. Costume requirements are posted on our Fourthie site and there is a link to order shoes if your daughter needs a pair. Please note the change for Oompa Loompas.

* Maypole Information

* Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day link. Please complete if you haven't had a chance to do so. Grandparent invitations are in the girls' backpacks. 

* Friday is a half day. Lunch will not be served. I'm encouraging the girls to pack a hearty snack(s).

* The girls will spend the morning in Middle school on 5/10. They will go to the Middle School after chapel and return at 12:30.

A message from Taryn Chesshire (fifth grade English teacher) regarding summer reading:

The rising fives will all read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia.  

Then, they will choose (at least) one of the following to read: 

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Wildings by Eleanor Glewwe

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

The books will be on sale at the spring book fair but I thought you might want a heads up.

Girls- Your mystery blog question... What is next week's fact check?   Post your answer here.