Students need to be in the classroom at 6:45 on Wednessday night for the concert

May 10, 2012

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are now in the month of May and have less than five weeks of school. The year has truly flown by. The remaining weeks will be very busy with learning.

In our room, we have started reading “Green Mountain Hero”, the story of Ann Story and her family as they traveled up to begin their lives in Vermont in the 1770’s. Usually, we have not had reading homework, but there may be some with this book. Please watch for this in the homework books and online. This novel will tie in with our last social studies unit on Vermont.

The fourth graders will be taking the science NECAP tests on Tuesday-Thursday, May 15-17. We have been doing released test items to see what the test will be like. Also, we have been doing released experiments so that we can practice how to do the correct type of recording and graphing data. Please make sure that your child has had a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast before coming to school. These are two of the components that have been shown to help students perform well on tests.

In math we are finishing up unit 11 on volume with a test on Friday. Our last math unit will be on Rates. We shall be taking a timed multiplication test sometime within the next three weeks. This will be similar to the timed tests that were taken at the ends of the first and second trimester. The test will cover all of the multiplication problems up to 12 * 12. Practicing at home should help students do much better when the test comes.

Our two fieldtrips are coming up soon. Our first trip is to Montpelier on March 25th.. Everyone has sent in the permission slips and we have many parent chaperones. The second trip is to Shelburne Museum is on Wednesday, May 30th. I sent the permission slip home last Friday. Presently, we have two chaperones and I am looking for a few more. Please let me know if you are interested. Both trips tie in with our Vermont social studies unit.

One last piece of news for this letter is to remind you all that the spring music concert will be on Wednesday, May 16th at 6:30 pm. I am looking forward to hearing our students put on a brilliant performance.

I am also sending home the last book order for the year. If you wish to order books for the summer this is a great opportunity. Please have orders and money in by Friday, May 18th. This will ensure that we receive the books by June 3rd.

In closing, I hope we shall start to stay consistently warm and the trees and flowers can be enjoyed.

April 12, 2012

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are one week from spring break and the month of May is just around the corner. We have just about seven weeks of school. The year has truly flown by. The remaining weeks will be very busy with learning.

In reading this week and next week, we have taken some time to work on different reading strategies and skills. Next, students will be reading Green Mountain Hero which will tie in with our next social studies unit on Vermont. Usually, we have not had reading homework, but there may be some with this book. Please watch for this in the homework books and online.

In science, we are now doing a unit on weather. Since we live with it every day, students have been very interested in some of the more extreme types of weather. After spring break, we shall be reviewing for the science NECAP tests.

May will be a busy testing month. The fourth graders will be taking the science NECAP tests. These will take place Tuesday-Thursday, May 15-17. Please make sure that your child has had a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast before coming to school. These are two of the components that have been shown to help students perform well on tests. Also students will be taking the Gates test and the Fountas & Pinnell reading assessment. These assessments will be spread throughout the month.

The last thing I need to mention are the fieldtrips. We have sent home the permission slip for our Montpelier trip on May 25th. The following week we shall be going to Shelburne Museum with all of the fourth grades. Watch for a permission slip for that trip soon.

In closing, I hope you all are enjoying the spring in the Champlain Valley.

March 26, 2012

Dear Families,

It seems that Mother Nature just doesn’t know what season she wants to be. One week we have summer and the next winter. Maybe spring will arrive gently in April.

We are just finishing up our poetry unit in both reading and writing. Students have been reading and responding to numerous poets. They have also enjoyed reciting some of their favorite poems to the class. I have enjoyed watching the students gobble up the poems. They have been reading up a storm. The responses to the poems have been very insightful. I have also enjoyed reading the poems they are creating. They have been using alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes and metaphors to craft the poems. The students have very rich and vivid imaginations. Look for these poems to be coming home in a Friday folder in the first weeks of April.

We are just finishing up our land and water unit in science. We have been learning about the water cycle and how water affects the land. Our next science unit will be the weather.

In math, we are working on changing fractions to decimals and percents. Most students have the concept and are doing well. We shall be having a test on this unit on Thursday of this week.

Let’s hope that the real spring arrives soon.

March 9, 2012
Dear Families,

I hope that you all enjoyed having your daughter/son home during our winter break. It was a nice time to relax and get ready for the next few weeks at school. March truly came in like a lion. Let’s hope it doesn’t leave like a lion. Maybe once the warm weather comes, it will stay.

We have begun our last trimester of school. In reading and writing, we have just started our poetry unit. For the next three weeks, the students will be reading and responding to poems. They will also have to recite a poem every Friday. In writing, they will be creating different types of poems. We started today and there are some outstanding original poems.

We are finishing up our work perimeter and area in math. Students seem to be doing well with these concepts. We shall be having a test on this unit on Wednesday, March 14th.

Science finds us investigating land and water. We shall be studying how water affects and shapes the earth.

I hope that you find having the homework assignments available on the internet a help. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to phone or e-mail.

February 14, 2012

Dear Families,

Happy Valentine’s Day. Mother Nature has sure given us a pretty snowless winter so far. I wonder what weather we shall have in March.

We went to the Flynn Theatre this morning and saw “The Marriage of Art & Science”. It was a wonderful performance incorporating some of the laws of motion, etc., and dance. The students were quite fascinated. They saw some of the dance activities that we had tried in a Flynn workshop here at school being done by professionals.

We are almost at winter break; where has the time gone. The students have been working hard on many projects. We have finished up our biography unit and will be beginning a unit on reading non-fiction.

In math, the mid-year math assessment is finished and we are just finishing up the first unit in volume 2 of Everyday Math. We have gone on to study fractions and probability and will be taking the test on Unit 7 Thursday. We shall begin Unit 8, perimeter and area, next week.

In social studies, we are finishing up a unit on the rainforest regions. We have been looking at the interdependence of plants and animals. When we return from winter break, we shall begin a new science unit.

Parent conference time is fast approaching. Please phone the school and set up a time for March 6th.

I hope that your daughter/son will have the opportunity to rest and enjoy the vacation week and be ready to begin with a fresh start on March 7th.

I shall be sending home a letter on Friday concerning the Valentine’s Party. Students may exchange card if they wish.

January 30, 2012

Dear Families,

Wow, Mother Nature sure is having a hard time making up her mind about the weather this winter. Let’s hope that as the days lengthen and we gradually move toward spring, the days will warm up little by little.

We are officially half way through the school year and the time has really flown by. We are just starting a new unit in social studies on the rainforest. The students will be discovering how all living things in the rainforest are interdependent.

In reading, we are doing another biography study. The students were excited to once again study a specific person. They will be sharing a little bit of their person at the end of the unit.

Math sees us starting a new book. We are now in volume 2 of Everyday math and studying fractions. Your daughter/son has brought home volume 1 and it does not need to be returned.

February 14th will be a busy day for our class. In the morning we shall be going to the Flynn to see The Marriage of Art & Science and in the afternoon we shall be having a small Valentine’s Day party. We are in need of the following items. If you can donate any of the following, please sign the bottom of this letter and return that portion to me.

Have a good rest of January and a wonderful February.

January 13, 2012

Dear Family,

A belated Happy New Year. I hope that you and your family had a happy and healthy holiday. It is hard to believe that the calendar has changed to another year. Winter in Vermont can’t seem to make up its mind and it will be interesting to see how Mother Nature sends us the snow storms, the cold weather, and the sunny days this year.

We have all returned ready to begin the new year with smiling faces and eagerness. In science, we are finishing Forces in Motion. Math finds us working on division in Unit 6 with a test on the unit next Thursday. In order to be able to be successful with division, students must know the multiplication facts. We practice multiplication and division during our math skill time and students are doing much better with their facts. Continued practice at home with the facts would be helpful.

In reading we have been practicing inferencing with non-fiction material. The story that we have been using is a timely one about the Titanic. The students have done very well with this skill and are engrossed with the tragic voyage of the Titanic.

We are working on responding to informational literature in writing. Students have read articles and planned responses. We will continue to do on-demand writing prompts. This is a writing session where the students are asked to do a specific piece of writing in response to a question in a specific amount of time. The different pieces that we have done and will be doing are: responding to informational text, responding to literature, writing a story, and writing a report.

The class will be going on a fieldtrip to the Flynn Theatre on February 14th to see The Marriage of Arts and Science.. Thank you for returning the permission slips and money in a timely fashion.

Please note that on Monday, January 16th, the students have off while teachers are at a staff in-service.
I would like to thank all of the families that contributed to our holiday celebration. The students had a wonderful time.

December 16, 2011
Dear Families,
We are now well into December and the weather has finally decided to feel like winter. The time is very short before our holiday break and the students have been working very, very hard this month.
In reading, we have been working in guided reading groups. Students have been reading Jake the Drake, Know It All; Bunnicula; In the Shade of the Nispero Tree; or the Pictures of Hollis Wood. Each group has been working on tracking their thoughts while reading, new vocabulary words, making connections, finding the problem and solution, and finding the theme. The students just finished and did a wonderful job. Please ask them about the book they read.
In math, we will be having a test on Unit 5, multiplication, on Monday. In January, we will begin working on division. Your daughter/son should continue to study the multiplication tables as this will help them with the division.
Science finds the class busy exploring forces and motion. The students are enjoying releasing different size spheres on an inclined plain and seeing how far they travel. The work comes when they need to explain, using the correct vocabulary words, why the spheres traveled the distances they did. We shall be having a quiz on the vocabulary words for this science unit next Tuesday.
Our holiday party will be Wednesday from 2:15-3:00. You all have been very generous in your donations for the party. The nonperishable items can come in as soon as possible. The perishable items should be brought in on the morning of the 21st.
One last thing before I close, we will be taking a trip to the Flynn Theatre on February 14th, 2012. Please watch for more information when we get back from vacation.
If at any time, you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to phone or e-mail.
In closing, I would like to wish you all a very Happy Holidays.