August 26, The Week Ahead

Last week was our first full week, and it was full of fun and learning. We started to get into our normal routines for the year, and enjoyed some great activities while starting to get into our curriculum. 

The Open House last Friday was great for me to meet many of you. I am very glad that so many of you were able to come join us on Friday. 

This week in math, we will continue with place value and reading and writing whole numbers in standard form. We will also begin to talk about the value of numbers. For example the value of the 6 in 4,602 is 600. We want students to not only be able to read the numbers, but also to be able to explain their value. Students will also take the numbers and break them into expanded form. 4,000 + 600 + 2. We will continue to keep the Maths Mate homework at school this week, completing it with support to help students understand the new worksheet and what they may need to do to complete it in a week independently beginning next week. 

Our reading and writing lessons continue with an emphasis on “thinking about reading”, choosing “just right” books, and making “lists of people, places, and things” to write about so that they will never again have to look at a blank page and wonder where to start. Everyone has received their Reader’s Notebook and will begin to use this daily at school. Students will be assigned a day of the week to write a letter about the book(s) they are reading. We will continue to do this throughout the year, with an emphasis on sharing our thoughts while reading, instead of just re-telling what is happening in the books we read.

How we organize ourselves, our first unit of inquiry begins this week. Students will explore the central idea:  People can create systems and protocols to support the decision making process. We plan to have guest speakers from our school community come and talk to the students about decision making, roles, and organization of groups.  Students will gain insights into the importance of formulating and documenting their own ideas, and understanding why discussions with a group and agreeing on a common set of ideas is important when collaborating with others to make decisions.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

-Martin Reinsmoen

Dates and Reminders

• Sept. 2 - E3 Activities Begin
• Sept. 13 - No School for Students - PD Day for all teachers.
• Sept. 18 - Early Dismissal at 11:00 for ES students - Ganesha Immersion

• Please remember to call the help desk at 022-61313600 if your child's regular dismissal plan changes. 
• We really want to stay away from using paper cups on our floor to show our awareness of the impact of using so many. Please send a water bottle every day to help us accomplish this. 
• If you have not yet completed the Google Form about your student please do this to help me get to know them.

Week of August 19th

Grade 4 News

Week of 19^th – 23^rd August

The new school year has gotten off to a great start. As always, the beginning of the school year is an important time for establishing good routines and an effective learning environment.  It’s been lovely getting to know your children – their personalities, hopes and dreams as well as their characteristics as a learner.  I will be sending you a weekly note via email to keep you updated about school.  Please feel free to respond to the email if you have questions.  The note will contain information about what we will be focusing on in class that week and any important announcements.

In our first math unit we will be exploring students’ prior knowledge of numbers and place value and using that knowledge to read and write whole numbers in standard and word form.

As readers, 4^th graders are developing the essential habits of independent reading.  This week we will be discussing how the icommons area is organized and used effectively, how readers choose books and how to make good book choices.  An important goal for students is to read 'Just Right' books.  Just Right books are those that they understand well and can enjoy.  These are the books that will help them become better readers. 

Students will begin writing every day in their writer’s notebook and work on building their writing stamina.  We will be exploring ways to generate ideas for writing.  Once students have a few strategies to use, they will never have that feeling of sitting in front of a blank page again. 

This week we will begin our first unit of inquiry.  Students will explore the central idea:  people can create systems and protocols to support the decision making process.  We plan to have guest speakers from our school community come and talk to the students about decision making, organization of groups, and roles.  Students will gain insights into the importance of formulating and documenting their ideas within a group, making decisions by discussing ideas, and features of effective group work.

You may notice in the next two weeks that your child will not be bringing homework home regularly. We are spending time at school talking about homework and what my expectations are for it. Once students understand the importance and purpose of the homework, then I will start to send it home. 

Remember that our Open House is scheduled for this Friday August 23rd. It will start at 8:15 on the 4th floor.

I look forward to seeing you all on Friday!

Sincerely, 

Martin Reinsmoen

Dates and Reminders

• 21^th August (Wednesday)             E3 Activity Fair, 3:00 – 3:30, 4^th Floor
• 23rd August 8:15 Open House for 4th grade parents.
• Please remember to send a note or email if your child’s regular dismissal plans change.
• Please ensure your child brings a water bottle to school each day.

Welcome to 4th Grade!

Dear Parents, 

The new school year has gotten off to a great start. As always, the beginning of the school year is an important time for establishing good routines and an effective learning environment. I enjoyed getting to know your children today, and look forward to the time we will spend working together this year. I will be sending you updates weekly about what we are doing in school. Please feel free to respond to my email if you have questions. The updates will contain information about what we will be focusing on in class that week and as well as any other important announcements. 

I have started a blog, which will have the same information as my emails. At times it is nice to have everything in one place, think of it as that go to place, when you just can't seem to remember where something else is.

To help me get to know you and your children, I would like you to all fill out a survey about your hopes and dreams for them. Please try to find time to do this so that I get to know you and your children a little more. 

I feel very lucky right now to have another teacher working very closely with me. Matt Beniak is student teaching in our classroom for the next two months. He and I are spending a lot of time discussing, planning, and reflecting on the lessons that we have in our class. I'm also excited because he and I both went to the same college. Another of those signs showing us how small the world really is. 

In our first math unit we will be exploring students’ prior knowledge of numbers and place value and using that knowledge to read and write whole numbers in standard form. 

As readers, 4^th graders are developing the essential habits of independent reading. This week we will be discussing how the icommons area is organized, how readers choose books and how to make good book choices. An important goal for students is to read 'Just Right' books. Just Right books are those that they understand well and can enjoy. These are the books that will help them become better readers. 

Students will begin writing every day in their writer’s notebook and work on building their writing stamina. We will be exploring ways to generate ideas for writing. Once students have a few strategies to use, they will never have that feeling of sitting in front of a blank page again. 

I am including our Specialist Schedule. Please let me know if you have questions. PE uniforms should be worn each day that students have PE.

If I have still not met you, I hope to meet you soon. 

Have a wonderful week! 

-Martin Reinsmoen