September 9 Newsletter

Dear Parents,

It has already been a full month of school and the progress each student is making is showing. 

Up coming in math we will be transitioning into comparing numbers and making estimations.  Our previous work with place value and larger numbers will come in hand as we work on our skill of making reasonable estimations.  This past week was the first week that Math Mates went home as homework.  Students should be working on these and bringing them back to school early in the week as they get checked daily.  This also allows them to come in with questions before they are due on Friday.  Students should be showing their work so we can see their thinking process. 

For reading workshop, students are still continuing to develop the skill of ‘thinking about their reading’ and expanding into deeper thought than just a retelling of their book.  We have been working on this by having students write about their reading and we have also tried to meet with students to talk about it as well.  It so very important to dive deeper than just a retelling of the story, because being able predict or connect with the book shows more understanding.  Students should continue to read at least 20 minutes each night.  Reading to your child or having your child read aloud, to you or a sibling, helps with their fluency and should be incorporated along with them reading independently.

Students are beginning the process of picking a specific story to write about in writing workshop.  Previous lessons about detail, expression, and dialogue will be focused on as we develop our stories.  We have been including different examples to help students get a clear picture of a well crafted stories.  The reader of the story should get a feeling of actually being in the story through the author’s narration, and we will continue to work on this process.   

We have really dived into our PYP Inquiry unit, How we organize ourselves.  This past week different guest speakers talked with students about different aspects of group work.  Craig Johnson, the superintendent, discussed the decision making process and used the example of building the new school.  Cindy Cleary, the school counselor, talked with students about different roles in groups.  We will use these different discussions to help move forward in our unit.   

NWEA MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) is this week for grade 4.  Testing will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this upcoming week.  The tests are used to collect more information about your child and help inform the teachers of strength and areas of improvement.  There is no need or way to study for these tests, but there are some tips to help your child.  Make sure they are getting plenty of sleep this week, and also make sure your child is having a healthy and nutritious breakfast every morning.  These two tips are probably the most important things you can do to help your child.

Here's to another great week- Matthew Beniak

Dates and Reminders

•  Sept. 9-10 – Picture Day, specific day will be emailed from teacher

•  Sept. 10-12 – Grade 4 MAP testing

•  Sept. 13 - No School for Students - PD Day for all teachers.

•  Sept. 18 - Early Dismissal at 11:00 for ES students - Ganesh Immersion

•  Sept. 19 – No School for Students –  PT Conferences