Weekly Update--12-18-19, Last of 2019!

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
We have had such a big week! Thank you to all who chaperoned our field trip on Monday. We learned so much! I didn't realize what a beautiful facility we had right here in town. If you have not yet visited, you should! They currently have the former Breton Village train on display. Free admission to see the train during winter break was advertised if you need something to do! 

The kids had a blast at the party and sang beautifully at the showcase. Thank you to all parents who helped with the party. It was fun to celebrate together. I am so thankful for the completely generous class gift. Extra thanks goes to Mary who pulled it all together during an extremely busy time of life! I am looking forward to having a really fun date night with my husband and am thankful to all of you for your thoughtfulness!

Tomorrow will be pajama day for our class. Your child is welcome to bring a blanket or stuffed animal to school as well.

I hope you all have a wonderful winter break with your families and I look forward to seeing you in 2020! Happy New Year!

 

Weekly Update 12-10-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
I cannot believe we are in the last weeks of 2019. We have many exciting things coming up in the next week and a half.

On Monday we will drive to the Gerald R Ford Museum for a field trip. Thank you to the parents who've signed up as drivers, we are all set!

I look forward to visiting with those of you who can come to our winter party and showcase next week. The class party will be held from 12:30-1:30. The concert will begin at 2 pm. It looks like everything is taken care of, but if you'd like to see what we need for the party, click HERE.

Important Dates:
Thursday 12/12-KFB items due (raisins or fruit strips), Walk to HS for 1:00 pm concert.
Friday 12/13- FLEA MARKET!! 12:30-2:00
Monday 12/16- GR Ford Field Trip 9:00-2:00 pm
Tuesday 12/17- Party 12:30, Showcase 2:00
Thursday 12/19- Pajama Day! Your child is welcome to bring a blanket or stuffed animal to school as well!
Friday- 12/20- No School! Enjoy your winter break:)

This week in fourth grade:
We've worked hard in science to design earthquake resistant structures! We used a shake table to test the sustainability of our design. The students are really enjoying this engineering design challenge.

The class was excited to have the opportunity to share their natural disaster books with their kindergarten reading buddies on Friday. They were great teachers and proud of their work!

Chapter 5 Review Kahoot!

Many fourth graders have requested that I share the review work we did in class today. Take some time this weekend to play the quiz if you have time! Watch out for those questions that are worded in a tricky way!

https://create.kahoot.it/share/chapter-5-review-factors-and-multiples/41c540a2-5951-49ad-a2bd-71b619b1dcb7

Flea Market Information

Flea Market information from Mrs. Tinholt:

The Flea Market is next week, Friday on December 13. There is a lot of positive energy in our Social Studies classroom. Students are using words like expenses, revenue, investment, supply/demand, profits, etc… in classroom conversations and in their daily work. A large part of this success is due to the work of our Junior Achievement instructors. A HUGE thank you to Randy Renker, Mario Orsini, and Katie Stein. Every Wednesday for the past 5 weeks, they have been presenting economic lessons while connecting the concepts to real-world experiences. It has been an amazing time of learning in our classroom.

As we move into our final days before the marketplace, here are a few details to keep in mind.

Schedule: Thursday, December 13

11:25 – 12:10 Lunchtime and Clean-up

12:10 Tables are set-up 

12:20ish All fourth graders set up businesses in the gym. Parents are welcome to arrive at this time to help with set up, but may not enter the gym until the marketplace is set up.

12:30 Businesses are officially open. Students may begin selling their products when they are ready.

1:00 Students should reevaluate their price. (raise or lower)

2:15 Flea Market begins to wind down. Parents should arrive no later than 2 pm in case it ends earlier. Parents are welcome to take home flea market items but cash boxes should be kept at school for students to count totals.

2:30 Clean-up and students begin counting 

What to bring on the day of the flea market?

1. Cash box with $5 in quarters to make change. If there are two students in a business they will each need to bring $5 in quarters.
2. Spending $$ - Students will not be allowed to spend their business money.
3. Goods or services to be sold
4. Business poster – it should state the name of the business, goods/services sold, and the cost. Students should hang their business permits on the poster or next to it. Permits will be issued the day before the marketplace.
5. Sharpie marker or something similar – to change prices on business poster.
6. Tape – to hang poster
7. Cleaning supplies – students will need to clean up their areas or be charged a cleaning fee. Bring extra paper towel if you are serving drinks.

If you have any further questions, please check out our Flea Market webpage found here. There are useful tools and video advertisements to check out. You can contact me as well!

Thank you for all of your support these past few weeks! 

Nonfiction Book Gallery Walk

Weekly Update 12-3-19

Hello Everyone,

The next couple of weeks are packed full of activities! The purpose of this email is to highlight these events. Additional emails will be sent out regarding the Flea Market, field trip, and the class party. 

Field Trip: We will be going to the Gerald R Ford Museum on December 16. We will leave school at 9 am and return around 2 pm. Students will need to pack a sack lunch with a drink. Mary has sent out a sign up for parent drivers and chaperones within the next few days. It should be a great trip reinforcing our understanding of the federal government.

Math: We will be completing our quick factors and multiples unit with the assessment on Monday. Take some time this weekend to help your fourth grader study! Next week we get to start Geometry. Students will enjoy this break from the tougher units we have completed since the start of the year. There may be less homework during this unit so I am encouraging students to review multiplication facts and long division if needed. 

Kids Food Basket: The student leadership team is collecting items for KFB. The 4^th grade is encouraged to donate fruit strips or boxes of raisins. Items will be collected until December 12.

Winter Party: Our class winter/holiday party will be on December 17 at 12:30 pm. 

Winter Showcase: Our winter/holiday concert is on December 17 at 2 pm. Students are encouraged to wear wintry sweaters with a choice of either winter hats, mittens, or scarves and nice pants for this performance. 

Upcoming Dates:

December 12: EGR High School Holiday Concert at 1 pm. We will be walking to the high school after lunch and return around 2 pm. Keep this in mind if your child has an appointment on this date.

December 13: Flea Market in Wealthy Gym from 12:20 - 2 pm. See the additional email from Mrs. Tinholt.

December 16: Field Trip to Gerald R Ford Museum from 9 am - 2ish pm.

December 17: Class Holiday Party at 12:30 pm

December 17: Wealthy Winter Showcase at 2 pm in Pioneer Auditorium. 

December 20: No School

Have a wonderful week!

SG 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your families.
I am so thankful to have your children in my life! Thank you for all that you do as parents to support the children and our school.

Kids Food Basket Donations

Below is a list of the items each grade level is asked to bring for this year’s collection. We’d love every child to participate by either donating, if able, or decorating a paper bag for the Sack Suppers. Items may be sent in with your student to the classroom teacher anytime from December 2 - 12. Once all items are received, students will assemble the Sack Suppers on Friday, December 13 for pick-up by KFB on the following Monday. Thank you for Making a Difference!

     Sack Supper Packs

     Kindergarten: Pretzel or Cheez-It Bag (1.5 oz or smaller)

     First Grade: Pudding Cup

     Second Grade: 0.28 oz meat sticks

     Third Grade: 0.28 oz meat sticks

     Fourth Grade: Fruit Strips or Raisin Box

     Fifth Grade: Quart Sized Ziploc Bags

Weekly Update 11-20-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
I hope you've had a nice week! Next week we take some time to reflect on what we're thankful for and spend time with family. There will be no school on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Students have been pushing themselves as researchers to read and learn about natural disasters. They presented their impressive posters last week and have recently switched topics with another research team. Students will be creating interactive nonfiction books with their team as a culmination project to this unit. Stay tuned to see their creativity shine!

We took the division assessment this week. Most of the students did a fantastic job! If your child is still struggling with division, please continue to use the study guide at home. Let me know if you need additional materials. I am happy to send home review or extension material. We have begun our new unit on factors. This is a quick unit that we will be able to complete the week after Thanksgiving. Please continue to encourage your child to work on their homework page each night. If we do not have homework on a given night, it is helpful to review past concepts on IXL or Zearn. Use the Clever Portal to log in at home!

In science we learned how to plot location on a map using latitude and longitude. We used the USGS website to find the most current earthquake data. This is a fun website to explore! We noticed that most earthquakes take place near the Ring of Fire. Have your 4th grader show you around. It was exciting to watch earthquakes appear in actual time on the map as we were plotting!

It has been fun to see Flea Market advertisements begin to appear around school! Your child is allowed to use time during recess or after school (with supervision) to hang their signs. Don't forget to bring your own tape!

SG

Weekly Update 11-13-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
I hope you're enjoying all of the delightful SNOW we've received this week! It has been a fun week of navigating all of the new gear we now require to go outside for recess. Your child is welcome to leave his/her snow pants in their locker during the week. I will do my best to remind them to take them home on Friday to wash. It might be helpful to keep an extra hat, pair of socks, and pair of gloves into your child's backpack if there is an especially wet recess.  Being comfortable and warm helps learners to do their best! The temperature in our classroom varies from too warm to too cold throughout the day. Some kids have benefited from bringing a sweatshirt to keep in their locker to help with the fluctuation.

I will be submitting the November book order on Friday afternoon. Please place your order before then! Our class code is HB4N7. Access the digital flyer here.

We celebrated Veteran's Day on Monday with a beautiful assembly. Thank you to all relatives of our students for your service.

I will send a separate communication very soon about Kids Food Basket donations!

If you ordered a wreath from the fourth grade sale, orders will arrive on Monday, November 25th. The wreaths will be delivered behind Pioneer Auditorium. You can park or pull up near the curb to pick up your order. We will hang around until close to 4 pm to allow time for everyone to pick up. The wreaths are freshly made, but will need to be taken out of their cardboard boxes as soon as possible to look their best.

The Flea Market is coming soon! Join us in the gym on December 13th from 12:30-2:30 to shop from our amazing vendors. Your fourth grader should have turned in his/her plan to Mrs. Tinholt and should soon begin preparations for this fun event. If you have not had the pleasure of attending in the past, you do not want to miss this!

We will be wrapping up our division unit this week and reviewing Friday and Monday. Our plan is to take the Chapter 4 assessment on Tuesday. Please take some time over the weekend to go over the study guide (coming home Friday) with your student. This is a challenging test, but we are ready!

We have been researching natural disasters in teams during reading workshop. Students are working with their groups to create a poster to teach about their topics. The students have done a great job researching and have learned SO MUCH! They are truly becoming experts. We will be presenting these to the class on Friday.

Weekly Update 11-5-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

I hope you are having a great week! We are enjoying watching the snow flurries outside of our classroom window this morning. I recently sent home the November Scholastic book order. I will submit our class orders on Friday, November 15th. Our class code is HB4N7 if you're interested in placing an order. Access the digital flyer here.

We have a few weeks of normalcy before the excitement of the holiday season arrives! 

Upcoming Events:

11/8- Kids Have Rights

11/11- Veterans Day Assembly at 2:30 pm

11/15- Sciencepalooza at 2:30

11/27 through 11/29- No School! Thanksgiving holiday

12/13- Flea Market

12/16- Gerald R. Ford Museum field trip

Division help links:
Homework tutorials
Interactive Student Edition (Chapter 4, select our lesson)
4th Grade Math ebook

This week in fourth grade:

• We voted on Election Day for the Movie Night selection. Aladdin won!
• We learned more strategies for division. Please check in with your student on homework. This is a challenging topic and is not coming easily for everyone. A few moments per evening could make a huge difference in your child's confidence!
• We continued to research and gather information on natural disasters with our research teams. We will present our findings to the class at the conclusion of this unit.
• We did a cool inquiry lesson on chemical weathering in science.

Weekly Update 11-1-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

A huge thank you goes out to all of the parents who planned, volunteered, and attended our Halloween party yesterday! What fun! The kids and I appreciate your commitment.

Suddenly it is November and we seem to be flying through this year. Next week we will have our Kids Have Rights program on Friday from 10:25-11:25. Please return the form to school if you would NOT like your child to participate.

We are working hard on our math unit on division. This is challenging work! We are learning new strategies and working to relate multiplication to division. Take some time over the weekend to check in on division and math homework with your student. Also, take advantage of Mr. Saunders Math Tutorials to assist with challenging lessons. We are learning long division next week...get ready!

In reading we are working to identify the text structures of our nonfiction texts. We learned this week that it is helpful to match our note taking to the structure of the text we're reading. We will launch a fun group research project next week!

Enjoy this well deserved weekend with your family!
SG