Weekend News 4-26-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

Happy Weekend! I hope  you had a great week. We were happy to spend some time yesterday reading outside with our 1st grade buddies. Check the blog (below) for some pictures of this. 

This time of year is always the most busy.  I have listed some important upcoming events below. 

Upcoming Events:
April 30th- Mackinac Parent Meeting (all parents)
May 9th- Wizard Walk and Family Fun Night
May 14th- M-STEP
May 16th- Mackinac Chaperone Meeting (chaperones only)
May 17th- Field Day
May 21st- M-STEP
May 27th- Memorial Day, no school
June 3rd- Choir to Clark Home
June 4 & 5th- Mackinac Island Field Trip
June 6th- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! 

This week in fourth grade:

• We revised and edited our poetry and practiced for our class Poetry Slam on Tuesday. If you'd like to pop in for this informal in-class event, we will begin around 10:30.
• We investigated the different ways energy, heat, and light are related with a series of experiments in science.
• We converted measurement in the US standard and metric system. A study guide for this assessment will come home late next week. The measurement assessment will be Monday May 6th!

Have a wonderful week!

SG

Weekend News 4-19-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
I hope you had a nice week! Yesterday students had the opportunity to cheer on the Lakeside Lions during their school musical production while the fourth grade team worked on refining details of our Mackinac Island field trip! 
We will be holding an informational parent meeting regarding the Mackinac trip for ALL parents on April 30th at 5:30 pm. We will meet in Pioneer Auditorium. Please attend this informative meeting to ensure a successful trip. There will be a separate parent chaperone meeting held on May 16th at 5:30 pm. You only need to attend this meeting if you are a chaperone on the trip. 

If you are still interested in ordering from Scholastic, please place your online order by the end of the school day today. Thank you!

This week in fourth grade:

• We presented our Rube Goldberg creations to our science classes. These videos can be viewed on our class Seesaw page. Presenting via video was a great learning experience for all students. In addition to working through the steps of the scientific investigation process, students learned lessons about working cooperatively in a small group. I am proud of the creativity and efforts all groups put into this project.
• We continued our study of poetry and enjoyed writing some poems of our own.
• We reviewed concepts of measurement students have previously learned and will build on those throughout this chapter. 

Weekend News 4-12-19

Hello Fourth Grade Families,
I hope you all had a wonderful spring break and enjoyed the extra time with your families! We have had an awesome week in fourth grade and I loved seeing students work hard in all areas.

We are getting so excited for our field trip to Mackinac Island in June. If you haven't sent in payment for this trip, please do so soon! Thank you very much. The cost is  $125 for students and $145 for parent chaperones. 

Spring means the Wizard Walk is near! The annual Wizard Walk will be held on May 9th at 1:30. Students will be coming home with their packets today. The funds raised by the Wizard Walk help 4th graders by covering some of the costs of the Mackinac field trip. Thank you for participating!

I will submit the April/May Scholastic Book Order on Friday April 19th. Please have all orders placed by then. Our class code for online orders is HB4N7.

This week in fourth grade:

• We constructed Rube Goldberg devices to solve a variety of problems as an engineering design challenge in science. We brainstormed, planned, designed, built, adapted, and rebuilt. Next week we will film our devices in motion and present to the class.
• We began our study of poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month. We are reading poems, learning about poetic forms, and exploring techniques poets use.
• We concluded our unit on angles and took the unit assessment. We will begin our study of measurement next week. Thanks to all who went out and bought protractors for home use. 

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the sunshine!

Weekend News 3-28-18

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

I am so happy to be back!  I had a lovely maternity leave with Henry but I am really enjoying being back to work at a job I love! Your children gave a warm welcome and we are already beginning to feel back in our groove.

I hope you all enjoy spring break with your families! We return on Monday April 8 and will be refreshed to work hard for the remainder of the year. 

This week the students wrapped up all of their current projects with Mr. J and we are ready for a fresh start after spring break. We will continue our study of angles in math, we will begin poetry in reading workshop, and will create a Rube Goldberg device in science. 

Have a wonderful break and I will see you in April!

Take care,
Stacey Goodman

East Grand Rapids / Grade 3 & 4 Build and Code Clubs

East Grand Rapids / Grade 3 & 4 Build and Code Clubs

Dear Parents of 3rd and 4th Grade Students:

The Kent District Library (KDL), in partnership with East Grand Rapids Public Schools, will be running lunchtime Lego Robotics Build and Code Clubs starting this week! Your student will have an opportunity to learn more in their science classes prior to the kickoff events. KDL and East Grand Rapids are looking to build interest in having a grade 4 and 5 First Lego Robotics team that would start in the Fall of 2019. For more information on the First Lego League please visit the First in Michigan website. For this spring these clubs will run at all three elementary buildings and...

• Are intended to help students learn more about Lego Robotics
• Will take place during lunch and middle recess with students bringing their lunch with them to the club
• Will be facilitated by Mrs. Holly Goulet From the KDL, former EGR parent Dr. Betsy Neubig, and District Tech Director Doug Jenkins
• Will be open to all Breton Downs, Lakeside, and Wealthy 3rd and 4th grade students - students can come once or come often

The kickoff events and post-break schedule are as follows:

Breton Downs: Kickoff Monday, March 25 in the Learning Commons

Will continue Mondays in the Learning Commons after Spring Break

Lakeside: Kickoff Thursday, March 28 in the downstairs computer lab

Will continue Thursdays in the downstairs computer lab after Spring Break

Wealthy: Kickoff Tuesday,  March 26 in the Art Room

Will continue Fridays in the Learning Commons after Spring Break

If you have any questions about these clubs, please contact Doug Jenkins at djenkins@egrps.org.

Weekend News 12-7-18

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

I hope you had a nice week! On Tuesday we will welcome our long term sub Kevin Juntunen into our classroom. He is excited to get to know the class, as well as the routines and procedures at Wealthy. The kids are excited just to meet him! And to have a male teacher. Look for a note of introduction to come from Mr. Juntunen next week. Join us for our class holiday party to meet him and introduce yourself. He will be with the class until spring break.

Next week is a busy week for the fourth graders. Here are the upcoming events:

• Flea Market, Wednesday 12:30-2
• Holiday Party, Thursday 12:20-1:20
• Holiday Concert, Thursday 2:00

We took two pages of the math test today, we will complete the rest of the test on Monday. Use those study guides and chapter reviews over the weekend to prepare for the rest of the test!

This week in fourth grade:

• We learned about earthquakes and mapped the location of the most recent earthquakes using the USGS data. It is a very cool website if you have time to peruse. 
• We noticed that most earthquakes take place in the Ring of Fire.
• We learned that there are "mm" many multiples and "ff" few factors. If a given number is smaller, it cannot be a multiple. If a given number is bigger, it cannot be a factor.
• We worked on individual research project presentations. We will be presenting our knowledge to the class next week. 

Factors, Multiples, and Patterns Math Test

Hello Fourth Grade Families,

I hope you're having a great week! We are finishing our short Chapter 5 math unit on factors, multiples, and patterns. A study guide for this test is coming home today. 

This was a fun and short unit that all students are easily understanding (such a relief after long division). Because of this, we are already preparing for the assessment! Please go over the study guide tonight and the chapter review tomorrow. We will plan to begin the test on Friday morning and take time on Monday as needed. 

Thank you!