December 2nd Update

I hope everyone enjoyed some time with family and friends accompanied by some good food!    When I think about all that I am thankful for, teaching your children is tops of my list.   It is a pleasure to come to school each and every day!  I know this mini-break was greatly needed as we gear up for the three weeks before our winter break.  Here are a few things you should keep in mind this week:

1.  GINGERBREAD SHOP - Our class is scheduled to shop on TUESDAY, December 3rd at 9:00 in the morning.  Please make sure your child arrives on time to school this day.  If you child is absent, you may send them to school the follow day or the day they return and we will assure they go to the shop that day.  It is most helpful if you fill out the envelop that was sent home last week with your child and assign set amounts and names of whom they are shopping for!

2. MEDIA - Media is MONDAY!  I know it is challenging to remember to return books on Monday, but the children can return them to the class bin ANY day they are done with the book!  It is our goal that they are able to check out at least one book each week. 

3.  PLANNERS - There has been an upswing in missed worked or homework not completed recently.  Please check your child's planner each night!

4.  REPORT CARDS - Report cards will be sent home next week (December 9th.)  When you receive them, please keep the report card but return the signed envelope.

5.  SCIENCE -  Trimester two will focus on a unit about simple machines.  We begin with a quick overview of all six simple machines and then we will complete experiments that focus on each type.  Please check out the sites about simple machines in the SCIENCE section of the blog.  If you find any good sites, please pass them along so I can upload them to the blog for all to use!

6.  SOCIAL STUDIES - Trimester two will begin with the study of the SOUTH.  We will be using the lap tops this week to begin our unit.  The focus will be on the climate, physical features, natural resources, economy and immigrants of the region.  A map of the south will be sent home this WEDNESDAY to study.  It is two sided.  The map quiz will be on Wednesday, December 18th. 

7. WRITING -  We will continue our work with the genre of narrative writing.  The focus will be on developing fully elaborated main events.    The focus will continue to be on bringing their TOADS (Thoughts, Observations, Action, Dialogue & Sound) into their writing.

If you have any questions / concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Miss Finneran

 

Hold on Tight!

Families of Room 31 ~

The end of the trimester is fast approaching which means there are many assessments taking place.  This will also mean that our homework routine may be a bit different.

MEDIA - We have MEDIA on Monday.   Please make sure all books are returned.

HEALTH ASSESSMENT - Mrs. LeMay sent home a study packet and the health papers for the health test on Tuesday.

SCIENCE ASSESSMENT - Friday November 22nd.
The students will be taking their assessment on ROCKS and MINERALS on Friday November 22nd.  As study guide was sent home on Friday.  They will also take home their SCIENCE NOTEBOOKS on Monday.  They need to return these notebooks on the day of the test.  THEY CAN USE THEIR NOTEBOOK to help on the ASSESSMENT!!

I also recommend that the students visit the blog and review the the ROCK and MINERAL sites under the SCIENCE section.  There are great reviews for the ROCK CYCLE too!!

SOCIAL STUDIES ASSESSMENT - This assessment will be given in class on Thursday.  They will use their NOTES and their social studies text book that we have been taking to help with this assessment.  There is NO STUDYING involved in this assessment this trimester!

AUTHORS VISIT - We are fortunate to have author MELISSA STEWART visiting our classroom on Tuesday.  Here is her website for those who may want to explore her books and ideas..  Thanks to the PTO for arranging for this visit!  I can't wait to see what she is going to teach us!

Melissa Stewart website

CONCERT - Thursday, November 21st.    A notice is going home on Monday from Ms. Fallis with more details.  Students need to be at the school for 6:10.    Only TWO guests are allowed due to the capacity code of the cafeteria.   The are also singing for the school on Wednesday the 20th at 2:25.   Family and friends who can't make the 21st are invited.  Students are asked to dress in fall colors for the Wednesday and Thursday concert. 

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have ANY questions.

Miss Finneran

Nov. 4th Update

Families of Room 31 ~

1.  NO SCHOOL for students Tuesday November 5^th  - This day is set aside for parent conferences.  I have sent home reminders about your scheduled time and a preconference form.  If you have any questions regarding the time of the form, please let me know and I will do my best to assist.

2.  Thanksgiving Food Drive -  Coolidge and the 4^th grade student council is holding it’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive to assist St. Anne’s Food Pantry during this holiday season.  Our class has been asked to bring in FLOUR or SUGAR.  We already have about 5 or 6 bags!  We also ask that each student / family donate $1.00.  The money will be utilized to purchase food vouchers for Turkeys.

3.  BOOK FAIR and MEDIA – We have media on Monday!  The students will be attending the book fair and creating wish lists.   If students bring in money, they may purchase books.   The book fair will be open during Parent Conferences.  Also, students may bring in money any day of the week and we will send them to the book fair at a convenient time.

I look forward to meeting with most of you on Tuesday!

Kelly Finneran

Weekly Update

Families of Room 31 ~

A few important updates / reminders:

1.  PEDOMETERS -   As part of the Health Curriculum and the Get Fit Grant  your child will be given a pedometer to wear and a log sheet / food chart to complete.   Monday October 21st – Thursday October 24th, the students are asked to wear a pedometer (in school and out!) and record the number of steps taken each day.    They are also asked to record the healthy food items they ate throughout the day.  Mrs. LeMay, Ms. Pacheco and I have reviewed this with the children.   There is a SAMPLE chart being sent home.   I recommend that you review this with the children and keep it in a safe place as we will complete this 4 times throughout the year.

The pedometer and the log are to be returned to school on FRIDAY October 25th.  If everyone from the class brings back their pedometer AND completes and returns both side of the log, our class with receive a fruit tray later in November to enjoy!    Let’s do our best to help the children remember to fill out their log and return everything on time!

If there are any questions, you can contact Mrs. LeMay directly at ~ 

            slemay@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

2.  MEDIA – Monday is media and the children have had two weeks to complete their books.  Please remind them to bring them to school on Monday so they can take out new ones!

3.  XTRA MATH and EVERYDAY MATH – Each child has been given a personal log in for both of these sites.   I recommend that they log in and practice their facts as often as possible.   We have 4 children who have completed their XTRA MATH facts already!!!   Congratulations!  You can access both of these sites along with our newsletters and other recommended websites via our class blog:

                    http://kfinneran31.blogspot.com

4.  PARENT CONFERENCES ~  Please remember that Tuesday, November 5 has been set aside for Fall conferences and your child does not have school. I am sending home reminders of the time you are scheduled for with the children on MONDAY in their Blue Communication Folder.   Attached is a sheet I would like you to fill out and return.  Our conferences are short and I want to maximize the focus to meet your needs.

5.  CHORUS CONCERT   - The first fourth grade Chorus Concert is going to be held on November 21, 2013 at 6:30pm.   More details will come from Ms. Fallis, the music teachers, as the date gets closer.

6.  FAMILY FUN WALK -  On Friday October 25th from 4:30 - 6:00 the Coolidge students and families are invite to join us at our 7th Annual Family Fun Walk.  Children may wear costumes!  There will be activities to complete, a chance to enter into a raffle and a bake sale.   Our 4th grade student council members will be assisting at the Estimation Station and will be selling Glow-in-the-dark wrist bands.   All proceeds are donated to St. Anne's Food Pantry.  We hope to see you all there!

Thanks for your continued support.   Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Kelly Finneran

EveryDay Math Log In

Tuesday I am sending home each child's  EVERY DAY MATH log in and password.   To access the site for math practice:

1. Go to - https://www.everydaymathonline.com or type in Everyday Math Student Log in under google.

2.  Where it says Username type your child's LOGIN.

3.  You will then be sent to a  student password page where you will have to type in the number, letter, and shape password.

4.  Each child has their OWN log in information so please keep this is a safe spot.   If you loose it and need a copy…. Please contact me.

At the site you will see various games connected to the unit, family letters with information, a copy of the homework (although back side is not there) as will as other activities to practice.

Practice Your Facts!

Research shows that students who are most successful in math often are fluent with their math facts.  We often think of fluency in reading, but math fact fluency is a key to success.   The goal for our students is that they can complete their their math facts 100 problems in 5 minutes.  This means that they are able to respond in 3 seconds!

Today your child brought home their math fact goal sheets.  Some of the growth noted his month was amazing.  Some student scores increased by 30 to 40 facts!  This is tremendous growth and demonstrates quite a bit of hard work!  Each student set new goals for next month and it is our hope that they will PRACTICE and follow their goal contract.   I will be copying their contract and sending this home.  Although I know that some students' processing speed may be a bit slower, we are hoping each child makes some growth (5 - 10 facts per month).  With repeated, consistent practice, this is an attainable goal!

Please remember that each child has and XTRA math account.   Many student are utilizing this site, yet I know that a few students have completed the program.   I am able to go on to the site and see each child's work / scores and problems they have completed.   I urge you to have your child log on to the site at least 4 times a week.   I am also attaching a site that has a few different programs to practice math facts.  If you or your child come across any apps or sites that they enjoy using, please pass these along and I will post them on the blog to all to use!

Math Fact practice site -Newton School Math Fact Practice (+, -, x, & /)

Reminder -  FUNDRAISING PACKETS are due by next Tuesday, October 15th!
October book orders are due by the end of this week.

Kelly Finneran

Weekly Update

Families of Room 31 ~

WOW.... it is hard to believe that we are entering into our second month of school this week.   I am impressed at how well the students have adjusted to the routines in our classroom.  They are truly becoming 4th graders!

A few important pieces of information:
1.  Monday /Tuesday - I will be out of the classroom on Monday and Tuesday this week.   I have shared this information with the students on Friday and we have discussed the expected class behavior.  I am keeping the same routines, but sometimes when there is a sub, homework falls apart.  I am sharing with you the homework for MONDAY and TUESDAY in case the planners are not accurate.

Monday - Reading Log, Word Sort and Complete a map project of the EAST that was started in class today.  They will have had close to 45 minutes of in class work so I hope??? they are putting the final touches on the map at home.  Please make sure they follow the RUBRIC and expectations.  They will have seen a sample in class.    They will bring home their social studies book to complete this.  Please make sure they return the book to school tomorrow.    NO WRITTEN MATH HOMEWORK

Tuesday - Study Link 2.5;  Study for EAST QUIZ on Friday; also, Mrs. LeMay will be assigning a health test that will take place next Tuesday.  They papers should go home today.   I had them write this studying portion in their planners on Monday.

2.  MEDIA is MONDAY - Please send your child to school with their MEDIA BOOKS on Monday!

 I hope all goes smoothly  the next few days.  I will be checking my email, but if there are any emergencies, changes in dismissals, please contact Mrs. Stacey in the office to let her know.

Thanks for all your support!

Miss Finneran

STUDENT COUNCIL

Congratulations to Colby, Caroline and Neel for being elected as  Student Council Representatives.  All of the students wrote fantastic opinion pieces, supporting their reasons with details.  Everyone is to be congratulated for their hard work!

Update

It was a pleasure meeting many of you at Curriculum Night last Thursday.  If you were not able to attend, I sent home an overview of the evening with your child on Friday.  I will be making contact soon with those who did not attend to set up a parent conference.

NEWSLETTER - Please check the NEWSLETTER section of the blog for more information!

SPELLING – We will begin our spelling routine this week.  This first week all students will have the SAME list.  We are PRACTICING our class work and homework spelling routines.  Next week, the children will be grouped into four different spelling groups based on the results of the spelling assessments taken earlier this year.   The groups are flexible and often children will switch groups based on their need and growth.

MATH – We will be wrapping up our Unit One – GEOMETRY this week.  We will complete and correct a study guide in class (truly a practice test) that the students will be bringing home to review. 

POWER SCHOOL –  If you haven’t already updated your information in Power School, especially your child’s emergency contact information, please do so at your earliest convenience.   It is important for our school to have the correct information to make contact if necessary.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions!

Weekly Update

The start to our school year has been busy!   It is great to see all the smiling faces each morning!  We’ve been spending the first few days sharing some of our ALL ABOUT ME Bags, discovering and exploring new routines, establishing classroom rules / expectations and focusing on our Hopes and Dreams for the year.

A few reminders:

HOMEWORK PLANNERS

Please sign your child's homework planner every night after homework has been completed.   It is important that you check their assignments to assure they have been completed prior to signing the planner.     Also, I recommend that the children place their completed work in their red homework folder and place the planner and homework folder in their backpack when their work is completed.

READING LOGS

The students began their reading logs this week.   They are expected to read for a minimum of 15 – 20 minutes each night.   After they have read, they are to complete a brief summary of their reading.   There are samples of what the entry should look like on this week’s log.   I recommend that the children complete this nightly as it is due on FRIDAY of each week.   I request that a parent / caregiver sign off each day of the reading. 

MATH FACTS

The children completed their 5-minute baseline math assessments last week.   The expectation for fourth grade is that the students master these facts and receive a score of 90 out of 100 within the 5-minute time.   I was please to have many students at mastery for their addition and subtraction facts.  Those students who scored below a 90 in either area were given some flash cards to use at home.  The children established goals in class yesterday based on their score.   The students are expected to practice their facts 3 – 4 times a week.   Each month we will reassess their facts and set new goals.  

SCIENCE / SOCIAL STUDIES

We are being our study in each of these subjects this week.  In science we will begin exploring the properties of rocks and mineral.  This unit of study involves several hand-on experiments.  The students will be keeping science notebooks to document their observations.   In social studies we will begin with a study / review of the continents and oceans of the world.  We will then move to explore the regions of the United States focusing on the climate, natural resources, physical features, immigrants and the economy of each region.  We will begin with a unit of study on the EAST.

WATERBOTTLE / SNACK

Please send your child to school each day with a water bottle and a snack.   Lunch is at 1:05 each day and it is important to have the students “refueled” and ready to work. 

 There are a few important dates that I want you to keep in mind:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10^th – PTO MEETING in the Media Center 7:00 PM

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12^th – Curriculum Night  6:30 - 7:30    This is the evening when I will share an overview of the expectations for fourth grade.   We will discuss some of our curriculum and it will be a time for you to sign up for our Parent Conference Day. 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14^th – Columbus Day – NO SCHOOL

Please let me know if you have any questions.   I look forward to meeting everyone on Curriculum Night September 12^th.

Miss Finneran

FLAT STANLEY

Check your child's red homework folder for their Flat Stanley / Sally!  The directions for this program can be found in their folder as well as our blog!   Happy travels!!! 

GREAT FIRST DAY!

Families of Room 31!!

What a wonderful first day we all experienced!!!   I was so excited to have my room filled with eager and excited students!  

Today we spent some time with Mrs. Fallis – our music teacher and Mrs. LeMay – our HEALTH teacher.   We also visited the cafeteria and had Mrs. Clouter review with us the routine and expectations in the cafeteria.  We spent some time unpacking our supplies.   Some supplies  the extras we did not ask for, were sent home (or to be kept in their backpacks) as we don’t have room to store them in our small buckets. 

Today the children came home with their planners and homework folders. The homework folder and planner are to travel between home and school on a daily basis.   In their homework folder are four forms that need to be signed and returned.

    •  Fair Play Slip
    •  Nature Trail Form
    •  Nurse Consent Form
    •  Bullying Pledge

Please review these forms tonight and send them back with your child in the morning.   I also ask that you:

    •  send your child to school each day with a WATER BOTTLE and SNACK

    •  sign your child’s planner EVERY NIGHT!!

Tomorrow the students will have CHORUS and Thursday is PE (or GYM) so make sure your child wears their sneakers on Thursday! 

Some children did not bring in all their supplies today.   This is fine.  Please let me know if you are having trouble finding any of the materials as I may have extra's in class for your child.  

I look forward to a GREAT YEAR!     I would appreciate you responding to this email so I know that you received it and let me know what is the best way to reach you – email, phone and / or note!

Summer Reading Anyone ?!?!

FROM THE SHREWSBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY: 

As the school year draws to a close and summer approaches, the Summer R.E.C.E.S.S. (reading every day can ensure student success) Reading Program for grades K-4 is being offered at the Shrewsbury Public Library.  During this free class, teachers will read and discuss the required reading book with the children and then work on a related craft.  Registration is required, space is limited to 20 students in each class.

Dates for the 4^th grade books Frindle and Freckle Juice programs are as follows: 

FRINDLE: July 15^th @4 pm, or July 24^th 10:30 am

FRECKLE JUICE: July 30^th @ 6:30 pm

Be sure to check the monthly calendar of events for the library. There is so much to do! Don’t forget, you can even reserve a MUSEUM pass to use during the summer!

ALSO-There will be a Reader’s Theater at the library, starting July 9^th from 3:30-4:40 pm for interested students in grades 3 and 4. There will be 5 rehearsals and a performance. Sounds like fun!

Wiffle Ball Anyone??

The Jacob M. Boudreau Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Jacob Boudreau.  Jacob was a former fourth grade student of mine  whom was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer, at the age of 5.  For the next 7 1/2 years, Jacob bravely fought this  disease. Sadly, Jacob lost his battle and passed away on April 13, 2010 at 12 years old.  Jacob was an inspirational young man who had a profound impact on the lives of those he touched.  I know I am a better teacher for having known Jacob. 

The Jacob M. Boudreau Memorial Scholarship Fund is holding its third annual WiffleBall Tournament  at Coolidge Elementary School .   There will be three team categories, Adult, Teen and Youth, with trophies awarded to the winners of each category. Each team is guaranteed a minimum of three games, excluding the playoffs.  There will also be a Home Run Derby! Cost to enter is going to be $5 for 10 Outs with additional prizes for the winners in each category.

Come join us for a great day in honor of Jacob!

Signups for registration will be open soon, via their website http://jacobmboudreaumemorialfund.com/
 
Date:    Saturday July 20th, 2013  (rain date July  21st)            

            

Place:   Coolidge Elementary School

Time:   Team check-in begins at 8am, first games start at 9am 

Cost:    The registration fee is $25 per person 

            (For Scholarship Fund) 

 

Teams:  Teams will consist of 3 to 5 Players and must pre-register online.

Welcome to Fourth Grade

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!  I know I'll be spending some time with family and friends, reading some recommended books from my former students, as well as spending time at the beach.   Take some time to relax and enjoy your time. 

Don't forget about the summer reading.   There is a link on this blog that will take you to the website where the information can be found.    You will need to read three books in total.  One must be from the list of require reading and the other tow can be any books from the list.   It is important that you choose a book that is at your appropriate reading level!!!   I look forward to our sharing time about these books when we return from summer vacation.  

I am looking forward meeting everyone on August 27th. 

Happy Summer!