Happy Thanksgiving

Finneran Families ~

Today, more than any other day of the year, I stop … pause…. and reflect.   I think about all that I am grateful for.   Truly, your children and your support are right up at the top of my list.  Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

Every day, I am moved and inspired by what I see your children doing.  Every day, I am in awe at the incredible perseverance your children display while growing and learning.   Every day, I am grateful to be in a school environment with such dedicated teachers, staff and a PTO that collaboratively work to build a culture with a focus on student growth and learning which happens in such a safe, loving environment.  

I believe that the success of our classroom is built on a foundation of mutual respect and inclusiveness.  I know I could not do my job if I didn’t have the support of such hard-working students and parents.  We – parents – students – teacher – are a team in every sense of the word. For this, I am blessed!

This is a wonderful time of the year to get together with friends and family to celebrate and be thankful for all the wonderful people in our lives. During this time of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to share my gratitude and thank you and your children for being such an important part my life.    

Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Kelly Finneran

Weeks of Nov. 13th and Nov. 19th

Families of Room 31 ~
I hope everyone enjoyed this extended weekend.  I know I was happy to catch up on some much needed sleep.  Just a few updates / reminders regarding the next few weeks.

NO SCHOOL - Wednesday, Nov. 21^st – Friday, Nov. 23^rd

BOOK ORDERS are due Thursday, Nov. 15^th.  If ordering online, the classroom code is DPQ8C.  Website is:  https://clubs.scholastic.com

Student Council collections: The 4^th grade Student Council is holding a supply drive for those in need. All donations will go to St. Anne’s to distribute to local families. Our class has been asked to donate SHAMPOO and $1.00! Let’s all do our part!  Orders are due by Nov. 19^th.  Thanks to those families who have already made their donations / contributions!

SCHOOL STORE - FRIDAY, Nov. 16^h - This year students will only shop with tickets earned based on their Reading and Math Incentive sheets!  Any student who turns in any sheets prior to Nov. 16^th will have tickets to shop with at the first school store.   

SCIENCE – Last week we created a classroom stream table to examine the destruction water can cause on the land.  This week we will be viewing various time lapsed photos looking at the changes in the earth’s surface.  The students will then have to write a C-E-R (Claim / Evidence / Reason) supporting their statement.

SOCIAL STUDIES – We have begun our project on the EAST.  This project demonstrates our knowledge of the concepts of climate, economy, natural resources and physical features of this region. This project will be completed in school, unless the students need some extended time to write their paragraphs.  This project needs to be completed before the Trimester ends.  

MATH – We are wrapping up Chapter 3 this week.   Our focus for early in the week will be to apply their knowledge of double-digit multiplication and long division to solve real world problems.  Students will be bringing home a study guide to review the concepts.  I believe the test will be on Friday of this week.  Students needing more time will complete the test on Monday

READING - We continue to use our INNER CONVERSATION and merge this with our thinking while reading nonfiction texts. We will focus on the difference between visual and text features.  This week I will model my thinking during whole group mini-lessons helping the students to key in to times when they are learning new information while reading.  We will also review the importance of being accurate with the information that they learn. Our hope in modeling these lessons is that the students will carry this over into their independent reading.  

WRITING – Although we are working on INFORMATIONAL jobs throughout some reading responses and our Social Studies Project, we are taking a step back to review our OPINION writing.  We will be taking a look at our early writing this year (Student Council) and review the strong opinion language used when writing an opinion piece.  I ask that students start thinking about something they have a strong opinion about as next week they will be completing their TRIMESTER ONE writing assessment.  The students will have 90 – 120 minutes to complete an opinion writing piece of choice. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions / concerns regarding our classroom.

Week of Nov. 5th

Just a few reminders:

Tuesday, November 6^th - This is NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 6^th for students. We are holding our parent conferences that day. For those attending, please remember that I am holding student / parent conferences so you need to bring your child with you to the conference. Each conference is scheduled to be 40 minutes. I have emailed each family with a reminder of their time. Looking forward to our upcoming meetings.

Monday, November 12^th – NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day
Thanksgiving Vacation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 21^st – Friday November 23^rd. There will be NO SCHOOL. 

Student Council collections: The 4^th grade Student Council is holding a supply drive for those in need. All donations will go to St. Anne’s to distribute to local families. Our class has been asked to donate SHAMPOO and $1.00! Let’s all do our part! 

SCHOOL STORE - FRIDAY, Nov. 16^h - This year students will only shop with tickets earned based on their Reading and Math Incentive sheets!  Any student who turns in any sheets prior to Nov. 9^th will have tickets to shop with at the first school store.   Thanks to the 6 students who volunteered to work at the school store. Those who volunteered will work THIS FRIDAY – Nov. 9^th.  The need to be at the school by 8:15 to assist with set up. They should first come to the classroom to pass in homework and unpack.

SCIENCE - I hope many of you enjoyed the WIND / WATER erosion photos from last week’s science experiment. This week we will focus on the DEPOSITION aspect of erosion.   We will set up a classroom stream table and watch the effects of water on soil.

SOCIAL STUDIES - We are wrapping up our learning of the EAST region. This week focuses on the immigrant experience through Ellis Island in the early 1900s. We will then be starting a project that demonstrates our knowledge of the concepts of climate, economy, natural resources and physical features of this region. This project will be completed in school. 

MATH - We are currently in the middle of Chapter 3. As you can see by last week’s homework, our focus has been on double digit multiplication. At the end of last week and this week, we have a focus on LONG DIVISION. We will then move on to applying these skills in word problems. 

READING - Last week our whole group focus was on MONITORING our comprehension by having inner conversations and taking the time to “stop and jot” those conversations down on post-it notes. This is a skill that is essential in building our reading knowledge. It is my hope that the students carry this skill over in their small guided reading groups as well as their independent reading.

WRITING - Our focus is on INFORMATIONAL writing with a connection / tie-in to social studies. Student will be focusing on the strong language of informational writing and the importance of good planning using a pillar. It is great when we can integrate our subject matter.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions / concerns regarding our classroom.