Updates / Save the Date!

Just a few important reminders / updates:

1.  Tuesday - April 7th is a 1/2 day of school. Dismissal is at 12:15.

2.  The students WILL have gym!  We usually miss gym on half days, yet Ms. Pacheco has worked it out for us to have our class at 9:15 in the AM.  Please make sure they are wearing their sneakers as they will take part in the PACER.  Also... a healthy breakfast may help!

3.  Field trip slips and money ($9.00) are due by Friday, April 10th.  I am in need of chaperones.  As of today, I only have 1 parent volunteer for this trip on May 28th to Lowell!

4.  SAVE THE DATE!  I know several parents have asked - The Fourth Grade Completion Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 16th in the morning.  More information to come after April vacation. 

5.  Please sign and return all report card envelopes at your earliest convenience.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions / concerns.

PARCC / Class Update

It is that time of year when the clocks change and warmer weather approaches!  It also means in fourth grade, there is a lot going on in the classroom and school that you should be aware of:

First round of PARCC testing:
PARCC testing – ELA dates:

Wednesday, March 25

Thursday, March 26

Friday, March 27.

Math testing are:

Wednesday, April 1

Thursday, April 2

We participated in a times MATH PARCC Mock test on Wednesday March 11^th and will have a MOCK ELA PARCC with the students on Wednesday, March 18^th.  Please see the letter send home with more information about PARCC.

Science: We are wrapping up our simple machine unit.  Students will take their test on Friday, March 20^th.  Please see their study guide and refer to sites on the class blog to help review study. 

Social Studies:   I was thrilled with the states and capitals test on the MidWest.  The students will soon be moving to various classrooms to explore the physical features, climate, natural resources and the economy of the Midwest.  Each region we move to the students expand their knowledge of each of these categories and compare what they have learned with what they are learning about the region.  Take some time to view the EDUPLACE interactive map site with your child and discuss what they are learning about.!

Math: We are midway through unit 8, Adding and Subtracting Decimals.  We move on to the final lesson of the week where the students need to apply their knowledge of decimals to solve real-world problems. It is our hope to wrap up this unit next Tuesday, March 24^th. 

Reading / Writing: The students recently completed their Trimester 2 writing pieces where they had to write an informational piece about a topic of choices.  I was so proud of their effort and stamina working for 1 ½ to 2 hours!  These will be coming home soon.  Please check them over with your child and return them.  Must of the focus has been on connecting the writing to reading via practice PARCC samples.  The children have worked to learn the format of the test, yet have realized that all we have been working on this year has helped prepare them for this assessment.

Spring Fling – Thanks to those who have sent in either their $5.00 or camping items!  All items or money are due by March 23^rd.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Thank you for your continued support!

Valentines.... Food Drive.... Tissues! Oh My!

                               

                VALENTINE’S DAY

We will be enjoying our Valentine’s celebration on Friday, February 13th.   If your child chooses to do so, they may bring in Valentines for the entire homeroom.   We do ask that no one is excluded from the list.   Please do not send in any Valentines with candy.   The students may also bring in an extra “special snack” that they can enjoy while we pass out our Valentines.

They may address each Valentine if they choose, yet, the may also just sign each one and distribute without personalizing.    The letter that came home had the names of all the students in the class.  Please refer to this if your child would like to address the Valentines personally.

 CANNED BOXED FOOD DRIVE

Thanks to those families whom have already contributed to our annual food drive for the Worcester County Food Bank.  We are close to our first classroom goal of reaching our goal of 100 food items.  In order to reach our school record of over 1 TON of food donated, we realize we will need to bring in more than 100 items.  Let's see how we do!  So far, we've held some great discussion regarding sales, shopping and estimating.  Thanks in advance for your contributions!   The food drive ends on Thursday, February 11th!                  
                                           TISSUES

My last call for tissues was minimally successful.  We received about 5 boxes and we have already used 3 of those boxes (colds....bloody noses!)  If you are able to send in a box in the near future, we would greatly appreciate it!

As always, thank you for your continued support!

1/2 Day Tomorrow & Tissues!

Just a reminder that tomorrow - Tuesday, January 13th is a 1/2 day.  Dismissal will begin at 12:15.  Lunches will not be served, yet students should bring their snack. 

Don't forget that tomorrow is our health test!

 

TISSUES NEEDED!

Lastly, many of you asked for me to let you know when we needed more tissues as you held off sending them in at the beginning of the year.  The time is now!  At this point, we have only two boxes left to get us through this cold / flu season.  If you are able to send any tissues in with your child during the next few weeks to help up with our deplete supply, we would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for your continued support!

Miss Finneran

GINGERBREAD SHOP - Dec. 2nd

For those families that are interested, our class will be shopping at the Gingerbread Shop Tuesday, December 2nd at 9:00 AM!   Envelopes were send home last Monday.  

For those children who are parent drop off, please make every effort to have your child here by 8:45  (tomorrow and everyday!) so they can pass in homework, write in their planner and be ready to shop at 9:00. 

~ 
Miss Finneran

End of Trimester Events / Deadlines / Update

It is hard to believe that our first trimester is coming to a close.  We are finishing up many of our curriculum units as we speak!    There are many deadlines and event coming up in the near future that I want to relay them to you.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

KidStuff Fundraiser - The KidStuff fundraiser is due!  The PTO requests that you either purchase the book for $25.00 or return it to school if you are not interested.

Thanksgiving Basket Donations – Our class has been asked to donate either a bag of flour or a bag of sugar as well as $1.00.  These donations, along with the remainder of the schools, will be brought to St. Anne’s Food Pantry for local families on Wednesday, Nov. 19^th.   The money brought in will go towards the purchase of turkey vouchers.  

Square One Art –  All online and paper orders should be received no later than November 20th. You can order online by visiting square1art.com/shop and using your child's art access code found on the form!

Chorus Concert – Wednesday, November 19^th is the fourth grade chorus concert.  Ms. Fallis has requested that the students arrive (dressed in their fall colors) at 6:40.  The concert begins at 7:00.  Please remember that there is a 3 person limit.

Recorder slip & money – a notice went home from Ms. Fallis requesting that the students purchase a record for $6.00.  IF your family owns a recorder already, please sent it to school as soon as possible so Ms. Fallis can check it out and make sure it is what the students need.  The $6.00 or recorder approval needs to be done by Friday, November 21^st. 

Science:   A study guide reviewing the experiments we have been working on, as well as information regarding the three types of rocks was sent home today.  We will take our test on FRIDAY – November 21^st.      The students MAY use their science notebook during the test.  They will bring their notebooks home this week to review yet the study guide has all the necessary information.  IF your child takes their science notebook home to review, please make sure they have it in school on Friday!  The students may also visit many of the web sites posted on the blog to help them review for the test.

Social Studies:  This week, we will begin a project regarding the information we learned when studying the EAST.   The children will be expected to describe the location, climate, physical features, natural resources, and the economy of the East Region.   This project will be used as our final assessment.  We will then be moving onto a mini-unit about citizenship and then focus on learning about the SOUTH

Math:   We continue to focus on Unit 3 – Whole Number Multiplication and Division.    As you well know, the steps of learning how to multiply 3-digits by 2- digits and how to divide 4-digits by 1-digit takes practice and perseverance!    Already, I have noted growth and improvement in working through these concepts.   We will also be spending time  on using bar models to solve word problems.  The assessment for Unit 3 will happen after the Thanksgiving break. 

Writing – We have been spending their trimester working on opinion (student council / TFK writing pieces), informational (three types of rocks / TFK’s) as well as narrative stories.  While focusing on the narrative writing, we have been working on writing exciting openings and descriptive settings.  Next Monday and Tuesday, the students will completing a narrative writing assessment.  The students will be given a writing prompt and they will have to complete the planning and writing of the story on the first day.  On the second day, they will be expected to revise and complete a final draft.

Reading – The students have been working in guided reading groups researching an immigrant group.   They will be working cooperatively to create a presentation in which they share the cultural influences of their group as well as other interesting facts they learned about how and why this immigrant group came to the United States. 

NO SCHOOL – WEDNESDAY November 26^th – Friday November 28^th  

Again, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have ANY questions / concerns.

Kelly Finneran

Parent Conference Day!

NO SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN TUESDAY NOVEMBER 4th!

Most parent conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, which is a “No School” day for students. Childcare will be available in the cafeteria for school-aged children, for the duration of your conference(s) from 8:30am and 3:30pm. I am looking forward to sharing your child’s progress with you as well as well as continuing to foster a partnership with home/school to support your child’s academic, emotional, and social growth.  

Many parents will be setting up a second student / parent / teacher conference which will take place in the upcoming month.  As I shared at curriculum night, I feel it is most beneficial if  we hold this conference with your child so we can discuss strengths, weaknesses and individual goals.  

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow!