Book Projects, WW Assessment

Learning about Civil War discipline and tactics

Dear FAmilies,

Only a few days until Spring Break! We know that many of you will be observing religious holidays, traveling, and visiting with family. We wish you a peaceful and relaxing break and look forward to seeing you in April.

Book Projects: Students should be reading their historical fiction novels so they can complete both book projects. Remember, both projects are due Friday, April 26. Can’t find the directions? Just email your child’s homeroom teacher and we can help.

Wordly Wise: Our final assessment from the current book will be tomorrow.

In history, students observed artifacts from the Civil War.
These artifacts help tell the story of the conflict.

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

3/29 – Early Dismissal, 11:55 a.m.
4/1 – 4/5 – Spring Break
4/19 – Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday
4/24 – Class Pictures
4/26 – Book Projects Due
4/26 – Battlefield Tour and Field Trip (more information to follow)
5/3 – Grandparents and Special Friends Day
5/9 – Fourth Grade on Wheels Day (weather dependent)
5/27 – Memorial Day Holiday
5/31 – Last Day of School (early release)

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

Bread Baking

Hello, dear FAmilies,

Today, students made some delicious bread. Mrs. McCully, a character in our latest novel, spends a good portion of the Battle of Gettysburg baking bread, so it was a perfect tie-in with our novel. We are also learning about fractions in math, and what better way to practice? Students were excited to see the yeast in action, and cannot wait to show you their newfound skill. I promised I would send a link to the recipe, so here it is.

Note: In order to make it more fraction-friendly, I reduced the recipe by 1/3. It made 12 small dinner rolls that we baked in muffin tins, or it made one small loaf of bread. Ours was rustic, but it can also be made in a loaf pan. The recipe is very forgiving, so if it is a rainy weekend, give it a try. We’d love to see pictures of your creations!

Bread in a Bag

One more photo of the students’ amazing work!

Enjoy your weekend,
Michelle

Book Projects, Calendar Updates

Dear FAmilies,

We enjoyed meeting with you during our parent conferences. Thanks for being amazing partners in your child’s education; we appreciate all that you do!

Book Projects: The final book projects of the year are due Friday, April 26. Students will choose an historic fiction novel at the library (or choose one from home), read the novel, and complete two projects based on their reading. The students chose their projects today; project directions and rubrics are located in their file folders. Students may choose to turn projects in early, but they are both due no later than Friday, April 26.

Library Apps: Speaking of reading, did you know that you can register your child (or yourself) for a Libby account through our local public library? Your child will be able to download books onto a kindle, phone, or tablet…all with parental controls! Seems like a great thing to have in case you are headed on a road trip this spring break. Here is a link that can help you get started: Library fun!

Wordly Wise: Big news! Students will take the Lesson 20 assessment next Thursday, March 28. This completes the book, which is cause for celebration…students have added 300 amazing new words to their vocabularies. Following spring break, we will begin the next book in the series.

History: As our study of the Civil War continues, students are immersing themselves into the daily life of a Civil War soldier. They understand why Napoleonic battle tactics were employed and the benefits of having the high ground. Our culminating project will be a battlefield tour.

This week, students observed and compared different types of soil 
as seen under a microscope. 

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

3/23 – All Ball
3/29 – Early Dismissal, 11:55 a.m.
4/1 – 4/5 – Spring Break
4/19 – Teacher Work Day/Student Holiday
4/26 – Book Projects Due
4/26 – Battlefield Tour and Field Trip (more information to follow)
5/3 – Grandparents and Special Friends Day
5/9 – Fourth Grade on Wheels Day (weather dependent)
5/27 – Memorial Day Holiday
5/31 – Last Day of School (early release)

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

Conferences, Book Orders

The mighty, mighty Falcons!

 

Dear FAmilies,

Conference time is here! Look below to sign up or to double-check your scheduled meeting time. Remember, Friday is a student holiday. Falcon club is available while you are in your conference, or if you need all-day care, contact Falcon Club directly. We look forward to meeting with you to talk about your child’s progress in fourth grade.

Mr. Evans’s Homeroom

Mrs. Midkiff’s Homeroom

Scholastic Book Orders: If you would like to order from Scholastic Books, please place your online order no later than Thursday, March 14. Go to Scholastic Books and enter our class code, RRJWG. There is a great $5 and under section!

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

3/14 – Wordly Wise Assessment, Lesson 19
3/15 – Lower School conferences
3/23 – All Ball
3/29 – Early Dismissal, 11:55 a.m.
4/1 – 4/5 – Spring Break

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

Conference sign-up, Convention Pics

“When the playground gives you mud, make mud pies.”
-Every fourth grader

Dear FAmilies,

Thank you to all who were able to attend the Invention Convention. The students did an amazing job and thoroughly enjoyed presenting to the FA community (complaints about dry throats and sore feet aside!). We are continually impressed by the imagination, determination, and poise of our fourth graders. It is an honor to work with them every day.

Conferences: Conferences will be held on Friday, March 15. This will be a student holiday; Falcon Club is available free of charge during your child/children’s scheduled conferences. For full-day care, please contact Falcon Club directly.

Mr. Evans’s Homeroom

Mrs. Midkiff’s Homeroom

Invention Convention Photos

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

3/15 – Lower School conferences
3/23 – All Ball
4/1 – 4/5 – Spring Break

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

Invention Reminder

Good afternoon, Families,

I hope you have enjoyed your week. As a reminder, inventions, photos, and writer’s journals/logs are due tomorrow. We will complete all project boards and begin practicing our presentations. We hope to see you Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Middle School MPR for this year’s Invention Convention.

Thank you,

Michelle

Conference Sign-ups, Guest Speaker, and More!

Students are working diligently to locate all 50 states on a map in under 2 minutes.

Dear FAmilies,

It’s hard to imagine that winter break is almost here! In the classroom, students are busy creating and running the three branches of a classroom government, completing our latest novel, Freedom Train, and putting the final touches on our Invention Convention trifold boards. In phonics, students are learning many new Latin roots, and we are nearly finished our Wordly Wise book. It has been a busy winter! Just a few last-minute reminders for the upcoming weeks:

Yearbooks: If you would like to order a yearbook, this is the last week to do so. You may place your order online at this site.

Guest Speaker: Yesterday in science we had a guest speaker, Byron Glaser, who spoke with fourth grade about entrepreneurship. Mr. Glaser’s company, Higashi-Glaser Design, designed FA’s beautiful falcon logo and the amazing ZoLO building toy. He generously gifted each child a set of books the he designed. We are grateful that he was able to share his expertise with us!

Invention Convention Update: Inventions are due on the Monday we return from winter break, March 4. Please be sure that all photographs and journals are sent in, as they will be added to project boards. We will spend Monday and Tuesday working on our speeches for the Convention, which will take place on Wednesday, March 6, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Middle School Multi-Purpose Room (MS MPR). We hope that you are able to join us for this amazing event.

Parent Teacher Conferences: We look forward to seeing you at parent/teacher conferences this spring. Friday, March 15 will be a student holiday and a day to make an appointment to meet with your child’s homeroom teacher. Please sign up below.

Mr. Evans’s Homeroom

Mrs. Midkiff’s Homeroom

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:

2/26 – 3/1 – Winter Break
3/4 – Completed inventions due to FA
3/6 – Invention Convention, MS MPR, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
3/15 – Lower School conferences

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

Invention Update, Quilter Needed

Students created posters promoting our kindness challenge to hang around campus.

Dear FAmilies,

When I read that this would be a particularly wet winter, I envisioned lots of fluffy, white snow and snowman building with the students. The beginning of this week is not the weather I had in mind! We are so glad to see the sun now, and we are grateful to be able to enjoy all of FA’s beautiful outdoor spaces.

Valentine’s Day: A big thank you to all of the parents who donated to and participated in our Valentine’s Day craft and snack. Fun was had by all!

Invention Convention: Students are busily working on project boards for Invention Convention. You may send in decorations if you’d like. Remember, projects are due the Monday after winter break. If you have any concerns about the project or tri-fold boards, please email Mrs. Midkiff.

Quilter Needed: If you are able (and willing) to help with a class quilting project, please contact Mrs. Midkiff. Many thanks for your consideration.

Wordly Wise: Our Lesson 18 Wordly Wise test will be next Tuesday.

Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember:
2/19 – Student Holiday/Teacher Work Day
2/26 – 3/1 – Winter Break
3/4 – Completed inventions due to FA
3/6 – Invention Convention, MS MPR, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
3/15 – Lower School conferences – sign up sheet available in next week’s newsletter

Your fourth grade team,
Michelle and Bill

 

Invention Convention Tri-fold Boards

Good evening, FAmilies,

Just a quick reminder before tonight’s big game that trifold boards are due this week. We will work on them in class beginning this Tuesday, February 13.

FAQ’s:

  • Does the board need to be completed by Tuesday? No! We will work on it in class.
  • Can I send in special supplies?  Yes, students can bring in any supplies they would like, but I will have construction paper, sharpies, and a hot glue gun available at school. Bring on the glitter glue and puffballs!
  • What should we be working on at home? Your child should be working on his or her invention and writing 3 inventor’s logs/journals (not 5, as stated in the paperwork). You should snap a few photos for their presentation board.
  • Inventor’s Journal? Yes, your child will write 3 journal entries about their invention process. There are some suggestions to get them going in the packet of information. These may be typed or written in a small journal instead of the pages attached to the packet.
  • Do I have to print the pictures? You can print the photos at home or the printer of your choice (Walgreens, Shutterfly, etc.). Printer broken? No time to head to Walgreens? You may send the photos to Mrs. Midkiff electronically and she will print them out on regular printer paper.

Here is an example board that I will share with the students tomorrow. It was created using 2 pieces of scrapbooking paper and 7 (maybe 8?) pieces of construction paper. Students will include the name of their invention, a copy of their patent, a detailed sketch of their invention, photographs, and their inventor’s log.

Hope this helps with any questions you may have, and I look forward to seeing the kids tomorrow!

Michelle