December 17- December 21

Hello Parents!!

**Please remember that our 1st Annual Popcorn and Poetry Program is this Wednesday and we hope you all, parents, can attend.  Students will perform their holiday poem they memorized this Wednesday, December 19th from 8:15-9:15.  It will be a very informal time just to be together and celebrate the season!  If you cannot attend I will be there to celebrate and watch your child.  The children will be acting out winter poetry and are encouraged to dress up/bring props to "show" their poem.  We have our dress rehearsal and performance for our book buddies tomorrow morning. 

**We will have our Christmas party this Thursday, December 20th.  Thanks so much to Tonia, our room mom, and Mrs. Scarcliff who has planned some fun activities for the kiddos to enjoy. 

**We will also have a book swap during our Christmas party on Thursday.  The kids need to bring one book that is no more than $5.00 or a gently used book from home.  2nd and Charles is a great place to find a cheaper gently used book. 

**We will have our Annual Polar Express/Pajama Day on Friday, December 21st.  I will bring hot chocolate with marshmallows, peppermints, and popcorn to share with the class.  We will enjoy being with our book buddies, watch the movie, clean up before the break, and celebrate all we have done our first semester of 4th grade.  

**If you will be leaving to go out of town before school actually lets out, please let me know.  I have a  small gift I would like to give your child, and they have a gift they are preparing for you.  I want to be sure this is put under the tree for Christmas morning fun! Unless I hear from you, I will assume your child will be here through Friday, December 21st. 

Other Reminders:         

•  Please continue working with your child on multiplication facts and the need to understand and know these fluently in order to help them with larger division facts.  
• Graded papers will go home on Tuesday, December 18.  I am sending them home earlier in the week in order for you all to look over them and return the papers before the kids leave for Christmas break.  Please take time to review these WITH your child. For questions that are missed, please have your child go back and rethink/rework to find the correct answer and write all corrections directly on the paper with a pen. If I have already corrected the item, please have a discussion with your child about what he/she missed.  Please RETURN the graded papers by Thursday, December 19. 
• School will be closed December 24-January 4th.  Students first day back from the break will be January 7th.
• If you are interested in sharing at the 4th grade career fair on February 15th, you may contact Leah Fenton (SSC counselor).  The invitation is also extending to businesses and professional leaders to meet with students to share information on various occupations. 

In the Classroom: 

Math: We are continuing to practice multiplication and division with larger numbers (2 and 3 digit numbers).  We are continuing to practice different strategies on adding and subtracting 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers.  We are going to continue to study in Unit 4 of Investigations.  We continue to learn about perimeter, polygons, and tessellations.  We will be learning about symmetry and area this week.  

***If your child needs more practice with math strategies please go to the link below.

http://tconstantine.wikispaces.com/Math+Casts 

Please watch the video and then practice with more problems.  You may also use the thin Math Investigations textbook to help your child.

Reading/Writing: We are continuing to read The Tale of Despereaux.  We will be working on summarizing, correct punctuation/capitalization/sentence structure; predicting; analyzing; and main ideas. 

Social Studies: We are continuing to learn about the events that led up to the American Revolution. 

Please email me if you have any questions.

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

December 10- December 14

Hello Parents!!

It is a wonderful time of year!!  

**We want to invite YOU, parents, to our 1st Annual Popcorn and Poetry Program.  Students selected holiday poems that they are working on memorizing and performing.  The program will be on Wednesday, December 19th from 8:15-9:15.  It will be a very informal time just to be together and celebrate the season!  If you cannot attend I will be there to celebrate and watch your child.  The children will be acting out winter poetry and are encouraged to dress up/bring props to "show" their poem.  Poems need to be memorized by December 17th for our dress rehearsal and performance for our book buddies.  

**We will have our Holiday party on Thursday, December 20th.  More information will be sent out soon regarding the time and items that we might need.  I am working with our room mom, Tonia, and will let soon.  

**We will have our Annual Polar Express/Pajama Day on Friday, December 21st.  I will bring hot chocolate with marshmallows, peppermints, and popcorn to share with the class.  We will enjoy being with our book buddies, watch the movie, clean up before the break, and celebrate all we have done our first semester of 4th grade.  

**If you will be leaving to go out of town before school actually lets out, please let me know.  I have a  small gift I would like to give your child, and they have a gift they are preparing for you.  I want to be sure this is put under the tree for Christmas morning fun! Unless I hear from you, I will assume your child will be here through Friday, December 21st. 

**Congratulations to Deason for winning our class Spelling Bee!!  Our runner up was Brooks.  Congrats!!  I was so proud of everyone participating!!  

Other Reminders:         

•  Please continue working with your child on multiplication facts and the need to understand and know these fluently in order to help them with larger division facts.  
• Graded papers will go home today.  Please take time to review these WITH your child. For questions that are missed, please have your child go back and rethink/rework to find the correct answer and write all corrections directly on the paper with a pen. If I have already corrected the item, please have a discussion with your child about what he/she missed.  Please RETURN them by Wednesday, December 12. 
• Box Tops are due Wednesday, December 14.  Please send in your Box Tops to help our school earn money.  Thanks for sending them in! 
• School will be closed December 24-January 4th.  Students first day back from the break will be January 7th.
• December 14th, SSC will get a visit from Santa.  There will be kid-friendly Christmas movies playing in the cafeteria as you enjoy your cookies and chocolate milk.  Donation station will be set up if you would like to bring any canned goods or non-perishable food items as they will be donated to a local food pantry.  There is no limit to how many people can attend. 
• If you are interested in sharing at the 4th grade career fair on February 15th, you may contact Leah Fenton (SSC counselor).  The invitation is also extending to businesses and professional leaders to meet with students to share information on various occupations. 

In the Classroom: 

Math: We are continuing to practice multiplication and division with larger numbers (2 and 3 digit numbers).  We are continuing to practice different strategies on adding and subtracting 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers.  We have been studying in Unit 4 of Investigations how to use the standard vs. metric system of measurement.  We discussed standard and nonstandard measurement tools.  We will learn more about perimeter, polygons, and tessellations this week.  We are continuing to work on Minute Math during morning work.  We will have a Minute Math Quiz every Friday with problems similar to what we have studied.  Minute Math is a great review of 4th grade math practice.    

***If your child needs more practice with math strategies please go to the link below.

http://tconstantine.wikispaces.com/Math+Casts 

Please watch the video and then practice with more problems.  You may also use the thin Math Investigations textbook to help your child.

Vocabulary/ Grammar: Students will have their vocabulary test on Friday.  All of the spelling city activities will also be due on Friday.     

Students started D.O.L. (daily oral language) this week and will have a quiz every Friday on what we learned Monday- Thursday during morning work.  I have stressed to the students it is important they review their D.O.L. every night so they will be prepared for the test and they will not have to cram the night before. 
 

Reading/Writing: We are continuing to read The Tale of Despereaux.  We will be working on summarizing, correct punctuation/capitalization/sentence structure; predicting; analyzing; and main ideas. 

Social Studies: Students will have their open book quiz on Jamestown, Plymouth, and Roanoke on Tuesday.  We will be finishing discussing chapter 8 and 9 and begin learning about the events that led up to the American Revolution. 

Please email me if you have any questions.

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

November 26- 30

Happy Wednesday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I really enjoyed my trip in New York over Thanksgiving!   One of my favorite things was getting to FaceTime with your sweet kids before they got out of school on Friday while I was at the 9/11 memorial.  I was excited to see them on Monday morning!!

 

*We want to welcome our newest student Miguel, who joined us right before we left for Thanksgiving.  We are so excited to have Miguel as a part of our class! 

Math: We are continuing to review and practice multiplication strategies as well as division stratigies.  We started Unit 4 on measurement.  We have been busy measuring and comparing things in the classroom.  We will be estimating and measuring lengths in U.S. standard and metric units as well as reviewing perimeter.  We started Minute Math this week which is part of our morning work.  We will have a Minute Math Quiz every Friday with problems we have done the previous week.  Minute Math is a great review of 4th grade math practice.  We will have our end of the Unit 3 test on Friday.  This will include a variety of multiplication problems from Unit 3 (which is still in their binder).     

If your child needs more practice with math strategies please go to the link below.

http://tconstantine.wikispaces.com/Math+Casts 

Please watch the video and then practice with more problems.  You may also use the thin Math Investigations textbook to help your child.

 

Vocabulary/ Grammar: Students will have their vocabulary test on Friday.  All of the spelling city activities will also be due on Friday.     

We started our study on adverbs this week.  Students will be tested Friday on adverbs.  Students started D.O.L. (daily oral language) this week and will have a quiz every Friday on what we learned Monday- Thursday during morning work.  I have stressed to the students it is important they review their D.O.L. every night so they will be prepared for the test and they will not have to cram the night before.J  
 

Reading: This week we started reading The Tale of Despereaux.  We have been discussing the different story elements, character traits, and specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).        

Social Studies: This week we are studying the original 13 Colonies.  We have been learning about Jamestown, Plymouth, and Roanoke.  They will have a map quiz on Friday.  Students will be required to spell each colony correctly, as well as label it on the map.  I sent a link out on Edmodo for students to use to practice labeling the map.  There is also a list on Spelling City (13 Colonies) students can use to help them study.  

Other Reminders:         

•  Book orders for December will be due Wednesday, December 5, so we can get the orders in before Christmas break.  Thank you so much for your orders so far!!  They have helped us add many more books to our library that the students are enjoying reading.  Thanks for the book donations also!!  Please remember that you may order online, fast and easy, by clicking on the highlighted link:  Scholastic Book Clubs.  Please use our class code, JT2TW, so we can earn free books. Thanks you so much!  I will send home a coupon for one free book worth up to $5 with your next order of $5 or more from Scholastic. 
• Box Tops are due Wednesday, December 14.  Please send in your Box Tops to help our school earn money.  Thanks for sending them in! J

Things we are running low on if you could please send in we would greatly appreciate your donation!
1. colored cardstock
2. colored paper (8 1/2 by 11)

 

Please email me if you have any questions.

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

Mrs. Wilkes

November 12- November 16

This week in 4th grade:

*First of all I would like to THANK the TERRIFIC chaperones that went on the field trip to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center!!  We could not have made it such a successful and fun learning field trip without your help!!  I also want to THANK our WONDERFUL room mom, Tonia, for bringing our kids all the snacks and water for our trip.  The snacks were great and helped fill their tummies.  I have been so blessed this year with all the volunteers and wonderful help this year!!  You all are truly AMAZING and I am so grateful!! 

*Your children did a FANTASTIC job at the Veteran's Day Program tonight!!  My husband and I really enjoyed the musical and I was so proud to show him my kiddos!!  They are such a blessing!!  

*We want to welcome our newest student Myrical, who will join us first thing tomorrow morning.  We are so excited to have Myrical as a part of our class! 

Math: We will finish Unit 3 of Investigations this week.  We will have our weekly math computation quiz on Friday with review problems as well as some of the division type problems we have been learning how to solve.  Also please review over multiplication clusters- including doubling and halving with your children.  Please use the thin Math Investigations textbook to help your child with math stratgies if needed.  I constantly remind the children to check back over their work because they continue to make careless mistakes.  Please continue to encourage them at home to be more careful with their work at school. 

Vocabulary: We do not have vocabulary this week since it is shorter and right before the holidays.  Happy Thanksgiving!!  

Reading: We are continuing our study in Making Meaning on exploring narrative texts focusing on describing in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions) and questioning.  We started "The Twits" by Roald Dahl today and we hope to finish on Friday.  We will start a new read aloud when we come back from the Thanksgiving break.   

Last week we finished our read aloud, "City of Ember" and made comparisons between the movie and text after watching the movie.  They continue to believe, along with Mrs. Wilkes, that the book is always better than the movie! Students need to continue to be tracking their reading online through www.reading-rewards.com.  Students need to enter their data on their own at home. If this is a problem, please just send me a note and students can enter the data here at school.   

Writing: We started our study on adjectives this week.  Students will be tested Friday on adjectives.  We will work on creating various Thanksgiving writing pieces as well as memory and tradition writing pieces.  

Social Studies: This week in Social Studies we will begin our study on the 13 Colonies.  We will study about Jamestown, Plymouth, and Roanoke.  They finished their Explorer presentations and did a great job teaching others about their Explorer.    

Other Reminders:

•             Feast items are due Friday, November 16.  Please let me know, by email, tomorrow if you are unable to participate so I can make arrangements in advance by Thursday morning.    
•             Graded papers came home today.  I apologize, but there is a math homework and math review sheet that did not make it in the pack of papers.  These will be sent with the next graded papers.  I have gone over some of the problems with the students whole class.  Please take time to review these WITH your child. For questions that are missed, please have your child go back and rethink/rework to find the correct answer and write all corrections directly on the paper with a pen. If I have already corrected the item, please have a discussion with your child about what he/she missed.  Please RETURN them by THURSDAY, November 15. 
•             Progress reports will go home tomorrow.  Please sign these and RETURN them by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16.  
•             Just a reminder, with Progress reports, their Science grade has not been changed from the report cards.  The students will now have a Social Studies grade since we started this 9 weeks and will continue until the 3rd nine weeks.  We began with Explorers and moving onto 13 colonies.  After the 13 Colonies we will continue into the American Revolution and Westward Expansion.  The last nine weeks we will continue with our science curriculum. 
•              E-Learning Day assignments (Math, Reading/Language Arts, and a Quiz) are due by Monday, November 19. This is due to starting the school year at a later date.   
•             Remember there is NO school from Monday, November 19 thru Friday, November 23.  Happy Thanksgiving!! I will miss my kiddos!!      
•             Book orders for December will be due Thursday, December 6, so we can get the orders in before Christmas break.  Thank you so much for your orders so far!!  They have helped us add many more books to our library that the students are enjoying reading.  Thanks for the book donations also!!  Please remember that you may order online, fast and easy, by clicking on the highlighted link:  Scholastic Book Clubs.  Please use our class code, JT2TW, so we can earn free books. Thanks you so much!

Please email me if you have any questions.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and enjoy spending time with family!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

October 29- November 2

October 29-November 2

This week in 4th grade:

Math: We are continuing to work in Unit 3 of Investigations.  We have been working on building multiple towers and division stories.  The students have done a great job working through multiplication and division problems including problems with remainders.   We will have our weekly math computation quiz on Friday with review problems as well as some of the division type problems we have been learning how to solve.  Please use the thin Math Investigations textbook to help your child with math stratgies if needed.

Vocabulary: This week is a Vocabulary week. Students have their assignments on Spelling City that they will need to have completed by Friday.  They only thing they will turn in on Friday for vocabulary this week is their vocabulary cards they made.  The Vocabulary test will take place on Friday. Students will be expected to know the meaning of each word and/or apply the word in a given context/sentence. There will be NO word box for this test and students will be expected to the spell the vocabulary words correctly. Words and definitions can be found behind the Spelling/Vocab tab in the BEE Binder and online at www.spellingcity.com.  

Reading: We are continuing our study on exploring narrative texts focusing on character, plot, setting, and character conflict. We will finish our read-aloud, "City of Ember" hopefully by Friday.  We have gone over in detail the different chapters of the "City of Ember" in class.  Students will be tested again on Friday for reading comprehension on what we have read.  Students need to be tracking their reading online through www.reading-rewards.com.  Students need to enter their data on their own at home. If this is a problem, please just send me a note and students can enter the data here at school.  I have given the children time to become familiar with the reading rewards.  I will be sending an email to you soon with prize ideas your child may pick from when he/she has reached their reading goal. 

Writing: We started our study on adverbs this week and we are finishing up our Veteran’s Day writing pieces.  We are trying to get these ready before our musical on November 13 at 6:30 during the PTO meeting.  Students will be tested on Friday on adverbs and verbs as a review. 

Social Studies: This week in Social Studies we have been learning more about Explorers.  Today the students took their Explorers quiz.  They are working on their Explorer projects, researching about their specific explorer and will present next week.    

Other Reminders:

• Graded papers will come home on Thursday. Please look through these papers with your children correcting their mistakes and RETURN them by MONDAY.
• This Saturday is E-Learning Day.  The kids have been practicing working on Edmodo and will have an assignment on their Edmodo account starting Saturday, November 3.  They will need to complete these assignments (Math, Reading/Language Arts, and a Quiz) by Monday, November 19. This is due to starting the school year at a later date.   
• Our field trip to the Space and Rocket Center is next week, Wednesday, November 7th.  PLEASE make sure your child is here at 6:30 a.m. ready to load the bus.  Buses will be leaving SSC at 6:45 a.m., so it is critical that all arrive to SSC on time.  Remember that lunch is provided (pizza, cookie, and soda).
• Friday, November 2th is the last day you can turn in your forms for the Family Movie Night.  Family Movie night is Friday, November 9, Madagascar 3 will be showing here at school.     

Please email me if you have any questions.

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

October 15-19

This week in 4th grade:

Math: We are working through out next investigation in Unit 3. Monday was our first day looking at division. For many students, division is a new, scary, and challenging concept, but hopefully with lots of practice, students will gain the confidence needed to master this operation.  We will have our weekly math quiz on Friday with review problems as well as some of the division type problems we have been learning how to solve. 

How can you help at home? Although many of us learned how to divide in a more traditional sense (the long division algorithm), please avoid teaching your child this strategy at home. Students will eventually be exposed to partial quotients (a segway to long division); however, we are not teaching this strategy at the current time. The last thing I want to see happen is students getting confused and frustrated because they are taught one way to divide at home and one to way to divide at school. Remember, the Student Math Handbook (SMH) is your resource to how your child is learning Math in the classroom.  This textbook has been passed out to every student and they are allowed to keep it at home for more help. For help with the division strategies we will be using in class, please see SMH pages 50-52. 

Our goals this week include using and interpreting division notation, solving division problems by making groups of the divisor, and making sense of remainders in terms of the problem context.

Vocabulary: This week is a Vocabulary week. Students have been given daily assignments to complete for homework. The Vocabulary test will take place on Friday. Students will be expected to know the meaning of each word and/or apply the word in a given context/sentence. There will be NO word box for this test and students will be expected to the spell the vocabulary words correctly. Words and definitions can be found behind the Spelling/Vocab tab in the BEE Binder and online at www.spellingcity.com.  I have gotten our spelling city account set up so next Friday I will have the students take their test online at school.  They will also be able to complete spelling city activities online (which will be sent to me as soon as they submit them) and will not need to print them out. 

Reading: We are continuing our unit on allegory and theme, as well as our read-aloud, "City of Ember".  We have gone over in detail the different chapters of the "City of Ember" in class.  Students will be tested again on Friday for reading comprehension on what we have read.  Students need to be tracking their reading online through www.reading-rewards.com. I will allow the students to chose from the treasure chest if they reach their reading goal each month.  Students need to enter their data on their own at home. If this is a problem, please just send me a note and students can enter the data here at school.

Writing: Our verb study continues as does our Veteran’s Day writing piece. Please help your children by revising their Veteran's Day writing piece.  Students will be tested on Friday on helping, action, and linking verbs. 

Science: This week in Science we have built electrical circuits.  We have experimented with open and closed circuits as well as parallel and series circuits.  They enjoyed using test objects to identify conductors and insulators.  Please ask your children to teach you about these science terms.  We will finish our unit on electricity this week with an assessment on Friday.  Students need to STUDY the study guide (front and back) we have gone over in class.  

Other Reminders:

• Graded papers will come home this week. First nine weeks report cards will come home next Wednesday, October 24^th.
• Information about the November 7^th field trip to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center went home last week. Student cost is $40.50. Chaperone cost is $25.00. Chaperones must ride with us on the charter bus. If you prefer to make payments, the first non-refundable deposit payment of $16.00 is due no later than October 24^th. All money is due no later than October 31st. The best way to pay is online at www.myschoolfees.com 
• Our school is partnering with The Assistance League of Birmingham to collect books and distribute them to specific schools that do not have access to many books and distribute them to children who may not have access to books at home. If you would like for your child to participate, please have them bring in new or gently used books during the week of October 22 – 26^th. For more information, see the flyer that went home tonight in your child’s graded papers.
• Join us on Friday, October 19^th, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. for Bedtime Stories & More in the Media Center. Parents and grandparents can come and shop at the Book Fair while children enjoy juice, cookies, and stories. You never know who might show up to read stories? Kids are welcome to wear PJ's!
• The Scholastic All-Star Book Fair is next week, October 22 – 26 in the Library. Students will have the opportunity to shop for books all week. Accepted forms of payment include: cash, checks (made payable to our school), and the credit cards (Discover, Mastercard, Visa, and American Express) should you decide to come shopping as well!
• In preparation for the November 3^rd  E-Learning Day, students will be utilizing Edmodo, a secure place to connect and collaborate, share content and educational applications, and access homework, grades, class discussions and notifications. Stay tuned for more information!
• Mark your calendar for our next FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! Friday, November 9^th, we will be showing Madagascar 3.

Your children are such a joy!  Thank you for sharing them with me!

Mrs. Wilkes

October 8- October 12

This week in 4th grade:

Math: We are starting our next unit in Math, Multiple Towers and Division Stories. During the first part of this unit, students will develop strategies for multiplying that involve breaking apart numbers, reviewing multiplication combinations to 12 x 12, and multiplying multiples of 10. Again, automaticity with basic multiplication combinations is extremely important in this unit. Students will be assessed on knowing these facts, so keep practicing at home! Please use the Math Investigations textbook for more help if needed. 

Vocabulary: This week is a Spelling week. The long i sound is our focus for Spelling this week. All of our words follow the long i pattern with i, igh, y, ey, uy, or i-Consonant-e. Students have nightly assignments to complete for homework. Words can be found behind the Spelling/Vocab tab in the BEE Binder and online at www.spellingcity.com.  I will let you know when I have our class SpellingCity account set up.  It has just been purchased so now the students will be able to log in and complete homework after it has been set up correctly. 

Reading: We are continuing our study on allegory and theme.  Students are inferring theme from short allegorical texts.  Students are defending interpretations by using details from the text.  

Our City of Ember read-aloud is going great! This read-aloud just so happens to connect to our current Science unit on Magnetism and Electricity.

Finally, students are excited about tracking their reading online through www.reading-rewards.com . Students need to enter their minutes read each night on their own at home. If this is a problem, please just send me a note and students can enter the data here at school.

Writing: We are starting our study of verbs this week. It is important that students recognize verbs not only as words that show action, but also a state of being. Our focus will be on the three types of verbs: action, linking, and helping. We will also begin working on a Veteran’s Day writing piece that all 4^th graders participate in as part of the SSC Veteran’s Day Program. 

Science: Science continues this week with our study of electricity. Our goals this week include: building and comparing simple circuits, identifying the essential components of an electric circuit, demonstrating the flow of electricity, and identifying materials that are conductors and insulators.

Other Reminders:

• Graded papers will likely come home later this week.  Please take time to review these WITH your child. For questions that are missed, please have your child go back and rethink/rework to find the correct answer and write all corrections directly on the paper with a pen. If I have already corrected the item, please have a discussion with your child about what he/she missed.
• Information about Fall Conferences and Sign up times if you would like one: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4DADA629A13-fall
• I handed out the October Scholastic book orders last week.  They are due this Friday, October 17^th. Remember, if you order online with our class code: JT2TW, we receive free books for the classroom.
• Dr. Mims is sponsoring a Chess Club for 3^rd and 4^th grade students. Chess Club will meet on Thursday mornings from 7:20 – 7:45 a.m. For more information, please see the flyer that is came home today.
• SSC is partnering with The Assistance League of Birmingham to collect books and distribute them to specific schools that do not have access to many books and distribute them to children who may not have access to books at home. If you would like for your child to participate, please have them bring in new or gently used books during the week of October 22 – 26^th. For more information, see the flyer that went home yesterday.
• The Dolphin Echo was sent out on Monday so please make sure to read it over.
•  Join us on October 19th for Bedtime Stories & More at the South Shades Crest Elementary Media Center, 6:30 - 8:00 PM.  Parents and grandparents can come and shop at the Book Fair while children enjoy juice, cookies, and stories. You never know who might show up to read stories? Kids are welcome to wear PJ's!
• Mark your calendar for our next FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! Friday, November 9^th, we will be showing Madagascar 3.
• Finally, stay tuned for more information about our 1^st field trip of the year…It’s going to be a big one!

Thanks for sharing your children with me each day!

Mrs. Wilkes

October 1- October 5

This week in 4th grade:

Math: We are wrapping up our unit on factors, multiples, and arrays. An end-of-the-unit test is currently scheduled for Friday. Students will be notified if this should change. Our objectives this week include: Identifying all the factors of 100, using knowledge of the factors of 100 to find factors of multiples of 100, and using representations to show that a factor of a number is also a factor of its multiples. For example, if 25 is a factor of 100 (25 x 4 = 100), then 25 is also a factor of 300 (25 x 12 = 300). A review handout will be coming home tomorrow for homework. A thorough understanding of prime, composite, and square numbers is important, as well understanding the difference between factors and multiples. Please review these key terms at home with your child so that application of these terms in mathematical scenarios makes sense!

Vocabulary: This week is a Vocabulary week. Students have been given daily assignments to complete for homework. The Vocabulary test will take place on Friday. Students will be expected to know the meaning of each word and/or apply the word in a given context/sentence. Words and definitions can be found behind the Spelling/Vocab tab in the BEE Binder and online at www.spellingcity.com.

Reading: Individual beginning-of-the-year Reading assessments are complete. We began a new unit on allegory/theme and a new read-aloud, The City of Ember. The students are really enjoying this book!  Student accounts have been set-up with www.reading-rewards.com. I will teach students how to use this new program to track their individual reading online.
Last week we finished reading Flying Solo and we had the opportunity to participate in a "rock ritual" even though we miss our friend, Isaiah, who moved away.  You will have to ask your children about our "rock ritual." 

Writing: Our study of pronouns is wrapping up this week. Students will have a quiz Friday. Next up, verbs!

Science: Our new Science unit on Electricity kicks off this week. Week one begins with a hands-on investigation on the properties of magnets and the force of magnetism.

Other Reminders:

• The Change for Change Fundraiser was a huge success! Early numbers indicate over $16,000 was raised for SSC in just ONE week! THANK YOU!!
• Graded papers will be coming home this week. Please take time to review these WITH your child. For questions that are missed, please have your child go back and rethink/rework to find the correct answer and write all corrections directly on the paper with a pen. If I have already corrected the item, please have a discussion with your child about what he/she missed.
• A fall parent conference schedule will be emailed out through www.sign-upgenius.com . Look for it by the end of the week!
• Please send in your book order by this Thursday.  I will put the order in on Thursday after school.  
• October Scholastic book orders will be sent home next week. Remember, if you order online with our class code: JT2TW, we receive free books for the classroom! Please send in your book order !

Thanks for sharing your children with me each day!
Mrs.Wilkes