Wow!
The year is moving along so rapidly I can hardly keep up with myself, let alone
24 students! ☺
The good news is that we are having a fantastic time in 4th grade learning all
I have scheduled for our amazing kiddos.
We were able to Skype with Deason last week, who is in Africa. The students were very excited and
enjoyed talking with him. We all
look forward to when Deason comes back.
This will be a very detailed Newsletter because we have so many upcoming
assignments, events, plans, and a field trip to American Village. Please
take note of all dates. I included a quick reminder of dates with easy
listings in order at the bottom of the Newsletter.
**Valentine’s
Day Exchange/Creative Card Holder Competition: We will be exchanging
Valentines’ with our classmates on Thursday, February 14th. Please help
your child make a Valentine card for each student in the class. These can
be store bought or homemade. It is fine if they would like to attach a
piece of candy to each card. We will have a small creativity competition
with making a mailbox to receive the cards. Each student who is
interested in participating needs to use a shoebox no larger than a boot sized shoebox
and decorate it at home, making sure there is a place for the cards to be placed. The decorating of the boxes is
completely optional and is certainly not for a grade; however it is a fun part
of our day of swapping Valentines. I will have a small prize for all who
participate, as well as an overall prize for the most creative box as is voted
by the class. (If your child does not create their own box, I will
provide a white lunch bag for them to decorate the morning we swap.) I will
send a class list out with all the names of each student.
**Wax Museum: As part of our American history
unit, each student will independently research a specific famous person from
the Revolutionary time period. Each of these famous people played some part in
the birth of our nation. Each student was given a name of a person to
research last week. Letters and
assignment information was sent home last week. Research should be
conducted at home. We will have
little time during class for research.
(The Public Library has lots of books on this topic.) From conducting
this research, the students will learn about the different personalities and
lives of unique individuals who helped in creating our nation. As
research is conducted, students will be expected to take notes to help in
organizing all information collected. Students will create a PowerPoint presentation
during computer lab time on their famous person (the instructions and grading
rubric were sent home last week) They were given a sample form last week that
tells them specifically what they need to research. After the research
has been completed, the students will then begin working on their Wax Museum
presentation. In class, each student will have to draw & paint their famous
person’s face as best they can at school. They will also begin working on
a short speech to say about their person. Their speech should only be about
20-30 seconds and should explain who they are and why they are important.
Please help your child compile and memorize the final speech. Students
will need to dress up as their person might have dressed. These attires
should be created from clothing found at home and are not expected to be
elaborate. The costumes are in addition to the presentation and will make the
Wax Museum seem realistic and authentic. I will send home an idea costume page on Wednesday. Creativity is very important and
encouraged in this project. Your child will need to act as though they are
their person. Each student will present his or her speech to the class
for a dress rehearsal, in their costumes, on March 4th. All speeches are to be
completely memorized. On this day they are NOT to have make-up or hair
designs specific to their person. This is to be saved for the main event
on Wednesday, March 6th. The entire fourth grade will do a Wax
Museum on famous people from Pre-Colonial times all the way through Westward
Expansion time periods Wednesday, March 6th from 11:00-12:00. Our SSC friends,
Parents, Grandparents, and friends will be invited to come and walk through our
museum and learn about each person. This is an event you will not want to miss!
Students should arrive to school with their hair and make-up ready on the
morning of the 6th. I will keep the costumes at school from the dress
rehearsal and will allow students time to change before the Wax Museum.
If you would like to stay and eat lunch with your child after the Wax Museum,
feel free to join them! If there
are any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to ask.. Thank you for
your continued support!!
YOU ARE
INVITED!!
**Wednesday,
March 6, 2013**
**11:00-12:00**
**American Village Field Trip:
Tuesday permission forms went home with your child regarding the upcoming
American Village field trip on February 26th. There is not a limit of the
number of chaperones to travel with us, however we need to have all permission
forms and money sent in by February 5th. The cost for students is $14.00
and chaperones are $9.00. Students will have the chance to visit the gift
shop. Please do not send more than $20.00 cash with your child because
they are responsible for keeping up with their money throughout the day.
Watch the weather reports and dress appropriately. We will be outside
most of the day. Bring a sack lunch in disposable containers.
**Box Tops: Please continue to
send in any and all Box Tops you can find. All proceeds go directly to
SSC for enriching your child’s educational goals. A fun way to include
grandparents is to ask them to also start saving Box Tops and sending them to
your child. Neighbors and friends are also a great resource!
**Book Orders: Book orders are due next
Thursday, February 7th. We will only have a few more orders throughout
the year, so take advantage of the amazing prices Scholastic Books
offers! Plus, any time you place an online
order using our class code, JT2TW, you and I both get a free book!
**4th
Grade Beef-O-Brady’s Night: You are invited to be a part of our 1st
annual 4th grade night at Beef-O-Brady’s Night. A portion of the proceeds
from the evening comes directly back to SSC. The 4th grade teachers will
be there and would love to have you join us! This will take place
February 25th from 5:00-8:00. Be
sure to write SSC 4th grade on the back of your receipt to get credit.
Invite friends, family, and neighbors. Feel free to add it as your
Facebook status as well. The more, the merrier!! ☺ (The date was listed
incorrectly in the January Dolphin Echo. Please disregard this date, and
come join us February 25th.)
**Spark for Change 2013: SSC is
dedicated to teaching students that they can make a difference in the world no
matter how small they may be. This year we decided to celebrate the differences
our students have made by having our second annual “Spark for Change” Expo.
Every class will choose to seek out a problem or need in our school, our
community, or our world and try to find a solution and act upon it. Some of the
projects in the past included creating a brochure for new students, making
blankets for kids with cancer, collecting new playground equipment for our
school’s playground, conducting random acts of kindness, giving plants to
elderly people in a nursing home, caring for the environment and sprucing up
the school’s eco-site, and more. The Expo was a great way to teach others that
they can “spark” a change in the world too! By the end of this
week, we will make a final decision on what we will “spark for change” as a
class. My husband and I help serve
lunch to the homeless on Sundays so I am leaning toward this idea. I would love for the children to come
out and participate. We would
collect items for “care bags” and get those ready to hand out on a Sunday. Care bags would include different
hygiene items such as deodorant, soap, toothpaste, etc. I want it to be as hands on as possible
for the students. Please let me
know what you think about the care bags.
**Yearbook
picture requests: The yearbook committee needs pictures. They are asking for
any pictures you have already taken this year or any you will be taking in the
next few weeks. The deadline to submit pictures for the year book is February
15th.
**4th
grade baby pictures for yearbook: In years past, we have done baby pages for
fourth graders ONLY. We plan to do the same this year, but it depends on
the participation. You can begin to submit your photos. I forwarded
an email out from Mrs. Honeycutt in the front office on Tuesday on how to
upload the pictures. Please let me know if I need to resend the email with
instructions out. We ask that it
be scanned and saved in jpeg format. You can use the same e-share website
to upload it. Please put teacher and name on website (website will prompt
you) so we can make sure not to mismatch pictures with children. Deadline
for baby pictures will be February 1st.
**SSC
Family Fun Fair: April 19, 2013, 3 - 8 PM--Last year, our spring
carnival, Family Fun Fair, was the biggest one ever and we expect more growth
this year. To continue to make this event a huge success, we need your
help! IF YOU: Have a business and would like to be a sponsor, Would
like to be a vendor, Would like to get involved, or Have an item you would like
to donate to our auction please contact either Tina Lindsey (tina@lindseyfamily.org<mailto:tina@lindseyfamily.org>;
or
Tracie Gerstenberg Adkins (tradkins@tyco.com<mailto:tradkins@tyco.com>).
**Attendance:
Attendance is important every day. We are getting into some prime time
instruction and it is important that your child is at school. As you
know, I keep the kids busy every minute of the day engaged in conversations,
hands on activities, and lessons they need to be a part of the experience the
full effects of what I have planned. If there is any way to schedule
doctor appointments before or after school, please consider this time
first. I understand it is very difficult to do this, but any time it is
an option, please do so. Thank you!
**Spring
Break—schools closed-- March 25-29, 2013
***Please
make sure to continue to check the homework blog. The students are still required to write down their homework
everyday in their agenda. The
homework blog is for students who have missed school and they are able to check
the assignments. This will also
give information on tests that will be during the week besides the newsletters.
**In the classroom: Please continue
to work with your child on multiplication and division facts through
12X12. As you have noticed, we are now working with 4-5 digit
numbers. Although the process is the same with smaller numbers, at times
students get confused with place value if they aren’t solid with their
facts. At this time, students are expected to begin all sentences with
capital letters, use neat handwriting, end all sentences with correct
punctuation, and have correct sentence structure. This week we will have
our American History Test on Thursday. This is a challenging test, so
make sure to use the study guide. Monday we began to memorize the Preamble in
class. Next week we will learn about The Constitution and the Branches of
Government. We are continuing to read Just Right books during D.E.A.R.
time each day. We are also
focusing on inferencing and various story elements. Please continue to sign the
agenda nightly, and have your child turn in the math homework, reading log, and
spelling/vocabulary homework each Friday. As your child is reading each
night, please take a few moments to ask them about what they are reading.
Quick reminders:
· February 1—Deadline to submit a baby picture of your child for
the yearbook (THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL, PRECIOUS PAGE.)
· February 5—Deadline for permission form and money for American
Village field trip
· February 14—Valentine Exchange/Valentine Box competition
· February 15—deadline for yearbook picture submissions
· February 26—American Village field trip
· February 28—4th grade Beef-O-Brady’s night, 5:00-8:00
· March 4—American History PowerPoint and speeches due
· March 4—Dress Rehearsal for Wax Museum—students only, WITH
costumes, but no make-up or hair design
· March 6—Wax Museum
from 11:00-12:00—Parents invited-Come to school with make-up and hair READY
· March 25-29—Spring Break—schools closed
· April 19—SSC Family Fun Fair, more information to come
· Box Tops—Send in as soon as possible, as often as you would like
