Harvest Parade Fun

We had a fun time on Wednesday.  Thank you to all the families that sent in goodies and supplies for our celebration.  Here's a picture of our class.

Everyday Math Online

Today a notice will be going home giving directions on how to access the Everyday Math Online Website.  This is an incredible tool for students and it may also be very helpful for parents as they support their children at home.  I will demonstrate how to use the site today and we will be using it each week during our computer time on Friday.  I encourage you to check it out for yourself.  There is a link to print out all of the study links, in case it was forgotten at school.  There are fun games to practice math facts and also higher-level thinking math games.  This is a very exciting addition to the Everyday Math program!

Check it out:

Everyday Math Online

Thursday Folder

Reminder: The Thursday Folder will be sent home today.  Please look through your child's work, sign the folder, and sent it back to school tomorrow.  Below is a copy of the directions that were sent home in the folder last week.  Thank you for all your support at home!

        The “Thursday Folder” is a system for keeping your child’s completed/corrected work organized.  It is also a way of your child and you being updated weekly on your child’s progress and grades on assessments. 

        When you get the Thursday Folder, on most Thursdays, you should review the work with your child.  If anything reads “Please fix”, your child should fix his/her mistakes and return it like homework.  Please be sure to read through all the work and give your comments and feedback to your child, as well as what I’ve written.  Occasionally, if there is a short week or not much to return, we may skip a week.

After you’ve removed the work, please keep it at home.  Do not send any work back to school except corrections that have been made.  Then sign, date, and make a comment on the form inside the folder.  This is a way for me to be sure that you are seeing the work each week.  Finally, the folder should be returned to school on Friday.  Thank you for your support at home.

Off to a great start!

Can you believe it's already our fourth week of school?  The students are off to a great start and the class is settling into routines that will help them learn more easily and become organized.

On Thursday, the first Thursday was sent home.  I am still waiting for a few folders to be returned.  There are also a few Alphasmart permission slips that need to be returned.  If you could send in donations of AA batteries for the Alphasmart, it will help to ensure that they will stay powered this year!

This week we started Reading Street.  With the start of Reading Street, we have more predictable homework assignments.  A packet for the spelling homework is sent home each Monday.  The words and directions for each night's homework is on the first sheet.  Please have your child do the spelling homework each night.  It will help them learn the words more easily and put forth their best effort if they only do one spelling assignment each night. 

Look for the Family Times newletter each Monday.  It will give information on what we're learning in Reading Workshop that week.

Thank you for the wonderful turnout on Meet Your Teacher night.  It was wonderful to meet so many families!

Welcome to 4th Grade!

It's the 2012 school year.  I am so excited to get to know all of you!  Parents, please look for an important letter from me that will be sent home on the first day of school.  It includes lots of helpful information about this year.

Bike Trip on Friday, June 1st!

Our bike trip is quickly approaching!  There is a final notice going home on Tuesday (look for it printed on pink paper) that will give all of the final details on this exciting day.  We are hoping for good weather, as there will not be opportunity to have a rain date.  Bikes should be dropped off at school either by 4 pm on Thursday, May 31 or by 9 am on the morning of the bike trip, June 1st.  We are still waiting for a few CORIs to be approved.  So, please make sure to check with Bridget in the office or the VIPS office to ensure that you have an approved CORI.  It is district policy that only chaperones with an approved CORI can attend field trips.  On the day of the trip, please remember the students need a backpack, a bagged lunch, plenty of water, and sunscreen.

East Falmouth Bike to School Day

Click on the following link to see a video slideshow of our bike to school day!  Thank you to Lisa Hart for putting this together.

http://animoto.com/play/Woj5nK5w0DTRNojlFwfrOA?utm_content=main_link

Look who visited our class today!

This hawk sat outside our classroom for a good part of the morning today.  It went between the playground and a nearby tree.  The students loved watching it!

MCAS Dates and Bike Trip!

With the ELA MCAS behind us, we now only have the math MCAS left.  There are 2 days:
Wednesday, May 9
Thursday, May 10

Then, many fun activities begin!
We will visit the canal to learn about its operation and history on Friday, May 11
Our bike trip along the canal is Friday, June 1st- Remember to submit your CORI if you plan on joining us on the bike ride

MCAS Dates

March has arrived and soon we will be having the first of our MCAS tests, ELA.  The Long Composition is the very first one. 
ELA Long Comp- Tuesday, March 20
The following parts will be the remaining of the ELA tests-
ELA Reading- Tuesday, March 27 and Wednesday, March 28
The math portions are in May

To ensure that your child does his/her best work, make sure that you stay on a normal schedule, ensure normal bedtime, and try your best to have an upbeat, relaxed breakfast/morning.  Encourage your child to do his/her best on the exams, without making your child nervous or anxious about them.  Your child has been well prepared and I am hopeful that they are ready to show how much learning that they have done this year!

Important Dates this Week

Tuesday- Valentines Day- remember valentines
Wednesday- Science Fair and Community Meeting
Thursday- Scavenger Haunt Due
Friday- Principal's Challenge movie day, Toy Story 3

Link for Library Webquest

Use this link to access the library webquest!

Library Webquest

Important Dates!

There are a couple important dates coming up next week:
Wednesday, February 15- East Falmouth Science Fair 11:45-12:45
Lunch is at 12:45 so you can consider staying to have lunch with your child
Friday, February  17- Reward movie for having met the principal's challenge

Homework Help!

Check out this link to view free tutorials on both partial quotients and traditional division!
Division Tutorials