Testing is over, yay!

Now that testing is over, we will still be learning LOTS, and we have some really fun projects we are working on. All of these are on google classroom, so ask your child to show you what they are working on!  Reading-In reading we have been doing literature circles in small groups, we have decided to do a whole class literature circle with Because of Winn Dixie. Every few days, your child has a different job to do in the lit circle, we are also continuing to use our Story Works magazine that we love!  Writing-For writing, we are re-visiting our famous wax museum character and and writing a character trait essay about our person.   Math-I think this is what we are the most excited about. We have started a Life Project. The kids have to pick their job (I let them choose, because in high school they have one assigned to them), figure out what it pays per month and per year, pick an apartment, a car, budget for food, utilities, vacations, etc., write checks, mail them and make sure they have money left over for a rainy day!  Content-Before testing and the wax museum, we studied force and motion, as a review, the kids are creating a google slide of Newton his laws, gravity and more!! We are also continuing our Social Studies Weekly magazines.

*Check our calendar for other important dates.

FIELD TRIP TIPS

·  If you not sign up to get the emergency/important info for our trip then send the text @ssc4t to 81010

We will be outside part of the day.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.

·   Our tour includes walking. Be sure that your child wears comfortable shoes and SSC T-Shirts.

·   Remember to pack a lunch or make sure your child has ordered one from the lunch room.

·   Please pack lunch in something that can be thrown away.

·   We will leave the school around 6:45 a.m.  We should return by 5:00.

• If your child brings a cell phone or other electronic device, it is just to be used as a camera.
• Not sure if we will visit the souvenir store, will let the kids know as soon as the team decides. If we do, $20 is more than enough.

·   Chaperones are Tania Daniel, Lauren Batsen (from Ms. Hurdlow’s class), Tonia Ballentine and Angel Harris.

·   We will be participating in the following tours: Old Alabama Town, Narratives at historic sites, Archives and History, Civil Rights Memorial Center and the State Capitol

A Few Things

Thanks so much for all of the goodies I got last week for teacher appreciation!! Yum! I felt really appreciated!

Just a reminder that our wax museum for parents is tomorrow from 10-11.

Also, we will be doing lots of practice for the Aspire this week. Math homework will look a little different, I ran off a pack with 4th grade review for the year that we will be doing in class and for homework this week. I will let them know each night what page(s) they will do and it will all be due on Friday.

We are also working on a practice Aspire web site in class. They know how to get to the practice sight and below is what is expected for a high score for each question. You are welcome to go over any of this with your child if you think it is necessary but it is definitely not required. Just ask them to log on to the ACT Aspire practice web site and go to whatever subject that you want them to practice.

Math Answers http://actaspire.pearson.com/_documents/exemplars/4262_Aspire%20Exemplar%20Math%20Gr%204_Web.pdf 

Reading Answers (4th grade answers are not on the web site, these are 3rd, but should give you an idea) http://actaspire.pearson.com/_documents/exemplars/4327_Aspire%20Exemplar%20Reading%20Gr%203_Web.pdf 

Science Answers http://actaspire.pearson.com/_documents/exemplars/4264%20Aspire%20Exemplar%20Science%20Gr%204_Web.pdf 

English http://actaspire.pearson.com/_documents/exemplars/3741_Aspire%20Exemplar%20Gr%204%20English_Web.pdf

 *Check our calendar for other important dates. 

Reminders

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Spring Break!

Just a few reminders as we get back into the swing:

• Please send in 2- 12 packs of sharpened pencils, we are completely out!

• Scrapbooks are due tomorrow

• Field trip permission forms and money due Wednesday

• Speeches memorized by this Thursday!

• Wax Museum for parents is next Tuesday, April 12th from 10-11.

*Check our calendar for other important dates.

SSC Testing Schedule 2016

Valentine's

• Make sure to look at our calendar on the link at the bottom. I just added lots of end of the year dates!

• Don't forget to sign up for our Valentine's Party if you have not yet! Scroll down for a class list of names for cards. :)

• If you want your child practicing over our long weekend, I have added lots of important skills to work on from IXL. Some math and some language arts. They are on the February 8th post on our Lab Lessons blog.

• Read to Succeed logs for free Six Flags tickets are due at the end of this month!

This year, as in year's past, we would like to include baby pictures of the graduating 4th graders in the SSC yearbook. While it is not required for each student to participate, it is a fun way to make the graduating class feel a little extra special.  Please find your favorite baby picture and use the following instructions to upload it for us to use in the yearbook...

Directions to upload

Go to www.hjeshare.com and use the school code 1234ssc .

When you upload, you will have to fill in 3 boxes: 

Grade of Student

Student Shown in Picture - your child's name as you want it displayed

Description - please type "4th grade baby picture" AND your name & email address. This is helpful to to us if we find that the resolution is low or have a problem.

The deadline to upload your child's baby picture is Friday, February 19. 

Just a little bit about what is going on in class: Reading-Our read aloud is right now is The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson. If you have never read it, give it a try! Your child can show you where the text is online and I know he/she would love talking about it with you. During CAFE time we have been working on inferring the meaning of words that we don't know. Our new CAFE goal is inferring character traits.  Writing-Hoover does an Arbor Day essay contest for 4th graders every year at this time. We have been working on an essay for the contest about why trees are important. We need to turn them in Friday, but they are in our Google Classroom if you would like to read over it with your child and give them some tips. 6. Math-We had our end of the unit test on fractions, (have your child log into Pearson to show you how he/she did) and have been working on addition and subtraction with bigger and bigger numbers! Next week we get back into multiplication and division working with strategies for bigger numbers and then we will dive into decimals! Content-We are studying the Human Body and all of its systems. We started the respiratory system today.

*Check our calendar for other important dates.

                      Valentine's List

Carol	Cam B
Charleigh	Luke
Maya	Cooper
Estelle	Brandon
Maggie	Christian
Jewel	Bret
Amarie	Matt
Angel	Anteriel
Regan	Cam H
Daisy	Luis

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday with lots of time spent with your families. Make sure your child bring a jacket to school, our classroom is not getting above 63. I put a work order in, just waiting on someone to come by and help us! Just a little bit about what is going on in class:

 Reading-We are continuing to work on analyzing events in a text and author's purpose! We will also focus on vocabulary, close reading, cause and effect and character's motivation for the next few weeks. Continue to make sure your child is "sticking with a book" and reading on his/her just right level AND understanding.

Writing- Sticking to a topic continues to be a focus. We have also just started blogging, so this is a place where you can log in as a guest and make a positive comment about your child's post. It can also be a time to give one or two helpful hints about their writing as a conversation, not on the post, let's keep that positive since others can see it. The kids have also been working on a"Self Evaluation Digital Portfolio" for all curriculum areas. When they are finished, please go over it with them discussing areas where they are doing well as well as areas they need to work on. There are self explanatory areas where you will give (type) feedback to your child. This document will always be available in your child's school google drive, but you may also want to make a copy in your own drive. :)  

Math- We are still working on fractions. There is lots of extra practice on our "favorite links" and a study practice sheet will be coming home for our unit test soon.

Content-We are going to stick with Science this 9 weeks. We have started out by reviewing sound and learning about light. Our quiz on light will be this Friday. The study guide is in our Google Classroom.

Aspire Testing will be April 18-21

Talent Show Information Hard copy coming home Wednesday as well.

Box Tops:

Keep sending the box tops in!! They really make a big difference! 

Reading Club Order Due Date: January 15

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: GRZHL

Dear Families,

Good news! This month's Scholastic Reading Club flyers are ready for you to explore with your child. Children read more when they choose their own books, so I encourage you to look at the flyers together. Each flyer is filled with grade-specific, affordable titles.

Place your order online at scholastic.com/readingclub or send the order form and payment to me. Ordering online is the easiest way to ensure I get your order on time. Also, there are more books to choose from as well as teacher recommendations. 

Remember, for every book you order, our class earns FREE Books and supplies...and we have our eye on some new additions. 

Thank you for your support! 



PS: Books make wonderful gifts! Please let me know if your order includes a gift, and I will contact you when it arrives.

 
Ordering online is fast and easy:
- VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
- ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code (top of this letter)
- SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books and value packs
- SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom
- All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

 *Check our calendar for other important dates.

December 1

Dear Parents,

This month we will, as usual, be very busy! We are looking forward to lots of holiday learning and fun!

You're Invited!

Our class will be memorizing and performing holiday poetry for you on Tuesday, December the 15th from 11:10 to about 11:45. This will be a very informal time just to be together and celebrate the season! If you cannot attend please make sure someone comes to watch your child. It can be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or a neighbor. Let me know if you cannot find anyone to attend and I should be able to help. The children will be acting out winter poetry and will need to dress up/bring props to “show” their poem. Again, very informal! Poems need to be memorized by December 11th.

Our holiday party will be December the 17th at 10:30. Mrs. Ballintine will be getting in touch to let you know how you can help!

Book Swap: We will be having a book swap in our class, please be looking for a new or gently used 4th grade book to send in wrapped, with your child, on or before December 17th. No name on it please.

Group Pictures:

Pre-order your child's 5x7 classroom group picture today! Also available is a fourth grade level group picture!  The pictures are only $7.00 each. The deadline for pre-ordering is December 18th if you want the pictures before the Holidays.

Online payment is preferred at www.myschoolfees.com. There is NO FEE for paying online by check. However, there is a 3% convenience fee charged for using a credit card with a minimum fee of $1.00 (VISA is not accepted). Otherwise, you may send payment to the school by check or correct cash (we cannot make change). Please make checks payable to SSC.

As a fundraiser for our school,

SSC receives 100% of sales!!

Thank you for supporting our school with this memorable fundraiser. If you have any questions, please call the school office at 439-3000.

Book Orders: Due Thursday, check your email for online ordering instructions, let me know if you need me to re-send. :)

Just a little bit about what is going on in class: Reading-We are learning about different styles of poetry. Writing-We will also be trying our hand at writing different styles of poetry.   Math-We have started fractions! I will be sending a parent letter home with more information.  There are a couple of videos below to explain how we have started off our study. Decimals will be coming up soon!

Math homework this week is our regular computation practice and then some strategy practice. This link has the sheets I sent home with the kids, and on the sheet is a link to a video demo of every strategy they should know in case you would like to see them. They also know how to get to these videos in case they need a refresher or it's a new strategy. :)  

Beginning Fractions

Fraction of a set of numbers

 Content-We are learning all about electricity! Here are some pictures of our first investigation, lighting a bulb. Ask your child about it, they had a great time!!  *Check our calendar for other important dates.