A Few Reminders

**  Hope you are having a great week! (Your kids did a great job at Brock’s Gap today.  Hope you are able to make the parent meeting tonight in the Brock’s Gap lunchroom at 6:00.)

**Please be sure to return the green Family Fun Fair transportation form by tomorrow if you haven’t already.

**I am still hoping to get 2 more chaperones for our field trip to Ruffner Mountain for next week.  If you are able to join us next Thursday from 8:00-2:00 please let me know.  (We will be hiking.)

**Thank you so much to all who have signed up to help with the Family Fun Fair next Friday.  It is an awesome event!!!

**Important Dates

April 17^th: 2014-2015 Kindergarten Enrollment from 4-6 pm

April 25^th: Family Fun Fair 3-8pm

April 28^th-April 30^th: ACT Aspire Testing (3^rd and 4^th only)

May 15^th: Kindergarten Kick-Off from 4:30-5:30 pm

 Go ahead and mark your calendar:

• On-site School registration- July 29, 3:30-6:30- (You will get carpool numbers, pay school fees, get your teachers name…)
• make up on-site registration August 1 & 4, 7-9am- (there will be limited staff available, so come prepared for a possible wait)
• Meet the Teacher-  August 5-  last name A-L 8-9am, last name M-Z 9-10am
• School Starts- August 7

• Parent Nights:
• Kindergarten- August 5 6-7pm
• 1^st Grade- August 12 6-7pm
• 2^nd grade-August 19 6-7pm
• 3^rd grade- August 21 6-7pm
• 4^th grade- August 14 6-7pm

**Spring State Testing for 3^rd and 4^th grade is starting soon.

Grade 3 (Paper and Pencil Administration)

Monday, 4/28  7:50 - 9:15 (Reading)

Tuesday, 4/29  7:50 – 9:15 (Math)

Wednesday, 4/30  7:45- 8:45 (English)

Grade 4 Computerized Administration

Hutchison - Monday, 4/28 7:50 - 9:30 (Reading); Tuesday, 4/29 11:00 – 12:30 (Math)

Crowley - Monday, 4/28 9: 30 – 11:00 (Reading); Thursday, 5/1  7:50 – 9:30 (Math)

Constantine - Monday, 4/28 11:00 – 12:30 (Reading); Thursday, 5/1 9:30 – 11:00 (Math)

McCune - Tuesday, 4/29 7:50 – 9:30 (Reading); Thursday, 5/1 11:00 – 12:30 (Math)

Tindal - Tuesday, 4/29 9:30 – 11:00 (Reading); Friday, 5/2 8:00 - 9:30 (Math)

**All 4^th Grade students will take English section with paper and pencil on April 30^th from 7:50 - 8:30.

March 20

Thank you so much for attending the Wax Museum.  I am so proud of our students and their demonstration of what they have learned about American History.  They could not have done it without you, so thank you! Portraits will be coming home soon, hang it in your living room and I hope you will enjoy your virtual video for years to come!

Report cards went home Wednesday.  Don’t forget to visit The Whole Scoop for a free ice cream cone for straight A’s.  Krispy Kreme offers a free donut for the A/B Honor roll.  Finally, the Credit Union behind Krispy Kreme offers $5.00 every 9 weeks a student shows them their A or A/B honor roll report card. If you did not make a copy and need one, let me know, and I'll be glad to email you a copy.

This FRIDAY is the deadline for parent letters to be submitted to Dr. Scholl, if you would like to let her know of special circumstances regarding teacher placement for next year for your child.  Parents are not able to hand select certain teachers, however they can let Dr. Scholl know of personality traits and teaching styles that your child works best with.  These letters can be hand delivered or emailed directly to her.

Spring Break is next week.  Schools will be closed March 24-28th.  Enjoy time with your families!! If you are planning on staying around town, here are some things going on at the Hoover Library.

The Monday we return from Spring Break, March 31, we will be going on our field trip to the American Village.  Please remember to send your child to school in their SSC shirt.  Students can bring a lunch from home in a disposable bag.  Students can bring no more than $20 cash for our gift shop. Thank you to our chaperones coming to help!  Chaperones will need to be at the school no later than 8:00 and wait for us in the lobby downstairs.

We will be going on a field trip to Brock’s Gap on April 15^th.  In the past when we have had this field trip, Brock’s Gap has had a parent meeting that night at the school to go over everything that was discussed with the kids.  Once I get confirmation of this meeting I will let you know, but I wanted you to have a heads up so you can pencil it into your calendars.

Please continue to save Box Tops, ink cartridges, old cell phones, and Tyson chicken labels to help earn money for the school.  Your child can bring them to SSC any school day and I will make sure they get to where they need to be.

Kindergarten registration is April 17^th from 4-6 for those with a new kindergartener.

April 25^th is the Family Fun Fair.  Mark this date in your calendars!!  (more information to come home later)

April 28-30—ACT Aspire testing—please make sure your child is here every morning for this.  There will not be any check ins/outs during the testing hours.  Please make sure there are not any appointments scheduled during this time.

Thank you so much for working so diligently to make this a wonderful 4^th grade year!

March 7

Social Studies-On March 12th from 10:30-12:00, we will be culminating our American History study with a Wax Museum both live and virtual!  When you arrive, there will be directions explaining how to see our virtual museum. For our live museum, we will line the upstairs halls in our costumes, and share what we have learned of famous individuals who have contributed to America as it is today.  We have learned about our ancestors who fought for America’s Independence from Great Britain through reading, writing, and technological research.  We have researched about individuals such as George & Martha Washington, John & Abigail Adams, Sacagawea, and Thomas Jefferson.  We have made a time line regarding some of the most famous events in American History such as the writing of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, The Boston Tea Party, and the Revolutionary War.  We memorized the Preamble and are excited to share this with our friends at American Village, when we go on our field trip on March 31st. 

Math- We are increasing our knowledge and understanding of fractions in math, and continuing to develop our computational skills with larger numbers with multiplication, division, addition of subtraction. We are reminding ourselves to make sure the solution “makes sense” when we solve problems.  

Reading- We also are enjoying reading books daily that are developmentally appropriate, and that inspire us to think.  We are applying comprehension strategies such as making connections, predicting, inferring, and analyzing a story, which makes the stories more enjoyable and applicable to our lives.

Writing-After our Arbor Day contest, our writing has been linked to our unit in Social Studies with writing the Preamble in kids words, writing our wax museum speech, describing how a bill becomes a law, and publishing a class power point where we each explained one of the amendments of the constitution.

Check our class calendar if you are unsure of any of the upcoming events and don't hesitate to email if you have any questions:

We are looking forward to seeing everyone next week for our wax museum. Grandparents and friends are welcome, feel free to stay and eat lunch with us after the museum.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to "spring forward".

Mark your Calendars!

**February 11^th, next Tuesday at 9:00am in the lunchroom—4^th graders will perform some percussion music.  Please have your child dress nicely for the program.

**Progress reports will come home Wednesday, February 12^th.

**Next Friday is Valentine’s Day, February 14^th. Students can bring cards and decorated mail box is optional. If your child does not bring a box, I will provide a bag he/she can decorate.

**School will be closed on February 17^th for E-Day Learning.  Many students have already turned in their completed assignments.  Once your child completes the required assignments for that day, please send it in to me.  I am keeping track of who has completed the tasks.  These will be for a grade.  I have already hear so many fun stories of what families have done together to complete these projects.

**Our yearbook staff has requested the following:

FOURTH GRADERS ONLY!!!!!!!

We need baby pictures by FEB 21st for the yearbook!!!!!! Due to the tedious and time consuming task of layouts, late submissions will be at the discretion of the yearbook staff and school administration and may or may not appear in yearbook.  Anyone who wants their child's baby picture (4th grade only) featured in the yearbook, should submit a baby picture to the e-share website according to the guidelines that were sent in an email a few days ago. No actual pictures sent to school will be accepted. Thanks!!!

**Here are some ideas for dressing up like one of the famous people from the Revolution era. Directions went home, let me know if they did not make it to you, and I’ll email you a copy. First of all, please don’t go out and spend a small fortune.  Just use things from home.  Ask friends of students who have already been through SSC 4^th grade.  Visit the local thrift store or garage sale.  Please don’t feel like you have to do all of these.  They are simply suggestions.

Boys:  Dad’s jacket, shoes with buckles made from construction paper and foil, A vest, Pants tucked into long white socks (baseball and football pants, or sweatpants work great!), Dad’s white shirt, or better yet mom’s ruffled front, white blouse, White wig with pony tail-cotton balls and/or sheet of cotton glued to a shower cap.  Tie the ponytail with a ribbon or bow, Tricorn hat-3 pieces of black construction paper attached into a triangle

Girls: Apron, shawl, carry a parasol, Mom’s long skirt or dress, lace collar and cuffs (use handkerchiefs, cloth napkins or tissue attached with pins), mom cap (handkerchief, cloth napkin or piece of material cut into a circle.  Put slits around the edge and thread with a piece of ribbon)

**Yearbook Photos-Now is the time to begin submitting your photos to be used in the yearbook.  Have you been on a field trip, at a class party, etc.? We need all class parties, field trips class activities, lunchroom etc.  Attached to this email is an information sheet with all the instructions you will need to submit your photos.  The deadline to submit photos is Friday, February 14^th.  Also, if you are interested in working on the yearbook next year, please contact Holly Church.  Holly’s contact information can be found on the bottom of the instruction sheet (jchurch@bham.rr.com)

**In the classroom we are continuing to work on our multiplication, division, subtraction, and addition strategies.  We will begin learning more about fractions next week.  In social studies we have declared our independence from Great Britain and are now learning about America’s experience of writing a Constitution and creating our Branches of Government.  We hope to go to American Village on March 31^st for our next field trip.  More information will follow once the paperwork has been completed.

**Family Fun Fair-Mark your calendars for Friday, April 25, 2014 for the SSCE Family Fun Fair.  Each class will be responsible for a booth and volunteers to man the booth from 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM.  Booth details to follow at a later date.  The class will also be responsible for securing a sponsor for their class.  There are two sponsor levels, Silver and Gold.  Silver level sponsors include anyone donating $200-$399.  Gold level sponsors include anyone donating $400 and above.  Each sponsorship level will get their names on the Family Fun Fair T-Shirt and on the school website.  We will accept cash, checks made payable to South Shades Crest and gift cards.  An electronic sponsorship form will be sent soon for you to send to your parents.  Please remember this is SSCE biggest fundraiser of the school year. This year’s goal is $25,000!

**Cell Phones and Box Tops-Please send in used cell phones and ink cartridges.  For the month of January and February there will be a competition between the classes to see who can bring in the most box tops.  We take Campbell’s and Tyson Chicken Project A+ labels. Thank you to all who have sent them in so far!

**Thank you so much for all you do to support your child.  I love each and every student I have appreciated the stories they share with me.  Learning with your child is truly exciting!

Upcoming Events!

Dear Parent(s),

            As part of our American history unit, each student will independently research a specific famous person from the Colonial, Revolutionary or Westward Expansion 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. Research will be conducted at home AND in class. (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 should take notes to help in organizing all information collected. I gave them questions they need to research and find answers to, they should keep this note sheet in their BEE books at all times.

            The students will create a journal AT HOME from their research. After the research and journal has been completed, the students will then begin working on their Wax Museum presentation. Each student will have to draw their famous person’s face as best they can.  Our art teacher is going to help them do this during Art, but they may need to complete it at home if they do not get done during art class. We will then glue it to a background (I already have these) and display it in the school. They will also begin working on a short speech to say about their person. Their speech should only be about 10-20 seconds and should explain who they are and why they are important. *I will let them know when they need to begin working on their speeches .Each student will present his or her journal to the class on March 5th.

            The entire fourth grade will dress up as their person and do a Wax Museum on famous people on March 12^th. Parents will be invited to come and walk through our museum and learn about each person. Children 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. Creativity is very important and encouraged in this project. Your child will need to act as though they ARE their person.

I intend for this experience to be a memorable ending to our study and an enjoyable way for the students to get to know the individuals they have been reading about while studying the founding of our country.  The students should have fun in this learning experience.  If there are any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for your continuous support.

Tanya Constantine

** Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 5th, journals are due and Wednesday, March 12th, Our class will be having a Wax Museum of Famous People. 

Thank you

Thank you everyone for my birthday goodies, what a fun day I had with my class!! I enjoyed all of my sweet gifts, birthday cards and hugs!! Mrs. Abbott brought popsicles in the afternoon for us all to enjoy, and my BFF Mrs. Walker surprised us with a decorated door. We had lots of fun!

Classroom Happenings

**WOW!  We had a wonderful American Revolutionary Starburst Act experience in 4^th grade!  Thank you so much for supporting this event.  As expected, we had some very worried and frustrated 4^th graders.  By the end of the experience, they all were able to make the connection with what our Founding Fathers and Colonists felt as they declared their independence from Great Britain.  They started the event with 10 starburst being given to them with the understanding that they would be used as a consequence/reward system for behavior.  Students were then told that they were to pay a starburst each time they did certain things such as: using paper (Stamp Act), eating a snack (Sugar Act), getting water not during lunch time (Tea Act), letting their book buddies sit in their desks and share starbursts and snacks with them (Quartering Act), talking in the halls, talking out of turn, leaving and entering the classroom, missing out on recess (Intolerable Acts!!!!t), etc.  Each was added as the days went on until the kids finally had had enough because of the “intolerable” events that were occurring.  They chose to meet with other classes (just as the colonies did participating in the 1^st and 2nd Continental Congresses), creating signs, petitions and banners, and finally meeting with the Principal and Assistant Principal of the school to declare their independence from the Starburst rules.  Dr. Scholl and Mrs. Williams were extremely supportive and helpful during this lessons for our 4^th graders.  I really appreciate all they offered!  Ultimately, it was an even that won’t be forgotten and hopefully helped students to connect a bit of their American Heritage to themselves.  Feel free to ask your child about the details.  If there is a particular question you have about the experience, I am also always here to explain.  Learning is exciting in 4^th grade!!!

**Congratulation to Kennedy Edwards for being our Spelling Bee class representative!

**I wanted to thank my WONDERFUL parents for all you shared with me for Christmas!  Wow, I really felt appreciated by each of you through your kind notes and goodies.  Thank you so much for your continued support.  This has been a most successful school year thus far, and I look forward to the remaining portion of 4^th grade being even better! 

**We had to say goodbye to Virginia Miller before the holidays and now we also have to say good bye and good luck to Seth Gaiefsky who is moving to Florida. Ask the kids about the rock rituals that our class has when we have to say good bye to a friend.

**Mark you calendar, important dates are also on our class calendar.

**School will be closed on Monday, January 20^th for MLK Day.

**Our wonderful music teacher Mrs. Gray would like to invite parents to see our 4th grade program. It will be February 11th at 9 a.m. in the lunchroom. Come and see the instruments your children have been learning to play! 

Have a wonderful week!