Week of September 25

Monday Schedule:  Week 2, Day 5

Week of September 17

Sunday Schedule:  Week 1, Day 6

Upcoming Events and Special Notes
Math News, Module 1, Topic A was sent home last week.  Take a look at what we're doing with Place Value of Multi-Digit Whole Numbers!  Ask your student what strategies they know and have been working on!  If you did not see this hand-out come home, please let me know!  I can send another copy home!

Homework, homework, homework... Note that our IXL activities have started to coincide with what we're doing in class.  When an IXL activity is assigned, have your student practice the concepts within that activity for about 15 minutes.  Students might not always finish the activity in the 15 minutes, but the point is not to finish, just practice and reinforce skills/strategies from class.  If they do finish before 15 minutes is up, wonderful, but they do not have to continue practice on another activity for the remaining time.

Last week students started working with spelling/vocabulary words.  They were working on prepping a different kind of spelling list for the upcoming week, individualized spelling lists that contain handpicked words from the world around them!  After our introductory lesson, students were on the look-out for words that popped up in their reading, or in conversation, and were brainstorming some of those "pesky" words that "I can just never spell correctly" to add to their lists!  They also looked inside their writer's notebooks to circle words they were unsure of how to spell.  We're trying to be observers of the spelling all around us and notice words that we find interesting or tricky so that we can study and learn them to use them in the future!

Here is our list prep from last week (studying for this upcoming week of September 17)!  



How will you see spelling lists come home?  When students find a word they want to add to their list for the following week, they record it in their planner and on our class list board!  Each Thursday, your student will come home with their list for the following week in their planner.  I correct misspelled words on the class chart and students are notified to make the corrections in their planners.  So, ideally, they should be coming home with a list of 5-10 words every Thursday that are spelled correctly! ;)  Help me stay on top of our spellers and check to see that their words are spelled correctly as well?!  Students will receive a spelling menu (I'll introduce this to them on Sunday) and will be instructed to do one spelling activity per night.  I know we'll be working out kinks and questions as we get started, but I have confidence that we'll all be in the routine in no time!  We're also working on some organization pieces here at school like labeling our lists with dates so we know which week they go with and you do, too!
Note:  Students will not have spelling lists on SpellingCity (I apologize that this informational letter with log-in/password information was included in this planner because we will not be using it for class.  If you are interested in some additional spelling practice, you are able to search my pre-made lists from previous years by following the instructions on the back of your weekly planner; students do not need a SpellingCity log-in and password to access my old lists, just search MrsANewman).







Reminders
Reminder Regarding School Access in the ES Newsletter.  "Access to the school for our elementary students begins at 8:00am.  Prior to that, we do not have supervision in the school to ensure their safety.  You may have noticed that our gates in the morning open at 7:55am.  Parents are welcome to drop their children off from this time forward.  Please note that parents who arrive before 7:55am will be asked to wait with their children until the gates are opened.  Starting Sunday, students will not be able to walk in early through the walk-in gate by the guard house unless they have an appointment or a scheduled morning activity.  Thanks for your understanding and support in ensuring our students are safe and supervised at school."


Week of September 10

Sunday Schedule:  Week 1, Day 1

Upcoming Events and Special Notes
Homework Planners started this last week.  As we're getting started with planners, I understand that there will be questions and some getting used to the routine (I also understand that we'll be working out kinks with log-ins/passwords as we're getting going.).  No worries!  We'll get it all smoothed out.  You'll notice that I typically don't give homework over the weekend other than to enjoy and keep reading. ;)  I will, however, have you sign the Thursday Parent Signature section sometime this weekend.  It gives you a reminder to check the blog!  See if your student will remind you of that!  Also, see what your student can tell you about their homework planner this weekend!

Please make note of the MAP testing dates on the Upcoming Dates section of the blog.  Our grade four classes will be testing on Monday, September 11 (Reading), Wednesday, September 13 (Language), and Thursday, September 14 (Math).  To help your student do their best with testing, please make sure they get a good night of sleep and a healthy breakfast!

Reminders
Remember to sign up in the Follow by Email section at the bottom of the 4AN blog to receive automatic updates each time the blog is updated!  Be sure to follow all the way through with instructions to confirmation.  
Just a small reminder about the Fourth Grade Information Sheet that you received on Back-to-School night (or sent home with your student if you were unable to attend), please return this to school with your student as it gives me valuable information about your student and what you see as your hopes and dreams for him or her!

Welcome Back!

Tuesday Schedule:  Week 2, Day 4

Upcoming Events and Special Notes: 
Welcome back and welcome to 4AN!  I've enjoyed meeting most of you on Registration Days or on Back-to-School night and look forward to working with you and your student this year!   

taism4an.blogspot.com has been updated!  Upcoming dates, our new specials schedule, as well as contact information for specialists teachers have all been updated.  Note that I'll typically update with a new blog post at the end of the week with news and information about the upcoming week.  Remember to sign up in the Follow by Email section at the bottom of the 4AN blog to receive automatic updates each time the blog is updated!  Be sure to follow all the way through with instructions to confirmation.

Eureka Math Tips for Parents, Grade 4, Module 1 came home with your student yesterday.  Be sure to check out the these math newsletters that come home regularly; they're very helpful in communicating between school and home!  If you did not see yours come home with your student, send me a quick email or stop in, and I'll get you a copy! 

Reminders:  
Just a small reminder about the Fourth Grade Information Sheet that you received on Back-to-School night (or sent home with your student if you were unable to attend), please return this to school with your student as it gives me valuable information about your student and what you see as your hopes and dreams for him or her!