Post #17

Hope, warmth, patience, love, joy, peace, and awe- just a few of the words that come to mind when we think about Advent and Christmas. The girls did a beautiful job capturing their memories and feelings. Take a look at their Animotos.

Can we work with a partner? Can you make this collaborative? Can you put this online? If I had a dollar for every time I hear these questions...... With collaboration, teamwork, and creativity being essential skills for school and beyond, I guess I should embrace the girls' eagerness to work together to create and publish their work. And on the other hand, the girls know it's ok when they prefer to go off on their own and work independently on a project. Here is their Three Word Thursday:

  The girls are working on their historical fiction book report project. They are illustrating and writing about key events and including literary elements such as setting and conflict. The final project will be a three dimensional dodecahedron that can also be used as a literary Christmas ornament. Lots of work with fractions this week. The girls are adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators and showing their answers in simplest form. They are writing and talking about fractions and demonstrating real understanding. Every week we play the game, "Which one doesn't belong?" It's fascinating listening to their math reasoning when they give their explanation. Which one would you choose?

Gift Service Information

River Road Church, Baptist (RRCB)

Costume Information

Monday 12/18	Tuesday 12/19	Wednesday 12/20
2:00-3:15 LSAR	11:30-2:30  Dress Rehearsal RRCB	Students arrive at regular time. Students will begin boarding buses at 8:10. Service begins at 9:00 and ends at approximately 10:00. Extended Day girls will ride on a bus to St. Christopher's. All other students return to school and are dismissed in carpool. Third and Fourth grade carpool is in McVey lot unless traveling with younger siblings.

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* Homework- No homework until 2018!

* Special Week Girl-Lydia (1/22) 

* Carpool Helpers-Caelan

Class Leadership Week of 12/18

Ambassadors- Stella and Camden

Photographer- McKenzie

Girls-Your blog question is....... Where is dismissal for Fourthies on Wednesday? Post your answer here. 

Post #16

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love the energy and joy that fills our classroom. We are working with abstract nouns and discussing how prevalent they are during the holidays. The girls illustrated beautiful holiday scenes and added an abstract noun. We are encouraging folks to take what they need to enjoy this special time of year. Here are a couple examples:

This week's writing lab continued our work with abstract nouns. The girls are writing about their Christmas memories and are in the process of gathering images, and making recordings. The final product will be a multi-media treat. 

You've heard of the Twelve Days of Christmas, but have you heard about the Twelve Days of Edpuzzles? Ask your daughter about "The Tiny Dancer," "Monty the Penguin," and "The Bear and the Hare." What better way to start a math lesson than with a tender or funny word problem? Take a look:

Unit Two was assessed and the girls' grades were impressive. The test included some pretty tough equations and word problems. Kudos to this determined group of Fourthies. Look for the test in your daughter's work folder that will go home next Friday. We started Unit Three with a review of equivalent fractions. This week's lessons also included naming and comparing fractions and reducing to lowest terms. Fractions will be our focus for the next several weeks.

The girls learned about the elements of a fairy tale and are now creating their own tale. We are using Buncee (a favorite class tool).

Gift Service Information

River Road Church, Baptist (RRCB)

Monday 12/18	Tuesday 12/19	Wednesday 12/20
2:00-3:15 LSAR	11:30-2:30  Dress Rehearsal RRCB	Students arrive at regular time. Students will begin boarding buses at 8:10. Service begins at 9:00 and ends at approximately 10:00. Extended Day girls will ride on a bus to St. Christopher's. All other students return to school and are dismissed in carpool. Third and Fourth grade carpool is in McVey lot unless traveling with younger siblings.

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning. 

* Special Week Girl-Sarah  

* Carpool Helpers-AnneClare

Class Leadership Week of 12/11

Ambassadors- Stella and Camden

Photographer- McKenzie

Girls-Your blog question is....... Where will our gift service be held? Post your answer here. 

Post #15

A St. Catherine's girl is honest, respectful, polite, responsible, and kind. The girls recite these virtues immediately after the pledge each morning. As a class, the girls receive compliments for modeling our school values. I am proud to report that the girls earned 50 compliments. We celebrated today with a fun and slightly messy ( for a few, VERY messy:) holiday craft.

The girls have been multiplying and dividing large numbers and solving very complex word problems. I love listening to their comments and watching their faces when they are learning new math concepts. Nothing is sweeter than hearing comments like, "This makes sense." "This is so easy now." We are wrapping up  Unit 2 in math and the girls will take the cumulative assessment on Wednesday. They have already started to review.

History4Fourthies has brought us into a review of the branches of government and the role of the president. The girls spent some time on several interactive sites.

This week's writing lab took a slightly different turn. The girls worked with Piclits (a site that uses images to inspire writing). We will use this site often to reinforce parts of speech and spark creativity. The girls choose their favorite Piclit and added it to our collaborative slideshow:

 

We loved seeing the movie Wonder. The girls had mixed feelings about which was better, the book or the movie? As a follow-up activity, the girls illustrated their favorite scene from the movie using Buncee. Here they are:

Camden	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/50fa0959f33841489b7aa0fde6e1f23b
Stella	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/f52134f14bff4e6b9e93fbf26f4ba121
Ali	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/b4aab3e3c41c4a619799bb591b5ed6f6
Ava	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/6dcc0ff53d024a35b1725ad4a3579484
Lydia	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/97813576217e440f810ebb61ccfe0b8d
CAE CAE	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/3d83a4a7d4a34671a0df745256841030
Laila	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/ed8eea851f9a4662afb9572452a66e5a
Ceci	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/d7ed1ae854cb4c598336ee6f715fd4d2
Gracie	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/629b68ae890b41c2b6c11be77ed9dacf
McKenzie	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/6f274e4b5bce41ff9af1162eefb631f3
Cate	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/e2bd2e2ef85f42a58e07926d2a63c9b7
Eliza	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/5aa9cfb3ab324719bfb9d833d82844da
Alice	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/c7a8fc36aa284e2f8fc821743aa84121
LuLu	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/83c8b9f09bcf437ea0af2e502b30bc7a
AnneClare	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/91e08d92c75d4c6ba2103a9183062b9f
Sarah	https://app.edu.buncee.com/buncee/e329fb07df4f40be8ca2b76be5ecca7b

If time permits this weekend.... ask your daughter to give you a tour of her Google Drive. You can review her digital portfolio. Also take peek into her Quia account for Wordly Wise progress and her That Quiz account for fact fluency progress. 

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* December Outreach Project- The school is supporting SCAN by bringing in unwrapped gifts. Our class has been asked to bring gifts for a 15 year old boy.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning. 

* Special Week Girl-Camden  

* Carpool Helpers-Ali

Class Leadership Week of 12/4

Ambassadors- Laila and Cate

Photographer- Grace

Girls-Your blog question is....... What site did you use in this week's writing lab? Post your answer here. 

Post #14

A quick post before we all leave for Thanksgiving break. The girls had a packed two days. Everyone loved the movie, Wonder. The girls are creating a Buncee to depict their favorite scene. Look for those in the next post. Our annual Math Expo with St. Chris was a blast. The girls were impressive and confident in their math abilities. A few pics of the girls in action. The PE bicycle unit begins after Thanksgiving. The girls brought home a permission slip today. Here it is just in case it doesn't make its way home:)

The fall Book Fair is on 11/29, 11/30, and 12/1. Our class goes on Wednesday @ 1:10-1:30.

Post #13

The girls put forth a good effort during the testing sessions. I am proud of their focus and determination. And there were ZERO absences! We used the week to complete assignments and projects. The girls also did a little house cleaning-seatsack, cubbies, shelves, etc. to get ready for the fast paced learning that is about to happen.  The next couple of weeks are going to be filled with joyful explorations, creative thinking and holiday celebrations. The girls continue to take a few minutes each day to express their gratitude. Their ability and eagerness to craft a heartfelt note for a peer makes me grateful to be their teacher. Each student practiced reading a gratitude precept or wrote her own. Here's a feel good compilation of these grateful Fourthies to get you in the holiday spirit.

The movie, Wonder, was the inspiration for our math activities this week. Next week we will look at a real-life "Auggie" and use his story as problem-solving inspiration. Here's an example of some Wonder math:

The girls finished writing lab #6. They did a good job incorporating compound sentences. The younger girls are enjoying the creative magazine covers that spotlight this special group of Fourthies.

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* We are so excited for Monday's field trip to see the movie Wonder with our fifth grade friends. Please remember field trip attire.

* St. Chris fourth graders will visit for a Math Expo on Tuesday.  This tradition started five years ago. It's a blast to have all fourth grade Saints together!

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning. NO homework until after Thanksgiving!

* Book Fair- 11/29, 11/30, and 12/1 Our class goes on Wednesday @ 1:10-1:30

* Special Week Girl- Next Special Week is Camden  (December 4th) 

* Carpool Helpers- Eliza

Class Leadership Week of 11/20

Ambassadors- Alice and Ceci

Photographer- Lucy

Girls-

Your blog question is....... When does homework start back up again? Post your answer here. Remember to bring a canned food for our Outreach project.

Post #12

We had some fun with multiplication facts this week. That's a statement I've never written before. The girls really got into flipgrid. Some were a little silly but they totally enjoyed listening to each other sing, giggle, and chant the multiplication facts. Take a look here. We will use this nifty tool for some problem solving next week. 

We spent a good chunk of time practicing long division. Most girls could use the standard algorithm to solve equations but had a difficult time explaining the concept. We worked with manipulatives and "talked" math. I love when they spend time reflecting, talking, and writing about math. The girls were introduced to a math singing/problem-solving project using clips from the movie SING! Look for these in next week's work folder. 

The San Fransisco earthquake movies are finished. We had great success using Adobe Spark to create the movies. We will enjoy some "corn of the popped variety" and will watch them together for a relaxing breaking between ERB testing. History4Fourthies will be all about government for the next several weeks. 

The girls finished last week's writing lab and produced descriptive paragraphs about each other. Now they are creating magazine covers featuring each other. These will be outside the classroom for all to enjoy. Here's Caelan's magazine cover celebrating Laila.

ERB testing begins on Monday. The girls will be taking the tests on the computer. The Middle School has been using the digital format for years and rave about it. We had a few practice modules, so the girls will be in great shape next week. It is a homework free week (yippeeee!). I know you will send your daughters to school rested and ready for the test. The girls may bring in cozy slippers or socks- just to make the testing environment a little more palatable.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00-10:00	8:30-9:30	9:00-10:00	9:15-10:15	8:15-9:15
Auditory Comprehension	Reading Comprehension	Math Part 2	Writing Concepts	Quantitative Reasoning
11:30-12:30	11:30-12:30	11:30-12:30
Math Part 1	Writing Mechanics	Verbal Reasoning

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* We are so excited to go on field trip #2 to see the movie Wonder with our fifth grade friends. Please take a minute to review the trip with your daughter. We do need parent permission because the movie is rated PG. Trip details are here.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

* Spanish Project details.

* Help replenish the St. Stephen's Food Pantry for the holidays. Please bring in canned or boxed goods through 11/20/17. 

* Special Week Girl- Next Special Week is Camden  (December 4th) 

* Carpool Helpers- Cate

Class Leadership Week of 11/13

Ambassadors- Alice and Ceci

Photographer- Lucy

Girls-

Your blog question is....... What is included in the concession snack? Post your answer here. 

Post #11

Phew! I think we will all need much rest this weekend. It was a week filled with fun, laughter, and lots of learning! The girls had a blast on Halloween. The parent volunteers did an amazing job with games, snacks, and crafts. Many thanks! Wordly Wise Dress Up Day got the party started. 

We have been celebrating who we are as a school in both language arts and math. Our week ended with the St. Catherine's Day Chapel. Several Fourthies were speakers. Our class was well represented by Ava, Ceci, and Lydia. We are working our way through the parts of speech and have been focusing on using strong adjectives. We used https://www.menti.com/ to write adjectives describing St. Catherine's. A word cloud is created as the girls enter the descriptions. The frequency of an adjective determines the size of the font. Take a look at how your daughters describe our wonderful school and their education.

Of course these Fourthies celebrated our school with some math problem-solving. Some of the problems were pretty tough but these determined girls found the solutions. 

                
I'm happy to report that many girls are solving the weekly math challenge. We even have a Inspector Gadget Pride Wall. Several girls now have accounts in Solve Me Mobiles. Solve Me Mobiles is a great site that promotes algebraic thinking and reasoning. It's exciting to see them seeking enrichment activities. I remind the girls that enrichment is for everyone not just the early finishers.

November is Native American Heritage Month. The girls are  reading Newsela articles about Native Americans. Understanding and appreciating other cultures helps the girls develop empathy. The girls are putting the finishing touches on their San Francisco earthquake documentaries. Look for the finished product in next week's post. 

A few girls complained that we didn't do enough writing this week? WHAT??? I thought I had built plenty of creative writing into the week's lesson plans. I'll do better next week:) The girls interviewed a friend during our writing lab. They practiced asking questions that would encourage a detailed response. The second step was to write a descriptive paragraph and include compound sentences. We are all about commas and FANBOY. Your daughter can explain. "Can we share our writing?" is a question I hear often so we started "table sharing" this week. I shared the folder of Halloween Spell Stories with the girls. They read the stories of the girls at their table. We like feedback in Room M02 and our homemade monogram notepads came in handy. The girls wrote notes of encouragement and commented on each others' stories. 

Next Wednesday is our first field trip. We are going to George Washington's home in Mt. Vernon. All information is here. It's going to be a long day; we leave at 7:15 and return at dismissal. Let's hope the weather cooperates.

ERBs begin the week of November 11th. There is no preparation needed other than a good night's sleep and a positive attitude. More on ERBs next week.

Mrs Iven's shared this video clip of our class performing The Ghost of John in music class.

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* Our field trip to Mt. Vernon is on November 8th. Details here.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

* Special Week Girl- Next Special Week is Camden  (December 4th) 

* Carpool Helpers- Stella

Class Leadership Week of 11/6

Ambassadors- McKenzie and Sarah

Reporters- Ava and Stella

Photographer- Eliza

Girls-

Your blog question is....... What time do you have to be at school on Wednesday? Post your answer here. 

Post #10

In our classroom we agree to listen but we don't have to agree. The girls know that they are free to voice their opinions and express themselves without judgment. This week the girls strengthened their collaboration skills and spent time reflecting on their cooperation during team/group work. They wrote collaborative stories and developed innovation designs with Mrs. Ferrell's third graders. 

The girls read many articles in Newsela this week. I know I've said it many times but it bears repeating, Newsela is a great tool for non-fiction comprehension while making local and global connections. They read about a controversial Halloween costume and then shared their opinions with the class. Take a look:

https://todaysmeet.com/Costumeyourthoughts

We are wrapping up the study of the 1900's and will move into a review of government and the role of the president in preparation for our first field trip to Mt. Vernon on November 8th. Working with a partner, the girls researched the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. They will take their notes and create a news broadcast about the event.

Three Word Thursday gained a broader audience this week. We used a shared Google slideshow for this activity. The girls thoughtfully commented on each other's work. You can read their creativity. 

A favorite Fourthie mental math activity is "Donut Math." Ahh the fun we can have with a paper donut. I like to remind the girls that fact practice doesn't need to be a sparkly website. 

Problem solving took the girls to some pretty spooky places this week. They compared populations and calculated distances from places such as Tombstone, AZ, Slaughter Beach, DE, and Scarville, IA. I loved listening to them explain and rationalize why a town would get such a creepy name. In fact I love the way these girls talk about math every day. Their ability to reflect on concepts and communicate math ideas is remarkable!

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* Wordly Wise Dress Up Day is Tuesday, Details here.

* Our field trip to Mt. Vernon is on November 8th. Details here.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

* Special Week Girl- Next Special Week is Camden  (December 4th) 

* Carpool Helpers- Alice and Sarah

Class Leadership Week of 10/30

Ambassadors- Grace and Ava

Reporters- Cate and Ali

Photographer- Laila

Girls-

Your blog question is....... Fill in the blanks: "In our class we agree to ______ but we don't have to _______." Post your answer here. 

Post #9

I enjoyed our conferences and learning more about your incredibly kind and talented daughters. We are having a great year and I'm grateful for your partnership.

We are in the second math chapter which focuses on the four operations of whole numbers. Now more then ever, Attention to Detail is critical. The girls practiced solving equations and realized the importance of bar modeling. Bar modeling is a recurring strategy that the girls will use throughout the year. I loved watching them as they used bar modeling and the aha moments they were having. We are keeping the Halloween theme as we bar model:

Some spooky writing was all the rage this week. Writing Lab #5 focuses on sentence structure and the editing process. The girls are working hard to incorporate rich vocabulary in their writing. Revising and editing is a skill that will be reinforced in each writing lab. We talked about creative writing (language arts composition book) and the girls expressed their feelings regarding handwriting vs. typing. They were articulate and seemed to understand what works best for them. I don't believe in a "one size fits all" approach and I've encouraged the girls to advocate for themselves. Fourth grade is about empowering the girls to make choices that will be beneficial for lifelong learning. 

Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day will be here soon. The girls are doing a great job using the words in conversation and writing. Ask your daughter what her plans are for WW Dress-Up Day.

A special shout out to Ali, Camden, and Cate for their performances at our first LS Recital. They were poised and performed beautifully.

Today, the girls were treated to a book talk with Shannon and Dean Hale. They were so excited to listen to this duo. Shannon and Dean Hall spoke about the importance of determination, resillience, and following your dream.

The first quarter is just about over. Now is a good time to have your daughter give you a tour of her Google Drive and Google Classroom. You can see her writing and other activities. While you are on the computer, take a peek into her Quia account to see Wordly Wise quizzes, Spelling City to see spelling progress, and That Quiz for a check of her fact fluency.

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

* Wordly Wise Dress Up Day is Tuesday, October 31st!!! Details here.

* Our field trip to Mt. Vernon is on November 8th. Details here.

* Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

* Special Week Girl- Ava 

* Carpool Helpers- No Fourthies from room M02 are on duty next week.

* Late start on Thursday. It's Innovation Day. Supplies will be provided by the school.

Class Leadership Week of 10/16

Ambassadors- Eliza and Ali

Reporters- Ceci and Caelan

Photographer- Camden

Girls-

Your blog question is....... Explain the cartoon at the top of the page? Post your answer here.