Post #6

Big Sister/ Little Sister 2017-2018

Making Friends with Mr. Maslanka's Eighth Grade Homeroom

The girls enjoyed our first Little Sister/Big Sister event. Some were excited to finally have a "sister." Lots of brothers in Room M02! Our next event is in early November and we will travel to the Middle School for that.

We've been reading about "fake news" in Newsela. The girls read about the benefit of eating ice cream first thing in the morning and later learned it was just more fake news. The writing lab continued the fake news theme. The girls were so creative and reported on their own fake news. Faux newspapers were generated and added to a collaborative slideshow. The girls practiced writing positive and thoughtful comments about each other's fake news stories. We discussed the power of words and the girls understand that words written on the Internet never go away. Here are their clever articles:

Collaborative writing continued with some "un-photoshopped" horses sporting mustaches. The girls wrote funny stories about these cute creatures and worked math terms into the tales. I love how they jump into all assignments with eager creativity.

I've asked the girls to Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. Your daughter can explain the acronym. We've been working with order of operations and solving for variables in math. We will spend much of next week reviewing Unit One and the girls will be ready to tackle the unit test the following week. 

History4Fourthies has us at the turn of the 20th century. We began this decade reading about everyday women who did incredible things. We looked at one of Thomas Edison's first silent movie and discussed how our idea of entertainment changes throughout history. We will spend next week exploring more key events of the 1900's. 

One more thing before I wrap up this post. I mentioned our class chapel at "Parents' Night." Our October chapel had to be changed and we will now do our class chapel in April. 

Class Leadership Week of 10/2

Ambassadors- Caelan and Ceci

Reporters- McKenzie and Lailah

Photographer- AnneClare

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

Lend a Helping Paw

Lend a Helping Paw- Florida * Bring in a dollar on Monday and wear jeans to support this project.

Blessing of the Animals- Monday morning @8:15 Details here.

Swimming begins 10/3 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday) Swim letter with details. Click here.

*Sign-up for Parents' Technology Night 10/5 @ 7:00 Please click here to sign-up

*Fall Conference Sign-up (Please let me know if you need a different time/day. I will work around your schedule)

Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

Special Week Girl- Grace

Carpool Helpers- Grace will represent our class next week

Girls-

Your blog question is....... What is the name of our Big Sisters' homeroom teacher? Post your answer here. 

Post #5

They are official!

There is nothing quite like the official swearing in of a new crop of Fourthies. The girls signed the Fourthie Pledge (a personal copy is in their work folder), received the famous yellow cap, and are now the official leaders of the Lower School. Remember that there will be many leadership opportunities throughout the year. 

Ask your daughter about a simple cup of tea. This week's writing lab focused on sentence expansion and choosing specific verbs and adjectives to strengthen paragraphs. And it started with a cup of tea. We had some fun with Wordly Wise writing. The girls will do some pretty clever activities using their WW words. This week they worked with a comic strip generator and saved their comics in a Google slideshow. Here are a few examples:

Ask  your daughter to give you a tour of her Google Drive and Google Classroom to see the kinds of activities we've been working on. Better yet come to our Parents' Technology Night on October 5th for an in depth look at technology integration in fourth grade.

I'm happy to report that "Fact Contracts" are improving and attention to detail is on the rise. The girls understand the importance of rapid fact recall and fact fluency. We worked with factor pairs and multiples this week. The concept of "abundant numbers" was introduced. The girls were on a mission to find abundant numbers and in doing so practiced finding MANY factor pairs. Rounding large numbers was the "Mindful Maths" activity this week and popped up in many EdPuzzles. Here's an example:

History4Fourthies still has us in the 21st century. The girls learned more about the prospect of colonizing Mars and found out that a St. Catherine's alum is in the group being considered to take a one way trip to the "Red Planet." They learned about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the efforts to rescue lost pets. This was the perfect segue for our Friday chapel- "Lend a Helping Paw." More information about this important project is in "Nuts and Bolts." 

Band started this week and clubs (for those girls not in band) will begin next week. Next Thursday is our first "Little Sister/Big Sister" event. Each LS class is paired with a middle school homeroom for some fun bonding activities.

Class Leadership Week of 9/25

Ambassadors- Cate and Stella

Reporters- Sarah and Alice

Photographer- McKenzie

Nuts and Bolts:

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

Lend a Helping Paw

Lend a Helping Paw- Florida

Lunch Bunch Letter from Mrs. Sterling

Swimming begins 10/3 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday)

*Sign-up for Parents' Technology Night 10/5 @ 7:00 Please click here to sign-up

*Fall Conference Sign-up (Please let me know if you need a different time/day. I will work around your schedule)

Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

Special Week Girl- AnneClare

Carpool Helpers- Camden will represent our class next week

Girls-

Your blog question is....... Who is going to Florida to help rescue abandoned pets?  Post your answer here. 

Post #4

Anyone recognize this Fourthie? The girls are working on their first Writing Lab. This lab focuses on sentence structure and punctuation. The girls wrote a paragraph in first person point of view describing themselves. They created a pixilated picture to add some mystery. Writing labs are a work in progress and involve revising throughout the week. The girls' work will be on display outside the classroom. The younger girls really get a kick out of reading the Fourthies' writing. Speaking of writing, monogramed notepads have been bound and the girls wrote their first uplifting note to their weekly partner. I love the kindness and encouragement they extend to each other. 

Wordly Wise was assessed this week. Each week the girls will take two different types of quizzes. Quizzes are taken in Quia which provides immediate feedback. You can log into your daughter's Quia account and see her progress. I'll explain further at Parents' Tech night on October 5th. I hope you can attend. Spelling was also assessed this week. The girls are preparing for their quizzes with flashcards, online games (Quizlet) and classwork. 

We've been reading, writing, and rounding large numbers. The girls solved some pretty tricky math riddles too. Fact practice should be about 10-15 minutes each night. Next week's fact check will be the three times tables as we move into working with factor pairs and multiples.

I loved the mature discussions and questions the girls had during our History4Fourthies lessons this week. We entered the 21st century and discussed the events of September 11th 2011, space travel, and the growth of technology. 

Class Leadership Week of 9/18

Ambassadors- Camden and Laila

Reporters- Grace and Eliza

Photographer- Ceci

Nuts and Bolts!

Information needed a parent response is highlighted.

Picture Day 9/19

*Band letter- please email Ben Court (bcourt@st.catherines.org) if your daughter is participating in Band

Swimming begins 10/3 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday)

*Sign-up for Parents' Technology Night 10/5 @ 7:00 Please click here to sign-up

*Fall Conference Sign-up (Please let me know if you need a different time/day. I will work around your schedule)

Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

*Special Week Sign-up

Carpool Helpers- Ceci will represent our class next week

Girls-

Your blog question is....... What should we name our new printer?  Post your answer here. Bonus question???? What Wordly Wise word is used in this post? Post your answer here

Post #3

I enjoyed seeing many of you at Parents' Night. It is going to be a great year! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with questions/concerns. It truly is a partnership. 

What a wonderful week- outdoor recess everyday, creativity in high gear, and problem solving in everything. That's how Fourthies do it! This group of girls has impressed me with their work ethic and determination. What a treat to be with them. On to our curriculum update.

Number bonding is all the rage. In fact we LOVE number bonds. We've played games and accessed several math sites. Kahoot was a class favorite. We are able to move seamlessly from activity to activity because of our one/one laptop classroom. The girls have their first Singapore Math Module in their Google Classroom. They are demonstrating mastery of key concepts including ordering numbers, writing and reading large numbers, and working with place value. Attention to detail is our mantra in math. The girls took there first fact check on That Quiz. Their Fact Contract (fact check) is in their work folder. Fact fluency will improve throughout the year and times will speed up. We enjoyed our first Boy Band Friday (BBF) with Backstreet Boys. BBF is a fun way to practice math calculations.

                                   

The girls were reconnected with their Newsela accounts and explored the new articles. Newsela is our non-fiction reading source. It's a great tool for today's global citizens. Log in is easier this year; just a click into their Google account.

We reviewed literary elements including plot, theme, setting, and conflict. The girls are creating a multi-media project in Buncee using their summer reading (Because of Winn Dixie). I'll share these on our blog in a few weeks. 

Our school values were reinforced in an editing/musical activity. Songs included: "Try a Little Kindness", "Respect", and the not so famous "Radio Silents" by Young Marble Giants (that was a new one for me).

The girls are going to bring back the art of letter writing one thoughtful note at a time. They made monograms, played with transparency features, and are ready to make their own notepad. Stay tuned.

Class Leadership Week of 9/11

Ambassadors- Lydia and Alice

Reporters- AnneClare and Lucy

Photographer- Caelan

Nuts and Bolts!

I will highlight information that needs a parent response. Thanks for the suggestion. I am always open to feedback.

Picture Day 9/19

Swimming begins 10/3 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday)

Parents' Technology Night 10/5 @ 7:00

Fall Conference Sign-up (Please let me know if you need a different time/day. I will work around your schedule)

Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

Special Week Sign-up

Carpool Helpers- Ava will represent our class next week

Girls-

Your blog question is....... What day do we have our class pictures?  Post your answer here.

Post #2

Welcome Class of 2026!

The Fourthies are into the swing of school and have had a fantastic week. The "Lamps of Learning" are burning. Ask your daughter to explain.

The girls reflected on last year and set some goals for this year. The trials and tribulations of a squirrel helped the girls understand the value of determination and the importance of lending a helping hand. 

We jumped right into math. The girls had their first math "Musical Moment" and completed several EdPuzzles. This month's EdPuzzles will highlight friendship and possibilities. Here's an example:

The girls received many passwords to the many educational sites that we will use. Thank-you for signing the Acceptable Use form. They created their first assignment in Google Classroom and are in the midst of completing a layered math assignment in Google Classroom.  After completing a virtual scavenger hunt, they are pros at navigating our Fourthie Site.

Spelling and Wordly Wise words were introduced and the girls had a little fun using their spelling words in "Let's Make a Deal." More on that next week. I loved their enthusiasm during our first Three Word Thursday. Fourthies write across the curriculum. Just wait until you see the writing portfolio they will amass this year.

History4Fourthies began with a discussion of our school's history. We will move into the 2000's next week. The girls will learn about "their decade" before we delve into the 20th Century. History4Fourthies will always include culture and society as it affected/affects women.

The Student Ambassadors (McKenzie and Sarah) have been raising the flag and helping with classroom organization. Our class Photographer (Cate) has captured the week in pics. Our class Reporters (Ali & Stella) completed the first weekly "Four by Four." Class leadership roles will change ever week or two.

Nuts and Bolts!

Parents' Night- 9/7 @ 6:00

Swimming begins 10/3

Parents' Technology Night 10/5 @ 7:00

Homework- Homework is posted each Friday for family planning.

Carpool Helpers- Ali will represent our class next week

Girls-

Your blog question is....... Which Fourthie is wearing a pink bow in the top picture?  Post your answer here.