Fall is here!

Good Morning 4th grade families, 

Fall is upon us! Can you feel the cooler weather creeping in? YAY! As September comes to a close, we look ahead to our annual school auction on October 7th, Parent-Teacher conferences beginning the week of October 2nd, and a four-day weekend, October 13th to 16th. ! 

Looking ahead...

• Wednesday, September 27th - All School Mass at the Church led by us, the fourth graders
• Monday, October 2nd - 4th grade parent-teacher conferences begin 
• Saturday, October 7th - Run for the roses - school auction 
• Wednesday, October 11th - Half Day (parent-teacher conferences)
• Thursday, October 12th - Half Day 
• Friday, October 13th and Monday, October 16th - NO SCHOOL 

English Language Arts

Spelling Test on Homophones- Thursday, September 27th 

Grammar - Fragments, run-on sentences, and proper nouns 

Reading - This week's story is a Tall Tale, and students will come to learn and understand what makes a story a tall tale by creating a Tall Tale wheel and watching the video, Paul Bunyan.  The Reading test will be Friday, September 28th 

Writing - Students will make revisions to their state reports, add a picture of their state flag, and print it. We will also work on getting our postcards out to the schools in other states.

Social Studies

Students will be assessed on BOTH the states and capitals from the West region. on Tuesday, September 26th. We will then move to learning about the Midwest region states. 

Math 

The students will use place value understanding to round multi-digit numbers to any place value.  They will use the vertical number line and the standard algorithm. 

The x4 test will be coming up soon, so please practice those facts! 

Science

Students will be working on the open book packet for lesson 2: Classifying Living Things. The purpose of this activity to help students get into the habit of going back into the text to find their answers. 

Religion 

This week we will learn more about Our Lady Fatima. We will draw posters for the Diocesan Rosary Poster Contest. 

Mid-September

Hello Families,

We are now in mid-September and settling into a good routine with our students. With IOWA testing behind us, our weekly schedule will calm down a bit.

Looking ahead in our classrooms and at SFX.....

• Tuesday, September 19th - Grammar projects due (conversations with someone in history)
• Tuesday, September 19th - Southwest states quiz (students must be able to correctly locate and spell each state) 
• Friday, September 22nd - Free Dress day for students who bring in a gift card to support the school auction 
• Friday, September 22nd - 1st Trimester Progress Report 
• Wednesday, September 27th - All School mass at the Church (4th grade is leading Mass)
• Saturday, October 7th - School Auction: Run for the Roses 

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

An email went out last week with a sign-up genius link for parent-teacher conferences. We are starting a week ahead of time, so please make sure you have signed up. We are looking forward to seeing you all!

English Language Arts



Spelling homework will be modified this week due to it not going home last Friday. See student agenda.  There is a spelling test on Thursday, September 21st.

Grammar - We are focusing on fragments and run-on sentences.

Reading - This week we are focusing on what theme in a story is. There will be a comprehension assessment on Friday, September 22nd.

Vocabulary - We will review prefixes and complete dictionary work using the words from our story.  Students will be assessed on the 10 vocabulary words in this story on Friday, September 22nd.

Writing - Students will continue working on their state report rough drafts. We will revise and edit this week. Students will begin the typing process during our computer lab time.

Social Studies 

We will read and learn about the states in the West region. Students will be assessed on BOTH the states an capitals in this region on Tuesday, September 26th.

Math

We are rounding multi-digit whole numbers using a vertical number line.

Science

We will work on lesson 2: Classifying Living Things. The students will work on finishing open book packets, which will be utilized as a study guide.

Religion

We are going to focus on the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. Next week we will test on the Act of Faith.

Mini Vinnies Needs Our Help!

The SFX Mini Vinnies needs your help!

Did you know that there are grade-specific volunteer opportunities available so students can volunteer with their classmates? Mini Vinnies, a volunteer collaboration between St. Francis and St. Vincent de Paul, offers a great way for students to show they are Kids for Others while fostering goodwill and a spirit of service within the grade levels. We need your help to spread the word to students and their families about these volunteer opportunities.

Can you please share the following dates with your students and encourage them to sign up? Feel free to sign up to volunteer with your grades on their specific dates, too!
Grade-specific Mini Vinnies Dates:

4^th grade:

September 29 (Fri.)

October 23 (Mon.)

5^th grade:

September 27 (Wed.)

October 27 (Fri.)

6^th grade:

September 13 (Wed.)

October 2 (Mon.)

November 3 (Fri.)

7^th grade:

September 20 (Wed.)

October 6 (Fri.)

Nov. 6 (Mon.)

8^th grade:

September 25 (Mon.)

October 18 (Wed.)

November 17 (Fri.)

General Mini Vinnies Dates:
There are many open volunteer dates (for anyone at SFX, not class-specific) available, too.

Sign up today! Sign up to volunteer with the Mini Vinnies, whether you are able to serve with your classmates or with your family and friends. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d48a4ad28a2f94-mini
Questions? Contact Ann-Marie Alameddin at alameddin@cox.net or Julie Wilson at julie@jfwcomm.com.

About Mini Vinnies
Mini Vinnies offers SFX students the chance to show they are Kids for Others by volunteering together at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to help feed, clothe, house and heal those in need.

Testing Week

Happy Monday Families!

This week is IOWA and CogAT testing. Please make sure your child is present and on time for school. Please make sure they eat a healthy breakfast, have a healthy snack, and a good nights rest. 

Our school pantry is need of your help! Please consider picking up a few extra items during your weekly grocery shopping trip to donate to the pantry. This pantry supports many of our SFX families. Thank you kindly! 

English Language Arts

We will not be moving onto the next lesson due to testing. Students will need to continue to work on their Grammar Conversation Project. The project is due Tuesday, September 19th.

Writing - Each student will be assigned a state to research and report on. Majority of the research will be done in class.

Social Studies

This week, students will learn about the Southwest Region. There will be a quiz on the location of the states in this region next week on Tuesday, September 19th.



Math

The students will be able to find 1, 10, and 100 thousand more and less than a given number (using a place value chart.  The students will round multi-digit numbers to the thousands place using the vertical number line.

Science

This week we are making a "foldable" to use as a study guide for the 5 Basic Life Functions.  It's a graded piece, too.  Then the students will do an "open book" packet for Chapter 1 Lesson 1.  This is a bit of a learning curve for the students.  They will learn how to go back into the text to find answers.  Once again, this will be graded.

Religion

This week we will be practicing the responses for mass and finishing our posters regarding God's Awesome Creation.

Hello September!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

We hope you all enjoyed the long weekend! September is here and football season is upon us!

We have a 4-day school week ahead of us and then the following week we begin CogAT testing and IOWA testing on Monday, September 11th. Please make sure your child is present and on time for school. Please make sure they get a good nights rest and a healthy breakfast. For those of you who are not familiar with the CogAT, it is a test that students in grades 4th and 7th grade take, and it merely measure how students think in words, pictures, and numbers.

Looking ahead...

• Wednesday, September 6th - Decision Making begins!
• Wednesday, September 6th - 3rd-5th Grade Mass at Brophy 

English Language Arts



There is NO SPELLING this week! We are continuing with the same lesson from last week.

We will continue to review the three forms of quotation marks. There will be a grammar assessment on Friday, September 8th. 

We will continue read about how students in other countries get library books. There will be a reading comprehension assessment on Friday, September 8th. 

Last week, students logged into their Gmail accounts and sent a practice email to me. We will continue our lessons on how to properly send an email. 

In lieu of a reading log this week, 

• students will have a homework assignment that will ask them to email me following the steps discussed in class. 
• Additionally, students became part of our ELA Google Classroom. Students will have a homework assignment through Google Classroom. 

Social Studies

Last week, we began our discussion of the 5 Regions of the US. Students will have a mini, 5 point, quiz on Wednesday on the five regions. Students will be given a map with each region already outlined that they will need to simply label the region with its name. This will transition us into discussing each region and learning the states and capitals within that region. By the end of October, your students will know and be assessed on all 50 states and capitals. Spelling will count! 

Math 

We are comparing large numbers using the greater than, less than, or equal to symbols. We are rounding multi-digit numbers to the thousands place using a vertical number line. We will be taking our x3 test this week. Please practice!

Science

We are starting Chapter 1 in our Science textbooks. The theme is Kingdoms of Life. The focus this week will be the five basic life functions of all organisms. 

Religion

This week, we are discussing the Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. We will pray and memorize the Act of Faith.