Happy 4 Day Weekend !

Hello Families,

This week, we have a four day school week and same with next week, which means a 4 day weekend! Enjoy! 

A friendly suggestion; please consider turning off the  low-grade alert on Gradelink. Please wait until you see the paper in the Friday Folder, have conversation with your child regarding the reason for missed points before sending us an email. It is super important to be seeing the work first hand before we can address it. 

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, August 29th - Jesuit-Stronger Breakfast at 8:00 at the Parish Hall 
• Wednesday, August 29th - Mass of the Holy Spirit at 9:30
• Friday, August 31st and Monday, September 3rd - NO SCHOOL 

English Language Arts



We do not have any spelling words or homework this week. We are beginning our study on the fifty states, and spelling of each state's name correctly will count as our spelling practice. 

We will be learning all about Quotation Marks this week. As the week progresses, students will learn about their grammar project that is centered on the use of Quotation Marks.

We will be talking about the reading skill of Cause and Effect. This week's story is full of rich details, so we will be covering it for two weeks. Students will have in class work as well as homework through Google Classroom that go along with this story. Students will be assessed on this story next week on Friday, September 7th. 

The students WILL have vocabulary homework this week. All directions will be reviewed in class on Tuesday and homework will be due Thursday.

Social Studies



We begin our journey around the 50 States by stopping in our first region, The Southwest. The students will need to know how to properly locate each of the four states on a map, spell each state's name correctly, and match the state's name to its corresponding capital city. The students will be assessed on this on Thursday, August 30th. 

We will be storing all of our 50 States work in our Region Book. The Region Book is to stay in the students accordion file at all times. We will be using it over the next five weeks.

Math

We are working on comparing greater numbers and rounding to the nearest 10, 100, 1,000,...

Even during our short weeks, the Dreambox goal is 40 minutes and 5 lessons. The report will be from Sunday to Friday regardless of the no school day.

Science

We are continuing in the Human Body, and our focus will be on the Respiratory System. We will have a vocabulary test on Thursday instead of Friday.

Religion

This week is the Mass of the Holy Spirit, which is a tradition at the beginning of the school year for all Jesuit schools. We will go over the SLEs and symbols of the Holy Spirit.

Settling In

 Hello Families,

The students are beginning to settle in as are we. Our routines will soon become second nature for everyone. A few gentle reminders:

• The Friday Folder will go home on Fridays and MUST be signed and returned every Monday.
• The PRIDE pass will go home every Friday and MUST  be signed and returned every Monday.
• There is a nightly reading log; however it is not due until August 30th - Your child should be reading 20 to 30 minutes daily and you should be signing off on it.
• Dreambox is a weekly assignment as well. The Dreambox week begins Sunday and ends Friday night.  

TOGETHER we will all get through the bumps and things will begin to smooth out. We like to refer to this as our "groan zone". There may be some "growing pains" these next few weeks, but it will all be worth it in the end and we will help our children reach the growth zone. Remember, we are here to help in any way, so please reach out if you need anything.

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, August 22nd - Back to School Night at 6:00 PM in 4A for both Fourth Grades (We will send out our PowerPoint via email for any families who are not able to join us that evening.) 

English Language Arts



There will be a spelling test on Thursday, August 23rd. 

We will have a grammar test on the skills of Subject and Predicate and the 4 Types of Sentences on Friday, August 24th. 

Reading - We will talk about the skill of Author's Purpose. Students will be working on in-class tasks that will take the place of a test grade.

Writing - We will edit and revise our personal narrative this week. We are getting closer to publishing our work.


Social Studies

We will begin learning about the 5 Regions of the United States. The students will have a mini quiz on Thursday, where they will be asked to label each region on a blank map of the USA. 



Math

We are working on larger numbers and place value. We are working on the concepts of standard form, expanded form, and word form. 

Our weekly Dreambox homework is graded. 

Science

We are continuing our unit on the Human Body with a focus on The Skeletal and Muscular Systems. 

Religion 

The focus is God's Amazing Creation. The students and I are discussing ways that we can make a difference in taking care  of our world. 

Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year!

Hello Families,

Welcome to the 2018 - 2019 school year! We are excited and ready to begin this fun-filled, academic journey with you and your child this year. Each week, you will receive an email from us that will have our link to this blog. This is our weekly newsletter and way of communication. Please be sure to open the link each week and read what is transpiring in our classrooms.

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed on the weekly skills being covered. You also have access to field trip dates and class parties, which can be found under that tab along the top of the page. You have access to the Fourth Grade behavior procedures under the PRIDE Pass tab. You can also access our weekly schedule under the tab along the bop.

Looking Ahead....

• Wednesday, August 15th - All School Mass in the Church at 9:30 - note the new Mass time
• Wednesday, August 22nd - Back to School Night in our classrooms at 6:00 PM
• Thursday, August 16th - STAR Reading and STAR Math Tests in the morning for both 4th grade classes 

English Langue Arts



Spelling - Each week, students will be given a spelling pre-test on the Friday before the new week begins. If the students gets a 100%, he/she does not need to take the spelling test the following week. Spelling tests occur every Thursdays. ALL students are responsible for completing the spelling homework regardless if they received a 100% on the pre-test or not. Spelling homework is due Thursdays.

There will be a spelling test this Thursday, August 16th. 

Grammar - We will start our year off  by reviewing what makes a sentence complete or incomplete.

Reading - We will begin work in our Journey's reading textbook by reading a small excerpt from Because of Winn Dixie, which was our summer book. Students will review the skill of story structure.

Writing - We will begin our year with writing a personal narrative about our summer adventures.

Social Studies

We will review the 7 continents and 5 oceans. Students will have a quiz on correctly locating the oceans and continents on Friday, August 17th. Spelling will not count as the words will be provided to them. 

Math

We are working on number sense and the concept of "ten times as much as". The students are using the place value model.

Science

We are starting in the STEM Lab, and our first module is the Human Body. The first investigation will be covering the Nervous System.

Religion

Wednesday, August 15th is a Holy Day of obligation in the Church. We will be talking about the Assumption of Mary. We will discuss the difference between the Assumption, the Ascension, the Immaculate Conception, and the Annunciation as these are often confused.