October is here!

Happy Monday Families!

Please note that this week's blog will serve as our weekly communication for this week and next week. Next week is somewhat of a shorter week due to 2 half days and no school on Friday, October 11th. Also, please remember that Mrs. Ezell will be away Monday, October 7th to Wednesday, October 9th at a professional development conference in Chicago, IL. 

Looking Ahead...

• Tuesday, October 1st - Altar server training from 3:15 to 4:15 in the Church for students in grades 4 and up. One parent must attend. 
• Friday, October 4th - Jesuit Heritage Mass with Brophy at 9:45 to 11:15 pm. Students will NOT be allowed to leave Mass, so plan accordingly. See Mrs. Westerfield's notes in the weekly eNews for any questions. 
• Friday, October 4th - School Auction for parents at 6:00 pm 
• Wednesday, October 9th and Thursday, October 10th - Half Day with dismissal at 12:50
• Friday, October 11th and Monday, October 14th - NO SCHOOL 

English Language Arts



 * We will spend the next 2 weeks on Lesson 5.*

Reading - We will be talking about Tall Tales and use the cartoon video, Paul Bunyan to help us get started. We will be looking at the skill of understanding characters. There will be a reading assessment on this skill next Thursday, October 10th. 

Grammar - Last week, we spent some extra time reviewing our Quotation Marks rules and re-did some of our work. Students will receive directions for their "Let's Chat" Quotation Marks project this week and it will be due next Thursday, October 10th. 

We will then move to looking at the skill of proper nouns. 

Writing - The majority of the students are now working on their rough drafts of their state reports. We will work on finishing them up this week, so that next week we can revise and edit to get ready to publish.

NEW reading log and program - Beginning tomorrow, October 1st, students will be logging their nightly reading in their AZ Coyotes reading log book. This school year, we are participating in the AZ Coyotes reading challenge. Thank you to Mr. Sanford for including us in this year's program. Each night students are expected to read for 10 minutes. Then at the end of the month, a parent signature is required and the reading log will be turned in for points in class and so that we can add up all the minutes we read as a fourth grade.

Social Studies

This is our last week with the region states. We will test on the Northeast region on Thursday, October 3rd. 

The students will have their final states test, where they will be expected to properly locate and spell each state on Wednesday, October 23rd. 

Math

We are finishing our first module. It was adding and subtracting large numbers, rounding numbers to any place, and comparing large numbers.

The second module is Problem Solving with Metric Measurement.

Science

We are starting our new module called Microscopes and Magnification. This week we are studying the eye and using hand lenses to experience high and low resolution.

We will have a vocabulary quiz over the 7 highlighted words that can be found in the Lab Learner book (#'s 2-8) on Friday, October 4th.

Religion 

This week are are memorizing The Prayer for Generosity. The quiz will be Friday, October 4th.

We will talk about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. The Church has given us the works of mercy to help care for others.

Happy First Day of Fall

As we enter into the last full week of September, and the first day of Fall is upon us, cooler temperatures are coming!!! We are also half way through the first trimester, and the students have been working very hard. Our schedule of assignments and quizzes should be somewhat predictable for our students, so hopefully they are in a good rhythm by now.

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, September 25th - Grades 3 - 5 Mass at Brophy @ 9:30 am 
• Monday, September 30th to Friday, October 4th - Auction pre-sales in the library before and after school
• Friday, October 4th - School Auction @ 6 pm in the courtyard 
• Wednesday, October 10th - Half Day due to conferences
• Thursday, October 11th - Half Day due to conferences
• Friday October 11th and Monday, October 14th - NO SCHOOL 

English Language Arts



Reading - We did not get enough time time last week to discuss our story and the skill of Theme. We will continue talking about Lesson 4 and Theme this week.

Grammar - We will continue to talk about Quotation Marks. Students will be assigned a mini project this week on this skill, and it will be due Friday, October 4th. 

Writing - We will continue our research and rough drafts of the state reports this week.

Social Studies

WE HAD TO PUSH BACK OUR SOUTHEAST REGION QUIZ DATE TO THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH!!!! 

Then, we will move to our final region the Northeast.This is one of the hardest regions for the students, so we will be planning lots of review games in class to help them. The Northeast Region states and capitals quiz will be on Thursday, October 3rd. 



Math

We are subtracting very large numbers and using a lot of regrouping. We are also creating tape diagrams to model our word problems. 
Science

We are making a life size model of The Digestive System as a culminating activity for this module. 
There will NOT be a vocabulary quiz this Friday. 

Religion 

The Act of Hope test is tomorrow, Tuesday. 

This week we are talking about the virtue of prudence. Being prudent helps us to form a good conscience. We will also practice doing an Examination of Conscience. 

Conference Time

Happy Monday Everyone!

This is a friendly reminder that we begin our Parent-Teacher Conferences this week before and after school. We are so appreciative to you for taking the time to meet and partner with us. There are still a few spots open if you have not yet signed up.

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, September 18th - All School Mass in the Church at 9:30. 4B is leading us in the readings. 

English Language Arts



Grammar - This week, we will begin to talk about the 3 ways to properly use Quotation Marks.

Reading - We will be reading Lesson 4, The Power of WOW and discussing the skill of Theme.

The students should be working on their September Book Project. Once they have read their book, they can check with Mrs. Ezell to get their project paper. It can found on the back shelf of Mrs. Ezell's classroom. The project is Due Friday, September 27th. 

Writing - Students will finish researching their state this week and begin to work on a rough draft.

Social Studies

The students will be quizzed on the states and capitals in the Midwest Region this Wednesday, September 18th. 

We will then move to learning about the states in the Southeast Region. The Southeast Region quiz will be on Wednesday, September 25th. 

Math

We are adding large numbers with and without regrouping. One of our main focuses is creating a tape diagram. 
Science

Our last lesson is in this module The Digestive System. The students will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday, September 20th. 
Religion 

This week the focus is using our free will. This fits in nicely with our Decision Making program because students can discuss consequences of their choices. We are also learning The Act of Hope. The quiz will be next Tuesday, September 24th. 

Work Hard, Play Hard

Happy Monday to All,

We hope you had a fun weekend!  In the coming weeks, our classes  will begin discussing our From Farm to Football lessons. This program is no longer "live", but we still have access to previous year's materials.   The students will watch videos from AZ Cardinals player, Budda Baker, on the topics of pigs, chickens, cattle, and more! Most importantly, he always includes a message for the students and the message this month was, "Work Hard means you get to Play Hard." 

Let us encourage our students to work hard in class and put forth their best self, so that when it is time to play or rest they can truly enjoy it. Let us continue to have conversation with our students about time management, a skill that is quite difficult at this age, but so vital. If we can do anything for our fourth graders this year it will be to help them learn time management and stay organized. It is also important that they use their class time wisely, utilizing their agenda daily, and keeping their accordion file organized. Let us partner together to help our kiddos by not doing it for them, rather helping them learn how to do this by modeling and having conversation about what is expected of them at school.

Looking Ahead...

• Week of September 16th to October 4th - 4th Grade Parent - Teacher Conferences 
• Wednesday, September 18th - All School Mass at 9:30 - 4th grade is leading

English Language Arts



**We are continuing our work with Lesson 3 for this week.**

Reading - We will read Lesson 3, My Librarian is a Camel, and work on the skill of Cause and Effect. Students will have an assignment via Google Classroom, which will be assigned Tuesday. Last week in the computer lab all fourth graders were able to 'join' our virtual classroom via Google Classroom. There will be a reading assessment on Friday, September 13th through the Think Central portal (online in class). 

Writing - Students will receive their assigned state on Monday and begin to research it this week. 

Grammar - We will review the concepts of Subjects and Predicate and 4 Types of Sentences. There will be a grammar quiz on Thursday, September 12th. 

Social Studies 

The students will have their West Region states and capitals quiz on Wednesday, September 11th. It will be the same procedure as last week's quiz. 

We will then move on to  learning about the states in the Midwest Region. The Midwest Region quiz will be on Wednesday, September 18th. 

Math 

We will continue with rounding very large numbers. Next, we will add and subtract very large numbers and use our rounding skills to see if our answers are reasonable. 
Science

The next system we are covering is The Circulatory System. There will be a vocabulary quiz this Friday, September 13th. 
Religion 

We are studying the Rosary and entering the Rosary Sunday contest. The theme this year is Our Lady of Guadalupe and our Family. 

Hello September

Happy Tuesday! We hope you enjoyed your three-day weekend! September is here, which means so is college football and NFL will follow soon after. We love to have healthy, fun, competitive conversations in class about whose teams are winning. 

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, September 4th - 3rd - 5th Mass at Brophy at 9:30
• Friday, September 6th - Free Dress Day - Please consider donating a gift card to our school's auction. 

English Language Arts



**We will spend 2 weeks on this same story and skill. Also, we will be switching grammar skills with lesson 4 as it flows better with what we have been previously working on.**

Reading - We will be working on the skill of Cause and Effect. There will be a reading comprehension test on Friday, September 13th. 

Grammar - We will be looking at Subjects and Predicates.We will also continue to review complete sentences vs. run-ons, vs. fragments. 

 There will be a summative grammar assessment on the skills of complete sentences, run-ons, and fragments, the 4 Kinds of Sentences, and Subjects and Predicates next Thursday, September 12th. 

The goal of a summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit

Writing - We will begin to learn about our State Reports. Each student will be assigned a state that they will become the expert on. After we finish our reports in a few weeks, students will mail out a postcard to a school in their state. We hope to receive back 49 postcards! 

Social Studies 

The students will have a quiz tomorrow, Wednesday, September 4th on the states in the Southwest Region. 

We will move to reading and learning the states in the West Region. There will be a West Region quiz on Wednesday, September 11th. The students will be expected to correctly spell and locate each state. The students will be matching the state to its corresponding capital city. 

Math 

The main focus this week will be rounding numbers using a vertical number line. 
Science

Due to the short week, we are going to review The Respiratory System and discuss health choices. The students will be able to use a spirometer to see what their lung capacity is and they will view a healthy lung and what a smoker's lung would look like. 

There is NO vocabulary quiz this week. 
Religion 


The Act of Faith quiz was originally scheduled for last week, but it has been moved to this Thursday, September 6th. 

We are also discussing The Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.