Post #28

Mary Poppins is coming to St. Catherine's!! 

The parents' show is Wednesday @ 9:45 in the LS Assembly Room!

The girls spent a good chunk of the week in rehearsal and when they weren't in rehearsal they were singing the songs in the classroom- totally student led. Costume parts were due today. Please send items in on Monday if you didn't get a chance to send them in today. Details are here. The girls should have their hair done at home and arrive ready for make-up and costumes on performance days. Details here:

The girls practiced reading decimals, ordering decimals, and examining decimals on food packages. They are tackling the Greg Tang Spring Challenge and earning lots of math chicks. "Math Nests" are getting full. 

Ever wonder what a car cost in the 1920's. How much was a loaf of bread? The average annual income? The girls examined the cost of living in the 1920's and solved math problems with their data. An immigration project was introduced this week. After watching images of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island and listening to Isle of Hope-Isle of Tears, the girls explored their family names using this site: https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/. They will assume the identity of an immigrant and research that country. This project will span several weeks and will be completed in class. We will witness a Naturalization Ceremony as the culmination of our immigration unit. This is always a favorite field trip for the Fourthies. 

More than 200 Newsela articles were read in celebration and appreciation of Women's History Month. Way to go Fourthies!

The girls had a blast getting to know Ginnie Hester. We will miss her laughter and friendship. Tell your daughters not to fret. Ginnie is always welcome in Room M02 and I know she will visit before the year is over.

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

* Grandparents' and Special Visitors' Day invitations went home last week. There is still time to register. Our guests are joining us for lunch so we need an accurate headcount. Please click here to register.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up- Please choose a time for us to meet to discuss your daughter's progress and goals for the remainder of fourth grade.

* April is Autism Awareness Month- kick off with a Jean's Day on Monday. Details here.
* Shepherd's Way Outreach Project- Fourthies are asked to bring razors and deodorant for the shelter.* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Everyday Parenting Solutions- program at St. Catherine's on April 10th. Details here.

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 4/1

 Carpool Helpers- Lydia and Lucy

Special Week Girl-Jacey

Ambassadors- Blair and Sissi

Photographer-Ellie

Closers- Lauren and Ginny

Girls-Your blog question is.......Whose "Math Chick" nest is in this post? Post your answer here.

Post #27

The Fourthies ushered in spring with haikus and used water colors to paint bamboo drawings. The haikus and bamboo drawings created a serene look on the bulletin board outside our classroom. The girls shared their Spring Break memories using the "Three Stickie Approach" (Something we made up in Room M02 to promote writing and collaboration. Ask your daughter to explain.) 

Decimal concepts were everywhere in math this week. We worked with tenths and hundredths, converting from decimal to fractions and back again. The girls examined money and solved EdPuzzles using fractions and decimals. One of our Women's History EdPuzzles included the idea of personal POWER WORDS. Check out our POWER WORDS:

The girls are working on a Greg Tang Spring Math Challenge. They will earn math chicks for each challenge they achieve. We are decorating our room with colorful nests and adorable, powerful math chicks. FUN!

We are finishing up A Song for Harlem. Not only does this novel teach about the Harlem Renaissance, it also explains and reinforces the elements of writing that we work on during language arts. The girls worked with slang from the 1920's. Using their 1920's fashion doll and a friend's, they wrote some very clever and some very hysterical dialogue.

Our class will host a junior from Trinity Episcopal next week. Ginnie Hester will complete her Junior Work Week with us. Your girls will love getting to know Ginnie. I know I did when she was a Fourthie in Room M02 eight years ago.

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.
*The girls brought home a Daisy Days Raffle packet on Thursday. Please let me know if you did not receive this. 

* Grandparents' and Special Visitors' Day invitations are in your daughter's work folder. There is still time to register. Our guests are joining us for lunch so we need an accurate headcount. Please click here to register.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up- Please choose a time for us to meet to discuss your daughter's progress and goals for the remainder of fourth grade.
* 3D Design Form- Please respond. A hard copy is in your daughter's work folder.
* PE Bike Day is Monday. Details are here. Please contact Don Warner (DWarner@st.catherines.org) if you have questions.
* Homework for family planning purposes.

* Play practice is in full swing!  Costume requirements are here. Rehearsal schedule for the next two weeks. All lines should be memorized by Monday. (I watched the first rehearsal today- IMPRESSIVE!!)

* Final Assembly Information is here! 

Class Leadership Week of 3/25

 Carpool Helpers- Jacey

Special Week Girl- Isabella

Ambassadors- Vivian and Ruby

Photographer-Kensie

Closers- Jacey and Lucy

Girls-Your blog question is.......Whose haiku is at the top of the post? Post your answer here.

Post #26

March is "Women's History Month" and we are all about it! The girls will be completing several mini-projects in class. Mini biographies are being read about women who made a difference and helped pave the way for our girls- the future leaders. The girls are practicing summarizing and to add some creativity they are imagining a birthday wish these prominent women would make. They are using a Google spreadsheet to keep track of their information. Newsela has many articles that the girls are reading and discussing too. Many of our EdPuzzles during the month of March will also reinforce the limitless potential of girls. Here's an example:

The girls spent a good chunk of math time reviewing and practicing the skills in Unit Five. We will begin Unit Six when we return from break. Unit Six introduces decimal concepts. I snuck in a little decimal work this week and was delighted to see that the girls understand decimals as they relate to fractions.

We are in the 1920's in History4Fourthies and the girls "got their wiggle on" and learned the Charleston. We looked at slang (ask your daughter for some examples) from this decade and discussed how society was changing in regards to women. The girls worked with https://online.photoscissors.com and practiced removing a background to place themselves in a 1920's outfit. We will be writing dialogue with these characters after break. 

Writing brought out the creativity this week. Their Fourthie Doodles were so clever! I decided to use some of the girls' writing for Wordly Wise practice. We will do this from now on since there's nothing like watching your peers use your writing for an assignment. The girls took Three Word Thursday to a new level. They wrote poems, songs, choreographed dances, made props. Wow! 

We had a lot of fun celebrating Dr. Seuss. Look at the class pictures to see the teamwork and creations.

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

 "Parent How To" videos. Click here and let me know if there is a tutorial you would like to see on our page.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up- Please choose a time for us to meet to discuss your daughter's progress and goals for the remainder of fourth grade.

* Please consider our play rehearsal schedule when making dental, doctor, etc. appointments for your daughter. Practice begins on 3/22.

Final Assembly Information is here! I know it's a long way off, but a few parents were asking for attire details.

Class Leadership Week of 3/18

 Carpool Helpers- Lauren

Special Week Girl- Blair

Ambassadors- Lura and Chloe

Photographer-Sissi

Closers- Vivian and Blair

Girls-Your blog question is.......Who is wearing a 1920's outfit? Post your answer here.

Post #25

Math was real world this week. Working with a pancake calculator (yes, that's a real thing), the girls planned a pancake breakfast for friends and family. They worked with "fraction of" problems as well as adding fractions to determine supply amounts. A pancake EDpuzzle was included in the lesson. On Thursday, the girls made their own pancake delights. All got creative with the pancakes shapes. 

Fourthie Doodles were introduced this week. This involves doodling with a Fourthie picture and using Wordly Wise words in sentences about the doodles. Here's an example from Blair:

The girls presented their book projects and offered feedback to one another. This week's writing lab was a chance for the girls to demonstrate the skills learned in previous labs. I encouraged the girls to review their writing portfolio in their Google Drive when they have a chance. They should feel proud of their progress. I know I do. The girls shared their Three Word Thursdays (3WT). They are becoming savvy editors and are able to point out examples of strong writing. 3WT will be collaborative for the rest of the year. Student volunteers will create the slideshows. Ellie was our first volunteer. You can check out your daughter's creativity:

We are in the 1920's in History4Fourthies. The girls read about the 19th amendment and explored other parts of the world to see how women's suffrage compared to America. We took a more in depth look at the Harlem Renaissance. Collectively the girls read over 100 articles in celebration of Black History Month. Impressive!

Nuts and Bolts: 

Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

 "Parent How To" videos. Click here and let me know if there is a tutorial you would like to see on our page.

Maypole practice started today. All details here.

* Please consider our play rehearsal schedule when making dental, doctor, etc. appointments for your daughter. Practice begins on 3/22.

Final Assembly Information is here! I know it's a long way off, but a few parents were asking for attire details.

Class Leadership Week of 3/4

 Carpool Helpers- Allie

Special Week Girl- Blair

Ambassadors- Lura and Chloe

Photographer-Sissi

Closers- Vivian and Blair

Girls-Your blog question is.......What day should you wear mismatched clothes? Post your answer here.