Wrapping Up

Time Capsule

The end of the year is fast approaching and so is our Time Capsule Closing Ceremony!  This ceremony will take place at 9:00 AM on the last day of school and is our way of saying goodbye to elementary school and looking forward to new adventures in middle school.  Earlier this year I sent home a flyer explaining the time capsule and suggested items that students could save and collect throughout the year.  Please let me know if you need another copy.

Time capsules are due to school on Friday, June 16th!

Field Trip

Our walking field trip will be taking place on Friday, June 9th.  Students will walk to the Hudson Public Library to launch their summer reading.  We will then enjoy a picnic at Wood Park.  Please make sure that your child brings a bag lunch to school that day and wears appropriate footwear and clothing.  Your child should also apply sunscreen before coming to school and bring some for reapplication later in the day.

Mr. Terupt

I cannot thank families enough for the generous donations that allowed me to purchase more copies of Mr. Terupt for our classroom.  We now have enough copies for each student and extras for anyone who forgets their copy at home!

Google Docs

Your students are now Google Docs experts!  This week they have been teaching third graders how to use this program during their technology classes.  Below are some pictures of your experts.

Important Dates!

6/8 - Farley Fun Day

6/9 - Fourth Grade Walk to Hudson Public Library & Wood Park

6/20 - Time Capsule Closing Ceremony - 9:00 AM

Busy 6 Weeks Ahead!

Fluency

Tomorrow is the first day of the MCAS 2.0 math assessment.  We have been busy reviewing and building our confidence and test taking strategies.  I was very impressed with how hard students worked during the ELA test.  Please continue to support your child at home by keeping things relaxed and restful this week.  Our homework this week will be to continue reading for 20 minutes each night.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Because of Mr. Terupt

Beginning next week, we will be starting a whole-class book club utilizing the book Because of Mr. Terupt.  This book will help us to synthesize all of the reading strategies we have learned this year and will also help us to become even more independent and responsible readers as we prepare to move onto middle school.  Students will be bringing this book and their reader's notebook home to read for their 20 minutes at times.

If there are any families looking to support us here at school, we are still short 6 copies.  The book costs $8.00 if any family would like to donate money towards the purchase of these books.  I will be putting an order in on Amazon on Thursday.

Time Capsule

The end of the year is fast approaching and so is our Time Capsule Closing Ceremony!  This ceremony will take place at 9:00 AM on the last day of school and is our way of saying goodbye to elementary school and looking forward to new adventures in middle school.  Earlier this year I sent home a flyer explaining the time capsule and suggested items that students could save and collect throughout the year.  I am sending this same flyer home again today.  Please encourage your child to begin putting items aside. 

Important Dates!

5/18 - Farley Gives Back Bingo Night - 6:00 PM

5/24 - Half Day

5/26 - Memorial Day Assembly - 9:00 AM

6/8 - Farley Fun Day

6/9 - Fourth Grade Walk to Hudson Public Library & Wood Park

6/20 - Time Capsule Closing Ceremony - 9:00 AM

MCAS, Fluency & Engineering

MCAS 2.0 Begins Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our first day of MCAS 2.0 ELA testing.  Your child has worked very hard throughout elementary school to learn all of the things that this test requires them to know and do.  I have been very proud of my students and of the growth mindset, maturity, and hard work they have put into preparing for this test.  Please help your child tonight by keeping things relaxed and positive.  No stress!  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Fluency

I will be checking in on math fluency next week and updating families on progress.  If I have sent home work or have spoken to you about adding more practice into your child's routine, please continue to practice!  Let me know if you have any questions.

Science & Engineering Project

Our beach erosion prototypes have been completed and tested!  Students learned how to record before and after data in their science notebooks.  They learned how to draw conclusions based on their data and how to use their data to make changes to their prototypes.  Today, students presented their prototypes and findings and then fielded their classmates' questions.  It was amazing to watch them critique each other and to discuss ways to improve the quality of their designs.  I have included a number of pictures from the project below.

We Are Engineers

Spring!

Spring is a busy time of year in fourth grade.  Conferences, book fairs and MCAS 2.0 are coming up, we are heading into more project-based learning, and are starting to synthesize and apply the learning we have gained this year!

Science & Engineering Project

Thank you so much to all of the families that donated supplies for our project.  Students have been working in teams to build prototypes that may help to solve the issue of coastal erosion.  In doing so, they are utilizing their knowledge of weather and erosion and are practicing many of the scientific and engineering practices that are so important in the world today.  I'm including some pictures below of our learning so far.

Conferences

Conferences are next week on Wednesday and Thursday.  If you haven't signed up for a conference yet, please make sure to do so.  If you are having difficulty logging in please let me know and I can help. 

I also sent home a conference questionnaire yesterday.  Please take a moment to fill it out so I know how I can be the most help to you during our conference.

MCAS 2.0

I am currently familiarizing students with the new online testing format so that they know what to expect the day of the test.  They have also been practicing the different types of questions that they will see that day so they can walk into testing feeling confident.  I try to take a confidence building, low stress approach to test preparation and explain to students that we are spending some time now with the test, so when they go to take it, they can "beat it." 

If you find that your child is feeling overly stressed about the test, please let me know so I can help.  I want to make sure my students feel good everyday when they walk into my classroom. 

I have included the testing dates below:

April 25th, 26th, 27th - ELA

May 9th, 10th - Math

 

Supplies

We are almost completely out of hand sanitizer.  If anyone could donate some, it would be greatly appreciated!

Fluency Is Key

More Snow?!

The added daylight in the evening is telling me that we should be seeing signs of Spring any day now.  Any...day...now!  Instead we are expecting....snow! 

Fluency

Last week, students took various math assessments to check for enduring understanding of math concepts already taught this year and to check on the fluency of different math operations.  I will be emailing families with areas of weakness that students can practice.  Increasing research shows that when students are fluent with the basic math operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, confidence and success in math grows.  I will also offer to send home extra practice in the areas of weakness.  If you do not hear from me, that means that your child is solid across the board.  Feel free to email me though if you have any concerns or questions.

Book Order

Due to the impending snow, I will hold the book order until Thursday.  If you wish to order online, the classroom code is H3M9C.

Math Vocabulary Test

The vocabulary assessment has been pushed back to this Thursday, giving students more time to study!

Engineering

We will be starting our engineering project this week!  Thank you so much for all of the donations sent into school.  The only item that we need more of in order to make this project happen is soil.  If you have any bags of soil or are willing to purchase any, it would be greatly appreciated!

Chromebooks

You may recall in the Fall that our classroom was given $500 towards Chromebooks by donors through a website called Adopt a Classroom.  I received word last night that we were adopted again!  Another 3 Chromebooks are on their way to be used by students every day.  We couldn't be more excited!

We Are Engineers!

Happy Valentine's Day!  This morning students exchanged Valentines with one another.  We are also starting kindness week here at school.  One of our classmates has challenged us all to do an act of kindness for another person in the class.  We are also tracking the acts of kindness we either experience or perform.  I am hoping that we will all learn how good kindness can make us all feel and how contagious it can be! 

Engineering Project

Earlier this year we learned about weathering and erosion.  During that time, one topic of interest that came up was how beach erosion can really affect our coastline.  Plum Island here in Massachusetts was used as an example.  As a result of student interest, we will jump back into science by looking at erosion through an engineering lens.  Students will be starting a project in which they will attempt to develop a solution to the problem of beach erosion. 

We will need some supplies in order to make this happen!  If you have any lying around your home, could you please help us?

chicken wire

screens

cardboard

Styrofoam

fabric

recyclables

paper towels

bags of soil

cotton balls

Q-tips

Math Assessment

We finished another math module last week.  Students were assessed and will be going over the results and reflecting on them tomorrow.  I will be sending home the assessment this week for everyone to look at.  There is an option to ask for extra practice so feel free to request this if you feel it is appropriate for your child.

Vocabulary

Thank you so much to all of the families for helping your child to study their math vocabulary at home.  I have noticed a difference here in school during math.  This week students will be asked to review the words that have already been assigned.  New words will go home after February vacation.

Halfway There Already?

Yesterday was the 90th day of school.  I can't believe we are halfway through the school year already!  We have been talking a lot about how students are now full-time fourth graders.  They came into LL39 as third graders and have evolved into fourth graders over the last few months. 

Math Assessment

We recently finished our multiplication and division unit in math.  Students were assessed on this unit at two different times.  I will be sending home the assessment this week for everyone to look at.  There is an option to ask for extra practice so feel free to request this if you feel it is appropriate for your child.

MAH - Math Vocabulary

The next quiz for the math vocabulary is this Friday.  Thank you so much for your support in helping students study their words.  We will continue to add new words every couple of weeks.  It is already making a difference during math class, especially with our geometry unit.

Reading At Home

Students are still expected to read at home every night for 20 minutes.  Please let me know if your child is struggling with this and I can help!

Students At Work

I thought everyone would appreciate a glimpse into our classroom to see what we have been up to lately.

We have been working on problem solving and modeling the word problem so that we can comprehend it better before solving.  Students have been working in pairs, using different colored markers to show that they are both contributing their ideas to the problem.

In reading, we have been learning that reader's often continue to think about a text once they have finished reading it.  Here you can see students transferring their thoughts on post-it notes from their book club books into their reader's notebook.  They are also reflecting on these ideas and developing new ideas from their initial notes.

During social studies we have been learning about immigration and Ellis Island.  Students were placed into teams and asked to take on the perspective of a Russian immigrant traveling to Ellis Island in 1911.  In the photo's you can see students collaborating on their projects using Google Docs.