Important Dates
Towel Drive NOW- 9-30
Nursing Home Field Trip 9/30
Feast of the Guardian Angels 9/30
Prayer of Saint Francis Quiz 10/3
Blessing of the Animals 10/4
4th Grade Mass 10/7
Noon Dismissal 10/7
Columbus Day No School 10/10
Book Report Novel must be finished 10/11
Halloween Carnival 10/28
Reminders
Other Notes:
Blessing of the Animals- this is a special tradition at SJA. Families are encouraged to bring their pets to school for a blessing at 2:30 on the blacktop. Students will be sitting on the perimeter of the blacktop with their classes.
4th Grade Mass is next Friday 10/7- families are welcomed and encouraged to join us for mass! Students are expected to be at the church between 7:30-7:45. If students are late, this will affect their music grade.
Star of the Week presentations will begin in 2 weeks. Each student is assigned one week (listed on my website) in which they will create a presentation about themselves on their iPad using the application keynote. On Friday's students will have the opportunity to share their presentation with the class. They may also bring in something special to share if they wish. Directions for the presentation are on my website - we will go over them together in class next week!
Uniforms- Just a reminder that boys need to be wearing a belt every day. Also, on Fridays, students may only wear their dress uniform outerwear. No spirit wear or sweatshirts are allowed on Fridays.
Sunscreen & Water bottles- Students are allowed and encouraged to have reusable water bottles in the classroom. They may also bring in a sunscreen stick (labeled with their name) to be kept in the classroom in a basket. We have PE in the afternoons on Mondays and Thursdays so it is a good idea for students to apply extra sunscreen before heading outside.
Homework/Classwork Notes & Expectations
Spelling/Vocab - Just to clarify, students will typically have spelling or vocabulary words each week, not both. In general, we alternate weeks. Spelling and vocabulary tests are always on Fridays. For spelling, I give pre-tests on Mondays. There are 3 spelling lists (with varying difficulty levels) all with the same spelling pattern. Students' pre-test scores determine which spelling list they should study that week.
Grammar- Students will typically have a short grammar quiz every Friday that assesses what we covered in class that week. Grammar homework is meant to give students extra practice and also help them to review for their weekly quiz. At the end of a unit, we will have an English/Grammar unit test. IXL is also an excellent option for students to get extra grammar practice.
Homework- Often times I give students multiple days to complete a homework assignment. This is because the assignment is a larger assignment that will take more time. For these types of assignments, students should be working on them a little bit each night. We've talked a lot about time management in class, so hopefully students are practicing this at home.
Tests- Students will typically have a project or test at the end of each subject unit to asses their learning. For tests, students are expected to study outside of school. We are continually talking about good study habits in class, but at this age, the students still need help and support at home. I will always send a study guide home at least one week before we have a test (also posted on my website).
Spanish- Maestra Snyder, the Spanish teacher, said that our class did a GREAT JOB reviewing verbs and preparing for class last week. Just a reminder that parents are expected to initial their child's Spanish homework in their workbooks each week. Thank you for the extra support at home, keep up the good work!!
Reading logs need to be signed by a parent and turned in every week. For the first trimester, students are expected to read 1 hour a week (total) outside of school. This can be on the weekend if that works best for your family. Reading logs are turned in every Monday when the new homework planner is passed out.
Expectations
There are some expectations that are considered "No Excuse" in 4th grade. Students will automatically be deducted points on the assignment if they do not fulfill these requirements. We discuss these a lot in class, but I appreciate that they are reinforced at home.
I know that this may seem strict, but the more I am a stickler now, the better habits the students will develop from here on out.
Towel Drive NOW- 9-30
Nursing Home Field Trip 9/30
Feast of the Guardian Angels 9/30
Prayer of Saint Francis Quiz 10/3
Blessing of the Animals 10/4
4th Grade Mass 10/7
Noon Dismissal 10/7
Columbus Day No School 10/10
Book Report Novel must be finished 10/11
Halloween Carnival 10/28
Reminders
- School Photo Proofs are going home today in students' yellow folders. Orders can be placed online.
- Graded work is coming home today - please review the work with your child and send in the graded work file folder with a signature.
- Student schoolwork and behavior REFLECTIONS are going home in graded work files. They need to be reviewed and signed by a parent and turned back in. (Part of Responsible Behavior Grade)
- Prayer of Saint Francis QUIZ next Tuesday- students need to be able to recite and write the prayer. (This is one of our 4th grade required prayers to learn)
- We are writing our first book report in class together. Students need to have their novels finished by 10/11. If they finish early they should re-read or go back in their novel and take notes on the characters, setting, problem and solution so that they do not forget!
- Families should be checking gradelink each week! Assignments that are over two weeks late will not be accepted.
Other Notes:
Blessing of the Animals- this is a special tradition at SJA. Families are encouraged to bring their pets to school for a blessing at 2:30 on the blacktop. Students will be sitting on the perimeter of the blacktop with their classes.
4th Grade Mass is next Friday 10/7- families are welcomed and encouraged to join us for mass! Students are expected to be at the church between 7:30-7:45. If students are late, this will affect their music grade.
Star of the Week presentations will begin in 2 weeks. Each student is assigned one week (listed on my website) in which they will create a presentation about themselves on their iPad using the application keynote. On Friday's students will have the opportunity to share their presentation with the class. They may also bring in something special to share if they wish. Directions for the presentation are on my website - we will go over them together in class next week!
Uniforms- Just a reminder that boys need to be wearing a belt every day. Also, on Fridays, students may only wear their dress uniform outerwear. No spirit wear or sweatshirts are allowed on Fridays.
Sunscreen & Water bottles- Students are allowed and encouraged to have reusable water bottles in the classroom. They may also bring in a sunscreen stick (labeled with their name) to be kept in the classroom in a basket. We have PE in the afternoons on Mondays and Thursdays so it is a good idea for students to apply extra sunscreen before heading outside.
Homework/Classwork Notes & Expectations
Spelling/Vocab - Just to clarify, students will typically have spelling or vocabulary words each week, not both. In general, we alternate weeks. Spelling and vocabulary tests are always on Fridays. For spelling, I give pre-tests on Mondays. There are 3 spelling lists (with varying difficulty levels) all with the same spelling pattern. Students' pre-test scores determine which spelling list they should study that week.
Grammar- Students will typically have a short grammar quiz every Friday that assesses what we covered in class that week. Grammar homework is meant to give students extra practice and also help them to review for their weekly quiz. At the end of a unit, we will have an English/Grammar unit test. IXL is also an excellent option for students to get extra grammar practice.
Homework- Often times I give students multiple days to complete a homework assignment. This is because the assignment is a larger assignment that will take more time. For these types of assignments, students should be working on them a little bit each night. We've talked a lot about time management in class, so hopefully students are practicing this at home.
Tests- Students will typically have a project or test at the end of each subject unit to asses their learning. For tests, students are expected to study outside of school. We are continually talking about good study habits in class, but at this age, the students still need help and support at home. I will always send a study guide home at least one week before we have a test (also posted on my website).
Spanish- Maestra Snyder, the Spanish teacher, said that our class did a GREAT JOB reviewing verbs and preparing for class last week. Just a reminder that parents are expected to initial their child's Spanish homework in their workbooks each week. Thank you for the extra support at home, keep up the good work!!
Reading logs need to be signed by a parent and turned in every week. For the first trimester, students are expected to read 1 hour a week (total) outside of school. This can be on the weekend if that works best for your family. Reading logs are turned in every Monday when the new homework planner is passed out.
Expectations
There are some expectations that are considered "No Excuse" in 4th grade. Students will automatically be deducted points on the assignment if they do not fulfill these requirements. We discuss these a lot in class, but I appreciate that they are reinforced at home.
- Every Assignment must have the student's name, number and date.
- Every sentence must begin with a capital and end with punctuation.
- If students have access to a word (on the assignment, on their homework planner, in their book, copying notes from the Smart Board, etc.) then it should be spelled correctly.
- If we have studied the topic that year, then it should be done correctly on future assignments. For example: writing in complete sentences, capitalizing proper nouns, capitalizing titles and headings, spelling list words, etc.
I know that this may seem strict, but the more I am a stickler now, the better habits the students will develop from here on out.
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