VW 4th Grade Blog 2024-2025

Good Afternoon, We've wrapped up another wonderful week of learning, and it's hard to believe we're heading into the final stretch of the school year. This time of year brings a mix of excitement, reflection, and emotion as we begin celebrating this incredible group of 4th graders. As we look ahead, we're focused on making these last couple weeks meaningful and memorable for every student. Thank you for your continued support—let’s finish strong together! Week in Review: Leader in Me:  This week, we learned about stress. Eustress is positive stress that feels exciting, can motivate us, and is short-term. Distress is negative, toxic stress that causes anxiety or concern, feels unpleasant, and can lead to health problems. Invite your learner to teach you about the differences between eustress and distress. Discuss ways you can support your learner if experiencing distress. Writing:  This week in writing, our 4th grade authors continued working on their graphic novels, foc...

Good Afternoon, I can't believe this is reality, but we just completed the last full week of school for this school year. This week during i-Ready testing as a class we talked about how they felt 9 months ago coming into the classroom to where they are now. A lot of them laughed at the thought about how they felt the nerves at one on ones and the first day of school or the shock when I told them they have read in class over 7,500 minutes this school year. A school year is filled with so many highs and lows, growth, memories, but at the end of it I wanted them to remember that our goal throughout the year from the very beginning was to learn and have fun, and hopefully we can say that we were able to accomplish those two things. Week in Review: Leader in Me:  This week, we talked about how to Sharpen the Saw. Sharpen the Saw includes having balance in our body, mind, heart, and spirit. Discuss these questions with your learner:      What can we do as a family to help ...

Good Afternoon, It’s hard to believe we’re already a full week into May—time is officially flying! With that, it feels like we have entered into the home stretch of the school year, and this is such an important time to help our leaders stay motivated, focused, and engaged as we work toward the finish line together. It truly takes a team effort, and I’m so grateful for all the ways you continue to support your child’s learning at home. Thank you for partnering with me every step of the way. Let’s finish the year strong! Week in Review: Leader in Me:  This week we learned to successfully collaborate with a team. We learned how feedback can help us find synergy. Invite your learner to use the Synergizer resource on Leader in Me Online and guide the family in resting a plan for a challenge you may be facing. Writing:  This week in 4th grade writing, our writers wrapped up Bend 1 of our graphic novels unit with an exciting Artist Alley Celebration, where they proudly shared thei...

 Good Afternoon, As we head into the final full month of the school year, I’ve been reflecting on how quickly time has passed. It’s hard to believe that eight months have flown by since we first began, but every year I’m reminded just how fast it goes. During these months, you entrusted me with your most precious gifts, and I’ve had the privilege of being their teacher—getting to know each one, guiding, teaching, watching them grow, and hopefully providing a space where they could become the best version of themselves every day. I’m truly grateful for that opportunity and for your ongoing support this school year. This last month is always bittersweet. After putting in so much time and seeing incredible growth and connections each day, it’s difficult to realize it will soon come to an end. My hope is that we can all savor this final stretch, knowing that while the end is inevitable, we can take pride in making every day count. With that mindset, we can finish the year with gratitud...

Good Afternoon, As we close out another week in 4th grade, I just want to take a moment to say how proud I am of the hard work and growth I’ve seen from the students. It’s been a great week, and I’m excited for what’s coming up as we head into the final week of April. There’s still plenty of learning and growth ahead, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much more we can accomplish together! Week in Review: Leader in Me: This week we focused on I messages as a whole school to equip our leaders with a way to solve everyday conflicts that may come up. It was great to see all the students practice this and use this in the classrooms and their Husky Packs as we add another strategy to their social emotional learning to being great leaders! Writing:  This week in writing, our 4th grade authors kicked off an exciting new unit on graphic novels. We began by exploring what makes graphic novels special to spark enthusiasm for the genre. Students then used doodling to generate a variety of ...

Good Afternoon, I encouraged the 4th graders to take this upcoming mini break as a chance to “sharpen their saw,” and I hope everyone else can do the same. They wrapped up all of their Forward testing today, and I know how long and demanding the process can be. They’ve absolutely earned some time to recharge and do the things they love. I’m incredibly proud of the energy, effort, and focus they brought to their testing. Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy extended weekend with family and friends! Week in Review: Leader in Me:  This week we learned to contrast valuing and accepting differences. We also learned how to use many strengths to solve a problem. Synergize and complete five-in-a-row for Family Bingo Board on Leader in Me Online! Writing:  Writers this week started by doing some final refining on their writing skills for their last ELA Forward testing session, and then ended the week with an on demand writing for narrative. Our final writing unit will begin af...