Fall Break!

Good Afternoon,

Hope everyone is able to take time to enjoy the fall break and sharpen the saw. The students have been working hard daily, and I am proud of the growth of every single one of them to start the school year. It's important to reflect on the all the hard work they have put in, and pause to appreciate the growth they have made both academically and socially so far this school year. Everyday we talk about making the most out of the day, working to our potential and not wasting time; we only get 86,400 seconds each day so making every second count because we all agreed if we had that in money each day we wouldn't waste any of it!

Week in Review:

Leader in Me: Our class has been talking about the impact of proactive and reactive responses to situations. Brainstorm a list of proactive phrases that can be used by everyone!

Writing: Writers came up with a thesis they wanted to relate to their idea writing from the previous week to use for their upcoming personal essay. We then started to formulate reasons to support their thesis based off of some of their previous writing they did relating to their thesis. We ended the week going through an essay writing boot camp where writers needed to take a thesis of 'I love ice cream' with reasons we came up with together as a class to showcase their ability to write a well structured essay (i.e. intro, 3 reason paragraphs, conclusion).

Math: Mathematicians built and discussed combinations that involve multiplying by 10. Then they made some generalizations about what happens when 10 serves as the multiplier and extended their thinking to multiplying by 100 and 1,000. We drew sketches to investigate and make generalizations about multiplying single digits by multiples of 10 to finish the week where they were able to show what they know on a checkpoint.

Reading: This week we focused on how to get our minds right if we have a nonfiction text in our hands to be able to learn from the text. We discussed the importance of caring about the topic and committing to the text will result in learning about a new topic. Also, paying attention to headings and text features help signal to us as readers what the author is signaling us to pay attention to while we read in order to learn.

Content: Students explored the Dust Bowl as a case study of the causes and consequences of unsustainable use of natural resources. They applied historical thinking skills to explore primary and secondary sources as they gathered evidence about the Dust Bowl.

  • Thank you to a parent who shared this great resource which can benefit your 4th grader and family! Every fourth grader in the US is eligible to receive a free pass for their family to visit America’s natural wonders and historic sites, which accesses hundreds of parks, lands and waters for an entire year! Visit everykidoutdoors.gov/rules.htm for more information and to get your pass!


A Look Ahead:

  • October 24th & 25th - No School
  • October 28 - Recorders are due back to school for their 1st belt testing day
  • TENTATIVE DATE FOR MADISON FIELD TRIP
    • Thursday, December 19th. 
    • We try to accommodate all chaperones as we know this is a popular field trip for all. I am finalizing details on my end, and when it is finished I will send an official announcement, but I wanted you to be able to get a hold on a date.
  • November 12th - Veterans Day Concert (6:00 P.M.)
  • November 14th - Simple Simon Order Pickup 
  • November 19th & 21st - Conferences
  • November 19th & 21st - Book Fair
  • November 22nd - Early Dismissal
  • November 27th-29th - NO SCHOOL


That's all for this week!

Have a great weekend!


Mr. VW




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