CLASSROOM NEWS

For Your Information:

Holiday Service Project
We still need gifts for all family members of our cancer patient families, as well as donations for Lutherbrook. Please discuss as a family a way you could contribute to these worthy causes!

Special Note About Conferences
Thank you to all parents for attending conferences. I appreciated the chance to discuss each student's achievements and goals for the future. Although the Parent/Teacher Conference is an opportunity to formally meet about your child, please remember that I welcome emails and phone calls if/when questions or concerns arise throughout the trimester.


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 13: Words spelled with -aw
• English/Writing - We are currently working on expository writing. The students will work on writing attention grabbing introductory paragraphs next week.
• Reading - The students are reading realistic fiction stories. Our next story is about a boy and his grandfather and an award-winning biscuit recipe.
• Science - We will be moving on to our first hands-on science kit about simple machines. The students will be given a "Machines and Motion" booklet that contains information and activities to be completed in class. The booklet is the "textbook" for the unit!
• Social Studies - The students will continue to learn about the U.S. as a land of new beginnings. They will also learn about people in history who have "taken a stand" against slavery or for the rights of women.
• Accelerated Math - We will be learning about division in Chapter 5. The students will learn about the order of operations, how to use patterns to divide using mental math, and how to find compatible numbers when estimating a quotient.
  
  

Mark Your Calendar:

11/30: No School (Conference Week)

12/5: Donations Due for Prairieview Service Project!

12/7: Character Counts Spirit Day - Wear Red for Caring!

12/14: Miss Luszcak's Last Day

12/18: 4th Grade Bowling

CLASSROOM NEWS

For Your Information:

Holiday Service Project
On Monday, I will introduce the Prairieview Holiday Service Project to the class. Our school collections will benefit two different groups: Lutherbrook (a home for abused children) and families of cancer patients (who also struggle financially). Please look for more details going home next week!

Congratulations to Mrs. Strong's Classroom
Mrs. Strong's classroom was the 4th grade winner for the most "Box Tops for Education." We have won a pizza party on Tuesday, November 27th. Way to go!

Order Your Yearbook Now
Yearbook order forms went home Thursday. If you want a yearbook at the end of the school year, you must order it now! Many students are disappointed at the end of the school year when some students receive yearbooks and they do not - if you want a yearbook, make sure you return the order form no later than December 3rd!

Subject Update:

• Spelling - Week of November 26 - Lesson 12: Consonant + y words with endings -ed and -ing
• English/Writing - Students will review about nouns. The Unit 2 Nouns Test is scheduled for Tuesday, November 20th. Then the students will be writing some expository pieces.
• Reading - We will continue to read realistic fiction stories. The students can make good connections to these kinds of stories because the characters, events, and settings of them could happen in real life.
• Science - The students will learn more about animals and their survival. A Chapter 4 Test is scheduled for Wednesday, November 28th!
• Social Studies - We will learn how America was a "land of new beginnings" for the early colonists and later immigrants to our country.
• Accelerated Math - The students will learn and practice multiplication by larger numbers. There is a Chapter 4 Test scheduled on Thursday, November 29th!

Mark Your Calendar:

11/20: End of 1st Trimester

11/21-11/23: No School (Thanksgiving Break)

11/26 - 11/29: Parent/Teacher Conference Week

11/27: Classroom Pizza Party - "Box Tops for Education" Winners!

11/27: Report Cards

11/28: John Lynn Presentation - The Appalachian Trail

11/29: Junior Achievement (Session 6)

11/30: No School

CLASSROOM NEWS

For Your Information:

1st Trimester Conferences
I have either sent a conference form or email to parents regarding a conference date and time. Please respond quickly so that I am able to make changes for parents who need to be rescheduled. Thank you to those who have already confirmed appointments!

Email Reminders to Parents
If you gave me an email address at the beginning of the school year, I have you as part of a "group" to email each week with a direct link to my blog page. I am hoping that this makes it easier for parents to access the important information about our classroom. On Friday, November 9th I will send a reminder email for the first time - please let me know if you do not receive an email reminder this week!!!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 11: Consonant + y words with endings -er and -est
• English/Writing - The students will learn about singular and plural possessive nouns.
• Reading - The students will find out which detective club cracked the most cases correctly next week. Then we will move on to another genre - realistic fiction. Realistic fiction stories are not true, but they could happen in real life.
• Science - The students will complete some activities to help them better understand structural and behavioral adaptations. A structural adaptation is part of the animal's body that helps it survive in its environment. A behavioral adaptation is something it does (a way it acts) that helps it survive.
• Social Studies - Chapter 5 will tell us about the people and history of the Northeast. We will begin by learning about the Narragansett - one of the many Native American groups who live in the region.
• Accelerated Math - The students will review estimating products and multiplying by one-digit numbers before moving on to multiplication by larger numbers.

Mark Your Calendar:

11/12: Yearbook Pictures (Band and Choir)

11/15: Character Counts Assembly

11/16: Favorite Sports Team Spirit Day!

11/20: End of 1st Trimester

11/21 - 11/23: No School (Thanksgiving Break)

CLASSROOM NEWS

For Your Information:

Thanks to Halloween Helpers!
We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Northrop and Mrs. Calabria for planning such a wonderful party for us! Also, thank you to Mrs. Foernssler and Mrs. Mateja for joining us for games and activities in the classroom. Thank you also to Mrs. Lippi and Mrs. Garza for providing delicious treats and drinks. We all had a "spook"tacular time!

There's a Chill in the Air!
Some students are going out to recess without jackets. As the weather continues to become colder, please make sure your child has a jacket/coat, gloves, hat, etc. with them for outside recess!


Subject Update:

• Spelling - Lesson 10: Plurals of words ending in -y (We skipped Lesson 9!)
• English/Writing: Students are learning about nouns in Unit 2. Nouns are words that name people, places, or things.
• Reading - We are still solving mysteries in our detective clubs. There will be a Mystery Theme Test on Thursday, November 8th. (The students cannot "study" for this type of test. The activities completed in class are meant to prepare them.)
• Science - The students will learn about behavioral adaptations. Hibernation is an example of a behavior that helps some animals survive winter. Can you think of any other behaviors animals have for survival?
• Social Studies - We have been discussing the many resources that come from the land and water areas of the Northeast. The Chapter 4 Test is scheduled for Wednesday, November 7th!
• Accelerated Math - The Chapter 3 Test is scheduled for Tuesday, November 6! Then the students will learn about properties and strategies of multiplication as we begin Chapter 4.

Mark Your Calendar:

11/9: Prairieview Spirit Day

11/9: Junior Achievement (Session 4)

11/12: Junior Achievement (Session 5)