Classroom News

large view "School is for the Cool"

January, 2012

A Message from Mrs. Cote

      It is almost the half-way point in the year.  At this point, the skills and procedures of the fourth grade curriculum should be mastered, and the rest of the year will be about practice, practice, practice. 

                 This Month's Theme: 

Tolerance/Acceptance

Thank you:

     I appreciate the effort you have made to review and return the Friday Folders your children have been bringing home.  Please continue to check the folder and have your child complete all work.

Important Note:

Beginning on January 9th, the 4th and 5th grades will be participating in the "Apple A Day" program.  This is a prevention program provided by the Catholic Schools Office.  The program will take place on Mondays for the next 8 weeks.   Please ask your child to share the information they have learned as a way to open up positive discussions at home.

WHAT WE ARE STUDYING

Language Arts  

     Reading : We have been reading a variety of articles which relate to the topics we are studying and current events.   

     Writing : Students will be writing pieces that describe how characters change throughout a story.  We will also be working on writing Persuasive Paragraphs.

     Grammar : We will finish working on possessive nouns and will begin to study verbs.

   Religion

      This month the focus in Religion will be the Beatitudes.

     The class will be attending Mass on Day 6, in addition to attending the scheduled school Masses and Holy Days.

  Math:

    We will continue to practice more complex multiplication (2 digit x 2 digit) and will begin long division.

 Social Studies:

    We will begin our study of European Explorers in NYS and the settlement by the Dutch.

Science :

     We will be classifying, describing and measuring matter.

REMINDERS: (Things of importance for you and your child)

On-line Grades:

     Now that you have access to your child's grades, I would encourage you to monitor your child's progress.  I find a strong correlation between a child completing work carefully and in a timely manner and his/her academic success.  The reverse also seems to hold true - those students who do not complete work or do not review poorly done papers seem struggle.  The ability to see your child's grades provides a strong tool to help your child succeed.

Friday Folders:

     Friday Folders will be one way to have regular communication regarding your child's work habits.  The students will bring a folder home every Friday.  The folder will contain a sheet listing the work from the week.  Any assignments not turned in will be highlighted.  My expectation is that the students will complete any unfinished work over the weekend and hand it in on Monday.  A parent will also be asked to sign-off on the sheet to ensure open communication between you, your child and me.

Important Dates

Tuesday, January 10 - School-wide Spelling Bee

January 27 - Final day of Semester 2

January 30 - February 3 - Catholic Schools Week

NYS Tests:

ELA - Tuesday, April 17-Wednesday, April 18

Mathematics - Monday, April 23-Tuesday, April 24

Science - Performance test - TBA

               Written test - Monday, June 4 

(Please keep these dates in mind if you should be planning to go away at these times.   Dates may be subject to change, as per NYSED.)

A New Year, Full of Opportunities!

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