Planting!

The fourth graders had fun planting potatoes and lettuce in our new planter box.  A big thank you to Mr. Shambo and Mr. Kleber for making it!!  It's awesome!

NECAPs next week

Science NECAPs
Next week, the fourth grade will take the Science NECAP tests.  Please see that your child gets plenty of rest and eats breakfast so that he/she can do the best job possible!  We will be testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (May 6-8).

Field trip
Our field trip to Shelburne Museum will be on Friday, May 23.  This will be an extended day as we will have to travel quite a distance to get there and back.  We will return to school at 4:00 so please make arrangements for your child to be picked up at school at 4:00 on May 23.  Please see the green letter that we sent home on Monday, April 28 for more details about the trip.  The $10 fee is due by May 9. We are very excited about this trip!

We need pencils!
We have run down our supply and could use more pencils.  If you happen to have any stray pencils around the house that you could donate, or if you'd be willing to purchase and send in some, we'd greatly appreciate it!  Thanks so much!

Reminders…
May 26 & 27 no school
June 11 early release (8th grade graduation)
June 13 last day for students (early release)

Have a WONDERFUL spring break!

A ranger from the Hartland Dam visited and talked to us about Water Safety.  Madison and Reese got to try on some gear!

What a wonderful play!  We thoroughly enjoyed the 3-4 production of STONE SOUP and are very proud of our classmates who participated.  Bravo!

THE SCIENCE FAIR!!

Don't forget about Spirit Week coming up after break…Here is the plan of what to wear/bring:

Tuesday, 4/22  Wear Green, Act Green 

Wednesday, 4/23  Honor the Ocean and Sky, wear blue

Thursday, 4/24  Celebrate Outdoor Sports, wear sports related clothing 

Friday, 4/25  Honor Animals Day, wear animal themed/animal print clothing, bring a stuffy

Just a few things...

Just a few things…

--We are not sending home Friday Folders today due to the shortened week.

--The home portion of the science fair project (running the actual experiment and recording the data) should be completed at home by March 24.  We will be putting the display boards together at school the week of March 24-28.  The Science Fair will be April 3 from 1:45-2:20.  You are welcome to visit and tour the displays in both classrooms at that time.

--We are enjoying listening to the myth booklets that the students are reading aloud for fluency and presentation practice.  Those students who haven't shared yet will do so on Monday.

--We have taken a break from turning in the Reading Records this month, but I hope the kids are still reading at home!  Your child should be reading around 100 minutes per week.

--Yearbooks are on sale.  If you'd like to purchase one, please send $15.

Dr. Seuss, Greek Mythology, & Jr. Achievement!

WE CELEBRATE DR. SEUSS!

Mr. Moreno read a Dr. Seuss book (Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!) to our class on Monday to help us celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!  Thanks for the great story, Mr. Moreno.  

GREEK MYTHOLOGY…

We have been exploring Greek mythology and talking about some of the words and expressions in our language that come from Greek mythology (Herculean, Pandora's box, Midas touch, echo, etc.). Each student has a booklet of a Greek myth that she/he will read aloud to the class.  The students should practice reading their myth aloud at home (many times!) so that they can read it with fluency and expression to the class next week.  Students may color in their booklets if they wish and share the pictures as they read.  Some of the names are difficult to pronounce so we practiced them in class (I gave the kids a pronunciation guide to help out at home if they have trouble.)  Have fun reading!


JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT...

We are excited to be able to participate in the Junior Achievement program this year.  Last week was the first week of this 5 session program.  We talked about entrepreneurs, innovation, invention, and traits of entrepreneurs.  Very exciting!

Science Fair & Author Visit

Science Fair

This year's 4th grade science fair will be held on April 3.  We are gearing up for this big project and are starting to brainstorm some project ideas.  March 7 is the deadline for coming up with a scientific question to investigate (i.e. Does the surface of the floor affect how high a ball will bounce when dropped from the same height?)  Your child has a brainstorm worksheet that is due March 7.  The experiment must involve some form of measurement (we will be graphing the data), so your child should consider that when deciding on a question.  As we did last year, the assembly part of the project will happen at school, but the actual running of the experiment and gathering of data are to be done at home.  We will be sending home an information letter to all fourth grade parents very soon.

Author's Visit

Jane Kelley, author of Nature Girl, The Girl Behind the Glass, and The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, came to talk with our class yesterday.  The kids asked some really great questions!

Author Jane Kelly visited our class!

Spirit Week is next week!

Theme Days for Spirit Week:

Monday - Blue and White

Tuesday - Fashion Disaster

Wednesday - Crazy Hat

Thursday  - Pajama Day

Friday - Multiplicity (get as many people to dress alike as you can)