December 17-21

December

Tues., Dec. 18th-PV School to Tivoli to see Elf @ 8:30AM

Tues., Dec. 18-1:00-Band/Choir Concert in the afternoon
Wed. 12/19-Bowling @9:00AM
Fri., Dec. 21-Last day of school-Mythology movie in 4th grade-Hercules

Mon Dec. 24 through Fri Jan. 4 - Winter Break

A Look Ahead:
Mon 1/7 - Classes resume
Fri 1/18 - Midterm of second trimester
Fri 1/18 - PBIS Family Philanthropy Night 6:30-8:00 (details to come)
Mon 1/21 - Martin Luther King Jr Day - No School
Fri 1/25 - CCSD66 PTO Trivia Night (details to come)

Thurs 1/31 - SIP Day - Early dismissal 11:00am


Pictures from Friday's 4th grade Assembly on Women in History--Honoring our Courageous Women in History, such as Ameila Earhart, Bessie Coleman, Annie Oakley, Harriet Tubman and more.

I'm pleased to inform you that Mr. Kowalsky will be joining us for his student teaching experience starting in January.  He will be taking over science and math when we return.

Good Luck, Mr. K. and Welcome Aboard!!!

Spelling - None

There will be no Spelling lesson this week...enjoy the time off!

ELA / Reading - Unit 1 - "Courage" 

The students have been workin on their Greek Mythology Projects. It's been a pleasure to see their excitement over this project. I'm looking forward to seeing their final products. 

After winter break we will conclude the Courage unit with an independent project called, "Profiles in Courage" which each student will complete and present individually. Look for information about the project to come home the week of 1/7.

Social Studies - The Southeast People

We will study about the people of the SE by reading Chapter 7, Lesson 1.

There will be a quiz this week. 

Science - Energy Conversions

Investigating how energy works in a system is the focus of our Science activities this week. Close reading is a skill that crosses curriculum.  We will resume science when we return from winter break.

Mrs. Spakausky's Math Class 

We will have our unit 3 test on Monday, December 17.  Please review notes, checkpoints, SB and HC pages.

We will then start unit 4 on addition, subtraction, and measurement.

Dec. 10-14

December

Fri. Dec. 14, fourth-grade students will participate in a presentation titled, "Women of Courage". This in-school "field trip" coincides with the theme of the first unit in our reading curriculum...Courage!

Tues., Dec. 18th-PV School to Tivoli to see Elf @ 8:30AM

Tues., Dec. 18-1:00-Band/Choir Concert in the afternoon
Wed. 12/19-Bowling @9:00AM
Fri., Dec. 21-Last day of school-Mythology movie in 4th grade-Hercules

Mon Dec. 24 through Fri Jan. 4 - Winter Break

Congratulations, Evan for being chosen for our PRIDE! WINNER for the month of November!

Straight A's for the 1st Trimester of 4th Grade!

Congratulations!

SEL TIME and TEAM BUILDING-Human Knot Activity!

Spelling -  Mythology Words

We will continue our study of mythological words with an emphasis on allusion in myths. The spelling test for mythology words is scheduled for Friday, 12/14.

Reading- Greek Mythology

On Monday I will introduce a mythology project that focuses on personalized learning. Students may choose to work individually or in a small group to complete a project from a given list. Each group will be assigned a different myth. The project will include a written piece and a presentation. Students will be given time in class the weeks of 12/10 and 12/17 but should expect to do some work outside of class as well. The mythology project will be due on 12/20. I will be posting the project on Google Classroom on 12/10 if you are interested in viewing the details.  

Social Studies - The Southeast People

We will study about the people of the SE by reading Chapter 7, Lesson 1.
There will be a quiz on this when we are done studying it.

Science - Energy Conversions

Investigating how energy works in a system is the focus of our Science activities this week. Close reading is a skill that crosses curriculum.


Mrs. Spakausky's Math Class

We are moving right along in unit 3 on fractions and decimals.  We had a checkpoint last week and the students will get those back on Monday.  Next week will be doing more with comparing fractions and decimals.  

We will have our unit 3 test on Monday, December 17.  Please review notes, checkpoints, SB and HC pages.
We will then start unit 4 on addition, subtraction, and measurement.

Dec. 3-7

December

Tues 12/4 - Early Dismissal 11:00am
Tues., Dec. 18th-PV School to Tivoli to see Elf @ 8:30AM

Tues., Dec. 18-1:00-Band/Choir Concert in the afternoon
Wed. 12/19-Bowling @9:00AM
Fri., 12/21-Last day of school-Mythology movie in 4th grade-Hercules

Mon 12/24 through Fri 1/4 - Winter Break


Celebrating Mrs. Bryantś Birthday with cards and donuts!

Spelling -  Mythology Words
This week's list contains words pertaining to Greek Mythology. We will study the definitions of the words as they are used in myths and also look at several myths and their messages. Because this unit has many valuable activities, we will study it for 2 weeks. The spelling test for mythology words is scheduled for Friday, 12/14.

Reading- Unit 1 Courage - Greek Mythology
We will begin our study of Greek Mythology with a look at the myth of Hercules.  We will also focus on the skill of summarizing. A summary is a shortened version of a story that retells all the important parts of the story in sequence. We will work as a team to summarize the Hercules myth. On 12/10, I will be introducing a mythology project that focuses on personalized learning.

Social Studies - "Wildlife & Resources"
The final lesson on the Southeast will focus on the resources and the wildlife of the region. The chapter 6 TEST is scheduled for Thursday, 12/6. Students should review their textbook, workbook pages, note pages, and review pages to prepare for the test.

Science - Energy Conversions
Use of energy in the past and present will be the topic in Science this week.

Mrs. Spakauskyś Math Class:  Unit 3 Fractions
We will continue Unit 3, Module 2.  Students name fractional parts of the geoboard and describe the parts’relationships to one another. Their observations are then extended into comparing fractions with unlike numerators and denominators, and adding fractions with like denominators.

November 19-November 26th- 2 Weeks

Wishing you and your Family a Lovely Thanksgiving!!!


Welcome, Mr. Kowalsky from Lewis University!  
Enjoy your time in our class until Christmas Break!!!


Our monthly time with our preschool reading buddies!!!

Time for a WALK!!!  Catching snowflakes on our tongues!!!

Coming Up:
Wed 11/21 - Fri 11/23 - No School (Thanksgiving Break)

December

Tues 12/4 - Early Dismissal 11:00am

Wed. 12/19-Bowling

Mon 12/24 through Fri 1/4 - Winter Break

Spelling 
Week of 11/19 - There will be no Spelling lesson the week of 11/19. 

Week of 11/26 - Unit 13 - Homographs
This week's list will consist of homographs. Homographs are two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meaning and sometimes different pronunciations. For example, the word pitcher is a homograph. A pitcher is a player who delivers the ball to a batter or a large container with a handle used for holding and pouring liquids.  The final TEST for the homograph lesson will be on Friday, 11/30.

English - Capitalization & Punctuation
We are studying Chapter 5. 
The students will learn about commas this week.  How do you use commas in a series?  We will have a mini-lesson on commas tomorrow and then have some practice station time.

Creative Writing
We will apply what we learned about commas and ¨hooks¨ to our Thanksgiving Turkey Perspective stories.


Social Studies - The Southeast - "Sunlight & Storms"
The week of 11/26 we will explore the diverse climate of the Southeast. Be sure to ask your child about the destructive nature of hurricanes.

Science - Energy Conversions
Writing arguments to support scientific claims and energy converters are the topics for the next two weeks. 


During the week of 11/12, students participated in an investigation in which they were asked to build a simple electrical system that would cause a fan to spin, an LED to light and a buzzer to make noise. Their supplies included a solar panel, wires, a buzzer, an LED light and a fan motor with a blade. Below are some photos of our junior scientists collaborating to design and test their systems.

Mrs. Spakauskyś Math Class-
We have begun unit 3. The students will review fraction skills and concepts and extend their understandings to mixed numbers, improper fractions and more sophisticated strategies for generating equivalent fractions.