January 21 Beauty and the Beast @ 10:30am
January 23 Lunch Orders Due
January 26-28 Great Kindness Challenge
January 27 Scholastic Orders Due
January 28 Take Apart Day
January 29-30 No School
Homework Due Thursday, January 22nd
1. Turn in $5 for Beauty and the Beast
2. Read for at least 20 minutes every night.
3. Complete Reading Response Letter OR Opinion Paragraph Packet
4. Complete at least 30 minutes of math practice*
*Suggested IXL skills for 3rd grade math practice:
R.10 Area
*Suggested IXL skills for 4th grade math practice:
H.1 Functions, I.1 Graphs, & K.1 Logic
Upcoming Out and Abouts
This Wednesday, we will see Theatre In The Grove's production of Beauty and the Beast. To help cover the cost of the tickets, we are asking families to contribute $5. All Plovers will be able to attend, even if your family cannot contribute at this time. Please have your student turn in money directly to Laura.
Next Wednesday, we will have a Take Apart Day! Students will work in small groups to safely dismantle and learn about the "guts" of machines and electronics, as part of our investigation into electricity. We will need parents to help with disassembly, as well as donations of tools and unwanted, simple household electronics (it's OK if they aren't working!).
Tools Needed: All sizes of standard and Phillips head screwdrivers, pliers and wire cutters. Please label tools with your student's name so they can be returned.
Suggested Equipment Donations: CD/DVD players, desk phones, speakers, printers, networking equipment (routers), tape recorders, keyboards and handheld/battery powered toys. Donations will not be re-assembled or returned.
Volunteer Opportunities - http://vols.pt/drMimF
Please sign up on VolunteerSpot to donate food for our Friday Community Breakfast this week or to help with Take Apart Day next Wednesday (January 28th) from 12:30 to 2:30.
Math Notes
Please, no TVs, monitors, items with blades or anything with glass.Third grade mathematicians will continue their study of geometry and measurement this week by solving problems about area (the measure of how much flat space a figure covers). Look for opportunities to measure area around your house and talk to your student about the size of a surface. For example, if you have square tiles covering a floor or bathroom wall, ask, “How many squares are there?” Or, ask your Plover or Puffin to help you figure out the area of a tabletop or the floor of a room by using different common objects as the unit of measure. For example, how many sheets of notebook paper would it take to cover the kitchen floor? How many index cards would it take to cover a table? Try to estimate the answer first and then use the sheets of paper or index cards to find the exact amount!
This week in fourth grade math, we will begin our study of division while enhancing our understanding of multiplication. Students will work on solving multi-digit multiplication problems, understanding and using the relationship between multiplication and division to solve problems, and learn how to show their thinking. As always, if you have questions/comments/concerns, please let me or Becky know ([email protected])
4th Grade NAEP Testing
FGCS 4th grade students have been selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP assessment will be given at FGCS on Tuesday, March 3. More information will be coming home soon about this assessment, or you can click here to read a note from our principal, Vanessa Gray. If you have questions, please contact school test coordinator Karen Torry at [email protected] or 503-359-4600.
Returning Student Form Due March 3rd
Click here to submit a Returning Student Form. Please fill out a separate form for each currently enrolled student who will be returning next year.
Weekly Review
Last week, we watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast and looked closely for connections to our current read aloud book, Tales of Despereaux. Students were able to notice similarities between Belle and Despereaux, such as they are both outcasts and love to read! This week, students will begin writing a compare and contrast essay, using evidence from the movie and the play (which we'll see on Wednesday) as evidence. Plovers will also have the option of comparing a character from either Tales of Despereaux or Beauty and the Beast to another familiar literary character.
Communication
Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Parents and students can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also leave a voice message on the class phone, come into the classroom before or after school, or call me before 8PM at home.