Monday, November 30, 2009

READING:  read background sheet 4 and do outline 4
LA:  cursive worksheet
SPELLING: wkbk page 139
MATH: use pages 228 to 230 and practice test to study for test
SS:  Check homepage for missions
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Family Life book
Monday Packet
permission slip
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
permission slip

November 30, 2009

Dear Parents,

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving holiday. This week, we begin Family Life and today, you will receive the first Family Life packet.  It is stapled into this work packet behind this letter.  Our first theme is “Created and Loved by God.”  We will be learning that each of us is unique and irreplaceable, but we all share a common human nature and that our gifts and talents are meant to be shared.  I am sending home our books tonight so that you can take a look at all of the themes that we will be covering.  Take a close look at unit three so that you have a clear idea of the human sexuality concepts that we cover.

I believe that Family Life provides a wonderful opportunity to begin dialogue with your children about God’s miracle of life and human sexuality, subjects that sometimes can be embarrassing and tough to talk about.  Dialogue that you begin now will build trust and openness that will be so positive as your children grow older and are facing these issues in a very real way.  These packets will help you begin talking about what we are learning in class.

In Math this week, we will begin Chapter 11, Multiplying by Two Digit Numbers.  This can be a difficult topic for a fourth grader and some of your children might need extra help on this at home.  Your added help will make a huge difference in how quickly your child masters this concept. Tomorrow will be our chapter 10 test. You can use pages 228 and 230 and the practice test to help your child study for this test.

Last week your children made charts to record data as they complete their Science Fair Projects.  We also did a few activities in class to practice making good observations and inferences. Last Wednesday I told your children that they can begin testing at home. Each time your children work on their projects, they should write the date, what they did, and a few observations and inferences. If you are not traveling over vacation, this could be a great time to help your child test his or her science project and gather results.  If your child is testing with plants, please help your child get started in the beginning of vacation. Remember, your children must have their testing done by January 22.

Tomorrow your children will choose the two missions on which they will complete reports.  With each report they complete, they will move their crew’s boat through the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, around Cape Horn and up to California.  Tomorrow when your children choose their missions, they will put stickers of the mission that they are responsible for in their writing folder.  Remember, most of this work will be done in class; what is not finished in class will be for homework.  Please encourage your child to click on the “Mission Links” page on my web site tonight at http://sjcschool.org/blogs/grade4/ to help them know which missions they may like to research. Each day your children will have about an hour to work on their mission reports in class. Below are the due dates.

Mission Report Due Dates

Friday, December 4-       rough draft of 1^st report is due

Monday, December 7-     final draft and drawing of 1^st report are due

Tuesday, December 8-        rough draft of 2^nd report is due

Wednesday, December 9- final draft and drawing of 2^nd report are due

Because your children will have to finish these at home, there will be no reading log for the next two weeks.  If your child works efficiently in class and has very little work to do on his or her mission report at home, please encourage him or her to continue to read for pleasure.

We will be going to San Juan Bautista on Friday, December 11^th.  We will need drivers and chaperones for this long but worthwhile journey (about one hour each way). Your children must bring a bag lunch and wear their uniforms to school. This is a very authentic mission and we are looking forward to a great day. Your children have their permission slips in their homework folders.  Please return them by Friday.

Our room-moms have been working hard to schedule our field trips for this year, and they have done a wonderful job of scheduling exceptional activities that will enhance what your children are learning in our classroom.  In this packet is a list of the remaining field trips for 4^th grade.  We all owe a huge thank you to Renee Fujii and Sally Cincu.  Thanks, ladies!

I would like to thank Mrs. Cincu, Mrs. Fujii, Mrs. Kimm, Mrs. Choi, Mrs. Arreola, Mrs. Tanlimco and Mrs. O’Boyle for preparing and serving lunch to all of us at our Thanksgiving Feast.  It was wonderful to have so many 4^th grade moms there.  If you have any questions please drop by the classroom, email me at triciaheis@aol.com or call me at school.  Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Tricia Heissenbuttel

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
MATH: wkbk page 88 and 90 ***SHOW WORK ON GRAPH PAPER
RELIGION: complete pages 69 and 70 and study 61 to 70 for quiz
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Tuesday Envelope
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
book orders due tomorrow
three boxes of apple juice

Monday, November 23, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
MATH: wkbk page 87 and 88 ***SHOW WORK ON GRAPH PAPER
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Monday Packet
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
3 boxes of apple juice
Football/softball uniform
book orders due tomorrow

November 23, 2009

Dear Parents,

Last week in Religion, we explored the meaning of a prayer that we all know very well, The Our Father.  Your children learned that this prayer is an expression of our hope that one day everyone will be a part of God’s loving Kingdom.

Last week we began the process of writing our procedures for our Science Fair projects.  This week your children will make a chart to record their data, and I will teach them a bit about making good observations and inferences before they begin their testing. Tomorrow night I will be sending home your child’s Science Log that will contain all of the information you and your child will need in order to carry out your child’s experiment. If you are not traveling over vacation, this could be a great time to help your child test his or her science project and gather results.  If your child is testing with plants, please help your child get started soon.  Remember, the results are due on January 22.

Today we began our simulation on the California missions. Your children will not only learn about the missions, but will learn to use outlines to organize information, will practice reading for content, will make decisions in cooperative groups, will apply math skills to accounting problems, and will conduct research on four missions.

Your children have become part of a crew that will sail from Boston to California to trade goods with the California missions in 1700.  They will move through the Caribbean Sea, around Cape Horn, and up to California by completing two short mission reports.  Soon your children will have stickers of the mission that they are responsible for in their writing folder.  Most of this work will be done in class; what is not finished in class will be for homework.  We will be using books and the Internet to do our research.  If you would like to help your children research their missions, you can send books to school or help them find information on the Internet.  I have added a page to my web site called “Mission Links” that has links to age-appropriate research.  You can find these links on my web site at sjcschool.org/blogs/grade4. These short histories can be printed and sent to school for your children to use.

This week we will begin Chapter 10, Multiplying by 1-Digit Numbers.  There is a letter in this packet explaining what you can do to help your child at home. Last week’s math test is in this packet.  Please review it with your child.

Your children received Scholastic Book orders last week.  There are many good deals on Holiday books that you may be interested in for Christmas gifts.  If you would like to pick up books and surprise your child, just include a note with the order.  All orders will be due tomorrow, November 24.  Remember, you can order books by sending the form and a check made out to Scholastic Books into the classroom or you can order online using the information below:

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
User Name: sjcgrade4
Password: grade4

Our room-moms have been working hard to schedule our field trips for this year, and they have done a wonderful job of scheduling exceptional activities that will enhance what your children are learning in our classroom.  In this packet is a list of the remaining field trips for 4^th grade.  We all owe a huge thank you to Renee Fujii and Sally Cincu.  Thanks, ladies!

Please remember to send in 3 boxes of apple juice for our schoolwide Thanksgiving Feast.  If you have any questions or concerns, please drop by or e-mail me at triciaheis@aol.com.  I am incredibly thankful for all of your children and all of you.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a restful four day weekend.

Sincerely,

Tricia Heissenbuttel

Thursday, November 19, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
SPELLING:  study for test
RELIGION: finish shoe goal
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Tuesday Envelope
canned vegetables
$1 donation for turkeys
book orders due Tuesday, Nov. 24

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
SPELLING:  wkbk page 146
MATH: use pages 202 to 204 and practice test to study for tomorrow’s test
RELIGION: complete pages 49 and 50 and study 41 to 50 for quiz
THINGS TO BRING HOME:
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Tuesday envelope
band instrument
canned vegetables
$1 donation for turkeys
book orders due Tues., Nov. 24

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
SPELLING:  wkbk page 145
MATH: wkbk page 81 and 82
SCIENCE:  finish 1^st draft of procedure
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Tuesday Envelope
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:canned vegetables
$1 donation for turkeys
book orders due Nov. 24
***Post your 2^nd quarter goal

Monday, November 16, 2009

READING:  read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA:  cursive worksheet
SPELLING:  wkbk page 143 and 144
MATH: wkbk page 79
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Monday Packet
***Post your 2^nd quarter goal
book orders
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
canned vegetables
book orders due Tuesday, Nov. 24
$1 turkey donation

November 16, 2009

Dear Parents,

What a wonderful day our Reconciliation Retreat was!  Your children shined in the activities, discussions, songs, and receiving the sacrament.  They especially loved getting your letters, and it warmed my heart to see them pore over them again and again with big smiles on their faces.  I wish to thank all those who helped to make it such a success either by being a group leader or by driving us to Wilson Park:  Mrs. Choi, Mr. Cincu, Mrs. Doherty, Mrs. Ferrante, Mrs. Julian, Mrs. Lee, Mr. Louis, Mrs. Peterson Masri, Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Triner and Mr. and Mrs. Tumangan. Also, our class is grateful to Mrs. Do for working very hard to make this such a reflective and rewarding day for all of us. In Religion last week we worked hard to prepare for our Reconciliation Retreat.

Your children have their new goal cards in their homework folder.   Please post them in a prominent place and help your children keep track of their progress.  A quarter is a long time for a fourth grader to stay focused on a goal, so they will need your help to reach it.

Last week in Math we finished chapter 8 which explains how to simplify algebraic expressions and equations.  You’re child’s test is in this packet.  Please review it with him or her.  This week your children will learn about algebraic equations with two variables in chapter 9.  We will finish this chapter on Thursday and the test will be on Friday.  I will send home textbooks Thursday night so that you can help your child study.  Use pages 202 to 204 and the practice to help your child study.

This week we will begin the process of writing our procedures for our Science Fair projects. Writing specific, step-by-step directions while being sure to control all of the variables can be very difficult for most kids.  Since you will be testing these experiments at home with your children, please help them write their procedures.  Please don’t begin testing until I give you the OK in a Monday letter.

Thank you for your feedback regarding homework. I would like to share information about the survey that I asked you to fill out last week. Out of the 25 responses that were returned by Friday, the majority of you responded that the amount of homework is “just right” (17 families) while four families marked on the “too much” side of the continuum and four marked on the “too little” side. After considering these results, I will keep the homework about the same.  Always remember if your child has a problem completing homework on a particular night, it is always alright for you to write me a note explaining the circumstance and your child can complete it on the next day.

Your children received Scholastic Book orders today.  There are many good deals on Holiday books that you may be interested in for Christmas gifts.  If you would like to pick up books and surprise your child, just include a note with the order.  All orders will be due next Tuesday, November 24.  Remember, you can order books by sending the form and a check made out to Scholastic Books into the classroom or you can order online using the information below:

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
User Name: sjcgrade4
Password: grade4

I would like to thank you again for all your support.  If you have any questions or concerns please drop by, or e-mail me at triciaheis@aol.com.

Sincerely,

Tricia Heissenbuttel