Thursday, September 30, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes and complete log
And finish wkbk pages 15 and 17 in cursive
LA: Thursday Cursive
SPELLING: study for test
MATH: wkbk pages 29
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Tuesday Envelope
Money for Karaoke jar
Free dress bottoms with SJC tee shirt

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA: Wednesday Cursive
SPELLING: wkbk page 8
MATH: Mathletics
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Band instrument
Tuesday Envelope
Money for Karaoke jar

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes and complete log
LA: Tuesday Cursive
SPELLING: wkbk page 7
MATH: wksh
RELIGION: use pages 39 to 48 to complete pages 47 and 48 and study for quiz
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Tuesday Envelope
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
PE clothes
Tuesday Envelope
$3.50 for hot lunch
wear comfortable play clothes, long pants and closed toed shoes

Monday, September 27, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes and complete log
LANGUAGE ARTS: Monday cursive
SPELLING: green wkbk pages 5 and 6
MATH: use practice test and pages 66 to 68 to practice for test
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Monday Packet
Driver information letter
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Copy of insurance and license

September 27, 2010

Dear Parents,

Last week your children worked very hard to prepare our SPARCCLS Prayer Service focusing on being spiritual and peaceful. It was great to see so many of you there. Your children did a wonderful job, and I am very proud of them. In Religion your children learned about Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. Your children learned that during Eucharist we give thanks and praise to God for giving us his only Son, Jesus.

In Math last week we reviewed adding of whole numbers and learned about the addition properties. Tomorrow we will have our test on chapter 3. You can use pages 66 to 68 in the textbook and the practice test to help your child study. Your child’s chapter 2 Math test is in this packet. Please review it with him or her. At the end of the week we will begin reviewing subtraction.

Last week in Math, I introduced Mathletics to your children. Mathletics is an interactive Math website that will support our Math curriculum and provides fun, extra practice to your children. This will be a program that they can use at home to bolster their Math skills. Your children have a card stapled into their homework folder that has their sign in and password. Attached to this packet is an extra card for you to use if the other is lost. Also attached is a letter explaining how you can register so that you can monitor your child’s progress.

We read our first story in our Reading series, Yang and his Terrible Ear, about a young Chinese boy who struggled making new friends at his new school. Your children explored the concept of diversity, and all the kids in our class from such diverse backgrounds and cultures really made a wonderful example. Your children also practiced identifying sequence words to enable them to comprehend more.

This week, your children will be expected to write a one sentence summary of what they read during their 20 minutes on their Reading Log. This summary should take no more than five minutes to write. We have been practicing writing summary sentences during the last two weeks, and your children quite good at it. Look at the Reading Log that your child did last week in class that is in this packet if you would like a better idea of what is expected. These logs will be kept in their homework folders all week and I will collect them on Friday.

In Science we learned about food chains and how energy moves in an ecosystem. Last week in Social Studies your children learned about how we divide the Earth with the equator and prime meridian into the four hemispheres.

This Wednesday the 4th grade will be going on our first field trip, to Filoli for a special program called Native Plants, Native Ways. Your children will explore the traditional way of life for California’s first people. They will enjoy a short hike where they will learn to identify common native plants and animals. They will finish this program with a few hands on activities such as making beads and playing traditional California Indian games. Your child should dress in layers wearing play clothes, long pants and comfortable shoes with closed toes for hiking. A snack of two cookies will be provided to your children. We will return for lunch. Thank you very much to all of you who volunteered to drive. Additional information for our drivers and chaperones is being sent home with your children today.

Please review with your children their work of the past week. If you have any questions or concerns, please drop by, call me at school, or email me at triciaheis@aol.com. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Tricia Heissenbuttel

Thursday, September 23, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes
and finish wkbk pages 5 and 8
LA: Thursday Cursive
SPELLING: Study for test
MATH: wkbk pages 23
Other: SPANISH: numbers are due on tomorrow
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Driver survey for Filoli
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Tuesday Envelope
***SUNGLASSES

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes
LA: Wednesday Cursive
SPELLING: wkbk page 4
MATH: wkbk pages 21 and 22
Other: SPANISH: numbers are due on Friday!
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
Permission slip
Tuesday Envelope
Band instrument
***SUNGLASSES
Emergency food baggie

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes
LA: Tuesday Cursive and finish wkbk pages 1 and 2
SPELLING: wkbk page 3
MATH: NONE
Other: SPANISH: numbers are due on Thursday!
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Tuesday Envelope
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
PE clothes
Permission slip
Tuesday Envelope
$3.50 for hot lunch
***SUNGLASSES
Emergency food baggie

Monday, September 20, 2010

READING: read for 20 minutes
LANGUAGE ARTS: Monday cursive
SPELLING: green wkbk pages 1 and 2
MATH: use practice test and pages 40 and 41 to practice for test
THINGS TO TAKE HOME:
Monday packet
THINGS TO BRING TO SCHOOL:
permission slip
Tuesday Envelope
Emergency Snack Bag is due tomorrow

September 20, 2010

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that at the end of this week we will have finished our first month of school. What a busy month it was! Your children are proving to be very responsible, enthusiastic and motivated learners. Your children worked very hard last week to do their best on their ITBS tests. I am very proud of them and am enjoying them immensely. This week, we are all excited to return to our regular curriculum.

This week we will finish chapter 2 in Math, Ordering and Rounding Large Numbers. We will have a test on this chapter tomorrow. You can use the practice test and pages 40 to 45 to help your child study. On Wednesday we will begin a new unit reviewing addition and subtraction. Later in this unit we will learn about algebraic expressions and equations. Included in this packet is some information for you about this unit and some ideas about how you can help your children at home.

In Social Studies we learned how the Earth is divided into hemispheres and about the important lines that do this. We also continued to learn about plants in Science, and how they provide the energy for all living things on our planet.
I have tallied all the results of your “It’s Electrifying” surveys; out of the 27 surveys that were returned, there were 19 marks for an afternoon performance, 9 for lunch, and 15 for morning (many of you marked more than one choice). In order to accommodate the largest majority of you, we chose Wednesday, April 13 at 2:00 for your children’s performance of “It’s Electrifying.” I apologize to those of you who marked morning times and hope that you are able to rearrange your schedule for this one day.

Is your child’s goal card hanging in your home? Are you and your child writing dates on it as your child works towards the goal? We will be using these during our parent-teacher conference in November.

On Friday at 8:30 your children, with the first grade, will be leading the school in our first SPARCCLS prayer service, focusing on being Spiritual and Peaceful. All of the fourth and first graders will be singing a song called “Shine Like the Son.” We would like for all of the kids to bring a pair of sunglasses to school to use while they sing. Please have your child bring an old pair of sunglasses to school by this Thursday.

Our first field trip will be to Filoli for a program called “Native Plants, Native Ways” on Wednesday, September 29 from 8:30 to 12:30. We will learn how the California Indians had an intimate and deeply knowledgeable relationship with the land that allowed them to live successfully and sustainably in one place for many generations. This ties in beautifully with both our Social Studies standards regarding California Indians and our Science standards about food chains and food webs. We will be going on a short hike so your children will have free dress. They should wear play clothes, long pants and comfortable tennis or hiking shoes. We’ll be back to school for lunch. We will need parent drivers and chaperones so if you can drive and/or chaperone, please mark the permission slip in the appropriate space. Your children have permission slips in their homework folders. Please return it by Friday.

Please review with your children their work of the past week. If you have any questions or concerns, please drop by class, call me at school or email me at triciaheis@aol.com. Thanks again for all your support. You have wonderful kids. Thanks for sharing them with me.

Sincerely,
Tricia Heissenbuttel