Last week, your children asked such insightful and mature questions about the human body and how babies develop in the uterus. I was very impressed with their thoughtful, curious and respectful attitudes.  If you haven’t already, please talk to them about what they learned last week.  You are truly your child’s best teacher.

This week we will conclude our unit in Family Life by learning that God has blessed all of us with different gifts and talents which are meant to be shared and that living in a community means including everyone. By sharing these gifts and talents we are serving others and living out our Christian faith.  As Christians, this is what God calls us to do. The attached pages will help you to discuss these topics with your child.

In Math last week we continued our unit on geometry.  Your children have created concentration cards that are in their homework folders.  Thursday we will have our chapter 25 test.  Please use the practice test and page 576 in the textbook to help your child study.   This week your children will learn about symmetry.

In Social Studies last week your children learned about the technologies of 150 years ago that enabled California to communicate with the rest of our country:  the Butterfield Overland Mail Service, the Pony Express, the Transcontinental Telegraph, and the Transcontinental Railroad. What a contrast they are to the technologies that we are surrounded by today.   This week they will learn about the immigrants that came to California from all over the world.  This Thursday the Cupertino Historical Museum’s “Traveling Trunk” will be coming to the fourth grade.  Two women from the historical museum will be sharing antiques and stories from Cupertino’s earliest days.  Below is a link to an article about this wonderful program: http://mytown.mercurynews.com/archives/cupertinocourier/03.24.99/cover-9912.html

Last week your children received May and June’s Scholastic Book orders.  This will be the last book order of the year and is a great opportunity to stock up on summer reading at an affordable price.  All orders will be due by this Wednesday. You can use the form and send a check made out to Scholastic Books to school, or you can set up an account using the following information. If you have already set up an account, log on using your user name and password.  If you use the form, please do not pay with cash.

Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GJYZG

Thanks again for all of your support.  If you have any questions or concerns, please drop by or e-mail me at triciaheis@sjcschool.org.

Sincerely,  Tricia Heissenbuttel

This week in Religion we will read and discuss Unit 4 in Family Life, specifically how a fetus begins with one cell and develops into a baby.  This can be a wonderful opportunity for you to have open discussions about sexuality with your children. Last week we discussed the stages of life and how their child bodies will soon develop and change to become adult bodies that will be capable of having children of their own one day.  Your children’s uncomfortable feeling quickly morphed into wonderful, thoughtful, mature questions. I really was impressed with their maturity.

The May Crowning is this Thursday, May 17. Remember all children are expected to attend this event to honor Mary. We will spend much time in church practicing this week so please don’t forget to send a note by tomorrow if your child is unable to attend. Practices will run much more smoothly if only the children who are attending partake in them. To honor Mary, we will collect layette items to help mothers who have less than we do.  If you would like to donate items, you can send them to school with your child for the remainder of this week.

In Math last week we began our unit on geometry.  Your children have created flash cards that are in their homework folders.  Early next week we will have our chapter 25 test.  Please use the practice test, the flash cards, and page 576 in the textbook to help your child study. The chapter 24 test is in this packet; please review it with your child.

In Reading last week your children read How Night Came from the Sea, a Brazilian myth that explains why we have day and night.  They practiced how to make generalizations and how to use this skill to improve their comprehension.

Last Wednesday each mining company decided whether or not to gamble their earnings, a very real event that took place in the gold fields.  It was quite exciting and made or broke many teams. We all had a lot of fun.  In today’s packet is also your child’s Gold Rush test.  Stapled to the back is the yellow pretest that your child took before we began our Gold Rush simulation. When comparing the two, it is quite impressive how much your children have learned.

In Science we are beginning to learn about magnetism.  The children discovered that all magnets have two poles, a north and a south like our Earth.  They also learned how magnets help us find direction when we use a compass.

Today your children received May’s Scholastic Book orders.  This will be the last book order of the year and is a great opportunity to stock up on summer reading at an affordable price.  All orders will be due by next Wednesday. You can use the form and send a check made out to Scholastic Books to school, or you can set up an account using the following information. If you have already set up an account, log on using your user name and password.  If you use the form, please do not pay with cash.

Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GJYZG

Has your child posted his or her 4^th quarter goal in a prominent place in your home?  If not, please do so in order to help your child finish fourth grade successfully. Thanks again for all of your support.  If you have any questions or concerns, please drop by or e-mail me at triciaheis@sjcschool.org.

Sincerely, Tricia Heissenbuttel