Fourth Grade News
May 2017
Pleasant View Elementary School
RED LION AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
ELIZABETH E. STAMBAUGH
Principal
Contact information
Email: ellisn@rlasd.net
Website: http://pv.rlasd.net/pages/5769961727761040114/Classes/2540_18
Location: 700 Delta Rd, Red Lion, PA, United States
Phone: 717-244-5425
Twitter: @pvnellis
Grades are posted
Since it is the final marking period, all assignments must be completed for the current units. Please encourage your child to do his or her best every day in order to meet this final deadline. There can be no extensions to revisions this marking period.
This can be a challenging time of year as the weather gets warmer and minds turn to playing outside, sports, etc. We appreciate your support in trying to keep the remaining weeks as productive and successful as possible. We will be working until June to finish remaining tasks!
Google Day May 26th
Using Technology Appropriately
As indicated in our prior newsletters, when students are not using school devices, accounts, or class time appropriately, the first consequence will be that they lose technology privileges for up to one full marking period. If there are repeat issues, the consequences will be altered as deemed necessary. All parents and students sign a technology contract agreeing to abide by the expectations of the board of directors.
Students will be “unplugged” for the allotted time and only allowed to use computers at school under direct adult supervision that will be at the discretion and convenience of the adult in charge. More traditional methods will be provided in order for students to demonstrate their learning of the same lesson essential questions as the rest of the class. We appreciate your support and understanding as we strive to produce digital citizens that understand how to use technology in a safe and appropriate manner!
Scratch accounts
I highly encourage you all to consider making this valuable site available to your children as an option. We are trying to get the students to be future-ready!
Being Prepared Daily
Please encourage your child to be prepared each day for school by being responsible for having his or her lunch, folder, water bottle, homework, instrument, etc. packed and ready to go before coming to school. When things are dropped off during the day, educational time is disrupted by phone calls, and we do not always have the students for whom items are dropped off at that time.
It is important that students learn to do these things ahead of time, and if they forget and have a natural consequence, that is a learning experience that will help them to be more mindful of preparing for their day. It is not always possible to have students get things from the office when they are dropped off during the day. We really appreciate your support in striving to keep our classroom disruptions to a minimum!
Science
The final unit is over halfway finished, and there may be some options for coding, STEM, and website enhancement options after your child has demonstrated learning of the required standards in this unit. There are six tasks that were assigned to this unit, and your child should be working on task 5 at this point. If he or she is behind, he or she may work on it at home; everything is on Google Classroom.
Writing
Students are wrapping up their literary essay about a text this month, and it is the last major writing for the year. I have seen many great improvements in all areas of writing, and I hope that there are some opportunities over the summer for students to continue practicing their skills. Things like emailing a friend or relative back and forth, writing letters and communicating with someone through snail mail, or journaling are some of the great ways that I have heard of students maintaining interest over the break. Thank you so much for your support this year as we have worked hard to improve your child’s writing skills and stamina!
Reading
Students are in historical fiction book clubs for our last unit of the year. Students are growing as readers as they are challenged to use strategies that stretch their thinking of the text. In addition, students are learning strategies of how to organize the information they are taking in about their text. As we move from the second bend of our unit to the last bend of the year, students will deepen their understanding of their text through research and historical narratives. We will discuss history, perspectives, and themes found across our books. Students should continue to read nightly and practice the strategies that are discussed in class.
Math
We are piloting a new fact fluency program this month called Reflex Math! Your child can log in at home and continue to play games while improving his/her fact fluency!
We will continue to work through unit 7 and unit 8 until the end of the year. Please encourage your child to stay focused and work hard. If your child has already mastered his/her multiplication facts, he/she should be practicing them throughout the summer to maintain that fluency! If your child is still struggling with multiplication, the summer would be a great time to get these facts mastered so all of our future 5th graders can get off to a great start!
Social Studies
Students have been learning about the geography of the Southeast. We will continue to study the regions of the United States. I encourage students to take their social studies folder home nightly to review notes. Thank you for your support at home!
Important Dates to Remember
May 12 - Science task #5 should be finished to be on track
May 19 - Science task #6 should be finished to be on track
May 22 - Last book exchange - ALL BOOKS DUE TO LIBRARY
May 24 - Science website should be finished to be on track
May 26 - Google Day!
May 26 - Yearbooks distributed to those who purchased
May 29 - holiday
May 30 - Scratch Birthday celebration - Students with an account can save work
June 2 - last day for students - early dismissal
Reminders
Trip Form Reminder
If you are planning a trip, policy dictates that a trip form from the office must be filled out 5 school days prior to the trip. This must be completed for all absences that are known ahead of time.
Excuse Blanks
When your child misses school for any reason, an online excuse blank or a green paper excuse blank must be returned within three school days. After that time, it will be considered an unexcused absence. A link to the online excuse form is located under the Parents tab of the RLASD page. Three green excuse blanks will be sent home following an absence, one one each day it is not returned; if one is not returned, the office marks the absence as unexcused. These accumulate over your child’s school career and can cause issues for everyone involved. Please be sure to complete the online excuse or green excuse immediately to avoid incurring the resulting consequences. Thank you!