MES 4th Grade Weekly Update
March 29, 2024 - April 5th
ECLIPSE DAY PAPER ASSIGNMENTS WENT HOME IN COURIERS. YOU CAN PRINT HERE IF LOST.
Dates to Keep in Mind
MARCH
29 Last Day before Spring Break!
APRIL
1-5 SPRING BREAK
8 Independent Learner Day (Solar Eclipse)
10 Band & Strings Concert @ Chamblee Charter High School
26 Walk to School
26 First Annual Montgomery Elementary Parent Party (7pm-10pm) Distillery of Modern Art
MAY
2 Field Day (Grades 3-5)
4 Family Picnic
8 Field Day Rain Date (PreK- 2nd Grade)
9 Field Day Rain Date (Grades 3-5)
11 Family Picnic Rain Date
15 Transition Meetings for Rising 3rd (5pm-6pm) & 4th Graders (6pm-7pm)
21 Student Class Parties
22 Last Day of School
27 Memorial Day Holiday
Current Curriculum
Math - Milestones Review
ELA - Milestones Review
Social Studies/Science - Milestones Review
Spring Break April 1st - 8th
Have a safe, fun, relaxing Spring Break! We will see everyone back at school on April 9th.
Solar Eclipse Independent Learning Day April 8th
Independent Learning Day, April 8
Monday, April 8, 2024 - DCSD has announced an Independent Learning Day for a safe community-wide Great American Eclipse event! From 1:45 PM to 4:21 PM, a partial solar eclipse will grace our Georgia skies.
Remember, safety first! Make sure to wear eclipse-viewing glasses. For more information and safety tips, check out https://bit.ly/3PuCfjj.
Eclipse glasses and assignments from the 4th Grade teachers went home in this week's couriers. Please make sure your student completes these assignments and brings them back to school April 9th.
Author Allie Millington Visited on March 28th
Author Allie Millington visited with MES students on March 28th.
Montgomery Elementary Bests Georgia's Brightest to Qualify for Worldwide STEAM Competition
On Saturday, March 23, 2024, two teams from Montgomery Elementary School – a Cognia STEM-Certified DeKalb County School District public elementary school located in Atlanta, GA -- competed in Georgia's Odyssey of the Mind (“OM”) State Tournament. One of the Montgomery ES teams placed first in their long-term problem category, qualifying them to attend the OM World Finals Competition May 21-24 at Iowa State University.
Before this World Finals qualifying achievement, the Montgomery ES teams placed 1st and 2nd in their respective categories at the North Georgia Regional Tournament.
OM is now the largest international creative problem-solving competition worldwide. The interscholastic STEAM program attracts 20,000 teams, coaches, and volunteers from around the world to come together and prove that creative problem-solving knows no boundaries.
Each year, the OM organization publishes five long-term problems that have both technical and theatrical aspects. Teams of up to 7 students select a problem and spend most of the school year developing a solution entirely on their own. The Montgomery Elementary School team wrote and performed an original, creative 8-minute skit based on the selected classic book Treasure Island. Problem requirements included engineering an unexpected sound effect, set malfunction, team-created antic, and creative use of rubber bands. The Montgomery team placed first in their creative solution and style to the long-term problem! In addition, teams must solve a “spontaneous problem”, which is announced on the spot, requiring instant creative thinking and collaboration with their teammates.
Over 830 teams from 15 countries will compete in the 41st OM World Finals. Last year, a team from Montgomery’s inaugural club qualified, but could not raise the funds necessary to attend the competition. This year, the World Finals-bound kids calculated they need to raise at least $10,000 to attend the international competition. They are seeking financial help from their local community to help fund their inaugural attendance at the OM World Finals.
If you are interested in helping financially support the team, tax-deductible donations can be sent to the Montgomery PTO at the address below:
Montgomery PTO
Attn: Montgomery OM Team
3995 Ashford Dunwoody Rd
Atlanta, GA 30319
About Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind has been a leader in education for 40 years. It’s emphasized creativity, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math long before it was a discipline. It started in Founder Dr. Sam’s innovative industrial design classes at Rowan University in the 1970’s. He believed learning should be fun, students should incorporate their interests, there are always new uses for old items, and the way you ask a question is everything.
Odyssey of the Mind teaches students how to think divergently by providing open-ended problems that appeal to a wide range of interests. Students learn how to identify challenges and to think creatively to solve those problems. They are free to express their ideas and suggestions without fear of criticism. The creative problem-solving process
2nd Annual Math Night a Huge Success!
It was so nice to see all of you there and see all of our students having fun doing math
ChaMathOn
Several 4th and 5th graders participated in a math competition at Chamblee High School this past Saturday, March 23rd. They completed various math tests with challenging problems. The 4th grade representatives were:
Jasper Bair-Icenogle
Viktar Charnahrebel
Arjun Cotha
Mila Huang
Owen Jiang
John Daniel (JD) Marks
One of our teams won MES 1st place during the team round, and 4 students placed in the top 10 in the individual round!! The students prepped hard for 2 weeks and kept the momentum going the day of. We are SO proud of our mathletes!
GA Milestones At-Home Prep
The following link is a video tutorial explaining how best to navigate the GA Department of Education website. Here you will find study guides and other tools intended to serve as resources for parents and students. They contain practice questions and learning activities for each content area.
https://www.loom.com/share/935309ae434449caafe383023c445abe?sid=b8523875-c679-431b-9597-2b5412fcea13
For your convenience, attached below is the End of Grade Study Guide for Grade 4.
IXL
The students have various opportunities to sharpen their skills through IXL and it's "Step into the Arena" customized plans. These plans are tailored for each student by utilizing their fall MAP scores to address strengths and weaknesses. We encourage your students to Step into the Arena at school and NWEA at home. Please encourage them to practice some of the skills that were created for them.
Band, Strings, & Study Hall
Parents, please talk to your students who are enrolled in band/strings to check in. Many students ask us to stay in study hall on a daily basis (or stay without asking). We are not supposed to keep students in study hall unless it is absolutely necessary. We get in trouble too! It's okay if they switch to study hall, but we need that knowledge to make it official 🙂 If your child has expressed the interest to switch to study hall, please send us an email.
Student Chromebooks
Please help your student remember to charge their devices at night so they can bring them to school each day with a full charge.
Transportation Changes in the Afternoons
Please help us by notifying your child's teacher of any afternoon transportation changes before noon. As the day progresses, things can get pretty hectic, and important emails can be overlooked. If your plans change after 1:00 pm, please call the front office ((678) 676-7502) to ensure that your child is being sent home using the correct mode of transportation.