Fun in Fourth Grade
A Newsletter About Our Fantastic 4th Grade "Chastain-ians"
Happy Friday, Families,
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me to review your child's progress during the 2nd trimester. I sincerely enjoy reflecting on your children's successes with you and providing support and feedback as they grow into "almost 5th graders." : ) Below you will find updates and reminders for the next few weeks.
Heartfelt Thanks and Shout-Outs
Thank you so much to volunteers who helpfully graded fast facts and 100% Spelling Words tests: Bett Marie Barragan, Jennifer Eastman, Katya Alfaro and Maria Lopez. Your help during this busy, busy report card time was sincerely appreciated!
Curriculum Updates
Language Arts
- We continue book clubs readings and discussions this week. Book Club readings and students' sticky notes are due on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
- This upcoming week students will be working on Spelling City "List 19." Just a reminder of our routine: Students should complete all activities at home during the week. On Thursday night, parents should supervise the test online and send a note or printed test with their signature indicating they proctored the test. Students should bring this to class on Friday.
- We continue with Greek & Latin Roots Unit #6 this upcoming week. The activities packet is due on Friday. We will have a quiz on the meanings of Unit #5 and #6 roots on Friday.
- In grammar, we continue to work with compound sentences.
Math:
Students are understanding decimal concepts quite well! We anticipate the chapter test to take place on Wednesday.
4th grade IXL strands that correlate with our work in class include: U.1-U.10, U.13-U.19.
- 5th grade IXL strands that correlate to these concepts are available for students needing an extra challenge: C.1-C.6, C.8-C.12, C.15-C.17.
Science
- I can't wait to see students' Preparing for Disasters projects, beginning on Tuesday, March 24th! Students can access the "Preparing for Disasters" symballoo here.
Odds & Ends
- Just a reminder that this newsletter is coming to you from Houston, TX! There is a substitute in the classroom today and Monday while I am at the ASCD conference.
- This month's scholastic book order is due on March 30th. Click here to place an order. Your activation code, if requested, is L6L3V. Book orders are typically placed on the last day of the month and then take 7-10 days to arrive. Thanks so much for encouraging your child's reading of excellent books while building our classroom library!
- We have learned that WCS's Smarter Balanced (S-BAC) testing window is from April 20 - May 8. (This does not mean that your child will be testing during this entire time.) However, until our specific testing schedule is released, please try to avoid scheduling any appointments that would result in pulling your child from class during this time. Thank you!
- Math Monday Challenge problem can be found at this link.
Dates to Remember
- March 20 & 23: Mrs. Chastain at ASCD Conference in Houston, TX (Sub in class)
- March 24: "Preparing for Disaster" Project Due
- March 30: March Book Orders Due
- March 30 - April 10: Spring Break
- April 16-23: Scholastic Book Fair on Del Paso campus
- April 18: WCS International Festival from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Del Paso campus!
- April 20 - May 8: Smarter Balance Testing Window (scheduling specifics TBD)
- May 1: Mid-Trimester AR Points Goal Due
- May 20: Open House
- May 25: Memorial Day
Thanks so much for your time! If I can answer any questions, please email me at hchastain@westlakecharter.com.
Warmly,
Heather Chastain