Mrs. Smith's 4A Stars

January 27

2012-01-27T15:50:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon,

We had a very busy week. Our story was, The Last Dragon. Since this is the Year of the Dragon, we

made dragon toys and then "paraded" our dragons through the school. The students had a lot of fun with this. Hopefully they brought them home in one piece to share with you.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week. I will try and remind you each day about the activities going on.

Most students have returned their permission slip to go to Assumption on Thursday. If you have not,

then please get that back to us.

Sunday is the opening Mass and we are encouraging the students to wear their uniform to Mass.

After Mass come over to the gym and sample the chili that several faculty members are making!

Monday is Buddy Lunch. I told the students that they were welcome to bring a game from home to play during the recess part of the hour. Remember that lunch Monday is from 11:30-12:30. It looks to be a fun and full week!

In addition to our fun activities the students at Lourdes are collecting items for Birthright all week.

A note will go home at the beginning of the week with further explanation. This will be a school wide

service project.

Students did bring home their math test today.

Have a great weekend.

January 26

2012-01-26T14:57:00.002-06:00

A reminder that tomorrow is the Spelling Bee. 4th grade will be participating at 12:00.

january 24

2012-01-24T15:53:00.000-06:00

Some important updates:

Reminder that tomorrow is an early dismissal at 1:10.

Students brought home the Catholic Schools Week schedule for next week.

Remember that next week the South National Park posters are due, and we will have the quiz

over states and capitals.

January 19

2012-01-19T16:39:00.001-06:00

Reminder that tomorrow, Friday, is the Science test.

Please check with your student and ask them if they have pencils. Many are in need of replenishing their supply. Thank you.

January 17

2012-01-17T15:36:00.000-06:00

Today we highlighted the Social Studies study guide for chapter 6, and we filled in the study guide

for Science on earthquakes and volcanoes. We will review both of these chapters tomorrow, again.

Everyone should have brought home both study guides. Students also have a very short math worksheet and a few did it quickly at the end of the day.

Spelling is not due until Friday, this week.

Please look for the Buddy Lunch form that went home today. This is due next Thursday.

Have a nice evening.

January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T15:44:00.001-06:00

TGIF. I guess winter finally found us! I think the class is happy about winter finally arriving, even if we are not quite as enthusiastic about it.

We enjoyed the dodgeball tournament this afternoon, and I think we all enjoyed the games, even though none of our fourth grade teams survived. They all played a good game.

Important upcoming dates:

Thursday, Jan. 19, is our Social Studies test over chapter 6. We will highlight the study guide on Tuesday. I told them Wednesday, but since we do not have school on Monday I am making it Thursday. Friday they will have a Science test, and we will go over that on Tuesday as well. Tuesday, January 24, we will have a math test over chapter 7.

Enjoy your 3 day weekend.

January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday! Today we had another Eagle Exchange. Some students are saving Eagles up. With the amounts that some of them have, I told them I was not giving away cars!

Today we worked on line-graphs in math. Some said that making graphs is harder than they thought.

Next Wednesday we will have a test over the chapter on Adjectives in Language.

We completed our study of A Christmas Carol by watching an animated movie. It followed the book

pretty closely. We are on the second Commandment in Religion.

Have a great weekend!

January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T15:35:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year and welcome to the second semester! Don't forget that we are leading the Mass tomorrow, and I told everyone to please be on time.

This week we are finishing up The Christmas Carol. Today we wrote Diamante poems about Scrooge and looked at events in the story from his perspective. We are writing goals for the New Year. We are beginning a new chapter in math and took a pretest today over interpreting and using graphs. We also began a new chapter in Science over volcanoes and earthquakes.

We are in a new quarter and it is a fresh start for everyone.

December 20

2011-12-20T15:55:00.000-06:00

Just a few updates for you. This week we have been reading A Christmas Carol by Dickens. We are reading the Great Illustrated Classics version, so it is easier to understand. The students are doing a small project with each section. Today we read about the ghost of Christmas Past.

We have been working on the chapter covering measurement in Math. We have been working through a packet on this, and most of the work has been completed in class by most students.

We do not have a spelling unit this week.

Since we are finished with the last unit in science we will not begin another one until we return from our break.

We have been continuing our work on adjectives in Language.

So when you have been told there is no homework, that is true for anyone who has completed their work in class.

All Dodgeball money must be in and the slip by tomorrow- NO EXCEPTIONS!

Tomorrow is a Thursday schedule, since Mass is Thursday this week.

FYI- Our class is leading the Mass on January 4. All students with speaking parts took them home last week. Please practice over break.

December 16

2011-12-16T15:33:00.000-06:00

Today we watched the movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This is after we read and studied the book this week.

The students all brought home (should have) a list of the states from the Southern Region, and a map for practicing. They also have the rubric for the next National Park project. This will be due the week of January 30. The quiz over the capitals will be January 30. This should give everyone plenty of time

to complete this project and study these states.

It is hard to believe that there are only 4 school days left, not only until Christmas break, but also until the end of the semester.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

December 12

2011-12-12T15:41:00.000-06:00

Today we began reading, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. We also started chapter 6 in Math, which is measurement. The spelling words this week are Christmas words.

The list is:

1. Christmas

2. Nativity

3. poinsettia

4. ornament

5. wreath

6. Holy Family

7. celebration

8. stockings

9. Advent

10. nutcracker

11. shepherds

12. Bethlehem

13. North Pole

14. reindeer

15. sleigh

16. holiday

17. Santa Claus

18. holly

The students have a Spelling Speedway activity. They are to choose 3 activities from the track to do with their words. This is still due Thursday.

See the pages for assignments from today.

December 9

2011-12-09T15:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday! The students are correct, they do not have anything that needs to be completed at home for Monday!

Next week we will begin working on a Christmas novel. We have finished our current theme in reading and will not start the next one until after Christmas.

We have started the next region in Social Studies. We are now on the South. I will be getting the list of states to the students next week. The next National Park project will not be due until after we return from

break, probably about the middle of January. I will let you know as soon as I have a due date.

We will be working on the measurement chapter in Math beginning Monday. This is a good chapter to

do at this time of year, and we should finish it by Christmas.

The students have been working in groups to create Bible maps of the Exodus and Ten Commandments. These are now hanging in our hallway.

Thank you for all the coloring books and crayons. Our class collected 30 books. I know these will be appreciated by our friends in Peru.

Have a great weekend!

December2

2011-12-02T15:49:00.000-06:00

Wow! We have had a chatty couple of days. I think there is excitement in the air. So many things are going on in everyone's homes.

Please remember to send in a coloring book and box of crayons. We do need to get these in the mail.

Important reminder that Tuesday evening is our Christmas Program. Students should be in the classroom at 6:15, the program is at 6:30.

Tuesday at 10:00 we will have our Lenten Reconciliation, and Mass next week is on Thursday.

I want to say thank you to the Fourth Grade for the special birthday surprise. Mrs. Cravero brought in cookies, flowers and a SCRIP coupon last week. It was the end of the day, so we enjoyed the treat the next day. The flowers are still looking good. Thank you so much.

The students shared in morning meeting all the fun plans they had for the weekend. So it sounds like it will be busy. Everyone have a great weekend!

November 29

2011-11-29T15:57:00.001-06:00

Parents, It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of November.

Fourth grade is very busy, and it seems we have a lot to do before Christmas, and the end of the semester.

Today the students brought home several notes, and the green or red one, especially needs your attention.

We began making Christmas cards today for the parishioners who are unable to attend Mass. These cards will be delivered by the Eucharistic Ministers when they deliver communion closer to Christmas.

Please be looking for an e-mail explaining our service project for the year.

We are completing our 4th chapter in Social Studies. There will not be a formal test over this chapter. We have been completing small projects in class as we have read each lesson.

Please ask your child to explain order of operations to you. ( Always doing multiplication and division, before addition and subtraction, and working left to right.) This concept was difficult for some students.

As we entered Advent we have added the Advent wreath and the Jesse Tree to our morning prayer. Ask your child about the Jesse tree. They were very interested in the idea of Jesus's family tree and several shared their own family tree with us. We have begun the study of the Ten Commandments in religion and are making Bible maps of the Isrealites leaving Egypt and Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.

You can see it is a busy time, and there are a lot of exciting things happening in our classroom.

November 21

2011-11-21T15:45:00.000-06:00

With just a two day week, everyone is excited for the beginning of the holiday season. This week there will be no spelling or new story in reading. We did stick to our routine in math, and today we divided money. I shared an African Folktale, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. With this story we discussed the personalities of the characters, and the elements of a narrative story. The students are writing summaries and drawing pictures to show their understanding of the story.

We completed the workbook we have been studying to prepare for the new Mass changes that will take place at Advent. Along with reading the new responses and prayers, the book walked us through Mass, and explained the parts of Mass. Hopefully the Mass will be more meaningful as we come to understand it more.

Tomorrow is a NUT day for $1.

November 14

2011-11-14T15:51:00.000-06:00

Our ITBS testing is completed. I am proud to say that we had perfect attendance every day!

On Friday we had our first Eagle Exchange. Students turned in their earned eagles for privileges to be used this week. We had a variety of opportunities going on today.

A reminder that the state and capital quiz is Wednesday, and that National Park posters are also due on Wednesday. We have had some great posters already presented to the class.

The skeleton for science is due Tuesday.

Several students have already presented their American Revolution Time line to their family. If you have not seen yours, please ask your child about it.

We are completing our Biography Contracts in reading. We will do another Fiction book for our next contract project.

We are moving on in math and today we worked on 2 digit quotients with remainders.

The Thanksgiving Turkey in our room has some beautiful feathers full of wonderful thoughts of all that our class is thankful for. It is hard to believe that it is that time of year.

We are very thankful to the parents who supplied us with snacks for ITBS week. The children were well fed and enjoyed the treats. Thank you to the Boldt, Cravero, and Shield families. I hope I didn't forget someone.

Please remember that children need to have coats and gloves, because they are going out for recess at 10 degrees or warmer.

Have a great week.

November 7

2011-11-07T15:59:00.001-06:00

Today we began the ITBS testing. The class did a great job of honoring the Quiet Rules we

established.

This week there will be No Spelling> so they were pretty excited at the end of the day, since there was no homework except for any math on the worksheet that did not get completed. Most did complete this.

Our mornings will be pretty full of testing all week. We will have math, science, and social studies. This might be a good week to work on the National Park poster, and practice states and capitals. Remember these are due November 16. The poster may be presented whenever it is completed and the student is ready to bring it in.

November 1

2011-11-01T15:40:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Seems some were pretty tired today.

All students corrected and highlighted the Science Study Guide. I told them to take it home today.

All students have their Social Studies test to be signed.

Spelling this week will be due Friday.

Have a great week!

October 31

2011-10-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

Check out our class photo album page for new photos of our class. There are pictures from our Halloween party, creating landform maps, and working on our Fall Word Clouds.

October 26

2011-10-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

Test schedule for math, social studies,and science:

Social Studies- Fri., October 28

Math-(for those who have not already taken it) Tuesday, Nov 1

Science-Thursday, Nov. 3

October 24

2011-10-24T15:49:00.000-05:00

Parents,

We have many things happening in Fourth Grade.

You will receive an e-mail concerning our "Fly Like an Eagle" program. This is just something I thought I would try to improve our classroom behavior, especially the talking.

This week is Red Ribbon Week. Encourage your student to participate in the Healthy Calendar activities.

Don't forget that Tuesday, tomorrow, is Slipper Day. Students need to wear shoes to school. They may wear their slippers in the classroom and school. We do have gym tomorrow, so don't forget to bring gym shoes.

Wednesday remember to wear a red shirt to Mass.

Friday students are able to have free dress (especially black and orange) for $2. This money is to help Student Council with the expense of serving at Cafe on Vine.

We are having a Halloween Party on Friday. Students may bring their costume to change into for the party after lunch.

Our class is painting 2 boxes for the Beanbag Tournament. Mrs. Taube and I have worked out our idea and she has sketched out a plan. We are looking for some parents to help us get the boxes ready and painted. We will need some painter's tape. Mrs. Taube has brushes and Home and School is providing the paint. If you can give some time to help and supervise the students painting on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8:30- 9:20 we would appreciate it.

We continue to practice state and capitals.

Group 2 is ready for a math test tomorrow over chapter 4.

Look at the pages for daily assignments.

Remember that October 31, Monday, there is no school. Also, no Bettendorf bus on Friday.

October 13

2011-10-13T15:59:00.002-05:00

Today the students received the list of states in the Northeast Region. These are the first states to practice for the state and capital quiz. It will be November 16. They also have the Rubric for their National Park Poster. This is also due the 16th of November. They must choose a park or National Monument from a state in the Northeast Region.

Remember that Friday is our picture day, and that we get out at 1:10.

Also, tomorrow is our Science test.

Have a good evening.

October 11

2011-10-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Reminder that there is a Social Studies test on Wednesday. We highlighted the study guide on Monday and reviewed.

Today we received the study guide for Science. This test is Friday.

The students are asked to share their Psalm Booklets from religion with their family.

October 7

2011-10-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

It is Friday and it looks like it will be a beautiful fall weekend. We had a good week. The students completed Sarah, Plain and Tall and we were able to watch the movie today, and compare the book to the movie. We discovered that there are a lot of similarities and a few differences.

Today we began chapter 4 in math. This chapter is over multiplication. After taking the pretest I have divided the class into two groups. I told the students that some needed work to complete the chapter in a different way than others. We are all headed to the same end- to understand multiplication and be successful.

Next week we should be ready for a Social Studies test and a Science test. We will highlight our Social Studies on Monday and take the test on Wednesday. On Tuesday we will work on our Science study guide. We will check it over on Wednesday and Thursday and test on Friday.

I hope everyone has a chance to enjoy the weather. Have a great weekend.

October 5

2011-10-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

Today students worked on their Sarah, Plain and Tall packets. We also used the laptops and created Autumn Word Clouds. By going to wordle.net we created our own word clouds. We printed them and they are on display in the classroom. The students brought home their math test to be signed. They all did a very nice job.

October 3

2011-10-03T16:07:00.000-05:00

Reminder that tomorrow is music and students need to bring their recorders for class.

The Hunger Drive continues until Friday, so it is not too late to bring in cans.

Every student in our class remembered to wear a blue shirt today! Way to go 4th Grade!

We have been practicing states and capitals with flashcards.

We are off to a good week.

September 29

2011-09-29T15:47:00.000-05:00

Parents,

Looking ahead- We should be ready for a math test over chapter 3, next Wednesday, October 5.

We will plan on a Social Studies assessment over chapter 2 on Wednesday, October 12, and Science, chapter 2, on Friday, October 14.

We will finish Sarah, Plain and Tall next week, and all activities for it.

We are working on Nouns in English, and the Ideas Trait in writing.

Remember- No School on Friday (tomorrow)

Also, Students are asked to wear their BLUE UNIFORM shirt on Monday, for a National Recognition Day against Bullying.

Please remember that specific assignments can be found on the subject pages on the Blog.

Have a great weekend

September 27

2011-09-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

It was so nice meeting with some of you this evening, and I look forward to meeting with the rest of you Thursday.

Don't forget to send in cans for the Hunger Drive, which will go on for the rest of this week.

Also, we will be able to purchase at the Book Fair on Wednesday. You will also be able to purchase

any time during the school day and during conferences.

We will begin to read the novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall tomorrow. There will be a packet of activities to go along with this story. It completes our theme on Journeys.

There is NO SPELLING THIS WEEK.

Enjoy the Fall weather and the long weekend.

September 19

2011-09-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

The weather has really turned to Fall. Be sure your child has a dress code sweatshirt or sweater for the classroom. I have no control over the temperature in our classroom and it can be warm and cold at any time.

Today we reviewed for the Social Studies test on Thursday. Everyone should have highlighted notes.

Tuesday is SCRIP day. Next week is the Fall Book Fair. Also, look for your conference time confirmation note on Wednesday.

We are off to a great week.

September 16

2011-09-16T15:31:00.000-05:00

Have a great weekend! Check STAR folders for SCRIP notes, and returned assignments, especially the Language test.

September 15

2011-09-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

Today we went over the study guide for the Science Test.

We took the language test. I read it with the students and went over all directions.

In Guidance the students talked about good study habits and skills.

Please remember to send back the conference time slip, if you have not already.

Don't forget tomorrow is Friday- buy SCRIP! It is a great way to support our school.

Don't forget if you are going on a trip, or know someone who is- Take along TP!

September 13

2011-09-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

Parents, I am back. I am sorry that I had to miss 3 days. My mother-in-law passed away and we had lots of family staying with us from out of town. We will get back on track in the next couple of days.

Spelling will be due Friday, instead of Thursday, since they just received their packet today.

It is that time! We have been in school a few weeks now so we are beginning to finish up chapters and prepare for assessments.

Wednesday is the math test over chapter 2, and everyone should have brought home their math book tonight.

Friday we will have a science test. The students received their study guide today and a vocabulary review. We will review Thursday and the test will be Friday. We did the book review together today.

I will let you know when our first Social Studies test will be.

We are almost finished creating our landform maps, and we will paint them in art class.

Today your child brought home a conference slip. Please fill this out and send it back as soon as possible so that we can create a schedule.

Please check the subject pages for specific assignments.

September 6

2011-09-06T19:02:00.000-05:00

Students should have brought home their math test to be signed.

We began our salt dough landform maps in Social Studies.

Be sure you are on time tomorrow so that we can be in church ready to lead the Mass.

Students have an information sheet about our Traveling Pig!

September 1

2011-09-01T18:47:00.000-05:00

Parents,

I want to let you know that Friday, September 2, I will be in Cedar Rapids for a Science kit training. Mr. Morford is the scheduled substitute.

For those who purchased SCRIP, Friday is NUT day.

Please remember to make the dough for our maps. We will make these on Tuesday.

Today we had our first library visit, and tomorrow we will have computer class.

All those students with speaking parts in the Mass, should have brought them home today for practice.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend, and I will see you Tuesday.

August 31

2011-08-31T15:54:00.000-05:00

Parents, so sorry about the delayed release today, I thought dismissal was at 1:30! My goof- ooops!

A couple of students have brought in their salt dough for their maps. We will make these maps on Monday.

Students with speaking parts will bring home their part to practice tomorrow for next week's Mass.

We have a new seating arrangement due to the chattiness of this group. They tend to be very social. We are really working on not talking so much between directions!

Our next math chapter is over addition and subtraction. I think this will be a quick chapter.

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the afternoon.

August 29

2011-08-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

This first month of school is flying by! This morning in our morning meeting the students shared their weekend activities and it sounds like everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather and fun with family and friends.
We selected Mass parts today for next week's Mass. There are about 4 people with no part, or working as greeters. These people will get first choice next time we lead the Mass. Our Mass will be September 7.
Remember that tomorrow is the test over chapter 1 in Math. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HOME THEIR MATH BOOK. I checked all bags as we prepared to leave today.
The students all received a recipe for salt dough. This is to prepare at home and bring to school for a Social Studies project. If all the dough could be here by the end of the week, that would be great!
Looking forward to a wonderful week!

August 25

2011-08-25T16:07:00.000-05:00

I thought I would send out some information to clarify some of the upcoming assignments.

We have completed Stone Fox and will watch the movie version on Friday. There are quite a few contrasts from the book, which are very interesting.

Our Math test over chapter 1 will be Tuesday, the 30th.

The science assignment is due Tuesday, which involves writing the vocabulary words with definitions in their Science notebook.

Library and computer classes begin next week.

If you are interested in the book order from Scholastic, I would like to send in any orders this weekend.

Thank you.

My email is ssmith@mail.lourdes.pvt.k12.ia.us

August 21

2011-08-21T19:39:00.001-05:00

What a great first week!

Hopefully you have had a wonderful weekend. This weather has been wonderful for getting outdoors.

You may have wondered about what the students would have for work over the weekend. They possibly had no homework. My goal is usually to not assign any weekend work, unless they have something that they did not get turned in during the week. Normally, I have a worksheet for math on Friday and give ample time to get it done in class. I believe that we all work very hard during the week, and everyone, even students, need a nice break and time to enjoy their family and friends.

This week we will begin our spelling units, which will also include handwriting practice.

We will continue our novel, Stone Fox.

I will do my best to post all daily assignments on the subject pages.

August 17

2011-08-17T16:01:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check pages for assignments.

August 16, 2011

2011-08-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

Congratulations on a great first full day. This is a great group and they seem very enthusiastic about everything. Today we had gym and music. We took some time this afternoon to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. Be sure to check the pages where homework will be posted. They all have a math worksheet to do tonight. There is a page for class photo album where I will post pictures as the year goes along.

August 15, 2011

2011-08-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

Welcome back! We had a great first day getting to know each other. We welcome Bella, Lauren, and Jacob to our class this year.

I showed the class this blog and encouraged them to share it with you. Be sure to check the pages, since that is where assignments will be posted.

The students wrote in their assignment notebooks and set up their S.T.A.R. folders. (safe transport and return). We talked about being organized and how using these tools will help them remember what to have each day.

I look forward to a great year with your children!