Dear Families, We had quite the busy week in fourth grade! Students have started to prepare for student-led conferences coming up on February 14th, 15th, and 16th. Time was spent reflecting on the goals set back in the fall and reviewing the work that has been completed over the past few months. Each student has identified a few pieces that they are proud of and that they think reflect growth in an academic area. I look forward to these conferences as it is a time for each student to share about their life as a fourth grader. We will also use this time to set goals for the remainder of the school year. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding your conference time. Terry Wolkowicz, from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, did a follow up visit with Friends Academy. She continued to discuss how to reduce, repurpose, and recycle in both music and with our plastic products. We continued to discuss ways fourth graders can help the environment. One way that fourth graders can contribute to the reduction of plastic waste is to pack reusable forks and spoons with their snacks and lunches. If possible, I have been encouraging students to bring in reusable flatware from home. They can even keep their flatware in the classroom cupboard and I will ensure it is used only by the person that brings it in. This small adjustment in our daily lunches can make a big impact on the environment over time. On Friday, February 8 the Diversity Committee is hosting a Parent Diversity Group gathering in Colin Martin’s classroom from 8:15 - 9:00 am. Please feel free to join the meeting. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math Students have been learning to take what they know about tables and lines graphs to analyze data. They have recorded important vocabulary in their math notebooks such as data, mean, median, range, and mode. This week they practiced finding the mean in a set of data. Next week, they learn to find the median, range, and mode of a set of data. Social Studies Fourth grade finished up our civil rights discussions with the interactive read aloud The Civil Rights Movement. As we read, students explored the different choices people made during this time. Students independently read The Voting Rights Act, which is another interactive historical book. We have concluded our study of the southeast region of the United States. Next week we will travel to the midwest! Language Arts Fourth graders have continued to work on fiction stories. Once students have completed the writing process, they will use a rubric to self-assess their work. Students helped create the rubric, which has allowed them to be a part of establishing the expectations for a published story. The rubric focuses on organization, word choice, and conventions. Take a look at our Books We Read chart now that January is over! It is so exciting to see the different choices students make during Academic Choice. This past week students crafted songs, interviewed faculty members, wrote stories, and so much more. Ask your child what they are currently working on for Academic Choice!
Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid Comments are closed.
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May 2019
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