Weekly Newsletter

It was so wonderful meeting with you at conferences this week! Thank you for sharing your amazing children with me! Some of the students have been asking about how to do work at home if it is on a digital platform. I am including information on how to login at home in this newsletter. It is not difficult, but it can be a little tricky the first time. During conferences a couple of parents asked if in-class reading packets could be linked to Google Classroom, so they can print them at home and have students complete their missing work over break. I will work on linking these in, but not today... I am very tired!

This coming week is Fall Break! I hope that everyone gets some time to rest and enjoy some time with family! The week we get back is the week of our Nature Educator's In-House field trip. I will be sending an email to families that haven't signed the permission form yet in MySchoolBucks. If you don't hear from me, your child is signed up. Also, please remember our new bell schedule start after break!

October 12-16 - Fall Break

October 19th: New Bell Schedule Starts

October 22nd - Nature Educators In-House Field Trip

October 30th - Halloween Parade And Class Parties (more information to come)

Reading:

This week we finished our unit on realistic fiction where we continued to work on learning about plot and idioms. We also learned about how authors use language to make their character's dialogue realistic and to convey a character's emotions. In small group, the students have either been working on sequencing a text or identifying main idea and supporting details in order to write summaries. They have also been continuing to work on non-fiction text features and comprehension skills necessary for understanding non-fiction texts.

Writing:

This week the students continued working on their persuasive booklet about places they would like to visit in Colorado. They have used our checklist for editing/revising argumentative (persuasive) paragraphs as they have finished each paragraph. Many students have completed this process for their introduction paragraph and their 3 paragraphs on the places they want to go. On the Monday after break, we will be learning how to plan our conclusion paragraph and finalizing our booklets. I have met with about half of the students to do writer's workshop this week and given them feedback. I will meet with all of the students prior to finalizing and publishing their booklets. If your child takes more time in writing, I have encouraged them to work on their writing over break if they are able to. Instructions on how to log onto our learning platforms is found later on in this newsletter.

Topic 3:

Most of the students took their Topic 3 test this week. If they have not taken it yet, they will be taking it the week after break. In our next topic we will continue to work on multiplication strategies.

Mrs Lewis' Math Class:

Please use my math website to know what your child is learning, what their homework is, and when they will have final tests.

Geography/Social Studies:

This week we learned how to use the scale of a map to determine how far apart places are in the United States.

Science:

This week we finished our first science unit on plate tectonics.

The week after we get back students will be in Spanish and Music.

Reading: No homework over break, but keep on reading for pleasure!

Math: No homework over break!

Social Studies/Science: No homework

You can check to see that your child filled in their homework correctly using the homework page on my website. Please review their planner/homework with them every evening and initial their planner each day.

On Thursday, October 22nd from 12:00-2:05 Nature Educators will be coming to do a one hour program for our fourth grade students. The Nature Educators is a wildlife education program in Colorado. This program will be about animal adaptations and habitats. Nature Educators will bring a few different animals such as: birds, reptiles, amphibians, or invertebrates to discuss the various diets, habitats, and adaptations for each. Students will be viewing the program in the library. The funds have been generously covered by a PTA grant. Parent permission is still required on MySchoolBucks. Thank you for supporting your child in this engaging educational experience.

Monday - Thursday

1st Bell (Entry): 8:30am

2nd Bell (Tardy): 8:40am

Dismissal Bell: 3:35pm

Fridays

1st Bell (Entry): 9:15am

2nd Bell (Tardy): 9:25am

Dismissal Bell: 3:35pm

Supervision will be provide starting at 8:20am Monday through Thursday and 9:05am on Fridays.

This time adjustment is being made to help better align our school bus transportation schedules to ensure safe, reliable transportation for all students. Our school buses run high school and middle school routes before moving to elementary school routes. One delay can have a domino effect for many schools. Many times this year, high school students have had minimal time to catch their buses after school, and elementary school buses often arrived late – resulting in students waiting for their bus to arrive.

As we enter Colorado’s snow season, when driving conditions will be much worse on some days, we want to be sure our students’ wait time at bus stops is as minimal as possible. The five-minute shift for the most-affected schools will give our drivers more time to ensure safe, timely transportation while fully satisfying Colorado’s statewide instructional-minute requirements.

We appreciate your partnership and understanding as we make this adjustment to our school’s start and dismissal times.

If you haven't had a chance to read about graded work and Google Classroom, please see my notes in previous newsletters.

Your child brought home:

• Graded work
• School flyers

Just a friendly reminder that if your child would like to play on the playground before school begins, a parent or guardian must remain with them and actively supervise them. School staff are not available to provide playground supervision before the school day begins.

Thank you for helping us keep all of our students safe in the mornings. We appreciate your cooperation and partnership!

Different volunteer opportunities are listed below. Please sign up for anything that you are interested in. Involved families make our school better! If you are interested in volunteering, you must sign a Parent Volunteer Form.

If you have a special talent that you think would enhance the learning in our classroom, please feel free to email me.