Grade 4

Dear Parents,

I look forward to seeing those of you that are able to come in for Parent/Teacher conferences next week. With Halloween sandwiched in between it will be a busy time for all of us.

We are deep in the throes of making our pirate maps as you know because you’re helping with the paper for the directions to the treasure. Some students are totally engrossed in designing and labeling their maps, while others are more taken with writing up their Captain’s Log. I’m hoping the maps will be completed for you to see next week. You can’t imagine the map skills that are being put to use for this project.

We are about halfway through our reading book, Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt. I have encouraged the students to write in the margins when they spot a simile or an example of onomatopoeia or a word/idea they are unsure of. In answering their comprehension packets, many still say, “…but it’s not in there.” I point out that those very words of the question may not be on the page, but the idea is there for them to infer from. Having them summarize some of the story, or share a favorite part with you is a great way to strengthen their comprehension skills.

In Math the fourth graders are tackling learning mean, mode and median while the 3rd graders are practicing multiplication in a variety of ways. Half the class enjoyed playing the board game, Prime Climb last week and the other half will partake this week.

The slide show attached includes some shots of the class finishing up their globes/continents. Thank you to Ms. Sicurella for making the globes with them in Art class. We finished up placing the continents and oceans in homeroom. I assure you not only will everyone know where the continents are but they will spell Antarctica correctly as well!

We did a close down of the garden with the first and second graders last week. We harvested the leeks and flash froze them to include in our Thanksgiving Soup this year.

I sent out an email to recap the plans for Halloween this week. Let me know if you have any questions about it,

Happy Weekend and Happy Halloween!!

Making Globes Photos

Katharine

Dear Families,

We have begun Peer Reading with the B-2’s pre-school class! It requires a lot of patience to read to a 2 year old who is really interested in so many things other than just the book and the class had to make some adjustments. It wasn’t just reading a story straight through and I was pleased to see them interact and try to get to know their new friends.

We also had a chance to present our dioramas to the 5th & 6th graders at a Middle School Meeting. I like to give the students as many opportunities as possible to present their own work; to stand up and demonstrate what they have created and to answer questions about it. It takes a lot of presence and courage, some have that naturally others need a little more practice.

I have also begun having the class use Reading Journals at home. They have a free reading book here at school and I would like them to read one at home as well. Reading with a parent or on their own is fine, again, practice is everything.  In Math we have moved on, for a bit, from Place Value and onto multiplication. We will be working with different ways of graphing and prime and composite numbers shortly.

Scholastic Book order forms went home this week. If you haven’t seen them yet, they are in the homework folders. You are under no obligation to order anything if you don’t want to. If you do choose to order, you can do it directly online yourself (all the info and order #info is in the letter) or send in a check for Scholastic to me and I will send it in. The deadline for the October order is Oct 22nd.

On Wednesday the morning was devoted to planning our Service Learning Project for the year ahead. We had a terrific discussion about the ills of the world and where our efforts might be best realized to their best effect. We have decided upon doing what we can to preserve the bird population as there are many simple actions we can do to help the birds. Hint: be prepared to start drinking shade-grown coffee and use some decals we will make that help to save birds from flying into windows.

Thanks to Maggie M. and Nicholas for our delicious apple cider donuts the other morning!

Some Important Upcoming Dates:

Monday, October 7 – Away Soccer game with IMS. PPU time at BCD is 6:00.

Wednesday, October 9th– No School Yom Kippur.

Thursday, October 1oth– Mountain Day- Hiking in Kennedy Park in the morning/weather permitting. Please have an eye out for the weather that day, fleeces might be needed and proper footwear. No sandals, please. (No bagels for snack that day).

Friday, October 11th – Grandparents Day. We are so looking forward to having grandparents and friends in our classroom that day. If grandparents are unable to come, we will match that student with another friend and their Grandparents. No one will be alone!

Monday, October 14 – No School. Indigenous Peoples Day.

Thursday, October 17th – Bagels for snack if ordered.

I’m really looking forward to Grandparents Day. They really bring out the best in the kids and it’s great for the students to share their classroom and all the work they are doing.

Great weekend to all,

Best, Katharine

p.s. the slide show below has a little bit of most things mentioned above plus some shots of a math card game that brought out the card sharks in us all.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ump1jBuExbKWg7Mr7

Dear Families,

We’ve had a busy and wonderful start to the year!

We’ve finished our Hopes and Dreams, both personal and academic, for the year ahead, created some class rules to help us achieve those dreams, reviewed the ideas behind Growth Mindset, started our Poetry Folders, filled in our continents/oceans maps, visited all our special classes at least once, and…managed to have some fun while doing it.

Our routines are becoming more familiar each day and I look to you for some help and support with that. Please remind your child to check their planner each night to help remember what may be due for the next day. I told them on the first day that the planner will be (one of ) their best friend this year. I will sign it at the end of each day after a short conference making sure everyone understands whatever assignments are entered.

As I plan ahead for our many projects, I want you to know that while I do believe in the importance of student voice and choice and the power that that autonomy can give to some, others will need more structure and I am prepared to step in when I sense the need.  One of the strengths of a multi-age classroom is that students can learn at their own rate. One of my many goals for the year is to create a learning family that is dynamic, flexible, challenging and accommodates all levels of learning.

If possible, before you drop off please tell your child how they are getting home that day; i.e., parent pick-up, afterschool program (p.m.), etc. If plans change during the day, just email me and copy Melissa Kruse in the office (mkruze@berkshirecountryday.org) or vice versa, so we can get them safely to the right place.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Back-To-School night on September 18th and will be checking in by phone before then. Needless to say, if you have any concerns or questions, please email me directly.

Thank you for sending in inside shoes and a change of clothes, for some I know that is still on the list. I was so happy to hear that everyone was able to join the soccer team, it’s such a great opportunity at the end of these beautiful fall days ahead. It also helps strengthen the sense of family and belonging here at BCD. They all seemed pretty excited about it this morning.

I hope the photos (just click the September in 3/4 Grade link below)  below give you some sense of the work we’ve been doing already. They include some shots of our visit to the Distance Lab to work on the Four 4’s problem, filling in our continents maps, drafting our Hopes and Dreams, organizing our cubbies and a little Choice Time.

Have a great weekend,

Katharine

September in 3/4 Grade