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Miss C. Schenk
4th Grade« April 2009 | Main | June 2009 »
May 29, 2009
Dear Parents,
We’re down to less than two weeks! We have a lot of fun things coming up. This week we had the NHS (National Honor Society) spelling bee put on by our high school students. Wednesday was the first round and it was a lot of fun. Like I told the kids, this is about having fun and doing your best. It is disappointing to get out, but it does not mean you’re not a good speller. Congratulations to our finalists: Alexa, Kayla, Mia, Hanah, and Lillian. They competed today in the finals. Annemarie from Mrs. Hoops’ class was the winner and Hanah was second. Great job!
We took our last science test today. It will not be graded in time to be in your Friday folders. We are wrapping up a lot of our subjects. We will not be having anymore spelling, math, or science tests. We will be having another history test on chapter ten. However, the “test” is completing the chapter review. It will be an in-class, open-book assignment that will be entered as a test grade. If your child has trouble finding answers, even with the book, please help them with some study skills. The test will be next Friday, June 5th.
Monday is an all school chapel. Please make sure your child is in full uniform.
We finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins this week. We will be having a test on it next Tuesday covering the major characters and plot points.
June 3rd is our GPS performance in the theater. Please make sure your child is there and ready to perform. Mr. Mejia has been asking the students to listen to their CDs nightly in order to make sure they have all the words memorized. The students are also performing GPS on Thursday, June 4th for the rest of the elementary school. Please be on time that day!!!! See the flyer in your folder for more important information.
Friday, June 5th is our classroom awards. Please join us in our classroom after School Family for a time to honor each of our students. Please let me know if you have a sibling in another class that we need to work around. Thanks!
If you are interested in our summer program, please visit the school website to download registration forms and a schedule. I will be teaching the afternoon basketball camp and the cultural class. I’m also going on the Tuesday and Thursday field trips for the majority of the summer. I’d love to see you there.
I would like to have a summer birthday party to celebrate all the students in our class whose birthdays fall in the summer. I’m planning to have it Tuesday, June 9th at 2:45. If your child has a birthday in the summer and you would like to bring something in, please let me know in advance so we don’t end up with all the same thing. You can email me or put a note in your child’s assignment book. Please tell me by next Friday, June 5th if you are planning to contribute something.
If you have ANY missing work or extra credit to turn in, it MUST be in by next Friday, June 5th. I will not accept ANY late work after that date. If you are unsure what your child is missing, please let me know and I will print a report for them. For the most part, they should already know what they are missing.
Our last Bible verse is Proverbs 2:6-8. “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” You only have one week to learn it! It will be due next Friday, June 5th.
God bless,
Miss Schenk
May 22, 2009
Dear Parents,
The end of the school year is almost here! The kids already seem like their minds are on summer break. Hopefully, they can buckle down and learn these next few weeks.
The good news is that this weekend is Memorial Day weekend, and we don’t have school on Monday. Another piece of good news is that there are no more spelling tests for the year! Due to short weeks and our GPS performance, Mrs. Hoops and I have decided not to finish the last 3 lists.
Our class has been working on essays about famous California landmarks. This week, students should have gathered information and written their first draft. Today in class we worked on correcting and revising our drafts. The final draft is due on Tuesday. You can type it, but you don’t need to, and it will not affect the grade.
We are going to continue to learn new math concepts for the next few weeks; however, we are not going to be doing the tradition pattern of five lessons and then a test. We will be combining and rearranging some of the lessons in order to maximize our time. We have finished learning every concept in our fourth grade curriculum guide, but we are going to try to learn even more than that!
Tuesday is Field Day from 9:30-11:00. More information is in your Friday folder.
Next Friday we will be having a science test on Electricity and Magnetism. We have done half of it already. We will be finishing it up next week before that test on Friday, May 29th. The Bible verse test on Psalm 51:10-12 is also on that Friday.
Next week we are having a spelling bee put on for us by the high school students. It is scheduled to take place on Wednesday and Friday.
Upcoming Events:
Monday, June 1st- All School Chapel
Wednesday, June 3rd- 4th grade GPS performance
Friday, June 5th- Classroom awards after School Family
Have a fun and safe weekend!
God bless,
Miss Schenk
May 15, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Dear Parents,
The days are flying by! We have less than a month to go in the school year. Remember that we still have a lot to learn. Don’t mentally check out yet. Bible Gospel reports are due Monday.
This month’s Bible verse is Psalm 51:10-12. It says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” It will be due on Friday, May 29th.
Early this week we took a math test. Overall, I could see that our class didn’t understand the most recent material. Those scores will be a part of their grades. The good news is that it did not affect the overall grades more than a few percent. We reviewed this week and took a re-test today. However, I just graded the retest and the scores still reflect a lack of mastery. I am committed to making sure students understand the material before we move on to new lessons. We will try a new way to review next week, but if you can work on reducing, multiplying, and dividing fractions this weekend also that would be great. There is also an opportunity to do extra credit. Students may complete up to 5 supplemental lessons for two points each. They may do lessons 80-100, but not 96 or 99 since we did those in class. With this opportunity they can earn up to 10 points which will be 10% added to their test grade. These lessons are due on Monday.
This week we also took a science test. I am very pleased with some of the scores, including some who did very well on the critical thinking section. I added 5 points to the grades because I think a couple of the questions on the last page were a little unclear. I’m concerned about a few of the lower scores. I will be working with those students individually to master the material and giving them a chance to take a retest. If you would like to do extra credit, your child may complete one of the activities on C27 for up to 10 extra credit points. The more complete and detailed the assignment is, the more points your child can earn. These are due next Friday, May 22nd.
We also took a language test recently. Overall, the class did well. If you memorize the list of adverbs on page 237, in order, then you can earn 10 points added to your last test. Monday is the last day to say them. Our next language test will be Wednesday, May 20th.
Our next history test, on chapter nine, will most likely be next Friday. Prepare as if it’s going to be on Friday, but it may get moved to the next Monday. We have finished all three sections so your child should have the review questions to study. We will be completing the chapter review early next week.
This week I received a flyer about a free math contest for fourth and fifth graders. It is next Saturday, May 23, at 10:00 a.m. It will take place at Pacific Technology School in Santa Ana. If I understand it right, it is a 30 minute test. There will also be fun activities and an award ceremony. All students who participate will receive a certificate. The first, second, and third place winners can win a laptop, digital camera, and MP3 player respectively. If you are interested, you can register at http://mathmatters.accordeducation.org. Registration is due by May 22nd.
This weekend there are several fun activities going on which involve our students. There is a dance recital Saturday at 7 p.m. in the theater and a piano recital at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
If you have questions about the progress reports that we just mailed home, people feel free to email me or set up a meeting.
God bless,
Miss Schenk
May 08, 2009
Friday, May 8th
Dear Parents,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for a WONDERFUL teacher appreciation week. This week I felt so pampered and lucky to be a teacher. The PTT did a wonderful job and provided us with lots of treats. You all made me feel special too. I wrote thank you cards, but I apologize if I forgot someone or something that you gave me.
This week we took a language and a spelling test. Both tests will be in your Friday folder. Also in your Friday folders, you should be receiving the scores for the state notebook and your mission models. The models look great! I am so proud of each student for their hard work on this project. Whether or not your model won a prize, they look great. Thank you for the time, effort, and money you put into this project! The winners were Claudia in first place, Jack in second place, Angeline in third place, and Tiffany with honorable mention. Congratulations! Well done!
Thank you for all the hard work on finishing us other projects this week as well. They turned out great and the room looked wonderful last night. I hope you enjoyed seeing what your children have been doing. I am so proud of them!
Next week our math test on lessons 96-100 is on Monday. The pretests should have come home with your child on Wednesday or Thursday. Use them as study guides for the test. Tuesday is the matter test in science. We reviewed more today, but take some time to study over the weekend.
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, May 18th-Gospel Reports due
Wednesday, June 3rd: GPS performance
Friday, June 5th: Classroom Awards
God bless,
Miss Schenk
