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Miss C. Schenk
4th Grade« June 2009 | Main | October 2009 »
September 25, 2009
September 25, 2009
Dear Parents,
Thank you for bringing in your assigned ingredient for our cookie project. If you forgot to bring your ingredient, please email me by Saturday at noon to let me know if you can still bring it. Remember that you need to bring in your baked cookie on Monday. Your child will be bringing the cookie home with them Monday night. Don’t eat it all at once.
I know we haven’t even gone to Sacramento yet, but we’re already getting started on our Sacramento trip. The trip is Thursday, March 4, 2010. We have a reservation for 35-55 people. The students and teachers will have first priority. After students and teachers have been counted, parents can sign up to come along as chaperones. It will be on a first come, first serve basis. The exception is if both parents are interested in coming. If that is the case, we will give priority to one parent per child first, and if there is still space, the second may sign up. In your Friday folder you have a packet with the information about price and what we will be doing. The initial deposit will be due on Monday, October 26th. Please make the check out to Travel Teens, but turn it into me. We need to mail the first deposit together as a group. After that, you will be mailing subsequent payments directly to Travel Teens.
Biography books should have all been approved this week. The posters are due on Thursday, October 8th. This is a slight change from the date in the Back to School packet. We do not have school on Friday, October 9th so it will be due Thursday, October 8th instead.
This week we began learning the books of the Bible through a song that names each book of the Bible in order. As your children learn it, I am sure you will hear it repeatedly at home. The first Bible memory test, on Genesis-Esther, is on Monday, October 5th. Don’t worry about your child spelling each one correctly. As long as I can understand the idea, it will be fine.
Next week our character trait is industriousness. I will be speaking at School Family next Friday, September 25th. I will be speaking about the trait of industriousness by sharing about my experiences on my short term mission trips. If the technology is working, I will be showing pictures on that day. If you are interested in hearing my stories or seeing my pictures, please join us.
Don’t forget to turn in your San Juan Capistrano money and permission slip. The money was due today and needs to be turned in AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The permission slips need to be in by next Friday, the 2nd.
We have a new birthday reward this year for each student. The fifth graders initiated a petition to have free dress on your birthday, and Mrs. Barber and the teachers have approved that idea. Here are the rules. You may wear free dress on your birthday only. If you forget, it cannot be made up. If your birthday is on a weekend, you may have free dress that following Monday. If your birthday is on a holiday, you may have it the first day back following vacation. If your birthday has already passed or if you have a summer birthday, we will determine a day at the end of the year for you to have your special free dress day. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Our next unit Bible test will be on Monday. We reviewed in class this week. There is a study sheet coming home today that shows some specific things to study. The Bible workbook is another useful tool. I told the class some important things to know. Here are a few:
1) How many books are in the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Bible (39, 27, 66)
2) How many authors wrote the Bible (40)
3) What are the four divisions of the Old Testament (Pentateuch, History, Poetry, Prophets)
4) Be able to name two books from each division.
Next week’s spelling test on list 4 will be on Thursday as usual. The next math test, on lessons 15-20, is on Tuesday.
Study Tip:
Help your child study by asking them to summarize the information they have read in their own words. For example, if we have learned in science that camouflage is “an animal’s color or pattern that helps it blend in with its surroundings.” Well, that is the definition from the book. If you child really understands the material, they should be able to rephrase the definition into their own words. It might sounds something like, “camouflage is the pattern or color an animal uses to look like the things around them.” If your child tells you a definition that contains a word you don’t think they know, ask them to define that word also.
God bless,
Miss Schenk
September 18, 2009
Friday, September 18th
Dear Parents,
We are fully into our normal routines now. This week was filled with several tests. You should be getting back tests from Bible, spelling, language, and math. If you child scored below 70% please sign and return the test on Monday.
Included in this week’s Friday folder are two important notices for the San Juan Capistrano field trip. Please pay attention to those.
Also in your Friday folder is a note about October book reports. See the guidelines on the flyer. Books must be brought to school to be approved no later than Wednesday, September 23rd to ensure your child will have enough time to work on it.
Two weeks from today is the end of the first progress report quarter. Everyone will be getting a progress report the first quarter to keep you up-to-date on your child’s progress. After that, only grades of 70% or lower will receive a progress report.
We had our first science experiment today, two actually. I did one and then our students went to Mrs. Hoops’ class for a second one while her class came to do mine. Ask your child what they learned. Thank you to those of you who sent in supplies! I really appreciate it.
On Monday, September 28th we will be making California cookies. This is a fun project that explores the topic of California’s four regions which we have been learning about in history. Information is coming home to explain all of the details. This will be an opportunity for parents to earn PIP hours. Watch for the job on the PIP website coming soon.
Here are some important dates for next week:
Thursday, September 24th- Spelling Test List 3
Friday, September 25th- Picture Day AND History test on chapter 2
God bless,
Miss Schenk
September 11, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Dear Parents,
Thank you so much for coming to Back to School Night. For those of you who were not able to attend, I have sent home an information packet in your child’s Friday folder. If you have questions feel free to email me or come in and ask.
If you are going to order books from either Scholastic catalog that was sent home last Friday, you need to turn in your order on Monday. It typically takes 2-3 weeks for orders to come in.
Monday is an all-school chapel. Please make sure you child is on time and in full dress uniform.
Our first field trip to San Juan Capistrano is on Monday, October 12th. It is $16 per person. If you are interested in chaperoning and did not yet let me know, you will need to purchase your own tickets for the train and the mission, but you are welcome to come. Please turn in your money as soon as possible. Monday is ideal, but make sure it is in by next Friday. I hope that every child will be able to come.
Thank you for asking last night what you can do to help in our classroom. My first request is for a few supplies for our first science experiment. I need 4 pairs of chopsticks (we won’t be eating with them, just using them to pick things up), 4 pairs of pliers, 4 clothespins, a small container of cooked spaghetti, 2 cups of cooked rice, a box of raisins, and 2 cups of birdseed. If you can bring one of those items in please email me or send a note in your child’s assignment book. Let me know by Wednesday so we can avoid duplicate materials and make sure that everything has been covered. Thank you in advance for your help!
Next Thursday you child will be taking both a spelling test on list 2 and a language test on unit one which is about recognizing and writing good sentences.
God bless,
Miss Schenk
September 04, 2009
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to school! I have thoroughly enjoyed the first week back. I feel like we have already established a good classroom routine. I can tell this year is going to be a good one. If you don’t already know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself. This is my third year teaching fourth grade here at C.C.A. However, I’ve been around the school for 12, going on 13, years. I was a student here from fourth to eighth grade. In fact, I was a fourth grader in this very room and Mrs. Barber was my teacher! I have done everything here from daycare to classroom aide to librarian to high school basketball coach. I love this school! I am so excited to be working with you and your child this year.
Thank you for sending supplies with your students. Some of them came with a whole year’s worth of supplies the first day, so I asked them to take some back home until they need it. Thanks to you, they are off to a good start!
Back to School night is coming up soon. It is on Thursday, September 10th. The first session is 6:30-7:15 and the second session is 7:30-8:15. I hope to see you all there.
This week we got started on all of our core subjects except for spelling. In fourth grade, we take our spelling tests on Thursdays. I encourage you to take the book home and start studying on the weekend. We also don’t take pre-tests. For the first 10 spelling tests, I will send home a practice test. Feel free to use it to study if that will help your child. Start studying list one now. The test will be on Thursday, September 10th.
We have also begun our new Bible curriculum. This year our first unit of study is on the book of Philippians. We have read through the entire book in class and we are diving deeper into what it means. If you are able to do so, I would encourage you to read through the whole book again with your child. As we have talked about in class, reading an epistle (letter) from start to finish allows you to understand the author’s line of thinking much better than reading it a little at a time. Our first test will be late next week, probably Thursday.
Our first writing unit is on narrative writing. Your child will be working on writing a personal narrative over the next few weeks. Start talking to them about a story they can tell.
Don’t forget that Monday is a holiday. We’ll see you back at school on Tuesday.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please let me know. My email address is cschenk@crystalcathedral.org. Email is probably the easiest way to reach me. Another alternative is writing a note in your child’s assignment book (student planner). I’m usually at school by 7:45 so you can also catch me in the morning if you have a quick question. If you have something that will take an extended amount of time, please let me know you want a conference and we’ll set one up.
God bless,
Miss Schenk
