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Mrs. Hoops

Grade 4

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May 30, 2009

May 29, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,

This week we showed our sporty side with Field Day. Everyone enjoyed the friendly competition and had a great workout. We have been focusing on our Matter unit in science and wrapped it up with the review on Friday. In history we completed Chapter 9 with a short video about Shasta Dam and the chapter review.

We had our 2nd annual Spelling Bee put on by the high school National Honor Society. After the first two rounds our class had four students advance to the finals on Friday. Congratulations to Lucas, Alexis G., Lee, and Annmarie for their spelling achievement. They will compete on Friday along with five students from the other fourth grade class. The children were excited to take the elevator up to the 5th floor and to use the theater style room. The high schoolers provided a snack and the finalist received an award. Our 2009 Spelling Bee Champion is Annmarie Ngo.

June Bible Memory Verse will be Proverbs 2:6-8. Please practice and be ready for the test on Friday, June 5th.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom,
And from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He hold victory in store for the upright,
He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

We will have our last math test Tuesday, June 2nd, covering lessons 101-105. Please sign their pretest and return it to me with corrections made by Monday. We will review on Monday and have the test Tuesday. We have been practicing the skill of dividing fractions. This is fun but can be tricky. It takes practice for true understanding to really sink in.

We also have one last language test on Unit 12 including prepositions, conjunctions, interjections. Please study for this test by identifying all eight parts of speech in a sentence. Practice with their language workbooks. The language test will be Monday, June 8th.

“Gods Plan for Salvation” aka GPS is this Wednesday, June 3rd, at 7:00 p.m. (Dress rehearsal will be Tuesday June 2nd from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.) There will be a second performance for a Special K-5 assembly on Thursday morning 8:45 a.m.. Please invite your friends and family to come to the Wednesday night performance. All students must be at each performance. Please be early to school on Thursday morning for the performance. See the flier attached to the hard copy of this Friday Letter. Thank you and I will see you Wednesday night. I can’t wait!

Classroom Awards will be given in the classroom after School Family on Friday, June 5th. Please join us for this special time. If you would like to bring in a small simple snack to share please let me know. Thank you.

I want to celebrate all our Summer Birthdays with the class next Thursday, June 4th. If your child has a summer birthday and you would like to send in a treat to share with the class please let me know.

Our end of the year party will by on Tuesday, June 9th. I will send more information home as soon as we finalize the plans.

God’s Peace,
Mrs. Hoops

Important Dates:

Monday, June 1st – All School Chapel in the Cathedral at 8:35 a.m.

Wednesday, June 3rd – GPS performance 7:00 pm in the Freed Theater - Mandatory Attendance

Thursday, June 4th – GPS performance 8:45 a.m. in the Freed Theater for K-5 – Mandatory Attendance please be early to school
Summer Birthday Celebration

Friday, June 5th – Classroom Awards after School Family
Bible Memory Verse – Proverbs 2:6-8 Test

Monday, June 8th – Language Test on Unit 12

Tuesday, June 9th – End of the year class party

Wednesday, June 10th - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL HALF DAY with NO DAYCARE
School wide celebration with a DJ and pizza sponsored by PTT.

May 22, 2009

May 22, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,

This week we stayed busy reviewing adverbs and started a unit on prepositions in language. We studied electricity in science and California history in the late 1800’s – early 1900’s. We used balloons to make electric force fields while studying static electricity this week.

Everyone did a great job memorizing Psalm 51:11 for the Bible test this week. We will memorize 51:12 next week and be able to say and write Psalm 51:10-12 on Thursday, May 28th. Please practice over the weekend so we can have 100% success.

We took our LAST SPELLING TEST of the year and celebrated with a lot of high scores! Great work 4th graders! We will be having our 2nd annual Spelling Bee next week. Please remind your child that they do NOT need to STRESS out about it. It is a very relaxed atmosphere in the classroom the first day with just our class. Then whoever makes it to the 2nd day will spell again with the students from the other 4th grade class which should be on Friday. I will let you know what time for next Friday if your child is still in the friendly competition. Good luck everyone!

We will be taking a history test on Friday, May 29th on Chapter 9 and a Science test on Electricity and Magnetism on Thursday, May 28th. I will send the children home with their books just in case you want to study a little over the long weekend. They should also have their history packet completed with thorough answers for chapters 1&2. They have been taking study notes and writing a graphic organizer in these subjects that would be good to review.

Next Tuesday, May 26th is FIELD DAY for Fourth Grade.So please remember to send in a water bottle for your child to bring along as they do many athletic activities and games inside the gym and outside on the grass. Remember to come to school on Tuesday with sun screen already applied. Ask your child if they are on the blue team or red team and have them wear that color shirt to school on Tuesday. Thank you!

Have a blessed Memorial Day weekend. Remember to observe a minute of silence at 3:00pm on Monday in memory of those who served our country. Enjoy the extra day off!

“GPS” God’s Plan for Salvation – Mark your calendars for this very special musical featuring our very own fabulous 4th graders. Be there June 3rd at 7:00pm in the Freed Theater. This special event is free and open to all friends and family. I’ll see you there! **It is very important that every student be at school to attend all drama rehearsals and performances.**

Peace be with you,
Mrs. Hoops

Calendar for room 223:

Monday, May 25 – NO SCHOOL for Memorial Day

Tuesday, May 26 – FIELD DAY from 9:30-11:00am
Drama Rehearsal during class

Wednesday, May 27 – 1st part of 4th grade Spelling Bee

Thursday, May 28 – Bible Memory Verse Test on Psalm 51:10-12
& Science test on Electricity
Drama Rehearsal during class

Friday, May 29 – History Test on Chapter 9
Spelling Bee Finals
Drama Rehearsal during class

Monday, June 1 – All School Chapel in the cathedral 8:40a.m.
Please be on time so we can walk over together…if you are late please walk your child over to me inside the cathedral. Thank you.

Friday, June 5 – Student Awards in the classroom after School Family.

Wednesday, June 10 – Last Day of School – HALF DAY – no daycare…

May 15, 2009

May 15, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,
We had game day and free dress on Monday. The class enjoyed their time together celebrating their reward for filling up our Hoops Super Scoop jar. We are earning scoops as a reward for good behavior, following directions, and quiet transitions from one class or lesson to another. Go room 223! I know you can do it!

The last four weeks of school are upon us and we still have much to cover as we prepare for 5th grade. We are all looking forward to summer and all the fun that it brings. If we all work together to stay positive about the importance of schoolwork and keep it a priority until the last week of school, we will be a lot more successful academically. The students are loosing focus easily. Please help them by making sure they are getting enough sleep and studying. Learning to think critically and study are skills that takes much practice. Please talk with them about how they are doing in each subject.

Progress reports were mailed Thursday, May 14, 2009. Please read over them carefully. Students receiving a C or below will have a detailed print out for those subjects. Remember that progress reports are for you to see where your child is at this time and have a chance to bring up their grades by turning in missing assignments or make-up work. Thank you for your support at home.

Bible Book Reports are due this MONDAY, May 18th. We have spent time in class reading our Gospel and recording on the log sheet. Some students have completed their reports in class and others will need to finish at home. Remember the final copy must be fully edited. That means that I should not receive a first draft on Monday morning. I have reminded the students that the summary and the first person Bible story should include an introduction sentence, the body, and a concluding sentence. The FINAL COPY must be fully edited and in your best cursive handwriting. *Remember to indent!

May Bible memory verse is Psalm 51:10-12…
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (10-due the week of 5/11)
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. (11-due the week of 5/18)
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (ENTIRE verse due week of 5/25)
The students will write their memory verse with their spelling test on Thursdays each week as their test. Please be prepared.

Our fourth graders will be performing “G.P.S. THE MUSICAL” on June 3, 2009 at 7:00pm in the Freed Theater. Please spread the word and invite all your family and friends to enjoy this FREE performance. So mark your calendars now and get those batteries charged for some great video and pictures. The students have been working very hard along with Mr. Mejia to make this an awesome show. I can’t wait!

Through World Vision we have been sponsoring a little boy from Mexico named Alexis. Some of you know that Mrs. Lashier, the 4th grade teacher before me began this sponsorship years ago. In her memory we are continuing to support Alexis, his family and village. This is our class mission project that the children were supposed to do some chores at home to earn a donation of $20.00. If you have not brought in your $20.00 and would like to contribute to this project please have your child bring in their chore money as a donation. We will be sending it off to World Vision the end of next week. Thank you for your generosity.

On Friday, June 5th, we will be having our classroom awards right after school family. Please join us in the classroom after school family about 9:15a.m. I will present each student with a certificate of achievement. We will have a morning snack for everyone to enjoy after all the certificates have been presented. Save the date! If you will be coming from work and are on a time crunch please let me know. I will coordinate timing with you so you can get back to work

What’s new? We will be focusing on electricity and magnetism in science and growing California in history as we begin two new units next week. Our focus in math and language has been on reviewing key concepts. We have been practicing and reviewing parts of speech like nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. After much review and practice I gave them the test on adjectives again. I will send them home today (if I get them graded) or Monday. Please look for the original test and the re-do and check for improvement. I will be doing the same with the adverbs test. We will continue to review adverbs next week and re-take the test to check for understanding. In math we have been reviewing and practicing basic concepts like multiplication, division, word problems, and new concepts like reducing fractions and improper fractions. I handed out math packets on measurement and division/multiplication two weeks ago. Please be sure your child is completing and turning in these packets ASAP. Thank you for your commitment at home in setting our students up for success.

Our 2nd annual Fourth Grade Spelling Bee will be the week of May 25th. The Crystal Cathedral high school National Honor Society will be putting on this two day event which usually lasts about one period each day. We will have the spelling list in the classroom for the students to look at on their free time but not to take home. This really isn’t something to study for or stress about. We would like them to try their best using their prior knowledge. This is a fun and exciting little competition within the fourth grade.

May God bless you abundantly,
Mrs. Hoops

Next Week:
Thursday, May 21st - Spelling Test List 31 & Bible memory verse Test on Psalm 51:11
**They were already tested on Psalm 51:10 today. Please check to see if they have that memorized and add Psalm 51:11 for next week.

IT’S COMING! IT’S COMING!
CCA’s 4th Grade Musical Production
“G. P. S. – God’s Plan for Salvation”
Wednesday, June 3rd @ 7 PM
Freed Theater FREE!

PLEASE INVITE ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

May 08, 2009

May 8, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,

It was nice to see you all at Open House. The children love to show off their hard work especially their mission model. Everyone comes by 4th grade to see the missions. You put so much thought and creativity into your models. I love seeing all the clever ideas. We had special judges come and score the missions based on five categories like creativity, originality… I am glad that Miss Schenk and I don’t have to judge them. I think they all look great and are so very creative. Thank you for your help with this project. It was a success.

Thank you all for the wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week. I love the sweet treats, flowers, notes, and other special gifts. You and the PTT really made this week special for us. Thank you so very much.

Next week we will be having a math test on lessons 96-100, a science test on the Matter unit, and our history test on chapter 8 that has been postponed until next Wednesday. We will also be studying list 30 in spelling and having the test on Thursday.

Marble jar reward day will be Monday, May 11th. The class voted on “Game Day”. They may wear free dress (please refer to the student handbook for guidelines). I told them they could bring a blanket & pillow if they want to. Handheld electronic games are welcome but please monitor which games your child will be bringing. Please leave home any games with violence, killing, or inappropriate themes. The kids were asking about the Wii and I’m game (ha ha) if someone wants to bring it in and help set it up. At least 4 controllers would be great so they could play in teams. I will be ordering pizza lunch with salad and drinks. If you would like to make a donation towards the food please send it in on Monday, maybe $3.00... Board games are also welcome.

Remember to save the dates for “GPS” the 4th grade drama/musical Wednesday, June 3rd at 7pm in the Freed Theater.
MANDITORY ATTENDANCE.
The class will also perform “GPS” for the grades K-5 on the morning of Thursday, June 4th. MANDITORY ATTENDANCE.

Please turn in your CA Notebooks first thing Monday morning if you have not done so.

Class awards will be given out in the classroom after School Family on Friday, June 8th. Please plan to attend this special event.

God bless,
Mrs. Hoops

May 01, 2009

May 1, 2009

Dear Parents and Students,

This week flew by with testing. The students did very well staying focused and working through all the tests. We have also been working on some projects for open house next Thursday, May 7th. I hope you can make it in to see their work and all the mission models.

There has been a lot of concern about the swine flu. We are washing hands and using hand sanitizer in the classroom and trying to be extra careful not to share germs. If your child gets sick with any flu symptoms which may include fever, vomiting, cough… please take extra precautions and keep them home from school. The news and internet list the symptoms to look for. Thank you for helping keep us all flu free.

We filled up our Hoops Super Scoop jar and earned a “reward day”. The students will vote on Monday how we will celebrate…. Please plan ahead for Friday, May 8th, the day after open house. I will send home a note on Monday to let you know what the children voted for that day. 

California Notebooks are due Monday, May 4th. All pages should be completed and ready to show off at Open House. Thank you for all your hard work making this a beautiful keepsake.

The Bible book report is due Monday, May 18th. Keep reading and recording on the reading log.

This is your last weekend to work on your Mission Models. Have fun and try not to stress out. Please bring them with you to school on Wednesday morning, May 6th. I can’t wait to see all your wonderful and creative ideas. Please be prepared to bring them back home Friday morning or afternoon. We don’t have the room to keep them at school and we don’t want to leave them here over the weekend. Thank you!

Our April Bible Memory Verse is due this coming Thursday, May 7th. The students will be expected to know the entire verse by memory and be able to write it out on the spelling test Thursday morning. Please note that this is a big part of their Bible grade. Please practice your memory work at home for Psalm 24:1-10.

Dates to remember:

Wednesday, May 6th – Mission Models are due. Please bring them up to the classroom and place on your child’s table before school. Thank you.

Thursday, May 7th – OPEN HOUSE starting at 7:00pm
Spelling Test List 29 and Language Test on Adverbs

Friday, May 8th – Mrs. Hoops class super scoop “Reward Day.”
*All late and make-up work is due today.

Monday, May 11th – Math test 19 on lessons 96-100

Tuesday, May 12th – Science Test – Matter unit

Wednesday, June 3rd – Mandatory Attendance…Our 4th graders perform the musical “GPS” for friends and family in the Freed Theater at 7:00pm. Invite everyone to come and enjoy the performance. Don’t forget to video and photograph the performance.

Thursday, June 4th – “GPS” the musical – we will perform for the school in the Freed Theater at 8:45am. Mandatory Attendance…

Friday, June 8th – Classroom Awards after School Family

God’s blessings to you,
Mrs. Hoops