Fabulous Fourth Grade Students

News From Room 20

and Mrs. Cirillo’s

fabulous fourth grade students

February 23, 2015

Welcome Back! Based on the reports from students today, I’d say Mid-Winter vacation was filled with rest, relaxation and fun. My family stuck close to home but did play tourist for a day in Seattle. We did the underground Seattle tour, went up to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Tower and visited the Freemont Troll (an old favorite!). The weather was fabulous.

Now we get to settle into a relatively long and uninterrupted period of the school year. I love this time as the kids are focused, the routine is well established and the “work” of 4th grade moves forward at a steady clip.

The dates for the Smarter Balance Assessment, our new state assessment have been finalized for our school. This assessment is replacing the MSP and its format is different than the MSP format you may be familiar with. I would encourage you to go Washington States Comprehensive Assessment Program website, http://wa.portal.airast.org/ and poke around a bit. There is a link to practice tests that you (and your student) can access to see the new format.

The dates for the 4th grade testing are:

Tuesday, May 5th – English Language Arts (ELA)

Thursday, May 7th – English Language Arts (ELA) performance test part 1

Friday, May 8th - English Language Arts (ELA) performance test part 2

Monday, May 18th – Math

Tuesday, May 19th – Math performance test

A reminder that the entire Smarter Balance Assessment will be taken online. I really notice a difference between those students who are practicing their keyboarding skills outside the half hour we have each week in the computer lab. I cannot emphasize enough how important this skill is for students to develop. I know that some of you have had trouble downloading Type to Learn at home. Here are a few more online sites you might try: Tux Typing and Dance Mat Typing

Classroom academics this week…

In reading, we are heading into student-led book clubs next week. For the next few weeks, students will be reading books and discussing them in small groups. Each group consists of 4-5 students who selected the same book. They will have class-time to read, but if they do not complete their assigned reading, they will need to take the book home to finish. Be sure to ask about book clubs!

In writing we are finishing our personal essays this week. Next week we will be taking the skills we learned about essay writing and applying them to opinion essays. These are some of my favorite pieces of writing to read each year!

In preparation for our field trip next Thursday (March 5th) we have begun BizTown Bootcamp. The applications that were turned in today looked amazing! We now turn our attention to banking, check writing, and business start-up. Permission slips are going home today. Please get those signed and returned ASAP! Thank you!

We are continuing to work through the measurement unit in math.

Word Work is back! The students should be practicing their words at home and turning in the weekly 10 sentences on Friday.

As usual, let me know if you have any questions! Thank you!!

Jenni Cirillo

425-408-5930