It Has Been a Busy Week. We Glued Our Bees on to the Toothpicks to Make Our Bee Sticks

October 11, 2012

FRIDAY NEWSLETTER

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy week. We glued our bees on to the toothpicks to make our “bee sticks” for pollinating. We have pollinated a few days in a row and hope that our efforts result in many seed pods on our plants. The students learned about the parts of a flower, pollination and fertilization, and seed dispersal. Next Tuesday will be the Plant Unit test. The students will bring home a study guide today.

Next Thursday, Oct. 18th our book reports are due. Please feel free to e-mail if any questions come up. That makes for a busy week next week!

The students have made great improvements in fluency with their multiplication facts. J This next week, the students will be using the computer for practice twenty minutes a night. Information was sent home describing the steps to access the web-site we are using. We have started double-digit multiplication this week and will continue with that next week as well.

The students are involved in an Interact Unit called “The Lost Tribe of Tocowans.” They are on a quest to solve the mystery of what happened years ago to the Lost Tribe. The teams earn points to move on the map, based on their classwork and homework. Each day they pick 3 pictographs, which have multiplication or division problems whose solution gives them a clue to the puzzle. They must also pick one Destiny Card, which determines what kind of luck their team had that day in their travels. It has been an exciting and sometimes frustrating journey across the desert, as teams run into dust storms, exploding tires, and winding roads!

The Reflections projects are due on or before Oct. 29th. This is the PTA National Arts Recognition Program. This year’s theme is “Magic of the Moment.:Winners move on to the district competition and possibly beyond. I know we have many creative students in our class, and I hope we get many submissions. It can be a musical composition, dance, photography, artwork, etc. If you missed the information that went home in the Friday Folder, I can send another packet home.

Please don’t forget that the reading requirement is at least two nonfiction books each quarter. Each library day, I remind students of this requirement and encourage them to check out a nonfiction book.

Next Monday and Tuesday, I will be out of the classroom to attend the Ohio Gifted Conference. This is an annual conference with many expert speakers from across the country in the area of Gifted Education. We are fortunate that it is held locally at the Hilton Hotel in Easton. The parent portion (free) is held on Sunday from 2:30-6:00pm. I’ve included a flyer in the Friday Folder.

Next Friday, Oct. 12th, the students have no school. It is a Teacher Professional Day.

I’ve added new photos on our classroom web-site. I hope you enjoy them!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Anclien

I hope you will be able to join us on Thursday, Sept. 8th, at 7:00 p.m. for our Curriculum Night. At that time, we will give an overview of our Fourth Grade Gifted curriculum and classroom procedures. We are looking forward to seeing you all and answering any questions.

We are enjoying getting to know your children and are looking forward to a great year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Anclien

Mrs. Cullison