Happy New Year! Thank you for all of your generous gifts and kind words during the holiday season! I feel blessed to work with such wonderful children and their families!
We are starting our systems planner. This is the planner in which the fourth grade gets to plan field day! We will be starting early this year with preparations. However, to start off the planner we are looking at the many systems in our lives: government, electricity and many more. Students will be starting a research project about a system of their choice in the coming weeks. This should prove fun and informative for all.
Writing is definitely a focus for the next two months as the writing TAKS test quickly approaches. The TAKS test has a revising and editing multiple choice section and the students are required to write a two page narrative. You may hear moans and groans about the amount of writing we are doing in class, but with writing it takes a lot of practice, and it is a long process. The fourth grade teachers pull out all of the stops to keep it fun and exciting as writing should be. We will continue to focus on writing in LDC from January 18th - 28th. You may also see revising and editing homework, and may be asked to read pieces that your child has written (rough drafts) and give them compliments and suggestions to take back to class.
In math we are finishing up our Unit on decimals with a test on Friday. We will be discussing measurement briefly and then jumping right into more difficult multiplication followed by fractions. I hope that you received the copy of the Math Benchmark from your child. Once you have had a chance to look over this with them please sign the front page and return it to me.
We continue to work on a variety of reading skills and will most likely start another novel following our time in LDC. Please encourage your child to read a minimum of 20 minutes a night. The reading TAKS test is very long and they need to be working on their fluency and stamina, as well as developing a love of reading!
Tutorials will begin again next week. I will be holding math tutorials on Tuesdays and writing/reading tutorials on Thursdays. Some students will also be attending writing tutorials with Mrs. Gee. If I feel that your child is in need of tutorials at this time you should have received a permission slip in the Tuesday folder yesterday. As the year continues if you or I feel that other students are in need of tutorials at any time I can add students as needed.
I am available for parent conferences from 1:30 - 3:30 this Friday (Jan.7th). If you would like to meet with me please sign up on the sign-up sheet outside my door, stop by and talk to me, or send me an e-mail. I would be more than willing to schedule a conference at another time if you are not available this Friday.
We are in need of a few items for the classroom:
1) Kleenex, any size or kind
2) skinny sharpie markers, ours are drying up one after another :)
3) standard size post-its, any size, shape, or color
4) a stapler, we only have one left and it is hanging on by a thread!!
5) clip magnets, the kind that can hold a piece of paper and are also magnetic
Thank you!!
Here are some important upcoming dates:
Parent Teacher Conferences: January 7th 1:30 – 3:30 PM
Bingo Night: January 7th 6 – 7:30 PM
Spelling Bee: January 11th 1:30 PM
MLK Day, No School: January 17th
February 11th: Huckleberry Bash
February 26th: International Festival 1-4 PM
Writing TAKS test: March 1st
Spring Holiday: April 22nd
Math TAKS test: April 26th
Reading TAKS test: April 27th
Field Day: March 11th
Spring Break: March 14th – 18th
Memorial Day, No School: May 30th
Stanford Testing: May 9-16
As always, thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to e-mail or stop by with any questions or concerns. It is truly a privilege to work with your children!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Zirczy
