Ms. Hewitt’s Fourth Grade Class Newsletter
Friday, April 22nd, 2016
Good Afternoon Guardians and Students,
Smarter Balance Testing
SBAC ELA testing is complete! I am SO proud of the students perseverance through these long tests. Next week they will be completing the math portion of the SBAC testing.
During next week, the following will be very important:
- Help your child to get to school on time (even better to arrive a bit early). Testing begins immediately after morning line up.
- Make sure your child has a healthy breakfast and gets a good night's sleep.
- “Encourage your child to do their best but emphasize that this test is just one way to look at their progress in 4th grade. They have done the hard work already by learning in 4th grade all year long. Now they have the chance to show what they know!” Quote- Mrs. Chastain :)
Infinite Campus Parent Portal
I’m excited to share with you that on Friday, April 22nd, NUSD is going live with the Infinite Campus Parent Portal to all District students, including Westlake families. Families will be receiving an email directly from NUSD with their login and a link to Infinite Campus, as well as step by step instructions and training videos that are published on NUSD’s website. Parents can view training videos and find out how to: Change their contact information, change their contact preferences, update their phone numbers, view their student’s information.
We have a few Westlake parents who have piloted the parent portal recently and it has worked really well. Parents who are currently using the student portal to access their student’s grades can still do that - it is not going away. The benefit of using the parent portal is that families with students at multiple schools (eg., Westlake and Inderkum), will be able to see all their student’s information with a single login. We will include information in the parent edition of the Westlake Weekly.
WCS Spirit Store
Have you checked out the new WCS Spirit Store? All orders can be submitted online by clicking here! The LAST DAY for orders will be Monday, May 9th at 5pm with delivery before Memorial Day.
Pioneer Day Information
Pioneer Day meeting was a success. Thank you to all the families who were able to attend. If you would like to volunteer for the event or like to know more about it please click here to access our presentation we shared on Monday evening. There is a link in the presentation to sign up for day of or take home projects. Pioneer square dancing will take place Tuesday and Thursday mornings with all of 4th graders to prepare for our Pioneer Day! I can not wait!
Our grade level is working on our Spring Pioneer Day which is happening on June 7th. We are so excited for this field lesson experience for our students. This field lesson costs around $1500 all together and we are hoping to offset that with your donations. If you can help us make Pioneer Day a huge success for our students by donating any amount that works for your family please click in this link https://westlakecharter.com/about/supply-field-trip-and-t-shirt-donations/ and use the student scholarship option.
And a thank you to all of you who donated for the Age of Sail field lesson, the $6,036 received from you went a long way to help offset the total of $12,714. We appreciate your continued support of our amazing field lessons.
Our Campus Culture Videos- each month Westlake celebrates a core value. Enjoy our school’s videos here!
International Festival
Hope all of you had a wonderful time at the International Festival last weekend! But the fun isn't over just yet. Buy-In Party bidding closes Saturday, April 23rd @ 7PM.
Here is the link to the Buy-In Party page on the International Festival Website:
Language Arts
- No Spelling Tests during SBAC.
- Vocabulary: More Geometry vocabulary words can be studied using this quizlet. Test will be given after SBAC testing.
- Poetry: This week we will be working on our “What I Be” poems.
Math
IXL Strands- Complete IXL strands 30 minutes a week is the minimum requirement.
Encourage students to go on Front Row at home.
Reviewing chapters for SBAC testing.
Encourage your children to utilize our many math resources XtraMath, Mangahigh our school ID is 67993, McGraw Hill, Front Row, and Prodigy!
Social Studies
Hasn’t this already been a fun week! This week students began a simulation of pioneers' journey west! They will learn about many of the challenges faced by those who ventured to California. Check out their pioneer diaries and there google maps by clicking here.
Science
Hewittians to Learn Science from Mrs. Miksit
4th graders will experience "switching" classes for one hour three days a week for a single subject. Mrs. Miksits will be teaching our class a physical science unit about energy beginning the first week of May until mid-June. During this hour, I will be teaching a unit about the gold rush/transcontinental railroad period in California history.
Art
Check out Ms. Jackson's website to see what's currently happening in art. Tons of neat pictures of students work!
Reminders/Mark Your Calendars-
- Week of April 25th: Smarter Balance Testing window for Math 8:30-11am.
- April 29th math facts test.
- May 3: Mid-Trimester AR Goal Check
- Wednesday, May 25: Open House
- Monday, May 30: Memorial Day, No School!
- June 15: Last Day of School
