Ms. Hewitt’s Fourth Grade Class Newsletter
Sunday, May 22nd, 2016
Good Afternoon Guardians and Students,
I am beyond excited to tell you that ALL 28 students said YES to looping! My dream came true! Each student is such a special, unique piece to our classroom puzzle and it wouldn’t be the same without everyone included. Thank you ALL for believing in our class and staying with us for one more year! 5th grade at Pebblewood is going to be INCREDIBLE!
Spring NWEA Dates:
Our last NWEA testing is this Tuesday, May 24th from 8:30-9:50. They will be showing their growth on math! Thank you for making sure they come to school on time and are well rested.
Open House: I am SO excited to see you all for Open house this Wednesday at 6pm- 7pm. The students have been working hard on project they want to show you digitally and on our classroom walls! Thanks for making sure you come to this special event!
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Last Day of School: Field Day
"Hello Wonderful Westlake Families! As our school year comes to an end we look forward to celebrating our fantastic explorers at Field Day. We need your help to make Field Day awesome. Specifically, we are seeking 30 volunteers for the event on Wednesday, June 15th. We ask that volunteers arrive at 8:30 a.m. and plan to stay until dismissal (minimum day schedule). Most volunteers will be assisting a station as 4th grade leaders will be running the stations this year. A few parent volunteers will act as floaters to help as needed. We are also in need of a few donation items. Please use this link to sign up and help out. Thank you for all that you do to support your student and our Westlake community.
End of Year Awards Ceremonies: On Tuesday, June 14th we will have our End of Year Awards ceremonies on both campuses.
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Ready, Set, Go:
Phase 1 of our parking lot campaign is ready to launch on TOMORROW! The focus of Phase 1 will be on student safety.
1. Let your students know where they are going after school. (BASE, walking or car pick-up) If this changes for some reason, call the school office at (916) 567-5760
2. Pick up walkers from their line their regular dismissal time.
Car pick-up and BASE pick-up will remain the same.
Summer Programs:
Yearbooks are now on sale at westlakecharter.com! This year's book was designed and created entirely by students. The books are $20 each and our supply is limited! ORDER NOW by clicking here!
Volunteer Recording Contest: Be sure to log your hours by Friday, May 27th at 5pm
for the contest. In order for your class to win the $100 prize and special treat, 100% of all families in the class must be registered (even if they don’t have hours to record) AND have the most total hours recorded. Signing up is SUPER easy. Just go to Volunteer Builder and start recording hours today. Please see this flyer for information about our Parent Volunteer Hours Classroom Competition!
Language Arts
- Spelling Test # 25. Be sure to complete the assigned activities throughout the week and come prepared to take the test Friday morning in class.
- Vocabulary: No vocabulary this week.
- Reading: By the Great Horn Spoon. Through this class novel we will engage in journal responses, learning and reflecting more about the Gold Rush and the travels on the sea route.
Math
IXL Strands- Complete IXL strands 30 minutes a week is the minimum requirement.
Encourage students to go on Front Row at home.
Over the remaining weeks we will be circling back to review some of the more challenging math standards covered this year. Next week's theme will continue to be long division.
I have grouped IXL Strands into sets for students to work on if this concept isn't yet mastered: Set 1 - E.4, E.5, E.6; Set 2 - E.13, E.14, E.17, E.18; Set 3 - E.8, E.9, E.10 and Set 4 - E.7 and E.11.
Encourage your children to utilize our many math resources XtraMath, Mangahigh our school ID is 67993, McGraw Hill, Front Row, and Prodigy!
Social Studies
The assessment will be on Wednesday, May 25th. Students should review the study guide, on google classroom, to prepare.
After the assessment, students will begin working on a play called "Villians in the Gold Field." We will also be exploring answers to the following essential questions:
- What impact did the Transcontinental Railroad have on western development?
- How did advancing methods of communication and transportation bring the east and west together?
- Students will be assigned roles in a class play titled, "Villains in the Gold Fields." Lines will need to be memorized by May 31st.
Science with 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.
They will continue their investigation of energy this week through hands-on exploration of circuits.
Robot Building Supplies Needed!
Your children will be building small robots as part of our energy investigation, and they will need supplies you may already have around your home. Please contribute what you can - students will work in teams to build their robots:
- any empty small plastic containers (yogurt, fruit cups, etc.)
- empty water bottles with lids
- corks, twist ties, popsicle sticks
- empty glue sticks and lids
- rubber bands, clothes pins
- rolls of 3/4" masking
- tape
- strawberry baskets
- small plastic spoons
- other small plastic containers or lids not mentioned above
Art
Check out Ms. Jackson's website to see what's currently happening in art. Tons of neat pictures of students work!
PE
With weather getting warmer, Ms. Connelley would like to remind everyone to please expect to have warm weather out in PE. PE will go indoors once the weather exceeds 95 degrees, and will remain outdoors until then. We must remember this month's core value is perseverance, and understand that this is a part of being active! Remember, there is always one opportunity for water during class, however, if a student brings a water bottle, they technically have 3 chances. One, when they enter class, one during class, and one at the end when they pick up their water bottles on exit. As always, if a student is exhibiting signs of distress, they will absolutely be allowed to take a break, get water, and go to the office if necessary.
Thank you,
Sabra Connelley
Physical Education Teacher
sconnelley@westlakecharter.com
Each month Westlake celebrates a core value. Enjoy our school’s videos here by clicking on the link above.
Reminders/Mark Your Calendars-
- Wednesday, May 25: Open House
- Monday, May 30: Memorial Day, No School!
- WAVE Volunteer Appreciation event on June 2nd before the monthly WAVE meeting. We’ll be presenting recognition to those families who complete and their 30+ hours. We appreciate your volunteerism at WCS!
- 8th Grade Promotion - Wednesday, June 15th - 4:00 pm
- End of Year Awards Ceremonies: On Tuesday, June 14th at 8:30 AM
- June 15: Last Day of School- Field Day!
- Pioneer Day Information: 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!
- Rivercat’s game on Sunday, June 5th at 1pm! Our own WCS Glee Club will be performing the National Anthem. A percentage of the ticket sales will be coming back to WCS. All orders must be received by Monday, 5/23 and can be done online at: www.rivercats.com/gamelink , be sure to use promo code: WCS. Click here to view the flyer.
