Dear Parents,
Thank you all for your prayers, notes of encouragement, yummy treats and gifts during our first week of school! You are all so thoughtful and you made me feel so loved!! It was nice to join with you in the classroom the first day to pray over our classroom and students. I consider it such a blessing to be at a school where we can pray and worship Him! We had a GREAT first week and we are learning to do our best to please God. We are even making an effort to show kindness to others. Ask your child about our “Acts of Kindness Bulletin Board.” I am enjoying getting to know your children even better!! This group is so eager to please and do what’s right! I am proud of them!!
Don’t forget that tomorrow is Back to School Night! I am looking forward to seeing each of you on Tuesday, August 20th. We will meet at 7:00 PM in the FCS gym and then walk over to the classroom where I will share my teaching philosophy and the exciting things planned for us this year! I will also have sign-ups for classroom helpers that night! I know some of you are anxious to get started! 🙂
We spent a good part of last week discussing and writing respect agreements, keeping God and what He desires at the center of our discussion. These agreements will be used all year long and will help to teach the reasons for and the skills required for conflict resolution. Your children created these agreements among themselves, as I only guided the discussion. These agreements were signed last week by your child, their classmates and by me. Please feel free to come in and see them or check them out at Back to School Night.
We also discussed our 5 classroom expectations. They are as follows:
1. LOVE GOD.
2. LOVE OTHERS.
3. LISTEN with your eyes, ears and heart.
4. LEARN as much as you can each day.
5. LEAVE the school as nice as it was when you came.
BIBLE
We had a wonderful time of worship last week with our class. Worship, for me, is a wonderful opportunity to draw closer to God and reflect on all that He does for us. I’m hoping the students understand that when we worship it brings God much joy! We will begin walking through a devotional that is teaching us how to be more like Jesus. Each child was given a prayer journal that they will use to write and reflect on our devotional discussions and worship time. My prayer is that the students see the importance of spending time in God’s word and worshipping Him.
WELCOME BACK MOVIE NIGHT
Under the stars
• Date: August 23
• Time: movie starts at 8:20pm
• Location: FCS football field
• Popcorn and drinks will be provided
Come and enjoy our Fresno Christian family movie night
and don’t forget to bring your blanket and enjoy “EPIC” the movie.
PTF FALL FUNDRAISER
Last Thursday, August 15th PTF kicked off our fall fundraiser in our FCS Gym for Grades 1-6! This fundraiser will run through Monday, September 9th. Your child brought home a variety of items for sale and there are some great prizes so SELL, SELL, SELL!! All the profit will benefit your children and the programs at FCS. Also, the class who sells the most VIP cards will earn a reward for their teacher……a gift card to Tahoe Joe’s or Olive Garden!!! Woohoo!! Let’s do this! 🙂
LANGUAGE ARTS
During the school year we will be doing many book projects based on different Literary Genres. As the instructions come home you will also see an attached rubric to use as a guide in helping your child complete their project. There will be one project per quarter, our first one coming home in September. They will have time during SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) each day to read their books but the project itself needs to be completed at home. I will discuss more about these projects at Back-To-School night.
Last week we began reading Trouble River together as a class and are completing a literature study guide together so that the students can refresh their brains on how to answer questions in complete sentences by restating the question. 🙂 Our next novel we will read together and discuss questions but they will learn to answer them on their own.
MATH/MATH CLUB
Last week we began Chapter 1 in the math book on Place Value and Rounding Numbers. We also started our 4-minute timed tests. We will be testing the basic addition and subtraction facts before we move on to multiplication, division and then mixed facts. Encourage your child to practice these facts at home if they are not yet mastered. To become a member of the 4th Grade Math Club students will need to pass their Multiplication facts. I will discuss class rewards at Back to School night. We will work with flash cards in class, but I highly recommended that students study facts at home on a weekly basis. Learning their multiplication facts is a HUGE asset in helping them through our 4th grade math book.
COMMUNICATION FOLDER
Each student will be given a communication folder that will be sent home on Mondays and needs to be returned each Thursday. Please look in your child’s folder for your child’s graded work from the previous week, newsletters, flyers, Bible and spelling lists for the month. It is highly encouraged to take the opportunity to go through the work together and correct any mistakes so that your child understands their mistakes. Please return the folder every Thursday so I can put the following weeks work in it. This will be part of your child’s effort grade for responsibility.
Also, any work not completed in class, such as math, reading or spelling, is considered homework and needs to be returned the following day. For those of you who had me last year, there will NOT be weekly assignments sent home Mondays, only the work that is assigned each day and not completed in class, such as math, reading or spelling, is considered homework and needs to be returned the following day. Also, for any grade that is a D (69%) or lower, a student may re-correct the assignment and return to school in their Blue Homework Folder by Thursday of each week for an improved grade of no higher than a C- (70%). Thank you for helping your child succeed! 🙂
GRADES
Grades are as follows:
90-100% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, 59% and below =F
COMPUTER/READING COUNTS
Every Tuesday and Friday we will have Computer class, which will include participation in the Reading Counts program and Master Key keyboarding. This week each child will also take the Scholastic Reading Inventory on the lab computers to determine their reading interests and Lexile comprehension reading level. From this a recommended reading list of books is generated that will help students select books that are a good fit for the Reading Counts program. Students are encouraged to read books and then take computer quizzes to measure growth in comprehension on a weekly basis. Points are accumulated for books read and quizzes passed at 70% or above. These points earn them recognition certificates at 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 points. Next week we will begin taking Reading Counts quizzes.
As part of your child’s reading grade they will be required to read 5 books per quarter and take one quiz on each of those books but are encouraged to read more. These quizzes will be worth 10 points each based on their score. If they do one per week it is much easier to stay on top of. Students ARE allowed to take their quizzes at home with adult supervision, since they may not use their books. You may log in to our Fresno Christian website and choose SRI under grades K-6 beginning next week and click on Reading Counts for your child to take a quiz.
P.E.
P.E. is scheduled on Mondays right after lunch and Thursdays just before lunch. Be sure to have your child wear appropriate clothes and shoes that are for workouts. Water bottles are required and needed on these hot days!
SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS
Book orders will be sent home monthly, although I will skip the month of October due to the content of the books that come out for Halloween. Please do not feel obligated to purchase at any time. I have sent home a flyer with information regarding placing your orders online. It is quick and easy and these orders arrive much faster than ordering by mail. I’m sorry but I will not be accepting cash or checks this year. Please place your order online on or before the due date and remember that you can order any books on the website for any grade level, not just from the flyer sent home. Thank you! Our first book order will be due on September 1st.
LIBRARY DAY
Each week our class will participate in Library Experience with Ms. Brown our school librarian. Our library time will be on Thursday from 2:00 to 2:45. Ms. Brown has many activities planned to familiarize students with resources in our library. Students may check out three books for two weeks and return them on or before their Thursday due date. Students may also check out one additional book as needed for special project assignments. We look forward to enjoying all that our library has to offer.
MUSIC
Each week Mrs. Ainley, our choral director, will meet with our 4th graders on Wednesday for recorders and Fridays with both 3rd and 4th graders for choral instruction.
DRESS CODE
Please review the dress code with your child as there have been some changes. It is important to know the standard to which your kids will be held. Your full cooperation is greatly appreciated. Questions on specific items can be addressed with Mr. Bennett. Modest dress best reflects our Christian values.
MINIMUM DAY
Just a reminder that this week Wednesday, August 21 is a minimum day with early release at 12:00 PM due to staff in-service.
BIBLE VERSE
Character Trait: Respectfulness
Reference: I Peter 2:17
Bible Verse: “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, reverence God, honor the “King”.”
SPELLING LIST
Week 2- Aug. 19-23
Pattern Words-Long a
1. raise
2. radio
3. eighth
4. Savior
5. survey
6. weight
7. nature
8. faithful
9. contain
10. disobey
11. volcano
12. straight
13. conveyed
14. neighborhood
High-Frequency Words
15. usually
16. remember
Vocabulary Words
17. repaid
18. reweigh
19. unable
20. unclaimed
Challenge Words
1. definition
2. opposite
3. reference
4. beginning
5. foolishness
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
AUGUST
August 20 Back To School for grades 3-6, Tuesday, @ 7:00 p.m. Meet in the FCS gym.
August 21 School dismissed @12:00 PM – Teacher In-service
August 23 Welcome Back to School Movie Night
SEPTEMBER
September 10 Elementary Pictures
September 18 School dismissed @12:00 PM – Teacher In-service
September 23-27 Parent Teacher Conferences Noon Dismissal
***SPIRIT DAY is every Friday…please have your child wear their favorite FCS spirit wear!
God Bless You All,
Mrs. Ferguson