PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
Parent conference forms will be coming home today with your child’s Communication folder. Please sign and send your form in before Monday, September 16th. Early dismissal will begin on Monday, September 23rd at 12:00. Early dismissal will be each day of the week through Friday, Sept. 27th. Please assist each other by being on time to the scheduled conference as we have only 20 minutes per conference. At conference time we can focus on strengths and areas for future growth together. I am looking forward to seeing each of you!!
GRANDPARENT’S DAY
Grandparents Day is on Friday, September 13, 2013. It is a fun day for the children to spend with their grandparents. If their grandparent is unable to come, feel free to invite a close, senior family friend. The schedule is as follows:
9:30-9:50 AM K-12 Pick up schedules
9:50-11:40 AM K-12 Visit classrooms
11:40-12:25 PM K-12 Lunch
12:25 PM K-12 Say Goodbye to grandchild
COACHES NEEDED
FCS still looking for an elementary volleyball coach and an elementary flag football coach. If interested please contact our Sports Department at 299-1695 ext. 123 or email: mregnerus@fresnochristian.com
SEPTEMBER SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER
I will be sending home a new book order during the month of September. If you would like to place an online order please do so by October 1st. Thanks!
BOOK BUDDIES
Now that we have all K-6 on one campus Mrs. Witters and I decided it would be fun to bring Book Buddies back to Kindergarten! We have paired up our students for a time of reading on Friday afternoons. The little ones loving being read to and the older ones love the responsibility of taking a kindergartener under their wing. I think it’s a great way for our 4th graders to serve the little ones and model not only reading but positive behavior as well!
FALL FUNDRAISER
The fundraiser ends September 9th! Please put your order forms AND money inside the envelope provided and turn it in to your teacher.
FCS FRIDAY SPIRIT DAYS
Fresno Christian Schools Spirit Days are here? Starting this Friday and every Friday after, wear your FCS Spirit Wear. At the end of each month the K-6 class with the highest percentage of Spirit Wear worn will be the keeper of the FCS Eagle Trophy for a month! So wear your Fresno Christian Spirit Wear with pride! Go Eagles!!
CHAPELS
Our class is in charge of two chapels this year and I am looking for Chapel Speakers. If you or someone you know of is gifted in speaking to children in grades 1-6 and would be willing to do one our chapels, please let me know. The dates are November 12 and April 8 from 8:00-8:45 am. Please notify me if you know of someone or have a youth pastor at your church that would be interested. THANK YOU!!
BIBLE
In our Bible unit we are continuing our study of the “Development of Writing” and it’s bearing on biblical history. Students examined and created their own pictographs last week and are moving on to hieroglyphics and the Hebrew style of writing. Next we will move into the studying the 4 divisions of the Old Testament.
SCIENCE
We have been studying 6 different habitats in Science. The Savanna, Desert, Pond, Forest, Polar and Ocean Habitats will all be covered as we prepare for our first field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You will see a packet coming home after we study each habitat with the Ocean Habitat being the last one we study before our trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on November 7. Details for the trip will be sent out next month.
WRITING
We are continuing to use Summary Maps to help us as we learn to summarize a book for our first writing Benchmark. We have done a few practice stories together using familiar children’s stories. As we finish the novel Trouble River this week in class they will be asked to summarize a chapter and then the book using the same format we have been practicing for Benchmarks.
READING
We will be finishing our first novel, Trouble River, this week in class. You will see their packet coming home next week with a grade on the inside cover. We completed the questions together as a class this time so they had the correct answers and they know what my expectations are. If their grade is lower than you expected it is because they did not answer in a complete sentence, they are not using proper punctuation or they didn’t complete the assignment. They know they are being marked down for not having complete sentences and proper punctuation and I have been reminding them daily to watch for this as they write their answers. 🙂
Next week we will begin reading On the Banks of Plum Creek, a popular book from the Little House on the Prairie series. We will read this together in class but they will be required to answer more of the questions on their own.
MATH
We will be taking our first TEST on Chapter 1 this WEDNESDAY. A Pre-test went home today with your child to be completed at home and returned tomorrow, Wednesday. Please look it over and help your child if there is any area they are struggling with before our test on Thursday. They are welcome to bring their textbooks home at any time. We will be reviewing in class today in preparation for our test as well.
Next week we will begin Chapter 2 on Addition and Subtraction. We will focus on the properties of addition and subtraction with regrouping, as well as some algebra in 4th grade. I will be asking the students to not only show their work in subtraction, but to check their work using addition sometimes as well. Graph paper is helpful if you have some at home. I know it’s tedious, but I have seen fewer errors because of this & in the long run they will thank me….I hope! Haha! 🙂
READING- 1ST QUARTER BOOK PROJECT
Our first book report will be to read a fiction chapter book at their grade level and then complete a “BOOK JACKET’” book project attached to your newsletter. Your child will need to complete the book they selected before starting the actual book jacket. Try to have the book read within 2 weeks, so you will have plenty of time to complete the book jacket. Please take notice of the grading rubric expectations located on the back of the project directions. Typing the report is highly encouraged but not required. Students will be marked down one full grade for reports turned in late.
BOOK JACKET fiction book report projects are due THURSDAY, October 3.
SOCIAL STUDIES
We are beginning our study of California’s history by looking at its geography. In the past few weeks we have studied the 4 different regions of California; Mountain, Coastal, Desert and Central Valley Regions We are also learning how to use lines of latitude and longitude to find an exact location on a map. We will be making a California relief map next month to tie into our study of California.
CALIFORNIA RELIEF MAPS (Parent Help Needed)
We will need parent helpers to help the students make dough maps of California on Thursday, October 3rd from 1:15-2:45 p.m. (approximately). We will mix dough for the map, which we will then form into a relief map of California. We will allow them to dry and then paint them later. Your help is needed distributing materials, mixing dough and then forming the dough into the shape of our state. If you would like to help, please e-mail me to let me know. I will have sign-ups at parent conferences for some of the items needed. (Flour, salt, etc…) Thanks!
**4th grade students will need to bring in a heavy 12X18 piece of cardboard. The maps are heavy and require a strong, unfolded piece of cardboard. Please measure because the map does take up that much space.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
September 2 NO SCHOOL-Labor Day
September 10 Elementary Pictures
September 14 HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE!
September 18 School dismissed @ 12:00 PM – Teacher In-service
September 22 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWSON!
September 23-27 Parent Teacher Conferences-Noon Dismissal
September 25 HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE & SKYLAR!!
BIBLE VERSE LIST
Week of Sept. 3-6
Character Trait: Self-Control
Reference: Proverbs 16:32
Bible Verse: Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.”
Week of Sept. 9-13
Character Trait: Honesty
Reference: Ephesians 4:25
Bible Verse: “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
Week of Sept. 16-20
Character Trait: Fairness
Reference: Luke 6:31
Bible Verse: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Week of Sept. 23-27
Character Trait: Forgiveness
Reference: Colossians 3:13
Bible Verse: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
SPELLING LIST
Week 4- Sept. 3-6
Pattern Words-Long e
1. idea
2. niece
3. belief
4. either
5. secret
6. money
7. reason
8. receive
9. chimney
10. breathe
11. enemies
12. beaches
13. seasonal
14. keyboard
High-Frequency Words
15. southern
16. northern
Vocabulary Words
17. decode
18. dehydrate
19. preseason
20. prearrange
Challenge Words
1. commandment
2. tributary
3. San Joaquin
4. Sacramento
5. agricultural
Week 5-Sept. 9-13
Pattern Words-
Short i
1. living
2. stitch
3. picnic
4. pillow
5. skillful
6. biscuit
7. comics
8. picture
9. sincere
10. difficult
11. hospitals
12. fifteenth
13. sandwich
14. whichever
High-Frequency Words
15. products
16. mountains
Vocabulary Words
17. immature
18. impossible
19. inland
20. invisible
Challenge Words
1. precipitation
2. drought
3. procedure
4. predicate
5. estimate
Week 6-Sept.16-20
Review Weeks 1-5
Multiple Choice Test (**No Pretest this week)
Week 7-Sept. 23-27
Pattern Words-
Long i
1. final
2. violin
3. deny
4. quite
5. quiet
6. guide
7. height
8. supply
9. politely
10. highest
11. pioneer
12. realizes
13. brightest
14. microwave
High-Frequency Words
15. answer
16 question
Vocabulary Words
17. bivalves
18. biannual
19. triangle
20. triathlon
Challenge Words
1. prediction
2. conservation
3. resource
4. comparison
5. weirs