Welcome Back!

Hi Everyone!

It has been a while since my last post and we have been very busy! I hope you all had a great break. The kids have come back with renewed enthusiasm and have been very chatty. It may be a good time to review appropriate school behavior expectations with your child. We have had such a wonderful year and I do not want to see this chatty behavior interfere with our progress. Thank you in advance for helping out with this.

Here's the update from Room 5:

Understanding Our Differences: The entire fourth grade participated in this special program where we learned about the strengths and weaknesses that we all have. The children experienced a variety of activities coordinated by Mrs Barooshian and several other parent volunteers. Thank you for making this such a meaningful experience for us!

Mirror Boxes

It's tough to write with the Mirror Box!

Do you know which item is missing?

Story Time...with a twist!

Valentine's Day: We had a love-ly time passing out notes and creating Valentine bags on February 14th. Thank you to all who supplied the crafty goodies and stickers. Thank you to Mrs. Ransden for picking up our craft bags to decorate. Thank you also for participating in the "What I Love About You" project. It was a wonderful bulletin board for February.

Mathmatics: We are working our way through decimals. Ask your child about our new math super hero, the "Phantom Zero" and how he can help you to compare decimals.

Science: Unusual Bird Projects are due Friday. We have had many class periods devoted to this project and the work must be finished by Friday. We will be moving on to animal groups and animal adaptations in the coming weeks. Ask your child if they know what the word adaptation means and if they can give you an example of one.

Introducing the Grassy Ground Pecker and...

the never before seen Bubble Gum Bird and...

the newly discovered Congo Bird!

Social Studies: We are wrapping up the Middle West Region and will be having a test at the end of next week. Look for a study guide in your child's agenda on Friday. (Be sure to review those states and capitals!)

Writing: We have begun formal MCAS Prep for Long Composition and the Reading Component. Mrs. Gardella is visiting us twice a week to share her expertise with Long Composition. We will also be working on how to answer multiple choice and open response questions using old MCAS test items. These are important testing skills that the students will hopefully carry with them for their academic life.

Reading: Yee-haw! It is Tall Tale time! So far we have worked with Paul Bunyan and Old Stormalong. The children did a wonderful job on their hyperbole pictures for Paul Bunyan. Do you remember what a hyperbole is? If not, ask your child to explain it to you. They should know what it means. We also spent some time doing a little reader's theater for Paul Bunyan, which was very fun.

Reader's Theater

Traveling Tidepools: We had a special enrichment program on Wednesday. An instructor named Lucy from the New England Aquarium traveled out to Zeh with many sea creatures in tow. We talked about the sandy beach, the rocky shore, and the salt marsh. We brainstormed a list of animals that we felt should live in each habitat and what adaptations they would need to survive there. Then, we were able to explore the "tanks!" See the pictures below. We saw and touched many creatures! It was a wonderful and educational time for all. Thanks to the PTO for sponsoring it for us!

Read Aloud: We are currently reading a classic by Beverly Cleary called Otis Spofford. Otis is a boy who likes to stir up a little excitement at school. Ask you child about what happened at the Rosemont School Fiesta when Otis was selected to be the bull!


Here is a link to Beverly Cleary's homepage about Otis Spofford. Check it out!


http://www.beverlycleary.com/characters/otis.html

This is the NEW cover (not like my OLD copy at school!)

Project Adventure: This amazing activity in physical education starts next week. Please remember to pack your helmet so that you can participate to class.

Parent Conferences are coming up! Please contact the office if you have forgotten to make an appointment. Conferences are Thursday, March 13th from 1:00-3:00 PM and from 6:00-8:00 PM. These are 10 minute conferences. Please be prompt and plan accordingly.

The Book Fair will also be running at this time.

Well I think that about does it for now. As you can see, we are busy bees in room 5! Have a great rest of the week!

-JoAnne Gorham