Firstly, another thank-you to the parents who went on the Walden Walking Tour with us. Even with the incredible HEAT and HUMIDITY, I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I enjoyed your company and assistance. It's wonderful to have parents who can smile and be so encouraging when conditions aren't exactly ideal.
Tomorrow is our final (!) feild trip of the year, the "big" one. We'll be heading off to the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, I am hoping all are excited as I am for this excursion. This is not the largest aquarium, but I think it is perfect for a feild trip.
Tuesday we'll have our final Science test, on Chapter 5, the Human Body.
I will give your child a review paper to take home tomorrow for a map review test on Friday--Social Studies. All year long your child has had to find various locations in New York State, these will be included. They have maps in their binder they can use to review, plus we'll review all week.
We are reading our final story, "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and will have a test on it Thursday.
In Religion we'll just be reviewing what we've learned this year, all did quite well on their Archdiocese exam.
It's always touching how kind and considerate the children are when responding to how they can live their lives according to our faith. You all are truly wonderful teachers and role models for your children.
In Math we will continue to review any areas that I have seen that children are still having difficulty with. If you have any concept that you think your child needs reinforcement, please alert me to it, and we will revisit it.
Have a great week!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
June 6 - June 10
It is incredible that we are in our second week of June! I am sad that the year is coming to an end and I will have to say goodbye to your children soon. But I do still have them for a little while longer...so on with the upcoming week.
Tomorrow is our State Science Test. We will take it after Art ,which starts our day, and I think this is perfect-- it will help them relax and put them in a good frame of mind to do well. Last week we had our performance test, and as oddly as it may sound when speaking about a test; they said it was fun (!) I hope they shared this with you, because they certainly looked like little scientists while taking it.
Tuesday is the "big" Archdiocese Religion exam. We have reviewed and practiced alot, and will do a little more tomorrow to ease any anxiety that exists. Please just review the 10 Commandments, Works of Mercy and Beatitudes with your child verbally, they are in their binder.
We will continue Social Studies, finishing up our Chapter 18. Hopefull we'll take the test Wednesday or early Thursday before our outing. We will have a final of sorts on just map reading. I will send home review information by Wednesday. We will not have a final with written material otherwise.
In reading we will read "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and will have a test on it possibly Friday, if not next Tuesday.
Thursday is our "Walking Tour of Walden" it is always a great day and the children always enjoy it. Unfortunately I was just watching the Weather Channel and it's calling for 95 degree weather on that day! I hope they are wrong! An update of information will sent home Wednesday. Please make sure you send back permission slips and the notification if you will be traveling with us.
Hope to see you Thursday, and thanks for helping your child/children prepare for our exams...and for the delicious cupcakes last week, they were much appreciated and enjoyed!
Tomorrow is our State Science Test. We will take it after Art ,which starts our day, and I think this is perfect-- it will help them relax and put them in a good frame of mind to do well. Last week we had our performance test, and as oddly as it may sound when speaking about a test; they said it was fun (!) I hope they shared this with you, because they certainly looked like little scientists while taking it.
Tuesday is the "big" Archdiocese Religion exam. We have reviewed and practiced alot, and will do a little more tomorrow to ease any anxiety that exists. Please just review the 10 Commandments, Works of Mercy and Beatitudes with your child verbally, they are in their binder.
We will continue Social Studies, finishing up our Chapter 18. Hopefull we'll take the test Wednesday or early Thursday before our outing. We will have a final of sorts on just map reading. I will send home review information by Wednesday. We will not have a final with written material otherwise.
In reading we will read "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and will have a test on it possibly Friday, if not next Tuesday.
Thursday is our "Walking Tour of Walden" it is always a great day and the children always enjoy it. Unfortunately I was just watching the Weather Channel and it's calling for 95 degree weather on that day! I hope they are wrong! An update of information will sent home Wednesday. Please make sure you send back permission slips and the notification if you will be traveling with us.
Hope to see you Thursday, and thanks for helping your child/children prepare for our exams...and for the delicious cupcakes last week, they were much appreciated and enjoyed!
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23 -May 27
I hope you all had a great weekend!
I hope all parents saw that there was two "packets" that I handed out to help review for the Archdiocese Religion test. One packet has page numbers, the other has information covered throughout the year. I hope you find them useful.
With that in mind, I hope all children are memorizing the Beatitudes, we will finish them up this week, then move on to learning about the Holy Spirit in our lives.
In Science we will finish up Chapter 4 and will quickly move on to Systems of the Body, we will at the same time review for the State Science exams. Next week is our performance test June 1! It is not something the children can really study for, we will do "studying" for this at the end of the week in class.
In Math we will be going back to revisit, review any areas I see the children are still having difficulty with. Some are still struggling with long division, multiplying double digits by double digits, and adding fractions, so in coming weeks we will definitely work on those areas.
In reading we will be using our National Geographic, and will be perfecting our writing skills
In Social Studies we will move on to the ending chapters, I may have an open book test on Friday to finish up Chapter 17, which we will start tomorrow. We don't have much time to finish up! There will be a end-of the year test, but it will not be considered a "final", which counts for more.
I will be sending home a letter this week explaining end of the year tests or lack of them; also I'll include information about our "Walking Tour of Walden" coming up soon.
I hope all parents saw that there was two "packets" that I handed out to help review for the Archdiocese Religion test. One packet has page numbers, the other has information covered throughout the year. I hope you find them useful.
With that in mind, I hope all children are memorizing the Beatitudes, we will finish them up this week, then move on to learning about the Holy Spirit in our lives.
In Science we will finish up Chapter 4 and will quickly move on to Systems of the Body, we will at the same time review for the State Science exams. Next week is our performance test June 1! It is not something the children can really study for, we will do "studying" for this at the end of the week in class.
In Math we will be going back to revisit, review any areas I see the children are still having difficulty with. Some are still struggling with long division, multiplying double digits by double digits, and adding fractions, so in coming weeks we will definitely work on those areas.
In reading we will be using our National Geographic, and will be perfecting our writing skills
In Social Studies we will move on to the ending chapters, I may have an open book test on Friday to finish up Chapter 17, which we will start tomorrow. We don't have much time to finish up! There will be a end-of the year test, but it will not be considered a "final", which counts for more.
I will be sending home a letter this week explaining end of the year tests or lack of them; also I'll include information about our "Walking Tour of Walden" coming up soon.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 16 - May 20
Well it's hard to believe that now we have finished two of the state tests and can go "back to normal", or something like that.
Monday and Tuesday this week I will not be in the classroom. I will be at a meeting Monday and then be at ELA test correcting Tuesday. Please pray that all goes well for the correcting for the 4th grade as well as for the other grades who took the tests.
Tomorrow is our test on the 7-10th commandments in Religion. Make sure your child can name all 10 commandments! On Tuesday we will start learning the Beatitudes... how they lead us to happiness. Ask your child how the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy and the Commandments may have something to do with the Beatitudes. They will need to also memorize the Beatitudes. Think of the hymn "Blessed are They". If they know this song, they have already memorized them. At this moment I can't think of the name for the other hymn based on the Beatitudes we sing at Mass...if you know the title, please send me a note; I was going to look in the misselette this morning and forgot!
We will continue with decimals in math. If your child has any difficulty with them, remind them to "think money" or even add a $ (dollar sign)to the question -- I bet then they can solve the problem!
We'll start a new story selection in Reading "How to Train an Orangatan", we will have a test Friday on it.
Chapter 15 Social Studies test did not pan out too well, if you would like your child to correct his/her test to achieve a better grade, please let me know when you see the test Wednesday. We have started Chapter 16, and learned that some immigrants thought that America had real "streets paved with gold" and you could go "from rags to riches", ask your child what these figures of speech mean and whether they were true or not. In the rest of the chaper we will also learn about what the Harlem Renaissance was and famous New Yorkers. I am hoping to have the test on this Thursday.
How does one organism affect another? This week we learn about how organisms interact and how ecosystems change - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. This test will be next week. We will also start to review for our State Science written test.
Pray for a productive week, thanks as always for all support.
This week is also the 8th Grade's Ring Day with Mass on Friday - congratulations!
Monday and Tuesday this week I will not be in the classroom. I will be at a meeting Monday and then be at ELA test correcting Tuesday. Please pray that all goes well for the correcting for the 4th grade as well as for the other grades who took the tests.
Tomorrow is our test on the 7-10th commandments in Religion. Make sure your child can name all 10 commandments! On Tuesday we will start learning the Beatitudes... how they lead us to happiness. Ask your child how the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy and the Commandments may have something to do with the Beatitudes. They will need to also memorize the Beatitudes. Think of the hymn "Blessed are They". If they know this song, they have already memorized them. At this moment I can't think of the name for the other hymn based on the Beatitudes we sing at Mass...if you know the title, please send me a note; I was going to look in the misselette this morning and forgot!
We will continue with decimals in math. If your child has any difficulty with them, remind them to "think money" or even add a $ (dollar sign)to the question -- I bet then they can solve the problem!
We'll start a new story selection in Reading "How to Train an Orangatan", we will have a test Friday on it.
Chapter 15 Social Studies test did not pan out too well, if you would like your child to correct his/her test to achieve a better grade, please let me know when you see the test Wednesday. We have started Chapter 16, and learned that some immigrants thought that America had real "streets paved with gold" and you could go "from rags to riches", ask your child what these figures of speech mean and whether they were true or not. In the rest of the chaper we will also learn about what the Harlem Renaissance was and famous New Yorkers. I am hoping to have the test on this Thursday.
How does one organism affect another? This week we learn about how organisms interact and how ecosystems change - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. This test will be next week. We will also start to review for our State Science written test.
Pray for a productive week, thanks as always for all support.
This week is also the 8th Grade's Ring Day with Mass on Friday - congratulations!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
May 9 - May 13
Happy Mother's Day to all! I hope each of you had a wonderful, relaxing day.
Well, one state test out of the way, and now on to the next! Wednesday and Thursday of this week will be the State Math Test. As last week, please make sure your child gets enough sleep and eats a good breakfast. Since we will be preparing for the test or taking the test through Thursday, there will be no math homework for the week. I'm sure all children will be sad about this. :)
Even though we have the state test we will still have tests in other subject areas this week:
We will learn about the 9th and 10th Commandment this week with a test on Commandments 7-10 on Friday. I will send home a vocabulary list for the test. I will also send home a study guide either by the end of the week or next week concerning the Archdiocese Religion exam (at the end of the year), so you have plenty of time to review. We will eventually review in class also, but not for a couple of weeks. Also, because it is the month of May, the month of Our Lady, the Blessed Mother, I mentioned to the children that they may bring in their own Rosary beads to use when we say the Rosary together.
Our Chapter 3 test for Science will be Wednesday. Where does everything get it's energy from? See how many food chains or food webs your child can think of - then ask them to compare and contrast them, and, don't forget we can be part of the food web/chain.
In Social Studies I would like to have this chapter's test this week also--maybe Tuesday. I will see if we're ready tomorrow. I know this is short notice, but we have much to complete before the end of the year.
Please help by praying that all the children are confident, comfortable and do well on the tests coming up. Our next state test will not be until the 1st of June, which will be practical/hands-on section of the Science State test. So we do have a small "break" before then, but much work to do!
Well, one state test out of the way, and now on to the next! Wednesday and Thursday of this week will be the State Math Test. As last week, please make sure your child gets enough sleep and eats a good breakfast. Since we will be preparing for the test or taking the test through Thursday, there will be no math homework for the week. I'm sure all children will be sad about this. :)
Even though we have the state test we will still have tests in other subject areas this week:
We will learn about the 9th and 10th Commandment this week with a test on Commandments 7-10 on Friday. I will send home a vocabulary list for the test. I will also send home a study guide either by the end of the week or next week concerning the Archdiocese Religion exam (at the end of the year), so you have plenty of time to review. We will eventually review in class also, but not for a couple of weeks. Also, because it is the month of May, the month of Our Lady, the Blessed Mother, I mentioned to the children that they may bring in their own Rosary beads to use when we say the Rosary together.
Our Chapter 3 test for Science will be Wednesday. Where does everything get it's energy from? See how many food chains or food webs your child can think of - then ask them to compare and contrast them, and, don't forget we can be part of the food web/chain.
In Social Studies I would like to have this chapter's test this week also--maybe Tuesday. I will see if we're ready tomorrow. I know this is short notice, but we have much to complete before the end of the year.
Please help by praying that all the children are confident, comfortable and do well on the tests coming up. Our next state test will not be until the 1st of June, which will be practical/hands-on section of the Science State test. So we do have a small "break" before then, but much work to do!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
April 11 - April 15
We are moving along quickly into the last quarter and to the State tests. We will be doing plenty of practice for them in the coming weeks.
Before I go any further, we were invited by former Mayor Becky Pearson to help plant trees at Bradley Park in celebration of Arbor Day Thursday. I am inviting any parent who would like and is able to to accompany the class. I don't have an exact time yet, but it will be in the morning and we will be back at school for lunch. Each child will be able to plant a small tree, so it should be great fun. A letter will go home tomorrow with the time.
In Math we will continue with fractions, including adding and subtracting ones with the same denominator. We also will be doing a practice test or two of the State Math test, which will be the week of May 2.
We will continue learning about immigrants coming to America in the late 1800' and early 1900's in Social Studies. Your child will learn how children his or her age worked in sweatshops, factories or did piecework with their parents at home, working long hours for barely any pay.
Our test on Chapter 2 in Science will now most likely be Wednesday. I know tests keep changing, but we can't really take a test until we are prepared for it.
The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy test will be Tuesday. You would be very proud to know the children had excellent questions for Father Fallon concerning them last week, I think he was dually impressed. They all have such caring hearts.
As I mentioned in starting, we will be having our New York State English/Language Test very soon, the week we come back from Easter vacation to be exact. So, the next week and a half we will be concentrating on getting ready for that. We may have homework that includes examples of previous years tests.
Hope to see you Thursday!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April 4 - April 8
Hope you all had a great weekend.
We will be presenting our Biographies on Tuesday, sorry about the inconvenience or disappointment of Friday.
In Math we will be working on fractions after a quiz tomorrow on perimeter and area. We will learn about simple fractions, then mixed numbers and improper fractions, and how to convert one to another. One way you can help your child with this that is fun is to use dry measuring cups and either uncooked rice or beans to demonstrate converting for example 5/4 into 1-1/4 by counting out one-quarter cups five times. We'll be doing something like this in class.
We will have a test on "Charlotte's Web" Thursday. It's taken us a little longer on this selection because they're taking turns reading a part they like. Please make sure your child studies his vocabulary that goes along with the story. Also ask your child what the word GENRE means and then ask them what genre of the story is.
I have assigned a prayer for the children to memorize- the "Act of Faith", it is in their Religion book in the back. I will quiz them on it Tuesday along with the "Great Commandment" and the "New Commandment", which they should know already, but I'm realizing some do not. We didn't start the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy yet and will do so this week. There will be a test on Friday.
In Science we will start Chapter 2, "Energy from Plants". A few people have sent in seeds to plant, so we will be planting them this week, to kick off this unit, thanks! We will have the test on this chapter next week.
Immigration and migration - why did people come here, and what was the trip like coming here? The test on Chapter 13 will be Wednesday. After that we'll move on to life in New York City as an immigrant.
Hope to see some of you Tuesday. Have a great week!
We will be presenting our Biographies on Tuesday, sorry about the inconvenience or disappointment of Friday.
In Math we will be working on fractions after a quiz tomorrow on perimeter and area. We will learn about simple fractions, then mixed numbers and improper fractions, and how to convert one to another. One way you can help your child with this that is fun is to use dry measuring cups and either uncooked rice or beans to demonstrate converting for example 5/4 into 1-1/4 by counting out one-quarter cups five times. We'll be doing something like this in class.
We will have a test on "Charlotte's Web" Thursday. It's taken us a little longer on this selection because they're taking turns reading a part they like. Please make sure your child studies his vocabulary that goes along with the story. Also ask your child what the word GENRE means and then ask them what genre of the story is.
I have assigned a prayer for the children to memorize- the "Act of Faith", it is in their Religion book in the back. I will quiz them on it Tuesday along with the "Great Commandment" and the "New Commandment", which they should know already, but I'm realizing some do not. We didn't start the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy yet and will do so this week. There will be a test on Friday.
In Science we will start Chapter 2, "Energy from Plants". A few people have sent in seeds to plant, so we will be planting them this week, to kick off this unit, thanks! We will have the test on this chapter next week.
Immigration and migration - why did people come here, and what was the trip like coming here? The test on Chapter 13 will be Wednesday. After that we'll move on to life in New York City as an immigrant.
Hope to see some of you Tuesday. Have a great week!
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