• Edmodo_Parent_Information_Note_2013.pdf

Good Afternoon,

Your child will be bringing home the 2nd quarter report card today.  Please sign and return the report card envelope at your earliest convenience.

CHE will be having a Parent Technology Night on Tuesday, Jan. 14.  You are welcome to join us and participate in various technology sessions throughout the building.  Sessions will be held from 6:30-8:20pm.

We will have our Math Topic 8 Test on Friday, January 17th.  Closer to the test date, your child will be bringing home the "Daily Common Core Practice" packet and the "Quick Check" packet to help prepare for the assessment. He/she may do any of the activities on the enVision website to help them study/practice as well.  There is a practice test in the text book that may be completed to practice, and this can be accessed through the enVision website as well. 

We will go on learning excursion to the Wilderness Science Center on January 30th.  If you haven't been since the program was redesigned, it is a great experience.  We need 6 parent helpers to join us, please e-mail me if you would like to attend!  We will be leaving at 8:40am and returning at 2:20pm.

Our Spring Conference sign-up goes live next Saturday morning at 12:00am. The sign up process is quick and easy. Each of you will be able to sign up for your preferred appointment. The window to sign up closes on October 13th at midnight.

Simply …

1) Go to my web page (under "Classrooms") on the CHE web page ( www.bluevalleyk12.org/che )

2) Click "Parent Teacher Conferences"

3) Click "Register" for the event button and follow the directions.

Please note: a visitor log-in is required - you can create one during the process (do not use your ParentVue code).

We have a lot going on next week.  Be sure to check the Upcoming Events section below to see a full listing of activities.

Worth Repeating:

The new year will also bring new math homework to 4th grade.  Since we will be transitioning the practice pages into our small group rotations and independent work time during math time, our math homework will look a little different.  On Mondays, we will send home a two-sided "CCSS Skills Review" (Common Core State Standards).  The skills that the students will be required to practice each week will be review skills from 2nd, 3rd, and earlier in 4th grade.  The math problems will be split up into the 5 main domains under the new Common Core State Standards (Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Number & Operations: Base Ten, Number & Operations: Fractions, Measurement & Data, and Geometry).  This method of homework cycles through previously learned and mastered skills to help keep those skills fresh in the students' minds.  In addition to the math problems, each week the students will be asked to write a reflection on the skills that we are learning in class, state what they feel good about, and make a goal of something to work on.  The homework will still be due back the following Monday and we will go over the problems together in class.  The students will be awarded completion points for their homework each week.

In addition to the new homework, we will begin implementing a weekly CCSS Skills Quiz based on the weekly homework.  The quiz will have similar problems from the same skills as the homework.  In place of the reflection, there will be a 3-point writing to explain problem on the quiz that covers one of the skills covered that week.  The students will take the weekly math quiz after we go over the homework together each Monday.

The new math homework and quizzes are very similar to what we have used in 4th grade for years prior to this one.  We have adapted what we have used in the past to cover the new math standards that we are implementing this year.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the new weekly homework/quiz.

The Student will learn to:

Reading: Unit 4: Patterns in the Sky

• distinguish between fact and opinion using details from the text.
• make connections while reading.
• use knowledge of noun suffixes to understand the meaning of a word or phrases.
• demonstrate understanding of synonyms.

Grammar: 

• correctly use and understand regular verbs (present/past/future) in reading and writing.
• correctly use and understand irregular verbs in reading and writing.
• correctly use and understand comparatives and superlatives, subject  & object pronouns, contractions, and possessive pronouns in reading and writing.

Writing:   Science Fiction

• recognize and use science fiction features while writing.
• recognize and use a problem & solution text structure while writing.
• use descriptive words while writing a science fiction story.
• use proper sequencing and transition words & phrases in a science fiction writing.
• use an ominous or dark tone of voice in a science fiction writing.

Math: Topic 8 - Developing Fluency: Multiplying by 2-Digit Numbers

• use arrays and area models to find products of 2-digit numbers. (8-1)
• use arrays and an expanded algorithm to multiply 2-digit numbers. (8-2)
• use grids and patterns to multiply 2-digit numbers and multiples of 10. (8-3)
• use partial products and the standard algorithm to multiply 2-digit by 2-digit numbers. (8-4)
• solve two-question problems. (8-5)

Science: Metric Measurement

• identify and use metric measurement tools and vocabulary.
• make metric unit conversions.
• make reasonable estimations of metric measurement.

• Monday, Jan. 13 - Winter MAP testing: Reading 2:00pm
• Tuesday, Jan. 14 - Early Dismissal @ 2:00pm
• Wednesday, Jan. 14 - Parent Technology Information Night
• Friday, Jan. 17 - Math Topic 8 Test
• Saturday, Jan. 18 - February Conference Sign Up Times Go Live @ 12:00am
• Monday, Jan. 20 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Saturday, Jan. 25 - PTO Auction
• Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Wilderness Science Center Learning Excursion 9am-2:20pm (Claiborne & Monsees)
• Thursday, Jan. 30 - Wilderness Science Center Learning Excursion 9am-2:20pm (Auvigne & Anduss)

*Please check our Edmodo calendar for important dates.

I will send Scholastic Book Club flyers home each month.  If you would like to order books, you can do so one of the following two ways: 

1. send the order form back in with a check
2. click the link below to order online with our class code - FZPKM 

I will close out each order on the 15th of each month and the books should arrive about a week later.  Thank you!