"And a good time was had by all!"

Leadership Day was a huge success! The girls had a great time participating in all types of teamwork activities and learned a lot about the value of listening to each other. As one student said "There's no 'I' in TEAM. This is a topic we will revisit often this year. It was great to see so many parents participating in the afternoon activities as well. Thanks for helping to make this a special day for your daughter.

We have now completed the first unit in the Everyday Math program on geometry. An end-of-unit assessment was given to all fourth graders. Make sure to ask your daughter about it. We'll also look at the assessment at your conference. Our next unit will be on place value and reading and writing large numbers into the hundred millions. We will also be beginning our timed multiplication tests soon. Review of the facts is always helpful

For our study of the Maya, each partnership has begun to collect information needed to create a codex (an accordion folded book) on their particular topic. These will be completed by the end of October and on display for you to see. During writing workshop, the class is learning the difference between a "watermelon" topic and a "seed story". You can ask your daughter to explain the difference. Go Blue! Go Gold!

A Great Beginning

At our first weekly class meeting held every Friday, the girls were asked to rate the first four days of school on a scale of 1-10. Ten being the highest. The average score for the first week was a 9. Some of the comments from the girls justifying their high marks were: "I really like my new classroom, the girls in my class, and my teacher." "I would have given it a 10 but I miss my best friend from last year." "I gave it a 9 because being in fourth grade is kind of scary, but I had a great week." It was a great beginning!

Even though we began the academic work last Wednesday, our curriculum really kicks into gear next week. Spelling will begin on Monday along with our beginning social studies unit on the Maya. We have already begun our unit on geometry in the Everyday Math Program and a new writing program called Writing Workshop designed by Lucy Caulkins. The 4th grade had their first experience being in chorus, a time when the whole fourth grade sings together, led by their music teacher, Mr. McGinley. The students will have one more week of doing most of their homework in school and then it's back to doing it at home.

This classsroom blog is a new venture and will be further developed as we all learn how to use all the different components. Stay turned for more pictures, comments from students, and curricular updates. We are looking forward to our Leadership Training Day next Monday, Sept. 15. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!