October 2, 2025

Dear Parents,

Happy Thursday!! I feel like I just wrote one of these. The weeks seem so long yet short when it comes to writing my blog. Our week has been a good one. They are working hard in all subjects. I have had to give a few late slips this week due to students being forgetful. It happens. I am forgetful on a daily basis. Just putting things away in the right places and remembering to take the folder and assignment book home daily will help them. Overall I feel like they are adjusting quite well to 4th grade.

Language Arts

This week they have completed the Module 1 (Unit) test. I broke it into 3 parts. They took the 3rd part today. These scores will come home next week. I am working on getting them ready.

They have also been working on writing a Halloween Story with a partner. It was a sheet that said "Roll a Halloween Story" and it had 6 different characters, 6 settings and 6 conflicts. They rolled a die to see which one they got . Then they began writing. This is just a fun, creative writing we do. Next time we will either write an opinion paper or informational paper.

Next week we will start Madule 2. Tuesday we will begin with a spelling pretest and cutting and pasting our new skills in our composition book.

Book Report

I will be assigning their first book report to them tomorrow. This will be due Monday, Nov. 17th. They have lots of time to complete the project They have a page that explains the directions of the project. They will be creating a cereal box. Please save the next cereal box you finish, as they will need it. After they have read their book in full they need to ask me for the other pieces needed to complete the project. If I give them out early (I have learned) most kids lose them and I have to copy more. The students will be choosing a book with more than 100 pages in it. They are not allowed to read graphic novel. This book must be a chapter book of their choice. I have to okay the book and write it down. My hope is to have them learn what kind of books interest them. I share a lot about my own reading experiences. I ask they read the first couple of chapters to be sure they are going to enjoy the book before I write it down. They will complete 3 different book reports by the end of the year. I also give them the rubric that I will use to grade their work. So no surprises for them. The best part is, they can read their book report book and count the minutes on their Book It Calendar!

Book It

We are starting our Book It program this month. We will do it for 6 months. It is to promote reading in their free time and finding books that interest them. It began as a program supported by Pizza Hut. That went away, then Pizza Ranch stepped in and took over, but now that has gone away! I have talked with the students, and we have decided those who meet the goal for the month will get a special treat. My intent is to provide those who meet the goal with a Little Debbie snack. I am working on a prize for students who meet the goal all 6 months. I need to visit and get the okay from Mrs. Simmons and then I will let you know what that will be. The goal will change each month. Calendars must be filled out and signed by parents in order to count. Here is what the months and goals look like. I also figured out how many minutes a day that would be. I also keep track of my minutes that I read, so they can see that I am reading everyday also.

October 350 min 12 min/day

November 400 min 14 min/day

December 450 min 15 min/day

January 500 min 17 min/day

February 550 min 20 min/day

March 600 min 20 min/day

Happy Reading!

Math

We have been working on Topic 2 this week. This chapter is a review of addition and subtraction of large numbers. I consider everything in this chapter to be review. We have covered lessons 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, and 2-5 this week. That is moving pretty quickly. Tomorrow we will finish up lesson 2-5 and they will have a worksheet to do. Next week we will cover 2-6 and 2-7 and then be looking at testing the next week.

Social Studies

They started a study guide today. It is due tomorrow. We will check it together and their test over Chapter 2 will be on Tuesday. We will correct the test on Thursday. Friday they will begin the Northeast Region. We will now begin to study each region of the U.S. a region at a time. We will learn about Native Americans from the area, climate of the area, and products that are produced in that area. There are 5 regions. This will take us literally to the very end of the year.

Spirit Day

Tomorrow is a Spirit Day! Bring $1.00 to wear sweatpants or a hat!

Noisy Change

Our St. Malachy family have always been a community of faith and support when others are in need. Some of our faculty and staff are experiencing health challenges either personally or within their immediate family. As a community of love and support, we are planning some noisy change collections at the October 8th and 15th liturgies. Your monetary contributions will help with travel, food, and medical expenses. We thank you in advance for your generosity and support.

Monday, October 6

Just a reminder that there will be no classes for students on Monday, Oct. 6th. This is a professional development day for teachers. We will be working on Math as a faculty that day.

I feel like I had a lot to say this week! There also seems to be lots of important things in their take home folders. Remember the stuff in the take home folders is for you to keep unless something needs returned. The homework folder is for homework only. We have been trying as a class to keep them cleaned out. Do not throw anything away in them without teacher permission. I have a busy weekend with 2 baby showers this weekend. One is for twins! Enjoy whatever you do this weekend. My advice is steer clear of the little black bugs. They are eating me up!

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels