Welcome Back!

Hello Parents!

It is a new year! Fourth grade will be full of fun but lots of learning also! We have had a great week so far. The students tend to be a bit chatty right now but that will change when homework kicks in and they will be too busy to talk. (at least that is my vision). The first few months is such a learning process. They have to learn how Mrs. Sickels runs a classroom, what the expectations are, and how the routine works. It will take some time and hard work on all of us but we will get there. The biggest thing they learn this year is responsibility. They will learn that they are responsible for all their own work! They have to make sure it is complete and that they have put it into their expanding folder file. This will become very routine once we really get going.

Car Line

Just a bit of information about car line and the expectations:

1. Pull all the way up in the line. Do not stop as soon as you see your child. Move on up in the line so we can accommodate more cars at once.

2. Wait to pull way with the line. Do not back up and go around the line because your child is in your car. This is a safety hazard for children and car accidents.

3. Please do not get out of your car. We will get your student to you and in the car. If you need to buckle your child in, after the child is in the car pull ahead in the line farther down the street and park to buckle them in.

4. Children are NOT to run to the cars. They are to walk.

All of these items are safety measures to ensure the children's safety and yours. When we follow these rules the car line is more efficient. Thank you!

Lunches

There are a few changes for lunch this year.

1. Please note that all student lunches are FREE.

2. If you bring a sack lunch and want to purchase milk, the student will need to bring $.50 with them. We are no longer charging it to account.

3. Also if you are bringing your own drink it can NOT be a carbonated drink. Please see the school website for appropriate drinks allowed.

Language Arts

We are slowly moving into our Language arts series. Today I showed them how we will work on vocabulary words. This will be done in a yellow packet that I provide for them. They will have the words written in the boxes, then they will use their books to look up the definition of the word. When all the definitions are complete then they will need a computer to look up synonyms and antonyms of the words. We use powerthesaurus.org to get our answers. They have been shown how to do it. They must use the glossary in their books to find the definitions. If they use another source it will be considered not done and a late slip will be given.If they forget their book at school and want to use the internet for the definition it will be a late slip. I push that they do the definitions first so they do not have to worry about taking a book home.

Math

We have taken a diagnostic test for math this week. I plan to spend the weekend looking over the results and planning for next week's lessons. We have a new series for the students this year.

Social Studies

We have started talking about Unit 1 chapter 1. This will be about the 5 regions of the United States. The students learned them last year but we spend the first little bit reviewing. In Unit 1 we will cover chapter 1 and 3. We skip chaper 2. this is so we are sure to get finished with everything at the end of the year. Plus I have gone through and matched up things with the standards/benchmarks a little better so that I get everything covered. The kids were excited about getting out books and getting going. They are also asking for homework! Crazy, right! Soon they will complain about it.

Responsibility

This year I spend the whole year really focusing on these students taking responsibility for themselves. This includes keeping track of their work, getting things singed and making sure all their bags are packed. These are things they need to be doing on their own. Setting routines for kids can be very helpful. Next week when they start to bring homework and assignment books home will be a true test of responsibility. I would recommend finding a spot in your house where the kids can do their work daily. I also recommend having a spot in the house where they place their assignment book for the adult to sign. It is the child's responsibility to be sure that it is all signed and back in the bag to bring to school. It is less stress on you and again we are working on them being better students. Taking care of your own things is an area they need to work on . ALL 4th graders usually do.

Climate

Our room is always super cold in the morning. They are welcome to bring sweatshirts to wear when it is chilly. They are welcome to leave them hear a week at a time. On the weekend I would like them to be taken home to be washed

Facebook

I have a Facebook page for the 4th grade. You can search St. Malachy Fantastic 4th Grade and request to join. I will accept when I am notified. This is a page for parents and grandparents to see what we are doing.

Getting back into the swing of things is always difficult for everyone, including me! Next week we will really work on hard on staying on schedule and honoring our time. This week has been a little relaxed. I am gone tomorrow. I have an appointment. Mrs. Redd will be here to take over for me. I will keep them busy. I am leaning quickly that this class needs to be busy all the time or they are a little bit too loud. That is something we will be working on.

This blog is created on a new site for me. We had to find something new because the other one we were using is fading its way out. I hope this one works. You should find a place to subscribe to my blog so it is automatically sent to you. I asked for it to have it but we will see. I plan to email it to you each week anyway.

God Bless,

Mrs. Sickels