Week One was Spectacular!

About Last Week...
On the very first day, students completed Who Am I? paragraphs and we spent the week reading them aloud to get to know each other. They ended the day with a team building activity called "Saving Fred" that required making a plan with a flowchart, and then working together to complete the task using only paper clips to put a gummy worm (Fred) into a plastic cup (his boat) in a gummy ring (his life preserver). It was great to see everyone working together to meet a goal!

What's important this week?
ELECTIVE CHOICE FOLDERS are in Monday Folders today. PLEASE be sure to number your child's top choices for each period. I need these back by Friday.

PLEASE TURN IN $6.00 for Agendas and all beginning of school forms sent home last week in the Monday Folder if you have not already. Thanks to all the families who returned these last week!

DAILY AGENDA SIGNING: for the first month of school, parents will sign agendas daily to show that their child has read 20 minutes and completed assignments. Completing homework is the child's responsibility, so if your child does not do the work, don't sign the agenda for them. If your child gets stuck on a homework question, have them circle the question and ask me in the morning. This is good feedback for me as a teacher, so that I know what areas need more reinforcement.

It has been a great start so far. I will be posting upcoming events and more information later this week! Please don't hesitate to email me at sandrews2@wcpss.net if you have any questions.

2015-2016 Welcome to Fourth Grade

 It is Sunday August 23, and tomorrow is the first day of school. You will not read this until tomorrow at the earliest. I hope you all had a fun-filled summer. I have been busy getting ready for our year over the past two months. This blogger page will be a spot to get information on our classroom events, assignments and school activities. I will post a new entry each Monday afternoon. 

Parents: Please follow this link to fill out a brief  information sheet for my classroom records:

 https://docs.google.com/a/wcpss.net/forms/d/18sBs3YT3uz2s6cYh4MhwUJbe7eF0jPRfQFdnfX7bfYc/viewform?c=0&w=1

All about Ms. Andrews

 This outfit in the picture was from Norway,
where my grandfather grew up. 

This is my kindergarten picture. I went to kindergarten when I was just 4 years old at Carrboro Elementary School. My twin sister Katherine was all ready to go, but I was not. My kindergarten teacher said that I was great at napping. Luckily, instead of sleeping away my education, I woke up and went on to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa and then to get my Master's degree in teaching from the University of Oregon. I have been teaching in Wake County since 2000. 

I live with my daughter and my cat in Raleigh. We love to get outside when the weather is nice. My favorite book is Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. I can't wait to get to know all of you in this year's class and read many exciting books and articles together.

I love teaching because I learn new things everyday. Helping students discover their talents and grow in their skills is very rewarding. Working together with parents is very important to me. Our classroom is a place where I want children to wonder, discover, collaborate and grow.

This summer I had the chance to go backpacking in the largest stand of Giant Sequoia trees in the world! My daughter Naomi (the tiny person in the blue jacket) and I went to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park in California in July.

Goodbye to the 2014-15 school year... 

                                                      Hello SUMMER! 

It has been a truly amazing year of growth and learning in Room 316. Thank you all for the contributions you have made to this fine group of students.  I hope they leave here confident in their skills. Read, rest and relax in these few months before fifth grade!

A HEARTY THANK YOU to all the parents who chaperoned our field trips, sent in snacks, pencils, tissues and other materials, who came in for conferences and sent emails. Parent involvement, parent/teacher communication and student's success go hand in hand. It has been great partnering with you. Please feel free to contact me in the future as needed. I am here for recommendations as well.

The NC Museum Projects were some of the finest I have ever seen. Congratulations to the historians for doing great research and putting together engaging and educational exhibits. It was most exciting to hear students talk so knowledgeably about their topics. This is learning at its finest. Thanks to all of the parents who were able to take some time to come visit the museum. For those who were unable to come, and those who want to savor the memories, here are a few pictures of the event.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! I WILL MISS YOU!

Last Week of School!

THE END IS NEAR 

Greetings Everyone!

Last week was full of researching NC-related topics for the Museum projects, learning new vocabulary from our book study of Frindle by Andrew Clements and an ongoing math project mapping a trip from Murphy to Manteo. I am so impressed with the student's dedication to learning. They are still going strong. 

FOURTH GRADE NC MUSEUM OPENS THURSDAY 

This week students will finish their five paragraph research papers at school and their museum exhibits (at home). Please send in all projects by Thursday morning so we can set up. We hope you will be able to join us from 10:30-11:30 to see their hard work on display.

END OF THE YEAR PIZZA LUNCH- MONDAY JUNE 8th. 

If you would like to help contribute with paper products (plates, napkins, cups), non-caffeinated drinks, a veggie plate or dessert items please let me know. 

SPIRIT WEEK- Flyers went home Friday with more details, but it a nutshell- 

Monday:Pajama Day

Tuesday: Wacky costumes  

Wednesday: School/team spirit day

 Thursday: Throwback Thursday-styles from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s 

Friday: Beach theme!

Students broke into small groups to study the word "authority" and then each
group sent a presenter to report to the whole class. Here Conor is sharing his groups findings.

Field Day was a blast! 

The inflatable obstacle course ran out of power, but students enjoyed old standbys
like sack races (above)
and tire rolling relays (below)

The class finished up a great week by doing some whiteboard graffiti.
Luckily, they all wrote nice comments about their teacher, so no one got in trouble.
What clever kids....

May 18 Newsletter

Congratulations to our Washington Wizards Track Team for a great job at the meet on Tuesday!

NC MUSEUM PROJECT: 

Students should be working on their exhibits for their museum projects at home. They have the next 3 weeks to work on their exhibit. They will most likely need your help to break their project into steps to work on daily and providing materials.

Many students use tri-fold boards as in science fairs, other have posters, models, powerpoint presentations (we have laptops they will be able to set up at their exhibit spot), even video presentations.  Dressing up as a historical figure and giving a monologue is also allowed. I have copied the Rubric for the project at the end of this blog for reference. Students were given the rubric last Monday and we went over the requirements for getting a level 3. Students will complete a 5 paragraph essay at school and have access to internet and the media center books and reference materials. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. We hope that many of you will be able to visit the museum on June 4 from 10:30-11:30. All fourth grade classrooms are participating in the project.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL:
Please let me know if your child's last school day will be any day other than June 8. We do a number of special things that day, and some advance notice if a child will be absent is helpful so that we can properly say goodbye.

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 18- 7:00pm Band Concert, Media Center
May 19- 7:00pm Strings Concert Media Center

May 21- Language Arts EOG, 9:20am

May 22- Math EOG, 9:20am

May 29- Field Day,9:30am (K-2),  1pm (3-5)
June 3-9:30 am 5th Grade vs. Staff Kickball game

June 4- Museum Projects Due, Museum Open 10:30-11:30am
June 8- Last day of school

Curriculum Notes…. Here’s what we are working on now:

• Language Arts: Using the RUNNERS strategy for comprehension of fiction and non-fiction passages. 
• Math: Measurement- Customary and Metric Systems, Quiz on Thursday
• Review of 4th grade math vocabulary and concepts
• Social Studies: NC State Constitution
• Science: Animal Studies with Mr. Ash
• 
  

Museum Exhibit Project

Objective

• Students will create and display an exhibit that demonstrates some aspect of North Carolina’s history, diversity, or an issue connected to present-day NC.
• Completed Project will be due on June 4th
• Exhibits will be open to the “public” (parents, guardians, family members, etc.- please check in front office first) in your child’s room  on Thursday, June 4th  from 10:30-11:30.

Rubric: (To obtain these scores, most of the following criteria are present)

1

• Student has done no or little original work on an exhibit.
• Exhibit has nothing/very little to do with North Carolina’s history, diversity, or present. When displaying exhibit, student was able to provide no/very little explanation about the exhibit.
• No/very minimal amount of written explanation was included as part of the exhibit. Very little/no care was taken to be neat and accurate.
• No references were included.

  ---

2

• Student has done little original work on an exhibit.
• Exhibit has very little to do with North Carolina’s history, diversity, or present.
• When displaying exhibit, student was able to provide very little explanation about the exhibit.
• Minimal amount of written explanation was included as part of the exhibit.
• Minimal care was taken to be neat and accurate.
• References were incomplete/missing.

  ---

3

• Student  has created an original exhibit.
• Exhibit is based on North Carolina’s history, diversity, or present.
• When displaying exhibit, student was able to provide an explanation about the exhibit.
• A thorough written explanation was included as part of the exhibit( would equal about 1 typed page).
• Care was taken to be reasonably neat and accurate.
• References were included.

  ---

4

• Student  has created an original exhibit that demonstrates outstanding creativity and/or  research.
• Exhibit is based on North Carolina’s history, diversity, or present and contains evidence of analytical thinking.
• When displaying exhibit, student was able to provide an explanation about the exhibit.
• A thorough written explanation was included as part of the exhibit( would equal over 1 typed page).
• Great care was taken to be neat and accurate.
• References were included.

May 11 Newsletter

May 11 Newsletter

Wednesday students had fun reviewing the week's  Wordly Wise
vocabulary words with a Kahoot It online quiz created by Conor.

Looks like it is going to be a rainy week. So much the better to buckle down and begin research for the Social Studies NC Museum Project. Classroom temperatures are in the mid-60s according to the thermostat so please send in a sweater or sweatshirt/jacket so they can layer as needed.

SNACKS DONATIONS NEEDED
Please consider buying an extra box of healthy granola bars, breakfast bars, crackers, pretzels or even a bag of fruit next time you are shopping. There is always a need and students love spending those bonus bucks.


PROGRESS NOTES
Progress Notes were sent home today. Please sign and return by Tuesday. They are created directly from the electronic grade book. If you have questions please let me know. I am happy to set up a phone or in-person conference, or just talk over email.

NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM PROJECT 
Students will be responsible for writing a research report, preparing a display of information on their topic, and a talk to give those who visit their exhibit. Exhibits can be done as display boards (as in a science fair tri-fold or poster)  3-D models, costumes, Powerpoint presentations, digital slide shows or video. Combinations of these presentation forms is also welcome. The research report will be done at school. The presentation and display will be created at home. Students will bring in their displays on June 4. The museum will be open from 10:30-11:30am June 4 and parents and siblings are welcome to come.

TRACK TEAM TO COMPETE TUESDAY!
 The Track and Field Team will be headed to Meredith College on Tuesday morning to represent Washington in many events. Our class is proud to cheer on classmates Sienna, Hannah, Markell, Rah-Kwez, Kaden, Evan and Jordan. If your child is on this list, please be sure they dress for hot weather. They will leave at 9:30am.

Congratulations to the performers in this years Spring Celebration. It was great to see so many students come and enjoy the fun on Thursday evening.

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 18- 7:00pm Band Concert 
May 19- Strings Concert

May 21- Language Arts EOG

May 22- Math EOG

May 29- Field Day

June 4- Museum Projects Due, Museum Open 10:30-11:30am

Curriculum Notes…. Here’s what we are working on now:

• Language Arts: Using the RUNNERS strategy for comprehension of fiction and non-fiction passages. 
• Math: Measurement- Customary and Metric Systems, Quiz on Thursday
• Review of 4th grade math vocabulary and concepts
• Social Studies: NC State Constitution
• Science: Animal Studies with Mr. Ash

Field Trip Fun

Our amazing fourth graders and chaperones listen to a lively
presentation at Fort Macon. It ended with a
 real bang- a demonstration of a
 Civil War musket firing.

Jordan and other students enjoy ocean views, dolphin and wild
pony sightings during the harbor cruise.

The Coastal Field trip was a big success. We escaped a rainy day in Raleigh for sunshine in Morehead City and Beaufort, NC. Our first stop was at Fort Macon. Then we were on the bus again for a short trip to the Maritime Museum in Beaufort where the students completed a treasure hunt. We ate lunch in a sunny courtyard in front of the museum. Our next stop was a harbor cruise which was just a short walk from the museum. As soon as the tour began we saw dolphin playing in the wake of the boat. I did not get an exact count but there may have been as many as six dolphins around the boat. Wild ponies were also in view on the nearby islands. Then we got back on the bus and enjoyed a snack en route to Tryon Palace where we got tours of the blacksmith's shop, the stables, the main palace rooms, the servants quarters and the kitchen. Our last stop, and some students' favorite stop, was the Golden Corral in Kinston. We even returned to Washington a few minutes ahead of schedule. Well done, class! There are many more pictures I have to post, and this is just a small collection.

Here is the whole class in front of Tryon Palace

Arrival at Golden Corral where the staff did a great job
accommodating our entire grade level!

Thanks so much to Ms. Franks, Ms. Leung, Ms. Kluttz, Ms. Nimmer and Ms. Flores for being fabulous chaperones and braving the bus ride with
 44 9-11 year olds!

Here's a view of the Harbor Cruise Boat operated by Crystal Tours

Everyone was in high spirits boarding the

 bus just before dawn. 

Students enjoyed a scavenger hunt at the
Maritime Museum. Here students look for the next item while sitting in a model of a
 fishing skiff from the early 1900s, similar to the ones we studied in the novel Storm Warriors last quarter.

More fun on the bus! Thanks Ms. Flores!

Lots of energy at 5:45am.