Weekly Update

Dear Families,

This has been a very busy and productive week in our classroom. To begin with, 4th graders finished three days of science NECAP assessments. They all did a great job. The results from these assessments will not be available for many weeks, and the school will notify parents and guardians when they will be sent out. 3rd graders were assessed in both probability and in math fact fluency. They also did a great job! I will share the assessment results with the students next week. Our new math unit in geometry is now underway and parents of 3rd graders should have received letters as well as Smartboard lesson print-out explaining our scope and sequence throughout this unit. If you did not receive these, please let me know and I will send extra ones home. Smartboard lessons are posted on the classroom digital portfolio page as well.

Our colonial newspaper is almost ready for publication. Students are making their final revisions and help each other edit writing pieces. We will not start a new unit next week (and we will not have any new vocabulary either) as we will wrap up our unit on Colonial Times. Next week, the students will also orally present their Science Fair Projects. These projects are due on Monday, May 24th! Our grade-level Science Fair is next Wednesday, May 26th between 5-6pm. Please note that students are encouraged to “stay” at their own tri-fold and be prepared to talk about their experiments for part of the Science Fair as we all celebrate in their scientific learning!

The students also had the opportunity to see Mrs. McGuire and Mrs. O’Brien’s first and second grade classes perform the play “How does your garden grow?” It was particularly special for some of the students in our class because they performed the same play when they were in 1st and 2nd grade! They remembered their part well and how nervous they were when they had to read (or sing) their lines! Some of our students recorded part of the show and we hope to share it with you shortly.

Lastly, David Rast, our school Guidance Counselor, will join our class weekly to teach lessons on harassment and bullying. These classes are part of the school-wide social curriculum initiatives. For the last few weeks, the students in grades 3-4 have focused on developing sportsmanship and positive communication and problem-solving skills. They reached the goal of 250 golden stars this week and enjoyed 20 minutes of extra recess! I am very proud of their choices!

Have a great weekend!

Regards,

Maria McCormack