Sophia and Grace's Blog Entry!

Hi, this is Sophia and Grace here.

This week we had a microscope quiz on Thursday.

We also started running club last week, and we heard that Mr. Cortesi said that to get a foot you have to have 15 sticks because the laps are shorter.

This week we also learned how to check out our own books! We also get reading buddies every other Friday.

This week is art to remember in art. Our class is making suns. We were going to do a beach theme then we switched it to flip flops, then we switched it to suns and we thought it was a good idea.

Our class and Mrs. Fraser’s class switch for math and we are talking about comparing numbers, ordering numbers and making change.  Next week we will learn more about rounding to the millions place and reading bar graphs.  The test is scheduled for next Friday. So far it’s fun.

 In social studies we are working on a Junior Geographer Atlas book and we have to do work sheets with it, we have a test next week.

We also started, “read to someone” this week. How we do it is we raise our hand, make eye contact, then Mrs. Schroeder will say stand up and say, find your partner, and start reading.

In our class we have a star of the week. That person will bring in a poster of family, friends, pets, something that represents you. This week star of the week is Joe.

This week we also had the onion lab in Science. It’s were you look through a microscope at cells of onion.

Don’t forget your smile on Monday because it’s Picture Day!

That’s Grace and Sophia with our classroom news.

Jerry and Joe's Blog Post!!!

Hello 4S! It’s the first BLOG post of the year!!!! Joe and Jerry here.

Tuesday was a normal day.

On Wednesday we were going to have running club but it rained. Boo.  It was also the first day of Battle of the Books! 

On Thursday, we had a lab experiment and a math test covering chapter one.  How did you like switching classes for math?  We all learned about place value and we can read numbers up to the one hundred thousands place! On Friday we had library.

Next week we are starting chapter 2 in math and it's back to switching classes.  Chapter two is about counting and ordering money, making change and rounding numbers!  Woah, that's a lot!!! it

It is Kaleb’s birthday on Friday! Happy birthday Kaleb!

In Daily 5 we just started doing read to self for the first time, yay!

We had a science experiment on Thursday. For the science experiment we learned about fire and lab safety  and the fourth grade teachers blew corn starch into a blowtorch and made a big fireball.  It was AWESOME!

 In social studies we learned about maps, globes, and rivers using our Daily Geographer books.  We also learned where to look for information when using our non-fiction books in school.

 In math we took a big test that had 50 questions for Local Assessments. 

Mrs. Schroeder read a really cool book called Captain Nobody. This has been our first newsletter of the year!

Goodbye everyone!

Spelling City and Xtra Math

Here are the directions to get onto Spellingcity.com to practice your spelling words on-line!

-go to www.spellingcity.com
-click on the "students" tab at the top
-click on "find a list" tab (in blue)
-Under the section, Enter Search Term, type my first and last name:  Catherine Schroeder ***be careful, there is another Catherine Schroeder listed, so make sure you click on me.***
-Select the spelling list for that week and choose the activities from the colored circles above and practice away!

-Regular list, challenge lists and Focus Words are all on spellingcity.com to help you study in another, fun way.


To Study your basic math facts, you can log on to www.xtramath.org using the handout that was sent home last week in your child's mail.  At the top of the directions page, they wrote their PIN number down.  Use this PIN number to access the website at home.  This is the website we use at school, along with our "mad minutes," to pracice basic facts.  As I'm sure you are all aware, the quicker your child memorizes the basic facts, the easier math will be in 4th grade.  When we get to long division this year for example, your child will need to know addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts through 12 for just ONE problem.  Not knowing these facts quickly will greatly slow their progress. We will focus on addition and subtraction for the first quarter only, then move to multiplication and division.  I thank you in advance for your time and support with this important skill at home!

Please don't hesitate to call or e-mail me with any questions you might have.

Mrs. Schroeder
catherine.schroeder@cusd200.org

4S Updates and Star of the Week Schedule

Here are some upcoming events for 4S:

Spelling Test:  Friday
Math Test: covering place value on Friday

Monday is no school due to Labor Day!

Here is the Star of the Week Schedule:  Please refer to the newsletter that was sent home last week (green paper) about what to send in.

Star Of The Week!

Your child has an opportunity to be the STAR OF THE WEEK in our classroom.  Below is a schedule with your child’s assigned week as the STAR.  Please help your child choose some photographs and mount them on either poster board or construction paper, so they can be displayed in our classroom.    Your child may bring his/her poster the first day of their week!  I look forward to making this a special week for your child, as well as a learning experience for the whole class!!  Thank you for your support!

              

September 14           Joe Loparco

September 21           Jocelyn Garcia

October 5                   Aidan Waszak

October 12                 Sophia Torne

October 19                 Jerry Tavolino

October 26                 Xin Tain

November 2              Chloe Slater

November 9              Noah Roberts

November 16            Lais Najjar

November 30            Cole McCue

December 7               Annie McBride

December 14            Allyson Maher

January 11                 Caroline Kratz

January 25                 Caiden Heuser

February 1                 Tara Geraminejad

February 8                  Irie Gedritis

February 22               Mason Fraser

March 8                       Grace Cochran

March 15                    Grace DeMars

March 22                    Kaleb Clousing

April 5                          Amber Bornheimer

April 12’                      Nia Bassett

Please mark your child’s week on a calendar!  Please have your child bring in their poster on the first day of their week!  Thank you!

Welcome to 4S!

I am so excited to be starting the year off with such a wonderful group of kids!  Hopefully, you are visiting our classroom blog from the beginning newsletter that was sent home today in your child's mail.  I am looking forward to a great year full of  learning, laughter and memorable moments!  Please become a follower of our classroom blog.  The more interactive our blog can be, the more fun and meaningful it is for our class!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Schroeder

Our "nice" class picture.  Say "cheese!"



Our "silly" class picture...that's more like it!



New Stella Pictures and Run-A-Thon pictures

Hi everyone!  Here are some NEW Stella pictures!  I'm sorry for the delay, but hopefully these will make up for it...at least put a smile on your face.  She will be 5 months old next week and is the happiest baby ever!  We are so lucky as she is a WONDERFUL sleeper...twice this week we had to wake her up so we could go to work!  I know, not typical at all!  At least 10 hours every night...yay!  She is cooing and making all sorts of happy noises and laughing up a storm! :)

                          Playing with her feet is her new thing!  They make it into her mouth too!

                                                 Fingers in her mouth....ALL the time!

                                                         That was such a funny joke!

Some of her funny noises and eating her feet:)

MADISON RUN-A-THON PICTURES 2012..

The children put forth such a great effort with our first-ever, Madison Run A Thon!  They really pushed themselves and did awesome!  What excellent runners:)  Way to go!!!!!

It's been a long time! Here's some news for you!

Hi 4S students and parents,
Sorry that it's been so long since our last post!  Here are some important events that are coming up in the last days of school....can you believe it???  This year has really flown so fast.

-Monday, May 14: Lincoln Marsh Field Trip.  Please refer to the note that is coming home today about what to bring/pack and the "waste-free lunch."  Just FYI:  It will take a little planning ahead (before Monday morning)

-Friday, May 25:  Explore More Day

-Monday, May 28:  NO SCHOOL

-Thursday, May 31:  Field Day with (June 1 rain date)

-June 6: Last day of school.  Early dismissal 11:15

Upcoming Test/Units in 4S

-Reading:  THis week the kids are doing reading activities with National Geographic Magazine.  Next week we will start our Reader's Theater Stories, "The Baker's Neighbor" and "Little Red Writing Hood."  The children will perform their reader's theater for the younger students at Madison during the last week of school.  This is such a fun even for the kids!

-Math:  Our math switch this time is focusing on greater digit multiplication and long division.  Thank you for your continued practice with multiplication and division basic facts.  The better they know their facts, the easier these two chapers will be for them!

-Social Studies:  The children continue to reasearch the West and Southwest Regions of the United States.  They will finish their research on Friday and work on their speech and power point next week!

-Science:  We will be finishing our Wetlands Unit next week and we have owl pellets to look foward to as well as a health lesson.

-Writing:  The children are finished with their essays on thier bird they researched.  They will be "publishing" their essays in the computer lab.  We will finish the year with a poetry unit! 

Other News:  I promise to update Stella Pictures ASAP!!!  She has grown so much since the last pictures:)

Thank you!!!
I would like to thank each and every student and parent in my class for making Teacher Apprecian Week so special!  Your cards, flowers and little gifts/ have truly meant so much to me and I will dearly miss all of you next year.  You have been a joy to teach and I am so happy to have gotten to know each of you and your families.  Thank you so much for such an enjoyable year!
Love,
Mrs. Schroeder

Here are some pictures from our Wetlands Activity, "Gone Fishin' "

As Water Quality Scientists, what did you find??? Were your Macroinvertebrates in clean water, polluted water or kind-of polluted water?  What did you pull up with your fishing pole???  What did you find out?