God's Most Amazing Creatures...: The sun is shining!!!

Hi, 4th Grade parents!

TIMOTHY AT RINK RATZ! This Saturday, March 26^th, Timothy Lutheran Church is hosting a skating party at Rink Ratz (513 SW Keystone, Blue Springs) from 4:30 – 6:30. Cost is $5/person for anyone skating – ALL AGES ARE WELCOME! The rink is not open to the public – TLC has reserved it.

• STANDARDIZED TESTING is NEXT week, March 28th-April 1st! How can you best prepare your child for success?

Standardized testing is very important to us as a school because the results will let us see if our curriculum and teaching strategies are as effective as possible. Your child’s scores are not shared with anyone – they are confidential and given out just to you. Mr. Holland and the teachers will analyze the results of all tests to see if we can improve in any areas. Because of this, we want to help you and your child prepare for the BEST week of testing possible.

We will conduct our testing in the morning each day. I would like to be done no later than lunch, just to give the kids a mental break. Students will have a minimum of 15 minutes break between each administered section. Our afternoons will be spent doing academic activities, but nothing that will involve homework or extra nighttime workload. There will be a lot of Religion and Missouri History fun next week! We will have a Missouri History unit test on Friday, but we will prepare in class. I want the kids to be well-rested!

*The night before:

Go to bed early. A good night's sleep can be key to a student's success on test day.

*The day of the test:

Have a good breakfast. Healthy foods like whole-grain cereal or toast, eggs, milk, fruit, and yogurt will give your student enough energy to get through the test. Avoid sugary, fatty foods like pastries, as well as heavy breakfasts that may exacerbate bouts of test-day nausea.

Bring snacks. Standardized tests last for hours, and by the last section or two, a rumbling tummy can interfere with a student's concentration. An energy bar and a juice box during a designated break can provide a boost to get your child through.

Get psyched up. Standardized tests are not on most students' lists of fun activities, but they are part of an exciting process… So start the day with a positive attitude. On the way… listen to upbeat music; or, if your child is already a bundle of nerves, put on some soothing music and encourage your child to lean back, eyes closed, and take some deep breaths.

Take breaks. I will let students know when they are allowed to stand up, use the bathroom, and so forth. But for a quick sanity break, students can take their eyes off the page, inhale a few deep breaths, and stretch.

Be confident. Negative thoughts can actually sabotage a student's chances of doing well.

*Other items to note: The nature of this system of testing is to let the child complete every question given to them, regardless of the suggested testing time. In real time, one child may complete the test in 35 minutes while another will take an hour to complete it. Your child must bring quiet activities to keep them occupied until everyone has finished that section of the test. Please let them bring a chapter book, comic book, or a magazine to look at. I will also pass out our books about famous Missourians. (This is a GREAT time to read that book report book!) Technology and drawing are not allowed as options, as they are distracting to others. Some children do well to have something to suck on during the test, like a mint or lemon lozenges. I will have some of these on hand, and would welcome donations! Please also make sure your child has a water bottle.

THANK YOU!

TRACK begins on Tuesday, March 29th! For those of you coming out, practice is from 3:45-5:00. Please pack a healthy snack to eat afterschool, and clothes for all types of weather!

• We are headed to the SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS on Monday, April 4th!

We have enough parent volunteers to help at the Market for the entire day. We need to have some parents that are just able to drop us off there on Monday morning. If you can, please sign up! Students need to be there at 9:30, and we will leave school around 9:10. We will meet the other parents there, and they will be able transport us back to school that afternoon. Please send in $5.00 for this field trip. Thank you.

Here is the link to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4DADAB2DA7F58-school

• SPRING MUSICALS:

Preschool – 2nd grade Music program: Friday, April 8, 6:30 P.M.

3rd – 8th grade Musical: Friday, April 29, 6:30 P.M.

Are you interested and able to assist with “preparing” for these performances? Do any of these catch your attention: costumes? sets? makeup? props? Cast T-Shirt ? design/type programs? Please, use the attached sign-up genius according to your interest and availability to help.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F49AEA62DA7FCC61-spring

• BAND begins next year in 5^th grade! We met with Mrs. Wilson this week, and tried all of the instruments. This was SO much fun! Your child should have come home with a band letter. Please return this with your intent, by April 22^nd. The exciting news, is that beginning next school year, being in band at TLS is FREE! Please contact Mrs. Wilson, if you have any questions or concerns, or are interested in your child joining band next year. From personal experience (all 4 of my kiddos were in band at some point), it is a wonderful way for them to get involved, gain some self-confidence, and use all areas of the brain. It is a beautiful form of self-expression. :)

Here is what we have been up to this week:

RELIGION- We studied The Parable of the Sower this week, the miracle of Jesus Being Transfigured and Jesus Feeding the Crowd. Over, and over again, we have talked about the power of God, and how in His infinite wisdom, he takes care of His people and makes the best decisions for them. We are forever grateful for His love and His care! During Chapel this week, Mr. Yogi, from Heit’s Point Lutheran Camp in Lincoln, MO, hosted and shared a special message with us about Jesus’ love for us. He also gave some details about Heit’s Point, and how God’s love is shared there through His Creation. Materials came home about the various camps, but you can also find details here: https://www.heitspoint.com/

There is no MEMORY for next week.

LANGUAGE ARTS- Our Author of the Month, E.B. White, was introduced, and I started reading Charlotte’s Web to the class during DEAR time. We also read the true story of Sacajawea, Charbonneau, their son Pomp, and Lewis and Clark. This goes hand-in-hand with what we are studying in Missouri History! We also talked a lot about abbreviations this week. We will not have SPELLING WORDS for next week!

MATH- We are knee deep in fractions!!! We learned all about mixed fractions, improper fractions, logically solving word problems, and how to decompose mixed fractions. We finished up our beginning unit on fractions this week, and tested over it. We will not have math class next week, due to our standardized testing, but will resume in two weeks with Operations with Fractions.

SOCIAL STUDIES- We finished up Unit 1 in our Missouri History books, and completed the review with friends this week. We did not get to testing over it this week, because of our focus on School of Economics. We will test over this material in class next Friday. We will do all the studying and practicing for it during the school day. Thank you!

SCHOOL of ECONOMICS- Shops met and they filled out our Job Supply Lists and Loan Applications this week, figuring out how much we needed to spend on supplies, paychecks, taxes, and interest! It was very eye-opening. We finished up shops signs and passports. We also began our first pricing guides that will aid us on our trip!

SPECIAL CLASSES

Art- We finished up our Special Moments paintings. We wrote about these too, and attached them to our paintings.

P.E.- We worked on jump roping skills!

Music- We practiced singing some our songs for our upcoming Spring Musical.

Writing- We learned some different forms of poetry, including acrostics.

Computer Class- We worked on publishing our Very Important Day writings.