God's Most Amazing Creatures...: Happy Weekend! :)

Hello, parents! We have had another great week in 4^th Grade Land! We have A LOT of things coming up! Please read below!

*MID-TERMS are coming home today. Please check your child’s folder. If you are concerned about a low grade, please make sure your child checks Sycamore to find missing assignments. He or she have been reminded of them! Thank you!

*Next week, (April 17th-April 21st) we will have ACHIEVEMENT TESTING in grades 4th-8th. 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, Science, and Missouri History fun next week!

How can you best prepare them for success?

• 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, says bschooladmissionsformula.com. 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.

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. (This is a GREAT time to read that book report book!) Technology is NOT allowed as an option.

-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!

*FUNDRAISER--Just a reminder that we are selling roast-to-order gourmet coffee AND tea through Giving Bean as a fundraiser. Order forms were sent home this week. Giving Bean is a gourmet roaster with a variety of delicious whole bean and ground coffees, K-cups, gourmet cocoa, chai... artisan blended teas, and shortbread cookies. We are encouraging every student to try and sell 5 items.

Here is the fundraiser schedule:

Start Date: 4/11/2023

Order Due Date: 4/21/2023 - orders dues in

Product Delivery Date: 7-12 business days after orders placed.

Please mark your calendars!

*END-OF-THE-YEAR FIELD TRIP-Tuesday, May 9^th- We will be going to Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, McCoy Park, and Burr Oak Woods. We will also need to pack a lunch/drink! We will need drivers and parent helpers. Please see the sign-up genius for more details: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4DADAB2DA7F58-endoftheyear2

Thank you!

*4TH GRADE’S FAMOUS MISSOURIAN LIVING MUSUEM is on Thursday, May 11^th. It will be from 9:30-10:30 in the 4-G’s area outside of the school hallway. Please come, see, and learn! We will be working on this at school, and will be ready! Students are reading books about famous Missourians. They will be working on Biography Lap Books, and will be preparing to “become” that person at our museum, reciting or reading facts about their famous Missourian. Please ask your kiddo what his or her plan is for an outfit. I am bringing some things I have at home, and some have said they have things as well. Please don’t stress or go and buy anything! Together, we should be able to come up with something! Thank you for your help! This is a fun event to look forward to!

* I have talked to our (many) kiddos that have SUMMER BIRTHDAYS in here, and we will celebrate these students on two days, separating the boys and girls. Parents of these kiddos, if you choose to, please just send in a small snack on these days, and we will have of two days of birthdays feasts! 😉 Thank you! Girls-Tuesday, May 4th; Boys-Thursday, May 11th

Here is what we have been up to this week:

RELIGION- This week, we have learned all about the Lord’s Supper, and how Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples. We discussed what AMAZING gifts we receive when we partake in the Lord’s Supper, and how we can share this Good News with others. We also talked about ways that we can celebrate the many gifts God has bestowed upon us. Next week, we will have Religion in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

We will not have MEMORY next week. The verses that were scheduled for next week, will be recited the week of April 24^th. Thank you!

LANGUAGE ARTS- This week, we dove head first into our new literature study book Harry S. Truman: Thirty-Third President of the United States. We have loved learning all about Harry, and his relationships with his family members, as well as how he was as a child. We will continue reading this book in the afternoons next week. We have also discussed chronological order this week, and using context clues. There will not be SPELLING WORDS next week!

We are also reading the book, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt in DEAR Time. They are really enjoying this fantasy story! This morning, the kiddos were asked to make a pros/cons chart on their journals about living forever. This was so enlightening! I LOVE the way their minds work! My favorite responses were: PROS-“You get to see your great, great, great grandkids!” “I will get to see flying cars!” “I will definitely witness Jesus coming again!” CONS-“Missing loved ones when they pass away,” “being lonely,” “and not experiencing heaven right away…” The cons were my thoughts too, but I was reminded by these amazing kiddos that Jesus IS coming again, and taking ALL believers to heaven someday! I love my job. ;)

MATH- We have been learning how to change fractions into decimals, how to find equivalent fractions and decimals, and how to solve real-world problems with decimals. ALL students have earned their Multiplication Ice Cream Party! We will schedule this for sometime in May! :)

SCIENCE- We have learned about vertebrates and invertebrates this week, and how to classify them by their symmetry. We reviewed what mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds are. We also discussed native species to Missouri. We will learn more about some of these animals next week!

SPECIAL CLASSES:

ART-We studied Missouri’s state insect, the honeybee, and created drawings of bees and their hives this week. These will be on display when we have our Living Museum!

MUSIC-We practiced songs for our Spring Program. We have also continued rehearsing with the band.

WRITING- We read a fictional story about a princess that lives in a bog. There were so many native animals and plants in her bog, yet developers wanted to come in and destroy some of her habitat for new houses and shiny buildings. Students formed groups to write letters to the princess trying to dissuade her or persuade her into selling her bogs. We will share these in Readers’ Theatre next week!

P.E.-We worked on track and field events—the turbo javelin throw and relay races!

COMPUTERS-We read about honeybees, Harry S. Truman, and published our princess letters!