Room 204 Update February 9, 2014 Spring Street School Mrs.

Liportos class

General Information Happy early Valentines Day to you all! I am lucky to be able to spend a portion of each day with your little Valentines. Our party will be on Friday from 1:00-2:15. Students that are bringing in valentines for the class should be sure to bring in one for each student. They can included treats (such as stickers, pencils, tattoos, etc.) but should not include any candy, even to take home. I know our room mother, Allison Galvin, and all her helpers have planned a great party for the students. Thank you, in advance, for helping to create such a fun celebration for the kids. The fourth graders across the district will be having their mock MCAS Long Composition in the next two weeks. Spring Streets will be taking place this Tuesday. It will be a very long day, so the kids should plan on getting a good nights sleep on Monday! Also, due to the Mock Long Composition on Tuesday, our music class will be on MONDAY this weekstudents should remember to bring their recorders (the secret number this week is 22, in honor of the 22nd Olympic Winter Games). Tennis ball cans will be going home this week to each student. The PTO is

asking for families to fill their can with treats that would be appropriate for either a boy or a girl (more detailed information will be coming home in the SSS Link this week). If your family chooses not to participate, please return the empty can to class so it can be reused. All students should return their can, whether empty or full, by Friday, February 28th. IMPORTANT DATES *Mock Long Composition, Tuesday, February 11, 2014 *Valentines Day Party- Friday, Feb. 14, 1:00-2:15 *MCAS Long Composition Tuesday, Mar. 18 *MCAS English Language Arts Tuesday, Mar. 25 and Wednesday, Mar. 26 *MCAS Math Tuesday, May 13Wednesday, May 14 Homework The Safety Plan assignment that Mrs. McDonald sent home on Thursday will be due THIS Thursday. Your student will need some time to sit down and discuss this with you and then both you and your fourth grader need to sign the back of the paper once it is filled out. There will not be progress reports going home this Friday. Please contact me by email with any questions or concerns. Writing Early this week we will finish the

final drafts of our informational writing before taking the Mock Long Composition on Tuesday. Later in the week we will transition back into persuasive writing and look at some examples of well formatted essays. Language Arts Our schedule is going to be busy this week due to visits from Clara Barton on Thursday, parties, mock long composition, Egg Drop, etc. It is because of this that we will spend the time this week just reviewing what weve learned about open response writing. The students will practice this skill in groups and then critique each others work. Math Fractions are still our focus. Well work on converting between improper and mixed numbers as well as adding and subtracting fractions. I found a great site that has TONS of fraction games for students to practice their skills: http://classroom.jcschools.net/basic/math-fract.html Math Club this Tuesday will be all about fractions! All are welcome at 8am. EVERYDAY MATH FAMILY LETTERS on-line address:
http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4 th-grade/view-family-letters/

They can also print the Study Links from the Everyday Math Online site.: www.everydaymathonline.com Social Studies- from Mrs. Luby The South Regions economic activities and natural resources will be our focus this week. We have also begun reviewing states and capitals of the region flashcards will be going home on Tuesday to practice for the quiz on March 6. Check out http://sheppardsoftware.com/web_games. htm for states and capitals practice. Science This is going to be a very fun and exciting week in science. The kids will be participating in the fourth grades annual Egg Drop! Their task will be to build something to put around a raw egg so that it will survive a drop to the floor. We will be working on this project in class this week and then performing a class drop on Thursday. Those eggs that survive the initial round will be dropped from a higher height on Friday morning. Be sure to check in with your inventor on Friday afternoon to see if they cracked under pressure! UPCOMING INVENTION CONVENTION ASSIGNMENT DATES: !"#$%&'()'*+$,+$-''./'*+0,+$1'2344' *+0,+$5/+'6/+0,+$5/+'737'8'9:4;#< Happy Birthday!!! February Birthdays: There are no student birthdays in Feb.

If you cannot access them, please let me know. If your student forgets to bring home the Study Link for homework, they can be printed from the following site: http://www.mrnale.com/StudyLinks_Grade _4.htm

*Specials*
MUSIC: Tuesday 10:45-11:25 AM ART: Wednesday, 11:25-12:05 PM Health: Thursday 9:15-9:55 AM CHORUS: Friday 10:45-11:25 AM PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Friday 2L25-3:05 PM MEDIA: Every Other Wednesday, 2:45-3:00 PM

As always, your questions/comments are welcome. Please send me an email or a note to school. Kristen Liporto