4th Grade Info
December 2 - 6, 2024
Our emails are below.
Please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Grant
Mrs. Martin
Mrs. Steele
CLICK HERE to join the 4th Grade Facebook Page!
4th Grade Team
At O. C. Taylor, we LOVE you. We think you're children are GGGRRRRREAT! 💙🧡
STAAR Dates!
Please note the following dates for our STAAR Interim and STAAR tests coming up in January and April. Please refrain from scheduling appointments & vacations on these dates.
January 23rd (Thursday) - ELAR Interim
January 29th (Wednesday) - Math Interim
April 9th (Wednesday) - ELAR STAAR
April 29th (Tuesday) - Math STAAR
Sky Ranch Payment
Our annual Sky Ranch adventure will be Monday, March 24-Wednesday, March 26, 2024. We will spend three days and two nights at the East Texas camp. The cost is $230.00 per student and $206.00 per parent chaperone. There will be a special informational meeting before Open House on March 6th where you will receive a packet with all the details.
A bright yellow paper was sent home in your child's GREAT Tiger folder on Friday 11/1 with information on Sky Ranch payment dates. An email was sent on Friday 11/1 with detailed information as well! Please read through the information from the paper and email and note the due dates and payment options.
Curriculum
🧮 Math - We will begin the week by taking our iReady Middle of Year Math Benchmark on Monday & Tuesday. We will then continue with Unit 4: Multiplication & Division by learning how to divide using standard algorithm. In 4th grade we have 1 digit divisors and up to 4 digit dividends. ★★Please continue to have your child work on their multiplication/division facts every night!!
★Note: Unit 4: Multiplication & Division TEKS Check is scheduled for Wed. 12/18.
🧪 Science - In Science this week, the students will focus on reviewing for their second Science TEKS Check. The assessment will be over Unit 3: Structures and Traits and Unit 4: Energy Flow within Ecosystems. The Science TEKS Check will be on Wednesday, December 4th.
🌏 Social Studies - In Social Studies, the students will continue learning about the events leading up to the Texas Revolution. They will learn about several significant individuals who played an important part in Texas history.
📚 Reading: What a great time we had listening and learning about the Beatles last week. The Beatlemania took over the classroom and great conversations filled the air. I have loved hearing how kids went home and contined to play their music and provide moments of nostalgia for you too! In this next selection, students will learn to recognize the features of informational text, monitor and clarify their understanding of the text, identify compare and contrast text structure, and recognize text and graphic features.
We will be taking the i Ready Middle of Year Benchmark testing
Wednesday December 4th-Friday December 6th. (Small chunks each day)
BOOK CLUBS: Students have their next book club book! Please make sure your student is reading nightly and staying on top of due dates for their discussions. They are always welcome to read ahead too.
December 4th- Discussion 2
LIBRARY DAY December 6th
✏️ Writing: Students will be working on 2 tasks in writing:
Analyzing poetry to write an opinion piece. They will make a claim and provide text evidence from the poem to support it with reasoning. We'll be chunking this writing as it will be their first extended written response in 4th grade!
Take a look at their Persuasive writing activity for December! We will practice organizing details, creating strong sentences to show descriptive writing for their house and persuasive word choice.
✏️4th Grade Wish List
As needs arise in our classrooms, we will put them here. We really appreciate your support for us and our students!
Grant - None at this time
Martin - aluminum foil - 2 boxes (doesn't have to be the good stuff)
Steele - None at this time
Thank you so much for contributing to our classrooms!
EVERY NIGHT: Practice multiplication and division facts 10-15 minutes.
Have your child show you how to solve for the following product using standard algorithm and an area model!
74 x 36
We want the students to read for at least 20 minutes or more every night. This is the only reading homework we require!
BOOK CLUB #2 coming soon!
Students are working on an album cover that represents themselves! What are the "songs" of their lives?😀
They are welcome to work on it over the break! Please look here for the expectations: My Album Cover
4th Grade Specific Dates:
Thursday 12/19 - 8:30 Taylor Tiger Holiday Musical
Friday 12/20 - 10:45 Holiday Parties
*March 6th - Sky Ranch Meeting @ 5 (before Open House)
*March 24 - March 26 - Sky Ranch Field Trip
Repeated Information
🎧Headphones
Please have your child bring a pair of headphones with them daily. Students use headphones frequently to complete various activities and assessments.
Chromebooks
🔌 💻 Parents, please remind your student to charge their Chromebook every night.
Yearbooks on Sale
You can order a yearbook and create an ad/ dedication page online at yearbookordercenter.com. Our order number for O.C. Taylor is 17833.
We are offering both softcover and hardcover yearbooks this year!
Last day to order an ad/ dedication page is March 15th.
Last day to pre-order a yearbook is April 12th.
Parent Observer in Canvas
Some of you were wondering how you can become a "Parent Observer" in Canvas, so we wanted to provide that information. Please CLICK HERE to read an article on the process. This will provide you with step by step instructions and screenshots. NOTE: You will need to do it when your child is available to login to their Canvas account for a code. If you have any issues, you can click on the "Submit a Request" at the end of the article.
Skyward Notifications
For those of you who would like to know when new grades are posted, you can CLICK HERE for a short video on how to turn on your notification. You can also check out the Skyward Blog for step by step instructions in word format.
Recorders for Music
It is time for our 4th graders to order a recorder! Please click this link and complete the order by Sunday, October 20. EVERY 4th grade student must have a recorder and a Recorder Karate book.When you click the link, select MUSIC, then OCT Recorders (on the left hand side). Your child can order a recorder and a book for $7.00 (make sure you choose the color of your recorder) or a book by itself (if you already have a recorder) for $4.00. Please let me know if you have any questions. bethany.vencill@gcisd.net
Absences
A phone call is not required for absences, please email Paola Cervantes (paola.cervantes@gcisd.net) to notify the front office.
Lunch
Lunch for fourth grade is from 12:20-12:50. Don’t forget to set up a lunch account for your child in the cafeteria. We will use our "Forget Me Not" system again this year. If a student forgets his/ her lunch, parents may bring it to school before lunchtime. Please leave it on the shelf in the lobby (labeled with the student's name). Teachers will remind students to check the shelf before lunch.
Snacks
We invite your child to bring a healthy snack to school each day. The snack needs to be something that is not messy and does not require silverware. We are going to be eating and working at the same time. Any snack that contains candy is not considered healthy. A few suggestions are: goldfish, cheerios, pretzels, grapes, raisins, carrots, etc. Your child’s snack must also be NUT-FREE.
Curriculum Night
Thank you to all of the family members that were able to make it out to curriculum night last Thursday. If you were not able to make it, please CLICK HERE to review the presentation. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher.
Student Absences
If your student is absent for any reason, please email the following people:
your child's teacher
copy: paola.cervantes@gcisd.net and elissa.faught@gcisd.net
Arrival
Students report directly to the classroom starting at 7:25. The tardy bell is at 7:40 a.m..
Ride Changes
If you find your child must go home a different way than planned, please notify the office by a phone call by at least 2:00 p.m. Teachers and our front office staff do not always have access to email or are busy teaching or helping others. A phone call is required. Sometimes we have only one person in the front office, so we want to provide ample time to be able to meet your needs. When making ride changes, picking up students for appointments and absences, please email both Gene Guinane (gene.guinane@gcisd.net) and Paola Cervantes (paola.cervantes@gcisd.net) in case one of us is out of the office.
Pick up Reminder
Students should be promptly picked up after school at 3:00. We appreciate your efforts to be on time to pick up your child. Finally, when dropping off or picking up your child, please pull your car all the way down to the end of the line. Duty personnel will send your child down to your car. This keeps the traffic flowing. Don’t forget your School Safe ID Number. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe.
Communication
Please feel free to contact your homeroom teacher if you have any concerns or questions. We are happy to meet in person, call or email. We want to help immediately with any issues that arise.
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