4th Grade Info
January 1-January 5, 2024
Our emails are below.
Please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns.
melanie.grant@gcisd.net
holly.martin@gcisd.net
cynthia.rutter@gcisd.net
kimberly.steele@gcisd.net
CLICK HERE to join the 4th Grade Facebook Page!
4th Grade Team
The 4th grade team would like to wish you and your family happy holidays. Thank you for your outpouring of kind words, gifts, and treats. They are grately appreciated. We hope that you enjoy your time with family and friends over the winter break. See you in 2024!
Parents, please remind your student to charge their Chromebook at night. We have several who do not charge their Chromebooks at night and come to school with a dead device. This causes them delays in getting started with their work.
Curriculum
Math - After the break, we will begin our next unit of study learning about fractions. We will begin this new unit by learning how to relate fractions to decimals. Please have your child review decimal place value to help build confidence in relating decimals and fractions.
Math Homework:
Homework will resume on Friday, January 5th and will be due on Thursday, January 11th before bedtime.
Science - In Science, the students will learn about slow changes to earth. These changes are formed by weathering, erosion, and deposition. We will learn a song and motions to help remember the definitions of each. Ask your child to look for signs of weathering, erosion, and deposition around your neighborhood.
Reading- In reading, the students will review Central Idea, Text Structure, Author's Craft, and Elements of Poetry. These are skills we learned before so now we are digging deeper into their meaning. We'll complete higher-level thinking questions on these skills.
The students have a district Interium Reading test on January 17. You can help out at home by reading daily with your child. Ask them questions while they read to you, you read to them, or after they read silently.
Click HERE for the Family Letter about Module 6 in ELA
Writing: The students will write an essay about the effective use of Figurative Language in an author's text. We will continue to write weekly about what we read in class and our Book Club books.
Social Studies: The students will learn about Texas when it was its own country. I've mentioned this to the students, but if you ever get to Austin, the Bob Bullock Museum, (right behind the capitol building) shows Texas history is a very kid-friendly environment. Also, we just finished talking about missions and the Alamo which would be a great place to visit with your child.
Upcoming Events
December 18th - January 3rd - NO SCHOOL for winter break
January 4th - School resumes
January 15th - No School for MLK Day
January 17th - Reading Benchmark (NO appointments please)
January 18th - Math Benchmark (NO appointments please)
Math Homework
NO HOMEWORK UNTIL 2024!! Homework will resume on Friday, January 5th and will be due on Thursday, January 11th before bedtime.
Reading Homework
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
Book Club Coming in January
Their group is relying on them to get to the page required on the date listed on the bookmark. They all have a book and a bookmark that tells them what page to read and when. If they lose their bookmark, I've asked them to let me know so I can get them a new one. They also have a gallon-sized baggie to keep the book safe. On these dates, we will have book discussions and every member of the book club is relying on their group to get to that page.
Please let Mrs. Martin or Mrs. Rutter know if you have any questions or concerns about the books your child is reading.
Library
Next Library Date: January 12
We will go to the library every other Friday. Please make sure your child sends their library books to school on our library days. They will always be encouraged to check out a good quality chapter book which Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Rutter can help them find. We will also occasionally have them check out additional books that we want them to read. They are allowed to check out 3 books.
2500 Page Book Challenge
Your child is invited to read 2500 pages this year! They will keep track of the books and pages they read in their reading composition book. If they read at home, you can write down the pages and send them to school. I'll help your child get credit for all the reading at home. All reading at school counts as well! We will keep track on a punch card they keep at school. When they finish 2500 pages, they will pick a BIG prize. There are various ideas we discussed! If this is not something your child would like to do, I will not pressure them to read 2500 pages. If they are reading for at least 20 minutes a night, it will amaze you at how many pages they can read!
I do have several other reading challenges they can complete after the 2500-page challenge.
REMEMBER, ALL READING COUNTS!
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 - highlighters and puffy peppermints
Rutter - Puffy Peppermints and/or Wintergreen Lifesaver Mints
Steele - None at this time
OCT Yearbooks
OCT Yearbooks are on sale!
You can order a yearbook and create an Ad/ dedication page online at yearbookordercenter.com. The order number for O. C. Taylor is 17833.
Last day to purchase and create an Ad/dedication page is March 8th.
Last day to pre-order a yearbook is April 13th.
Headphones
Please have your child bring a pair of headphones with them daily. Students use headphones frequently to complete various activities and assessments.
REPEATED ITEMS
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.
Support Mrs. Martin's Daughter
Please support Mrs. Martin's daughter! She is in the U.S. Navy and her unit would love some items to cheer them up at Thanksgiving! Please bring new donated items to a 5th grade classrsoom before Thanksgiving Break.
Mechanical pencils, black pens, highlighters, spiral notebooks, post-its, decks of cards, small games (UNO), Wal-Mart gift cards, Chick-fil-A gift cards, Amazon gift cards, chapstick, trail mix, laundry soap, dryer sheets, toothpaste, CLIF or KIND bars, hard candy (no chocolate), mints, ground coffee
**Sponsored by 5th Grade**
Grace Donations
GRACE Food Pantry is in need of CEREAL. Please help by dropping off cereal, oatmeal, and breakfast bars into donation baskets located in your grade level hallway. The grade with the most donations will earn an extra recess!
OCT Yearbooks
OCT Yearbooks are on sale!
You can order a yearbook and create an Ad/ dedication page online at yearbookordercenter.com. The order number for O. C. Taylor is 17833.
Last day to purchase and create an Ad/dedication page is March 8th.
Last day to pre-order a yearbook is April 13th.
Purchase Recorders
PAST DUE--It is time for our 4th graders to order a recorder! If you have not already done so, please click this link, and complete the order by Friday, Oct. 20. 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. The link will prompt you to pay for your instrument/book to complete your order. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Lunch
Lunch for fourth grade is from 11:40-12:10. 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.
