We are entering the first full week of school! I have greatly enjoyed getting to meet both your students and yourselves. What a sweet group of students! 

We will continue to work on developing routines, and will be diving into 4th grade curriculum. This week in Bible, we will be learning about why we study the Bible, focusing on the development of writing in Bible times, and how specifically the Bible was written. In math, we will be focusing on Place Value and Number Relationships. In Reading, we will be reading and discussing 'Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing' by Judy Blume. Grammar will be a review of all 3rd grade concepts, while focusing on prepositions, verbs, and nouns. We will start learning about California's geography in Social Studies, and doing a fun STEM team building project in Science. 

Specials are starting this week! What an exciting time for students. We are off to a great start! Here is a note from Mrs. Banta about music class this year!

*Wear tennis shoes on Tuesday and Thursday for PE 

*Bring binders to and from school each day

*Return form sent home on the first day of school (this was given to the eldest sibling in the family)

*Chapel, parents are welcome! Wednesday, August 20th

*Picture Day is on Wednesday, August 20th

*Early Out - Wednesday, August 20th, 1:30 PM

This week, please have students show you their binder and planner each day! This will help them get into the habit of checking it themselves daily throughout the year. Spelling will begin this week.

In 4th Grade, spelling will be done in 2 week units. The words are longer, and we study their meaning, Every 2 weeks, students will have a spelling and vocabulary test on the set of words. There is also a Quizlet link that they can use at home to study, linked here. 

This year, we are really focusing on making sure that students know their math facts well, so we will be taking a timed test each day in class. Each day will focus on a different operation. Each quarter, the kids have a goal of how many facts they should be able to complete in 1 minute. For quarter 1, that goal is 35 problems in a minute. This goal will change each quarter. If your child reaches the goal, the next week they will move on to the next fact. 

Here is how the students will be graded for Quarter 1:

1. A grade will be put in the grade book for each timed test they do. This grade will be out of 10 points. 

10/10- Students who get 45 or more questions correct in 1 minute.

9/10- Students who get 36-44 questions correct in 1 minute.

8/10- Students who reach their goal and get 35 questions correct.

7/10- Students who get 30- 34 questions correct.

6/10- Students who get less than 30 questions correct. 

2. Students who do not reach the goal will have to retake this timed test on Friday or the next week until they pass this fact. Students who feel they could improve their score may also retest these days to improve their grade. After a student retests, their grade will be updated in FACTS.

If you notice a low grade in one of their time tests, please practice with your child at home! We made flash cards in class. Multiplication.com is also a great resource that has timed tests in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that are easy to practice with. Please let me know if you have any questions about this grading system.