Another great week in 4th grade down! I was so impressed with your students as we went over the Old Testament stories in Bible. They had great knowledge of these stories, and shared good insight on how we could apply some of the lessons to our own lives. I thank God for these moments, and pray that your students always keep scripture written on their hearts.

In Reading, we will be continuing to work through our first official novel study of the year, 'Shiloh'. In Math, we will be continuing our second unit of the year, and will be learning about more advanced multiplication. Students are also working on Timed tests for fact fluency, see more notes on that below. For Social Studies this week, we will be continuing our second unit which is about California's early history. In Science, students will be exploring the Animal Kingdom and the amazing animal adaptations God has created. In Bible, we will be finishing our 3rd unit of the year, which spans many of the famous stories from the Old Testament. A study guide will be sent home prior to their test on Wednesday.

THIS Friday, September 26th, is R.E.D. Friday at Hanford Christian!  R.E.D. stands for Remembering Everyone Deployed, and wearing RED on a Friday reminds us to be mindful of the deployed and the sacrifices their families make. We have so many amazing military families at Hanford Christian, and we want to thank and support them! On Friday , the entire school is invited to wear the color red to pray for, support, and remember all people in the military who are deployed. Students will receive a spirit wear coupon for dressing in or wearing red (bandana, socks, pants, anything!).  HCS military families will be acknowledged and prayed for at Prayer and Pledge, and the National Anthem will be played. We look forward to showing support and gratitude to HCS military families and those deployed around the world!

We are excited for our upcoming field trip to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa on Thursday, October 16th! We are still seeking parent drivers and chaperones to accompany us. If you're available to help, please let us know as soon as possible. 

*Wear tennis shoes on Tuesday and Thursday for PE 

*Bring binders to and from school each day

*Early Out on Wednesday, 1:30 Release

*RED Friday, Friday September 26th

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/Vocabulary tests will be given on Friday. In addition to their packet, 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 30 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.