Week of May 11, 2026
Week of May 11, 2026
Embedded Files
Thank you very much for all of the love and appreciation last week. It was a great teacher appreciation week! I am so lucky to be able to teach your kids. Thank you for sharing them with me!
Please remember to send a sack lunch with your student and have them wear their gold Alward t-shirt for our Music field trip on Tuesday. We go to the beautiful Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon. We leave Alward at 9:15 and return around 2:00
In case you missed it, here is the message from 5/6 @ Georgetown:
Hello Families of Future 56G Fifth Grade Students,
The 5/6 Building @ Georgetown is excited to welcome our new fifth-grade students for the 26-27 school year! To help with this transition, we are planning two orientation/tour evenings for students and their parents/guardians on Tuesday, May 26, and Monday, June 1. On these evenings, we will have two 45-minute tours starting at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Please sign up for one time slot at this link.
During your visit, we will provide tours of the building that will give an overview of what fifth grade will look like at 56G. To help answer some general questions that you may have at this time, check out this short presentation.
We would also like to invite incoming and/or new parents/guardians to 56G for our last PTC meeting on Tuesday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m. At this meeting, you will get to hear about year-end events, open board positions, and planning for the 26-27 school year. We hope to see you there!
We look forward to welcoming you all to the 5/6 Building @ Georgetown!
In partnership,
Melanie McClure, Principal
This week:
Math: Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals, & Multidigit Multiplication, Home Connections pages 143-148
Reading: Reading Like a Fan: Author Study, end-of-year STAR Reading assessment
Writing: Literary essay final, due Friday
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar practice (no test)
Social Studies: Economics, testing Friday
Important Dates
May 12 - Music Field Trip
May 22-25 - Memorial Day weekend (no school)
May 27 - Market Day
May 29 - Grade 4 celebration field trip
June 1 - Field Day
June 3 - Egg drop
June 5 - Last day of school
Week of May 4, 2026
Week of May 4, 2026
We have the Math M-STEP test this Wednesday and Thursday. Thank you for helping your student be their best!
There is a ½ day this Friday, May 8.
In case you missed the message in February, here it is again:
I am sharing the link for an internet safety workbook for kids. Fortunately, at the elementary level, we do not see much activity with social media. However, the days when your child will ask for a phone and social media are rapidly approaching. This workbook is something I wish I had done with my kids before they got phones. As a parent, it is difficult to navigate. The district does not recommend this, but I thought I would share in case you are interested!
This week:
Math: M-STEP Wednesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 7
Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals, & Multidigit Multiplication
Home Connections pages 139-42
Reading: Reading Like a Fan: Author Study
Writing: Literary essays
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar study
Social Studies: Economics
Important Dates
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip
May 22-25 - Memorial Day weekend (no school)
May 27 - Market Day
May 29 - Grade 4 celebration field trip
June 1 - Field Day
June 3 - Egg drop
June 5 - Last day of school
Week of April 27, 2026
Week of April 27, 2026
By this point in the school year, the goal is for your student to be on the Jupiter or Saturn reading log. Please work with them to ensure they are reading at home as often as possible!
It's time to order your student's 2026 Field Day shirt for the district-wide 4th and 5th-grade Field Day held on June 1 at Eagle Stadium! 4th-grade boys should plan to wear sapphire (teal blue), and 4th-grade girls should wear lime (green). Students do not need to purchase a t-shirt, but please be sure your student can wear something as close to the designated color as possible. Orders are Due April 30.
Fourth-graders can get a FREE pass to federal parks, lands, and waters! You can learn more about how it works HERE.
This week:
Math: Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals, & Multidigit Multiplication, Home Connections pages 133-138
Reading: Reading Like a Fan, author study
Writing: Literary Essay writing
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar review (no quiz)
Important Dates:
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip (sack lunch order due Monday, May 4)
May 22-25 - Memorial Day weekend (no school)
May 27 - Market Day
May 29 - Grade 4 celebration field trip
June 1 - Field Day
June 3 - Egg drop
June 5 - Last day of school
Week of April 20, 2026
Week of April 20, 2026
We take the ELA M-STEP test on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Thank you for helping your student get good rest and eat healthy for the next couple of days so they can do their best! If your student has their own pair of headphones, please make sure they bring them for the MSTEP! If not, the school will provide a pair.
It's time to order your student's 2026 Field Day shirt for the district-wide 4th and 5th-grade Field Day held on June 1 at Eagle Stadium! 4th-grade boys should plan to wear sapphire (teal blue), and 4th-grade girls should wear lime (green). Students do not need to purchase a t-shirt, but please be sure your student can wear something as close to the designated color as possible. Orders are Due April 30.
There is an annual PTC meeting on April 21, 2026 @ 6:30 p.m. They will be voting on the PTC Board for the 2026-2027 school year and updating bylaws. You can find the current bylaws, the exact language of the new bylaws, and a layman's terms of the new bylaws on the Alward PTC website.
This week:
Math: Math test today!
On deck: Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals, & Multidigit Multiplication, Home Connections pages
Reading: ELA M-STEP Testing (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Writing: Literary Essay writing
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar review (no test)
Important Dates:
April 21 - PTC Meeting @ 6:30
April 21-22 - ELA M-STEP
April 24 - Wear PURPLE to honor Autism Acceptance Month
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip
May 22-25 - Memorial Day weekend (no school)
May 27 - Market Day
May 29 - Grade 4 celebration field trip
June 1 - Field Day
June 3 - Egg drop
June 7 - Last day of school
Week of April 13, 2026
Week of April 13, 2026
I hope you had a nice break! I look forward to getting back into a routine and seeing everyone at school today!
This week:
Math: Unit 6: Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions
TEST next Monday (Review packet coming home Friday).
Reading: Close reading & ELA vocabulary review
Writing: Literary essays
Spelling/Grammar: Grammar and morphology practice
Important Dates:
April 21-22 - ELA M-STEP
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip
May 22-25 - Memorial Day weekend (no school)
May 29 - Grade 4 celebration field trip
June 1 - Field Day
June 5 - Last day of school
Week of March 30, 2026
Week of March 30, 2026
Thank you to the parent chaperones who helped with our field trip last week. The day was a great success. I added a lot of pictures … enjoy!
This week:
Math: Unit 6: Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions
*Home Connections pages 127-130.
Reading & Writing:Biography presentations and celebrations
Students will be recording their biography presentations. They will (eventually) be posted on Class Dojo!
Spelling: None this week :)
Important Dates:
March 31 - Wear stretchy pants
April 2 - April 12 - Spring break
April 21-22 - ELA M-STEP
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip
June 1 - Field Day
Week of March 23, 2026
Week of March 23, 2026
We have the GRPM field trip on Wednesday! Students should remember:
Bring a sack lunch (a disposable bag is best)
Wear their gold HPS Eagles/Alward t-shirt
Wear comfortable shoes
*No extra money or electronics allowed.
This week, we will have fun decorating our door for March is Reading Month. We plan to use one of the books that we read for the book bracket as inspiration…stay tuned!
M-STEP dates for your calendars:
❖ ELA: Tuesday, 4/21 and Wednesday, 4/22
❖ Math: Wednesday, 5/6 and Thursday, 5/7
This week:
Math: Unit 6: Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions
*Home Connections pages 123-126
Reading: Biography study
Writing: Biography writing
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar practice
Our focus this week are words that begin with the prefix ex-.
Here is our word list
Here are the activities we will be completing (feel free to make a copy for at home practice!)
SEL: The blue-print conference (aka a problem-solving conversation)
Important Dates:
March 24 - Wear black
March 25 - Museum field trip, wear gold AES t-shirt
March 27 - Hat or headband day
March 31 - Wear stretchy pants
March 31 - VOTE on door decorating
April 2 - April 12 - Spring break
April 21-22 - ELA M-STEP
May 6-7- MATH M-STEP
May 12 - Music Field Trip
June 1 - Field Day
Week of March 16, 2026
Week of March 16, 2026
Students get to visit the book fair this week! We will LOOK on Tuesday and SHOP on Thursday. If you would like to set up an eWallet to pay for your students’ books, you can do that here (the money goes to your student, not the classroom).
Anyone who volunteered to chaperone the field trip received both a letter notifying them whether they will be needed or not. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help. I appreciate you and wish everyone could go!!
This week:
Math: Unit 6: Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions
*Home Connections pages 115-122
Reading: Biography study
Writing: Biography research and informational writing
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar practice
SEL: Focus on 3 skills/feelings: empathy, bullying, & envy
Important Dates:
March 16 - 20 - Scholastic book fair (eWallet available!)
March 17 - Green - St. Patrick’s Day
March 20 - Rock funky socks - World Down Syndrome Day
March 20 - Early dismissal
March 24 - Wear Black
March 25 - Museum field trip, wear your gold AES t-shirt
March 27 - Hat or Headband Day
March 31 - Wear Stretchy Pants
April 2 - April 12 - Spring Break
Week of March 9, 2026
Week of March 9, 2026
If your student needs a sack lunch, or if you are interested in chaperoning the museum field trip on Wednesday, March 25, please return the form(s) sent home on Friday. We can only allow 5 chaperones. Priority will be given to parents who have not yet been able to go on a field trip with their child and/or have not helped with class parties or other volunteer opportunities.
March is reading month! We have some fun activities and spirit days scheduled. This week is Coin Quest! From March 9–13, students can bring in spare change to help their class collect coins. The more coins collected, the more books we can add to classroom libraries!
This week:
Math: Unit 5 test this Monday!
On Deck:
Unit 6 - Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions
*Home Connections pages 111-114
Reading: Biography study
Writing: Biography research and informational writing
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology, spelling and grammar practice
Morphology/spelling lists will be sent home on Mondays. There will be both a morphology (word meaning) and spelling quiz on Friday.
Social Studies: Government/Civics
Important Dates:
March 9 - 13 - Coin Quest
March 10 - Neon Day
March 13 - Eagles Spirit Day
March 13 - Field trip lunch & chaperone forms due
March 16 - 20 - Scholastic book fair (eWallet available!)
March 17 - Green - St. Patrick’s Day
March 20 - Rock funky socks - World Down Syndrome Day
March 20 - Early dismissal
March 24 - Wear Black
March 25 - Museum field trip
March 27 - Hat or Headband Day
March 31 - Wear Stretchy Pants
April 2 - April 12 - Spring Break
Week of March 2, 2026
Week of March 2, 2026
Parent teacher conferences are this week Monday and Wednesday.
March is reading month! We have some fun activities and spirit days scheduled. The week of March 9 is a coin quest … stay tuned!
We have a busy spring! Check out the important dates listed at the bottom. I will be in touch about chaperones for the museum field trip.
This week:
Math: Unit 5: Geometry and measurement TEST on Thursday
*Home Connections pages 109-110
Reading: Biography unit of study
*February reading minutes are due tomorrow.
Writing: Historical fiction narrative writing assessment
Spelling/Grammar: Morphology and grammar practice
Important Dates:
March 2 & 4 - Conferences
March 3 - Workout Clothes Day
March 6 - Pajama Day
March 9 - Field trip lunch & chaperone information goes home
March 10 - Neon Day
March 13 - Eagles Spirit Day
March 13 - Field trip lunch & chaperone interest due
March 16 - 20 - Scholastic book fair
March 17 - Green - St. Patrick’s Day
March 20 - Rock funky socks - World Down Syndrome Day
March 20 - Early dismissal
March 24 - Wear Black
March 25 - Museum field trip
March 27 - Hat or Headband Day
March 31 - Wear Stretchy Pants
April 2 - April 12 - Spring Break
Week of February 23, 2026
Week of February 23, 2026
Mrs. Mucha sent out this message on Friday:
Hello Alward Families,
Spring is just around the corner, which means conferences are also almost here! Conferences will run from 4:00 pm-8:00 on Monday, March 2, and Wednesday, March 4. Please see the attached document for additional information and instructions for booking. We look forward to meeting with families to celebrate success and discuss areas of support.
Parent_Guardian_ Teacher Conferences March 2026.pdf
Thank you and take care,
Heidi Mucha
Please let me know if you do not see a time that works for you, so we can find one that does!
We have an early dismissal this Friday, February 27.
Please ensure that your student is reading at home for 15+ as often as possible! They should be filling out their reading log each time they do so. At this point in the school year, students should be on either the Earth (#4) or Mars log (#5). If your student is not yet there, please work with me to ensure they are reading at home to catch up. This is one of the best ways to improve reading skills!
This week:
Math: Unit 5: Geometry and Measurement
Home Connections pages 103-108
Reading: Biography Unit of Study
Writing: Finishing up historical fiction, then taking a "break" for extra spelling/morphology practice, as well as working on our writing about reading.
Spelling: Spelling and morphology practice
students WILL be taking a spelling quiz this friday. They will be recieving their list today (Monday).
Social Studies: Government/Civics
Week of February 16, 2026
Week of February 16, 2026
Between the bowling party & our valentines celebration, we had a blast last week! Stay tuned for more photos!
Conference sign-ups go live this Friday, February 20. Please let me know if you do not see a time that fits into your schedule so we can find a time that works for you. I can easily sneak in a couple of conferences before school, if needed!
The Kids Heart Challenge ends on 2/20. Over 1/2 of our class is registered, so we get a $25 gift card! If 3 or more students complete Finn’s Mission, our class gets another $25 Amazon gift card! Way to go!
This week:
Math: Unit 5: Geometry and measurement
*Home Connections pages 98-
Reading: wrapping up Historical Fiction book clubs
On deck: Biography Unit of Study
Writing: Historical Fiction Writing: Bend III, drafting a historical fiction story
Spelling/grammar: Grammar practice and morphology study
Social Studies: Government/Civics
Week of February 9, 2026
Week of February 9, 2026
I hope you were able to enjoy the extra-long weekend!
I am sharing the link for a recommended internet safety workbook for kids. Fortunately, at the elementary level, we do not see much activity with social media. However, the days when your child will ask for a phone and social media are rapidly approaching. The district does not recommend this, but I thought I would share in case you are interested!
Our bowling/pizza party is tomorrow afternoon! Please make sure your child does not have any appointments during this time, as it is extremely tricky (logistically) to sign your kid out from and picking them up from the bowling alley.
We will decorate Valentine’s Day boxes this week and celebrate on Friday. A class list of names went home with your student last week. Please remember that we are a nut-free classroom!
Please consider donating any items that could be used to decorate our boxes (stickers, craft paper, glitter glue, etc)!
The Kids Heart Challenge ends on 2/20. Over 1/2 of our class is registered, so we get a $25 gift card! If 3 or more students complete Finn’s Mission, our class gets another $25 Amazon gift card! Way to go!
This week:
Math: Unit 5: Geometry and measurement
*Home Connections pages 92-97
Reading: Historical Fiction book clubs: deepening interpretation through collaboration. End of unit book quiz and evaluating themes in our books.
Writing: Historical Fiction Writing: Bend III, drafting a historical fiction story
Spelling/grammar: Grammar focus, morphology study
Social Studies: Government/Civics
Week of February 2, 2026
Week of February 2, 2026
AES is participating in the Kids Heart Challenge. If 1/2 of our class registers, our class gets a $25 Amazon gift card! AND … if 3 or more students complete Finn’s Mission, our class gets another $25 Amazon gift card.
We will celebrate World Read Aloud Day by meeting virtually with an author on Wednesday, February 4.
Our pizza/bowling party from winning the canned food drive will be on February 12. Our Valentine’s Day party is on Friday, February 13. We are collecting donations for embellishments to decorate the Valentine’s Day boxes next week.
A reminder that there is NO SCHOOL next Monday, February 9 and Tuesday, February 10. Our next early dismissal is Friday, February 27.
This week:
Math: Unit 4 test this Tuesday!
Unit 5: Geometry and Measurement
*Home Connections pages 89-92
Reading: Historical Fiction book clubs: deepening interpretation through collaboration
Writing: Historical Fiction Writing: Bend III, drafting a historical fiction story: adding sensory details, a flashback, symbolism, and mood
Word Study: -ful and -less
Science: Built for Survival final project
Week of January 26, 2026
Week of January 26, 2026
Our pizza/bowling party from winning the canned food drive will be on February 12! Report cards will go home this Friday, January 30. Have a great week!
This week:
Math: Unit 4: Addition, Subtraction, & Measurement
Reading: Historical Fiction book clubs: deepening interpretation through collaboration
Writing: Prewriting and planning a plot: Historical Fiction narrative writing
Word Study: -ful and -less
Science: Built for Survival unit
Week of January 19, 2026
Week of January 19, 2026
Report cards will go home next Friday, January 30. Have a great week!
This week:
Math: Unit 4: Addition, Subtraction, & Measurement
*Home Connections pages 81-86
Reading: Historical Fiction book clubs: deepening interpretation through collaboration
Writing: Prewriting and planning a plot: Historical Fiction narrative writing
Word Study: -ly
Science: Built for Survival unit
Week of January 5, 2026
Week of January 5, 2026
Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the holiday and had some time to rest and relax. I am excited to see everyone and get back into the school routine!
Please have students bring their total December at-home reading minutes to school tomorrow. Students should continue to read 400+ at-home reading minutes for January. Any time spent on Study Island can also count toward January reading minutes.
This week, we will ease back into routine by writing goals, revisiting our class charter, and practicing reading stamina through the introduction of our next reading unit, Historical Fiction.
Fourth grade is collecting shoe boxes! We are asking each student to bring in 1 shoe box. Feel free to send in extras if you have them! We are going to make Valentine’s Day boxes in February❣️
This week:
Math: Unit 4: Addition, Subtraction, & Measurement
Reading: Historical Fiction Book Clubs
Writing: Narrative: Historical Fiction Writing
Word Study: -er/-est
Science: Built for Survival
Week of December 15, 2025
Week of December 15, 2025
We have a fun week ahead! For the concert on Tuesday, Mr. Barry is asking 3rd and 4th-grade students to be dropped off no earlier than 7:15. You should take your child’s coat with you. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Please do not save seats. There will be plenty of seating for everyone ☺️
Students should bring a pair of wrapped, fun, unisex holiday socks to exchange with a classmate by Thursday. We will do the exchange on Friday.
This Week:
Math: Unit 4 Math: Addition, Subtraction, & Measurement, Home Connections pages 69-72.
Reading: Extreme weather/natural disaster group research presentations are on Monday!
* Please remind your student to continue to document at-home reading throughout December and into January!
Writing: Opinion and persuasive writing
Word Study: er/or
Important Dates:
December 16 - Holiday program @ 7:30 p.m.
December 19 - Holiday party 12:30-1:30
December 19 - Sock exchange
December 20 - January 4 - Christmas Break
Week of December 8, 2025
Week of December 8, 2025
We will visit Santa’s Secret Shop on Tuesday! Please review the information and the shopping details that were sent home last week (green paper).
Our class will hold a fun SOCK EXCHANGE on Friday, December 19. Students should bring one pair of wrapped, unisex, funny/holiday socks. They can put them under our class tree anytime before 12/19.
If you are interested in learning how to ski or already ski & want a deal, check out goskimichigan.org. 4th & 5th graders can ski/snowboard for FREE at participating ski areas in Michigan with the Cold is Cool app!
This week:
Math: Unit 3: Exploring Fractions & Decimals, Final test on Wednesday!
Writing: personal essays
Word study: -er/-or
You can support your child by reviewing the weekly word study list and encouraging them to notice patterns in words, discussing how words are built, and exploring how adding a prefix or suffix can change a word’s meaning.
Reading: Research: extreme weather & natural disasters research projects
Important Dates:
December 9 - Santa's Secret Shop
December 12 - Early dismissal
December 16 - Holiday Program
December 19 - Holiday party
December 19 - Sock exchange
December 20 - January 5 - Break
Week of December 1, 2025
Week of December 1, 2025
Our class will hold a SOCK EXCHANGE on Friday, December 19. Students should bring one FUN pair of wrapped, unisex, funny/holiday socks. We will play a game and exchange them on the last day before break.
I will do one more Scholastic book order in case anyone wants to order books for Christmas. Please place all orders before Friday, December 5, at 9:00 a.m., so we can be sure that they arrive before December 19.
If you are interested in learning how to ski or already ski & want a deal, check out goskimichigan.org. 4th & 5th graders can ski/snowboard for FREE at participating ski areas in Michigan with the Cold is Cool app!
This week:
Math: Exploring fractions and decimals - Home Connections pages 65 - 68
*Math test on Fractions & Decimals will be next week.
Writing: Personal and persuasive essays
Word Study: none this week :)
Reading: Researching and presenting on extreme weather & natural disasters
Important Dates:
December 1 - November reading minutes are due
December 8-11 - Santa's Secret Shop (exact date/time coming soon!)
December 16 - Holiday Program
December 19 - Holiday party
December 19 - Sock exchange
December 20 - January 5 - Break
Week of November 24, 2025
Week of November 24, 2025
It was great seeing everyone at conferences last week. Thank you for your continued support and partnership. I appreciate you! These are the extra practice websites and homework I recomend for supporting your student at home:
Xtramath website, timestables.com (fact fluency)
Study Island website (math or ELA, M-STEP style questions, state standards)
Home Connections workbook/math pages (correlates to our math curriculum)
Thank you SO MUCH for your support during the canned food drive! Our class was able to donate an astounding number of items (over 500 points worth)! We donated more than any other class in the school and because of this, our class earned a pizza party and bowling field trip 😁 (date TBD).
Our class will hold a SOCK EXCHANGE on Friday, December 19. Students should bring one FUN pair of wrapped, unisex, funny/holiday socks. We will play a game and exchange them on the last day before break.
This week:
Math: Exploring fractions and decimals, no Home Connections pages
Writing: Personal essays
Word Study: None this week :)
Reading: reading nonfiction with purpose
Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters
Week of November 17, 2025
Week of November 17, 2025
I look forward to seeing you at conferences this week!
Friday is the last day for the food drive. Thank you for considering a donation to help with food insecurity in our community. Our class has donated the.
most out of the entire school! You are doing a great thing!
Please make sure students are packing enough snacks to get them through the day because classroom snacks have been going FAST!
Looking ahead … our class will hold a SOCK EXCHANGE on Friday, December 19. Students should bring one FUN pair of wrapped, unisex, festive children’s socks. I encourage you to buy a bigger size, rather than smaller 🙃. We will play a game and exchange them on the last day before break, and then wear the socks all day!
This week:
Math: Exploring fractions and decimals
Our new math curriculum is very hands-on and utilizes a lot of partner work. Unfortunately, if your student misses a day, it is very hard for them to make it up! Home Connection pages 59-64 correlate with this week’s lessons.. Study Island and the Math at Home links are other great resources for extra practice. We are currently on Unit 3.
Writing: Personal essays
Word Study: pre-, post, and mid-
You can support your child by reviewing the weekly word study list and encouraging them to notice patterns in words, discussing how words are built, and exploring how adding a prefix or suffix can change a word’s meaning.
Reading: reading nonfiction with purpose
Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters
Social Studies: Geography TEST on Friday
Week of November 10, 2025
Week of November 10, 2025
There is an early dismissal this Friday, November 14.
Conference sign-ups close on Friday. Use event code: etca9 to log in. Please sign up by this Friday, November 14. Let me know if you do not see a time that works for you; I am flexible!
The PE Cares food drive continues through November 21. Thank you for any donations to help the community!
This week:
Math: Unit 3: Fractions and Decimals, Home Connections pages 53-58
Writing: Informational writing final, introducing personal essays
Word Study: re- & de-
You can support your child by reviewing the weekly word study list and encouraging them to notice patterns in words, discussing how words are built, and exploring how adding a prefix or suffix can change a word’s meaning.
Reading: Informational: Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters
Week of November 3, 2025
Week of November 3, 2025
The AES book fair is this week; we will look on Monday and shop on Wednesday. You can set up an eWallet or pay by cash/check. NOTE: The eWallet link says it is for the classroom, but they will be able to tell who the eWallet belongs to.
The sign-up link for conferences is available! Use event code: etca9. Please sign up by Friday, November 14. Let me know if you do not see a time that works for you. I am flexible, and we can schedule something before school if that is better for you. I get here early each day!
The PE Cares food drive starts tomorrow and runs through November 21.
Reading log reminders!
Students should be reading 15 +/- minutes at home, as often as possible. I highly recommend at least 3-4 day of reading a week! Reading minutes should be recorded on their Solar Systemed themed reading log. By this point in the school year, students should ideally be on either the Mercury or Venus log.
This week:
Math: Unit 3: Fractions and Decimals, Home Connections pages 49-52.
*The Unit 2 Math test will go home this week, after students have finished making corrections. If your student has a progressing or beginning skill, we will continue to work together until they are proficient. Cells that are shaded blue in the report are skills that should be proficient by this point in the year. All other cells are skills that we will work on in upcoming units.
Reading: Nonfiction study, looking at narrative nonfiction
Writing: Nonfiction writing assessment
Word Study: non-
You can support your child by reviewing the weekly word study list and encouraging them to notice patterns in words, discussing how words are built, and exploring how adding a prefix or suffix can change a word’s meaning.
Social Studies: Geography
Week of October 26, 2025
Week of October 26, 2025
Halloween week is here! Families are welcome to come and watch the Halloween parade this Thursday from 1:30 to 2:00. Parking can get pretty crazy, so I recommend that you walk if you can. Please be sure student costumes are school-appropriate and it is something that students can easily change into.
The class party will run from 12:30 to 1:30, before the parade. Only volunteers who are signed up and have a completed background check can attend.
AES is hosting a book fair next week. Our class will look on Monday and buy on Wednesday. Students should only buy books that are approved by parents from the look day. You can set up an eWallet or pay by cash/check. The eWallet link says it is for the classroom, but they will be able to tell which student owns the eWallet.
Reading log reminders!
Students should be reading 15 +/- minutes at home, as often as possible. I highly recommend at least 3-4 day of reading a week! Reading minutes should be recorded on their Solar Systemed themed reading log. By this point in the school year, students should ideally be on either the Mercury or Venus log.
This week:
Math: Multiplication & Early Division: Unit 2 test on Thursday.
Home connections pages (optional, but great for review) will be sent home Monday. We will also review in class on Wednesday.
Reading: Nonfiction study, looking at narrative nonfiction
Writing: Informational writing, editing & publishing
Word Study: Un- & Dis- prefixes
Students have been working really hard on spelling patterns the last few months! We are now focusing on a new approach to spelling that uses morphology, the study of word parts. Understanding morphemes (like prefixes, suffixes, and root words) helps us see how words are built, which improves spelling and reading comprehension far beyond rote memorization. Through this process, your student will identify and manipulate word parts. With this being said, your student will not have a “spelling list” to study at home throughout the week. Rather, they will have a weekly word study list that focuses on a specific morpheme. Students will not be taking a spelling test each Friday. They will instead complete a worksheet/quiz that assesses their understanding of word parts and their meanings. You can support your child by reviewing the weekly word study list and encouraging them to notice patterns in words, discussing how words are built, and exploring how adding a prefix or suffix can change a word’s meaning.
Social Studies: Geography
Week of October 19, 2025
Week of October 19, 2025
PE apparel orders are due on Tuesday, October 21.
This week:
Math: Multiplying with bigger numbers, Home Connections pages 41-46,
Reading: Powerful nonfiction reading
Writing: Nonfiction Writing, Publishing a nonfiction book
Spelling: Spelling pattern ear/eer/ere
Social Studies: United States Geography
Week of October 6, 2025
Week of October 6, 2025
Unit 1 math tests went home on Friday. Students have already completed corrections. There is a Parent Report stapled to the front of the test. If you see progressing or beginning, I will continue to work with your student on this skill in hopes that they will be proficient before the end of the year. The shaded (blue) cells indicate standards for which proficiency is expected by the end of unit 1.
Your student has the opportunity to attend the HPS football game for free this Friday, October 10. AES 4th graders will meet with our partner football player, Drew Hower, before kickoff. Gates open at 6 p.m. Please RSVP to me by Thursday, October 9, if your student would like a ticket. I will give them their ticket with details at school on Friday.
Class party sign-ups are here! We will have 2 parties this year: one in the fall and the other before winter break. Please only sign up for ONE time slot to allow a variety of parents the opportunity to get in our classroom. Thank you!
We have a fire safety prevention program tomorrow morning. Staff from the fire station will show a video, review safety measures, and answer questions regarding fire safety.
This week:
Math: Unit 2: Multidigit Multiplication & Early Division, Home Connections pages 27-34
Reading: Nonfiction Unit of Study
Writing: Nonfiction Writing
Spelling: AIR, ARE, EAR spelling pattern practice
Week of September 28, 2025
Week of September 28, 2025
The walkathon is this Friday! Students should plan to wear tennis shoes and their AES walkathon t-shirt. Thank you for continuing to work on donations for AES’s annual fundraiser! Our class is 81% registered and is currently in 9th place. Even a little bit can make a difference, so thank you for considering a donation.
This week:
Math: Unit 2: Multi-digit Multiplication & Early Division
The Home Connections pages 21-26 align with our class work this week.
Reading: Please continue to have your student read at home as often as possible! Reading for 20+ a day is crucial in growing literacy skills. Anyone who completes their yellow reading log by the end of the month will get their name entered into a drawing to pick a book from the book vending machine and will receive a small class reward from me 🙂
We continue our character study during reading time, and we will view The Tiger Rising on Friday (Slips went home about this last week. Please be sure to sign and return it if you prefer your child not view the movie).
Writing: This week, students will revise and publish their realistic fiction stories.
Spelling: aw spelling pattern practice
SEL: Emotions matter
Dates to Remember:
October 3 - Walkathon
October 18, 5-7 - Alward Family Fall Festival
November 17 & 19 - Conferences
Week of September 22, 2025
Week of September 22, 2025
Thank you for continuing to work on donations for AES’s annual fundraiser! Our class is currently in 5th place with $1225 in donations. They have made it simple to promote the fundraiser on social media. Thanks for sharing and helping our school! The walkathon takes place on Friday, October 3.
This week:
Math: We will finish Unit 1 on multiplicative thinking. We are reviewing in class on Wednesday & the TEST is on Thursday. Home Connections pages 17 - 20 match our work this week. I will also send home a review to practice for the test on Wednesday. The Home Connections are optional, but highly recommended.
Reading: Please continue to have your student read at home as often as possible! Reading for 20+ a day is crucial in growing literacy skills. Anyone who completes their yellow reading log by the end of the month will get their name entered into a drawing to pick a book from the book vending machine and will receive a small class reward from me 🙂.
We continue our character study during reading time.
Writing: Students are publishing their first realistic fiction story.
Spelling: spelling pattern ow
Dates to Remember:
September 26 - Early Dismissal
October 3 - Walkathon
October 18, 5-7 - Alward Family Fall Festival
November 17 & 19 - Conferences
Week of September 15, 2025
Week of September 15, 2025
It's homecoming week! Check out the picture (left) for spirit day information.
Please make sure you have registered for walkathon! This is how students receive their t-shirt. The hope is that we can, at a minimum, get each student to register and one donation. Your fundraising is so appreciated. Our school and community is so fortunate to have such outstanding support.
Mr. Barry sent home a letter about recorders (light blue paper). Please return the form by Friday, September 19, regardless if you plan to order.
This week:
Math: Multiplicative comparisons & equations. Home Connections pages 13-16 (optional) match our lessons this week. If the pages seem confusing for your student and you are not confident in helping (I know this math looks different!), please have them ask me at school. I will find time to work on it with them 🙂.
Reading: Analyzing characters as we read. Our library time is on Tuesdays. Students should always choose a book as close to their level as possible. They can check the level of a book by using Scholastic Book Wizard.
Writing: Revising and editing realistic fiction stories
Spelling: Diphthongs - Oi
Science: Big Blue Marble
Dates to Remember:
September 18 - Tarry Hall Skating Party
September 26 - Early Dismissal
October 3 - Walkathon
October 18, 5-7 - Alward Family Fall Festival
November 17 & 19 - Conferences
Week of September 7, 2025
Week of September 7, 2025
… TOMORROW! Order forms went home last week or you can use this FORM to order online.
Last week, we agreed on how we want to feel when we come into the classroom every day. We all agreed that we want to feel welcome, respected, and safe. We brainstormed behaviors that will help everyone feel those things.
Please REGISTER for the annual AES Fundraiser using this LINK. It would be amazing if you could SHARE the link on social media or start reaching out to family and friends right away. Both links are in the upper-right corner of the page. This is the only fundraiser Alward does each year, and the community support has been incredible.
Thank you, thank you…for the amazing support with at-home reading minutes! Please remember to have your student read at home as often as possible!
If you are interested, check out the FREE NATIONAL PARK PASS and the Michigan FREE SKI PASS available to 4th graders!
This week:
Math: Prime and composite numbers
Students are working hard to memorize multiplication facts. Timestables.com is a reat practice site. Memorizing these facts builds foundational math skills for years to come. Thank you for your support!
Reading: Interpreting characters
*We have library every TUESDAY, starting this week 🙂
Writing: Publishing a realistic fiction graphic novel
Drafting a realistic fiction narrative story
Science: Big Blue Marble
Week of September 1, 2025
Week of September 1, 2025
We have had a great start to the year! Our class is full of so many kind, hard-working students!
Last week, our class listed ways we want to feel when we are in our classroom. This week, we will brainstorm actions that will help us feel that way (i.e., including others so people feel welcome). We will then agree, sign, and post these expectations on our wall as a class charter.
This week:
Math: Multiplication strategies and introducing Number Corner. Number Corner is part of our Bridges Math curriculum. It is a fun, engaging way to get students thinking about math in a new way. It also preteaches skills for upcoming units.
*Each Friday, I will send home math Home Connections pages that match the lessons we completed throughout the week. I encourage you to have your student work on the pages over the weekend and return them to me (so I can score them). Especially if your student is one who benefits from math support and reteaching. This week, pages 1-6 will go home.
Reading: Throughout September, I will do a basic reading skills assessment on each student. Each student will learn their current reading level and should choose books as close to their reading level as possible. If students are unsure of a book’s reading level, they can check on Scholastic Book Wizard. Our first reading unit focuses on interpreting characters. We start the read aloud The Tiger Rising tomorrow.
Writing: Developing a Realistic Fiction narrative story.
Spelling: Each week we will focus on a different spelling pattern/skill.
We will begin spelling next week with a focus on the long a spelled a_e or a. Spelling tests are on Fridays.
Science: Big Blue Marble Unit
Homework this week: Reading 20+ minutes/day at home, recording the minutes, and having a parent/guardian sign or initial the reading log.
Have a great week!
Week of August 24, 2025
Week of August 24, 2025
This week will continue to build our classroom culture by brainstorming ideas for our Charter, playing games, and reviewing AES and classroom procedures and expectations.
This week:
Math - Students will take a STAR Math assessment. THIS letter details our first math unit.
Writing - Graphic novel writing: Students will write a quick realistic fiction graphic novel story that reviews the writing process.
Reading - Students will take a STAR Reading assessment. This week we are launching our reading workshop and we will start to build a 4th-grade reading life … we will look at our class library, review how to choose good-fit books, and practice building reading stamina.
Homework this week:
Read 15 +/- minutes as often as possible, record minutes on reading log (will receive on Monday).
*No school on Friday, August 29, or Monday, September 1.
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