Monday Message

What a day! These kids performed like Olympic athletes.

The PTSA did a super job setting up and running Field Day. The kids had a super, excellent time and we thank all the adult volunteers for making that happen.

We had field hockey, tug-of-war, kick-ball, relay races, and other fun activities. Some activities were competitive and some were just for fun. In similar fashion, some kids were competitive and some were just there to have fun!

The best part was the free hot-dog from the USO. I can't remember one tasting better. We thank them for that. What a great show of community.

Good times. Good times.

These kids have the right perspective!

This week the kids learned about single point perspective in math. We learned how to measure and make angles, and then we talked about volume. We learned that things farther away appear smaller, and things close up look bigger.

At first, it was just hard for the kids to use a ruler to draw a straight line, but now look at them. They are lining things up and making math art!

This coming week we continue to look at more math art. On Friday we rolled these masterpieces up, put a rubber band around them, and sent them home. Did you see them? If not, they are coming soon!

Run 4th graders, run!

These kids ran. And then they ran. And, then they ran some more. We apologize for the blurry pictures, but they were going so fast that the camera couldn't keep up!

The kids had a great time raising money for the PTSA. We thank them, and all of you for sponsoring them to run.

We don't know the final total raised, but we think it might be quite a bit. The highest number of laps? We saw one kid with 53! Wow.

After the run the kids got to play games and get prizes. The sun was out and it was hot, but nobody seemed to mind. It was just a great day!

Yeah, back in the 1970s when the teachers told us to go online we went and got some string and did string art! It is all made with straight lines.

Actually there was a lot of math involved in string art. You had to measure, find angles, pick a design with symmetry and then estimate your length of string.

After a long day of testing the kids were happy to get away from the books and spend some time unwinding. We still have some to finish up this week, but the early results are looking good.

We know you want to learn how to do this. Ask your child. He or she will teach you. It's groovy!

It's a chess tournament!

Well, not yet it isn't. We are still learning the moves. Last week we used a chess tutorial program called "Chess Kids". We also got out the boards and had kids teach kids.

Surprisingly, quite a few kids already knew how to play and they were excited to teach others.

This coming week we will have a brackets tournament. It is not required. We will have students play each other after testing, and then at the end of the week the champ from Mr. Mercen's class will play the champ from Ms. Mac's class to determine the 4th grade champ. Who will it be?

Thanks to the PTSA and all the other wonderful parents who contributed to the Month of the Military Child activities.

The month ended with a small volksmarch on base. The kids were moving so fast we could hardly keep up. These kids know how to march.

Following the walk the kids were fed fruit, veggies and juice. Then, they still had enough energy to run and run on the playground.

Being a military child has many ups, and the occasional downs, but this was definitely an up. They all appreciated the activities and they felt the support. Thanks PTSA!

As part of Women's History Month, Ms. McPhail-Hastings' class took on the role of famous women. They did research and then made oral presentations in the library.

There was Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ann Frank, Sandra Day O'Connor, Marie Currie, Ada Loveless, Maria Tall Chief, and Elizabeth Caddie Stanton among others.

The kids got experience in oral speaking while presenting their findings. They all had a good time and the audience that rotated through learned a lot!

There were a lot of kids wearing purple!

April is the "Month of the Military Child". We celebrate all things unique about growing up in this environment. There are some super benefits... and some drawbacks. We have been talking about this in class.

Above all these students get experiences most kids don't, and we celebrate them by wearing purple. More to come this week.

We have been looking at symmetry a lot lately. It is part of our studies on geometry.

The kids learned that there can be more than one line of symmetry. They built symmetrical shapes and learned that whatever they do to the top, they have to do to the bottom. Whatever they do to the left side, they have to do to the right side.

At first it was pretty hard for them. Their designs were simple, but as the week went on they became more and more complex.

Ask your child what he or she sees around the house that is symmetrical. You will be surprised at what they find.

So, lately we have been looking at geology and geography. We looked at how landforms are made with the help of weathering and erosion.

Showing landforms on a map is difficult because you are seeing everything from a birds-eye view. Most maps just show the length and width in two-dimensions.

Well, this week we learned about a solution to this problem. We learned about topographic maps. These maps include elevation.

The kids all made topographic maps by tracing "landforms" that changed as they got taller. The higher the form the smaller the contour line. The steeper the form the closer the lines.

Ask your child. He or she can explain it all!

Who is ready for 5th Grade? Let's find out.

Next week we will give these two test.

• 3/22 - 5th Grade Writing Readiness

• 3/23 & 3/24 - 5th Grade Math Readiness

Practice these in advance. They pretty much cover everything a student should now know. Each test counts for 100 points.

Practice makes perfect. Score big!

These kids are hitting all the right notes!

In Mr. West's music class the kids usually work on wind, string, percussion, and vocals, but with the pandemic wind and vocals aren't happening this year. However, that is no problem. The kids' favorite is percussion!

They got to play drums, xylophones, gongs, beat boxes, bells, tambourines, maracas and everyone's favorite... the triangle.

The kids learned beat patterns, timing, notes, and pauses. They are getting pretty good. Sign them up for the band! They should go on tour.

Don't believe us? Go ahead, pull out the pots and pans and let them show you at home. They've got the beat!

These kids are rockstars!

They know their rocks. We have been learning about the three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. We have been looking at examples of each.

Every student has a favorite rock, but hands-down the winner overall is obsidian. The kids all love this rock because they tell us they mine it in the video game "Minecraft".

Another super popular one is pumice. It is a rock that floats! It is light and soft and you can cut it with your fingernail.

Next week we will test the kids on their rocks. They will rock it.

Keep on rockin' kids!

Check out these artists!

The kids have four specials they attend. They have music, PE, Host Nation, and art. They sure love art!

Because specials operate in two week blocks, the kids repeat specials every eight weeks. So far they have had three two-week blocks of art.

They have painted, drawn, used chalk, markers and other mediums to create masterpieces. Take a look at the photos.

A lot of these pictures are hanging on the walls around the school. They will come down later this year and we will send them home. You will be impressed!

There was candy... a lot of candy!

The kids all had a great time passing out their Valentines. Everyone walked away with a load of sugar and some good memories.

Some brought homemade cards, others brought store bought ones, but the sentiment was the same in all cases. Everyone in the 4th grade is friends.

This has been a great group of kids. They all get along so well and always make sure nobody is left out.

Look at the smiles on these faces.!

These kids have finally seen the light! Finally.

We spent the week looking at the properties of light. The kids used flashlights, prisms, mirrors and lenses. We looked at how light bends and can be split into all the colors of the rainbow.

The kids then compared and contrasted sound and light. Both travel in waves, both need a source, both can bounce off of things and both are a form of energy.

The kids spent a lot of time reflecting on this topic.

They are a bright bunch. They really shine!

Hear ye, hear ye!

The kids spent the week making noise. Lots of noise.

We looked at how sound travels in waves and how sound is made through vibrations. We talked about how sound has to travel through something and how that something is called the "medium".

The denser the medium, the faster the sound. Sound travels faster through water than it does through air.

The kids used tuning forks, Slinky springs, ropes, amplifiers, and they even made waves in water.

It was loud. It was fun. It was science.

These kids are in perfect balance!

We spent a lot of time this week talking about mass and weight. Mass, we found, is measured with a balance. It is the measure of matter in an object and it doesn't change based on location. Wherever you go, there you are.

Weight is a measure of gravitational pull, and it is measured with a scale. We will measure weight next week with spring scales. Weight does change with location. You weigh a different amount on the moon compared to earth, as there is less gravity.

This is a heavy topic. It's weighing us down, but we will understand it thoroughly by next week.

We continue to look at energy and all of its forms. After working with batteries, wires, bulbs and switches we moved on to some more complex experiments.

The kids got into the Snap Circuit kits and were able to choose their own activities. The instruction book contained dozens.

Some kids built alarms and noise makers. Some built gadgets with motors. Because there are no wires the directions were easy to follow. Everything just snaps together.

What they learned, however, is that no matter the set up, electricity always must travel in a circle... or a circuit.

Take a look!

These kids have so much potential!

Last week we spent a lot of time looking at mechanical energy. We talked about potential vs. kinetic energy and how energy can change.

In this experiment the kids rolled ball-bearings from various heights on the ramp and then measured how far the balls rolled.

First we did this on carpet, and then we did it on the hard floor. Which went further?

As with all of our science experiments, the kids recorded their data and then wrote about their findings.

These kids are on a roll!

Check out these attractive photos!

We spent the last week of the year looking at the relationship between magnetism and electricity. This is called electromagnetism. Here is what we learned:

• Magnets can make electricity.

• Electricity can make magnets.

• The Earth has a magnetic core.

• Only iron, nickle and cobalt can become magnets.

• Magnets are surrounded by an invisible field.

• Opposite magnetic poles attract.

In the coming weeks we continue to look at other forms of energy.

Hi Parents,

As you have seen, we have started fractions. The kids had the basics of this last year in third grade, but now we move into more advanced concepts.

This year we look at:

• Making equivalent fractions

• Finding common denominators

• Finding the greatest common factors

• Simplifying fractions

• Adding and subtracting fractions

• Adding and subtracting mixed numbers

• Converting improper fractions

The best way to start off with this is by using fraction strips. We continue with that this week.

As you have seen on the Friday Quizzes, we have the kids highlight things while they are reading. They also take notes. This is called annotating the text.

The following are some of the things we are teaching the kids to look for:

• The main idea

• Unknown vocabulary

• Important events

• Facts or opinions

This is a more active form of learning than just reading the pages. The kids get to interact with the text and read with purpose.

Stocking stuffer! Your child's highlighters are starting to run dry. Come on Santa!

On Monday we will pass out pink division fluency tests. Please have your child do one test each night.

Monday: 14-minute limit
Tuesday: 12-minute limit
Wednesday: 10-minute limit
Thursday: 8-minute limit
Friday: 8- minute limit in class

This is just practice. The real quiz will be on January 11th. We have lots of time.

Some students also need to do the blue sheet each night to get those third-grade multiplication facts.

These sheets are due back Friday.

Last week we looked at conductors and insulators. The kids made a series circuit with a motor and then tested various items to see if the motor would spin or not.

Here is what they found:

Conductors:

• A nail

• A rivet

• An aluminum washer

• A brass ring

• Basically anything metal

Insulators:

• A rubber eraser

• A plastic straw

• A wooden popsicle stick

• Paper

Here are some rather shocking photos of the kids.

The challenge? Light a bulb with a battery and two wires. This took a long time! Some kids even tried to glue the wires to the battery. That didn't work.

As we continue with this unit we will look at:

• conductors

• insulators

• circuits

• currents

• magnets

• electromagnets

• sources of energy

The kids have been busy planting seeds and measuring their growth. The activity was to determine how varying amounts of water affected the plants. Along the way we talked about:

• Range of tolerance

• Germination

• Aquatic vs. terrestrial

• Climate

• Decomposition

• Photosynthesis

• Soil

• Humus

Here is some good news: Every 4th grader has his or her own computer. We have a lot of tech, and we use a lot of tech.

The kids get work done with technology. They don't just learn about tech, they use it daily.

Twice a week we have our Educational Technologist, Mrs. Marziali, come into the room to teach the kids a new way to use tech. These kids are becoming savvy!

The kids have been working hard on making maps. We learned about:

• Latitude & longitude

• Keys & scales

• Land forms & features

• Primary & intermediate directions

• Symbols & representations

The kids did a great job. Take a look!

What the kids are saying...

• When you push them, they run. -Jeneva

• Mine got stuck upside down! -Chloe

• Mine's a boy & has 14 legs. - Soyer

• Mine is hyper & runs a lot. - Kaleena

• Mine can roll away. - Lucy

• Mine likes people a lot. - Sophia

• They need a moist place. -Stella

• One was really big and one was really small. - Brandon

• They cannot live in the sun. -Olivia

• They are wriggling and cute. - Brooke

• They like to run away. -Parker

Go Science!

The kids have been doing a lot of science. A lot. We have been learning about:

• Lifecycles

• organisms

• structures

• environments

• behaviors

• living factors

• nonliving factors

• stimuli

• responses

It's fun. It's science!