Welcome!

August 27th, 2025

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Welcome to Mrs. Estrela’s homeroom! 

I am your child’s fourth grade homeroom teacher this school year. Our homeroom will be referred to as 4E.   Mrs. Traverso and I work very closely as a team because your child will see the both of us equally throughout the school day. Throughout the year, I will be teaching Literacy and Social Studies and Mrs. Traverso will be teaching Math and S.T.E. (Science, Technology, and Engineering). We are pleased to have your child on our fourth grade team! It is going to be a very productive and challenging year for your child.  We look forward to working with you to make it a success. 

Please see the attached Grade 4 supply list for our team. It is important that students continue to replenish their supplies throughout the year.  We also appreciate any donations of classroom supplies that you are able to provide. Thank you so much for any contributions! 

We will be keeping in touch with you throughout the school year and welcome your notes, calls, and emails at any time.  If you haven’t already, please send us both an email introducing your child to us and letting us know ahead of time anything you would like us to know about your child.  Our emails are at the bottom of this letter. 

Besides emails, we will be communicating with you through Class DoJo!  This is a place where we can send information out, communicate back and forth, and post pictures of all of the exciting things we are doing in our classes. Communication is one of the keys to your child’s success.  Please also check the agenda each night–homework, test dates, and notes will be added daily. We look forward to meeting you at the Open House on Thursday, September 11th.  

Here’s to a wonderful year!

Mrs. Emily Estrela

eestrela@swanseaschools.org

Mrs. Brooke Traverso

btraverso@swanseaschools.org

4E & 4T Supply List for the 2025-2026 School Year

    Listed below are the supplies required for our classes.

Using a permanent marker, please label all of your child’s supplies with their name 

BEFORE they are brought to school.  

Please organize all supplies into your pouch BEFORE the first day of school. 

Please place any extra supplies inside a gallon-sized ziploc bag, 

labeled with your name, to be stored at school. 

Materials Needed:

• 1 Large Pencil Pouch

• Sharpened Ticonderoga Pencils

• Pencil Topper Erasers

• Dry Erase Markers

• Mini Whiteboard Erasers

• Highlighters

• Crayons (12-24 pack)

• Small Covered Pencil Sharpeners

• Glue Sticks

• Children’s Scissors

• Pens

• Markers (if preferred, but not needed)

• Several Packs of Sticky Notes

• 1 inch binder with inside pockets (Literacy) 

• 2 Composition Notebooks (Labeled:  Social Studies, Reading & Writing)

• 4 Folders (Labeled with child’s full name and the subject:  Reading & Writing, Social Studies, Math, and Science)

• Personal Choice Reading Book

• Headphones (These will remain in backpacks for in school and home use, as well.)

• Refillable Water Bottle (tops MUST close – no open straws!)

• Personal Travel Size Hand Sanitizer

What goes inside my Pencil Pouch?

• 4 sharpened pencils

• 1 pencil sharpener

• 1 or 2 highlighters

• 1 pen

• 1 box of crayons

• 4 eraser pencil toppers

• 1 pair of scissors

• 1 glue stick

• 2 whiteboard markers

• 1 whiteboard eraser

• 1 pack of sticky notes

*Students will store any extra supplies in the classroom. They may also keep extra items, such as markers, in their backpacks. Backpacks stay with the students as they travel between the two rooms.  

Suggested Supplies for Home:

• Reading materials for nightly reading

• Whiteboard with dry erase markers

• Multiplication / Division flash cards

Donations for the Classroom:

• Any supplies that are listed above

• Indoor / Outdoor recess toys & games 

• Tissues

• Disinfecting Wipes

• Hand Sanitizer

Summer Reading & Writing Homework 

Dear Parents/Guardians of Incoming Fourth Grade Students,

Did you know that when kids read over the summer they are likely to leap ahead when they head back to school? It’s called the “Summer Leap,” and our school has made it a priority to keep our students’ skills sharp by encouraging them to read all summer long.  

There are endless ways to have summer fun, but with the right books, reading will be one of your child's go-to activities during these more relaxed months.

Maintaining a voracious appetite for reading is especially important for kids ages 8 to 10. According to the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, the number of kids who read for fun five to seven days per week drops from 57 percent to 35 percent between ages 8 and 9.

Help your child pick out books that let them explore a wide range of genres, as well as page-turning series books that'll set them on a reading marathon. Popular series, like I Survived and The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, are a great way to keep your growing reader engaged and help them build key reading comprehension skills. 

If your child is interested in books about friendship and fun adventures, check out The Baby-Sitters Club #1: Kristy's Great Idea — the official origin story of Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey forming the iconic baby-sitters club! There’s also Last Gate of the Emperor, a sci-fi book about Yared Heywat discovering kingdoms in the sky and fighting city-razing monsters. Your reader will enjoy reading these engaging books all 

To help you find popular 4th grade books, here is a Scholastic suggested list organized by age interest: 

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/book-lists/ultimate-summer-reading-for-3rd-to-5th-grade.html 

(A quick way to access this is to Google: Scholastic Summer Reading List for Grade 4)

→

 Reading Assignment

It is recommended that students read a minimum of 30 minutes per day, each day over the summer. Please take the time to help your child foster a love for reading! 

You can:

•  Help them choose books

•  Read with them

•  Read the same book and have conversations about it

•  Listen to them read 

Writing Assignment

We also ask that all incoming students complete a writing assignment and return it to school on the first day. The assignment is as follows:

• Write a letter to your new fourth grade Literacy teacher. Depending on who your ELA teacher is, please address it as either : 

• Dear Mrs. Estrela,  OR   Dear Mrs. Sikand (formerly Ms. Galib),  

• Include 3 paragraphs:

• Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and include what your favorite books to read are.

• Paragraph 2: Talk about your favorite hobbies.

• Paragraph 3: Tell something you would like your teacher to know about you. (Example: your family, something special about you, etc.)

• Close your letter by signing your first and last name in cursive writing. (You will be encouraged to write your name in cursive on all papers in fourth grade.) If you choose to type your letter, please print a copy and bring it to class – do not email it. Thank you!

We are looking forward to having your child in our classes next school year.

Have a wonderful summer!

    Mrs. Estrela & Mrs. Sikand    

Summer Math Practice 

June 13th, 2025

Dear Parents/Guardians of Our Incoming Fourth Grade Students,

We are looking to help make the transition into Grade Four Math very smooth for your child. We use multiplication facts all year and the more confident your child becomes with them, the easier the math will be. Your child will be added to our Google Classrooms by the end of this week. When your child logs in he/she will see a topic titled “Summer Multiplication Practice” under the “Classwork” tab.  There will be ten assignments posted.  We have added one assignment for each week throughout the Summer, although all assignments are due the first day of school, so they can be completed anytime over the Summer.  Each assignment consists of a Google Form with basic multiplication facts that students will complete to prepare themselves for grade four.

To help prepare your child for these assignments, students will also notice two topics titled “Multiplication Videos” and “Multiplication Games”.  We have added songs and games here for your child to use as a tool if he/she would like to. If students prefer, they could also practice by using flashcards. A simple, but effective strategy would be to have your child learn one table at a time. For example, concentrate on mastering only the 4’s table (remember 4th grade goes up to 4 x 12). Once your child masters just that table, have them practice a different table to mastery. Then mix just those two tables together until they master all of those facts, etc. Keep building onto their facts knowledge by adding one table at a time, until they have mastered all facts up to 12 x 12.  

We understand that motivation over the summer to keep up with math facts can be a challenge. To increase student motivation here are a few rewards!  Students who complete all of the summer tasks will receive a prize when they return to school. The students will also be assessed on their facts when they return to school.  Those students who score an 80% or higher on the assessment when we return in September will receive a second prize! 

We would also like to present a second summer math challenge to encourage students to continue math practice.  As part of our i-Ready math program students have access to My Path.  This program supports students’ individual needs by reviewing previously taught skills that students may have not mastered and also challenges students beyond mastery.  Students are encouraged to complete My Path lessons during the month of July. Those students who pass 4 My Path lessons during the month of July will be entered into an additional raffle.  In fourth grade students' math homework is to pass 2 lessons of My Path at home each week.  Having students get into this routine over the summer will help with a smoother transition in September. 

Thank you so much for your help and support and we look forward to working with you in September to help your child have a FABULOUS experience in Fourth Grade! 

Sincerely,

Fourth Grade Math Teachers :)

Your child’s Google Classroom credentials are written below.  Keep this in a safe spot! 

Username: ______________________________________ @swanseaschools.org

Password: ______________________________________________________