Grade 4

Last week Grade 4 had the privilege of visiting the Dr. Willian Hrudley Observatory. We had such a great time. Everyone was excited to see actual pictures taken by ACTUAL telescopes, including the telescope that Dr. Hrudley built himself. Amazing!

Thank you to all of the parents who accompanied us. We are all very excited to visit again, once the telescope is fully functioning.

Here we see hundreds and thousands of galaxies! How can anyone NOT believe in God?!

For our Bible focus, we learnt that God accepts us just as we are. No matter where we come from, no matter what we look like, all we have to do is repent and believe that Jesus is Lord and we will be saved.

So, for our lesson, the kids each took turns making themselves look as frumpy and messy as possible to go to a dinner held by the Premiere. To go to such a dinner, we would be expected to dress up as nicely as possible in order to partake. But quite the opposite, we can go to Jesus just as we are and be accepted. Thank you Jesus for such a wonderful gift!

English: - Add ‘er’ and ‘est’ to the short adverbs to compare actions.

-          Use ‘good’ and ‘well’ correctly.

-          Use only 1 negative word in a sentence.

Homework: Monday: Page 115

Wednesday – Page 117

Group Novels: - We are continuing with our independent reading project. Please ensure that your child is pacing him/herself correctly and is on time to hand in their reading response logs and final project.

Spelling Homework – Study for Spelling test on Friday.

Homework: Tuesday – Pages 168 - 169

Math – Find the permeter of a figure.

- Find the area of rectangles and squares.

- Choose the best strategy to solve a problem.

- Measure temperature and calculate changes in temperature.

- Students will be given additional time to practice using Mathletics. We will also be playing various math games to increase students’ fluency and speed in multiplication and division.

Homework: Monday – Pages 205 - 206

- Tuesday- Wingo – Page 201, Francesco Page 208 1-7, 10, Lightning Page 208

- Wednesday- Wingo and Francesco Page 209, Lightning Page 210

- Thursday - Wingo and Francesco Pages 211 – 212, Lightning Page 213

Science – Define matter, mass, volume and density.

- Explain how temperature changes the state of matter.

- Determine which solids dissolve.

- Define mixture and solution, and describe different kinds.

Homework: - Thursday - Pages 83 – 84

NOTE: We will be having a Chapter 11 Test on Friday, 25 May.

Bible- Review the word Faith and study examples in the Bible.

– Understand what we need to do in order to be saved.

Homework: - Study Bible Verse for Friday. (Parents, please encourage your child to study and memorize his/her Bible verse. This counts towards their end of quarter Bible grade.)

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. Romans 8:3

Specials: - Also check out the Specialist page for recent pictures and information as well as Spanish lesson work. http://fbcs.edu.ky/specials/

This week we’ve started Chapter 11 in Math. This chapter focuses on Customary Units and Measurement. So, today we learnt how to convert customary units. There is a lot of multiplication and division in this chapter when having to convert, so keep quizzing your child on their times tables.

Also, feel free to log on to a really good YouTube video that I found (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w1AHwM5TPY ) that helps to revise what we did in class. And just as a refresher (smile):

- 12 inches = 1 foot

- 3 feet = 1 yard

- 1 yard = 36 inches

- 1 mile = 5,280 feet

When converting smaller units to larger units, you need to multiply. When converting larger units to smaller units, you need to divide.

Happy Converting!

I found this quote today and absolutely had to share it with you guys. Hope you enjoy!

“Promise me you’ll always remember:

You’re braver than you believe,

stronger than you seem,

and smarter than you think.”

Christopher Robin to Pooh

For our Book Report on Number the Stars, everyone had to create a Cereal Box Book Report and also do a timed commercial ’selling’ their cereal/book report. Everyone did an amazing job! I was able to record these excellent commercials, but I couldn’t upload them to this blog, sorry! I was very impressed by the quality of work and how enthusiastic everyone was to complete their project. Job well done guys! You made me proud!

Field Trip

to the

Dr. Willian Hrudey Observatory

May 1, 2012

Dear Parents,

We are studying Our Solar System in Science at the moment and I have arranged for Grade 4 to visit the Dr. Willian Hrudey Observatory at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI). Dr. Hrudey has agreed to give us an exciting tour on Monday, May 9, 2012 at 12:45pm.

If you are able, we would also love to have you join us as well, so please let me know if you will be touring with us and if you are able to provide transportation. Please also send in your child’s signed permission form no later than Friday, 4^th May.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Ms. Suckoo

April 26, 2012

Dear Parents,

The Terra Nova tests will be administered to students starting on Monday, April 30 and will continues throughout the week during morning sessions.

The Complete Battery measures skills in Reading, Language, Math, Science, Vocabulary, Language Mechanics, Spelling and Bible. The InView component adds Sequences, Analogies, Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reason – Words and Verbal Reasoning – Content.

The schedule for next week is as follows:

Monday

9 - 10 am Reading

Snack 10.00 – 10.20

10:25 – 11-00 - Language Skills

Tuesday

8.30 - 9.40am Math Test

Snack 9.40 – 10.00

10.00 - 10.45 - Science test

Wednesday

8.30 - 8.50am - Vocab

9.00 - 9.15am - Language Mechanics

Snack 9.15 – 9.40

9.45 - 10.00am - Spelling

Thursday

8.30 - 8.50am - Math Computation

9.15 - 9.40am - Bible

Snack 9.45 - 10.10

10:15 - 10:35 - Sequencing

10:45 - 11:05 - Analogies

Friday

8:30 - 8:55 - Quantitative Reasoning

9:15- 9:35 - Verbal Reasoning Words

Snack 9.45 - 10.05         

10.10 - 10.35 - Verbal Reasoning Context

You are probably wondering how you can help your child prepare for the upcoming tests.

1.       Be sure your child comes to school each day well rested and on time.

2.       Make sure they have a healthy breakfast before coming to school.

3.       Reinforce the idea that testing is just another part of their school experience and reduce any anxiety they may have. Share with him/her that the purpose of the test is to find out which skills have been mastered and which skills need further development. There is no material to study, although you may review the practice tests done previously with your child.

4.       If your child is a very nervous test-taker, have her do deep breathing exercises before the test. She can take a deep breath and count to ten. Then have her take shorter deep breaths in between passages or sections of the test — counting to three only. This exercise is fast and simple, but it really works!

5.       Pack him a light nutritious snack, but avoid salty foods that may make him thirsty later in the testing session. You can send water with your child however, if they get thirsty during the test. They will not be allowed to get water from the water fountain during test times.

6.       Finally, tell your child that the test will have some difficult questions on it. All of the questions are not supposed to be easy. Explain that he may not be able to answer all of the questions, and that’s expected. All he can do is try his best, and that’s okay!

The only materials needed are two sharpened # 2 pencils with good erasers, a ruler, and a handheld sharpener and a good book to read for the in between times. You can also send a bottle of water and a jacket/sweater with your child in case he/she becomes cold during test times.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Ms. Suckoo