Dear 4D Parents:

There are 3 early release days left before the break. One of those will be our Middle Ages Celebration; it should be a fun day. Thank you to those who are able to help donate and volunteer. There are still some spaces left. If you have the time, we could use the extra help : )

Important Dates:

• Dec 18 - last day to contribute for Tax Credit Drive and be entered in raffle for gift basket
• December 18-20 are early release days.
• December 19th - Middle Ages Celebration
• Winter Break starts on Thursday, December 21st. The 3rd quarter starts on Monday, January 8th. 
• Parent/Teacher Conferences for 2nd quarter are January 4-5 (Thursday and Friday). This the link for the sign up: http://signup.com/go/CxsoZdx

• January 8 and 9 - Fourth Grade Project: reciting "Paul Revere's Ride" 
• January 15 - no school - Civil Right's Day

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Academics for the week:

We will continue learning about author's purpose and theme this week. There will be an activity with idioms and we will also have time to work on the poem.

"Paul Revere's Ride" is the fourth grade project for Project Week. It will be recited the first two days back from Winter Break (January 8th and 9th). Parents are welcome to watch their child recite the poem. Just email me if you would like to come and I'll give you an approximate time for your child's turn.  

This week in Math, we will conclude our unit on measurement with a unit test. This test will be structured like the previous one on fractions. On Monday, the students will take the test and after that, I will go through them, highlighting incorrect answers and work. It is most beneficial for the students’ learning if they show all their work, so I can highlight exactly where they started to go wrong. On Wednesday, I will hand back the test and the students will be able to correct the highlighted problems for full credit.

In science, we will continue learning about weather. We will focus on thunderstorms and lightning.

In history this week we will finish our unit on Islamic Empires. We will study the Crusades, why they occurred and the impact they had on Islamic and Christian Empires as well as the world around them. We will take a quiz on Wednesday. Students already have the study guide to use to prepare for this quiz. 

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Please remember to sign up for conferences and practice the poem over the break!

I hope you have a great week,

Mr. Bergeron

Dear 4D Parents:

It is hard to believe we are quickly approaching the end of the quarter! We will finish strong not only with academics but some fun activities as well.

Important Dates:

• Dec 12 - Birthday Book Club
• AM Kinder (Jul-Dec) @ 11:30 a.m.
• Full Day Kinder - 2nd @ 2:30 p.m.
• 3rd - 5th @ 2:45 p.m.
• Dec 18 - last day to contribute for Tax Credit Drive and be entered in raffle for gift basket
• December 18-20 are early release days.
• December 19th - Middle Ages Celebration
• Winter Break starts on Thursday, December 21st. The 3rd quarter starts on Monday, January 8th. 
• Parent/Teacher Conferences for 2nd quarter are January 4-5 (Thursday and Friday). There will be a sign-up for this in the coming weeks. 

On Wednesday, December 19th, the fourth grade will have our Middle Ages Celebration. We will need A LOT of volunteers. So if you have been fingerprinted and have some time on that day (any time between 8:30-12:15), we would love for you to help out and have fun, too!

There will be a sign-up for this event coming soon.

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Academics this week:

We will continue to practice writing comparing/contrasting paragraphs through the week. The emphasis will be on writing strong introductory and concluding sentences, and using effective transitions. In literature, we will learn about author's purpose and theme. In grammar, we will learn how to write possessive nouns.  Please continue to help your child memorize Paul Revere's Ride.

This week in math, we will conclude our unit on measurement by applying what we’ve learned about fractions to measurement. We will practice expressing measurements as proper fractions and mixed numbers. The measurement unit test will be next week.

We will finish learning about tornadoes and hurricanes. There is a quiz on tornadoes and hurricanes on Tuesday 12/12. The cumulative test is on Thursday 12/14 which covers the atmosphere, solar radiation, atmospheric heating, hurricanes, and tornadoes. There is a “jeopardy” review game available at this web address 

http://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/jeopardy-review-game.php?gamefile=2347356#.Wi2Q-FQ-eRs.  

On Friday, we will about air masses and fronts. 

In history we finished our Middle Ages unit last week. This week we will start our unit on Islam. We will study the Five Pillars of Islam, Muhammad, the spread of Islam and Islamic culture. We will also focus on important contributions to mathematics, science and art/architecture.

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Sincerely,

Mr. Bergeron

Dear 4D Parents,

Our Winter Break is fast approaching. As the quarter winds down, we still have a lot of interesting things to learn. I hope these next few weeks will be an enjoyable time of learning for your children.

Important dates:

• Dec 12 - Birthday Book Club
• AM Kinder (Jul-Dec) @ 11:30 a.m.
• Full Day Kinder - 2nd @ 2:30 p.m.
• 3rd - 5th @ 2:45 p.m.
• Dec 18 - last day to contribute for Tax Credit Drive and be entered in raffle for gift basket
• December 18-20 are early release days.
• Winter Break starts on Thursday, December 21st. The 3rd quarter starts on Monday, January 8th. 
• Parent/Teacher Conferences for 2nd quarter are January 4-5 (Thursday and Friday). There will be a sign-up for this in the coming weeks. 

Academics this week:

This week in ELA, we will continue our focus on comparing and contrasting. We will use 2 characters in Robin Hood and some other passages to hone this skill. In grammar, our focus will be on defining and using similes and metaphors and classifying and diagramming possessive pronouns.

In math this week, we will continue studying measurement. We will practice adding and subtracting measurements and learn how to multiply and divide as well. These skills will mirror the skills our students already learned when we studied the operations of fractions.

We will continue our study of hurricanes and then go on to tornadoes, in science this week.

In history we will finish our study of Europe during the Middle Ages. We will learn about Joan of Arc, and the plague that swept through Europe in the 1300s. 
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Mrs. Rockmaker, our music teacher wanted us to pass on this information:

Now that the November concert has passed students will return to the use of their notebooks (for grades 3,4 and 5) and Theory Time books (for grades 4 and 5 only).  I would also like students to bring a folder and a pencil to music.  Students who have left materials in the music room can retrieve them outside of class time.  New 4th and 5th grade students can purchase Theory Time books to be purchased from Barnes & Noble at the Chandler Fashion Mall from the school book list. I have attached a copy of the list.
http://archwaylincoln.greatheartsacademies.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2017/04/Consumable-List-17-18.4.28.17.FINAL_.pdf

Needed this week:
Clear 2-liter bottles to make tornadoes!

I hope you have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mr. Bergeron