Next Friday November 7th is our Spanish restaurant simulation!

                                                                                                                                              

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

Students in the fourth grade have been learning how to order at a restaurant and ask others what they would like to order in Spanish.  As a culminating project, students will participate in a restaurant simulation where our classroom is set up as a restaurant and they order food from a menu in Spanish. I will be providing some of the menu items and wondered if there were any families that would be willing to contribute an item as well.  If this is something that you would be willing and able to do, could you please return this form with your name and what you are able to contribute? We will be having our simulation on Friday November 7, 2014 in the afternoon. All meals, snacks, and desserts welcomed!

Muchas Gracias,

Señorita Gray

Yes, I ___________________________________ am able to contribute ___________________________ to the menu.

Concert and no water!

This week marks another one of fun for us.  We continued our work in all academic areas, but had some special and unforeseen events as well.  First of all, we had a great time singing and writing songs with Jon Gailmor!  What an impressive performer and presence in our class and school.  He really brings his love of music and shares it with everyone, the excitement and enthusiasm was infectious.

We also had a snafu with our water supply system this week...bummer.  This issue has been resolved, but this was the reason for the early cancellation of school on Wednesday.  To all of you, thanks for your flexibility and availability getting our/your children quickly and easily back to your homes, or their alternate locations.

Also, many of you have signed up for conferences!  Please check the schedule on the conferences tab of this blog to assure that you are in a time slot that works for you.  I really enjoy conference time and look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's progress.  Also, if you still need to sign up, there is still time!  Just add your name to an open slot, and send it back to school with your child!  Thanks again, and I hope all is well!

Dave

Artist in residence!

We are feeling really lucky to have an artist in residence for this week.  We have Jon Gailmor here with us, singing and writing songs with each class!  These original songs will be performed next week on Tuesday (10-21-14) night at 6:30!  I hope that all of you can attend!

Also a few students have filled up their six-times books.  This shows a profound dedication to reflection as students have spent a little time each day thinking about what has gone well for them, and what could be improved in the future!

Also please check our conferences tab.  I have updated it with all the requests I have so far, if you still need to sign up, please let me know!  Thanks,

-Dave

p.s. I fear there were two families that I missed giving sign up sheets to on Friday, if you are one of them, and the slots that would work best for you are already accounted for, please let me know so we can make alternate arrangements.

Another week, another piece of writing.

This week we continued work on our writing, increasing our depth of knowledge in math, creating Google Earth tours, and working with squishy circuits.  Lately in writing the quality of work has been impressive.  All the authors in this class are working hard to create and craft narrative pieces of writing that really capture the reader.  This week our main focus has been on revision and character development.  Traditionally these are stumbling blocks as I ask students to revisit a final draft to identify areas that need improvement.  This year, however, everyone is very reflective and has taken great care to find areas that can be "fleshed out."

Many students have earned the "seal of approval," in math for their knowledge of subtraction and how it works!  We will be moving on to the concepts of fractions and multiplication in the coming weeks.  To earn these "seals" student must explain the concept of "borrowing" as it applies to subtraction.  This is a difficult concept to understand abstractly enough to explain, and students are really working hard to gain the abstract knowledge needed.

We have also been working on creating Google Earth tours about places in Vermont that are special to us.  This week students have been putting the finishing touches on these tours and adding narrations.  These are amazing!  I am working on a way to get these either out to you, or posted to our blog and will keep you updated about the situation.

Finally, parent-teacher conference days are scheduled for the afternoon (12:30-3:45) on the 10th and 11th of November.  I will be sending home a sign up sheet with times during those days, as well as alternate times in the morning before school starts (7:30-8:30).  Unfortunately I will only be able to meet outside of school hours in the mornings as I need to get home in the evenings to be with baby Rose.  When signing up, please choose two slots that would work for you, as this allows everyone to be accommodated.

As always I hope you have a restful and re-invigorating long weekend and if you have any questions please let me know.