Monday, February 29th

Happy Leap Day!

Important Information - Please Read

Lice
We have had several incidence of lice in our class in the past week.  Thank you for reporting those to me.  In order to prevent the lice from spreading, we are taking measures in our classroom, and we need your help at home.  We have spoken to the kids about the lice and are taking measures, such as leaving jackets in our lockers, wearing hair up, and not sharing items like brushes, hair rubber bands, and hats.  We rolled up our carpets today for the school day and will be having them thoroughly vacuumed this afternoon.  We need your help at home!!  Please check your child's hair many times over the next two weeks.  It can take 24 to 48 hours for lice to appear, so checking and rechecking is important.  An additional letter from our school nurse is coming home in communication folders today.  Please let me know if you have any further questions, and thank you again for your help!!

Ms. Baker
Joann Baker, F.AVE's administrative assistant, lost her mother this past Saturday morning.  She left last Thursday to fly to London to be with her and had the opportunity to spend some precious last moments.  The arrangements have not been made yet and she will most likely be in London for another two weeks.  F.AVE will collect monetary donations to be included in a collective gift to her upon her return. Having to fly on such short notice out of the country can get to be a big expense, so we thought monetary donations would be most appropriate in lieu of flowers.  For those who would like to contribute, please send your donations in care of our part time administrative assistant, Yvette Battles. Thanks for your support and prayers for Joann and her loved ones.

Red Folders
You will find the letter from the nurse, your child's report card, a message from Spanish, and information about Pennies for Patients in your child's red folder.

We began our inquiry into decimals today.  Students are working to write decimal equivalence to fractions.  We are making connections from our previous terms of place value and fractions to assist our demonstration of these new standards.

We had a great discussion about family today!  Students gave great responses to the question, "What is a family?"  We were able to discuss different types of family (ex: your own family, your friends, our class, a team), and talk about ways to ask questions when we are curious about the family of others.  Ask your child to tell you more!!

We are looking forward to our Swing Dance Cultural Arts activity this week!
Have a wonderful evening!!

Friday, February 26th

What a great day on The Ave!

We started by participating in Random Acts of Kindness week.  Students thoughtfully created cards for our cafeteria staff and delivered them at lunch.  They were so happy for their gifts!!

We then celebrated our learning from term 4 at our Village Gathering!  It was a great time.  We even had a surprise performance from Sydney Rhame, Decatur HS Senior and member of Team Pharell on last season's The Voice!  Check out the video link.

Sydney Rhame

 DON'T FORGET:
LETTERS/ESSAYS FOR STUDENT COUNCIL ARE DUE ON MONDAY!
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 25th

What a busy day!!

We continued working with the distributive property during math today.  Students also completed review activities with area and perimeter.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction??  Check out the video links and ask your child to tell you more!

Equal and opposite?
Pop goes the canister!!!

Students worked through reading stations.  We focused on cause and effect and are providing time to work on spelling homework.  Students can bring their homework back tomorrow to work on it for their last stations.

Have a wonderful evening!!

Wednesday, February 24th

Happy Wednesday!

We had a great day!  Students continues decomposing multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers using the distributive property.

We began inquiring into various examples of force.  Students were give a set of pictures and challenged to sort them by the movement occurring in the picture. Push, pull, or both??  We had wonderful discussions about each picture.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We also began an inquiry into the driving forces behind Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Students examined a series of pictures for the movement, and then worked to match them with descriptors and put them in chronological order.  We will continue with this inquiry tomorrow!

We examine our Territorial Expansion passage for the main idea of each paragraph.  Students worked with small groups to underline important ideas and come up with a main idea for each paragraph.

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 23rd

Happy Tuesday!

We excitedly deconstructed our new central idea for term 5!  Students were then given scenarios from our community and to honor black history month.  They were asked to determine the driving force behind the decisions that were made.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We will be further our nonfiction reading skills this term.  Today, students utilized a text about territorial expansion to determine the meaning of unknown words by using strategies such as context clues, rereading the sentences, or replacing the word with a synonym.

We are excited to announce the beginnings of the F.AVE Student Council!!  Interested students should submit an essay or letter to myself or Ms. Ehmer explaining why they would make a good representative for our class by Monday, February 29th.  From those entries and other qualifications, Ms. Ehmer and I will select two students to campaign for a week.  They will make posters, and a one minute video explaining what they can do to help on the Student Council.  An election will be held to determine which 4th graders will serve on the student council.  Those not elected will be representatives in the classroom to assist with getting information to our students.

Have a great night!

Monday, February 22nd

WELCOME BACK!!!

I hope you had a wonderful and restful break.  Ms. Ehmer and I enjoyed hearing all of the stories about your week of and the fun things you did.

We were able to wrap up term 4 today!  Students shared the UOI Summative pieces with small groups.  They chose a form of expression and determined the ideas and beliefs presented in that expression.  They then connect those ideas and beliefs to their own.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Students completed a survey in the media center today.  They will be utilizing this information as the inquire into cyber safety this term.

One genius hour groups is beginning an introduction to coding.  Some students have experience with coding and are serving as our experts throughout this unit.  We practiced graph paper coding today!

Students have a math review page for homework tonight and should complete their spelling sort for tomorrow. I hope you have a wonderful evening!!

Thursday, February 11th

What a fantastic two days of IB in Action!!
We had a great Literary Cafe'!  Students did an amazing job presenting their work with confidence!

We had an amazing day at The Fox Theater, enjoying a performance from the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.  What a great form of expression!  Ask your child to tell you more!

If you wish to send in Valentines, we will exchange them tomorrow.  This is completely voluntary.  We have 29 students.

Have a wonderful evening!!

Wednesday, February 10th

We enjoyed a wonderful evening at Literary Cafe'.  Thank you so much for supporting our school and students!  I will post pictures tomorrow.

We are thrilled be see The Alvin Ailey Dance Company tomorrow at The Fox Theater.  Don't forget a warm coat, as it will be cold and windy.  See you tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 9th

Happy Tuesday!

We enjoyed watching the flurries as they fell throughout the day!

Students began working on the UOI Summative task for the end of term 4.  They have selected a form of expression and are analyzing it for the ideas and beliefs it expresses.  They are then working to connect it to their own ideas and beliefs.  Ask your child to tell you more about their selection!

We are very excited about Literary Cafe' tomorrow!  Below is a break down of how the evening will run.  We hope to see you there!

6:00 - Multi-purpose room - One representative from each 4th grade homeroom will present their piece.
6:30 (or so)- Make your way to our classroom (310) where each child will present their piece to our audience.
After their presentations, you may make your way to the cafeteria for dessert!!

We are also looking forward to our trip to The Fox Theater in Atlanta on Thursday to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform.  We have asked that students try to dress a bit nicer that day, since we will be at the theater.  The weather is expected to be chilly, so plan accordingly. :)

It's voting day in New Hampshire!  This is a great opportunity to talk with your child about the voting that is occurring and how it begins the election process.  They are very inquisitive about this topic!  You can easily connect it to our central idea: Insight into beliefs and ideas can be gained by observing the many ways in which they are expressed.

Have a fantastic evening!

Monday, February 8th

Welcome back!

We had a busy day, full of activities and learning!

Students continued to express fraction equivalence utilizing number lines and tape diagrams.  We will begin taking pieces of our overall math assessment tomorrow.

We enjoyed expressing ourselves when practicing for Literary Cafe'. I can see the confidence of our class growing as we practice.  I know that students are excited to share their original pieces with you this Wednesday at 6:00!!

We continue to inquire into the causes and outcomes of the War of 1812.  Students are expressing their ideas and beliefs about whether or not a war necessary.

We had a great day of writing.  We're working to express action and setting throughout our writing pieces.  Students are doing a wonderful job including these aspects in their writing!

Students received a review page for Social Studies.  Tonight's focus should be number 4-8 (the Constitutional Convention and compromises).
Have a great evening!!

Friday, February 5th

Happy Friday, Y'all!!

Congratulations to Riley D.!  She is our class elected Superstar of the Month for January.  We are so proud of you!!

What a busy day!  We previewed the book fair this morning.  Students came home with their wish lists.  We will have time to go as a class on Monday, and students can go throughout the week.  Don't forget that Literary Cafe' is Wednesday at 6:00.  The book fair will be open that evening.

We enjoyed a visit from Dr. Root today.  She discussed empathy and perspective with our class.

Thursday, February 4th

I was not in the classroom today, but I know the Superstars had a wonderful day!

We hadid a spectacular day planning and preparing for term 5.

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 3rd

Another great day on The Ave.!

We inquired into line plots for data collection.  Students reviewed line plots using whole numbers and then shifted to plotting fractions.  They are working to understand the ideas that we can learn from the data in our graphs.

We enjoyed indoor recess.  They're teaching me to play chess. :)

Students then put their knowledge of the Bill of Rights to the test.  They acted as the Supreme Court does, and interpreted scenarios to determine which amendment/rights were violated and what would have been the "right thing to do."  Students were then asked a question that I have encouraged them to ask you tonight...

If you could only keep one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights and the rest were taken away, which one would you keep, and why?"

Here's a link to a user friendly version of the Bill of Rights if you would like to take a peek and make your selection.  Bill of Rights

We excitedly graphed our choices in a line plot.  We were able to turn our line plot into a histogram and line graph!!

I hope you have a wonderful and restful evening!!

Tuesday, February 2nd

Happy Groundhog Day!  I heard that no shadow was seen, so maybe we'll have an early spring.  We got a little preview of spring weather today!

We continued our inquiry into the way that sound travels.  Students utilized Discovery Education to complete an exploration of how sound travels through different mediums.  Ask your child to tell you more about how the molecules in air, water, solid, and a vacuum (space) move?

We had a great discussion about the Iowa caucus and its results.

Students continued drafting their fictional narratives.  We inquired into what authors do to create a great lead and get their reader hooked.  After reading examples from different books, students worked to adjust their lead.  We had some students share their leads!

Yesterday, students came home with a class list.  Next Friday, students will be given the opportunity to exchange Valentines.  Participation is completely voluntary, but we ask that if you choose to participate please send enough for each child.  We have 29 students, and several nut and gluten allergies.

Mark your calendars for next Wednesday!  Literary Cafe' will begin at 6:00 in the multi-purpose room and then head to the classroom.  See you there!

Have a great night!

Monday, February 1st

I can't believe it's February!!  Wow!

Nothing makes me happier than a day filled with learning.  It has been especially intriguing to see the interest and inquiry into our government and how it all works.  Your children ask wonderful, smart questions and are truly interested in knowing more.  We had a lengthy discussion about the Bill of Rights today.  I hope you are able to continue these wonderful conversations at home.

Ms. Ehmer and I have also found that our class is very inquisitive about the upcoming election.  With the caucuses in Iowa tonight, I thought I would share a link from Dr. Dude that explains how they work.  It's a great resource to foster discussions.

How do the Iowa caucuses work?

We have a lot going on this week, as usual, but the learning and growth continue.  I hope you have a wonderful evening!

If you are interested in volunteering for the F.AVE Book Fair, see the information and sign up link below.

Prepare to enter a new world at the FAVE Book Fair from Monday, February 8th through Friday, February 12th

 in the FAVE media center! We will be offering books for children and adults, and a portion of every purchase goes to support the school's media center. The Fair will be open before, during and after school every day and on the nights of Literary Cafe, Wednesday, February 10th and Thursday, February 11th. We are now seeking volunteers to help make the Book Fair a success. Please sign up here: https://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/356302148096