Summer Reading

Thank you to all parents for your support and open communication throughout the year!

I have one final reminder:
All Achieve 3000 accounts will remain open throughout the summer.
In addition to being great practice for keeping reading and English skills in good form during the summer, reading two articles per week can lead to an increased reading lexile.
Miss Barry will print out all log-in details at the end of the summer, and these records will be given to the Grade 5 teachers to use as a first grade towards English.

For parents and students searching for additional (and maybe more entertaining) reading material during summer, below is a link to Education World's reading suggestions for Grade 4 students going on to Grade 5.

http://www.educationworld.com/summer_reading/4th_grade.shtml

Happy reading, and enjoy your summer!

Scientists Study Ancient Frog Trapped In Amber 99 Million Years Ago

Today's Science video:




Click here for an article with further details.

Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant

Here are some more videos about maths in nature and the Fibonacci Sequence.

Week 39

Dear Parents and Students,

As this will be the final full newsletter I post here for the year, please let me take the opportunity to thank all students and parents for a productive year in Grade 4. It has been a privilege to watch everyone grow and develop throughout the year, and I look forward to seeing you all continue that growth in Grade 5. Don't forget to wave as you walk past your old classroom!

We still have four days of Grade 4 left, and this is what we have been doing for the past week:

We completed our final tests in Maths with a Cumulative Test and Benchmark Test. With all our tests and formal lessons out of the way, we will spend some of our time in our last few Math classes reviewing any areas we feel need attention, and for the rest of the time exploring how Maths, nature, and Art can all be connected.

In our Literacy Workshop, we completed our final lessons in grammar, and we also read a biography about a famous baseball player in New York during the early part of last century. Next week we will spend some time writing a friendly letter, and we will also watch another production of Alice in Wonderland and make further comparisons to what we have already seen and read.

In Science, we have completed our final unit dedicated to Life Science. Next week we will be reviewing Chapter 5 in our books, and reflecting on the entire unit.

In Social Studies, we have spent the week applying our map-making skills. The quality of maps created this week is very impressive, and is a good indicator of how much we have developed our skills throughout the year.

As you know, next week begins on Tuesday, and Friday will be a half-day. Some other important details are as follows:

·      Thursday, 21 June - Final Assembly will be held at 1:30pm for the whole ED in the Auditorium.

·      Friday, 22^nd June – Lunch will be from 11:50-12:20 and unfortunately, no students will be allowed to leave during that time. Older SD siblings will need to wait for their younger siblings. 

Pick up times on Friday:

·      Parent pick up at 12:20pm

·      Buses depart at 12:30pm

·      Taxis depart at 12:35pm 

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, and I'll see you next Tuesday!

Important Dates:       

     

      Sun, 17^th Jun:              Fathers’ Day

      Mon, 18^th Jun:            Dragon Boat Festival – no school

      Thu, 21^st Jun:              Final School Assembly

            Fri, 22^nd Jun:               Last day of school (half day)

Happy birthday, Ingrid, Aimee, Alyssa, and Ryan!

Student of the Week, Week 39

Congratulations to Miwa!

Miwa always puts forth her best efforts, and this week is no exception. In all lessons and tasks, she has been trying her best, and participating as much as possible. Thanks for the enthusiasm, Miwa, well done!

Math and Art

If you would like to watch today's video again...

Homework, Thursday, 14th June

Please find some time between now and next Friday (June 22) to complete The 4C Reflection form. A link has also ben sent to your email address. You may revise and edit your form  later if you can't fill it all in at once. Please remember to click on SUBMIT each time, or your answers will be lost.
Click here for the form.

Did you enjoy our lesson about fractals?  Here is the video for if you would like to watch it again.

Homework, Tuesday, 12th June

No assigned homework today!
...but please do your minimum 20 minutes reading!

Homework, Monday, 11th June

Spelling: Review List 27 - test tomorrow.  Click her for list and links.
Unusual Spellings  worksheet due tomorrow

English: Writing with Adverbs worksheet due tomorrow

Student of the Week, Week 38

Congratulations to Ryan!

It has been a difficult decision to choose a Student of the Week this week, as so many students have produced some very good work, and we have all managed to stay on task despite the distraction of the vacation being so close.
Ryan has put in an excellent effort this week, in both his academic performance and his general positive attitude in class and around the school.
Well done, Ryan!

Week 38

Dear Parents and Students,

The countdown to the end of the year is on, but we remain very busy in Grade 4C, and have accomplished a great deal during the past week.

We completed our final topic in Maths this week, and had our Topic 20 test on Friday. Next week will mostly consist of review, with a Cumulative Test to take place on Tuesday, and a Benchmark Test to take place on Wednesday. These tests are designed to gauge how much each student has retained throughout the year, and further review of each topic will take place accordingly during the final lessons of the year.

In our Literacy Workshop, we completed our Persuasive Essays, our final major writing assignment for the year.  We also read about Gloria Estefan, and the many challenges she faced on her road to becoming an internationally successful singer and humanitarian.

In Science, we are studying ecosystems and how species adapt and survive within them. We watched a fascinating video about symbiosis, which can be found in last Tuesday’s homework post if you would like to view it again.

All of our hard work over the past few weeks in Social Studies had finally paid off, and we all enjoyed some very high quality presentations on Thursday. Some photos are available via the link at the bottom of this post.

The end of the year is very close, and next week will be the final full week of the year! The following week will begin on Tuesday, as we will celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on Monday, 18^th June. Other important dates are listed below as always.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you all Monday!

Important Dates:       

      Wed, 13^th Jun:             Pizza day to celebrate June and July birthdays

      Sun, 17^th Jun:              Fathers’ Day

      Mon, 18^th Jun:             Dragon Boat Festival – no school

      Thu, 21^st Jun:              Final School Assembly

      Fri, 22^nd Jun:               Last day of school (half day)

Click here for photos of our Regions Presentations

Homework, Wednesday, 6th June

Maths: Practice 20-3 Writing Probability as a Fraction; Enrichment 20-3 Toss and Spin
Reading: Read Chapters 1 and 2  of Gloria Estefan  pp.561-566

Homework, Tuesday, 5th June

Maths: Practice 20-2 Outcomes and Tree Diagrams; Enrichment 20-2 Triangle Shapes
Spelling: Review List 27   Click here for Spelling City

List 27 –Unusual Spellings

Core Words

health	flood	guide	guard
blood	month	style	wonder
type	magazine	wealth	guest
against	guess	guilt	gasoline
receive	women	says	neither

Challenge Words

vaccine

quarantine

guarantee

threaten

rhyme

If you would like to watch the video about symbiosis again...

Homework, Monday, 4th June

Maths: Practice 20-1 Finding Combinations; Enrichment 20-1 Is It Possible? 
Spelling: Review List 24  Test tomorrow    Click here for list and links
English: Your Persuasive Essay should be ready to publish tomorrow.

Week 37

Congratulations to Aina!

Aina is always a diligent student and a great friend to others. Her insistence to always put others before herself has been a great influence to everyone, and it was particularly prevalent this week. Thank you, Aina; great work, as always!

Homework, Tuesday, 29th May

Maths: Practice 19-5 Line Symmetry; Enrichment 19-5 Let It Snow!
Reading: Read Happy Birthday, Dr. King! pp.535-549 before Thursday
Social Studies: Continue collaboration
Spelling: Review List 24       Click here for Spelling City

List 24 – Commonly Misspelled Words

Core Words

brought	enough	buy	guess
Saturday	January	February	favorite
lying	tying	around	swimming
heard	also	tried

Challenge Words

choose

chose

loose

lose

millimeter

Homework, Monday, 28th May

Maths: Practice 19-3 Rotations; Practice 19-4 Congruent Figures
Spelling: Review List 23 – test tomorrow – click here for list and links
English: Decide on your Persuasive Essay topic. Who will be your audience? What reasons do you have to support our idea?
Science: Invent an Insect - due tomorrow
Social Studies: Continue collaborating

Week 36

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope everyone enjoyed the mid-semester break, and had a relaxing long weekend. The break, of course, made our working week one day shorter, but we have packed plenty of work into the past four days.

We completed Topic 18 in Maths, and had our test on Tuesday. Topic 18 was largely focused on algebra, and it was very pleasing to see how everybody was able to take the new concepts on board. We are expanding our range of problem-solving skills and learning new ways to express and communicate mathematical problems and functions. We have already begun Topic 19. This is a short topic, and the Topic Test will take place next Friday.

In our Literacy Workshop, we have spent the week writing an essay expressing an opinion. We published our work on Friday, and will begin planning our next assignment – Writing to Persuade – next Monday.  In grammar, we have completed our unit dedicated to pronouns. Next week, we will begin  our final unit, which is all about adverbs. We will also spend some time next week reading a new story: Happy Birthday, Dr. King.

In Science, we have been investigating how plants and animals respond and adapt to their environments. We have learned that physical traits are inherited, as are many behavioural traits. Some behaviours, however, are learned. We spent time discussing how all of these traits, inherited or learned, can help a species survive and reproduce in its natural environment. We also began designing an insect based on what we have learned. We will continue our investigations next week, and begin to look at various ecosystems.

In Social Studies, we have returned our attention to the Regions Project. We have spent most of this week researching, gathering information, and planning our presentation strategies. Next week, we will collate all of our research and develop our first draft. Our goal is to present our projects on Thursday and Friday, June 7^th and 8^th.

Please note that next Tuesday, we will have our annual Art Exhibition in the library. The exhibition will be open all day, and then artwork will be on display throughout the school for the following week. Parents and family are welcome to visit the exhibition on Tuesday.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll see you all Monday!

Important Dates:       

     

      Tue, 29^th May:            Art Exhibition – Library.  Parents and family welcome.

      Fri, 1^st Jun:                  Maths test – Topic 19

      7^th-8^th Jun:                   Regions presentations

Students of the Week

 Sara, Benjamin (Chinese), Jemina, Kigen, Aimee

Awards:

 Kigen, Ryan, and Benjamin recently won awards for soccer, jujitsu, and golf respectively. Well done, boys!

...and Albert was awarded a medal of participation for the 2018 Spartan race. Good stuff, Albert!