CAC Grade 4

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Week of November 12 - 16th

Grade 4 Weekly Newsletter

November 12 - 16

Curriculum

Reading:

This week we start our new reading unit titled, Nonfiction Reading: Expository, Narrative and Research. Students will orient themselves with nonfiction texts by looking at its structure. They will ask questions and try to answer their questions to help them focus on the text. Students will then use this information to help them determine which pieces of information is important. This will help them summarize more concisely.

This week’s lessons:

Lesson 1: Prediction by Previewing Text

Lesson 2: Questioning, Focus, and Stamina.

Lesson 3: Questioning & Determining Importance

Lesson 4: Summarizing to Understand What I Learned

Essential Questions

How do readers know what is important in nonfiction texts?
How can I become more complex in my thinking as I read?

Writing:

This week we start our new writing unit titled, Informational Writing: Writing About Topics of Personal Expertise. Our focus will be to brainstorm ideas we can write about. Students will look through books, their writing notebooks and think about what they know a lot about to help them come up with writing topics. Next, students will learn how to narrow down their topic so that it not too big nor too small. For example, baseball is too big of a topic, and what year baseball started is too small of a topic. However, how baseball started would be just right.

This week’s lessons:

Lesson 1: Read Something on an Unfamiliar Topic

Lesson 2: How to Choose a BIG Topic

Lesson 3: Identifying Smaller Parts of a BIG Topic

Lesson 4: Technical Language to Sound Like an Expert

Essential Questions

How do writers teach readers about a topic?
How do the images in a book help readers?

Mathematics:

This week we will be continuing Module 3: Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division

Essential Questions:

What strategies can be used to compare multi-digit whole numbers?
How do patterns in our number system help in understanding mathematics?
How can strategies be used to solve multistep word problems?
How can the reasonableness of a solution be determined?
How are multiplication and division related?

The lessons are as follows for this week:

Lesson 1: Solve division problems without remainders using the area model.

Lesson 2: Solve division problems with remainders using the area model.

Lesson 3: Find factor pairs for numbers to 100, and use understanding of factors to define prime and composite.

Lesson 4: Use division and the associative property to test for factors and observe patterns.

Parent Tip Sheets: Topic A, Topic B, Topic C, Topic D, Topic E, Topic F.

Here is the LINK to the Growth Mindset video we began to watch at Back To School Night. We suggest you watch it with your child and discuss what might create a positive math classroom at school. How can you build a positive math relationship with your child?

Social Studies: Connections with History

Essential Question:

How do geography and people connect to build a nation?

Students will continue working on their tribal projects. They will collect information about their tribe’s region, food, homes, games/leisure activities, and clothing. This project will run for several weeks.

Grade 4 Homework:

Daily homework tasks will be written into student planners each day. Tasks may include reading for 20-30 minutes per night, writing for 10 minutes per night along with additional mathematics work. Homework may differ according to teachers and students. Any mathematics homework that students find challenging please advise their homeroom teacher so they can progress accordingly. Homework is not meant to be impossible, challenging for students to grow their brains, but not impossible!

Guidance News – Keep Your Power! Say Okay & Walk Away

‘Don’t focus on the negative words you may hear from others; focus on the fact that you have the power to choose how to react!’ – Project Cornerstone

By focusing on their own actions, children can begin to recognize the power they have - their own personal power. Personal power is not about power over someone else or the situation, but power over our own response, feelings and thoughts. When students are able to control their reactions they demonstrate self-confidence and compassion for themselves.

Students will engage in powerful role-plays where they will have the opportunity to practice “keeping their power”. They will practice using an assertive posture and voice tone as they try various methods, such as: agreeing with the person (refusing to engage in an argument), saying “Okay”, using distractions, and walking away.

Upcoming Events

· Sunday, Nov. 12th - ES After School Activities Session 2 (Online sign-up begins)

· Tuesday, Nov. 14th - ES Assembly - 5D (7:55 am - 8:25 am, ES Hall)

· Thursday, Nov. 16th - ES Production Performance (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

· Friday, Nov. 17th - ES Production Performance (1:00 pm - 2:30 pm; 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm)

· Sunday, Nov. 19th - ES Production Cast Party (3:15 pm - 4:00 pm, ES Hall)

· Monday, Nov. 20th - Math Workshop for Parents, (2:00 pm - 3:00 pm)

· Monday, Nov. 20th - General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch (Middle School Field, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm)

News

Kids’ Day

This year's Kids' Day will be held on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 from 8:00am to 11:30am. Students will then be dismissed at 11:30am for a long Thanksgiving weekend. This is a half day for CAC and Pre K-5 will be participating at the same time. For new parents to the school Kids’ Day is a fun-filled day in which they can show off their house spirit, participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and enjoy each other! The Elementary PE Department needs parent volunteers to help with the games and activities. You will be partnered up with an Elementary Teacher and teacher aide to help run an activity. If you could volunteer on that day, please fill in the (google form) by Thursday November 16th at the latest. Mr. Greene will contact you via e-mail with your assignment by Monday November 20th. Please mark your calendars with the date and time NOW! Thank you, Phil Greene pgreene@cacegypt.org & Mark Mayfield mmayfield@cacegypt.org

General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch- Monday, November 20

Every year the Elementary, Middle School, and High School Student Councils give thanks to the amazing general services staff at our school by hosting a special lunch. This staff includes: security guards, janitors, gardeners, drivers, bus monitors ,car washers, painters, carpenters, and maintenance. The hard work they do every day really makes our school a better place. We are grateful to all the general services staff and will be having an appreciation lunch for them.

Date: Monday, November 20, 2017

Location: Middle School Field

Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

We can’t do this alone, we need your help! We are requesting that all students and families show their appreciation for our general service staff by donating the following:

PreK & KG : Dessert
Grades 1 & 2: Pasta Dish/Rice or Rice Dish/Bread
Grades 3 - 5: Meat Dishes
Grade 6: Meat Dishes
Grade 7: Meat Dishes
Grade 8: Vegetables/Side Dish/Salad
Grade 9-12: Goodie Bags (more information will be sent out from your High School Student Council)

Please bring food donations in a disposable container. Students & parents can drop off their dishes the morning of November 20 in the MS/HS Faculty Lounge. Those who would like to volunteer during the day, please fill in this link. We thank you for your continued support and for giving thanks to all of those who help make CAC the place to be! ES/MS/HS Student Leadership Teams

Repeated Announcements

Awards

Age Group Awards will be held Tuesday, November 14 from 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm in the main gym.

Softies

Softies and Extended Season are back this year, but with some changes. We will be combining these two programs and extending the option to join to Grade 3 this year. Instead of doing it at night after JV and Varsity practice, Softies will be a part of the ASA program. Practices will be Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, from 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm. Two days are required, though swimmers are able to attend all three if they choose. This is open to swimmers in Grade 3 and up that have completed at least one season of Age Group swimming. Please sign up through the upcoming ASA signups for trimester 2. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Coach Matt at mlautenbach@cacegypt.org.

After School Activities

Session 2 coming up!

Schedules e-mailed to parents on Tuesday, November 21

Session begins on the week of November 26

Click here for the ASA Website

Tortoise Club

We would Love to hear your questions, comments and information about the Tortoises in the enclosure. Please click the link below to share any interesting information or ask any questions:

Link to the :Tortoise Club Information Sharing

Those will be will be reviewed by Mr. Said and the club members and will be published in the Tortoise Club web. page.

Link to the :Tortoise Club Page

Feedback

Two more weeks! before we end this current session of activities. Thank you to those who submitted the quick feedback form. We love to hear your feedback so we can always improve this program. Please click on this quick Feedback Link

International Festival

The International Festival is one of our main fundraising events of the year. It is scheduled to take place on March 16, 2018. If you’d like to volunteer and help us make this year's International Festival a success, please send an email to Kourtney LaGesse at cacinternationalfestival@gmail.com

Monday, November 6, 2017

Week of November 5-9

Grade 4 Weekly Newsletter

November 5 - 9

Curriculum

Reading:

This week students will learn to build a larger understanding of their books. They will be encouraged to make interpretations as readers by adding up all the parts or elements of a story. They will ask themselves, “What might the life lesson be? Students will think about life issues and concerns they have and match these to the books they read.They will try to use details from across a text to generate bigger ideas or themes.To help them do that students will stop and write long intheir reading notebooks using the following sentences.

This week’s lessons:

Lesson 17: Considering issues or concerns, matching these to our books, and describe what the book is saying about these issues.

Lesson 18: Finding meaning in recurring images, objects, and details.

Lesson 19: Reading celebration - students design personal book marks that demonstrate their current reading strategies.

Essential Questions

How do story events affect characters?
How and why do readers track how their characters change over time?
How do readers share and grow ideas with others?

Writing:

In this last bend of our unit, students will take their first steps away from personal opinions, which cannot truly be proven on the basis of evidence, to persuasive writing, in which the relevancy, sufficiency, and validity of the evidence is critical, and how you use the evidence an art. Students will work on gathering evidence from outside sources and unpack that evidence to connect it to their reasons and claim to construct a tightly focused argument. This will ready them to take the leap from opinion writing to argument writing next year.

This week’s lessons: This week students will be publishing their draft of persuasive writing pieces and then reflecting on their writing goals.

They will also be completing an On Demand (Monday) demonstrating all the learning they have made this year. Both their published piece and On Demand piece will allow students to set new goals and continue to grow.

Essential Questions

How can I use my ideas to develop an essay which is well-organized and persuasive?
How can I become more independent?

Mathematics:

This week we will be continuing Module 3: Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division

Essential Questions:

What strategies can be used to compare multi-digit whole numbers?
How do patterns in our number system help in understanding mathematics?
How can strategies be used to solve multistep word problems?
How can the reasonableness of a solution be determined?
How are multiplication and division related?

The lessons are as follows for this week:

Lesson 1: Solve division word problems with remainders.

Lesson 2: Understand and solve division problems with a remainder using the array and area models.

Lesson 3: Understand and solve two-digit dividend division problems with a remainder in the ones place by using place value disks.

Lesson 4: Represent and solve division problems requiring decomposing a remainder in the tens.

Lesson 5: Solve division problems without remainders using the area model.

Parent Tip Sheets: Topic A, Topic B, Topic C, Topic D, Topic E.

Social Studies: Connections with History

Essential Question:

How do geography and people connect to build a nation?

We are finishing up our work on Crow Canyon where we looked at the area, food, homes and artifacts of the Pueblo people of the southwestern United States. We will then assess:

-‘Where and Why did the first Americans settle?’ This will include:

1. location of natural resources and landforms

2. tribal regions and population

3. tribal movements

We will then start our tribal projects. Students will be in groups and research a tribe. They will study their region, food, homes, games/leisure activities, and clothing. This project will run for several weeks.

Grade 4 Homework:

Guidance News– How to Be Assertive

“Don’t be a monster. Don’t be a mouse. Be assertive. Be YOURSELF!” – Dr. Pat Palmer

This week students will practice assertiveness skills. Assertiveness means standing up for personal rights in direct, honest and respectful ways.

Students will learn the 3 ways people tend to act in order to get their needs met. Passive behavior (like a mouse) includes ignoring the problem or being unclear with personal rights, needs or wants. Passive behavior is disrespectful of personal rights and needs. Aggressive behavior (like a monster) includes yelling or demanding behavior. Aggressive behavior is disrespectful towards others. Assertiveness is the balance between passive and aggressive behavior. With assertive communication there is respect for others and for personal rights and needs.

Assertive behavior includes:

1. Facing the person you are talking to

2. Keep your head up and shoulders back

3. Use a calm, firm voice

4. Use respectful words that start with an “I” statement. Such as, “I am having a hard time concentrating. Please stop talking while the teacher is talking.”

Upcoming Events

· Tuesday, Nov. 7th - ES Assembly - 5K (7:55 am - 8:25 am, ES Hall)

· Thursday, Nov. 9th - ES Assembly - Poet Kenn Nesbitt (7:55 am - 8:25 am, ES Hall). Parents are welcome.

· Thursday, Nov. 9th - Gr. 4 Assembly - Poet Kenn Nesbitt (8:45 am - 9:45 am, ES Library Classroom).

· Thursday, Nov. 9th - ES Trimester 1 ends/ ES After School Activities Session 1 ends

· Friday & Saturday, Nov. 10th & 11th - Age Group Swimming Invitational

· Sunday, Nov. 12th - ES After School Activities Session 2 (Online sign-up begins)

· Tuesday, Nov. 14th - ES Assembly - 4D (7:55 am - 8:25 am, ES Hall)

· Thursday, Nov. 16th - ES Production Performance (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

· Friday, Nov. 17th - ES Production Performance (1:00 pm - 2:30 pm; 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm)

· Sunday, Nov. 19th - ES Production Cast Party (3:15 pm - 4:00 pm, ES Hall)

· Monday, Nov. 20th - Math Workshop for Parents (Grade K-5 teachers), (2:00 pm - 3:00 pm)

News

Core Value

The Core Value for November is Compassion.

Counseling Corner

Positive Discipline

Letting Go: Morning Hassles and Responsibility is a great resource for parents who are trying increase a sense of ownership and responsibility in their children's lives. While the focus is on the morning routine, the suggestions can be used in any situation to decrease resistance and power struggles. Let us know what you think.

Carey Harris Dana Purpura

Guidance Counselor School Counselor

charris@cacegypt.org dpurpura@cacegypt.org

ES Library

21st Century Libraries for Parents: Digital Intelligence

Another great session on fostering digital intelligence yesterday by Santha Kumar, our IT director.

Here is the link to the slides, which contain useful websites to help you monitor your child/ren’s usage. Let us know what other topics you’d like to see covered in our 21st Century Libraries for Parents.

Kenn Nesbitt is here in Egypt!!!

Poet Kenn Nesbitt, who will be presenting at CAC next week, is already here in Egypt! He wanted to arrive early so that he could rest up for his visit at CAC.

All ES grade levels and the MS language arts classes will be seeing Mr. Nesbitt from November 7 to 9. He will also present assemblies for the ES and MS, and he’ll be signing books at the front gate from 3:00 to 3:30 each afternoon.

To read his poems before his visit, you can access the library catalog for the ES. Enter his name “Kenn Nesbitt” and click on “Author.” You will get a list of his books. Any book that has an “e” icon next to it is an ebook, and can be read by clicking on the “Open” button next to the title. You will be prompted for your Follett account; that’s just your CAC single sign on, or our Quick Login. If you need help accessing, please come see me in the library.

MAP and Cat4 Presentations to Parents

David Chadwell shared information about external assessments at CAC. Slideshows:

CAT4 here

MAP here

ES Handbook Birthday Guidelines

Below is the text from our handbook, page 21:

Birthdays

Student birthdays are recognized in the classroom and the Principals have celebratory birthday lunches with groups of students throughout the year. We ask parents to not send in birthday treats. Any private party invitations should include all members of the class. If all class members will NOT be invited, we ask that you use other means besides the school to send out party invitations.

• If you would like to have a birthday party on campus on a weekend, the school does not book the playground area but if the facilities are available, you are welcome to use them. Please leave the premises clean and tidy. No after-school birthday parties as the campus is used by CAC students.

• The pool area CAN be booked for special events outside of the times when the pool is being used for programs or the published Open Swim hours. The cost depends on the time and number of expected guests. You need to visit the pool office during open swim hours to schedule the event and complete a pool rental.

Moving on from CAC before the winter break?

To help us prepare your records in time for your departure, please use the link below to let us know if you are withdrawing from CAC this semester.

https://www.cacegypt.org/about/withdraw14.php

A few days before your departure, a withdrawal form that includes several signatures must also be completed and turned in to the Admission/Registrar‘s Office to release records. Withdrawal forms can be picked up from the counseling offices or can be downloaded from the same website.

Announcements

Age Group Swimming Invitational

The Age Group Invitational is coming soon! We will be hosting other schools at CAC on November 10 & 11. This year, 8 and under swimmers will once again have their events on Friday afternoon. They will be joined by those 9 and over swimmers doing 200 and 400 meter events. The remainder of the 9 and over events are on Saturday. All details can be found here.

Time Trial Results

Great job to all swimmers at last week’s time trials! Results can be found here.

Awards

Age Group Awards will be held Tuesday, November 14 from 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm in the main gym.

Softies

After School Activities

Mark your calendars

Session 1 ends next week (November 5 - 9). All parents are most welcome to watch/join their children’s last day/s of the activities during this last week. This does not apply to Production. If your child is in production, please review this link for the Production Timeline

Session 2 coming up!

Schedules e-mailed to parents on Tuesday, November 21

Session begins on the week of November 26

Click here for the ASA Website

Repeated Announcements

Tortoise Club

We would Love to hear your questions, comments and information about the Tortoises in the enclosure. Please click the link below to share any interesting information or ask any questions:

Link to the :Tortoise Club Information Sharing

Those will be will be reviewed by Mr. Said and the club members and will be published in the Tortoise Club web. page.

Link to the :Tortoise Club Page

Feedback

International Festival

CAC Grade 4

Pages

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Week of November 12 - 16th

Monday, November 6, 2017

Week of November 5-9

Blog Archive