2 Weeks Before Break!

Reminders:

- This week is the Holiday Shoppe. This is a shop run by the PTA that has low-priced items for students at WBE to buy for their holiday presents to others. We will have a time to attend and purchase items as a class. If students would like to go another day, they will be allowed to go during recess any day.

- Wednesday is an Early Release at 12:45.

- Thursday is Schlotzsky's Night at the LaFrontera location. Proceeds from any purchases made between 10am and 10pm will be donated to WBE. Teachers will be on hand to eat dinner and socialize from 5-7pm. This is a great chance to help out WEB and eat some dinner at the same time.

- We are going on a field trip on Wednesday, December 14th. Please be sure you return your child's permission slip if you have not already. Your child will have the opportunity to either bring their own sack lunch or order one from the cafeteria. Each child will be responsible for carrying their own lunch. There will not be a place to keep them cold. I recommend not sending a real lunch kit either, so that we don't have to worry about losing it.

- We will be having a cookie decorating party next Friday the 16th for our Winter Party. We will be needing donations in order to make it possible and of course, you are all invited to attend. It will be on Friday afternoon beginning at 1:45.

Upcoming Events:

- BMX Show on Tuesday, December 13th at 1:00

- Field Trip to UT on Thursday, December 14th leaving at 9:15

- Holiday Party on Friday, December 16th at 1:45 - I will need help with donations and setting up.

What we're learning...

Math - fractions (...But please continue to practice multiplication and division!!!!!)

Science - Changes to Land

Social Studies/Language Arts - Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo

Homework:

Daily - Read for 20 minutes. Practice multiplication facts for at least 10 minutes.

Monday - fractions

Tuesday - spelling, vocabulary

Wednesday - fractions

Thursday - spelling, vocabulary

Vocabulary Words:

1. incorrigible (in-cor-i-gi-ble) - incapable of being corrected; unruly

2. tarmac (tar-mack) - a runway or road made up of broken stone

3. bail - money or other security in exchange for the temporary release of a prisoner before a court appearance

4. adobe (u-dob-ee) sun dried brick of clay and straw used to make a structure

5. alliteration (u-lit-er-a-tion) occurrence of the same letter or sound << Ex. Sally sells seashells by the seashore.>>

Spelling Words:

our, quit, quiet, quite, except

didn't, you're, once, mistake, twice

however, important, fourth, asleep, remember

haven't wait, we'll, accept, knew

We are on our way to Turkey Day!

Dear Parents,

During the week of November 21^st, we will be continuing our study of procedural texts using engaging lessons on following and writing specific instructions.  Our class is in need of the following materials for our activities:

·       24 round fudge -striped shortbread cookies

·       12 ounce package of chocolate chips

·       24 large marshmallows

·       5 tubes of yellow decorators’ frosting

·       2 packages of colorful tissue paper

·       2 bags of pipe cleaner (preferably brown)

·       24 1-inch pom-poms (orange)

·       48 small jiggle eyes

Please let me know if you would be willing to donate one or more of these items.

Thanks you for your generosity and continued support!

Explorer Excellence Awards This Week!

It was a very busy with with lots of learning. I cannot stress the importance of continuing to practice multiplication facts! This week I really noticed which kids know their facts and which kids are still learning. Keep up the hard work!!!!

Reminders:

- Explorer Excellence is on Tuesday at 8:40. Your children have worked very hard this 9 weeks and will receive their awards for their hard work.

- It is important to continually practice math facts. For the past two weeks we've been working on division and because it is the inverse operation to multiplication, students who knew their multiplication mastered division. This week we're moving onto multiplication with larger numbers. Not knowing multiplication facts will greatly affect a child's progress in math during this unit.

- The Thanksgiving Feast lunch will be held next Thursday.  Parents and grandparents are more than welcome to join. Please be sure to return the form that was in last week's Thursday folder so the cafeteria can get an accurate count.

-We will have a Reading Benchmark on November 10th and a Writing Benchmark (prompt only) on November 17th. 

 

What we're learning...

Math - 2 by 1 multiplication

Science - force

Social Studies - independence

Reading - compare/contrast and cause/effect

Writing - composition about "a person you choose as a role model"

Homework:

Daily - Practice multiplication facts for at least 10 minutes. Read for at least 20 minutes.

Monday - multiplication word problems

Tuesday - vocabulary sentences AND spelling

Wednesday - partial products (multiplication)

Thursday - summary AND spelling proofreading

Vocabulary Words:

stranded - left helpless

fractured - broken

alert - aware

display - show

weariness - tiredness

concluded - formed an opinion

Spelling Words:

wiped, covered, mapped, pleasing, slipped, putting, traveled, seeking, visiting, mixed

shipped, phoning, offered, smelling, hiking, checking, fainted, landed, becoming, wandering

It's Red Ribbon Week!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Friday was the last day of the first nine weeks. Monday starts the second nine weeks. We will be having the Explorer Excellence ceremony recognizing Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, Hustle Award, and Explorer Excellence the first week in November. I will have the official date in next week's blog. The ceremony will be held at 8:40am.

Red Ribbon Week Activities:

Encourage your child to participate and explain what this week means to them.

Monday - "Give drugs the boot!" - Wear boots or western wear.

Tuesday - "WBE will sock it to drugs!" - Wear crazy socks.

Wednesday - "Show off your drug free spirit!" - Wear red.

Thursday - "Peace out to drugs!" - Wear tie-dye.

Friday - "I'm too busy reading to do drugs!" - Dress up as your favorite storybook character.

What we're learning...

Math - division!!!! It's more important than ever to keep practicing those multiplication facts.)

Science - electricity, insulators, and conductors

Social Studies - missions, presidios, and small towns

Reading - reading expository text for meaning

Writing - finish personal narrative and start expository composition

Homework:

Daily - Read for at least 20 minutes and practice math facts.

Monday - more elapsed time practice

Tuesday - vocabulary sentences (subject to change)

Wednesday - meaning of division

Thursday - summary (subject to change)

October is here and fall is in the air!

I would like to compliment everyone in our class for their hard work studying their multiplication facts. Everyone did a great job in our multiplication bee! We will continue using multiplication throughout the year, so continued practice is necessary!

Reminders:

- Our library day is Tuesday; be sure to bring your books back to return or renew.

- Thursday night is McTeacher's Night from 5-7pm. A percentage of all proceeds will be donated to WBE during those hours. Be sure to stop by and see some of the WBE staff serving your food!

- There is no school on Monday, October 10th due to parent conferences. I sent home confirmation letters home last week reminding you of your conference time.  If you did not receive it, please contact me.  If you requested a phone conference, I will be calling you soon to either have the conference or if you are busy, we can set up a better time.

- International Fair is quickly approaching. It will be held on Thursday, October 20th. If you are interested in helping, contact Elda in the PTA to let her know.

- We are collecting Box Tops to raise money for the school. The class with the most wins a pizza party. Be sure to save all of your Box Tops and turn them in to me by October 25th.

What we're learning...

Math - patterns and algebraic relationships

Science - classifying matter

Social Studies - Native Americans

Language Arts - research, writing a biography

Homework:

Daily - Read 20 minutes. Practice multiplication facts.

Monday - Music Sales/CDs and DVDs

Tuesday - vocabulary sentences

Wednesday - Algebraic Reasoning Step B/C

Thursday - summary

Progress Reports

Parents,

I was planning on sending home progress reports tomorrow, but I will be out sick.  However, I fully expect to be back on Friday so I will send progress reports and Thursday folders home then.  Please encourage your child to turn in any missing assignments and to correct and return any work that received a grade of less than a 70.  (All missing grades have been posted so your child will know what they are still missing.) I will do my best to get all of those corrections put in the gradebook before I run the progress reports so that you can have an accurate grade. 

Feel free to contact me with any questions.  tanya_hatfield@roundrockisd.org

In Case You Missed It...

Here is the shout out from Adam Winkler if you'd like to see it! The kids were so excited to be mentioned on the news!

Young UT cornerbacks don't back down - WeAreAustin.com

We're Getting a Shout Out!

As I am sure your child has already told you, last week we had a very special guest speaker.  Adam Winkler from KEYE came to talk to the kids about the importance of writing and how it has helped him in his career.  He kindly agreed to give our 4th graders a shout out during the 6 pm and 10 pm sports newscast tonight.  Be sure to check it out if you have a chance!

Reminders

- Early Release on Wednesday at 12:45.
- Ms. Hatfield will be out of the classroom on Friday to administer a reading assessment. I will still be available via e-mail, but if you need anything please call the office and they will relay the message to your child.
- The first PTA meeting of the year is Tuesday at 6:30. It is a great way to support WBE! If you would like more information, you may visit their website: http://www.wellsbranchpta.org/
- A letter about Fall Conferences will be coming home in the Thursday folder.  Please read it carefully and let me know which times work best for you.  Face to face conferences will be held throughout the day on October 10th. 
- I'd like to say a big thank you to those who are providing the classroom with snacks!  If at all possible, please send snack with your child daily; however, I know many students are unable to bring snacks and I can't tell you how much difference it makes to have full bellies in the classroom. The snack donations that are sent are used for students who are not able to bring snacks or forgot them at home.  Any donations are appreciated. A very easy snack is a box of graham crackers...they're cheap and easy to pass out. Just a suggestion...

What we're learning:
Math - multiplication (make sure you're practicing those multiplication facts!!!!!!!)
Science - changes in matter
Social Studies - Freedom Week activities
Reading - biographies
Writing - grammar, parts of speech
Thanks again for your continued support! 

Parent Orientation

Just a reminder that 4th Grade Parent Orientation will be held in the library tonight at 6 pm.  This is a time for you to become more familiar with the curriculum and expectations for fourth grade.  In compliance with confidentiality laws, I will not be able to discuss individual issues with you tonight while others are present.  If you have any issues that you'd like to discuss about your child, please feel free to contact me to set up a conference time.  Our fall conference day will be held on October 10th, however, if I'd be happy to meet with you sooner if need be. 

I hope to see you tonight! 

Welcome!

I had such a wonderful time meeting many of you during our Welcome Walk or on Meet the Teacher night.  I am thrilled to be your child's teacher for this school year and am looking forward to all of the great learning that is going to take place.  Please know that I understand the amount of trust that a parent puts into their child's teacher, and I am honored to be a part of your child's life. 

Over the next week, we will be spending much of our time learning about classroom and school procedures as well as doing community building activities.  Additionally, we will begin our place value unit in math. This year we will add, subtract, compare, order, and round numbers all the way up to the hundred millions place. Place value is an essential building block for the rest of the fourth grade content. Please work with your child nightly to ensure he/she grasps this concept. In science we will begin setting up our science notebooks which will be used during scientific inquiry for the rest of the year. We will also discuss lab safety and a safety contract will be sent home during the first week for you and your child to sign. This week in language arts we will discuss how to choose books that match our levels and interest. We will be reading and discussing The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes and writing in our notebooks in response to the text. Fourth grade social studies is all about Texas history. We will begin our study by reading and analyzing maps of Texas.

Homework this week will include nightly reading for at least 20 minutes and a name poster. Please make sure to record the time your child has read and initial in his/her agenda every night. The name poster assignment will be discussed in class on Tuesday and due Friday. As always, please practice multiplication facts with your child nightly.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your support and I am looking forward to a very successful year!

Welcome to 4th Grade!

I am very excited about spending the upcoming 2011-2012 school year with you and your child.  I can't wait to see all of the learning and growth that will take place over the next 9 months.  Please be sure to drop of school supplies on Meet the Teacher Night or have your child bring them with them on the first day of school.

Please fill out this form.