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Gala & Auction: April 28, 2012               Family Fun Night: February 24, 2012 www.barnesvilleschool.org joy. support. excellence. Spring is Here– And So Are ERBs!     Can you believe that we only have about 10 weeks of school left? Time flies when you’re having fun! We are both very happy to see how each student has progressed from the beginning of the year; they have all matured so much socially and academically. As most of you are probably aware, the students will be taking the ERBs the week of April 11th. We are now devoting some class time to preparing the students. We will share with them some very important test taking strategies, as well as review important math and language arts skills. Along with the basic language arts and math questions, the students will also encounter logic and decision making problems. Also, students may be asked to answer questions using multiple steps. Some of the questions will be difficult and are geared for mature thinkers, but we are confident in our students’ abilities to do their best. As parents, you can prepare your child by making sure that he/she gets a good night's sleep that week, and that he/she is here each day on time. The students will have no homework during this week, and therefore should be able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather each night. The students will be completing only two parts of the test each day, each ranging from 20-45 minutes long. They will be taking each part separately, with a break in between each. We will be asking students to contribute to a classroom breakfast that will be held daily during ERB week. This is not mandatory. If you have a concern, please talk with your child’s teacher. More information is included here in this newsletter, including what date and product your child has been assigned. Having breakfast is so important, especially during this week, and so much fun! As spring brings us closer to summer, the weather will be getting nicer! We have noticed over the years that it is this time of year that students start to lose their enthusiasm. Please work with your child to make sure he/she completes all homework and projects to the best of his/her ability. Also, as we finish up the school year, the material that we will cover, specifically in math and reading, will become more challenging. There are some students who will grasp this new, more challenging material easily, while others will need more reinforcement in fifth grade. Please ask your child nightly about the new skills being introduced daily. We look forward to a wonderful end to fourth grade. -Mrs. Dyke and Mrs. Pause State Fair Projects     The students are off and running on their PowerPoint projects. All of the students are doing a fantastic job, and we are really looking forward to seeing the finished products. We have set the State Fair day for May 13th. More details about this exciting day are included here in this newsletter. Each student will be responsible for contributing one dish that represents his or her state. The food will be shared with students and parents.   Curriculum Overview for April     Math– The students will finish unit 7 on fractions and begin unit 8 on perimeter and area in math. Please continue to reinforce the math skills that are taught in school, and encourage your child to work on First in Math at home. Reading- Mrs. Dyke’s class will finish reading Out of the Dust.  Mrs. Pause’s class will be reading short stories that take place in the Southwest or West region of the country. We will also continue working on many of the skills they’ve been perfecting all year, such as analyzing character, summarizing, and making inferences. Regions– We finished the Southwest region, focusing on the people and their heritage. After this region students will move into the Mountain region. Please be advised that students will take a quiz in June on all 50 states, capitals, abbreviations, and locations. It may be a good idea to start reviewing past regions. Wordly Wise– We have finished all the lessons and have now begun to go back through the book to complete the section “E” of each lesson. These sections will be completed during class time and as part of nightly homework.   Book Report– This month we are asking the students to read a book about or set in the Southwest or Western Region. The book must be fictional, but relate to one of the regions. There will be a written part as well as a project for this book report. The written part is available here. For the project, students are asked to create a mobile representing the characters, setting, and plot from the book. Please be creative, but do NOT give away the ending. Instructions are attached here.  Upcoming Field Trips     The fourth grade has three more field trips planned for the end of the year. The first trip will be to Seneca Schoolhouse. This is always an exciting trip for the students each year. The students will spend the day learning what school was like in the colonial days. The teacher will have to be addressed as, "Ma’am," and the students must stand to address her. On this day please have your child come dressed in colonial garb. Under these clothes please make sure your child wears something warm, for there is no central heat in the schoolhouse, only a pot belly stove. Students also need to bring a brown bag lunch that is completely disposable. There is a tiny gift shop area in the back of the schoolhouse where students can purchase colonial toys and books. Please send no more than $5 with your child if he or she would like to purchase something to help support the museum. The permission slip for the Seneca Schoolhouse trip is here.  Please sign and return.   The second and third trips of the year are to Fort Frederick and the C&O Canal. These will be all day trips. Your child should dress in Barnesville attire and bring a disposable lunch as well.        Upcoming Events     ERBs AM only 11-15 Seneca Schoolhouse field trip (Dress in colonial garb) 18 1:30 Dismissal 21 No School Good Friday 22 Noon Dismissal Conferences (if needed) 29 State Fair May 13 Fort Frederick field trip May 20 C&O Canal field trip May 23   Supplies     Please make sure that your child has the proper supplies to last until the end of the year. In particular, high quality pencils for taking the ERB tests, red pens and glue sticks. We will use lots of glue for projects. We could also use large containers of snacks, such as pretzels, to hold off those hunger pains in the afternoon.  Please continue to help your child maintain an organized binder! May Day     We are looking forward to our annual May Day event! Please watch for information from Mrs. Taylor. Parents are welcome to come and enjoy this wonderful experience with their children. This year the fourth graders have the honor of performing the ribbon dances. Spanish     This month we will be learning about animal descriptions. We will learn about some animals and learn adjectives to describe them. We will be using props, pictures and movements for this unit.   Physical Education     Flipping, vaulting, rolling, and sticking perfect landings!! These are just some of the things that the fourth graders have been working on this past month. The gymnastics unit has allowed them to practice over 50 different skills on the floor exercise, vault, balance beam, and wedge mats. They worked on different variations of skills and learn the importance of spotting. Several students worked up the courage to work on their backflips!! I give fourth grade a 10 for the gymnastics unit.    Art     The children will finish their state landscape painting in April and start a fun life drawing unit where they will learn gesture drawing of people and turn one of their drawings into a Super Hero that will help save the earth in some way. They will also glaze their bird tiles this month.       Music     In Music Class, the Fourth Grade students are listening to parts of two quintets:  the finale of Dvorak's Piano Quintet in A Major, Opus 81, and the third movement of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet in A Major.  They have been playing their recorders, and have progressed to playing more advanced tunes and songs on their instruments!  In order to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment, and of avoiding pollution, they are singing such songs as, "This Pretty Planet" and "The Fish Of The Sea".  And they have listened to a song called, "The Song Of The World's Last Whale".  They are learning some fun Irish songs and rhymes and children's play-verse in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  Return To:   Home Page  |  Newsletters Section