Last Week of the Semester

New Dismissal Procedure:

Please note upcoming changes in dismissal procedures to be implemented Jan. 3, 2011. In an effort to address concerns with traffic flow and student safety, new procedures for students who leave campus on foot will be implemented beginning Jan. 3, 2011. Students who walk home on their own, or are picked up by parents who leave their cars and walk up for dismissal, will be dismissed from the bike rack area adjacent to the corner of Merrilltown Dr. and Town Hill Dr. The students in the current car rider/walker area will ONLY be those students who actually enter a car in the car rider lane. Please notify your child’s teacher in writing if you need to change dismissal procedures.

Reminders:

- GRADES ARE DUE ON FRIDAY! Be sure you have checked the Home Access Center for up-to-date information on your child's grades. All work must be turned in BY FRIDAY!

- Monday is Science Lab from 12:45-1:30. Please let me know if you would like to come help. (Prior science knowledge is not necessary. The students will be leading their own experiments.)

- Wednesday is the Field Trip to UT. If your child does not have a sack lunch, they will be able to buy one from the cafeteria. We will be wearing our class shirts on that day.

- Friday is the Holiday Party, which will begin at 1:45. Don't forget that we will need donations or icing and small candies to put on top. The cookies are being baked, but I'm still looking for a parent or two who are available to come a few minutes early to help set up the materials for cookie decorating.

- Parent Help: Lately I've been hearing from a lot parents that they aren't sure how to help their child with their multiplication or division homework because it's not the traditional algorithm we all learned in school. This is true. We are teaching more strategies that are based on number sense rather than memorizing the steps. For this, I have posted a few videos on my blog (under Tutorial Videos on the left) that will walk you through step-by-step of how to complete these problems. These videos were done in class, so your children are familiar.

- Have a wonderful winter break...stay warm, spend lots of time with family and friends, and have your children continue to read every day and practice their math facts. I know they will be home all day and might need something to do, so I have plenty of websites on my blog that will help with math facts, computer basics, and reading practice.

- We will be in need of snack when we return from break. Any easy to serve, kid-friendly crackers/snack packs are welcome! Thanks to those who have previously donated and those who will be donating in the future!!!

Science Fair:

The Science Fair will be held at on January 26th. Packets went home on Thursday with important information. EVERY 4th grader is REQUIRED to participate and it must be an experiment, rather than a demonstration. They are able to choose whether they want to submit their project for judging or display it in the gallery, but they all must complete a project. Prior to the Science Fair, students are required to meet a few deadlines...

Dececember - January 6: decide on a project, get teacher approval, begin

January 5: Research Night in the Library 5:30-6:30

January 9-20: complete project, assemble display board

January 25: bring project, report, and display board to school

January 26: Science Fair Night 5:30-7:00

If you have questions about the Science Fair, I can do my best to answer them or you can contact our WBE Science Fair Chairman, Amanda Boyd, at amanda_boyd@roundrockisd.org or 428-3461. You can also visit theAustin Energy Regional Science Fair website.

What we're working on...

Math - fractions - Assessment on Friday

Science - changes to land (erosion, weathering, deposition) - Assessment on Friday

Social Studies/Language Arts - creating "The Mystery of the Alamo Ghost" projects

Homework:

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

Monday - fractions

Tuesday - summary (using strategy of telling characters, setting, problem, solution)

Wednesday - fractions

Thursday - summary (using strategy of telling characters, setting, problem solution)