Week of 12/18

This Week in Fourth Grade...

We have an exciting and festive week ahead of us! There will be a lot of Christmas cheer in the air!

Math: Last week we finished up Topic 5, and students were assessed on the mental math strategies we learned in multiplication. This week we will spend some time focusing on our math facts, before moving into Topic 6 when we return from break. Topic 6 will dive deeper into multiplication, so we want to prepare by reviewing and practicing our facts! 

Religion: This last week of Advent, we will begin to turn our focus to the Christmas story and read about the birth of our Savior. It never gets old, and I find each year, as we get older, we gain new insight and wonder into the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus! 

Reading and Language Arts: Last week we finished up our class novel James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl! The students and I loved our time reading this novel! This week we will be working on a culminating project to close out our study of this novel. Students will get a chance to practice their summarizing skills, and show of their creative and artistic abilities! 

Social Studies: Students have been doing a lot of exploring of the Southwest Region of the United States! On Wednesday, students will take their Southwest Region test. 

Announcements:

• Tomorrow is the last day to bring in gifts for our family we have adopted this Christmas! Thank you all so much for your support and contributions! This family will be greatly blessed this Christmas!
• On Thursday, 12/21, we have our Polar Express Day! Students will be allowed to wear their pajamas and bring in a pair of cozy socks or slippers to celebrate this last day before break! We will cozy up with hot cocoa and watch the Polar Express! Our Jingle Bell Dash is also this day, so please be sure to have your child come to school in tennis shoes. They will be able to change into slipper afterwards :) 

Merry Christmas and God Bless! 

Mrs. Drury

Week of 12/11

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: We have been working hard and practicing our mental math strategies for multiplying by 1 digit numbers. This week we will continue to practice and review the strategies of breaking apart, compensation, and rounding to estimate. Our Topic 5 test will be this Thursday, 12/14. 

Religion: Our Advent celebrations continue! This week we will have a special focus on Mary, and looking at her role in our lives as we continue to wait and pray this Advent season. On Tuesday we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and we will ask for Mary's intercession in our lives! We are so blessed to celebrate the true reason for the season in our classroom! 

Reading and Language Arts: We are moving into Unit 3 this week in our Wonders Reading Program! Our essential question this week in reading is: How can we make new friends feel welcome? We will be reading fantasy genre stories this week to explore our question. We will also focus on the author's point of view while reading. 

In Writer's Workshop we are continuing the brainstorming and prewriting stages of our opinion pieces! Students will narrow down their ideas, and choose a topic this week!

Science: Our Waves Unit test will be on Tuesday, 12/12. Students were sent home with their study guides last week. The test will be on the topics of light and sound, force and motion, and magnets. 

Social Studies: We will be summarizing our explorations of the Southwest Region this week! Students will be working in their booklets and taking those booklets home at the end of the week. On the horizon... our Southwest Test will be next week on Wednesday 12/20 ( we don't want to forget all our information over break! ) 

Announcements:

• If you have not done so already, please be sure to return field trip permission slips by 12/20. Our trip to the Baltimore Aquarium will be the week we return from break on 1/6!
• Grandparents Day is THIS Monday! Grandparents/ Special friends are welcomed to SAS tomorrow morning for breakfast and a sneak peak at our Christmas program! Breakfast begins at 8:15 AM, and the program should run to about 9:30 AM.
• On the horizon... Our last day before break, Thursday 12/21, fourth grade will be having a Polar Express Day! Students will be allowed to wear their pajamas and bring in their favorite cozy slippers or socks. We will celebrate Christmas together with Polar Express themed activities and then watch the movie with some hot cocoa in hand! Our annual Jingle Ball dash will also be this day, so students should still come to school with appropriate running/walking shoes, and then they can change into slippers afterwards. A reminder note will be coming home as we get closer to our special day! It is going to be a fun day! 

Have a Blessed Week! :)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 12/3

Happy December and Happy First Week of Advent! This is such a beautiful season to celebrate with the students, and we have so many wonderful celebrations to look forward to! 

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will continue to build our foundation and understanding of multiplying by 1-digit numbers. We will explore some mental math strategies such as breaking apart and compensation to solve more difficult problems. 

Religion: The season of Advent has begun, and we will be in full swing preparing our hearts and minds for the birth of our Lord! We will be focusing on the meaning of this season, and identifying the meanings of all the different symbols we see during this season as well. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: How are writers inspired by animals? We will be reading some poetry involving animals to explore this question. While reading, we will also focus on the point of view of the narrator. 

In Writer's Workshop we will be beginning our next unit! Students will be introduced to the features of opinion writing.We will begin to develop our opinion writing skills this week, and brainstorm ideas for our next writing piece! 

Science: We are finishing up our Magnets weekly five topic this week, and with that our Waves Unit! We will begin to review our Waves unit, which consisted of the topics: light and sound, force and motion, and magnets. Be on the lookout for a study guide coming home with students this week. Our Waves test will be next week! 

Social Studies: Students did a great job on their Eastern Region travel brochures! We enjoyed a gallery walk among the brochures, and discussed interesting facts we learned and where we want to travel next! It was a great way to wrap up things in the East! Students are eager now to continue their travels, as we move West! Next region up: the Southwest! 

Announcements:

• Our December Math Enrichment packets will go home with students this week! Remember, this is an optional packet for students who would like more practice with math concepts we are covering this month!
• Be on the lookout for the Waves Science test study guide coming home with students this week.
• Last week students received a field trip letter and permission slip for our upcoming field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium! Please make sure to have students return permission slips no later than December 20th. 

Have a blessed week! :)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 11/27

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: We return from Thanksgiving break, and refresh our memories from what we've been learning and reviewing in Topic 4. On Tuesday, students will take their Topic 4 test. After our test, we will begin to explore our Topic 5 concepts: multiplying by 1-digit numbers!

Religion: The countdown till Advent has begun! To prepare for Advent, we will discuss the Liturgical Year's calendar this week. Students will be able to recognize the different seasons and special ways we celebrate Jesus' life during each time. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: What helps an animal survive? We will be reading nonfiction texts to explore this question. As we read, we are looking to identify the main idea and supporting details in order to help us summarize the text. 

Science: We continue our Waves Unit this week with the topic of: Magnets! Students will read about and complete hands on activities in order to explore more about magnets.

Social Studies: Students have now explored the Eastern region of the United States! Before we "pack our bags" and head West, students will complete a culminating activity of our Eastern region studies. Students will be working on creating a "travel brochure" for an Eastern state of their choosing. At the end of the week we will do a gallery walk, and learn more about specific states in the East! 

Week of Thanksgiving!

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Though this week is a short week, it is full of excitement and thankfulness, as well as plenty of learning! 

Math: We will be spending Monday and Tuesday reviewing concepts and skills we have been focusing on in Topic 4. When students return from Thanksgiving break, they will have their Topic 4 test on Tuesday, 11/28.

Religion: We are wrapping up Chapter 5 this week, which focuses on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We will be doing some review of the main ideas of chapter 5, and taking an open book test on Tuesday. 

Reading/ Language Arts: We have some fun Thanksgiving activities planned during our reading time this week! Students will be doing some writing from the perspective of a turkey! Their goal is to persuade all the Thanksgiving hosts to cook something else as the main course for Thanksgiving dinner! 

Students will also be working hard to complete their final drafts of their how-to articles! We have been learning a lot from each other, by reading students' articles on how to complete a task or make something new! 

Social Studies: On Monday, students will take their Southeast Region test! They have been reviewing in school, and studying at home with their booklets! I know they will do great!

And of course, it's all about Thanksgiving this week! We will spend time learning about the First Thanksgiving, and complete festive activities along the way! 

Announcements:

• Tuesday morning students will participate in our annual Turkey Trot! Students should wear their PE uniforms and the appropriate outerwear to stay warm outside! 
• On Tuesday afternoon the school will come together for a Thanksgiving Celebration! We will sit with our buddies to enjoy a snack and watch a presentation from the student council! 

Week of 11/13

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we continue our topic on adding and subtracting whole numbers. We will use our knowledge of place value to add and subtract numbers up to the thousands. We will spend some extra time practicing how to subtract across zeros. 

Religion: We are moving into Chapter 5 this week, focusing on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. In Chapter 4, students learned about forming their consciences. In this chapter, they will learn about the peace that comes from receiving God's love and forgiveness through Reconciliation. In addition, students will be introduced to the "Keep Christ in Christmas" poster contest. We will go over the expectations, and even begin creating our posters (can you believe it's already that time of year?!)

Reading and Language Arts: We will continue with last week's essential question: how are all living things connected? We will continue to read narrative nonfiction stories about our environment and different ecosystems. While reading, we are on the lookout for identifying the main idea and supporting details of the text. 

In Writer's Workshop, students are gearing up for final drafts of their how-to articles. We begin conferencing to prepare our papers for publishing! 

Science: We will continue with our Science Weekly Five topic of Force and Motion this week! Students have enjoyed exploring the effects of speed and acceleration with their ramp building last week. This week we will review and summarize our findings. 

Social Studies: We are wrapping up our explorations of the Southeast Region! We will be spending time reviewing this week. Our Southeast test will be next Monday, the 20th. Students will be bringing home their study guides in the next couple of days. 

Announcements:

• Our annual Race for Education is THIS FRIDAY! Our Race festivities begin at 11:30 AM. Students should wear their race shirts,sweatpants and tennis shoes, and the appropriate outerwear. 
• On the horizon... Southeast Region test will be on 11/20

Week of 11/6

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we will begin by continuing our review of place value concepts. On Tuesday, students will take their Topic 3 math test, which focuses all on place value concepts such as expanded form, place value relationships, and rounding. After our test, we will begin to use our knowledge of place value to add and subtract large whole numbers. 

Religion: We will be wrapping up Chapter 4 this week. Students have been working hard to prepare skits that will demonstrate their understanding of how our consciences work in helping guide our decisions. We will also spend some time reviewing the main ideas from Chapter 4 and take our chapter test this week. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: How are all living this connected? We will be reading narrative nonfiction stories to help us explore our question. While reading we will build our comprehension by focusing on finding the main idea and supporting details of our text. 

In Writer's Workshop students are working on their rough drafts of their "how-to" articles, and will begin to revise and edit their pieces this week. 

Science: This week in science we continue our Waves unit by exploring the topic of Force and Motion. Students will read, identify new vocabulary words, and conduct experiments related to force and motion. 

Social Studies: We honor Veterans this week, by participating in a variety of activities related to learning more about veterans and thanking them for their service. We will also begin to summarize our explorations of the Southeast Region this week. 

Announcements:

• This Friday is a half day for students. Our Open House will also take place on Friday. Spread the word! 

Week of 10/30

Happy Halloween Week! The Halloween spirit has been in the air for some time now, and the students and I are excited for the celebrations we have this week! Though there is much excitement and sugar in the air, we will try our best to continue on with our learning as well ;) 

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we are continuing to explore all things place value! We will build off our previous lessons this week, and use our knowledge we've learned so far to help us round whole numbers and complete problem solving problems related to place value. On the horizon...our next math test will be Tuesday of next week.

Religion: Students have been doing a great job contributing to class discussions all about forming and examining our consciences! Towards the end of last week we had a beautiful time of prayer where we did an examination of conscience and prayed the act of contrition. Students really showed maturity during this prayer time! This week we will continue to focus on our consciences. We will put into practice what we've learned, and work in groups to write and perform skits showing how our conscience works! 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: How do animal characters change familiar stories? We will be reading familiar stories, with a little bit of a twist this week. While reading we will focus on finding the theme of the story. 

In Writer's Workshop, students are continuing to work on their "how-to" articles. They have chosen topics they believe to be experts in and want to share their knowledge with the class! 

Science: We will be wrapping up our Light and Sound weekly five topic this week! Students have enjoyed conducting experiments demonstrating how refraction works, and using old fashioned "telephones" to explore sound waves. 

Social Studies: Our Southeast region explorations are picking up! This week we will focus on the states and capitals of the Southeast! 

Announcements:

• Tuesday is Halloween! Students will participate in a Fall Walk/Run in the morning. Students may wear orange and black dress down attire. Please make sure students wear comfortable shoes for the walk/run. We will be having our class party in the afternoon! 
• Wednesday is All Saints Day, and a Holy Day of Obligation. We will celebrate Mass as a school at 9 AM. Please join us if you can! 

Have a Blessed Week! 

:)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 10/23

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we begin Topic 3: all about Place Value! We will explore different ways to represent numbers, such as standard form, expanded form, and using base ten blocks. We will also start to look at the relationships between place values and order and compare numbers. 

Religion: We will begin Chapter 4 this week, which expands on what we learned about in Chapter 3. This week we will focus on recognizing our consciences as our guide when making decisions in our daily lives. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: What are some messages animals have to share with us? We will be reading folktales this week involving animals and identifying the moral of the story in our tales! We will also be focusing on the comprehension strategy of recognizing clues that lead us to finding the theme! 

In Writer's Workshop we are ready to begin our next writing piece: Explanatory Writing! Students will begin the brainstorming and prewriting stages for creating their "how-to" articles. 

Science: We begin our Waves Unit this week! Our first topic in our Waves unit will be Light and Sound! Students will explore how light and sound move through the air and are produced. Students will be able to experience some hands on activities to make these concepts more concrete! 

Social Studies: We continue our explorations through the Southeast Region this week! 

Week of 10/16

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: After finishing up Topic 2 focus lessons, and informally assessing students towards the end of the week, I have decided to postpone our Topic 2 test until Thursday (10/19). This week we will be continuing our practice with patterns and problem solving. We will practice in and out tables, being able to identify rules for the tables and extend the tables. We will also take a look at a few more problem solving word problems. 

Religion: We will be finishing up Chapter 3 this week. We had some amazing discussions throughout our readings in Chapter 3; I know the students really retained a lot of the information we learned! Students will have an open book assessment of Chapter 3 this week. We are also beginning to gear up for All Saints Day! Later this week students will meet with their Kindergarten buddies to complete a Saints activity. Prior, 4th graders will be doing some research related to an assigned Saint!

Reading/ Language Arts: Last week we finished our first unit in our Wonders Reading Series. This week students will take a unit assessment. This assessment is not something students can study for, or need to worry about at home. We will take a couple days to read stories, and answer comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar questions related to those stories. After our assessment, we will begin to get in the Halloween spirit! We will doing some spooky drawings and storytelling! 

Science: Students will have their first science test this week on Wednesday, 10/18. We began our review last week and will continue for the first part of this week. Our test is on our unit Processes that Shape the Earth's Surface. In this unit we studied Landforms, Slow Changes to Earth's Surface, and Rocks and Fossils. Students were given a study guide last week for this test! Be sure to encourage your child to continue studying at home this week. 

Social Studies: We are packing our bags again for our next trip! Next stop: The Southeast Region of the United States! We will begin to explore the Southeast's climate, geography, and economy! 

Announcements:

• Science Test 10/18
• Math Test 10/19
• There will be no spelling or reading homework, due to our shorter week and our tests taking place. 
• Reminder: No school for the students this Friday, 10/20 due to Parent Conferences taking place. 

Week of 10/9

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: Last week we began our Topic 3 in the math! This topic is all about patterns! This week we will continue, and finish, this unit. We will focus on number sequences and in and out tables. Students will need to look for rules and find patterns to continue the pattern. 

Religion: Towards the end of last week we began Chapter 3: Sin in Our World. Students were introduced to the term Free Will. We had some great discussions about temptations, and the difficult process it can be to make good choices all the time. This week we will continue those discussions. Students will be able to recognize that God gives us the freedom to choose, and sin leads us away from God. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our Essential Question in RELA this week is: How can starting a business help others? Our comprehension strategies we will focus on while reading this week are rereading for understanding, and finding the main ideas and key details in our text. 

In Writer's Workshop students are wrapping up the revising and editing stages of their personal narratives. They will begin to conference with me, and then start their final drafts! I am excited for you to see their hard work soon! 

Students can not get enough of our class novel, James and the Giant Peach. We are laughing our way through the story so far! This week we continue our novel and novel study. 

Science: This week we will continue our Science Weekly 5 topic of Rocks and Fossils. This is our last topic in our Processes that Shape Earth unit. We will begin review of our unit this week, and students will be tested on the unit next week. Be on the lookout for a study guide coming home! 

Social Studies: We have also wrapped up our Northeast Region unit! We will be "unpacking" from our tour this week, and reviewing all we have explored. Along with in class review this week, students have created their own study guides, and will be bringing those home on Monday. Our Northeast Test will be this Friday. 

Announcements/ Upcoming Test Dates:

• 4th grade will be leading school Mass this Friday! We hope you can join us for this special time of prayer and community! 
• Race for Education packets went home with students on Friday! We are looking forward to another fun and successful race! 
• Spelling Homework will begin this week! Just a reminder that we are starting a new spelling program called Words Their Way. Be on the lookout for your child bringing his or her Spelling Notebook home with the homework inside. 
• We are finishing up several units in the near future and have some tests coming up. I always provide students will review in class, but also want students to start building study skills at home. I tried my best to space out the tests, but also not wanting to wait too long after we already finished the unit. If you're child is struggling with concepts or studying please reach out to me, and I will plan accordingly! 
• Northeast Region Test: Friday, 10/13
• Topic 3 Math Test: Tuesday, 10/17
• Processes that Shape Earth Science Test: Wednesday, 10/17
• Chapter 3 Religion Test: next week, date TBD. This test will be open note due to other tests going on around the same time. 

Have a Blessed Week! 

Mrs. Drury

Week of 10/2

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we are preparing to take our first math test. We began reviewing last week, and will continue on Monday. On Tuesday students will take their Topic 1 test to assess their understanding of concepts we've focused on so far in the school year. Encourage your children to maintain a growth mindset as they prepare for the test! 

Religion: We will be finishing up Chapter 2 this week, and taking our Chapter 2 test later in the week. I really enjoyed the conversations we had last week all about the Beatitudes, and we will continue to focus on the Beatitudes as we review for our test. After we complete Chapter 2, we will begin Chapter 3 which focuses on the free will God gives us.

Reading/Language Arts: Our Essential Question we will explore during our Daily 5 Reading time this week is: How can science help us understand how things work? We will be reading a narrative nonfiction story about forces and motions, all taking place at an amusement park! 

In Writer's Workshop students are continuing their rough drafts of their personal narratives! 

In Class Novel we are continuing to read James and the Giant Peach! Students are really enjoying our story so far! 

Science: Moving right along in our unit: Processes that Shape the Earth's Surface, this week we are learning all about Rocks and Fossils! Students will explore the different types of rocks, and identify the ways fossils have helped scientists throughout history! 

Social Studies: We are just about finished traveling through the Northeast Region of the United States! Students have explored geography, climate, popular attractions, and natural resources throughout our beautiful region. This week we will bring together all we have learned, and summarize and review our findings. 

Have a blessed week! 

Mrs. Drury

Week of 9/25

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we will be finishing up our first math topic! We will explore more with division this week, understanding how multiplication and division are inverse operations. We will use our knowledge of our basic multiplication facts to help us learn some basic division facts. We will also begin to review what we have focused on this topic in preparation for our first math test, next week. 

Religion: Students did really well on their Chapter 1 Religion tests last week! I was very proud of the students for reviewing and studying! This week we will begin Chapter 2: Jesus Leads us to Happiness. We will focus on the Beatitudes, and how they lead us down a path of happiness.

Reading and Language Arts: Our Essential Question is: How do people respond to natural disasters? This question is very relevant to us, as so many people have suffered from the recent hurricanes. We will also read nonfiction articles about tornados and earthquakes as we explore natural disasters and their effects. 

In Writer's Workshop students have decided on a memorable event in their life that they wish to write about.  We are beginning to organize and sequence our ideas for our personal narratives.

During Class Novel time we will begin reading James and the Giant Peach! I am excited for the students to have this opportunity to dive into a great book! 

Science: Our focus this week will stay on Slow Changes to the Earth's Surface. We were unable to get through all our stations and activities related to our topic last week, so we will spend this week exploring this topic as well! 

Social Studies: Students continue their travels and explorations through the Northeast Region of the United States! 

Have a great week! :)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 9/18

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will be continuing Topic 1: Multiplication and Division- Meanings and Facts. We will explore basic division facts, and take a look at how division can be represented as repeated subtraction. We will relate multiplication and division to see how they are inverse operations, and we can use the multiplication facts we know to help us with division. 

Religion: We will finish up Chapter 1 this week in our We Believe program. We have been focusing on Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life and recognizing ways in which He calls us to live. This week we will use that prior knowledge to identify ways the Church spreads the Good News of Jesus Christ today. We will also emphasize how we are disciples of Jesus, called to spread the Good News. Students will have their first Religion test towards the end of this week on Chapter 1. 

Reading and Language Arts: During our Daily 5 Reading Rotations, students will explore the essential question: How do your actions affect others? They will read stories closely, explore new vocabulary words, and write about our essential question. 

We will begin Writer's Workshop this week! Our first workshop project will be personal narratives! Students will be introduced to the features of a personal narrative, and begin the brainstorming and prewriting stages of their narratives this week. 

In our Class Novel time, students are continuing to explore our "Notice and Note Signposts". These signposts will be helpful tools we refer to throughout the year while reading. 

Science: Continuing on in our Unit titled "Processes that Shape the Earth's Surface", we will focus on Slow Changes to the Earth's Surface this week. Students will move through our Science Weekly 5 stations to read information, gather data, draw diagrams, and complete hands on activities related to our topic. 

Social Studies: We are gearing up to begin traveling through the Regions of the United States! First stop on our tour: the Northeast Region! We will explore major landforms and landmarks, as well as some of the economy in the Northeast Region. 

Announcements!

• Be on the lookout for information about the students' reading log homework coming home on Monday. Students will be asked to complete their first Reading Log for homework this week. 
• Pretesting for our new spelling program, Words Their Way, will begin this week. Students scores will be evaluated, and I will begin developing spelling groups. 
• GENIUS HOUR! begins this Thursday, September 21st! Be on the lookout for a catalog of classes being offered during this trimester for your child. Do you have any interest in hosting a genius hour class? We would love for you to share your gifts and talents! Contact Mrs. Ball  for more information! 

Week of 9/11

This Week in Fourth Grade...

It's the second week of school, and we have a full week ahead of us! We will still be learning our routines and procedures this week, while also starting to dive into our first units!

Math: We will begin Topic 1 this week: Meanings of Multiplication. We will spend time activating students' prior knowledge, and reviewing our basic math facts. We will explore patterns in our facts, as well as different multiplication properties. Knowing our math facts gives us a strong foundation for the year, and helps us out with many skills and concepts! 

Religion: This week we will spend time learning about our classroom's patron Saint: Saint Teresa of Calcutta. We learn about Saint Teresa's early life, and the life she led that led her to Sainthood! We will also begin our We Believe program this week. Our focus will be: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Reading/ Language Arts: Our Essential Question in reading this week will be: Where do good ideas come from? We will explore this question through learning new vocabulary words, and reading stories where we see ideas come to life. Students will also be introduced to our "Notice and Note Signposts". There are six "signposts" that we will learn in order to enhance our reading experiences and comprehension. I LOVE how learning these signposts early on in the year can give students excitement and motivation when reading new material. When they find a signpost while reading, their reaction is priceless! I encourage you to become familiar with these signposts as well, and use this language at home when talking to your child about his or her reading! 

Social Studies: We will start off our week by remembering the heroes who risked their lives for us during the attacks on 9/11. We will read age-appropriate stories about this day, focusing on the different types of heroes from this day. We will make connections by discussing who the heroes are in our life today. Later in the week we will begin to explore our first unit: Regions of the United States! 

Science: Our focus in science this week will be- Landforms! We will learn about different types of landforms, and the roles they play on our Earth! 

Have a great week! 

Mrs. Drury

Specials Schedule

Weekly Special's Schedule:

Monday: P.E.

Tuesday: Spanish

Wednesday: Art/ Computer

Thursday: Music

Friday: Art/ Computer

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to School! It is the first week of fourth grade! I hope you all had an amazing summer full of play and family time. The new school year brings with it so much hope and endless possibilities and opportunities! I don't know about you, but this time of year is my "new year"- time for resolutions and fresh starts! I am so excited to begin a new year with your children. 

Our school theme this year is: MERCY. With that in mind, our classroom's theme will be, "His Mercies Are New Each Morning." inspired by Lamentations 3:23. This reminds myself and the students that every day is a new day with a fresh start. We have a chance to make good choices, be kind, and work hard every day! God's mercy, and our mercy towards one another, is always new! 

This first week of school we will focus on identifying and discussing our classroom expectations and procedures. Students will have a chance to share their own ideas and help to create a classroom contract for our class to follow. We will practice and take ownership over our expectations and procedures. 

We will also begin to explore the concept of a "Growth Mindset". This will be a recurring teaching point throughout the year, but we will begin to build a strong foundation and understanding this week. Students will be encouraged to move from a "fixed mindset" to a "growth mindset" where we can really challenge ourselves and persevere through our learning! 

For example, here is a video I will be showing the students this week. It focuses on having a growth mindset in math. I encourage you to watch the video as well, so you can begin to use this same language at home! 

Homework: Be on the lookout for a slip coming home titled "Blessings Board". Students are asked to bring in a picture from home for our Blessings Board! 

God Bless! 

Mrs. Drury 

Summer Learning!

Happy Summer!

We are striving to be a State of Maryland “Green” School. One example we can show of being intentional with how we use our resources and demonstrate 21^st century educational best practices, we are transitioning our summer academic review to an online format. Thank you for joining us in being a school that embraces these sound best practices.

Download free eBooks from our local libraries. Save money and encourage reading. Most of the assigned reading in our St. Augustine Middle School, can be downloaded as an eBook from one of these three libraries.

Howard County Library: http://hclibrary.org/how-do-i/e-book-instructions/

Baltimore County Library: http://www.bcpl.info/find-materials/downloadables-ebooks

Anne Arundel Library:  http://www.aacpl.net/ebooks

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer, learning and playing! 

Mrs. Drury