This Week in 306
I I’m so proud of the children of 306! They handled the 6 days of testing very well. They came to school well-rested and with good attitudes. I’m happy to report that testing is almost done! See below for more information.
I Thank you so much for your donations of breakfast items! The kids really enjoyed having a healthy breakfast with their friends- a time to relax and get focused. We very much appreciate all that you provided for us! 
I We have started reading a graphic novel called Houdini, The Handcuff King. The kids have enjoyed finding meaning equally in the pictures and dialog. Up next is a deeper study of working conditions and child labor in NYC around the turn of the century. We’ll be reading 2 “Dear America” books- one focuses on the daily life of a “newsie” and the other is about a girl who was a shirtwaist factory work.
I In Social Studies, we are also learning about NY and The Industrial Revolutions with all of the exciting inventions and responsibility that comes along with them.
I In Science, we have started another unit on Simple Machines. We’re also reviewing for the NYS Science test (ELS). This test is two parts- performance and written.
Other important dates:
May 16th: Field Trip to the AquaDucks/NYS Museum. Permission slips and information sent home on 4/27/12. Click here if you didn't receive it.
May 24th: ELS Performance Test (1/2 class)
May 25th: Contingency Day
May 28th: Memorial Day
May 30th: ELS Performance Test (1/2 class)
June 1st: NYS Day and Early Dismissal
June 4th: ELS Written Test
June 7th: 4th Grade Instrumental Night
June 14th: Field Day
This Week in 306
I In Math, we are continuing our exploration of fractions and relating them to decimals. We have also been reviewing concepts that may have been challenging to us earlier in the year.
I In Language Arts, we have finished Hoot! The kids really enjoyed this book. When we come back from break, we’ll be doing a graphic novel unit all about Harry Houdini. We’ve also focused on writing essays in response to our reading—pulling out as many details as we can from the text to support our answer.
I In Science, we are wrapping up our study of electricity and magnets.
I In Social Studies, we are learning about how the Erie Canal and railroads changed ’s population and the way New Yorkers did business.
I Thank you to all of those who came to a conference!
Important Dates:
o April 17, 18, 19- NYS ELA testing
o April 25, 26, 27- NYS Math testing
§ If you signed up to send in breakfast items for these dates, please click here to view the sign-up sheet. We still are in need of several items on April 19th! Thank you very much!
o May 11th- AquaDucks/NYS Museum Field Trip- more information to come.
o June 1st- NYS Day/Early Dismissal
Have a wonderful Spring Break!
Mrs. Worthley J
This Week in 306
· This week, Ms. Schuck will be finishing up her time with us. She has done a wonderful job and we will miss her. We wish her luck as she moves on to 3rd grade in Cohoes!
· In math, we will start with Fractions!
· On March 14th, we will be joining Mr. Burns’ class in celebrating Pi Day. If anyone would like to come in and teach a math lesson, talk about math and your job, read a math book and do an activity, anything math please let me know. For lunch we'll do a fractions lesson with pizza "pi" as well. If you are interested please let me know and I will set up a schedule. Thanks!
· We are finishing up our literature circle unit with Hoot. We’ll start our Mystery unit in the next couple of weeks.
· In science, we are concluding our Electricity and Magnetism unit. To coincide with our mystery unit, we’ll be doing a Crime Scene Investigation unit.
Upcoming Dates:
March 7th: Ms. Schuck’s Last Day
March 14th: Pi Day- Contact me if you’d like to come in to do a math lesson!
March 23rd and 29th: Early Dismissal 11:30, Parent Conferences (optional)-feel free sign up online if you have any concerns and would like to have a conference.
March 30th: No School, Superintendent’s Conference Day
This Week in 306
I We are happy to welcome Ms. Melissa Schuck join our classroom as a student teacher! Ms. Schuck will be with us through March 9th.
I In Math, we have started a unit on Geometry and Measurement. We will continue our unit on Magnetism in Science.
I We have finished our fantasy unit in Language Arts. The kids really did a nice job discussing their novels with their group. We also have completed our Harris Burdick stories. If you would like to have this anthology come home for a night, please send me an email! We will begin our Hoot unit this week. In writing, we’ll be starting a persuasive piece.
I In Social Studies, we’re continuing to discuss ’s role in the American Revolution. We’ll be moving on to the War of 1812.
I If you are interested in being a Mystery Reader in our class, please send me an email.
I Last week’s Star of the Week was Ryan, and this week’s is Maddie J.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Worthley and Ms. Schuck
This Week in 306
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a restful break.
N We have jumped right back into the swing of things- reviewing long division in math! We will have a midterm test next Thursday which will review all that we have learned so far in fourth grade (chapters 1-9). We will also be reviewing in class. Next step- Measurement and Geometry!
N We’ve started learning about the American Revolution in Social Studies. It’s fascinating to learn how the simple colonial life changed.
N In Science, we’ve begun a unit on Electricity and Magnetism. Today we learned just how much it costs to light the elementary school for the year!
N We’ve continued our Fantasy unit in Language Arts. The students are enjoying their fantasy book clubs and are writing great reflection letters to their groups. The student-led book discussions are wonderful to listen to. It’s very difficult to make a personal connection to a fantasy book, but your fourth graders are doing a fantastic job! We’re also continuing with our Harris Burdick writing piece. We’re hoping to finish that to complete the anthology by next Friday.
N If you weren’t able to join us for our project, or would like to hear your student’s podcast again, click here! It’s also a great way to share with family far away! Pictures will be added very soon. J
Important Dates:
N 1/16/12- Martin Luther King, Jr Day, No School
N 1/18/12- Elementary Concert (5th grade), 7pm
N 1/20/12- VES Talent Show, 6pm, High School PAC (to benefit Make-a-Wish)
Have a great week!
Mrs. Worthley
This Week in 306
N Whew! We are in the home stretch of all of our projects. The kids have been amazing at keeping organized and checking items off their lists. In addition to other academic goals, these projects have certainly been a lesson in prioritizing and time management!
N Our visit to Sage Theatre Institute was a huge success! We not only were able to watch a fantastic production (mostly run by Sage students), but were granted behind-the-scenes access to the costume design area, lighting, and the stage itself. We also received an acting lesson! Check out the pictures here.
N Division proved to be challenging for many of the students. We will continue with this unit while reviewing multiplying larger numbers. Please have your child continue to practice those multiplication facts!
N The Living Museum is on Thursday! The kids are very excited (and only a little nervousJ). Please make sure your child has everything needed for their display and costume at school by Thursday morning. We hope that you will drop in sometime during the 90 minute block (11-12:30) to see and hear your tradesperson. If you are unable to make it, I am going to try to upload all of the podcasts to the website.
N Our Holiday Party is on Wednesday- thank you to everyone who signed up to send something in.
N We will be presenting our Boxes of Hope and Inspiration to our box buddy on Friday afternoon. The kids will spend time socializing and drinking hot cocoa during this time as well.
This week's Star of the Week is Sophia!
As always, thank you so much for your support!
Shauna Worthley
This Week in 306
· Most of the class has completed writing their podcast. The students are bringing this home for your opinion on how to improve it. When they have your approval, they will be allowed to record their podcast.
· The next step is the display and costume- please refer to the purple sheet with guidelines that was sent home last week!
· We also started another exciting project called Boxes of Hope and Inspiration. Your child has a secret box buddy that they will be creating their box for. The room is full of sneakiness…but only in a positive way! J
· In Math, we have moved on to Division…ask your child what the question “Does McDonald’s Sell Cheeseburgers” has to do with math!
· We’ve started a Fantasy unit in Language Arts. We are writing a fantasy story as a class based on the pictures in a book called “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.” The students are also creating their own stories.
· In Science, we are continuing our study of the Solar System. We have learned of NASA’s latest launch of the rover called “Curiosity”. Very exciting stuff!
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html
· Our Holiday Party will be on December 21st.
· If you would like to share any holiday traditions with our class, please let me know! We’d love to hear about them!
· Have you checked out the pictures on our website lately? The latest are from a recent Guidance lesson- the students are doing Brain Gym.
· This week’s Star of the Week is Nolen!
Classroom Dates:
· Field Trip to Sage Theater- 12/16/11
· Holiday Party- 12/21/11, 2pm
· Living Museum- 12/22/11, 11-12:30
· Boxes of Hope Project due- 12/23/11
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions! Have a great week!
This Week in 306
We’ve finished our research for the colonial trade. Now, we are busy drafting, revising and editing the podcast so we will be ready to start recording next Friday. The students will be working on this primarily in class, however, they’ll be coming home with it soon so another set of eyes can offer opinions to improve it!
We’re continuing our study of the Solar System in science. This week, we’ll be focusing on the moon as well as the planets in our solar system. We’ll have a quiz on Friday on these topics.
In Math, we’re continuing on practicing multiplying larger numbers. The students are working hard on improving their accuracy!
This week, I’ll be introducing an activity called “Boxes of Hope and Inspiration”. Be on the lookout for an explanation of this project that will be completed primarily in class.
This week’s Star of the Week is Connor!
Classroom Dates:
Early Dismissal- Tuesday and Thursday
Box due for Project- 12/5/11
Field Trip to Sage Theater- 12/16/11
Living Museum- 12/22/11, time TBD
Boxes of Hope Project due- 12/23/11
