FCAT Week

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Wow! This year is flying by so quickly!  We are starting to focus on FCAT Test-taking strategies in class.  As a reminder, testing will begin on Monday, April 15^th and last thru Thursday, April 18^th.  It is very important that your child is here every day before the test for review!

We would like for the students to enjoy special a breakfast each morning before testing. The following is a list of suggested items that can be donated.  Please keep in mind that we currently have 44 students in our combined classrooms. Ideally, we would have one specific breakfast each day such as “Muffin Monday”, “Bagel Tuesday,” “Cereal Wednesday” and “Pancake Thursday.” Please contact us if you are interested in covering items for a specifically themed day, otherwise any donation is greatly appreciated. Thank you for any help you may be able to provide!

Suggested Items

·      Juice boxes (w/o added sugar) ·      Applesauce/ Fruit cups ·      “Gogurt” (Yogurt packages) ·      Granola bars ·      Cheese sticks ·      Bananas/ Apples/ Raisins ·      Muffins

·      Mini Cereal Boxes/ Milk ·      Biscuits/ Jelly ·      Pancake mix/ Syrup ·      Bagels ·      Plates/ Bowls ·      Forks/ Spoons ·      Napkins/ Kleenex

FCAT Writes

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the big FCAT Writing test! Please join us early for bagels and juice. Breakfast will be served in the classroom from 8:00-8:30. We hope you get plenty of rest tonight and come prepared to do your best!

Science Fair

Welcome Back! We hope you enjoyed your Winter Break and were able to spend time with friends and family for the holidays. Remember, you should be researching what topic you will do for your Science Fair project. 

Here is the timeline for the extent of the project:

Week 1: January 2-11, 2013

·     Decide on topic and develop “testable” question 

·     Background research on topic

Week 2: January 14-17, 2013

·     Hypothesis/prediction and problem statement due

·     Determine materials, gather/purchase

·     Set up project, begin to collect data

Week 3: January 22-25, 2013

·     Gather supplies/prepare project display

·     Prepare oral presentation for classroom

Week 4: January 28-30, 2013

·       Deliver project display to school/present to class (PROJECTS DUE JANUARY 30th!)

February 7, 2013 Science Night at NBE (All student projects will be on display!)

Be sure to check out any of the following websites for project ideas or see Miss Fisher:

• http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html
• http://chemistry.about.com/od/sciencefairprojects/a/sciproelem.htm
• http://www.hometrainingtools.com/elementary-project-ideas/a/1308/
• http://mgonline.com/experimentsforkids.html http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments
• http://www.familieswithpurpose.com/funwithgas.html http://www.stevespanglerscience.com
• http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/index.html
• http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/Getting-Started.html
  
  Also, don't forget the PTA is selling White Tri-fold 36” X 48” Science Project Boards for $4.00 if you need one!

Happy Holidays!

We sure hope you enjoy the holidays! See you in the New Year! School resumes on Wednesay, January 2nd.

Polar Express Pajama Party!

We will have our Polar Express, Pajamas & Pizza Party on Friday, December 14th!  We look forward to enjoying hot cocoa, cookies and pizza in honor of the holidays. Students- Don't forget to bring in your $2!

Well students, it's time to shine! You have been working so hard to run laps on our track each day we go outside for recess. Our official Mile Run with Coach Rhodin will take place this week during normal PE time (12:40-1:25). Miss Fisher's homeroom tests tomorrow: Wednesday, Nov. 14th and Mr. Gray's homeroom will test Friday, Nov. 16th.

We know you are ready to do your best! Please remember to wear layered clothing in case you get hot while running and comfortable shoes/sneakers. You also should plan to bring yourself a bottled water for that day. We are so excited! Please remember to tell your parents they are welcome to come and cheer for you!

Student "Mock Election"

Students,

Today we will see what it's like to "vote" for our President! Click here to submit your vote.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dC1ZZVE0a2l2LTJpdnp6VzRrRFE0TUE6MQ

On the real Election Day tomorrow, we will find out who the majority of students selected to be our President.

Class Thanksgiving Feast

On Tuesday, November 20, we would like to invite you and our homerooms to enjoy a class feast following Thanksgiving traditions. We are asking that you send in at least one family favorite prepared dish to share with the class. We will also need volunteers to help set up and clean up for the feast. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are able to help and what you can bring! (Don’t forget to send in a serving spoon as well!) In previous years, we’ve had items such as mashed potatoes, casseroles, macaroni & cheese, stuffing, fried chicken, turkey, corn breads, desserts, etc.

Please return the bottom portion of the letter stapled into your child's planner about the feast and let us know if you are able to join/ bring in something! Thank you.

Fall Festival

We still need volunteers for the Fall Festival Saturday, Nov. 3rd!! The Festival takes place from 11:00-3:00 here at N.B.E.  We are looking for parents to help supervise our booth throughout the day. Please let us know ASAP if you are able to help! We also need cakes donated for the Cake Walk if you cannot make it. Please let us know if you are available! Thank you.

Titanic Project for Mr. Gray's class

In reading we are finishing up our Titanic unit of study. The students have finished reading the story in our reading textbooks and completed a vocabulary quiz. On friday we bagan our Titanic Brochure project!

Students have two options to choose from in creating their Brochure.
Option 1: Create a brochure using accurate information found from the internet, textbook, or other source. In option one the students are to pretend that the Titanic has not yet set sail. Use info about the ship, food, entertainment, etc... to persuade your reader to buy a ticket and take the trip of a lifetime!

Option 2: Create a brochure using accurate information found from the internet, textbook, or other source. In option two students are to pretend that the wreckage of the Titanic is now in a museum. Use info about the ship, wreckage, passengers, etc...to persuade your reader to come and buy a ticket and visit your museum!

This is a creative assignement where the students will be required to use accurate information about the Titanic and organize their Brochures in a non-fiction format using non-fiction text features(headings, captions, pictures, maps, graphs, etc).

Here are some links for some great websites on the Titanic.

• http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0411/articles/mainarticle.html  
• http://www.titanic-nautical.com/titanic-facts.html  
• http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-sank-titanic-videos   

Welcome Fall Season and the month of October :)

First off, thank you to everyone for such a great turn out at Open House! We truly appreciate your support. Students have been very busy over the past few weeks...In Math, we've finished our unit on place value and representing numbers through the millions. Students had an introduction to decimals and are now reviewing basic multiplication facts. We've discussed various strategies for solving unknown facts. Students who are having trouble with facts should have flash cards and study EACH night. In the next few weeks, we will be moving into multiplication of 2 and 3 digit numbers. Strategies for solving basic facts will be applied to these more complex problems. We will also be looking at a variety of word problems involving multiplication.

In Science, we are studying Space including star patterns and moon phases. Students will be recording phases of the moon at home for the month of October and turning it in for extra credit. There are many videos, vocabulary activities and science games found online at pearsonsuccessnet. The students can log on using their first and last name and the password: mathis1. These resources are excellent in helping them to better understand the science concepts we are studying. Another reminder is that the Science textbook and Math textbook plus additional resources are available on the Pearson website. Students can review this material at ANY time! We took our first Science tests before progress reports and several students had difficulty. The tests will always be open book and students must remember to "dive back into the text" for details. This is a very important FCAT skill and students really need practice with remembering to do this! This also applies to studies in Reading.

We have officially finished benchmark testing until December. Results are available if you are interested in setting up a conference. Overall, the math scores are dramatically lower than the Reading scores because the test included overall Math skills for 4th grade. Several of the skills have not yet been taught so do not worry! Some of the new skills students will need to master this year include understanding of: decimals, percents, fractions, finding the area and multiplication/ division with larger numbers. Please be sure to check in periodically with your child on what we are studying in math to help them gain this understanding and to support what is being taught in the classroom.

October 30th is the Book Character parade in honor of Halloween. Students can dress up like their favorite characters from books of their choice. Costumes must be appropriate for school and students must have the book to go with their costume. We will have a parade around school that morning.

Another reminder is that our Fall Festival will be coming up in November. We will need volunteers to help with decorating the booth and operating it during the Festival. Please let us know if you are interested!  Thank you :)

Welcome to the 2012-2013 School Year!

Our school theme is,
"Oh the Places You Will Go!"

We start the new school year on August 20, 2012. Hope you're ready for a fun-filled year of 4th grade! Make sure to look at the supply list and remember:

"The More That You Read,
The More Things You Will Know.
The More That You Learn,
The More Places You Will Go!"
~Dr. Seuss

Our 4th Grade Supply List

You will need the following items:

• Reading- 2 composition notebooks
• Writing- 1 inch binder, notebook paper, notebook dividers (5 pack), 1 spiral notebook, 1 pocket folder
• Math- 1 inch binder, notebook paper, 1 spiral notebook & 1 composition book
• Science/ S.S.- 1 spiral notebook, 1 pocket folder
• 2 boxes of Pencils/ Erasers
• Pencil sharpener (with enclosed part for pencil shavings)
• Pencil Pouch
• Bottle of Hand Sanitizer
• Bottle of Hand Soap
• Box of Kleenex
• Clorox Wipes
• 1 Bag of Your Favorite Candy :)
• 1 pair of earbuds (placed in ziplock bag with your child's name)
• OPTIONAL- 1 USB FlashDrive to save files made on laptops

Additional helpful items (not required):

• Extra pencils/ Erasers
• Markers (Crayola & Dry- Erase)
• Reams of Copy Paper
• Lysol Spray
• Ziplock bags (Gallon/ Sandwich size)
• “Treasure Box” prizes
• Electric Pencil Sharpener :)

ANY donation is greatly appreciated!

Introduction Letter

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Welcome to the 4^th grade team! This year, our theme is “Oh the Places You Will Go.” N.B.E. will kick of the new school year with a “Silly Sock Hop” dance on Thursday, August 30^th from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Students will be learning Reading & Writing with Mr. Gray and Math, Science/Social Studies with Miss Fisher. They will switch classes half way through each day. Mr. Gray is beginning his third year with N.B.E. He graduated from the University of Florida with his Bachelor’s degree in History and a Minor in Education. Miss Fisher has taught at Neptune Beach Elementary for six years now. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education K-6 and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership with a focus in Technology from the University of North Florida.

4^th graders MUST read 30 chapter books on their appropriate reading level by the end of the year. They are encouraged to read daily in the classroom and for homework. In class, students will keep a reading log to write responses or brief summaries and to record how many books are read each marking period.

Students will also write in 4 different genres including: Narrative, Report, Response to Literature and Expository. In addition, students will frequently have district writing prompts. 4^th graders are tested on their responses to a given writing prompt with the “Florida Writes” Assessment which will take place on February 26^th. General FCAT Testing in Reading & Mathematics will take place during the week of April 15-26^th.

For Math, students will review 3^rd grade concepts and deepen their understanding of the following topics: place value, multiplication and division with larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, geometry and algebraic patterns.  Students MUST be proficient in their basic addition, subtraction and multiplication facts to move further into our curriculum. We will work from a textbook and participate in hands on Math Investigations activities. The textbook is available online at PearsonSuccessnet and students will learn to take tests/play online math games using our school laptops. They are encouraged to access the website from home.

In Science, we will work on units about Energy, Motion of Objects, Properties of Matter, Weathering & Erosion, Space, Plants & Animals and Organism Interactions. For Social Studies this year, our focus is on Florida History. We will cover Florida Geography, Explorers, Colonization, Government, Economy and our Population. Students will even get to visit historic Saint Augustine on a field trip this year! Both the Science and Social Studies textbooks also have interactive websites which can be accessed from our this blog .

Communication with parents and students is very important to us. We use student planners to record daily conduct grades, weekly test grades, notes and conference requests. Please sign the planner each night so that we can stay  in touch. You can also e-mail or if you would like to schedule conferences or talk with us live, please call 247-5954 ext. 2208 for Gray & 2209 for Fisher.  We are very excited about a wonderful new year with you!

Your Fourth Grade Teachers,

Miss Fisher & Mr. Gray