Juicy Nibble

It was great to see so many families last night.  Thanks for a great evening.  :)  Look for a post about our classroom activities next week.  Don't forget to sign up for a conference at Signup Genius (see post below)!

At the Core

Click here to get the link to the conference sign up on Signup Genius.  Let me know if you have any trouble signing up.  You will receive a confirmation email five days before the conference.  Thanks!

At the Core

While looking at the blog with the students today, I discovered that the Curriculum Gadget has disappeared!  I have been working  to fix the problem, but for now I have been unable to recover the gadget which contained ALL of the curriculum links.  I will be restoring the gadget and the links but anticipate that it will take me a few weeks to get everything back up and running.  I apologize for the inconvenience, but please know that I am doing everything I can to get the links back up and running as quickly as possible.  Thanks for your patience!  As I tell the children, "Don't panic!"  Well, I'm not panicking, but I am a little sad.  I think it is time to turn the frown, upside down, and get to work!

Juicy Nibble

Hey there everyone!  This week we will be learning about weather tools that meteorologists use when forecasting the weather.  Check out these videos to see what we will be learning.  Anyone want to try to write their own weather tool song?  Let me know....

A Big Bite

Our days are so busy and and action packed that we often find ourselves saying, "Where does the time go?'  September was Hunger in Action Month and we participated in a community service activity with the other 4th grade classrooms by decorating paper plates with a meal and tweeting it out to the world with the message, "Let's stop hunger 1 meal at a time," and with the hashtag #makethismealreal.  I am happy to report that the Midas Corporation did "like," our tweets which means that they will be donating a meal to Feeding America.

We also participated in our first author Skype visit with Amy Nielander.  Check out the post on the grade level blog for specifics about this fantastic visit.

We finished a unit on addition and subtraction and the test results were great!  Students participated in a variety of activities in small groups and with partners during this unit to master these skills.  

As part of the Narrative Writing Unit in Writer's Workshop, we have been creating heart maps to guide us when choosing ideas for writing.  We should begin to do some "quick writes," this week in anticipation of a longer narrative.  Everyone has such great stories to tell and write about.  We are certainly leading a #writer'slife. :)

The Puff-mobiles are almost done and the races will be this week.  Ask your child what he/she learned about the engineering process and about cooperation.  It has been amazing to watch everyone learn and grow during this project.  Make sure that you take a look at the Puff-Mobiles at Open House.

During the upcoming week, we will continue working on the water cycle and weather tools in science and begin work on finding exact locations using latitude and longitude in social studies.  We will finish the launching unit in Reader's Workshop and get ready for our first interactive read aloud next week!  Math will focus on basic multiplication and division facts and mastering different math properties as they relate to multiplication and division.  Please take a minute to complete the parent survey by clicking here and have your child complete the student survey by clicking here. I am looking forward to seeing all of you at Open House on Thursday night at 6:30!

Mrs. Williams

T-shirt of the day

Just like Ivan!

Author Alert!

 In October, An Unlikely Story Bookstore in Plainville will be hosting several authors that are BELOVED by 4th graders.  Typically, the authors give a presentation, answer questions and sign books.  All events require preregistration. More information about these events can be found at the bookstore's event page here.  I will be at the CeCe Bell event and hope to see as many current and former students there as possible; maybe we can even get a picture with her. :)  I will also be at the Nick Bruel Event with Mrs. Merten.  Wouldn't it be great to get a picture with the Bad Kitty author?  I think so!  Let me know if you plan on attending any of these events, I know that it will be a great time!
Patrick McDonnell-10/5



CeCe Bell (author of El Deafo!!!) and Tom Angleberger (her husband!) 10/15-Mrs. W is going too!



Nick Bruel-10/18-Mrs. W AND and Mrs. Merten are going to this one!