Parent Teacher Conferences

Conferences are coming up in a couple weeks - October 17-20! 

Thank you to those of you who have already signed up for your conference times (either at Curriculum Night/Open House or via the available times newsletter I sent home last Friday)! Today, I am sending home another notice to those of you that I don't have a time set for yet. Also, please let me know if you need to have two separate times set for your child due to the logistics of your family. I will get in contact with you about setting up that time.

In Room 210, we do student-led conferences, so please plan to bring your child to their conference if at all possible! 

I will send home a reminder of your time next week so that you have it!

Thank you!

Topic 2 Family Letter...

This came home with your child yesterday! Each time we start a new topic, one of these will come home. They are meant to inform you about what we are going to be working on in math and they often give great ideas for activities you can do at home to reinforce your child's learning!

No Math Homework Tonight!

Today, students took their first topic test in math and they rocked it! Our class goal was that 80% of the students would pass the test with a score of 80% or higher. Well... they exceeded their own expectations - 27 out of 30 students (90%) passed and the class average score was 88%. They did an awesome job setting goals and working hard to meet them. Students will find out their individual scores tomorrow morning, so be sure to ask them how they did!

Please still have your child complete their 20+ minutes of reading and 10+ minutes of multiplication fact practice, but enjoy the night off from the math reinforcement sheet!

The Opportunity to Fail...

Fourth grade families,

Today in class, we had a great discussion about failure and the importance of having a growth mindset. Too often, we do what is comfortable for us to avoid failure. What we don't realize is that avoiding failure is keeping us from growing. So, as a class, we took some time today to be open and honest about times when we tried something new and totally crashed and burned! The students thought it was funny at first because celebrating failure isn't something any of us are terribly comfortable with. By the end of the discussion, however, they were starting to see the value of challenging themselves to be uncomfortable so they could find the sweet spot where they could grow to their fullest potential! 

We also talked about the difference between saying, "I can't do this" and saying "I can't do this YET." Most people aren't amazing at things the first time they try them, or the first time they learn them. It is the work you put in that determines your path. I am going to work hard to change the way students talk to themselves this year. No more telling themselves they can't do something... they just can't do it yet!

As a result of this discussion, I challenged them at lunch to do something totally outside of their comfort zone. Maybe it was trying a game they'd never played before or reaching out to someone they had never played with. After recess, they shared a little about what they tried and what they learned from it. It was awesome and they found it so powerful! 

As we progress through the fourth grade, I also have a job for you! Please allow your children opportunities to be uncomfortable, to challenge their thinking and to fail. I promise the rewards are worth the moment of discomfort! 

How about you? Anyone out there want to comment below and share a moment that was uncomfortable for them? A time when you totally failed and what you learned as a result? How did it help you grow?

Moving right along...

Hi fourth grade families,

Last week marked our first full 5-day week in Room 210! We were all tired by the end of it, but we accomplished so much!

In math, your kids continued to work hard understanding multiplication and division rules and how the two operations are interconnected. Today we wrapped up Topic 1 and will spend tomorrow reviewing all of the concepts we've been working on. On Wednesday, students will take their first math test in the fourth grade! As a class, we set a S.M.A.R.T. goal to have 80% of our class pass the test at 80% or higher. I will keep you posted on how we do! (On a side note, ask your student to explain what a S.M.A.R.T. goal is!)

In reading, we started our first "week" of study in Reading Wonders last week too. This curriculum has so much great stuff that our "weeks" tend to take between 7 and 8 days, so you will notice in the planner that we don't always start a new week on Monday. Our genre this week is Fairy Tales and students have spent time reading a story called, "The Princess and the Pizza," which was fun! They're using their skill with sequencing story events to better understand the text, as well as using the text evidence to predict what happens next in the story! We will finish up this "week" in the next couple days and students will also take their first weekly reading assessment. 

Last week, we also finished up the i-Ready assessments for both reading and math. Your kids worked really hard to do their best and I'm proud of them. I will be compiling data from those assessments to share with you at conferences next month. 

Thank you to those of you who were able to attend Curriculum Night/Open House last Thursday! We had a pretty good turn out! I hope you enjoyed the new format and that you loved watching your kids shine! I was impressed with their ability to explain the features of our classroom! Look for your student to continue taking on these leadership opportunities as we progress through the year!

This week we are beginning our first science unit which focuses on Electricity! It is a pretty fun one and the students are always really excited to do the experiments in this unit. We will spend a couple weeks working on this topic and then will go on a field trip to Clark Public Utilities in November to put our knowledge into action!

Please continue to take some time each night going over the planner with your child. They know that it is an expectation that they are sharing their day with you. Also, please make sure students are completing their homework nightly, as well as reading 20+ minutes and practicing multiplication facts for 10+ minutes. Those foundational skills will set the stage for the more difficult concepts we will get to later in the year!

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Mrs. Beck

ashley.beck@vansd.org

Open House

Open house is tonight from 6 - 7:30 pm! Please bring your student, as they have been working hard to prepare to lead you on a tour through our room! It is set up so that you can drop in on your schedule and stay as long as you can/need. Each student has an agenda that they will use to guide you on your tour! See you soon!

This year we will be doing something Mrs. Beck learned about over the summer - Genius Hour. Watch the video to find out more! We would love any supplies you can spare so that kids can take their passions to the next level!