From Mrs. Collins' Desk:

It's difficult to believe that we have only a week of school left!  Next Thursday, we will have our year end party.  Students are able to wear Goodpasture spirit shirts on that day.  Each student should also wear socks, since we will be skating.  Don't forget to pack a sack lunch that day, too!  On Friday, the last day of school, we are asking the students wear their field day shirts.  Many of the students wanted to have their friends "sign" their shirts, so we will do that on the last day.


Reading News:  This week, the students and I celebrated because we have finished reading the last story in our reading textbook. Tomorrow, students will take the last test covering the vocabulary used in this unit.  

I would like to have all my classroom library books turned in tomorrow.  Please look around your cars and home for any of my books.  Most of the books have my name written on the book's top edge.  

Next week, students will be giving their Book Talks.  I am very proud of the progress the students have made this year.  I hope each student has developed a passion to read more.  One way you can encourage that desire is by utilizing the public libraries and book stores. Throughout the summer, I would love for each student to KEEP READING!

A note from Mrs. Drake:  In the few days that are left in fourth grade, we will be working on area and perimeter.  We were able to cover all, but two of the chapters. The students have made tremendous strides with the new curriculum of Go Math.  I am so proud of the way they have used skills they know to be able to figure out the unknown. They are better problem solvers because of this program. I am so proud of their strong effort. This summer, I strongly recommend that you continue working on all math facts. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts should be committed to their memory for rapid recall. Thank you for all the help you gave to your child and to me with this new program.

From Mrs. Collins' Desk

Yesterday, the students had a special treat.  Woody & Jim from Y107.5, The River came and read Jumanji to us.  Everyone enjoyed the book!  Both, Woody & Jim impressed upon the students the importance of reading.  They gave many examples of how much they must read for their jobs, being radio personalities.  Woody & Jim were kind enough to answer many of the students' questions.  They even mentioned Goodpasture on their show this morning and sent a picture (via email) of the thank you card signed by all students displayed in their studio.

Earlier this week, I sent home a calendar with the dates of tests, quizzes, and scheduled Book Talks.  As you can see, the last two weeks of Reading will be busy.  Next week, we will be reading the short, Time for Kids magazine article titled, "Saving the Everglades".  The skills, which will be reviewed, are cause & effect, vocabulary, context clues, compare/contrast, and antonyms/synonyms.  The story quiz is scheduled for Wednesday (9th), as is Word Wall.  On Thursday (10th), the students will be given the unit test.  Skills assessed on this unit test are cause/effect, judgments/decisions, problem/solution, compare/contrast, context clues, and synonyms/antonyms.  On Friday (11th), the students will be tested on the reading vocabulary words.  Friday will be the last day to earn SR points for rewards.  Also, I would like to have all classroom library books turned in by Friday, too.  Students' Book Talks are scheduled for the last days of class, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (May 14-16).  

Finally, the last Scholastic book orders (May & June) were sent home today. This is a great way to stock up on books to read during summer. Those orders are due Wednesday, May 9th.  This will allow the books to arrive prior to the last day of school.  

Social Science News from Mrs. Baugh:  It is time to send back to school all science CD's.  Please send them back by Thursday, May 10th.  When your child brings it back, I will check his name off my list.  If lost, there is a replacement fee.  Thank you for your help in getting these turned back in.

Thank You!

Thank you for making Teacher Appreciation Day, so very special today!  The teachers were treated to a wonderful breakfast of waffles and fresh fruit this morning.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch while parents monitored our classes.  The day ended with a plate of delicious, sweet goodies and adorable GCS Cougar flip-flops.  Thank you so very much for not only today, but for making this year such great school year!


Students were given their invitation to the Celebrate Literacy reception which will be held on May 3rd at 5:30 pm.  Goodpasture is pleased to host the event this year.  I hope you are making plans to attend.

Social Studies News from Mrs. Baugh:  The Tennessee reports and posters have been amazing.  We finished up today, and we all learned so much about our great state.  Now that the students have shared their projects, they will be displayed in the hallways.  Come by soon and check out the finished product.  A matching test over this material will be Friday.

From Mrs. Collins' Desk....

Today, students who earned the Games to U and the Kona Ice treat from the magazine sale received those rewards!  All who participated in the rewards had a great time.


Next week is a busy week.  Tuesday will be a half day for students.  On Wednesday, we will be taking the Downtown Walking Tour around the State Capitol and having lunch at the Spaghetti Factory.  If you have volunteered to drive, please be at school by 8:20 to receive important information.  We will be leaving school at 8:30.  This is such a fun learning experience!  My fingers are crossed for fabulous weather.

Mrs. Parrish has selected May 4th for the fourth grade Field Day.  This is another fun-filled day to look forward to.


Reading News:  This week (week #23) students were given 5 new stems for Word Wall.  They will be assessed on week #22 and #23 on Thursday, April 19th.  Also, students in the Black, White, and Yellow Book Clubs will be finishing their book and have a journal due on Thursday, too.  The students in the Orange Book Club will be reading pages 126 through 167, and they will finish their book the following week.  Next week, we will be reading the story, The Malachite Palace.  We will be reviewing the skills of identifying the problem and solution, using context clues, selecting the cause and effect, and antonyms/synonyms.  Lastly, be looking for a Scholastic Book order to be coming home soon.  



Math News From Mrs. Drake: The students did a wonderful job with the decimal chapter in math. I was excited to see so many high test scores! Our next chapter will cover adding and subtracting fractions.  This chapter should seem familiar to them because of all the fraction practice they have had this year. Chapter 10 test will be the week of the 23rd.


Social Science News From Mrs. Baugh:  Hopefully, all students have had an opportunity to take their Tennessee trip and have either completed their poster or are finishing it up.  The posters and reports are due Monday, April 23rd.  After orally presenting the reports in class, the posters will be displayed in the halls for all to enjoy.  After Friday's social studies test, we will be spending the next few weeks studying about Tennessee.  I look forward to teaching about the history of our great state.  In science, we will be concentrating our study on the subject of "Light" as we begin lesson 4 of chapter 6 on Monday.  As you can see, we are busy, busy, busy.

From the Desk of Mrs. Collins'....

This week, the students have finished Unit 5 in the reading series.  Next week, we will begin the last unit by reading Teammates, a story about the friendship between Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese.  We will be reviewing the skills of cause/effect, context clues, and judgments/decisions. Also, the students are currently enjoying Book Clubs.  Their next Book Club assignment is due on Wednesday, April 11th.  Due to the changes is our schedule this week, there will not be any new Word Wall stems introduced this week.  Therefore, students will not have a Word Wall assessment next Wednesday.


Next Tuesday, students will be taking their class pictures.  Be sure to send in the note if you want a copy of that picture.  Also, the Walking Tour field trip note went home this week.  I would love to have you join us for this educational trip, plus we have lots of fun, too!  Get that note back to school by Friday, April 13th.


I hope you and your family enjoy the long weekend and Easter Sunday.

From the Desk of Mrs. Collins'....

Re-enrollment has begun for currently enrolled students for the next school year.  You should have received the information in the mail.  You can save $50 if you turn in the forms by March 10th. 


Social Science News from Mrs. Baugh:  The "Tourin Tennessee" posters are due April 17th. If your child has not visited his historical site, you and your child need to plan on doing this in the near future. (Spring break is a great time to go.)  If any of you need another information sheet for this project, let your child know, and he can pick one up in class.


In science we are finishing up a short study of the water cycle and climate, and on Friday we will have an open book quiz on this information.  Next week in social science I plan on reviewing skills and highlighting additional lessons that we have not yet covered this school year. My objective is to give the students some exposure to concepts that may be on the Stanford Achievement Test. 

We are GOAL busters!!  As a class, we have met our magazine sale goal!  Thank you for all of your hard work and support!  Mrs. Merritt will reward the students with a movie soon.  We are still trying to win the fourth grade "Big Dog".  


We wrapped up our Book Clubs this week.  The students' comments were very positive about their Book Club book and they are eager to have Book Club again, soon!  As I told them, I would like to have Book Club after Spring Break.  Next week,  the students will be reading "Mom's Best Friend".  I will introduce some new reading skills such as determining important/unimportant information in a story and identifying figurative language.  Additional skills that will be reviewed are vocabulary, using context clues, reading a newspaper article, and making inferences.  In this week's graded papers, students brought home their Unit 4 Reading Test.  Some students are still struggling with drawing conclusions based on story clues.  Next week, I will reteach this skills and give the students additional practice with drawing conclusions.  


Math news from Mrs. Drake: We are finishing chapter 8 on fractions and decimals this week. For the next two weeks, I plan on reviewing skills and highlighting additional concepts that we have not yet covered this school year. My objective of these mini quick lessons is to give the students some exposure to concepts that may be on the Stanford Achievement Test. The homework will reflect the skills we work on that particular day. After the test, I will continue teaching, in detail, the remaining chapters of the Go Math curriculum.


Next we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss & Read Me Week!  Mrs. Merritt has designated each day as a special "dress up"  day.  While it is optional, the following information gives details about each day:


     Monday:  "Whoville Hair Day"  Students may wear wigs, have hair paint, or 
                  wear goofy hairdos.  No face paint on any day.
    
     Tuesday:  "Thing 1 & Thing 2/Red Fish, Blue Fish Day"  Students may    wear 
                   Thing wigs, Thing shirts, or all red or all blue.  No face paint.


    Wednesday:  "Wednesday Wacky Sock Day!"  Students wear crazy socks 
                        only with uniform shirts.


    Thursday:  "Reading is Cool!"  Wear sunglasses day!  Students wear uniform 
                    clothes.


    Friday:  "Black & White with Red Cat in the Hat Day!"  Students wear black 
                and white with a red accent or any combination of the 3 colors.  If
                students have Cat in the Hat outfits or hats, they may wear those,
                too!