Mount Vernon and Big Sister/Little Sister-Highlights of the Week

What a week this was! Even though the weather was dismal for Mount Vernon, the good news is that it did not rain!  I have been there, at least, ten times, and I never get tired of seeing the view of the Potomac from the piazza.  It's amazing to think that George Washington enjoyed that same view.  The girls were as in awe of the experience as I was. We said a prayer at the tomb of George and Martha, and the docent on duty said that made his day...all of those yellow capped heads bowed in prayer.  This is such a special group of girls, and I mean that!

Big Sister/ Little Sister

St. Catherine's has a long standing tradition of the girls partnering with older classes.  Up until this year,  the Fourth Grade partnered with an upper school student and walked to St. Stephen's for St. Catherine's Day, as well as partnering with classes for various activities to celebrate Miss Jennie's birthday or just to work on projects. This year we are partnered with Susan Crook's middle school class for a Big/Little activity.  The fun part about this--I taught Susan Crook, as well some of her students! Susan and I had a ball coordinating things with our girls.  Yesterday we made Thanksgiving cards to accompany the cans for the Food Drive.  We also made a FlipGrid! As soon as I get the link, I will let you see it!  Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures from yesterday and ask your daughters what a FlipGrid is!

Information and Permission Forms for Wonder

Hi Everyone!

As you know from my email, on Monday, November 20, the Fourthies are going to see WONDER at the Bowtie Theater.  Every child in America is excited to see the movie WONDER, and almost every child in America has read the book or had it read to them. I always read it to my classes until the sequel, AUGGIE and ME, came out. Your girls are hearing me read that book to them now.  Let me just say that this book is life-changing.  Ask your daughters about Julian and his Grandmere, and you will know why I say that!

Click on this link to access the forms for the movie.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12opiH-OpvnBfzB-Sbs2M5H4suOHiltswlVcHre92YdQ/edit?usp=sharing

Halloween, Engineering, Writing...it's all in a day! ....

Reminder:  Mount Vernon Field Trip   Wednesday,  November 8
Meet at School at 7 AM sharp    -   Returning in time for carpool
Additional Information on previous blog pages and personal email.

ERBs begin next week on Monday morning, November 13 ******************check your email

Halloween and More Halloween

Halloween was celebrated over and over in all kinds of different ways...math, writing, reading and building are among some of the creative areas we explored.  Halloween Edpuzzles are always fun and challenging.  The girls are learning to use their analytical skills to problem solve by using the Singapore Math method, which is bar modeling.  We have spent much time on this, and the girls are growing in confidence.

Stop by our hall bulletin board and read some of the girls' spooky Halloween writing.  It was their opportunity to choose a  picture and write a setting or short story or beginning of a story.  The girls loved it. Our concentration was on creating a mood with strong verbs and adjectives.  We had quite a range of scary stories and some potential mystery book authors!

You could feel the excitement in the classroom as the book projects arrived, and wow, they were even more innovative this time.  There is so much creativity in our class!  The girls are very supportive of each other also, and each girl made a point to compliment others on their effort.  The best part of the day was the building of the haunted house.  This required the girls to use their best engineering skills, while they figured out which projects should be the foundation, and so forth...math and engineering at its best!

Halloween on its way and George Washington's digs too!

What a quick week!  The girls are focused on everything Halloween, and why wouldn't they be?  Fall is finally in the air, and Halloween is upon us, so it's time to write some spooky Storybirds and mysterious descriptions. We started today, and the girls had a ball.  They begged to work on it at home tonight, but I think we will leave that time to Wordly Wise.   On Halloween, the Fourthies dress up as a vocabulary word that they have learned this year.  Everyone is very excited! This is the girls' opportunity to get creative!

It's amazing how much math the girls have done since the beginning of the year, and some of it includes concepts and computation that was previously introduced in sixth grade.  PEMDAS...remember that?  After a  lot of practice, your girls are doing really well.  As we slide into Unit 2, we are concentrating on estimation and problem solving.  The next time you are in the grocery store, let your daughter practice her rounding and estimation skills. This is real-world problem solving!


As outlined in my email, on November 8 the Fourthies will travel by bus to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.  The study of presidents is a major focus of our curriculum throughout the year, so we thought we would visit Mount Vernon.  It's an exceptionally beautiful house and setting, and the Educational Center is spectacular and perfect for the age of our Fourthies.

Lower School Field Trip Information

October 2017

Grade:  4

Date of Trip: Wednesday, November 8th

Location:    Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Hwy, Mt Vernon, VA 22121

(The Fourthies will tour Mount Vernon, the home of our first president, George Washington.  This is a highlight of our fourth grade curriculum, as we study the lives of presidents throughout the year.  Fortunately, in Virginia, we have several homes from which to choose, but we think this one is truly special and the education center is outstanding.)

Time of Student Drop Off at School: 7:00 a.m. (Students should go promptly to their classrooms. Teachers will walk with the girls to the James River buses parked on Grove Ave.)

Time of Trip Departure:  7:15 a. m.

Time of Trip Return:   3:25 p.m. (Parents will be notified if we are delayed.)

Trip Attire:  Field Trip Attire and yellow Fourthie hat, jacket appropriate for the weather

What to bring:  Money for lunch. We will eat in the cafeteria at Mount Vernon.  There is a child’s meal available for $6.00, which includes chicken nuggets, French fries, Jell-O, and a drink. Otherwise, please send around $12.00 - $15.00 for lunch. Click here for a menu with options at the Food Court.

Special Instructions: The girls may bring a book to read on the bus or enjoy the pleasant company of their classmates. No electronics, please.

We just had our first recital on Friday. Laudie had a really long piece to play on the piano, and she did a great job!

So Who Do You Know in Your Neighborhood?

Who Do You Know in Your Neighborhood?

Does that phrase have a familiar ring--remember sitting on the family room floor eating your Cheerios and watching Mr. Rogers-that soft-spoken, eloquent man, from your childhood years?  We decided to investigate not only our own neighborhood but a few others, as well. This was the theme of the chapel the girls presented this morning.  The girls learned so much from each other--where everyone lives in the city, where they love to eat, churches where they worship. They also learned how diverse and interesting many of our Richmond churches are.  Did you know that Beth Ahabah was the second oldest synagogue in the country or that there was a Baptist church where there is a Chinese service, as well as an English one?

 I was also reminded of something that I already knew--what wonderful, welcoming people you are.  When I asked the girls how their families helped neighbors or how neighbors helped their families, their answers were so real.

"Bake an apple pie and take them flowers."

"Bring a meal to them when they are sick."

"Attend neighborhood gatherings."

"Bake cookies for people who can't get out."

Part of the fun included a walk through our neighborhood of St. Catherine's.  The girls met the owner of Nellie George, Nancy Hartt, who was in my fourth grade class!  They also interviewed Dick Fowlkes, owner of Peter Blair, and Lt. Pettigord of Firestation 19 on Maple. Last, but not least, they got to know Ms. Vermillion's upper school computer science students, and they LOVED that.

Happy girls after our chapel this morning!

 Visiting Peter Blair.

Thank you, Mr. Fowlkes!

 Lunch, anyone?  Cafe Caturra

 We love our neighborhood bank!

 New friends in Ms. Vermillion's Computer Science class!

Thank you, Mrs. Hartt, for letting us visit Nellie George!  It's been a long time since you were in my fourth grade class!

Lieutenant Pettigord, thank you for answering these girls' questions!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Bf-RKPFfTGM0dWTU1hMXhBTW8/view?usp=sharing

Home Sweet Home



Book Projects Galore

We had a fun-filled day as the girls presented their first book projects!  All of them were so attentive as they listened to each girl's presentation.  The projects were creative and interesting, and I think everyone in the class has a new list of books that they would like to read!

October is such a great month for Fourthies!  Fall is upon us.  We hope!  Girls are getting in the groove, and we have lots of exciting Halloween activities, some of which are on the Fourthie Website!  We are reading mysteries and identifying the elements of a good mystery, as well as solving some mysterious math problems, as well.  Check out our Halloween math site! Our class loves Math Playground, and the Fourthie Website has wonderful activities that we will begin on Monday.

Lots of Activity in M06 and Chapel on Friday

Just a tease!  You know from my email that our class is presenting Chapel this Friday, October 13, at 8:15 in the Lower School Assembly Room. Your daughters have learned a lot during the process and are working hard on getting it ready for the lower school.  We would love to have you join us.

The classroom is filled with excitement pretty much the entire day.  The only problem we have is that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything.  Those of you who were able to attend Tech Night know that our new favorite thing is Kahoot.  It's so much fun and a great learning tool.  Ask your daughters about it!  

We are nearing the end of Unit 1 in Math, and we are finishing with the very challenging concept of Order of Operations.  We use a pretty cool acronym for remembering the Order.  Your daughter can show you the slide on Google Classroom.  Mastering this, however, just takes lots of practice so we will work on it until everyone feels comfortable.  As you know, for the last ten days the girls have been involved in an international Halloween Math Contest on a site called Manga High.  They love it, and I know they will be sad to see the contest end on Friday.  They earned bronze, silver, and gold medals by playing the games and completing the assignments.  It's a great way to become proficient in math while having fun and competing.  If you have been wondering why your daughters are spending lots of time on the computer lately, now you know why!

Xtramath.org, which is located on the right side of this blog, should be a nightly routine in your homes.  The girls need to learn their basic facts, so this is a regular assignment. Thank you for administering the nightly quizzes on the tables. We are focusing on the sevens this week.

We are finishing up Number the Stars, the wonderful book by Lois Lowry.  It ties into our history as we study World War II and the Thirties and Forties.  The girls are enjoying all of the reading, research and collaboration. 

Upcoming Field Trip Date  -  November 8     Mount Vernon

 As we approach the date, there will be more information on this trip.

Music Class Update

October 6, 2017

Dear Grade 4 Parents,

Greetings from the Lower School music room! This is a note to let you know that fourth-grade students will soon resume playing the recorder in music classes. Please send your daughter to school with her recorder and a folder or notebook (to keep her recorder music in all year) beginning next week. Students who are new to St. Catherine’s this year will receive their recorders in music classes next week.

Any returning students who have lost or misplaced the recorders they were given in grade 3 are asked to please replace the lost instrument. In class we use the Peripole® Angel Baroque Soprano Halo® Recorder, which is available for purchase online at www.peripole.com. Soprano recorders are also sold by local music merchants such as Music & Arts.

Thank you for your support and assistance! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Ivens

LS Music Teacher