Costume Information for Play

Parents,

A very dedicated and talented pair of ladies, have been hard at work costuming the show.  All of the characters will have a portion of their costume provided for them by the school.  However, listed below is what each student is expected to provide from home.  Please make sure the items listed are brought into school in a paper grocery bag labeled with the name of the student.  We ask that all items be delivered to school no later than Friday, April 27^th.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

·      Shoes:

Toms, Converse, or any dance shoe will work nicely.  We have ballet shoes if girls need them – please see the Google Form to request a size.

Dorothy -white leggings, white short sleeve shirt and silver slippers (see email that was sent out a few weeks ago)

Uncle Henry -overalls or jeans and a plaid shirt

Munchkin- Pink/orange short-sleeve plain t-shirt

Addaperle- white leggings and white tank

Scarecrow- overalls or jeans and a plaid shirt   

Tinman- gray leggings or sweatpants and plain white long-sleeve shirt

Lion- black leggings and plain black long-sleeve shirt

Gatekeeper- gray or white leggings and plain white long-sleeve shirt

Citizen/ Winkie- black leggings and black tank top

Wiz- plain green t-shirt and leggings

Lord High Underling- black leggings and plain long-sleeve black shirt

Evillene- plain red shirt and red leggings

Messenger- plain black shirt and black leggings or blue jeans

Lead Monkey- brown leggings

Glinda- white leggings

Tornado Ballet- plain brown long sleeve shirt and brown leggings

Yellow Brick Road Dancers- yellow leggings         

Kalidahs/ Flying Monkeys- brown leggings and plain black long-sleeve shirt

If your character is not listed, it is because you do not need to provide anything.

Thanks for all of your help to make this show a memorable one for the 4^th graders!

Jennifer Ivens

Music Teacher

The Wearin' of the Green, etc.....

I'm not sure how we managed to not get any pictures of our St. Patrick's Day activities because we had a lot of fun with the wearin' o' the green!  Green cupcakes and green peeps and green math...we had it all!  We are finishing up our unit in math on measuring, and it has been so interesting to teach US Standard and metrics all at the same time...seriously, we have done math in quarts and gallons, liters and milliliters, meters and kilometers, feet and inches, etc....Amazingly, they can do it.  You should ask them to show you how they multiply and divide with these quantities.  It's really cool, and a whole lot easier than the way you learned.  They do need work in understanding the concept, so today we stopped and measured a lot of things in the classroom.  We've been working on this the last few weeks, and they are getting better.  When both are reinforced and mastered, they will be powerhouse math students!  Check out the pictures below and you will see what we did today!

Another great picture of the girls at the fabulous Terracotta Soldier exhibit at the VMFA!

As you know, teaching the girls how to write is a priority for me.  We have been working on it all year, and their hard work is beginning to show.  The other day the class had an assignment in relation to something they had read, and I was completely impressed with the level of writing I saw. Their ability to include sentence variety and examine a subject deeply was fantastic. Their growth this year is amazing!  I will show you some of their work at our next Conference Day.

Caritas

Thank you so much for sending in the snacks for the families who will be our guests in a week or so.  This is such a great opportunity for the girls to help people and see first hand how important this is for real families in dire circumstances.

Maypole Information!

Daisy Days is almost here, and with that comes the annual Maypole Dance performed by the Fourthies!  This is a longstanding tradition at St. Catherine's.  Many of the alum mothers in this class may remember performing when they were in lower school.  Thanks to the dedication and commitment of Sara Waechter, Jean Hershey, Elizabeth Peay, and Cary Williams the tradition will go on.  What a fun way for the girls to celebrate Spring and our wonderful school!  Click here, and you will find a video for the girls to watch along with important information on the Maypole and how to become familiar with the dance itself.

The Maypole Information is also available on the Fourthie Website under Everything Else.

Innovation Day- a huge, creative success and Spring Break is here....

I first met the current Fourthies when they were in Kindergarten the year we initiated Innovation Days.  Anna Safran was in my group that year.  I can remember that day as if it were yesterday...the girls in my class looked over at Anna and said, "Wow, Mrs. Roberts, look at what that Kindergartener is drawing for her model."  What a wow it was!  These remarkable Innovation Days have produced girls who can make something, utilizing simple materials. After five years and ten innovation projects, the impact of these Innovations Days is clear.  The girls can think, design and produce in a way that is definitely innovative. They thrive on these occasions, and they love every minute of it!  They were inspired by a wonderful innovator, Angela Luna, who spoke to the Lower School, as well as the entire school, in the fall.

The challenge to the girls was to design something that could be useful or helpful to other people.
Last fall they met as a team to decide what they wanted to design. Then on Tuesday, they met again to figure out their materials, and today they made their designs.  This was accomplished today without me! I was sick at home.  It killed me to miss it, but I will see their final projects after Spring Break.  I thought that you might like to see the results today! These are the projects that have been shared with me.

See this link to read about Angela Luna.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2017/10/12/angela-luna-23-is-building-a-business-with-clothes-that-save-lives/#547cdfb71b1a

Flipping Bike Pack

We made a flipping Bike pack. We made it out of fabric, duck tape, plastic cup, ribbon, buttons , rubber bands,and some teamwork along the way! This will help people that are traveling and don’t have a car or can’t afford one.

         Not only does the flipping bike pack carry  your things,but it also has water cup holders ,and a mat that you can sit on. The water holders will either hold your water bottle or you can just put water right in the cup! Although the basket is cardboard, it is covered in fabric, so if your item is fragile it will be in good shape when you take it out. The awesome blanket that folds out can buckle up tight when you are on the go. You may also have a nice little picnic too!   

Education Bags

By Natalie,Clare,Darcy,Laudie,and Becca

These are our Education Bags.Inside of the Education Bags are materials for parents who can’t send their kids to school. Inside the bags are pencils,paper,a book,crayons,a calculator,a coloring book,and glue stick. Parents can take one bag or as many as they want.We want the Education Bags to go to Child Fund. We all made the flashcards in class,and Natalie made the bags at her house from cloth and string. Everyone helped load the bags.    

Let’s help!

Sleeping bag design

Idea: make a sleeping bag that can turn into a purse, it can turn into a solar panel

Step one: make the sleeping bag

Step two: turn into a purse

Step three: color

Step four: take pictures

Step five: show teachers

Pictures go here:

sleeping bag                                                      flat`

purse

This design is a sleeping bag that turns into a purse! If you tie the rubber bands it turns into a purse to carry things in. Who likes to be cold at night? Well, it has a solar panel to keep you warm at night. It gets very small so it is easy to carry around. We made it by tissue paper, cardboard, a lot of tape, a few rubber bands, and paper.The sleeping bag will be made out of waterproof material so if it is raining you will not get wet. If we think about other people’s needs then we can change the world.

Paxton Raymond

Madelyn Smullen

Betsy Spalding

Kensie Toepp

Learner Buddy!

By Lillie, Laila, Violet, and Isabella

Our project is called The Learner Buddy. The way it works is you put a piece of paper into

the slot. Each piece of paper has educational things on it. Then you type the things or answers to the questions that are on the slide. It helps little kids learn their ABC’s and 123’s.We used cardboard, fabric, construction paper, and rainbow duck tape.   

This is our Arrow Filter. We built it to help hunger and thirst. It is an arrow and a water filter all in one. We built it from a pipe, rope, rocks, hook, and a filter. We made it so that you can sling it onto your back. You use it by throwing it into the water. There is a filter at the bottom that cleans the water that comes through the pipe, and when it is in the filter you open the cap on the bottom of it.

                              The End

The Sleeping Coat Team Asra, Emma,Tayloe and Madison

Our idea was to make a coat that turns into a sleeping bag. We think that people who are in a rush won’t have the time to pitch a tent and take it down every day, so we decided to make this a sleeping bag. We hope it will help people who don’t have the money to buy one of Angela Luna’s tents. Our creation was inspired by Angela Luna’s tents but we had different ideas. We think that just flipping it inside out will be easier than pitching a tent. It would work for people who travel and those that don’t have enough money to buy a bed.

In our innovation project, we created an umbrella that turns into a tent. The umbrella can also be attached to a backpack using the velcro strap most umbrellas have to keep them together. The tent can be put together by putting a blanket on top. Just close the umbrella and take the blanket off to make it back to normal.You could also open the umbrella while it's on the backpack. In the classroom, it was kind of hard to make the backpack attach to the umbrella because we had to make a way to open it while not blocking the path of the umbrella as it closes. Using the velcro strap solved this problem. It was also kind of difficult to keep the umbrella from falling, but we supported it with the backpack and some tape and it stayed up. We also put  the umbrella on it’s side and it stayed up that way too.

By Maddie Bridges, Mary Mac Starke, Courtney Carter, Amelia Ellis   

Starting our day the right way....lots of love..........and candy!

There is just one thing missing from our Valentine Extravaganza, and that is our Becca!  We miss you, Becca!  It is just not the same thing today without you!  Here is how we feel!

Becca, what vocabulary word is the class feeling without you?   ________________________

Let's Support the USA!

Let's have some fun during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics!  What a perfect time to learn about the culture of South Korea, as well as about the Winter Olympics.  The girls are going to watch a little of the Olympics every night at home and keep track of which countries receive medals.  They are also going to get to know some of the athletes from the United States, as well as other countries, so let's get ready for some great fun during the next two weeks.  So much learning can take place during this wonderful global event! We are going to incorporate math with history, geography, writing, and sports!


Speaking of math, these girls are getting ready to round up a highly compelling unit of fractions. Honestly, they are doing fifth and sixth grade work, and they are doing it well.  Along with the computation, they are doing a lot of problem solving using the bar model method, and they are getting so much better. They still need to read carefully and figure out what the actual question is.  Don't worry!  They are getting lots of practice.  You have seen their work, so you know what I am talking about.


Valentine's Day 

is here!  Too much fun in one week!  The girls are making Valentine's boxes at home and we are making Valentines tomorrow with a party on Wednesday...such good old fun passing Valentines out to all of our classmates in the class!  We'll write some clever rhymes, and the girls will also interview you on your own love stories!  Come on!  Spill the beans! 

Reminder - Terracotta Army Field Trip - February 8

January 23, 2018

Dear Parents of St. Catherine’s Grade 4 Students,

I am so excited to announce that students in the fourth grade will have a special opportunity to visit Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in early February. They will join a guided tour to explore the special exhibition: Terracotta Army- Legacy of First Emperor of China. 

The Terracotta Army is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. This special exhibition in VMFA assembles 10 Terracotta Army figures and an array of other artifacts from around 210 BC. Our fourth graders are currently studying the history of the First Emperor of China, as well as the universal Chinese writing system, which was first adopted by his empire. This field trip will offer a wonderful opportunity for students to witness the art and archaeology of ancient China.

The guided tour starts at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 8^th. We will use school transportation to get to VMFA and will be off campus from approximately 9:30-11:30 a.m. Please send your daughter to school on February 8^th dressed in her field trip attire, with a bag lunch to be eaten in the classroom when we return to school. (If your daughter buys lunch from school, we will have a bag lunch ready for her.)

Thank you for your support. I hope the visit to the Terracotta Army exhibition will be a truly memorable experience for your daughter!

Sincerely,

Kefu Dorion

LS Chinese Teacher

St. Catherine’s School

Gold/White Dominates the Week!

Gold/ White Week

What a week of spirit leading up to the celebration of Miss Jennie's birthday on January 30!  Do the girls in this school have fun or what?  I wasn't here for Disney Day, but Mrs. Seabolt took pictures and I heard all about it! (I had Jury Duty, and I actually served on a jury, so it was kind of a productive day.) Today was the Gold/ White competition, and it was spectacular.  The teams rocked the gym, and the girls looked resplendent in their gold sequins and white feather boas.

Since we have done so much celebrating this week, I had to find a way to weave history into Spirit Week, so Decades Day was the perfect vehicle.  Hello 60s! Did these girls ever get into it! They've  learned about the Viet Nam War and the civil rights movement, and how college students all over the country protested, so they staged their very own sit-in, and Dr. Kapetanis and Mrs. Friend went right along with it.  The "protestors" presented their list of demands...more cookies in the cafeteria, flag football at recess, more jeans days, compliment circles....all very interesting!

Famous author coming in February

Award Winning Author Coming Here

Award winning author, Carmen Agra Deedy, is coming to St. Catherine's on February 21, 2018 to speak to our lower school students.  Born in Havana, Cuba, Carmen came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1964. Her children's books have won numerous awards and reflect her unique life experiences.

We are offering the opportunity to purchase an autographed book for your child through our local children’s bookshop, bbgb books. You may go to bbgb's website, http://bbgbbooks.com/book-buzz/?book_list=st-catherines, and add your book(s) to the cart.  At check-out choose school delivery, select St. Catherine's, then indicate your child's name, teacher and to whom the book(s) should be signed.  Please place your order by Monday, February 5th. The books will be delivered to school for Carmen's visit. You may call bbgb with any questions at 804.353.5675. 15% of the proceeds will come back to St.

Catherine's!