Supplies for St. Andrew's School

St. Catherine’s Lower School Outreach Project:

School Supply Drive

to

Support St. Andrew’s School

May 7-18

St. Andrew’s students now go to school year-round, and they will start their new school year after a short break. Let’s help each class fill their school supply needs!

Mrs. Robert’s Class Goal

Supplies for rising Fifth Graders:

16 packs of 12-count yellow #2 wooden pencils

16 packs of pencil top erasers

16 pencil sharpeners

16 boxes of Crayola 24 count crayons

The Wiz..A Smashing Success

...and new stars are born! Could this class have been any more fabulous on the stage? It's as if they were born to act...such dramatic expression, such personality, such stage presence, and today the Senior Class was there. The Seniors performed this same play eight short years ago, and they loved seeing your daughters today. They clapped and hooted in approval! The yellow brick road performers wore the exact same costumes! Isn't that amazing, and isn't that wonderful?  It's part of what makes St. Catherine's great--the passing down of fun traditions like this.
As the entire lower school sang "I Saw a Ship ASailin' " to the Seniors there was not a dry eye!

Thank you to Anne Manetas and Susan Rhodes who made ALL of the costumes!  What an undertaking, and how fabulous did those costumes look! Thank you also to the make-up mothers extraordinaire, Brooke Gates, Elizabeth Valentine, and Hina Ali, who did the make-up for our class!

Here are some pictures of the play!  You will also see some older girls.  They are Seniors who were in my class in fourth grade.

 Isabelle Warren

 Emily McDermott and Reny Horner.  Emily starred in Metamorphoses last weekend!

More wonderful Seniors!

The 3d Project, the Play, THE Wedding, and much more

For many of my St. Catherine's years I have been fortunate to be part of a class who is allowed to attend a Naturalization Ceremony.  Understanding how America was populated and what that process entailed is the foundation of our curriculum. Although we have read and studied about the early groups of people, the most fun part is about to begin with the study of Immigration beginning in the 19 th Century.  Margaret Harker, a friend of mine and an Assistant United States Attorney, was kind enough to speak to my class about the naturalization process and the seriousness of taking the oath of allegiance.  This was particularly cool because she was also the attorney at the Naturalization Ceremony who reads the name of each new citizen--quite a challenge since they come from all over the world.  As usual, Judge Hannah Lauck and the US Marshals did an outstanding job of explaining the court and introducing Wanda, the bomb sniffing dog, to the girls!  Wanda was a big hit!

Margaret Harker, Assistant US Attorney, talking to the class about the Naturalization Ceremony.  
Play Practice
It's officially that time of year...we started play practice today, and are the girls ever excited about that! They are having a blast singing these wonderful songs and practicing their ultra cool dances.  Remember costume information is on the blog. Thursday, May 3, is the big day! I can't say the name of the play because...ssh!...it's always a major secret!

3D Project

The 3D project culminates in a sale tomorrow on Alumnae Weekend.  The scratch projects from our class are incredible and show an unbelievable ability to utilize technology in a whole, new way.  I'm convinced that some of these girls may start the next Google.  Wow!  Wait until you see their work! Several of the girls from our class have signed up to help sell all of the fabulous items they designed and printed.

THE Wedding

Now for the fun news! What is the wedding of the season? In case it is not on your radar, it's all about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on May 19. We have designed some exciting activities for the girls, one of which is to make a fascinator to wear because in our own way, we are making a trip across the pond! In the Parent Folder is a sheet about this.  The girls can bring feathers, ribbon, tulle, etc. to school to make the fascinator.  All materials must be in by next Friday.  Full details are on this paper in their folder!  We have a special place on the Fourthie Website devoted especially to the Royal Wedding. Working Edpuzzles, calculating distance... and making an invitation...it's all there!

And more...

For my girls, it's all about the Puritans, and I bet that you have learned a little more about these straightlaced folks along the way! The girls worked extremely hard on their projects and as each group presents, I am so impressed with the hard work that led toward the final product. For girls who are only ten years old, they are doing a great job of figuring out how to handle the dynamics of group work, for this is truly a learning process.  Each girl has grown so much and in ways that, frankly, I am in the best position to see. Lucky me! I can see what they are doing in class, and I am able to guide them along their individual paths of growth. Today, after the last group presented, the girls just spontaneously started talking about everything they had learned from this project.

This is what "learning how to learn" is all about. There is no substitute for the enthusiasm I have witnessed with this unit. Having read many books and websites, the girls were able to incorporate vocabulary and spelling from the Witch of Blackbird Pond, take notes and participate in lively, as well as thoughtful, discussions in class about why these groups of people made a dangerous trip across the ocean. Don't worry!  We are not finished with this unit!  Not yet!

Final Assembly Form

Final Assembly Information

It's that time of year!  Your girls will soon be leaving lower school. This is the first part of getting ready.  Please click hereso that you can fill out this form with your daughter's name as you would like it listed on her certificate. Stay tuned for more information!

Just an FYI

Dress Code  -   Just an FYI

Now that the weather is warmer, please be mindful of the Dress Code. Girls grow through the year, and those shorts and skirts that were perfect in September often are too short by April.  I gave every girl a copy of the Dress Code to give to you, and the Parent Handbook is on the blog, as well. Page 46 will refer you to the Dress Code for Lower School girls.  Athletic wear and denim are not permitted unless it is a special day.   The girls tell me that great shorts are available at Target and The Gap!

Naturalization Ceremony - Field Trip

                                            Naturalization Ceremony  -  Field Trip

Grade:  4

Date of Trip: Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Location:  Naturalization Ceremony at the United States Federal District Court, Downtown Richmond

Time of Student Drop Off at School: Regular drop-off

Time of Trip Departure: 9:00 am   

Time of Trip Return: 12:00 - 12:30 pm

Trip Attire: Field trip attire

What to bring: We will have a picnic lunch at school when we return so everyone will need to pack a lunch and a drink.

Description: We are excited to attend a Naturalization Ceremony. This is a wonderful opportunity for the girls and a perfect culminating activity for our study of Immigration. While we are there, we will have an opportunity to visit a courtroom with Judge Hannah Lauck and then see the newest American citizens sworn in.

Thanks, Everyone!

Fourth Grade Team

Dates for the Class Play

Hi Everyone,

These are the dates given to us from Jennifer Ivens for the play.

Performance for Parents
Thursday, May 3, at 2:30

Friday, May 4,  9:45  Performance for Senior Class and Lower School.

The Seniors performed The Wiz when they were in Fourth Grade!

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