March / ​
April
Newsletter
Events
March 21 & 22 Variety Show Auditions 6:15 March 24 No School­ Professional Day March 25 ­ April 3 Spring Break April 8 End of 3rd Quarter April 12 Blue & White Assembly April 15 Spring Dance 7:00 April 19 MD Science Center Assembly April 22 Report Card Distribution April 26 No School­ Primary Election Field Trip The end of a fantastic year is rapidly approaching and the annual fourth grade trip to Annapolis will take place May 26. The trip includes a walking tour of Annapolis and a boat ride to highlight some of the sites of the state capitol from the water. The cost of the trip this year will be $44 per student. We hope this early notice helps you plan for this wonderful trip. More information to come. Allergy Season
​
We made it through cold season and now we face allergy season. Any donation of tissues would be greatly appreciated. If your child is absent or if you
are sending an email about change
of schedule please include the
office on any communications.
Sometimes teachers are absent
and or in meetings and can‛t
forward messages to the office.
Include Mrs. Baude and Mrs.
Ahearn. [email protected] [email protected] PARCC PARCC testing is just around the corner. Please try to avoid scheduling appointments during the testing dates. It will be important for your child to be on time and to have eaten breakfast. Your child can practice using the PARCC practice test at: http://parcc.pearson.com/practice­tests/ PARCC testing is on the computer and utilizes some features that require earphones. If your child would like to bring in earphones / earbuds for testing, that would be a great help. The school will loan earphones to students who don’t have them. Testing Dates: May 12,13,16,17,19,20,23 Reading Update We are finishing up the novel, ​
Where
the Mountain Meets the Moon​
by Grace
Lin. The children have truly enjoyed
this engaging novel and I have enjoyed
watching their faces light with
excitement for reading! If they haven’t
already done so, please ask them to
share their views on the story with you
at home. They’ve been making
excellent connections between the
events in this novel and stories from our
Greek Mythology study. We’ve used the
book to practice many reading skills
such as inferencing and summarizing.
Students are also finishing their fantasy
novels from MP3 in guided reading
groups. ​
We will begin Marking Period 4
​
by comparing structural elements of
prose, poetry, and plays. I will read the
novel, ​
Shiloh​
, as a tool to teach
identifying theme, writing summaries,
and understanding figurative language.
Marketing Inquiry Project
Over the past few weeks students have
been researching how companies
market products, specifically looking at
techniques used to target certain
audiences. Students analyzed a variety
of commercials and and facts about
marketing techniques in order to form
an opinion about responsible ways to
advertise to children. We are
completing these writing assignments in
homeroom and students have been
working with the criteria given as well
as peer and teacher feedback to publish
a three paragraph opinion piece. This
has been a wonderful real-life
opportunity for the kids and they have
enjoyed learning all about marketing!
Social Studies
During the month of March we studied the
several different colonies. Some of the
colonies studied were St. Augustine,
Roanoke Colony, Jamestown, Plymouth and
St. Mary’s. Students learned the reasons
for starting the colonies, hardships they faced and interactions with the Native
Americans who lived in those areas.
Our focus for the next few weeks is
Maryland’s Government. Students will
identify the 3 branches of government
and the roles of each branch. We will also
analyze how regional concerns influence
government policy. Math ​
In March we
wrapped up
our fractions
unit by solving
problems involving
adding and subtracting fractions. We
will also worked on multiplying a
whole number and a fraction.
Problem solving will continue
with units of time, distance, and
mass. We will begin April by studying
geometry. We will by learning about
parallel, perpendicular and lines of
symmetry. Then we will transition into
learning about angles. We will measure
and draw angles using a protractor, and
classify them based on attributes. The
final part of April will be spent applying
our angle knowledge to triangles.
Science We spent part of
the third quarter
learning about
matter. That
knowledge will
be used to learn
about mixtures
and how rocks
are composed of a mixture of minerals.
Students will be asked to bring in a rock
sample that is no bigger than their fist so
that we can observe different properties
of rocks.
!