Dear Families,
It was a short but productive week in our classroom. To read about the latest and greatest from
our classroom, please find below our Classroom Update:
Math: This week students:
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Learned how to multiply using Partial Products (multiplying according to place value).
Learned how to multiply using the Standard Algorithm (traditional method).
Applied both of these methods to the Area Model.
Learned the Distributive Property of Math and applied it to multiplication problems.
Completed two Exit Tickets as a check-in on their understanding of the concepts, these
formative assessments will come home in next week’s Friday Folder.
Reading: This week students:
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Read non-fiction text related to our Ecosystems unit, highlighted important information
and answered questions related to the text.
Continued on with our read aloud: There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar.
Continued on with their independent reading.
Writing: This week students:
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Completed another week of Word Study activities with a focus on the prefix ‘aqua’ and
homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings.
Continued working on their second story (including the cover page and illustration
page).
Science: This week students:
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Learned how Science experiments work and the role of variables in an experiment.
Learned about the various pollutants (salt, acid rain, and fertilizer) that they will be
experimenting with on their Eco-columns.
Learned about the pH scale and how it measure acidity and alkalinity.
Added the words food chain, food web, predator, and prey to our glossary.
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Completed a quiz on ecosystems vocabulary and the parts of an ecosystem. This quiz
will come home in next week’s Friday Folder.
Isaiah sharing the pictures of the duckweed in his aquarium
at home – a new perspective for us – very cool!
Ask your child how this picture of Henry relates to science experiments!
Classroom News
Student Council: Thank you to all the students who ran for the Student Council
Representative positions, the speeches and/or PowerPoints were very well done.
Congratulations to our Madam Representatives, Sadie Huryn and Ishika Kumar, who were
elected by their peers. We know they will be the voice for all students in our class.
Scholastic Book Orders: In response to the request: I am extending the deadline for
November book orders; you may order online or turn in your order to me by Tuesday
November 15th. Our class code is GQV6R. If you wish to purchase books for the holidays as a
surprise for your child, please let me know and I will get them to you ‘incognito’. 
Market Day: Market Day forms are due back on or before November 15. After reading the
flyer, if you have questions that were not answered, I am happy to answer them for you. An
invitation for all parents to attend Market Day will follow in the weeks ahead.
Student-Led Conferences: On Wednesday December 7th and Thursday December 8th, the
fourth grade will be having 20-minute student-led conferences. This is an opportunity for your
child to review their work and celebrate their accomplishments as well as their goals for the
year. Please plan to have your child attend so they can share their progress with you!
o There will be NO school on those days.
o After November 18th conference time slots will be closed and you will need to
coordinate sign- ups or changes through me.
o We are running conferences back to back. Please do NOT schedule back/back
conference if you have more than one child. You will need to allow for “travel time” so
that you can maximize your 20 minute session.
School News
Eureka Parent Info Night: Join us on Monday, November 14th from 6:30-7:30pm in the
multi-purpose room for a Eureka Parent Information session. We will be covering topics
including: a basic overview of Eureka, a typical lesson structure, sample activities, different
strategies and tips to help your mathematician at home. We look forward to continuing this
partnership as we adjust to a new math curriculum, and celebrating the exciting things
happening in our classrooms!
PBSES: In January 2017, families are invited to the second annual workshop about PBSES
(Positive Behavior and Social Emotional Support). You are invited to learn more about how to
use PBSES at home. During this workshop, we will discuss engagement vs. compliance and
building strategies that enhances engagement with your students. This workshop will focus on
motivation, organization, positive relationships, and social and emotional learning strategies.
There are three opportunities to attend this workshop: January 18, 2017 (Pine Lake Middle
School), January 19, 2017 (Issaquah Middle School), and January 26th (Maywood Middle
School). The Student Support Coaches for the elementary and middle schools will host the
sessions and they will start at 6:30 and conclude at 8pm. We hope to see you there!
AFTER SCHOOL MOVIES
Angry Birds (PG) will be shown on Wednesday, Nov. 16th, for your student's
enjoyment, immediately after school. Open to all grades (1-5) with 100 firstcome-first-served spots available for each movie. A $10 donation is requested per
Grand Ridge student. Registration is due no later than the Monday before the
showing you wish to attend. No exceptions. Go to http://grandridgeptsa.org to
register your child and sign-up to volunteer. Once your child's spot is reserved,
you will receive an e-mail confirmation. For questions, email [email protected].
COMING SOON TO GRAND RIDGE! SCHOLASTIC “BOOKANEER” BOOK FAIR
December 6-9th, 8:30am to 5:00pm in the school library. Support our school library
while purchasing affordable holiday gifts for your students or teachers. For more
information and to sign up to volunteer, visit grandridgeptsa.org and look for the Book
Fair icon.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Find all of our current volunteer needs in one place. Check out the sign ups here to find a
current opportunity that suits you and your schedule. We are currently seeking volunteers for
the Recess STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) club (Nov - Feb). Interested
parties, please contact Anh Leith at [email protected].
LOST & FOUND IS FULL!
Next time you come to the school, just sign in at the office and take the stairs to the first floor.
Your family's coats, sweaters and lunchboxes are waiting for you there! Want to keep your
belongings out of Lost & Found? Gather everything your child can take off or set down, and use
permanent marker to label each item with your last name. Lost & Found volunteers will return
lost items to your child's classroom. Thank you! Questions? Kathryn Meeker,
[email protected]
Veteran’s Day Assembly: Grand Ridge honored Veterans and took time to remember the
service and sacrifices they made. Isaiah and Arya were part of the group of student presenters
and speakers at our assembly – they did us proud too!
Great job Isaiah and Arya for representing
our class at the Veteran’s Day Assembly
and thank you to Veterans Josh and Brandy
Falk pictured with their daughter Kate (in
our class). We salute you and thank you for
your service!
Mark Your Calendars
November 15…………….Scholastic Book Orders due (deadline extended)
November 18…………….Last Day to schedule Parent-Teacher-Student Conference online
November 24, 25……….No School - Thanksgiving
Freedom is not free. ~ Walter Hitchcock