Happy Vacation!

Our Week In Review

This week has been very busy, even though it was only three days! First, we made a holiday gift for our families on Monday. We made these with Mrs. Williams's class.

We continued to read Stone Fox, but didn't get to finish it!

We will finish reading it when we return from vacation. We are working on finding the main idea when we read this book. We also wrote some holiday poems and stories.

Today we gave our speeches. Mrs. Merten says we all did a GREAT job! Here are some pictures from our speeches.

Today we also had our party in a bag! We really enjoyed partying with Mrs. Williams's Class.

From the Teacher's Desk

Thank you so much for the unexpected and generous class gift! I was touched. I can’t wait to get new books for our class, and some other things to make the rest of the year a great one. Thank you.
I hope that you enjoy a wonderful vacation filled with relaxation and family time. I am looking forward to a wonderful 2010!

Warmly,
Katie Merten

Our Week In Review

This week, our class had a food drive to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. We also had a visitor from the food pantry come to our school to tell us all about the food pantry. We collected 420 lbs. of food!

We learned about a writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. He wrote rhyming poems and 3 books: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.  We wrote holiday rhyming poems and we got to watch Muppet Treasure Island.

This week we had TWO tests.  We had our Canada test, and our Unit 5 math test.  We also had a vocab quiz today.  We had to study a LOT this week.

We also started making stained glass Christmas trees.  Some of us finished, and the rest will finish on Monday. 

We started reading a book called Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.  It is a story about a little boy, his grandfather and his dog, Searchlight.  So far, we think it is pretty good.

In science we started learning a little about weather.  We looked at some informational websites and even had some homework.  There are some great weather sites attached to our class websites. This unit will continue through the beginning of 2010.

In math, we got to play some math games.

It was a really busy week this week!


From the teacher's desk:

It has really been a busy week.  I like to wrap up as much as possible before the vacation, so that the information the children learn is still fresh in their minds.  I am very aware of how busy this time of year is, and I truly appreciate all that you've done with the food drive and helping your children stay organized.  I know next week will be even busier, but I am hopeful we can get through it with continued success....It's only 3 days!  Have a great weekend!

WOW!

The fourth graders collected 420 lbs. of food for the Franklin Food Pantry!  We brought all of the food to the gym and took a few pictures of the food and the students!  We also were able to take a quick video of some of the kids carrying the food to the food pantry.  Thank you all so much for your generous donations.  A special thank you to Mrs. Melville and Mrs. Juszczyszyn for delivering our food today!

The Food Pantry Visits JFK

Today Mrs. B. from the Franklin Food Pantry came to Kennedy to talk about the food pantry.  We learned so much about the food pantry.  We learned that about 400 families use the food pantry in Franklin every month.  The food pantry had 140 turkeys donated for Thanksgiving and 104 hams donated for the December holidays.  Everyone who works at the Franklin Food Pantry is a volunteer.

Mrs. B. told us that cookies are one thing that does not stay on the shelf in the food pantry.  Many families with children are looking for cookies.  Below are some more pictures of our fourth graders at the presentation.

Our food from our Kennedy food drive will be delivered this Friday!

Good Luck, Anand!

Today was Anand's last day at our school.  He will be starting his new school tomorrow, and we had a little party to say goodbye.  We will miss him, but he will stay a part of our class through our class blog and some emails!  GOOD LUCK, Anand!

Love,
Your Class

Our Week In Review

This week, we had our first algebra lesson with Mrs. Y.  It was really fun and was kind of challenging.  Mrs. Y. is coming again before vacation!

We also finished reading The Family Under the Bridge this week.  It was really good at the end.  Some of us wanted the story to keep going because the ending was so great.  We were hoping that there was a sequel, but there isn't yet!  Next week we are doing our food pantry drive.  Somebody from the food pantry will even come and talk to us on Wednesday.

Today we made Menorahs to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah. We learned about the history of this holiday.

In art, we started making totems.  This art project coincides with our study of Canada.

It was a great week this week!


From the teacher's desk
I was happy to meet most of you and discuss your child's progress this week.  I enjoyed  meeting all of you and am so happy that we are working together to make this a successful year for your child.  I want to wish all who celebrate Hanukkah a happy holiday.  Enjoy your weekend!

Katie Merten

Our Week In Review

This week in our class we did a LOT.  First, we started reading a book called The Family Under the Bridge.  We already made it to chapter 6! When we read this book, we are working on ~ Asking Questions, Themes, Making Predictions and Cause and Effect.  We are doing really well!!!!

We are going to have a mini food drive in fourth grade for the Franklin Food Pantry.  This book is filled with many worthy themes.

This week we wrote postcards to the soldiers in the army.  We gave them to Rory's mom and she is going to send them to the soldiers.  We wrote about how we are thankful that they are risking their lives to keep us safe and protect our country.

We started writing acrostic poems about November, too.

In math, we learned partial products.  We did one digit multipliers this week, and next week, we are going to multiply using two digit multipliers.  Click here for directions on how to use this new algorithm.

In art, we drew poses of a figure moving.  We also learned a new song, "Starburst" on the recorder.  Remember you can listen to the music on the Recorder Karate site.

Fourth Grade Food Drive

December, 2009

Dear Parents,

Fourth graders will be reading The Family Under the Bridge as a whole class read-aloud in December. This novel features many worthy themes, one of which is the plight of homelessness.  As part of this unit, fourth graders will be invited to participate in a food/supplies drive to help those in need in our own community.  The food/supplies drive will take place during the week of December 14th-18th.  While any donations of non-perishable food items are welcome, the Franklin Food Pantry has informed us that the following items are particularly in need at this time:

• Cleaning Supplies, such as:
• antibacterial hand gel
• antibacterial wipes
• cleaners
• paper towels
• tissues
• laundry detergent
• Boxes of Cereal

We will also be in need of parent volunteers who would be available on the final day of the food drive (December 18th) in the late morning, to box and deliver the items to the Franklin Food Pantry (as they close by 1:00 PM).  If you are available to help on that day and tiem, please let your child's teacher know.

We thank you for the opportunity to teach your child a valuable lesson about giving and generosity.

Many thanks,

The Fourth Grade Team

THANKSGIVING!

Our Thanksgiving speeches were a big success!  Mrs. Merten was so proud of everyone for writing great speeches, and for practicing!  She was able to take a few pictures during our speeches.

Mrs. Merten has run out of time for our class store- TWICE.  We will definitely have our class store on Monday- after library and math time in the computer lab. She PROMISES.

From the teacher's desk:

This is the season of giving thanks! I want to take a minute to thank you for your support of our school activities. Thank you for all of your generous donations from the wishing well and the class store! I also want to thank Mrs. Juszczyszyn for being our room parent. All of these donations of supplies, time and energies are all greatly appreciated!


Mostly, I would like to thank you for your support with your children. The consistency and help you give them daily supports what we do in school, and allows the children to understand the importance of our connection. I feel lucky to have such a wonderful group of families.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time with your family.
~Katie Merten

Our Week of Fun

This week in Science we learned about Heredity and genes.  Today we got to look at pictures of our ancestors and we talked about whether or not we looked like our ancestors.  We also made "genoworms" using M & Ms and we got to eat some at the end!  Here are some pictures of our genoworms. Ask your kids about how we made them! We have a Heredity test on Tuesday, so please study!

In Music this week, we played our first song on our recorders.  You can see some of the Recorder Karate music here.   In Art, we finished our Fish Prints (Gyotaku).  We had a math test today, and if you did the study guide you will get FIVE extra points on the test. 

We are working on a special writing project for our families for Thanksgiving.  It's going along well, and you will see it on Tuesday!

Our Week In Review

This week, we finished reading Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.  We thought it was an awesome book!  We focused on making predictions and answering questions throughout this book. Everyone brought home their Read Aloud Journal this weekend.  Remember to return them on Monday!

In science, we started a new unit on Heredity.  We will be learning about inherited traits.  Check out the Nature vs. Nurture activities linked from our class website. We will have a test about Heredity before the Thanksgiving break.

Today, we had Black and White Day to celebrate finishing this book.  It was a fun day!  We also got to bring our stuffed animals today as a reward for earning all of our points in our specials.  We also got to vote on the yearbook cover this week!  Some of us were excited that the cover we voted for will be used for our yearbook!