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First Quarter
The first quarter has been a good one for the fourth grade. Students have made the transition into fourth grade, and we have started a productive year.
Report Cards/Conferences
Your child’s report card will be sent home on Tuesday, November 13th. Reading conferences will be held on November 19th – 21st. Generally, first quarter report card comments will be written by your child’s math teacher. Our February conferences will be for meeting with the parents of our math students.
Absences
We receive many requests to provide work for students who have been absent or who will be out of school on a future date. We appreciate the effort on the part of students and parents to keep up with schoolwork. Students’ needs and curriculum scope and sequence drive instruction. It is often difficult to know exactly which objectives will be covered on future dates. In most cases, it is probably more meaningful for students to make up work after they return to school. We ask that requests be made prior to the start of the school day for students (9:10), and we will provide work when appropriate. It is also helpful if students select someone from within their classes to collect missed work for short absences.
Binder and Agenda Book Reminder
As a way of making students accountable for their progress, each child has data forms in the various sections of his/her binder for recording grades, goals, and action plans. The agenda book requires a weekly parent signature acknowledging that his/her work, data, and agenda book have been shared. We continue to have students return on Mondays without a signature. Please check each weekend for your child’s binder and agenda book. Thank you for your support!
Classroom Guidance
Mrs. O’Malley, our guidance counselor, has been working with the fourth grade. The fourth grade guidance curriculum during the first and second quarter will focus on coping skills--things that students can do to overcome difficulties or upset feelings. We began this unit by discussing ways to deal with your feelings. There are four steps to dealing with your feelings:
1. Name the feeling. Label it.
2. Accept the feeling. Know that it is okay to feel that way.
3. Express the feeling. Let it out in a safe way.
4. Decide what you need to do to make the problem better.
Use what you know about how you feel to tell you what you need.
Next, we will discuss adjusting your attitude to help students cope. First, students will learn to identify the negative thinking in a given situation. Then, they will change that thinking to help the person involved in the situation to feel better.
In December, we will be working on problem solving. We will be identifying problems and examining choices that could be used to solve a given problem. Students will choose one of the possible solutions to the problem.
Health
Fourth graders will explore 3 different health units throughout the year. While studying Nutrition and Fitness, students will gain knowledge of how physical activity, adequate rest, and a healthy, nutritious diet will help the body function efficiently.
The Safety, First Aid, and Injury Prevention unit will help students develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes that promote safe living in the home, school, and community. Students will learn about home alone safety, walking outdoors from place to place, online safety, gun safety, water safety, choking, and medicine safety. Students will also increase their knowledge of
allergies, minor first aid, what constitutes a “medical emergency situation”, conflict resolution, and child abuse prevention.
Students will develop an understanding of health promotion and disease prevention concepts to establish a foundation for leading a healthy, productive life during the Disease Prevention and Control unit. Students will gain knowledge of the 6 body systems, communicable and noncommunicable diseases, risk factors, prevention, and the social and emotional effects of disease.
During the month of December, the students will complete the child abuse lessons. The students will learn to:
- Identify and define the four types of child abuse.
- Identify prevention and intervention strategies against molestation.
- Use appropriate verbal and nonverbal responses to prevent child abuse.
Science
During the first quarter, students have been working on “The Big Picture”. Students have been comparing the properties of planets in our solar system to recognize that Earth has distinct properties that support life as we know it. They identified Earth’s crust as the layer of Earth’s structure that supports all life on our planet. Students are studying the properties of minerals, rocks, and soil.
During the second quarter, fourth grade students will continue to study life on Earth. They will classify plants and animals according to their observable features, describe differences and similarities in populations, and distinguish between learned and inherited traits. Students will investigate how the characteristics of plants and animals support their survival in an ecosystem. Students will describe the Sun as the main source of energy that powers the food chain. The relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers will be described.
Social Studies
In social studies, our students have been working on their first unit, Maryland - The First People. The following are six focus questions students have been researching:
- How can we describe the geographic characteristics of Maryland?
- Who were the first explorers of the North American continent?
- What was life like for the Native Americans of the Eastern Woodland region?
- How did the Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands compare to Native American societies from other regions?
- How did the Native Americans’ ideas differ from those of the European explorers?
- What were the consequences of interaction between the native people and explorers?
The next unit will be Maryland-From Settlement to State (1630-1800).
Homework Awards
During our first quarter awards assembly, we recognized the students from our team who have been very diligent about completing their homework. We acknowledged those students who had zero or one homework stamp in their agenda books throughout the quarter.
Bear Hugs
Students were recognized with “Bear Hugs” for demonstrating school target core values (report card learning behaviors). The target core value for the first quarter was showing respect. The target core value for second quarter is responsibility.
Citizenship Awards
The Bushy Park Citizenship Award is given to students at each grade level who exhibit exemplary effort and behavior in all areas.
Congratulations to all of our award winning students!
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