Remember to bring canned goods!

Girls, this is an image from a Thanksgiving card from 1900!  As we grow closer to Thanksgiving, we become more aware of how much we have in our St. Catherine's community and in our families.  Most of you have told me about your Thanksgiving plans. Some of you are traveling to be with family and friends, while some of you are staying home and having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Whatever your plans, we know that we are blessed.  This is a time of giving to those who need our help.  This is the tradition at St. Catherine's.  Remember when you were much smaller being part of the great can-a-thon across Grove Avenue to St. Stephen's?  Wasn't that fun, and didn't we help many people?

Remember to bring canned goods to school this week!  In the words of our school motto, "What we keep we lose, and what we give remains our own."

Fourthies Head to Mount Vernon - November 9, 2016

Last week was quite something!  The girls had Monday off, the Election was Tuesday, and at the crack of dawn, the Fourthies left on busses for Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.  Given all of the surprises that elections can bring, it was actually quite fitting that we spent our time learning about the wonderful qualitites of our First President and the responsibility that our Presidents feel the moment they enter the Oval Office.  Mount Vernon is an extraordinary place. The setting is unparalleled, poised on the Potomac River, with the incredibly long piazza facing it.  Washington and his wife, Martha Custis, are also buried there in quite a lovely place.  The girls paid their respects because that part of Mount Vernon is maintained as a quiet place.  The Educational Center is fantastic.  There, through interactive vignettes, short films, and maps of the Revolutionary War, the girls learn about the man, Washington.  Make sure you ask them about the first "intelligence" used during the Revolutionary War!

Relaxing on George's piazza!  Hi Girls!

Roberts' Fourthies at Mount Vernon

Cousin Fun at Mount Vernon!  Lunch with Grace and Mary McKee Williams!

Sumner and Mary McKee in front of a Revolutionary War display!

Ask Your Daughter about Chris Smith and Aircraft Carriers

This is the best way to learn a vocabulary word, and it is all because of Parent Conference Day. Getting to know all of you Fourthie parents is so much fun. On Conference Day, I was fortunate to learn that Chris Smith used to be Lieutenant Commander Smith.  This was just in time for this week's vocabulary word, carrier, referring to aircraft carrier.  The girls learned first hand from Charlotte's father all about aircraft carriers and the pilots who land on them. Now, they know what is involved in taking off and landing on this runway in the sea. So amazing! The girls were riveted, and I am sure we have a few who might think this would be a cool career.  An added bonus--Chris told them that he had to memorize his emergency flight manual and how he did it!  Make sure and ask your girls.  You can't Google in the sky!  Some things you just have to know. Thank you so much, Chris, for a great morning!

Don't Miss Seussical!

Wondering what to do this weekend?  Got the weekend blahs?  Seriously, we know that is not true, but you should run, not walk to the St. Catherine's Ampersand Production of Seussical.  It has everything going for it--a great story, I mean, really, an elephant sitting on a bird's nest, the flashy mother having abandoned the poor egg, and  Gertrude, the bird with the tiny tail, in love with an elephant--you can't make this stuff up!  The biggest plus of all is that you will see our own students present a fabulous musical.  Yes, they can sing...they can dance, and they can act!  One of my former students, gifted dancer, Emily McDermott, steals the show with her character.  It turns out that Emily can not only dance, but she also can sing like a bird(excuse  my pun, please)and she has perfect comic timing.

I'm saying it first here on my Fourthie Blog---Emily McDermott is headed for Broadway!  I'm not stopping there.  Other Roberts' grads were fabulous also--Laney Yoo, Kate Oelkers, Madison Gardner, and Liddy Wade all have major singing and dancing roles, and Senior, Schuyler Guare, produced the whole thing! Do you know Schuyler Guare? You should.  She could produce D-Day, and I'm not kidding. Watch that girl! She is going to do big things.  How do I know all of this? I taught these talented girls, AND I was in the audience last night. I could go back and watch it all over again!

Treat yourself!  Grab the fam, load up the Suburban, and head for McVey for a night of exceptional entertainment!

Cast previewing Seussical!  You have to see it with costumes!

****Wish I had pictures of the behind the scenes talent--former Roberts' Fourthies, Anna Marie Barnes, Bailey Guare, and Lucy Farrell. I hope that they will come and tell me all about their roles!



Seussical Stars!
Former Roberts'Fourthie, Emily McDermott, as Gertrude, and Hannah Jennison, as JoJo, posing in my classroom yesterday!  They are so talented!  Come and see the whole, wonderful production!

Seussical Stars!  Former Roberts' Fourthie, Emily McDermott, as Gertrude, and Hannah Jennison, as JoJo

Post Halloween Update, Mount Vernon, etc.

Wow!  Good job on the math last night!  The girls were quite surprised to see what you spend on Halloween.  We had a lot of fun exchanging the word problems and finding the class mean, median, and mode for the outlay for candy. Talk about making math real!

                                                                       

                                                                                    November 3, 2016

Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, the Fourthies will tour Mount Vernon, the home of our first president, George Washington.  This is a highlight of our fourth grade curriculum, as we study the lives of presidents throughout the year.  Fortunately, in Virginia, we have several homes from which to choose, but we think this one is truly special and the education center is outstanding.

When:  Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Where:   Mount Vernon

Attire:     Field Trip Uniform and Fourthie hat, jacket appropriate for the weather

Lunch:    We will eat in the cafeteria at Mount Vernon.  There is a Child’s Lunch available for $6.00, which includes chicken nuggets, French fries, Jell-O, and a drink.

Here is the link for the Food Court.

http://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/where-to-eat/mount-vernon-food-court/group-meal-options/

We highly suggest this idea, so we can alert the cafeteria that they will be handling 72 children.  Otherwise, please send around  $12.00 for lunch.

Time:  Please be here by 7:00 A.M.  We will leave promptly at 7:15, so that we will be on time for our reserved tour.

If we don’t encounter problems with traffic, our plan is to be back at school in time for carpool at 3:30.

Thanks so much for your support of our program.

Best,

Pam Roberts

Mayan Cavallo

Judy McCallum

Sloan Hiscock

Parent Alert! You are involved in this!

 I hope that all of you had a frightfully, fun night putting costumes together, Trick or Treating, and stealing your children's candy. 'Fess up!  You know you do it!  The girls are busy using infographics on Halloween Spending to write partner word problems this morning.  Maybe you can join in the fun by telling your daughters  how much you spent on Halloween, so they can compare that to national numbers! Let's see who is on target!

Seriously, it's a homework assignment!  I'm just giving you a heads up!