Black History Month

https://newsela.com/join/#/TRCME8


Good morning, Girls!  As we look forward to Black History Month, I thought that you might like to be part of a Newsela Book Club.  The main focus is on Black History, so you will be reading articles with your class and students across the country on this topic.  Just click on the link above to get started!  You may read these articles whenever you wish, (beginning February 1) including at home!

You read, researched, and shared information about these brave African -American women.  Then you saw the film about their lives, so now you have a much better perspective on what daily life was like in the years before Martin Luther King began his peaceful journey to raise the consciousness of all Americans. He believed that every person of all religion and color in our country should have an equal chance.

See what else you can learn about other brave people and issues they faced during this turbulent time by joining the Newsela Book Club.  The first article will be posted on February 1.

Happenings

Remember!  Spirit Week is next week.  See the recent blogpost with the information!

What a week of learning!  Let's just talk decimals!   Beginning with knowing how many centimeters are in a meter, and how many millimeters are in a centimeter, you are starting to have an understanding of decimals. My first look at your tests is making me feel good!

Take another look at your Buncees, and see if you want to jazz them up any more!  Ask yourself these questions.

Is my message clear?
Is it creative?
Have I edited it for spelling and grammar errors?
Is it ready to be published?

We know what the highlight of the week was, don't we?  Seeing the movie Hidden Figures!  Aside from the fact, that we don't usually go to movies, this was an incredible experience for all of us.  I know that you were shocked to see how African-Americans were treated in 1960 and also how women were treated, in general.  To see the brilliance of these three women, and to see the gradual recognition of it was an emotional experience.  This is a great way for us to begin our Black History Month, as we examine the courage and determination of those who paved the way for women of all cultures.

Information about NAEP Testing

Parents, here is the link to the letter that I just sent you about the NAEP testing.  The information is the same.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSEpEHpXnuuTlV1MWhHWHFua2c/view?usp=sharing

Gold and White Spirit Forever

Girls, here's the week that you have been waiting for all year!  Gold and White Spirit Week is finally here! This is a chance to show spirit for your school and for your team. Get creative!  Be innovative, and make plans to be here for morning practices so that your team can compete to the max!

Go Golds!  Go Whites!

Schedule for the Week of January 30-Spirit Week

The Gold/White Cheer Rally is on Friday, February 3rd at 10 AM.  In preparation, we would like to invite you to song practice on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

Details:  Tuesday, January 31 and Thursday, February 2, 7:40 AM.  Gold Team meets in the LS Assembly Room; White Team meets in the LS Multipurpose Room

Spirit Week Dress Up Days:

Wednesday, February 1 - America Day (wear your red, white, and blue!)

Thursday, February 2 - Arts and Sports Day (dancer, artist, soccer player, your choice!)

Friday, February 3 - Gold/White Spirit Day  10AM   Deck yourselves out for this day!

Did You Know.....

Tomorrow the 45th President of the United States will take the Oath of Office.  That man is Donald Trump.  This inauguration will be filmed and shown on cable networks for twenty-four hours a day, put on YouTube instantly, filmed on iPhones by private citizens, recorded on DVRs, and the list goes on. We will be streaming it on the SmartBoard for you to watch. Do you know who was the first president to be filmed by a movie camera?  Can you take a guess as to when this happened?

Thanks to the Library of Congress, you can watch it today!  You may be surprised by the name of this president and the year of his inauguration.  You probably do not know much about this man....well, maybe one sad fact!

Because you are seeing the first moving picture footage of a president's inauguration, I think that you should know a little about this president.  Please read about President McKinley on  this website.

http://www.biography.com/people/william-mckinley-9393177

Write 5 facts on Google Classroom.  Make sure you include the year of McKinley's inauguration.

Also, please write a few sentences about news and the ways you know it is communicated to people in 2017.

Bonus**************  See if you can find out whose company filmed McKinley's inauguration!

Spelling Tonight!

Spelling Assignment - Words this week

Girls, you are responsible for all 20 words on Everyday Spelling Unit 2 List #9 Short Vowels.
This list is a review!  Let's see how you have retained these words.  You still have time to practice the words.  Make sure that you do this!

If you see this assignment, go to your page on Spelling City and look for the list.  Complete one or two activities tonight.  Make sure to take the practice test on Thursday night.

Thanks, Girls!

It's Movie Time-Hidden Figures

Christmas is but a pleasant blur, as we had the unexpected snowfall, snow day, and late start!  It's all fun, however, and the girls have jumped back into school with great attitudes. They are tackling decimals with energy and are beginning to see the relationship to a fraction.  What I love about this group is that they are so positive.  Understanding what a decimal is and when and how to use it is difficult, but they are not frustrated, but instead, they realize that it all takes time!

As you know, we spend a lot of time on significant events of the Twentieth Century, and one of the most important was overlooked by the world, and that is the story of the three brilliant African- American women who worked at NASA in the 1950s and 1960s. They, literally, were responsible for the calculations that launched the first spacecraft.  It's incredible that very few of us knew about their contributions, but the good news is that this wonderful revelation fits right into our curriculum, and we are fortunate to be teaching when a fabulous new movie has been made about these American women. We thought that it would be a great idea to take the fourth grade to the theater to see this movie.  The girls are so excited!  They cannot believe that we are actually taking them to the movies!
We should have the theater to ourselves, but there will not be concessions available, so you will save a lot of cash!

Attached you will find the link with the permission slip, plus another link where you can review the movie.

https://docs.google.com/a/st.catherines.org/document/d/12opiH-OpvnBfzB-Sbs2M5H4suOHiltswlVcHre92YdQ/edit?usp=sharing