It's the Best Time of the Year...

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!  Well, that was supposed to be playing the entire time, but you get the drift!  The girls had a wonderful week of singing, playing strings, and practicing for the Christmas Service tomorrow morning.  I'm not sure we will ever get the gold glitter out of the rug, and I had to reassure our incredible Mr. Demery that it was okay.  He is so great at keeping our classroom straight.  We all owe him a big debt of gratitude.  I wish that you could see the final result from our day of crafts.  We have a beautiful bulletin board with the creations from your daughters!

We also managed to work on decimals and do a lot of writing related to history.  I marvel at this group of girls and pinch myself everyday to say how blessed I am to have them!

Christmas Service Information

Dear Parents,

Each year, the Lower School has a service on the last day before the Christmas break. It is always a wonderful way to start the season of peace and joy and a time that the community can be together to celebrate the holidays. Please note that there are changes in this year’s Christmas services.

• The Lower School (JK-grade 4) will hold a combined Christmas Service on Friday, December 16, at 9:30 a.m.
• JK and K students will have a normal schedule on Thursday, December 15.
• Students will follow normal drop-off on Friday, December 16, and will be taken by bus to River Road Church, Baptist, at 8000 River Rd, Richmond, VA 23229. This is the same venue as last year’s Christmas Service.
• Parents and other family members are more than welcome at this service. The sanctuary will be open to parents starting at 8:45 a.m. Please do not reserve an entire pew until your entire party has arrived. If you must reserve seats prior to your party arriving, please limit this to one or two at most.
• Students will board buses after the service and return to St. Catherine’s School.

• Parents are asked to wait and leave after all the students have left the church.
• Buses will return to the McVey Parking Lot on Maple Avenue. Parents will not be able to access this lot until all the buses have returned.
• Dismissal will take place at the Lower School at 11 a.m.
• For your convenience, students will be dismissed via carpool only. Please note the following changes to some of the pick up locations for certain grades.
• Grades 3 and 4 will dismiss at McVey – this is a change from their normal dismissal location and only for this event
• Grades JK-2 will dismiss in front of the Lower School (this is a change from kindergarten’s normal dismissal location and only for this event)
• Extended Day will be open for students who use this service – these students will be transported by bus to Extended Day. Please remember to let the office know if there are any changes in your daughter’s typical dismissal procedure for that day.

  

Girls are encouraged to wear a skirt, dress or dress slacks to the service. Marketing and Communications will take photos and videos, so you can sit back and enjoy the beautiful service. The livestream video will be available on gobleachers.com/StCatherines

I hope that you can join us at River Road Church, Baptist. I look forward to seeing you then and wish all of you a joyous holiday season.

It's Pearl Harbor Day...a moment of silence

Hi Girls!

Do you know what happened 75 years ago?  Something tells me that you do!  Hint: What major event happened that caused the United States to enter World War II?

Today's Assignment

Go on the Fourthie Website.  Scroll to the Forties and down to  Job #3.  Watch the video, and read either the Ducksters or Scholastic Magazine.

Then scroll down and click  the word here. That will take you to questions.  Answer the first few questions in your History for Fourthies Notebook.  Mrs. Marshall will tell you how many questions to answer.

You already know a lot about this subject, and now you will learn even more.

I am so proud of you for working hard, and especially for learning so much!

If you don't know what this picture is, look it up on Images on the database!

Remember! Tomorrow is 3 Word Thursday!  As always, you will find the words on the Fourthie Website.

Hi Girls!

Hi Girls!

I am so proud of you!  Mrs. Marshall says that you are working hard and doing a great job.  Keep up the good work.  Just a few reminders--remember to do Xtramath.org everyday.  When I return I will print any certificates that you earn.  Make sure you make use of your study halls today so that you finish your cards.

Christmas news!

The Fourthie Website has some very fun activities for you.  The first one that I would like you to do is on Everything Else.  Go to Writing Activities and start Job #1.  This is a great way for you to use your imaginations.  Be creative, but also remember to edit your work.  Mrs. Marshall will tell you when you are going to do Job #1.

Some reminders!

Check spelling.
Make sure you use capitals.
Check for ending punctuation.
Check for run-on sentences.

I read your vocabulary stories, and they were quite creative, but I did see a lot of run-on sentences!
Don't let that little annoying guy mess up your writing!

On Wednesday, you can go to Job #3 on the Christmas website.  You will be choosing three of your spelling words and learning to "sign" with them.  Watch the video.  Then go to the library database that we use and type in "sign language."  The signs will pop up.  Have fun with this!  Later, you will be signing with a partner.

How are those decimals coming along?  REMEMBER!  Decimals are a part of a whole, just the way fractions are.  Sometimes it makes sense to use decimals, and sometimes it makes sense to use fractions.  More on that later!

I miss all of you so much!  Keep working hard, and I will be back in a few days. We will have some serious fun when I get back!

This is the Christmas season, but it is always the season to be KIND.  Do something kind for a classmate today!  Kind words can really make someone's day!

Love,
Mrs. Roberts

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!