Mrs Acker Grade 4

Third Week of Advent

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:07:05 GMT

If you are still lighting your Advent Wreath, this is the week to light the pink(rose) candle. Be sure to ask your fourth grader what they have been learning from our Old Testament bible stories as we do our Jesse Tree every day.

I hope you remembered the child we are collecting gifts for this Christmas season. Only two students have brought anything so far. Tuesday is the last day to send in anything you think an eleven-year-old would like, including clothing like shirts and pants to wear to school.

I'm sure you heard all about our Humane Society visitor last Friday! Most of the kids totally fell in love with the adorable three-month-old black and white puppy that Mrs. Korves brought along. We will be collecting items to help take care of the animals after the new year. If you are thinking about a new furry addition to your family, you would find the perfect match there!

Wednesday is our fourth grade Mass, so if you can make it, you are welcome to come.

Thursday is the yearly "Call for Help" presentation for all the students to help them learn how to stay safe and seek help if necessary.

Friday is the all-school pre-Christmas Mass. There will be a short presentation of the Nativity story, followed by classroom parties, and an 11:00 dismissal.

May each of you have a very happy and blessed Christmas! School resumes on Monday,Jan. 4.

Second Week of Advent

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:34:04 GMT

Although Monday looks like a routine day, and the students will have no school on Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, the week gets busy and exciting on Wednesday! After the all-school Mass, the fourth grade will help their kindergarten buddies shop at Santa's Cottage. Hopefully the fourth grade can put their math skills to good use and have some fun at the same time. The afternoon is filled with music, chorus, and band practice in anticipation of the Holiday Concert at 7P.M.that evening. We will squeeze in our own Santa's Cottage shopping spree right after lunch recess. Please make sure your child's band instrument and band book are at school on Wednesday morning!

Friday after the upper grade Mass is Reconciliation for Grades 3-8. We will be working on a Christmas project with Kindergarten in the afternoon. The day will end with an all-school assembly explaining our 2009-2010 School Service Project, which this year is helping the Humane Society. We will then have the Covenant Ceremony in church.

Last Friday in your newsnotes was a paper with information about how each class can help a family this Christmas. Grades 4 and 5 will be collecting items for Steve. Please be as generous as you can so we can help him have a good Christmas ! It will be hard enough to get through the holidays without his dad, so our help will make a real difference in his life.

Raging Rivers Reading Program will end this week, so if your child wants to earn a free ticket, the form saying that 150 pages have been read needs to be turned in by Wednesday.

Every student picked a Southeast state on Friday and brought home the information sheet for our new project and the state food, If you want to make the state food, you must send in a note or email me so I can schedule a day.

I hope to see you all at the Holiday Concert!

First Week of Advent

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:37:50 GMT

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it's time to start lighting the first purple candle on your Advent Wreath! Every student colored a paper that explained the beautiful symbolism of this Catholic tradition, and hopefully it made it home or is still in his or her backpack. A special song is included at the bottom.

Monday we will be starting our Jesse Tree in addition to our classroom Advent Wreath. We colored and cut out the ornaments last week, and we will be learning about some of the Old Testament stories throughout the weeks before Christmas.

Band instruments and books need to be at school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. Wednesday, Dec. 9, is fast approaching and the students need to continue practicing as much as possible!

Wednesday is early dismissal (1:30), so don't forget that!

Midquarter Reports will be sent out this Friday. All Grandparent Day pictures were mailed last Tuesday and Wednesday. There's no such thing as too many pictures with one's grandchildren!

May the light of the Advent Wreath bring peace and joy to your family during the busy weeks before Christmas!

Short Week

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:19:21 GMT

Grandparents Day was a huge success! "Guess Who" projects, turkeys, and Penmanship papers were on display, and our classroom bulletin board with the grandparent puzzle pieces was the perfect backdrop for our photos. They all turned out great, and tomorrow we will work on short thank you notes to all the grandparents who attended. A picture of each with their grandchild will be included. If you could send in a postage stamp for each set of grandparents so we could send out the pictures, it would really be appreciated! The students worked so hard on our grandparent song! I think they all enjoyed it, and the kids certainly loved singing it! I loved hearing all the things they do with their grandparents. It was a fun morning for everyone! The Book Fair had an extremely successful day as well.

Tomorrow we will also be working on Advent Wreaths, since Advent starts while we are on Thanksgiving break. The egg cartons are already covered, so the children will just have to pick out an ornament and the decorations. This will probably take up most of the day.

On Tuesday we have been invited to help our Kindergarten buddies make homemade bread and real butter. That should be fun! Other activities are planned for the afternoon too. Make sure your child brings his or her band instrument and band book on Tuesday, since there can be no band on Wed. and Thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving to your family! Don't forget to send in the stamps so we can get the grandparent pictures out before Thanksgiving!

Nov. 15

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:03:00 GMT

It was so good to talk with all of you at conferences last week! Second quarter is well under way, and we are trying to stay in the routine of getting down to business. However, there are a few different things going on.

Band students will need to bring their instruments on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That includes the band book too! Mrs. Freuler is trying to squeeze in some extra time since there are only two days of school next week. The Christmas Concert is early this year, being on Dec. 9.

On Wednesday the third and fourth grades are having a special presentation called "Clean Hands, Healthy Bodies." This seemed like a good time to schedule this with all the cold and flu worries going around. The St. Clair County Health Department uses special "glitterbugs," which are simulated germs that they will get to see under a special black light.

Grandparents Day is on Friday. The students will meet their grandparents over at church so they can sit together during the Mass. After that they will go to the gym for coffee, juice, and doughnuts. We are working hard to make their time with us in the classroom a fun and happy one!

Don't forget to send in your cardboard egg carton as soon as you have it. We will start on our Advent Wreaths the Monday of Thanksgiving Week so they're ready to take home before Thanksgiving. Thanks to all of you who have sent in the money for the candles too.

Nov. 8

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:09:36 GMT

By now your child has probably shared the details of our visit to Cathedral to meet and listen to world famous author Jeff Kinney of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" fame. Many have said that this weekend they were going to buy one or more of his books to read! Whether or not that happened, all of them seemed to enjoy hearing about how these books came to be written and how his success did not come overnight. Patience and persistence was the winning formula. Eighth grade student Thomas Fields won the national contest by writing his version of the books, and we were privileged to meet him as well.

Other than Parent Conferences on Tuesday afternoon and evening, followed by no school on Veterans Day, the week is fairly normal. I will be talking to the students about making Advent Wreaths before Thanksgiving. I have already bought the Advent candles and the ornaments and decorations, but every child will still need a cardboard egg carton if one can be found. If any parent finds a store that has them, please let me know so I can spread the word. If not, we'll have to reinforce the styrofoam ones. I will have a sample at the conferences for you to see.

Grandparents Day is Friday, Nov. 20. Please make sure to send in the form so we know who is able to come. We will be working on some activities in class for this special morning this week too.

See you Tuesday!

November already

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:41:59 GMT

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Halloween party so much fun! The students loved the pumpkin-shaped pizzas and all the games and music! We have a little over three weeks to replace the jack-o-lanterns with turkeys and pilgrims, so that will be our new ongoing project for this month.

By now everyone should have gotten a report card and conference time in the mail. I will be looking forward to meeting with each of you next week to review your child's progress during first quarter.

The Fourth Grade will get a chance to go through the Fire Department's traveling house to practice how to escape from a smoke-filled room. A talk concerning fire safety tips will round out the presentation.

This Wednesday is early dismissal for the students at 1:30, so don't forget the change!

Tomorrow a paper will be sent home with information about the Fourth Grade field trip to Cathedral to listen to award-winning author Jeff Kinney. There is no cost, but I do need to have the permission slip as well as the medical form returned on Tuesday. We just got the invitation on Friday, so it was short notice. However, we are thrilled to be able to attend!

Have a super week, and don't forget to check your child's schoolbag for the field trip papers!

Last week of the quarter

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:42:18 GMT

This is our last week of the first quarter, so we're trying to wrap up a lot of loose ends. The Southwest Social Studies project is due Tuesday, with bonus row points going to anyone who gets it in early. There will be a map test of the four Southwest states and capitals and the information in the first chapter on Thursday. Also on the test list is English, with a final test on using quotation marks. That one will be either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Grade 4 has the Wednesday Mass this week. You are invited to come if you have the chance.

Two presentations are happening this week. Tuesday is "Call for Help" and includes discussion about what to do if someone invades your personal space. Thursday is a talk on bicycle and pedestrian safety.

We have some spooky Halloween art projects up, as well as super pumpkin book report projects that are in the hall outside of our room!

Have a great week!

Testing Week

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:22:10 GMT

We will be taking the Iowa Tests all of this week. Please make sure your child gets to bed early and has time to eat breakfast in the morning. Also, send in a snack for our morning break for an extra energy boost. It can't hurt!

Wednesday is early dismissal so don't forget to pick up your child at 1:30.

Wednesday is the Fourth Grade day to have the Mass again. We would love to have you attend if you can work it into your schedule!

Friday is the Diocesan Convention for the teachers, so there's no school on that day as well as next Monday, Columbus Day. With all the time off, your child has plenty of time to be working on our Southwest poster project! We will be starting out state foods this week.

This is Fire Prevention Week and we have talked about safety and exit plans for a fire drill. Stay safe at home too!

Sept. 28, 2009

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:17:39 GMT

This Monday morning Deacon Gerry is showing the Fourth Grade how to serve Mass. This may or may not be the only instruction, depending on how well they do.

Tomorrow is picture day. The students need to "dress up" and no jeans are allowed. Be sure to send in the picture envelope, money, and mark your background choice!

Band practice seems to be working out well with only half of them going at one time. It gives me a chance to work with the other half on Math, and the kids like the extra board time too.

With the weather getting chillier, sweatshirts might be needed to wear in the classroom. If your child has an SMSA sweatshirt or just a navy blue one, send it in to keep in the locker in our classroom. No hoodies can be worn in the classroom!

Thanks to all of you for getting the Fundraiser Bag Form into school. Our class sold $700 worth of trash bags!

Have a great week!