The Fourth Story

Our first field trip is coming soon; here are the details:

• When: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
• Time: Meet at McGrath at 7:15 am for 7:30 departure. Back to McGrath at or before 3:00 pm.
• Where: Michigan Capitol Building and Historical Museum in Lansing
• Cost: No cost for students or parents, except for souvenirs
• Permission Slip: Download the permission slip for this trip here
• Lunch: Bring a sack lunch with disposable containers
• Chaperones: We are looking for chaperones for our field trip. We’ll even throw in a free bus ride! Our school asks that you have a Volunteer Information Profile on file with the office.

  Would you or a family member like to chaperone? Just fill out the form below:

Aloha! It’s time to rock-a-hula at our Hawaiian Beach Bash! Here are all the details:

Who: Room 130

What: A Hawaiian Beach Bash!

When: Friday, October 30, from 9:30-11:45a

Where: McGrath Small Gym

Why: It’s our Halloween party, with Hawaii and beaches instead of ghosts and goblins.

How: We’ll all wear beach-type clothes (shorts, t-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, leis, grass skirts, hats, etc.). We’ll decorate the small gym in an Hawaiian beach theme. Students will play crazy, Hawaiian beach-themed games, and then we’ll have Hawaiian pizza and fruit kabobs!

Can you help?

We need families to help in these ways:

• To donate towards our Hawaiian pizza
• To donate supplies, beverages or fruit
• To help with setup, games or cleanup

Would you like to help? See our volunteer donation list or add your name to the guest list if you are coming.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

You cannot allow your children to remain indifferent about their homework. If they develop such an unmotivated approach to learning, they are likely to have problems handling the “real world” as well.

The quote above, from the book Homework Without Tears, reminds us of the importance of homework.

If your student is having a problem with completing work, you may want to consider one of the suggestions from this book: to set up a Daily Homework Time.

The idea is to have students expect to work for 40 minutes every night, even if there is no “official” homework. When no homework is assigned from school, students work on other academic activities to practice, extend or enrich their studies in school, such as practicing cursive, working on math facts, or exploring the Internet to find out more information about the current science topic. When students understand that they will work for 40 minutes on homework every night, they will be less likely to argue, procrastinate, or “forget” their work.

And what happens if students refuse to do their work during Daily Homework Time, choosing just to sit there or work slowly? Well, the student has a choice. He can complete the work, or sit at his desk without TV, music, video games, computer, phone or any other privilege. Once he knows that you mean business, the work will get done.

Find more information about homework and missing assignments on the Homework Policy page. I also have copies of Homework Without Tears if you would like to borrow one.

We had a great time our last of fourth grade. Everyone had their fill at our potluck picnic. Then we ran ourselves silly playing games in the courtyard!

Thanks to all the families that brought a dish to pass, helped with food preparation and cleanup, and helped with the games.

I wish everyone all the best over the summer and into fifth grade!

Here are some memories from our fourth grade year: