Colonial Day

Greetings….

Colonial Day is a day of hands on learning for our 4th graders. Students will experience what life was like as a child during Colonial times. The students learn about traditional crafts, food, games, and history. Each center is parent run, so we need your help to create this opportunity for our students. Mrs. Pagels and the 5th graders will host the students in the tea room this year. We hope you will join us for this event. If you are unable to join us, you can still donate items for our event. Michael's and JoAnn's are good places to find the craft supplies and you can usually find coupons to purchase the items as a discount.

Each of the 13 colony groups will be a blend of 4th grade students from each of the 4th grade classes. Students will receive their colony assignments a few days before the event. There will be two colonies in each group. However, Georgia will travel by itself through the centers. We will post additional information in the coming weeks.

Students and volunteers are encouraged to dress up for the event.  Please do not feel the need to purchase any clothing. We ask that all students wear closed-toed shoes please.  Here are some things your child can wear:

Girls

            - shawl or cardigan

            - long dress

            - button down blouse & long skirt

Boys

            - black or dark colored pants (or dark jeans)

            - button down shirt

Please send in your donated craft and non-perishable food items beginning the week of December 1st. We need to have the supplies on hands so that we can prep the centers. Perishable items(pies, milk, etc.) should not be sent in until Monday, December 15th. 

Colonial Day will take place on Wednesday, December 17th. We will need volunteers from 7:30-11:25 AM. We will also need volunteers to help with set up and clean up. Thanks for your help and support!

If you are able to volunteer or send in supplies, please register for the event by clicking on the Colonial Day tab. 

Thanks for your assistance!

The 4th Grade Team

Fall Conference Link, Homework, and Grading

Hello MZ Mustangs!

Fall conferences are already beginning. Some teachers are contacting parents directly to set up conferences, especially for students who have multiple teachers. Please note that at this time we are only setting up conferences with our homeroom students. The teachers will share progress notes with your child's homeroom teacher so that this information can be shared with the student and their families.

If you would like to set up a fall conference, please use the link below to sign up:

http://ptcfast.com/schools/Manzanita_Elementary_School_2

We would like to encourage all families to join us for the Portfolio Share Day on October 10th from 12-1 PM. Your children have been working hard in class and have lots of learning to share with you.

Parents- one area that we need your help with is homework! Students have math homework almost every night and should be reading every night. Please check in with your child to have them show you their homework chart and check items off when they are completed. Some classes also have missing assignment logs where students record assignments that are incomplete and need made up. In other classes, assignments are posted in Edmodo for students and parents to see.

As a team, we are currently working on putting grades into our system in preparation for the end of the trimester. The first trimester will end on October 31. For the moment, we ask for your patience while grades are entered. You may see some assignments entered over the course of the next few weeks, but they might not be linked to standards. These grades will be there so you can see your child's progress on some assignments, but they will not indicate the final grade for a standard unless the assignment was an assessment. At the end of the trimester, we will look at student's progress as a whole to determine what grade to enter for the different learning goals we have been working on this trimester. Since many concepts are worked on throughout the year, it is possible that your child's score might not reflect proficient or level 3 on the first trimester report card. The hope is that by the end of the year, your student will reached proficiency in all areas.

Sincerely,

The 4th Grade Team

Fall Conferences and Portfolio Share Day

Hello 4th Grade Mustangs and Families,

On October 10, from 12:00-1:00 PM, 4th grade will be having a portfolio share day. During this time, your Mustang will share work that has been collected that represents his or her progress so far this year. Students will also share the personal goals they have set for their learning this year.  

Students will begin with their homeroom teachers. The Core classes will switch after 30 minutes so that they can show their work in both their classrooms. Students in Mrs. Moricz class will stay in their room the whole time. If your child is in extended math, they will have their materials in their homeroom classroom to share with you. Students who are in Mrs. Moricz' homeroom, who go to Mr. Molina or Mrs. Fisher for math, will have their math materials in their classroom to share with their families. 

Fall Conference dates are October 13, 14, and 15. However, many teachers will be holding conferences before and after these dates as well. Each teacher will schedule conferences with their homeroom students and will be posting information about this on their classroom blogs. At times, teachers who share students may need to schedule a joint conference with all that student's teachers. 

Please note that the dismissal time for October 13, 14, and 15 will be 11:30 AM. There is no school on October 16 and 17 for Fall Break.

We are looking forward to having your child share with you their successes this year as a 4th grader and hope you will join us for these special events.

The 4th Grade Team

Music Request

Hello Parents,

Welcome to another school year! My name is Mr. Fagan and I am your child's music teacher. I have planned a special performance for our November round-up for the 4th grade class and we need your help!

We are looking to borrow flashlights to use as we sing our song at the assembly. The flashlights will be kept in my room and returned after we have finished. I would prefer the flashlights to be a suitable size (A foot or shorter) in length as the students will be moving them around quite a bit. Also, if you have any extra flashlights that you would be willing to lend to students who may forget that would be wonderful as well. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at jfagan@cfsd16.org.

If you do not have a flashlight at home, I am hoping we will have enough extras to help!

Thank you,

Jae Fagan

A Guide to 4th Grade

Hello 4th Grade Mustangs and Families,

Scholastic has published a great guide to 4th Grade that you might want to check out. It explains what you can expect your child to learn in all the subject areas in easy to understand terms. It also provides with you sample activities you can do at home to help your child grow in each area this year. The link below will connect you with the article.
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/collection/what-to-expect-grade/guide-to-4th-grade

We hope you find this resource helpful!

The 4th Grade Team

Back to School Night Slideshow

Thank you to all the parents that attended Back to School Night. We hope you enjoyed our presentations. Here is our slideshow presentation from the event. Please let us know if you have any additional questions. 

Back To School Parent Night

Hello 4th Graders and Families,

This week we will continue to work on finishing beginning of the year assessments and complete math placements. Your child will receive a letter with their placement for the year. Extended math placement is designed to meet the needs of students who demonstrate knowledge beyond the current year's curriculum. These students also typically demonstrate the ability to think critically and apply mathematical concepts beyond computation. Several pieces of data are used in determining which placement is best for each child. Please note that all math classes provide a rigorous and engaging curriculum. Differentiation and remediation of skills is provided in each classroom to help address the individual needs of each student. We appreciate your patience as we finish evaluations and determine placement.

If you would like to learn more about your child's year, please come to back to school night on Thursday from 6-7 PM. This is a parent only event and will begin in the MPR. We will share information about our year, where to find resources to support your child's learning, and give you a glimpse into what a typical day in 4th grade looks like. If you are unable to attend, we will send home any information you missed and post our slideshows on our blog. 

Thanks for your support!

The 4th Grade Team

Let the learning begin!

Hello 4th grade Mustangs and Families,

Thank you for returning forms and completing our Back to School surveys. We are excited to get our year going this week by learning more about your child's academic abilities.

• All 4th graders will be taking the beginning of the year math test. The results of the beginning of the year math test will be used to determine your child's math placement for this year in collaboration with other data we have already collected on your child. It will take a while to get all the tests corrected and the data analyzed for placement. We will send a letter home once all placement decisions have been made. 
• All 4th grade students will take the DIBELS test this week beginning on Tuesday. The DIBELS test is a reading assessment that measures reading fluency and accuracy. 
• DRA, which stands for the Developmental Reading Assessment, will also be given this week. This test often takes a few days for students to complete and it will take us a few weeks to test every student. This test is used to measure a student's ability to read for meaning and will establish an independent reading level.
• Some students will be taking the COGAT test this week. The COGAT or Cognitive Ability Test is the placement test for IDS or Interdisciplinary Studies. It is the name for the gifted program in CFSD. Students who qualify for IDS will attend Science with a specialist teacher instead of their homeroom teacher. IDS classes this year will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1-3 PM. In order to participate in testing, your child must have a form turned in by Monday and have not tested in the previous year. 
• The Core Classes will switch for Math and Reading this week to begin assessments. Mrs. Moricz' class will not be switching. Her students will take both Math and Reading assessments in her class.

If you would like to learn more about the curriculum your child will be learning this year, please click on the curriculum link above. In addition, you can find each classes daily schedule by visiting our individual websites. We hope we will see you at Parent Night on August 21st from 6-7 PM.

The 4th Grade Team

Back 2 School

Welcome 4th Grade Mustangs and Families! 

This website will help you stay connected with everything you will learn this year as a 4th grader! You can access your teacher's websites, find out about upcoming events, and even explore websites to expand your learning. Please bookmark this page on your computer and check it often for important information. 

Manzanita Open House is Wednesday, August 6th from 1-3 PM. This is an opportunity for you to tour your new classroom, meet your homeroom teacher, and greet some of your classmates. Please bring your school supplies with you to get set up for the first day. The supply list link above will show you which items you will need for the new year. 

The first day of school is August 7th. Please plan on arriving on time…our day begins at 8:00 AM. Make sure you know how you will go home at the end of the day and what you will be doing for lunch. Each classroom has a refrigerator to store student lunches. You may also buy school lunch by bringing cash or putting money on your lunch account. Additional information about this program can be found on the Manzanita homepage. 

*** Update: Parents please read the security and pick up procedures page for this year. You will find the link up at the top.

We are looking forward to a great year together! See you soon!

The 4th Grade Team