End of the Year Letter & Video

“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying Goodbye so hard.” – Winnie the Pooh

Parents & Families,

As we pack up and leave for the end of this school year, I want to thank each and every one of you for all of your support and encouragement you have provided.  This year has been particularly special for me, as many of you know that I had this group of kiddos in first grade. I am amazed at how their personalities, behaviors, and academics had grown.  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach some of your children twice. It’s an experience that does not come around often. Again, thank you for a successful year, and thank your love, support, and dedication to ensure the success for each child.

As I like to say at the end of the year, it’s not goodbye, it’s see you later.  I hope to see many of you in years to come. Please never hesitate to reach out in the future if I can be of any assistance for your child.  Have a fun, safe, and relaxing summer.

Sincerely,
Carrie Nagy

For the past few years I have spent time making an end of the year video for myself and our families.  I hope you and your child enjoy these memories as much as I do!

Summer Slide

Our fantastic reading specialist put on our annual Summer Slide event yesterday!  Students had the opportunity to bring home three books for the summer.  Reading daily is critical for students in order to sustain their reading abilities and reading level.  Check your child's summer slide bag for information and a reading log to complete over the summer.

Happy reading!

Fishing Day - New Photos Added!

Thank you for the extra photos!  Enjoy :)

Weekly Update - May 18

It's our last Friday of fourth grade.  It is so bittersweet.  I have absolutely loved watching all of our Ninjas grow and learn over the course of the school year.  As we begin to close down our classroom, here is what we've been up to...

Math
In math, we continued to front-load some 5th grade math concepts such as...

• finding common denominators
• adding fractions with unlike denominators

We also started an end of the year math project.  Students are planning their own beach vacations!  They have been given $5,000 to spend and budget.  Be sure to ask them how their planning is going!

Social Studies
We wrapped up our Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction unit.  The major project for this unit was our Underground Railroad Webquests.  These went home on Wednesday and were graded.  Please be sure to check your child's folder!

Reading & Request - PLEASE READ
The 4th classes will be finishing the Mythology unit the last week of school. Our class will be viewing Percy Jackson & the Olympians:  The Lightning Thief movie on Wednesday, May 24.  We will be comparing and contrasting the myths with the movie’s plot, characterization, settings, conflicts, and symbols.

We have watched the movie from a teacher/parent point-of-view and found it appropriate for our grade. This movie is rated PG, if you do not want your child to watch the film please let me know by Monday, May 21.

Thank you,
Fourth Grade Teachers

Writing
We wrapped up our Historical Fiction writing unit this week!  Today we celebrated with a writer's buffet where students got to "sample" different writing pieces.

Upcoming Dates

• 5/21: Ms. Winzen & Ms. Seal Retirement Celebration
• 5/24: Last Day; 1:05 dismissal
• 5/30: Progress Reports go live
• 6/15 & 6/16: District Book Sale at South Middle
• This is a great opportunity to stock up on books for the summer!  There is NO admission fee, and books are only 50 cents!

Weekly Update - May 11

Good morning!  I felt very appreciated with all of the goodies and treats this week.  Thank you for helping to make this week special here at Barretts!  Take a look at what we've been up to this week...

Math
This week we focused on assessing end of year fourth grade math standards by taking our last math benchmark!  The rest of the week we have been front-loading some fifth grade math concepts including:

• decimal place value
• comparing decimals
• adding and subtracting decimals

Social Studies
In our Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction unit, students focused on...

• The Dred Scott Decision
• Kansas-Nebraska Act and Kansas Border War
• Causes of the Civil War
• Important People of the Civil War

Reading
We continued our Mythology unit this week.  Students are loving our read aloud, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief!  Concepts we focused on included...

• noticing how character changes can reveal lessons
• strong emotions can reveal lessons

Keep up the nightly 30 minutes of reading!  This is CRITICAL for reading growth, especially over the summer!

Writing
In our Historical Fiction writing unit we...

• developed believable characters for the time period
• drafted our stories
• annotated our thoughts by "being our own harshest critics"

Upcoming Dates

• Library books are due back!  Please send them back to school to avoid charges!
• 5/15: Mrs. Nagy out
• 5/15: Leadership Day **Wear class shirts!**
• 5/16: Mrs. Waters' Retirement Celebration, 4:00-5:00
• 5/24: Last Day; 1:05 Dismissal
• 6/15 & 6/16: District Book Sale at South Middle
• This is a great time to stock up on books for the summer!  There is NO admission fee, and books are only 50 cents! This is a GREAT opportunity.

Fishing Day Photos

Weekly Update - May 4

Good morning!  Today is Fishing Day!  The kids have been looking forward to this day all year.  Be on the lookout for pictures to come later this weekend.

Math
This week we reviewed Patterns and Measurement concepts and assessed our learning.  We reviewed concepts such as area and perimeter and conversions.  Next week we will be taking our last math benchmark, review fourth grade concepts, and begin to learn some fifth grade concepts!

Social Studies
In our Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction unit, we learned out some of the events that led up to the Civil War, such as differences between the North and the South.  Students were also assigned an Underground Railroad assignment through their Google Classroom.  They are welcome to work on these at home in order to complete them!

Reading
This week was all about mythology!  We immersed ourselves into Greek mythology by reading a variety of myths, learning what myths teach us, and learning different character archetypes.

Did you hear about the Amazon Prime Book Box? It's a subscription box for hardcover children's book!  Check it out!

Writing
We began our historical fiction writing unit!  This week we used a variety of brainstorming strategies to think of possible story ideas.  Many of us began making a plan for how our story will go.

Upcoming Dates

• 5/15: Mrs. Nagy out
• 5/16: Mrs. Waters' Retirement Celebration 4-5
• 5/24: Last Day; 1:05 dismissal
• 5/30: Progress Reports go live