February 10, 2010

Dear Fourth Grade Parents:

What a beautiful day it was yesterday at Grafton for our last ski day. Next Wednesday, we will have an all-school ski there with a scavenger hunt, but our regular ski program is at an end. All of the Fourth Graders seem to have had a great time at Okemo and Grafton.

Thank you all for coming in and meeting with me at conferences. I appreciate your time and the opportunity to discuss your children and their work thus far. Please continue to feel free to contact me whenever you have questions or concerns.

In the classroom, we are busy exploring U.S. Geography, having just finished maps of the Northeast region and researched some of the natural resources that come from these states. We move on to the Southern region this week and will investigate the varied waterways and the industries they support in this area of the country. Our current literature selection is The Island of the Blue Dolphins. Students have enjoyed some lively discussions about this poignant story of survival and perseverance. We have been writing more poems using poet Jack Prelutsky as our guide. In math we have been learning division strategies and rounding multi-digit numbers. In the next few weeks we will begin our study of the life and language of William Shakespeare, including a look at Elizabethan history. We will also undertake a number of language explorations as we endeavor to understand a bit of the Bard. Students will re-write a well-known children’s story in the style of Shakespeare to be performed by the class.

This Friday, 3^rd and 4^th grades will have a Valentine’s party in the afternoon. Linda and I request that children not bring in candy. Instead, we would like to make a large fruit salad with them, so please send in with your child some fruit to be included. Apples, pears, pineapple, bananas, berries, citrus fruit - whatever your child enjoys - would be great! Linda and I will provide cream for whipping. If you child wants to bring in Valentines, please be sure they include everyone in the class. They may also wish to make them for the third graders. That is up to them.

Finally, I am thinking of skating with the Fourth Graders on the new rink. Please let me know how you feel about this, if your child has skates, and if they can be brought to school. While the school does not require helmets, I will be sure that your child wears a helmet if you require them to. If you do not have skates, I can ask Kathy if she has any extras that we might borrow.

Enjoy the snow!

Best,

Libby