Monthly Newsletter

	Daily Schedule		Fourth Grade Curriculum
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	Student Links		Mighty Moose Challenge
	Arapahoe Ridge Home Page		Holiday Party Schedule

Moose Tracks

November 8, 2006

Dear Families,

Wow! It is hard to believe it’s November already! Halloween is behind us and Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. Your children and I are having a good time in class and learning many new things.

In reading, we have been enjoying novels about animals and/or adventures in the wilderness. These books tie in to the Colorado wildlife unit we have been studying in science. We have been working on many comprehension strategies that good readers use. We have started sharing and enjoying each other’s book talks on the books they read at home in October. Unfortunately, not all students returned their goal sheets or were prepared to present their book talk. November home reading goals have been set and their November Memory Bags are due on December 1^st. Please encourage nightly reading to help them reach their monthly goal.

In writing, we finished our unit on poetry. The students have written some great poems! The students are currently working on personal narrative stories. There are some wonderful stories being written about favorite vacations, unfortunate accidents, and memorable family activities. Students have been focusing on adding important details, conversation and descriptive language to their writing.

We finished our unit on multiplication, division and number stories in math. This week we began a new unit on decimals and their various uses. Students are learning new skills as well as reinforcing skills they've learned previously. Please remember to keep your parent math letter in a safe place and use it as a reference if you need to help your child with their homework.

In science, we ‘re finishing our studies of the different Colorado life zones. Ask your child to tell you about the different life zones in our state and some of the animals and plants found there. Soon, we will be beginning our unit about world and Colorado geography.

I am excited to be kicking off the Mighty Moose Challenge! Please read the accompanying information regarding this in today's folder. This challenge is for all students who want to go above and beyond. I am hoping all students will participate. We've discussed the challenge in class and everyone seems excited to get started. The links to study the different subjects can be found by going to our school website, (arapahoeridge@adams12.org) clicking on student links, and then clicking on the 4th Grade Mastery Club. You can also get to the links through my new classroom website, which can be accessed from the main school website as well.

A huge thank you to the parents who assisted with our Halloween Party. Thanks also to those of you who donated food and party supplies. The party was a success and everyone had a great time!

I hope you have a wonderful month and enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful to be working with this fabulous group of 4^th graders!

Sincerely,

Cami Kostecki