Happy Fall! It seems appropriate that we will be welcoming October next weekend. The weather this weekend has definitely made me shift my mindset. Children should bring their coats to school if the weather is cool during recess, and they can leave them in their lockers during the day.

This past week was enjoyable. The students have almost finished Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing in language arts. We presented our personal timelines during social studies; they turned out great! We have them hung in the hallway, and we have already received compliments. We did not get to our ecosystem models yet in Science. Still, we have developed a good understanding of the type of organisms in each region. And finally, in math, we have already finished our second topic! 

This week children can expect to start a writing craft for our novel about Fudge and Peter in language arts. Social Studies will overlap with Science as we discuss the five US Regions: West, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. We will continue to discuss ecosystems in Science and begin talking about how ecosystems change from natural and human events. Finally, in math, we will start Topic 3, which is strategies for multiplying 1-digit by multi-digit numbers. 

In other news, this week is our first Bath Team Hero Friday. That means we should all wear our Bath shirts at the end of the week. (New students should get theirs this week.) We will also get that fantastic popcorn provided by our PTA on Friday. That always makes our weekly guidance lessons and NewsDepth that much better! 

Halloween is going to be creeping up on us soon. We have a small class party and a school-wide parade at Bath Elementary School. The date of this fun event is Halloween itself, October 31st. Fourth-grade teachers will discuss our needs to share with room parents this week, and then I can give you more details. 

Finally, as a reminder, we are a nut-free classroom. Please make sure snacks are nut-free and a quick, healthy choice for students to eat while working. Thank you!

Important Dates to Know:
9/26/22 - 1st Day of Orchestra for 1st Year Students
9/30/22 - Bath Team Hero Spirit Day / Popcorn Friday
10/03/22 -*Girls STEM Club 
10/10/22 - *Girls STEM Club
10/12/22 - MAP Parent Meeting
10/13/22 - PTA Farmer's Market at lunch
10/14/22 - NEOEA Day (No School)
10/28/22 - No School for students / Teachers' Records Day for Q1

We did it! A typical five-day week under our belts! I only managed to mess up the schedule once when we went to the land lab for art instead of to the art room. But, to be honest, the walk outside was nice! No regrets!

In language arts, we continued reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. The students are enjoying it a lot! Those with younger siblings can relate to how Peter feels about his little brother Fudge. We are all laughing at the antics Fudge Hatcher gets into. We monitor our comprehension using reading journals on our iPads. The questions are straightforward for this first novel, and the children are doing an excellent job. I am also using Achieve Literacy to support individual literacy growth this year. Unlike our books, Achieve delivers articles and stories at each child's reading level. As students master comprehension skills, the program becomes increasingly more complex. It accelerates their reading growth so they can make strides throughout the year.

We got our Topic 1: Place Value tests back in math and started a chapter on fluently adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. It is a short topic; we should be testing students on the skills Thursday. You can view the study guide here for your convenience. We will be covering subtracting across zeros and doing a lot of practice this week. 

After we took our Chapter 3 Plants and Animals quiz in Science, Ms. O started teaching Chapter 4. This unit is fun for the kids since we can go out to the land lab and get our hands dirty. In fact, as a reminder, we hope to make models of ecosystems in the classroom this week. If you have 2L bottles, you can send them with your child tomorrow. That would be great!

Finally, we took our map skills test last week in social studies. The class did great! We are moving to timelines tomorrow, which sets us up for the historical units ahead. In class, students will be making an autobiographical timeline. If they are unsure of dates, we will have them ask you for help Tuesday night. It is a fun project. We love seeing them shared in class; you might even want to keep them as a keepsake.

Important Dates to Know:
9/20/22 - School Board Meeting
9/21/22 - PTA Meeting
9/21/22 - PTA Fundraiser Kickoff Assembly
9/22/22 - Browns vs. Steelers game  - Wear Your Browns Gear!!!
9/26/22 - 1st Day of Orchestra for 1st Year Students
9/30/22 - Bath Team Hero Spirit Day / Popcorn Friday
10/3/22 - *Girls STEM Club 
10/10/22 - Girls STEM Club
10/12/22 - MAP Parent Meeting
10/13/22 - PTA Farmer's Market at lunch
10/14/22 - NEOEA Day (No School)

* Girls STEM Club is run by our incredible High School students, and Bath Teachers help supervise. Classroom teachers do not always know who is selected for the club. As a result, a note is required if your daughter is staying. Thank you!

This past week was short but packed full! We started the week with MAP testing and a scavenger hunt in the land lab. We began a novel together, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and we met Mr. Bowman from the Revere Orchestra program. We even managed to look our best and get our pictures taken on Friday! It was a fulfilling week!

This coming week feels like it will be the first "normal" one we will experience. We are used to our schedule now, and our days will fly by with the wonderful things we have begun. In language arts, we will continue reading our novel and recording comprehension in our Schoolwork Reading Journals. For math, we will get our tests back from Topic 1 and start Topic 2, adding and subtracting more significant numbers. Our topic in social studies is geography; we will continue to toss our world around this week and learn more about finding particular locations globally. And in science, Ms. O will continue to teach us about plants and animals. 

We will start homework this week in my and Miss Sokolowski's rooms. Please look for math and spelling homework; students should work on it throughout the week at home. Both subjects are due the following Monday, September 19th. We will also test the words from the spelling practice on the 19th. 

Finally, I would like to ask you to please complete the classroom roster form for Mrs. Scherr. It should have come home last week. If you need a new copy, please email me. I am excited to work with Lauren (and each of you) as we make this a memorable year for your children. We don't know yet when the Halloween party will be but begin thinking about how you might be able to help with donations or game ideas. We appreciate the support!​

Important Dates to Know:
9/13/22 - Band/Orchestra Parent Meeting at RHS
9/16/22 - Community Concert with Mrs. Mravec's band
9/21/22 - PTA Meeting
9/21/22 - PTA Fundraiser Kickoff Assembly
9/22/22 - Browns vs. Steelers game  - Wear Your Browns Gear!!!
9/30/22 - Bath Team Hero Spirit Day

Hello new families!! As some of you know, I like to write a weekly blog post for my parents to help you understand what has happened in our classroom and what to expect for the coming week. 

We had a whole week together before this long Labor Day weekend. The students are getting used to the schedule... as am I! There are several changes we are adapting to this year. For example, we have a five-day rotation for Encore classes since we could incorporate STEM into the schedule. And, as you know, we are the only self-contained class due to the odd number of homerooms needed. This means the children are not switching rooms halfway through the day. 

That being said, we have a good amount of get-up and shuffle as children move to work with different teachers on our team. As the general education teacher, I am officially the homeroom teacher in charge of unmodified instruction. I am also a mentor for our student teacher/aide, Jessica Oboczky. Mrs. Oboczky starts teaching on Tuesday by taking over our science curriculum. Finally, Miss Sokolowski is our Intervention Specialist teacher that works to support children with special academic, social, and behavioral needs. Her room is next door, and she invites children over for language arts, math, and our IE block. 

Our schedule is broken into short blocks to help maintain focus and keep us moving, making the day fly by and keeping us on our toes. For your reference, here is the scheduled plan. Please remember that it is modified for special events and curriculum changes as needed.

This week is an excellent example of our schedule changing due to special events. First, we have MAP testing on Tuesday and Thursday. We also have a fire drill and picture day this week! It will certainly keep us busy!

I like to try to provide upcoming important dates for you at the end of each post. Please check this list weekly to ensure you know upcoming events, parties, and testing dates.​

Important Dates to Know:
9/6/22 - Reading MAP Test
9/8/22 - Math MAP Test
9/9/22 - Picture Day
9/13/22 - Band/Orchestra Parent Meeting at RHS
9/16/22 - Community Concert with Mrs. Mravec's band
9/21/22 - PTA Meeting
9/30/22 - Bath Team Hero Spirit Day