Weekly Newsletter

A look at our week…

Religion:  In Chapter 17, the students learned that Jesus healed people.  In Chapter 18, we will learn how Jesus gives His comfort and peace in the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.  We will discover that Jesus shares in our suffering and offers the hope of eternal life.

4th Grade Language Arts:  This week we asked the question “How do people and animals benefit each other?” We started by reading the narrative nonfiction selection The Right Dog for the Job, which explains how one heroic dog trained for these vital helping jobs. In the informational text, Knowing Noses: Searchand-Rescue Dogs, we read about SAR dogs and the daring jobs they perform.

Next week’s…

• Target Vocabulary: acquire, unfortunate, coerce, boasted, beamed, glared, ceased, declared, devised, resourceful
• Vocabulary Strategy: Adages and proverbs
• Comprehension Skill: Story structure— tell the setting, character, and events in a story
• Comprehension Strategy: Question— ask questions before you read, as you read, and after you read
• Writing Focus: Narrative writing—story
• Spelling:  See Focus Wall (Homework assignment can be found here.)  Please note: Starting this week, the challenge words will be included in our weekly Spelling tests and must be included in the homework.
• Don’t forget our class has a Quizlet account with the Vocabulary and Spelling words for both 4th and 5th grade at https://quizlet.com/class/2010370/.

5th Grade Language Arts:  We started this week with LAFFF, our main selection. It is a humorous science-fiction story about a budding young writer who uses a brainy classmate’s time machine to help her write a short story. We explored the question “What role does imagination play in the invention process?” Students also read From Dreams to Reality, an informational text about science fiction that seems to have come true.

4th Grade Math: Chapter 8 Fractions

4th Grade Accelerated Math: Chapter 9 Fraction Addition and Subtraction

5th Grade Math:  Chapter 6 Dividing Fractions

5th Grade Accelerated Math:  Chapter 8 Decimals- Addition and Subtraction

Social Studies:  Next week we will learn the reasons for founding Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay as well as the role of religion in these two colonies.  We will also locate land claimed by France, the Netherlands, and Sweden.  Then, we will describe the French and Dutch colonial systems.

Science:  We will continue with Unit B Chapter 5 on the Solar System.  There will be a test on Thursday.  Click herefor the study guide.

Upcoming Important Dates and Events (Tests are only added on a weekly basis and subject to change):

Monday 3/7:  Signed Progress Reports due

Wednesday 3/9: 8am Mass, 2:30pm Dismissal

Thursday 3/10: 9am Stations of the Cross in the Church, Science Unit B Chapter 5 Test on the Solar System

Friday 3/11: L.A./Spelling 4.18 Test, Religion Chapter 18 Test

Monday 3/14-Thursday 3/17:  WASC visit

Tuesday 3/15:  Happy Birthday, Natalie!

Wednesday 3/16: 8am Mass, 12noon Dismissal

Thursday 3/17: Team Day, 9am Stations of the Cross, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Tuesday 3/22:  Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Wednesday 3/23: 8am Mass, 2:30pm Dismiss

Thursday 3/24: 9:15am Washing of the Feet in the Hall followed by Living Stations of the Cross, 12noon Dismiss

Friday 3/25: Good Friday, No School

School resumes on 4/11.

For an up-to-date version of our school calendar please visit https://stmesc.org/students-and-families/school-calendar/.