Eyes on a plate? Yes, we did that.

Spring is making its way to our part of the planet and the warmer season brings new energy and enthusiasm to 4^th grade. Everyone seems so happy to be outside whenever we can. Our PSD classes are focused around frisbee skills (when it is not windy), track and field challenges, and new field games. We hiked our favorite trail today and played a few rounds of Fox and Hound- a hide and chase game that is loved by all. Recess breaks and other outside surprise breaks keep these energetic students moving and enjoying being together. Every day the grass is a little greener.

We have almost finished our class novel, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. This is a favorite book for teachers because the themes are compelling and the story is written with wonderful figurative language and vivid imagery. It is a great story for students to reflect upon. I keep asking, “What would you do in that situation? What choice would you make and why?” The main character, Winnie, meets a family who is “ageless”-- they stay the same age forever and are caught in a timeless yet endless reality. It begs the question- Do you want to live forever, but never grow? Our character changes and grows profoundly in the few days that the story takes place and learns the value of the cycle of life and the wheel of time. I am in heaven sharing this book. Students are writing focus paragraphs every day responding to each part of the story- reading and thinking, expressing opinions and reasoning, wondering and examining. It is a fantastic book to teach and learn from.

We are exploring area and perimeter of polygons and understanding the formulas for area and why they work. We have done lots of mapping and scaled drawings to put these skills to use. The final assessment had students draw irregular polygons on graph paper and find the area by dividing the shapes into parallelograms and triangles, using the formulas for areas, and finding the total area. Today, students made a “hexa-flexa-gon”- a paper folded puzzle. The careful precision folding it takes to make this impressed me.

For science, we studied the anatomy and function of the eye for the last two weeks. Students did some reading, conducted several sight and light experiments, drew diagrams, and looked at a cow’s eye to examine the parts and understand what they look like. Anatomy and body systems are complex and amazing. Everyone got to appreciate how specialized and diverse living cells are and how these parts work together as a system. We celebrated our study by making “edible eyeballs” out of munchkin donuts! See photos of the fun we had.

Dates and Reminders to take note of:

March Reading Challenge contracts due- ASAP

April- Global Education Fundraising- student services for hire!

Fri. April 6- Stephen Brooks will show us a 3D microscope

Mon. April 9- No School -faculty visiting other schools

Fri. April 20- Ken Burns film at Landmark- bring the kids for a great educational experience.

Sunday, April 22- Earth Day Festival at Putney School- this sounds fun-- see for posters around town for info.

Thurs. April 26- trip to Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to support our study of Egypt- details in a letter this week

TBA- Trip to CT River with natural science teacher, Beth Roy,From the Grafton Museum (June)

May 31- June 1- rafting and overnight

Parents need to come up with an Auction Item for the Spring Fundraiser. Get some ideas going around and we can think of ways to involve the kids.

---Emily

Turning another corner…

The past two weeks have been very productive in fourth grade. Our final chemistry experiment involved “turning water into wine”. This was another acid/ base color reaction using phenolphthalein which turns bright magenta when exposed to any basic compound. Students did a formal written analysis describing the experiment and what is happening.

Our Mystery Stories are finished! Each story is suspenseful and includes a mystery problem or crime, which is solved by a clever sleuth looking for clues. These stories were drafted, revised several times, and made final. It has been a longer writing project and very rewarding to complete. We will have an author’s celebration on Friday, March 2 before we leave for vacation. Please stop in to read your child’s story after break. I would be happy to email you a copy upon request as well.

Our social skills lessons have had our group identify what makes TGS a healthy and supportive learning community. We discussed how there are no innocent bystanders in a caring community. Everyone needs to look out for each other and if someone is feeling teased, sad, or left out it is a student’s job to make any injustice known. We brainstormed ways to help a victim being teased or harassed. Our class talked about the Walpole incident and how a community needs to listen and act when a person needs help. We recognized the importance of being honest and outspoken to promote safety in a community.

The March Reading Challenge contracts went home. Parents are encouraged to participate too. This is a good way to promote and reward reading at home. I would like all fourth graders to set a realistic goal and continue reading this month. This program helps many students learn to become more self-directed and interested in reading. There are so many great books to discover!

Thurs. March 22- We will ride the bus to the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro to “Meet the Orchestra”—a music program for kids by the Windham Orchestra. (8:45- 11 a.m.)

TGS Talent Show- sponsored by the Student Council – Wed. April 11

Auditions will take place during the week of March 26

Watch the Wed. Notice for details- all talents encouraged!

Enjoy the long March break and I look forward to turning the corner to spring and new curriculum themes. In science we will study the anatomy and function of the eye. In April we will immerse ourselves in an exciting study of Ancient Egypt.

--Emily