Week 36

Dear Parents and Students,

Everyone was buzzing on Monday, talking about the success of our production of Alice in Wonderland. Congratulations to Mrs. Johnson and all students involved in the play, either onstage, backstage, or as set and properties designers and builders. Thanks also to Mr. Johnson for the amazing set design! It was wonderful to see all of the HIS students and families in the audience enjoying the show. Thanks to everyone for supporting your classmates!

In the classroom:

We completed Topic 19 in Maths, and had our test on Friday. This topic challenged our spatial awareness and knowledge of geometry. We will begin our last topic for the year next week. Topic 20 is dedicated to Probability. It is another short topic, and the topic test will take place after the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend.

In our Literacy Workshop, we have been planning and drafting our Persuasive Essays. We will continue to revise them next week, with the aim to publish them on Tuesday. We have also completed our grammar unit dedicated to pronouns, and we will begin our final unit – Adverbs and Prepositions – next week.

In Science, we have been investigating how plants and animals respond and adapt to their environments. We have learned that physical traits are inherited, as are many behavioural traits. Some behaviours, however, are learned. We spent time discussing how all of these traits, inherited or learned, can help a species survive and reproduce in its natural environment. We also designed an insect based on what we have learned. We will continue our investigations next week, and begin to look at various ecosystems.

In Social Studies, we have been busy working on our Regions Project. We have spent most of this week researching, gathering information, and planning our presentation strategies. Next week, we will collate all of our research and build it into a presentation. Presentations will then take place early the following week.

As you know, next week is another shortened week with the Dragon Boat Festival to take place on Friday. This, along with other important dates, is listed below. I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Important Dates:

Thu, Jun 6:                  Library books can no longer be borrowed

Fri, Jun 7:                    Dragon Boat Festival – No School!

Thu, Jun 20:                Final assembly

Fri, Jun 21:                  Half day; last day of school!

Student of the Week, Week 36

Congratulations to Janelle!

Janelle has been very diligent with her work this week, and has shown great focus towards her studies. Keep it up, Janelle, you are doing a great job!

Science: Adaptations

Check out how these amazing octopods adapt to their environments.

Homework, Thursday, 30th May

Maths: Practice 19-5 Line Symmetry; Practice 19-6 Rotational Symmetry NO Enrichment!
Review Topic 19 Test tomorrow  pp. 62-65   (Answer key below)

English: Unit 6 Checkup pp.222-225 - due next Thursday
Writing: Persuasive Essay - be ready for revising and proofreading Monday; publishing Tuesday

Topic 19 Extra Practice Answer Key

Set A 1. rotation 2. translation 3. translation 4. reflection 5. reflection 6. rotation	Set B 1. no 2. yes 3. yes 4. yes	Set C 1.  2. 3.
Set D 1.180°             2. 90°, 180°,   270° 3. None 4. 180° 5. None 6. 180°		Set E The lengths of all the sides in your drawing should be double the lengths of the sides of the figure shown.

Homework, Wednesday, 29th May

Maths: Practice 19-4 Congruent Figures Enrichment 19-4 Similarity
Science: Chapter 4 Lessons 4 and 5 review worksheet - due Friday
               Invent an Insect - due Friday

Homework, Tuesday, 28th May

Maths: Practice 19-3 Rotations; Enrichment 19-3 Symbol Acrobatics
Do you REALLY need to better understand rotations?  Click here for Asteroids, in which the spaceship must rotate to shoot the asteroids. (Needs Adobe Flash)
This is all part of your Maths study, of course!

Spelling: Review List 24       Click here for Spelling City

List 24 – Commonly Misspelled Words

Core Words

brought	enough	buy	guess
Saturday	January	February	favorite
lying	tying	around	swimming
heard	also	tried

Challenge Words

choose

chose

loose

lose

millimeter

Homework, Monday, 27th May

Maths: Practice 19-2 Reflections; Enrichment 19-2 I Can See It in the Flag
Spelling: Review List 23 Click here for List and Links
Science: Complete pages 143-147 - due Friday

Student of the Week, Week 35

Congratulations to Christine!

Last week was a very busy one, and everyone was excited about the upcoming show. Christine managed to stay focused throughout the week and continued to produce a high standard of work.
Well done, Christine; keep it up!

Week 35

Dear Parents and Students,

After a good weekend's rest after Iowa week, we have been busy once again, and growing increasingly excited in anticipation of the performances on Thursday and Friday evenings.

In the classroom:

We completed Topic 18 in Maths, and had our test on Tuesday. Topic 18 was largely focused on algebra, and it was very pleasing to see how everybody was able to take the new concepts on board. We are expanding our range of problem-solving skills and learning new ways to express and communicate mathematical problems and functions. We have already begun Topic 19. This is a short topic, and the Topic Test will take place next Friday.

In our Literacy Workshop, we have been planning our Persuasive Essays, and we will begin drafting next week. We will then spend a few more lessons revising and proofreading, before publishing and presenting the following week. We will conclude our grammar unit dedicated to pronouns next week, and then review the topic before starting our final grammar unit for the year, which is all about adverbs and prepositions, and how to use them correctly.

In Science, we have been categorizing plants and animals, and have been investigating how plants reproduce and make food. We have also begun growing bean sprouts, and we are currently observing how they respond to light. Next week, we will focus on adaptations of animals and plants, along with characteristics that are inherited.

In Social Studies, we have been preparing for our next Social Studies assignment. We are currently establishing groups, and each group will focus on a specific region and topic. Each group will then spend some time planning and preparing next week, before we do more in-depth research the following week.

At the time of writing, the Drama Club members are preparing for the opening night of Alice in Wonderland. This is sure to be a memorable performance. For all of you who are able to attend, I look forward to seeing your this evening or Friday evening.

Please remember that there is no school for students on Friday. I will see many of you Friday night at the performance, and then I hope everyone enjoys a restful weekend.

See you at the show!

Important Dates:

Thu, May 23: Alice in Wonderland Performance

Fri, May 24: PD Day - Students not required at school

Alice in Wonderland Performance

Wed, May 29: Last day of clubs

Fri, May 31: Maths test – Topic 19

Monthly Assembly

Fri, Jun 6: Dragon Boat Festival – No School!

Homework, Wednesday, 22nd May

Maths: Practice 19-1 Translations; Enrichment 19-1 What Doesn't Fit? 
In the classic video game, Space Invaders, the space ship would translate left and right across the screen. Ask for your parents' permission first, then click here to play Space invaders. (Requires Adobe Flash)

Writing: Make sure you have your goal, three reasons, and details to support. We will begin drafting on Monday.  Templates available on Google Classroom

Homework, Tuesday, 21st May

Maths: Complete unfinished work: Practice/Enrichment 18-1 – 18-5

Spelling: Review List 23  (Test next Tuesday)
List 23 – changing final y to i      Click here for Spelling City

Core Words

sunnier	cloudier	windier	cities
heaviest	prettiest	studied	easier
noisier	families	ferries	crazier
funnier	earlier	copied	hobbies
angriest	emptied	worried	happiest

Challenge Words

iciest

hazier

breezier

companies

qualities

Homework, Monday, 20th May

Maths: Review Topic 18  pp.442-445  (test tomorrow)  Answer key below
English: Think about a topic for your Persuasive Essay and 3 possible reasons to support it.
Social Studies: Leaf trough Units 5 and 6 in your book to see what interests you. We will be discussing project ideas tomorrow.

Practice Test 18 Answers

1. B      2. B      3. C      4. B      5. A     6. C      7. D     8. C      9. D     10. C    11. A   12. C    13. D

Topic 18 Extra Practice Answer Key

Set A 1. true 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. 6 6. 2 7. 4

Set B 1. 11 2. 46 3. 24 4. 50 5. 15 6. 25 7. 10 8. 31 9. 15 10. 30 11. 79 12. 15

Set C 1. 9 2. 360 3. 3 4. 30 5. 25 6. 28

Set D 1. s < 10 2. m > 5 3. j > 25

Set E 1. 99 tickets

Week 34

Dear Parents and Students,

Congratulations to everyone for getting through Iowa week. It can be quite exhausting to complete so many tests within such a short space of time, but everyone has met the challenge and you should all be proud of yourselves. While most of our week has been consumed with the Iowa tests, we did manage to complete some other work, too.

We continued our Maths program as usual this week, although without any assigned homework.  Topic 18 returns our attention to equations and extends our understanding of algebra. We will review the topic on Monday, and our Topic Test will take place on Tuesday.

After a very busy Literacy Workshop last week, we limited our language arts studies to our review of pronouns, paying particular attention to possessive pronouns. Next week, we will begin planning our final major writing assignment for the year: Writing to Persuade. After so many high-quality Opinion essays were submitted last week, I am confident that our persuasive writing will be quite effective!

In Science, we have been reviewing the parts of a flower and investigating how different plants reproduce. Next week, we will shift our attention to how plants make their own food.

In Social Studies, we have completed our studies of the American Midwest, and our ‘team quiz’ was an interesting activity that taught us a little more about our collaborative skills. We have begun discussing our final Social Studies project for the year, and we will begin preparing next week.

Please remember that on Monday, our class group photo will be taken. As we also have PE on Monday, you might choose to bring a change of clothes (unless you would like to be photographed in your PE uniform). Grade 4's time slot is 9:50 am, so dress in your 'photo clothes' in the morning, and then you can change immediately afterwards.

As you are all aware, our production of Alice in Wonderland will be held on Thursday and Friday nights next week. Please also be aware that dress rehearsals will be taking place on Thursday, and all students performing in the show will be rehearsing all day. All students not performing should come to school as usual. Classes will still be taking place, along with some Alice related activities to get us all into the spirit of the event.

Friday is a Professional Development Day, and students are not required at school on Friday. I hope to see everyone at the show either Thursday or Friday next week. Until then, I hope you have a restful weekend, and I will see you all on Monday!

Important Dates:

Mon, May 20:            Class Photo

Tue, May 21:             Maths test – Topic 18

Thu, May 23:            Alice in Wonderland Dress Rehearsal

                                  Alice in Wonderland Performance

Fri, May 24:              PD Day  - Students not required at school

                                  Alice in Wonderland Performance

Wed, May 29:           Last day of clubs

Click here for photo of our Art Exhibition