Last Update!

 

THANK YOU for a fabulous year! 

Today's Final Assembly was lovely and I am so proud of each and every girl from our class. They grew so much this year physically, emotionally, socially, and academically. The girls are ready to cross the Green but I certainly will miss them! My door is always open and I look forward to staying in touch. Thank you families, for all of your support. 

I added a page at the top of the blog called "Summer Learning" that includes the summer learning requirements and recommendations for 5th grade.

Have an amazing summer and thank you for everything!

Scavenger Hunt!

Weekly Update

 

The Lower School collected over $4,400 from the Read-In to benefit the Autism Society of Central Virginia. Many thanks for your support...Mrs. Dorion is beyond grateful!

On Monday, May 20, we will visit the 4th grade boys at St. Chris. They will present their business expo presentations and we will walk over for the visit. The girls should wear their field trip/performance attire.

 

The girls did a great job with the last Wordly Wise Dress Up Day! Their creativity amazes me!

Here are some updates to our schedule:

• Monday, May 20: Business Expo Visit at St. Chris
  
• Tuesday, May 21: Rescheduled Middle School visit from 8-12
• Thursday, May 23: 4th grade End of Year Party from 11:00 - 2:15 just for girls and parent volunteers
  
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 for grades 2-4. The girls should wear nice clothes for this occasion. They may wear a dress, skirt, or nice pants. They do not need to wear white for this. Following the Assembly, there will be a reception just for Fourthies and their guests.
  
• Carpool helper next week: Eleanor
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers. I showed the girls this video and they asked that I post it on the blog.

 

We have our final Lower School Outreach project to support the Autism Society of Virginia and especially Mrs. Dorion and her team, Ty's Trot, in honor of her son, Ty. We hope many St. Catherine's families can come out for the race on Saturday, May 18. If not, we hope to raise money for her team!

 

 

To raise money, we will have a Read-A-Thon on Monday, May 13 in our classroom. Details are here and the girls were given a pledge sheet. The pledge sheets were due today but can still come in on Monday. We will have a read-on for 40 minutes on Monday and the girls will bring home the number of minutes they read. Money should be sent in next week.

Here are some updates to our schedule:

• Week of May 13: ERB and end of year assessments 
• Monday, May 13: Read-A-Thon 
• Friday, May 17: Last WW Dress Up Day!
  
• Saturday, May 18: Autism Society of Central Virginia 5K
• Tuesday, May 21: Rescheduled Middle School visit from 8-12
• Thursday, May 23: 4th grade End of Year Party from 11:00 - 2:15 just for girls and parent volunteers
  
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 for grades 2-4. The girls should wear nice clothes for this occasion. They may wear a dress, skirt, or nice pants. They do not need to wear white for this. Following the Assembly, there will be a reception just for Fourthies and their guests.
  
• Carpool helper next week: Ella
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

Last week was quite a week with all of the sickness. I am proud of the girls for their resilience and flexibility because our schedule changed around quite a bit. I know we all look forward to getting back to a normal week!

We have our final Lower School Outreach project to support the Autism Society of Virginia and especially Mrs. Dorion and her team, Ty's Trot, in honor of her son, Ty. We hope many St. Catherine's families can come out for the race on Saturday, May 18. If not, we hope to raise money for her team!

 

 

To raise money, we will have a Read-A-Thon on Monday, May 13 in our classroom. Details are here and the girls were given a pledge sheet on Friday. The pledge forms are due by Friday, May 10.

Here are some updates to our schedule:

• Growing Up Healthy Class: Hopefully you saw the email from Mrs. Mastin about the schedule adjustments
• Thursday, May 9: Spring Book Fair and our class will visit from 2:10 - 2:30. Please join us or feel free to send in money with your daughter
• Friday, May 10: Read-A-Thon pledge sheets due
• Week of May 13: ERB and end of year assessments 
• Monday, May 13: Read-A-Thon
  
• Saturday, May 18: Autism Society of Central Virginia 5K
• Tuesday, May 21: Rescheduled Middle School visit from 8-12
• Thursday, May 23: 4th grade End of Year Party from 11:00 - 2:15 just for girls and parent volunteers
  
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 for grades 2-4. The girls should wear nice clothes for this occasion. They may wear a dress, skirt, or nice pants. They do not need to wear white for this. Following the Assembly, there will be a reception just for Fourthies and their guests.
  
• Carpool helper next week: Reese
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

The girls are working hard and staying focused despite all of the extra things happening. Here are some curriculum updates and reminders.

Math: Over the last few weeks we have been working on order of operations using the mnemonic GEMS.

We also discussed another mnemonic, PEMDAS, that will be used in Middle School and we saw that they are both ways to help remember the steps to solve an equation with more than one operation and groupings.

We have also been working on adding and subtracting decimals, and ordering and comparing decimals. To wrap up our decimal unit and incorporate money, the girls will design a faux wardrobe and create a wish list with pretend money!

Writing: The girls have created some friendship machines and written descriptive paragraphs about how theirs work. Our last step is to design a business card. They did a great job on this writing lab. 

Social Studies: The girls did so well on their region quiz on the northeast states and capitals. I was really impressed! We are now studying the southeast region and will have the quiz on that next Thursday.

Reminders:

• Names for Final Assembly due by April 29
• 5th-grade advisory buddy due by April 30
• Wednesday, May 1: Visit the Middle School for an orientation from 8 -12; please arrive to school on time; by 7:50 would be ideal!
• Due by May 1: Please email me a mother/daughter picture for an upcoming project - it can be an older picture or a recent one
• Growing Up Healthy Class begins May 1 - here is the letter from Dr. Kapetanis and it provides the book your daughter will need for this class

• Thursday, May 9: Spring Book Fair and our class will visit from 2:10 - 2:30. Please join us or feel free to send in money with your daughter.
  
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 for grades 2-4.The girls should wear nice clothes for this occasion. They may wear a dress, skirt, or nice pants. They do not need to wear white for this.

• Carpool helper next week: Maggie
• Special Week: Ella
  
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

I have enjoyed meeting with all of you to discuss your daughters. It is hard to believe there is just 6 weeks of school left. I will really miss this class! We have so many fun things coming up so I want to make sure I include all of the important reminders.

• Tuesday, April 23: Northeast region states and capitals quiz
• Wednesday, April 24: Outdoor Adventure Day - Please make sure your daughter:
• Wears athletic clothes and shoes (no boots or sandals)
• Dresses in layers
• Has a helmet - many have already come into school so thank you
  
• Lunch will be provided from the school
• Bring a water bottle and sunscreen
• Due by April 26: If your daughter wants to apply to the competitive robotics team, the application is here
• Wednesday, May 1: Visit the Middle School for an orientation from 8 -12; please arrive to school on time!
• Due by May 1: Please email me a mother/daughter picture for an upcoming project - it can be an older picture or a recent one
• Growing Up Healthy Class begins May 1 - here is the letter from Dr. Kapetanis and it provides the book your daughter will need for this class

• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 for grades 2-4.The girls should wear nice clothes for this occasion. They may wear a dress, skirt, or nice pants. They do not need to wear white for this.

• Carpool helper next week: Ruth
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

Wow! The girls did an amazing job on both performances of The Jungle Book this week. I am so proud of them and impressed with their skills. 

 

 

The solar eclipse on Monday was a really neat experience!

 

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Della
• Friday, April 19: Parent/Teacher Conference Day; Sign Up Here 
• Wednesday, April 24: Outdoor Adventure Day: Details Here; Helmets due in school by Thursday, April 18
  
• Wednesday, May 1: Visit to 5th grade for a Middle School Orientation- details to follow 
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 am
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

We are in full musical mode and the girls are excited to perform the 4th musical next week! Today's blog post will include reminders of upcoming events.

• Wednesday, April 10 at 9:30 am in Endeavour Hall: Parent performance of the musical followed by....
  
• Rising Fifth Grade Parent Meeting, April 10th at 10:30 a.m. in the Kenan-Flagler Auditorium (KFA) in Washington Hall, directly following the fourth grade musical
• Information from Middle School Director, Sharon Arne: This email was already sent to you but I am linking it again because it is full of lots of important information about Middle School
• Costume pieces needed from home - details here - these need to come to school on Monday!

Eclipse information: On Monday, April 8, we have the exciting opportunity to witness the rare event of a solar eclipse! The eclipse will occur from approximately 2 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. with the maximum coverage in this area occurring around 3:20 p.m. 

With safety in mind, it is our intention to help our Lower School students explore and experience this important event.

• Glasses have been purchased for every student so that they can view the eclipse safely. 

• Prior to the event, teachers are spending time reviewing the critical importance of wearing our eclipse glasses while looking at the sun. We suggest that girls do not look directly at the sun even with the glasses on - they should glance up then look down and follow this process while viewing the eclipse. Please reiterate this message at home and remind your children that directly viewing the sun without protective glasses can cause significant harm to eyes.

• Dismissal will be indoors and proceed as usual with carpool beginning at 3:00 p.m. for EL-Grade 1 and 3:30 p.m. for Grades 2-4

• We understand that many of you may want to view this event with your children. Should you choose to pick up your child early, please make sure to notify lsattendance@st.catherines.org well in advance of dismissal time to help us get the children safely dismissed.

  We are very excited for this historic event and look forward to sharing it with your children!

  Reminders:
  
• Carpool helper next week: Wells
• Special Week: Camille
  
• Wednesday, April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall 
• Friday, April 19: Parent/Teacher Conference Day; Sign Up Here 
• Wednesday, April 24: Outdoor Adventure Day: Details Here
• Wednesday, May 1: Visit to 5th grade for a Middle School Orientation- details to follow 
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 am
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this

Weekly Update

Happy Easter to you all! I wish you a peace filled and happy holiday! We have hit the point in the school year we are extremely busy so please read below carefully!

Next week is all about the 4th grade musical. We will practice an hour and half each day following this schedule.

Curriculum Updates

 

Reading: We are reading Flora and Ulysses, which is about a little girl and a squirrel she encounters. Every 7 chapters, the girls respond to comprehension questions and use context clues to figure out certain vocabulary. 

Math: We assessed fraction computation and they did a great job. We are now working with decimals. The girls had a lesson about the Dewey decimal system to make the decimals concrete. We will add, subtract, compare, and order and compare decimals. 

Language Arts: The girls continue to learn new vocabulary with our Wordly Wise lessons. They love to share when they have hear the word being used or seen it in a book. Our current spelling pattern is about words with the /qu/ spelling pattern.

Social Studies: We are learning about the northeast region of the United States. To help learn the states and capitals, the girls have flash cards to help them as well as digital resources.

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Kensi
• Wednesday, April 3: Gold/White Cup announcement and lunch. Girls may wear their gold and white this day. We will have picnic on the green with pizza for all of Lower School. Feel free to pack a different lunch if your daughter does not like pizza. 
• We will also make a trip to flower the cross which will be on the Portico on April 3rd. If your daughter would like to add to the cross, please send in flowers that morning.
• Wednesday, April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall 
• Friday, April 19: Parent/Teacher Conference Day; Sign Up Here 
• Wednesday, April 24: Outdoor Adventure Day: Details Here
• Wednesday, May 1: Visit to 5th grade for a Middle School Orientation- details to follow 
• Thursday, May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 am
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

We had a great week back following spring break. The girls were excited to share highlights from their week off.

 

On Wednesday, our field trip to The Frontier Museum in Staunton was fun and informative.

Today, we had a great time walking to Gelati Celesti to celebrate 125 class compliments.

 

Curriculum Updates:          

Reading: In reading we started a novel study with the book, Flora and Ulysses. As a preview, we researched about squirrels and created cute illustrations. The girls also read about the author, Kate DiCamillo, and took notes on things they learned about this clever author.

Math: We continue our practice with fraction computation. Next week, we will also begin a unit on decimals and establish the relationship between fractions and decimals. In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, we enjoyed some Lucky Charms cereal while brushing up on our graphing and data skills. We reviewed different types of graphs and recorded data. Completed work was sent home in your daughter's Friday Folder today. 

Language Arts: Our time this week was spent on investigating affixes for our Wordly Wise unit #14. 

Social Studies: We began the a unit on the US regions by seeing what we know about the states and their locations on a map.   

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Andie
• Special Week: Kensi
• Next Friday, March 29: Half day dismissal at noon for Good Friday
  
• April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall
• May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 am
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update - Happy Spring Break!

 

This group of girls is just so precious! In my 13 years as a 4th grade teacher at St. Catherine's, I have never had a class acknowledge my half birthday since my birthday falls at the start of the school year. I arrived today with a card full of precious notes from each of your daughters. When I reminded them that the class celebrated me in September (with the help of you and the Havens family), they replied that they did not know me well then and wanted to celebrate again at my half birthday. They are so sweet and thoughtful! Thank you!!

The class has earned 125 class compliments and we will celebrate the week we return. I will provide more information closer to that time.

During the week we return, we have our field trip and Mrs. Lathe, our new counselor, will start lunch groups. Here is information about both of these below:

1. Field Trip information for Wednesday, March 20

2. Lunch Bunch groups starting week after break

   Reminders:
   

• Carpool helper next week: Ginna
• April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall
• May 30: Final Assembly at 11:00 am
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

I wish everyone a wonderful break to recharge and relax. 

Weekly Update

Curriculum Updates:   

Reading: This week, we finished reading Number the Stars. The girls painted some beautiful paintings of a famous street in Copenhagen, Nyhavn. They also wrote an additional chapter to the story about Ellen and Annemarie reunited after the end of the war.

Math: We completed our chapter 5 fraction test and now are working on fraction computation (with like denominators). The girls did well om this test and they are in today's Friday folder.

Language Arts: The girls have just about completed typing a biography and creating an illustration through the site Canva about a famous African American woman. Here is the link to our work!  We spent quality time researching, editing, revising, and fine-tuning our illustrations. When the rest of the girls finish, the link will update.

Social Studies: Our time was used to complete the biographies and illustration page.

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Eleanor
• March 8: 1/2 Day with dismissal at noon for Spring Break!
  
• March 20: Field Trip to Frontier Museum - details to come
  
• April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall
• May 30: Final Assembly
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

 

It was great to all be back together during this short week. We have had many classmates in and out due to sickness and traveling, so I loved being back together. It is hard to believe that we have two more weeks until we dismiss for spring break at noon, on Friday, March 8. The girls worked hard in our three days. 

In math, they took a mid year assessment last week and I was surprised that the scores were not higher. So, I retaught some concepts and offered them an opportunity to make corrections. The best way to learn from mistakes in math in particular, is to find your mistake, and correct it! Yesterday I sent home the original math check along with the corrections. Next week we will practice adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators.

The girls are close to finishing their research project for Black History month and I look forward to sharing the finished project on next week's blog post.

We also have almost finished Number the Stars and will do a project at the conclusion of the book. If you are looking for a good discussion question from the book, please ask your daughter to share a way that Annemarie, the main character, has shown bravery in the novel. There are many examples!

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Ella
• Special Week: Reagan
• Cheer Rally Song Practices: Tuesday, 2/27 and Thursday 2/29 from 7:40 - 7:55
• March 1: Cheer Rally with the girls wearing their team colors   
• March 20: Field Trip to Frontier Museum - details to come
• April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall
• May 30: Final Assembly
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

 

 

Weekly Update

 

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Reese
• Starting next Thursday 2/22, and again on Tuesday 2/27, and Thursday 2/29, your girls are invited to practice songs for the Gold/White cheer rally from 7:40-7:55 am.  
• March 1: Cheer Rally with the girls wearing their team colors   
  
• March 20: Field Trip to Frontier Museum - details to come
• April 10: Fourth Grade Musical at 9:30 am in Endeavor Hall
• May 30: Final Assembly
  

Weekly Update

The girls and I had another lovely week together. They are working hard and staying kind, which is awesome! Here are some curriculum updates and reminders.

Math: We are just about finished with our first fraction unit. The girls will soon be assessed on equivalent fractions and comparing and ordering fractions. The assessment will also check understanding of converting mixed numbers and improper fractions, and fractions on a number line.  Our next unit is more fractions but focuses on the computation aspect. In addition, the Valentine Math Challenge is due by February 16. 

Reading: Last week, we began the novel, Number the Stars. This is a fantastic novel by Lois Lowry about a ten-year-old girl living in Copenhagen during the Second World War. The story follows her life as well as her best friend, Ellen, who is Jewish. It is a great story and always leads to some great conversations about this time in history. While the story is historical fiction, it also emphasizes the themes of friendship, courage, and bravery. The girls seem very into the story!

Social Studies: We are researching a famous African American woman. Once the girls have gathered facts from at least two sources, they will type an essay and create an illustration through the site Canva. Once these have been edited and revised, a link will come home so you can view our digital class book! 

Writing: On Thursday, the class responded to a very interesting Three Word Thursday (3WT) challenge. Check it out on this collaborative, class slideshow. 🐍

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Maggie
• Special Week: Ruth
• 💖 Valentine's Day mailbox due by Monday, February 12. They need to make a card for each student and here is a list of our classmates. 
• Mid-Year ERB testing: next week
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

 

Our second Wordly Wise Dress Up Day was a success! I love seeing the girls express their creativity with this activity.

 

Since February is Black History Month, the girls will research a famous, black woman. They drew names out of a hat yesterday and know who they will be researching. Working with me, Mrs. Irving and Mrs. Kortas, the girls will take notes, assimilate their findings into a report, and then create an illustration of their famous woman. I look forward to sharing more as the month continues.

Yesterday, I passed out the game board for the Greg Tang Valentine's Day math challenge. I look forward to seeing which girls will take advantage of this optional opportunity.

 

For the next few weeks, we will be taking a pause on spelling to allow for a mid year assessment and evaluation of which skills to focus. We also will have the mid-year ERB tests the week of February 12 so homework will be lighter that week.

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Ruth
• Special Week: Maggie
• Thursday, February 8: Jeans day for all students 👖 
• Friday, February 9: wear red for Lunar New Year. Details here!
• 💖 Valentine's Day mailbox due by Monday, February 12. They need to make a card for each student and here is a list of our classmates. 
• Mid-Year ERB testing: Week of February 12
  
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

Thank you, thank you for all of the donations for our current Outreach project. I am so impressed by your generosity and we have collected around 18 hooded towels for Little Hands VA. Many thanks!

On Monday, the girls exchanged their interview projects with girls in Mrs. Miller's class. They did great work and learned some more about their fellow Fourthies.  

In math, they had a quiz on chapter 3 on Monday and the class did very well. These came home in today's Friday folder. We jumped into fractions and focused on finding equivalent fractions. We will continue with fraction concepts next week and discuss ordering and comparing fractions.

We finished our discussion on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the impact he had on our country. The webquest they solved is coming home in today's papers as well. We are finishing our study of Westward Expansion as well and learned more about the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and we will have a class celebration on Wednesday, February 14. The girls may start working on a mailbox to hold cards from their classmates. They may be as creative with this as they would like and it would be great to have the boxes and Valentine's in by Monday, February 12. They need to make a card for each student and here is a list of our classmates. 

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Claire
• Special Week: Reese
• Next WW Dress Up Day: February 2 so put on your thinking caps
• Friday, February 9: wear red for Lunar New Year. Details here!
  
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

 

During our short week we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr., we wrapped up unit 3 in math, and continued reading Code 7. Did you know January 19th is National Popcorn Day? We had fun solving popcorn themed mash-ups and doing other fun things. On Monday we will enjoy some popcorn! We will also exchange our magazine covers and paragraphs with the students in Mrs. Miller's class. The girls did a nice job writing about a fellow Fourthie.

 

Our next Lower School Outreach project will benefit Little Hands Virginia. This is a great organization that provides essentials for newborn babies. My sons and I have volunteered here and it is a great group. 4th Grade is collecting hooded bath towels. Thanks for your continued support of our various Lower School Outreach projects. All of the details for the project are here.

 

 

 

Your daughter received a Scholastic Book Club flyer and any orders are due by next Friday, January 26 if you are interested. Thanks for helping us add new books to our classroom library.

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Della
• Special Week: Eleanor
• Attached is a letter from Mrs. Dorion about World Language Week 2024. If you speak another langauge, please read it!  
• Gold/White Spirit Day: Friday, January 26 Dress in gold and white
• Next WW Dress Up Day: February 2 so put on your thinking caps
  
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!

Weekly Update

I hope everyone has a nice, long weekend. The girls worked hard this week and we accomplished many things. Here are some curriculum updates and reminders.

Attached is a letter from Mrs. Dorion about World Language Week 2024. If you speak another langauge, please read it!

Math

We worked through long division this week and will continue to practice this skills. The girls and I discussed the importance of having a strong fact recall. This week, I saw many careless mistakes on bigger multiplication and division questions due to basic fact mistakes. Our next unit will begin our study of fractions.

Writing

We partnered up with Mrs Miller's class and each student interviewed one of her students. We encouraged the girls to ask deeper questions. They then wrote a paragraph about what they learned. The last part of the project consists of the girls making a magazine cover about their friend. I will post more on next week's blog.

WW and Spelling

We started list 9 in Wordly Wise and will assess on this next week. In addition, we are reviewing irregular plural nouns and will assess on this next week.

Reminders:

• Carpool helper next week: Maclaren
• No school for students: Monday and Tuesday, January 15 and 16
• Gold/White Spirit Day: Friday, January 26 Dress in gold and white
• Next WW Dress Up Day: February 2 so put on your thinking caps
  
• Scavenger hunt question - answer this!