Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Week 29--Fourth Quarter!

Dear Parents,


I hope you had some extra time to relax with your students over their spring break. I know some families chose to take trips over break, and I hope the trips were peaceful and relaxing.

As we enter fourth quarter, state standardized tests are approaching. In general we do not “teach to the test.” We strive to present our students with material that is true and good in itself, not merely material that is relevant to a test. At the same time, we feel it would be unfair to our students expect them to take a test that contains material with which they are completely unfamiliar. For this reason we will be spending some time in all classes studying material that will likely be on state tests even if some of that material is outside our usual curriculum.

On that note one of the upcoming topics we will study for the state science test is is global warming/climate change. This topic has been highly politicized and emotionally charged, so it can be a difficult topic to cover. I will do my best to present a fair and balanced view of this issue in science class.

In math, we are finishing up our study of fractions in class and starting our study of decimals online. If your student is not already in the lesson “Decimals” on RM, they will be assigned some extra RM homework to help them catch up with their class. It is very important for them to complete this homework. In order to pass into fifth grade, students do need to complete the RM online curriculum. If you have any questions, please let me know.

One final note: the fourth grade team is changing its policy regarding homework. From now on late homework will only be accepted within one week of the original due date. For example if a worksheet is assigned on Wednesday a late copy of that homework will only be accepted through the next Wednesday. The exception, of course, would be students who are very ill. If this is the case please contact us so we can help your student make arrangements to complete their homework.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account if you have any further questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,



Rebecca Wycklendt

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