Fourth Grade News!!

We began our week with our Fourth Grade Community meeting, where the fourth graders received a surprise package!  It was filled with a penguin, a penguin puzzle, and our new Interactive Read Aloud, Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Florence and Richard Atwater.  What a fun way to introduce our book!  We began reading this week, and the children are enjoying reading about Mr. Popper and Captain Cook!

This week, fourth graders were treated to a presentation about the Natives of the Northeast, and about archaeology.  Students participated in an "archaeological dig" right at JFK.  Mrs. Silvia, of the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University, brought real artifacts, and explained to the students how archaeologists find artifacts and estimate their age.  We look forward to learning more from this program throughout the year.  Thank you to the JFK PCC for funding this awesome experience!

Fourth Graders were also lucky enough to have a visit from author Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty Series.  Mr. Bruel wrote a story with the 3rd, 4th and 5th grader about a "Happy Hamster" who lived in a golden cage.  Your child can fill in the details of this awesome event. Mr. Bruel also signed books for our students, and even did a quick lesson on how to draw a cat face, and change the emotion of the cat with just a few lines.  Thank you to Mrs. Williams for organizing this, and to An Unlikely Story Bookstore in Plainville, who presented this opportunity to us!

Creative Arts Friday!

Students began building their weather stations today! Students are challenged to build a weather station that measures two weather phenomena such as rain fall, humidity, air pressure, temperature, wind direction, or wind speed. After planning last week, students were very excited to start building today. Students are again learning how to work in groups and deal with disagreements and other problems that might arise when using the Engineering Design Process. Today many groups found that some of the materials they planned to use for their weather station did not work the way they planned them to. Students worked on persevering and problem solving to determine alternative materials to use meet their needs. We will continue to build next week. We all look forward to getting these weather stations outside and working soon so we can use them to observe the current weather conditions. 

Puffmobile Races!

Students used the Engineering Design Process to create Puffmobiles that lead to our much anticipated Puffmobile races this week. Not only did students work on Engineering skills, but they also learned important strategies for working in a group.

Overall Puffmobile Winning Team

"Top Racers" racing from each class

Mrs. Merten's Top Racers

Mrs. A Williams' Top Racers

Mrs. E Williams' Top Racers

Final class winners in grade level finals race

"Top Girls" racing from each class

Mrs. Merten's Top Girl Racers

Mrs. A Williams' Top Girl Racers

Mrs. E Williams' Top Girl Racers

"Top Boys" racing from each class

Mrs. E Williams' Top Boy Racers

Mrs. Merten's Top Boy Racers

Top girl and boy racers from each class 

Fourth Grade News

Fourth Graders enjoyed another busy week! We began with our Community Meeting on Tuesday, where our mantra was "We are Family!". This mantra was important this week as we prepared to share our learning with families at Open House. We talked about how we are a fourth grade family as well.

Fourth Graders also enjoyed some exciting science activities this week. On Wednesday students created terrariums. Students will observe their terrariums daily to see if they can find evidence of the water cycle happening within. 

In Project Based Learning this Friday students began their weather station challenge. Students are challenged to work in collaborative groups to design and build a weather station that measures two different weather phenomena such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction, or wind speed. Students will use their knowledge of the weather tools learned in class to complete this project in the coming weeks. Students will then get to put their weather station to the test, and collect data about the weather. 

Author Alert!!

In October, An Unlikely Story Bookstore in Plainville will be hosting several authors that are BELOVED by 4th graders and the events are FREE!  Typically, the authors give a presentation, answer questions and sign books.  All events require preregistration. More information about these events can be found at the bookstore's event page here.  Mrs. Ann Williams will be at the CeCe Bell event and she hopes to see as many current and former students there as possible; maybe everyone can  get a picture with CeC Bell.  Mrs. Ann Williams and Mrs. Merten will be at the Nick Bruel event.  Wouldn't it be great to get a picture with the Bad Kitty author?  We think so! We hope to see as many of you there as possible, it is sure to be a great time!

Patrick McDonnell-10/5



CeCe Bell (author of El Deafo!!!) and Tom Angleberger (her husband!) 10/15-Mrs. AW is going too!



Nick Bruel-10/18-Mrs. AW AND and Mrs. Merten are going to this one!