Weekly News--January 27th

Benson/Cave News

News from the 4th Grade

January 27, 2017

Math News

Next week we will start our first fraction unit.  Fractions will take up the rest of the 3rd nine weeks and will be broken into several smaller units.  Students will continue to work in class on their objectives.  Homework packets will look a little different next week.  There will be 4 sheets and they will be spiral review items that will help students continually remember concepts learned throughout the year.  Please encourage your child to do a little each night so that it is not too much at one time and to always put their names on their papers and turn them in on Fridays.

Students are still required to complete 5 topics in ALEKS each week, however if they complete up to 10, they will receive up to 5 bonus points.  So for example, if they complete 8 topics, they will have 3 extra credit points.  If they complete 10 topics they will have 5 extra credit points.  No more than 5 extra credit points will be awarded in a week.  

Science News

We finished up our astronomy unit this past week and next week we will begin our unit on organisms.  We will be learning about how animals and plants are different, life cycles of different plants and animals, what organisms get from their parents and what they get from their habitat, how animals adapt to survive, and how do plants survive.  We may even incubate some chicken eggs when we discuss life cycles.  

Only one more week of observing the moon!  This next week we will see the moon go from New Moon to first quarter.  Don’t forget to keep up with the moon calendar.  If you miss a night or it is cloudy, go to:  http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases_calendar.phtml

to see what the moon should look like.  Moon calendars will be a major grade and are due on Monday, February 6th.

Today students were given a packet from the South Carolina Academy of Science.  It is a group of questions that students can answer by researching.  They are to be completed without the help of a parent or other adult.  It was given to students as an extra opportunity to make a 100 in the gradebook.  It is optional.  Students will have the next several weeks to work on it.  If your child would like me to mail it off to the SCAS and enter it into their competition, they will need to get a permission form from me and pay the $5 registration fee.  There are always winners from each school selected.  Last year we had 2 fourth graders win and were recognized at our end of the year awards ceremony.  For more information you can go to:  http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/cse

Language Arts News.  

This coming week, students will be doing the 2017 District Writing Formative Assessment #2.  Nothing to study for--just make sure your child is here each day and does their best writing when they are here.

Students read the story “The Cricket in Times Square” this week.  They will have a vocabulary test on Tuesday and the comprehension test will be on Wednesday.  Please always encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes every day.

Social Studies News

Unit 5--The American Revolution--will be finished next week.  There will be a unit test on Thursday.  Students should bring their SS books home every night and review the material.

Fourth Grade News

The 100th Day of School is Wednesday, February 4th!

Friday, February 3rd is National Wear Red Day.

The next Early Dismissal day will be Friday, February 17th.  School will be dismissed at 11:30am.  Make sure we know if your child has a different form of transportation.

Ending Thoughts

We are very excited for this school year and to be able to teach your child.  You may email us anytime there is a concern.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Mrs. Janice Cave

Backyard Bird Watching Event

Weekly News--January 20th

Benson/Cave News

News from the 4th Grade

January 20, 2017

Math News

We are well on our way in our second Geometry unit.  Students are busy learning about 2-dimensional shapes, how to classify those shapes with parallel and perpendicular lines, symmetry, and area & perimeter of a rectangle.  Ask your child to give you all of the names of a square.  (Hint:  They should be able to tell you 3 names other than square.)  We are anticipating our test being next Friday, January 27th.  Please continue to encourage your child to complete all work and if they fall behind, they can always work at home to catch up.

Starting this week, students will have an opportunity to get 5 extra credit points every week in ALEKS.  Students are still required to complete 5 topics in ALEKS each week, however if they complete up to 10, they will receive up to 5 bonus points.  So for example, if they complete 8 topics, they will have 3 extra credit points.  If they complete 10 topics they will have 5 extra credit points.  No more than 5 extra credit points will be awarded in a week.  

Science News

We continued our discussion on the moon and its phases this week.  We learned a lot!  Did you know that we always see the same side of the moon?  From Earth, we will never see the back side of the moon.  Ask your child why and see if they can explain it to you.  (Hint:  It has to do with the revolution and rotation of the moon.)  

We will finish up our space unit next week with a test on Thursday.  Study information will go home on Monday or Tuesday so that you and your child will know what exactly to study for this test.

Don’t forget to keep up with the moon calendar.  If you miss a night or it is cloudy, go to:  http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases_calendar.phtml

to see what the moon should look like.

Language Arts News.  

This week students read the story, “How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning”.  There will be a test given on Monday.  A review sheet with the vocabulary words was given to students.  They can also go to Google Classroom to the ELA and SS class page to find a quizlet with these words.  They can practice them using the games on quizlet.  Please always encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes every day.

Social Studies News

Students have been working in Unit 5--The American Revolution.  There will be a test on this unit on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  Study information will be sent home before the test.

Fourth Grade News

Class Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, January 25th.  Order forms have been sent home.  These are pre-order only.  You can pre-order our class picture for $12.  Please make sure to send those envelopes back in by Wednesday morning.

PTO is hosting a Family Bingo Night next Friday, January 27th at 6pm.  Unfortunately, they have reached their capacity of 300 players.  If you sent your RSVP in, tickets will be issued next week.  If you do not have a ticket, you will not be able to play.

Next Friday, January 27th will be Spirit Day.  Please have your child wear their favorite BHE attire so that we can keep the Spirit Flag at our end of the hall!  The School Spirit Store will be open for 3rd - 5th graders that morning.

Don't forget about our Donors Choose project--iPads for Creation Station! Click here for the post giving you information. Thanks to those who have contributed so far! If you have an employer who likes to donate money to a good cause, this would be a great project and I would make sure to get a Thank you note to them!

Ending Thoughts

We are very excited for this school year and to be able to teach your child.  You may email us anytime there is a concern.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Mrs. Janice Cave

Donors Choose Project

Do you know anyone who went to the Football National Championship Game?  If so, they received a $25 Donors Choose Card that they can use to help fund any project created through Donors Choose.  We have received $100 worth of donations from these cards.  Please share with any of your friends and family that might have gone to the game and have these cards laying around.  We would love to have them help support our class project.

Thanks!

iPads for Creation Stations

(Click the above link to take you straight to our project.)

Weekly News--January 13th

Benson/Cave News

News from the 4th Grade

January 13, 2017

Math News

We finished our first unit on Geometry this week.  Next week we will begin Geometry Part 2.  This will cover area, perimeter, identifying two-dimensional shapes, and symmetry.  This should take us about 2 weeks to complete and then we will move on to fractions.

Students are still required to complete 5 topics in ALEKS each week.  They may work during RTI time each day once they have met their Lexia minutes, during homeroom or at the end of the day while waiting on buses, and they can also work at home.  They typically have from Monday morning until Sunday night to get their topics completed.  If they are spending more than 10 to 15 minutes and have not mastered a topic, they have been encouraged to ask for help.  Many students are starting a topic and when it gets too difficult, they stop and start another topic.  They are continuing to do this and spending a lot of time on ALEKS, but not accomplishing anything.  Thanks for any help you can offer in this process.    

Science News

This week we finished our discussions on the relationship between the earth and the sun.  We did a lesson check in Google classroom to see how much we learned.  We also started discussing the moon.  We will continue our discussions on the moon next week as we learn about the phases of the moon.  I hope everyone has been keeping up with their moon calendars.  The moon has looked gorgeous this week as it has peaked into a full moon.  If there ever is a cloudy night or you forget to view the moon, you can go to http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases_calendar.phtml

to see what the moon should look like.

Language Arts News.  

This week students continued to read the story “Leah’s Pony” in their Treasures book.  They completed many activities related to the story and ended the week with a test to see how much they learned.  Please always encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes every day.

Social Studies News

Students continued learning about the revolutionary war this week and discussed patriots and loyalists.  

Fourth Grade News

There will be no school on Monday, January 16th.

Report Cards will go home on Thursday, January 19th.

Class Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, January 25th.  There will be order forms sent home soon because these pictures must be paid for in advance.

PTO will be hosting a Family Bingo Night on Friday, January 27th at 6pm.  This event is free!  Come join the fun and have the opportunity to win some wonderful prizes.  Concessions will be sold for a minimal price.

Ending Thoughts

We are very excited for this school year and to be able to teach your child.  You may email us anytime there is a concern.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Mrs. Janice Cave

Weekly News--January 6th

Benson/Cave News

News from the 4th Grade

January 6, 2017

Math News

We began our new unit in math this week.  We are learning about angles, lines, line segments, rays, points, and how to draw and measure each.  Students are working hard on their checklists and we are anticipating a unit test on Thursday.  Please encourage your child to keep up in class and if they fall behind, they can always work at home.  All work done in class receives a grade.

Students are still required to complete 5 topics in ALEKS each week.  They may work during RTI time each day once they have met their Lexia minutes, during homeroom or at the end of the day while waiting on buses, and they can also work at home.  They typically have from Monday morning until Sunday night to get their topics completed.  If they are spending more than 10 to 15 minutes and have not mastered a topic, they have been encouraged to ask for help.  Many students are starting a topic and when it gets too difficult, they stop and start another topic.  They are continuing to do this and spending a lot of time on ALEKS, but not accomplishing anything.  Thanks for any help you can offer in this process.    

Science News

This week we have been talking about the movement on Earth in space.  We have discusses rotations vs. revolution and how the seasons are affected because of these motions.

Next week we will start discussing the moon.  Students will be given a “Moon Log” on Monday.  They will be required to observe the moon each night for the next 4 weeks and draw what they see on their log.  If the moon comes up after bedtime or someone gets behind, I will put a website on the log that will allow students to see what the moon should have looked like.  They can use this website to fill in any blanks, but I encourage them to not do that every night.  I really want them to see the moon as it goes through its phases.  

Language Arts News.  

This week students read the story “Leah’s Pony” in their Treasures book.  They completed a story map in their journal and on a Google Doc with pictures.  Students also worked on comprehension with some worksheets and a crossword puzzle.  Please always encourage your child to read at least 20 minutes every day.

Social Studies News

Students were introduced to Unit 5--The American Revolution this week.  They completed Lesson 1 and a map skills activity.  

Fourth Grade News

Early Dismissal next Friday, January 13th.  Please make sure we know if there are any transportation changes.

The end of the nine weeks is next Friday, January 13th.  All missing/late work must be turned in by Friday.

There will be no school on Monday, January 16th.

Report Cards will go home on Thursday, January 19th.

Class Pictures will be taken on Wednesday, January 25th.  There will be order forms sent home soon because these pictures must be paid for in advance.

PTO will be hosting a Family Bingo Night on Friday, January 27th at 6pm.  More details to come as they are given to us.

Ending Thoughts

We are very excited for this school year and to be able to teach your child.  You may email us anytime there is a concern.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Mrs. Janice Cave

Would you like to help add to the technology in our classroom?

Would you like to help add to the technology in our classroom?

Go to the following website and see what project we are trying to get funding.

Mrs. Benson's Creation Station iPad Request

If donors  add the promo code LIFTOFF at checkout,  their donations will be doubled up to $50 for the next 7 days.