Feb. 28

What are we learning?

Bible: We just finished up our unit on the first 5 kings of Israel and bad King Ahab. We will review for a small quiz next week and start our next unit on the prophet Elijah. 

Math: We are finishing our BIG unit of problems solving multi-step story problems. We are going to review for the text next week and take our end of unit test. Next up is measurement!

Reading: We have begun a new unit and a new read aloud. In this unit, we practice analyzing the text and interpreting the author's choices.

Writing: We have begun our personal expertise unit. The students will be picking a topic they know a lot about and writing their very own information chapter book.

Social Studies: We will begin our History unit and learn about the different movements of people throughout our country's history.

CONFERENCES -  The students are excited to lead you through their student-led conference in the upcoming weeks ahead. Please remember you will need to bring along your 4th grader (no siblings please!) as they will be prepared to present their growth and goals to you at that conference.

Swimming Lessons Our Holland Aquatic Center is providing swim lessons for us again this year! I recognize this program is new for some children and families. Because our children are blessed to be raised in Michigan, surrounded by bodies of water, we believe this safety instruction is a blessing that we pray they will never need but feel responsible to equip them. If you find yourself pondering over the “why” of lessons, please take a listen to HC mom Jenny White on the why for swim safety. HCAC Swim School welcome video will help you understand a bit about the logistics. Our 1st-4th graders will be bused to the pool each day the weeks of April 14-25.

• 9-10am: 1st Grade

• 10-11am: 4th Grade

• 11am-12pm: 2nd Grade

• 12:35-1:35pm: 3rd Grade

Save the Date: Spring Program - Our Spring Program is Thursday evening March 6 at Christ Memorial from 6:30-7:30.  Please have your child arrive at 6:10, wearing typical church clothes, they will meet their teacher in the lobby as soon as you enter the building!

You’re invited:

Upcoming Dates For Your Family Calendar: 

• Winter Break - February 14 and 17

• Spring Program - March 6 6:30-7:30

• Student Led Parent/Teacher Conferences - Thursday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 25

• Spring Break - April 4 - 13

• Swim Lessons - April 14-25 -  [Lessons begin at - 8:50 for 1st grade, 9:50 for 4th grade, 10:50 for 2nd grade, 12:20 for 3rd grade]

Feb. 21

Wouldn't you want to pie the principals?

SHOVELS - We are planning to finish up our shoveling project in the greenhouse this coming week, so your shovels should be returning home by the end of the week.😏

WRITING CELEBRATION - We are excited to share our finished persuasive essays with our fellow fourth graders this coming week.  When you see that come home, please celebrate your child's writing with them.  Ask them what feature they are most proud of in their writing (engaging hook, repetitive language, convincing tone, specific research or evidence, a conclusion that invites their reader to take action, etc.).

CONFERENCES - This Spring the 4th graders will be doing student-led conferences.  This will be a special time for just you, your 4th grader, and me to reflect on their growth in person (no siblings please).  More details will fall into place later, but since the conference sign up email came out from Holland Christian (Feb. 13), keep that in mind as you choose your time for your conference.  Please plan for an in-person conference.  Thanks so much! 

Ranch Hands Would your family be interested in caring for our goats (the wonderful Rosie and Parker) and three chickens (Pearl, Opal, and Mera) on a Saturday or two this spring? It's a pretty simple task to be a ranch hand but does require knowledge of our barn/greenhouse locking system and feeding tasks. We are taking applications! Your child may write a note expressing interest on behalf of your family and bring to the office " applying" for the job! Or you can just email me of your interest at mrynsburger@hollandchristian.org We're looking for five families who respond first to pilot the family partnership. Thank you for embracing the joy or critter bring to the lives of our students!

Swimming Lessons Our Holland Aquatic Center is providing swim lessons for us again this year! I recognize this program is new for some children and families. Because our children are blessed to be raised in Michigan, surrounded by bodies of water, we believe this safety instruction is a blessing that we pray they will never need but feel responsible to equip them. If you find yourself pondering over the “why” of lessons, please take a listen to HC mom Jenny White on the why for swim safety. HCAC Swim School welcome video will help you understand a bit about the logistics. Our 1st-4th graders will be bused to the pool each day the weeks of April 14-25.

• 9-10am: 1st Grade

• 10-11am: 4th Grade

• 11am-12pm: 2nd Grade

• 12:35-1:35pm: 3rd Grade

Save the Date: Spring Program March 6 will be our Spring Program held at Christ Memorial from 6:30-7:30.  Your child's teacher will communicate more specifics to you soon.  We're excited to welcome you to an evening of community worship. Feel free to send the below image to Grandparents and other important people:

 

Feb. 7

We became quite the "skull detectives" at our field trip to Hemlock Crossings last week!

All the snow we got turned out to be an opportunity for snowshoeing on our field trip. 😁

We are digging up ALL the dirt! I am proud of them. 

They are participating in HARD work.

  

CURRICULUM UPDATES:

Math - we're deep in the thros of word problems: comparison problems, two-step problems, multi-step problems.....all of it.  This is BIG work.  It requires self-directed thinking.  For some, that is no problem.  For others, that is a foreign land.  We're trying a number of strategies to get it to work for everyone.😄

Bible - We are studying the man of Solomon and his good decisions as well as his bad, and seeing how that affects his relationship with God, and the relationships of his people with God.  We will also look at some of his proverbs and apply that wisdom to our lives.

Reading - We are exploring the different text structures that information writers use to organize their ideas (FYI, they are: descriptive, chronological, comparison, cause & effect, and problem/solution).

Writing - We're putting together all the reasons and evidence we've collected for our persuasive essay.  Next week we will fine tune the presentation of our essays.

Social Studies - We continue to explore the geography of the United States through maps and regions.

Shovels: ALMOST DONE with those lovely shovels. The shovels should return home within the next 2 weeks. 

NO SCHOOL - Both Friday Feb. 14 and Monday Feb. 17 are days off for the students.  Enjoy the extra time together.

VALENTINE EXCHANGE - On Thursday we will be exchanging Valentines with our classmates.  A pink class list came home this week so your child can be sure to create one valentine for each of their classmates.  Thanks for your help with this!

NEED Disinfectant Wipes: If you have room in your grocery budget, we need some more disinfectant wipes in our classroom. Thank you!

Ranch Hands: Would your family be interested in caring for our goats (the wonderful Rosie and Parker) and three chickens (Pearl, Opal, and Mera) on a Saturday or two this spring? It's a pretty simple task to be a ranch hand but does require knowledge of our barn/greenhouse locking system and feeding tasks. We are taking applications! Your child may write a note expressing interest on behalf of your family and bring to the office " applying" for the job! Or you can just email me of your interest at mrynsburger@hollandchristian.org We're looking for five families who respond first to pilot the family partnership. Thank you for embracing the joy or critter bring to the lives of our students!

Swimming Lessons: Our Holland Aquatic Center is providing swim lessons for us again this year! I recognize this program is new for some children and families. Because our children are blessed to be raised in Michigan, surrounded by bodies of water, we believe this safety instruction is a blessing that we pray they will never need but feel responsible to equip them. If you find yourself pondering over the “why” of lessons, please take a listen to HC mom Jenny White on the why for swim safety. HCAC Swim School welcome video will help you understand a bit about the logistics. Our 1st-4th graders will be bused to the pool each day the weeks of April 14-25.

• 9-10am: 1st Grade

• 10-11am: 4th Grade

• 11am-12pm: 2nd Grade

• 12:35-1:35pm: 3rd Grade

Save the Date: Spring Program: March 6 will be our Spring Program held at Christ Memorial from 6:30-7:30.  Your child's teacher will communicate more specifics to you soon.  We're excited to welcome you to an evening of community worship.

Upcoming Dates For Your Family Calendar: 

• Winter Break - February 14 and 17

• Spring Program - March 6 6:30-7:30

• Parent/Teacher Conferences - Thursday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 25

• Spring Break - April 4 - 13

• Swim Lessons - April 14-25 -  [Lessons begin at - 8:50 for 1st grade, 9:50 for 4th grade, 10:50 for 2nd grade, 12:20 for 3rd grade]

• Tulip Time Parade - May 8