March 27

In preparation for the Easter Season students will participate in a school-wide Reconciliation Service (Monday) and individual Reconciliation time (Wednesday).  On Friday, we will go to the Greenwood library. Let me know if you would like to join us. 

Plastic Bottles! If you haven’t done so please send in a plastic bottle for our Bottle Buddy Project. 

Snack Drive: Our middle school Missionary Disciple elective team is asking for donations of individually wrapped snacks to help those in need.

Safe Environment: This week we will teach our second Safe Environment lesson to the fourth graders.  Through this lesson, we reinforce the parent’s message about boundaries and secrets. Learning Outcomes are below

§  Identify the boundary differences between secrets, surprises, and promises 

§  Understand the safety rules with regard to secrets and promises: 

o Say “No!” when someone tries to make you keep a secret regarding safety 

o Try to leave the situation if you feel uncomfortable
o Tell a safe adult as soon as possible (even if it didn’t happen to you) 

  • §  Technology component: Understand similar boundary rules apply for Online activities, too 
  • §  Begin to understand that if anybody does make them keep a secret, gives them an unsafe touch or shows them inappropriate material, it isn’t the child’s fault 

If you choose to opt out of this lesson please complete the attached form. 

Planning Ahead

Monday, March 27, 9 am Reconciliation Service

Wednesday, March 29, Individual Reconciliation

Friday, March 31, 8:30 Stations of the Cross–Greenwood Library 10:30

Sunday, April 2nd Palm Sunday –Holy Week begins

Friday, April 7th, Noon Dismissal for Easter Break

January 17

Religion: This week we will focus on the meaning of the mission statement of St. John School and how it relates to the 10 commandments.

St. John School is a welcoming Catholic community, committed to celebrating diversity and inspiring moral development, academic excellence, and the courage to act for the common good

Second Step: Students identify and demonstrate how perspective-taking skills influence empathy, their relationships, and their own thoughts and actions.

Reading– Wonder(Literary text)  and Washington State History (informational text

Wonder: RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

Washington State

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.

Washington State History Reading H1.4.2 Examine how the following themes and developments help to define eras in Washington state history since time immemorial to 1889:  Growth of northwest coastal, Puget Sound, and pla- teau tribes prior to treaties (time immemorial to pre- sent) 

 Math: Division  4.NBT.6 Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

Vocabulary LY- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.B. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph). 

Grammar Capitaliation

Science: The Birth of Rocks In this lesson, students will investigate how differences in lava types explain differences in the shape and eruption patterns among volcanoes. In the activity, Bubble Trouble, students compare two different types of “lava” — thin and thick. They use this information to figure out why volcanoes have different shapes and how the type of lava explains why some volcanoes explode.

January 9

Religion: This week we will focus on the meaning of the mission statement of St. John School. 

St. John School is a welcoming Catholic community, committed to celebrating diversity and inspiring moral development, academic excellence, and the courage to act for the common good

Reading– Wonder and Non-Fiction Text Structures

RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

 Math: Division  4.NBT.6 Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

Vocabulary CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.B. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph). 

Grammar CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2.C. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. 

Science: The Birth of Rocks In this lesson, students explore the past and present pattern of where volcanoes exist on the earth. In the activity, Mapping Volcanoes, students plot volcano locations on a world map and look for patterns. Students analyze these maps to discover that volcanoes form a “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean.