Happy Christmas!

Mrs. Green's 4th graders present their version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Check back later for some original Christmas stories! 

Student of the Week--Carson

Introducing Carson!

Carson is a well-rounded student who enjoys doing well in the classroom as well as staying active with his friends.  "He is friendly, athletic, and has lots of friends," says one classmate.

"He is an individual because he can be a sporty tackler in football, and at the same time, help his friends out." Carson is a great friend.  He is very smart and loves to talk about technical stuff.  "One of his many strengths include his brain."

Carson really loves Tae Kwon Do!  One friend describes Carson: "He is a really funny and nice kid.  Carson does some really cool stuff that makes him an individual, including Tae Kwon Do.  I think he's a great kid."

"His strengths include reading and being a really good listener.  I chose these because he reads lots of really thick books and he reads them in like three weeks.  I chose listener because he knows a lot."  Because Carson does know a lot about a lot of stuff, he is really good at making up stories and jokes.  One classmate comments, "He is a cool guy and has really cool ideas for pictures."

We Love Carson!

Student of the Week--Elisabeth

Introducing our athletic, artistic friend, Elisabeth!

While Elisabeth's parents gave her a name with a "z" at birth, Elisabeth has recently decided to replace it with an "s."  Elisabeth is active and athletic.  She is always the first girl to get involved in anything that involves toughness, and, as one classmate puts it, "she is so fast." Her favorite sport is softball, but you can also find her on the basketball court this winter in a St. Peter's jersey!

Elisabeth is not your average jock.  While she loves to break a good sweat, she also enjoys reading, writing, and drawing.  Her creative side is very obvious to her classmates:  "I know she is really good at reading because I have seen her read big books."  She is really good at "making up stories" when she is writing. Elisabeth also enjoys drawing when she has free time at home.

"She is an individual because she is really nice and cool.  She even had a limo for her birthday!" says one classmate.  Elisabeth describes her strengths as a "good listener and nice."

"Elisabeth is the most fun girl I've ever seen hang out with us boys."

We love Elisabeth!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving, some of the 4th graders recorded their favorite recipes to share with you. Warning! Some of these will not be appetizing!

The 4th grade wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekly STORM Chaser

This update brought to you by Bradley!

Fourth grade has been working on an art project with Mrs. Lockrow based on a chinese painting. Remember to turn in your art project to Mrs. Lockrow!

Autobiographies were due on Friday! They look great. Make sure to check them out in our hall this week!

Grandparents Day is Tuesday. We hope to welcome all of our grandparents next week! Remember: you can still get paper flowers from the 5th graders to give to your grandparents--they have really cool colors!

Fourth grade had a vocab and spelling test on Friday. Hope we bring home great grades!

Next week is Thanksgiving. Have a great week with your families and we will see you Tuesday, November 29th!

Student of the Week--Riley L.

Introducing Riley!

"Once there lived a girl named Riley. She was 9 years old. She loves cinnamon rolls and her strengths are that she is funny, nice, and a good friend to people who are nice to her. If someone talks about you behind your back, then you wouldn't want to be friends with them," describes Riley of herself. Her classmates agree! "Riley is so nice. She will do anything for you. She is a great friend."

Riley's strengths include: being kind to others, having a good heart, "she always dresses very colorfully," having a unique personality, and minding her own business. "Riley has a way of trying to make things better."

Her classmates also appreciate that she listens to what other people say. This green-eyed, caramel haired girl has the ability to be loud as well! One of her good friends says, "Honestly, I think she never goes unnoticed."

Riley loves to draw and her friends notice that she "really thinks about stuff" before she puts it to paper. Her favorite color is purple--"that's what she uses a lot in crayon selection," notes a classmate.

"She likes to have peace signs on everything she has, but that's not a bad thing." When Riley is happy, she likes to make other people happy.

We love Riley!

Weekly STORM Chaser

My name is Audrey and I am your blog update person for the week.

We went to TrailWise on Monday and finished our shelter. TrailWise is a field trip that we do once a month. It is a nature field trip. Because we will miss December, we did two TrailWise trips in November. We love being outside for TrailWise!

This week I was the crucifer. We are going in alphabetical order through Mrs. Green's class first and then Mrs. Gallagher's class. I am in Mrs. Green's class in fourth grade. We are very loud and we have a lot of crazy people in our class.

Reminders:

Grandparent's Day is next Monday, November 22nd! Don't forget to order your flowers from the 5th graders to show your grandparents how much you appreciate them!

Watch and share our video with grandparents!

We will start working on Young Southern Writer's Contest entries this week. This will be a step by step process of building a larger work--we will work on it in class and at home!

Autobiographies will be completed this week in time for Grandparent's Day

It isn't too late to sign up for Basketball!! Please email Mrs. Green with any questions: bgreen@stpeters.org

If you missed the town hall meeting on Tuesday, you can catch a glimpse of what you missed by tuning in to this video:

Student of the Week--Cannon

Introducing our resident guitarist, duct tape extraordinaire, and foreign accent specialist, Cannon!

Cannon is a very funny student who takes delight in entertaining his classmates. His classmates are very grateful for this entertainment and his teachers "try to make him sit and be quiet a lot of the time," writes one classmate. "Cannon is a wild, crazy, interesting child. His strengths are entertaining himself, entertaining others, and being wild."

Cannon also has a propensity to create with duct tape. "Cannon's strength is making stuff strong with duct tape," as well as creating wallets, bags, belts, hats, pants, pencil toppers, hacky sacks, etc. with duct tape. Last year, Cannon and Max (5th grade) raised money for Emily's Power for a Cure by selling their duct tape creations, which were a hit at school.

He writes about himself (spoken in a French accent), "Our student of the week is a swell and handsome boy who loves the power of accents. His strengths include those that are related to duct tape. Although I haven't met this boy, I have heard that he loves Bob Dylan."

Keep your eyes and ears open! Cannon has been voted "Most Likely to be Famous" by his classmates because of his guitar interests.

We love our crazy Cannon!

Weekly STORM Chaser

4th Grade Weekly Update

Because this week was a little crazy in the 4th grade (we had 3 different substitutes this week!), we didn't get to assign a blog updater. We will definitely be back next week with the STORM Chaser and guest reporter Bradley!

Until then, here are a few reminders:

TrailWise tomorrow morning 9-12. A BIG thank you to all our parents who are driving and staying tomorrow as Mrs. Gallagher is a bit sub-par after her dental work Friday. We will be working on finishing our shelter that we began last time.

Basketball signups are due. If you would like to play basketball for our STORM team, please send in your basketball signups! We would love to have a great showing for 4th grade participation! Practice may begin after Thanksgiving and games will start after we return from Christmas break. If you have questions regarding athletics, please email Ms. Blaes at bgreen@stpeters.org

Autobiographies are in the making! We need each student to bring in a picture of themselves and a picture of their hero for a display we are working on for grandparents day.

Young Southern Writer's Contest information went home last week. We will begin working on these in class and start a writing process that will take several steps while we build a prose piece for the contest. This is a great exercise in building a longer piece of written work.

Hope you all remembered to Fall Back and reset your clocks for daylight savings!

We are looking forward to a great week in 4th grade!

If you haven't already, check out our Grandparent's Day video below!

Student of the week--Lauren R.

Introducing....Lauren R.!

Our student of the week is Lauren R. She is described by her classmates as, "a kind friend who doesn't aggravate anyone." Her strengths include being a good listener, being nice, behaving nicely, and being a good sport. Her classmates appreciate that she "makes her own choices, likes what she likes, and doesn't worry about what others do." One time Kali and Lauren pretended to make a movie--they forgot to get it on tape, though!

Lauren's favorite color is yellow and she especially loves the book Tuck Everlasting. She hopes to one day visit Hawaii and she really enjoys her steak medium. One of her classmates notes: "She draws a lot when we have indoor recess." Is there art in Lauren's future? Among art, Lauren's strengths include "getting her journal done fast," "never tells lies," and "standing up for herself and saying sorry if she needs to, which is a really good strength to have." Generally, Lauren's classmates agree that when Lauren is happy, she is trying to make other people happy.

Lauren loves art and a classmate noted, "Lauren is a quiet girl, but when Lauren colors, she loves to use bright colors." Lauren describes herself as funny, nice, and kind. She loves art and she also loves to dance; she has taken dance at Karen Horton School of Dance for almost 6 years!

We Love Lauren!

Grandparent's Day Video

Please share this movie with anyone interested in Grandparent's Day 2011. Our 4th graders are excited to show you what we're all about at St. Peter's!

Weekly STORM Chaser

4th Grade Update

Written by: Kali

Our school days haven't changed very much. The only thing that has really changed is our morning schedule. Instead of there being Science for Mrs. Green's class, there is History, and now Mrs. Gallagher's class has Science.

This Saturday there is a volleyball tournament at the North River YMCA. Go St. Peter's STORM!

On Wednesday, we went to TrailWise. We had to build a shelter this time. It was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. We made the shelter out of sticks that we had placed on a log that was leaning on a rock. We didn't finish it yet, but we will next time we go to TrailWise. We always learn a lot from Mr. Mark Warren! Our grade goes all together instead of splitting into two groups. There were a lot of advantages and disadvantages for there being such a big group. The first advantage was that there was a lot of people and I thought it would make us finish fast. The first disadvantage was that we didn't work as a team very well. The next advantage was that we collect sticks very fast. But then people started playing instead of working. Mr. Mark made us work again by gathering us all up so he could tell us that we weren't working as a team. Then all of us went back to work. We really got far!

It was a chilly morning, but we didn't care!

We looked at a model before we started to build our own shelter.

Elizabeth tested out the strength of our forked ridge branches.

We carried our own ridge branch and used the rock to set it up.

Adding A-frame branches for the sides of the shelter.

Teamwork took us a lot further than individual efforts.

That is a lot of sticks!

Adding the side structure. Next week, we'll add leaves for insulation!

Upcoming Events

Report cards went home in Friday folders--Please sign and return them!

TrailWise next week--Please return permission slips on Monday!

President Reports are due Wednesday, November 2nd. The more you work at home, the more we can help in class! Be sure to bring in any work so we can edit.

Autobiographies will be due Friday, November 18. Be on the lookout for information! We will do a lot of the writing work in class.

Book Reports are due Wednesday, November 30. Make reading a nightly habit!

We will be participating in the Young Southern Writer contest. These short narratives will be due Wednesday, December 7. Don't fret! We will send home all information later.

Special Thanks! To our parents who volunteered their time this afternoon to our Halloween Party. We appreciate you and your creative ideas!

Check back next week for a surprise video that we are ALL working on!

Student of the Week--Audrey

Introducing...."Audikewes!"

"Our student of the week is a funny person. Her name is Audrey and she has many strenghts. One of them is being nice to her friends and another is being nice to both friends when they're in a fight. She is an individual because no one is quite like her." --Kali

Audrey has many strengths, including being "funny, nice, smart, and fun to be around." One student very insightfully stated, "I think what makes her Audrey is that she really does have a good imagination and she has a great sense of humor."

Audrey loves elephants and her favorite movie is Matilda. She has been recognized by her classmates as smart and good in school, although she claims, "I am very quiet and sometimes I like to learn but not most of the time." Her classmates appreciate her quite disposition, however, and recognize that it makes her an individual: "She is an individual by being quiet and what makes her different because not a lot of people know how to be not noisy." In the fourth grade, Audrey's quiet nature is golden!

We love Audrey!!

Weekly STORM Chaser

4th Grade Weekly Update
Written by: Carson

Storm's Sport News

The St. Peter's Storm soccer team beat Belvoir Christian Academy 2-1, which put them in 3rd place in the tournament. The fourth graders who played include Lane, Nicholas, Riley H., Justin, Cannon, Dylan, and Duke.

Storm Volleyball team got beat this weekend, but worked hard. Way to go Maddy, Lauren H., and Kali for playing!

The cross country season came to an end last week. Our own Duke placed 1st in the 4th grade division and 3rd overall. Hats off to Carson for improving his time all season!

Recent News

Picture day was Wednesday. We also had our class pictures and team pictures taken Monday and Tuesday.

Get ready for the Photo Fundraiser!!

Hats Off!

Hats off to Cannon, Elizabeth V., and Karleigh for trying out for the Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Little Theatre. The 4th grade plans to come show our support at a December showing!

Upcoming Events

Trailwise next Wednesday morning from 9-12. Look for info and permission slips in Friday folders! Remember to dress appropriately for the weather (pants and a jacket, perhaps).

Report Cards go home next Friday. Congratulations on a great first quarter! Keep working hard!

There is a new yoga class being offered on Friday afternoons. Josh Harris from North Shore Yoga is a wonderful, fun instructor! Please see the sign up sheet in the front office to reserve your spot!

A quick reminder: Please send healthy snacks and lunches with your children! Low sugar and well-rounded meals make a world of difference during the school day. Also, the 4th graders love the yummy, healthy birthday treats we've had so far this year, including pumpkin bars and muffins! Thank you for supporting our school-wide Go Healthy, Go Green movement!

***Each week, a 4th grade student will serve as our guest reporter for the Weekly STORM Chaser (our version of a newsletter). When it is your child's week to report, we will send home guidelines and ideas. This should be a fun way to interact and use our blog, and the kids are all really excited about it!

Student of the Week--Maddy

Introducing.....Maddy. Our very own "volleyball playin', pickle eater!"

Maddy's classmates describe her as very nice and funny. She describes herself as an "easily entertained 9 year old girl who loves the color purple, elephants, and mustaches." Maddy enjoys playing volleyball and spending time with her two dogs, Jasmine and Daisy. One of the things her classmates appreciate most about her is the strength she shows to stand up to bullies. A classmate writes, "I think one of Maddy's biggest strengths is her ability to stand up for herself and other people. I do think she is good at it and that it is something that you need to do so they will back off."

Another classmate writes, "Maddy has a good personality. She is always nice to people. She always makes new friends and never makes anyone sad or mad. Maddy's strengths are that she is a really good listener and she is considerate to everyone in the school. She treats everyone sweet and never lets anyone down. And (of course), she is funny, crazy, and nice."

We Love Maddy!!

Welcome to 4th Grade!

Thank you for your patience as we explore the world of technology communication! The start of the year has been great, and we look forward to growing and learning with our students. Your homeroom teachers are Mrs. Gallagher and Mrs. Green (Ms. Blaes), and we have loved getting to know your children better these past few weeks.

Please keep up with our class blog by subscribing! We will post important reminders, as well as fun and interesting activities that we will do throughout the school year.

A few quick facts to know about 4th grade:

--Students start every morning with a journal entry. As we prepare students for 5th grade and life beyond, we feel it is important that they become comfortable with writing. These journals are not graded, but serve as a measuring tool for progress throughout the year. We encourage students to write a little bit more every day.

--All students stay with their homeroom teacher for Language Arts. In this time, we cover a lot of material, including: spelling, word studies, grammar, handwriting and written expression. Luckily, these are all related to one another!

--Mrs. Gallagher's students have History 1st Quarter, while Mrs. Green's students have Science with Mrs. Bell 1st Quarter. All students will get 2 Quarters of Science and 2 Quarters of History.

--All students have Math for the full year. Because we use the Saxon Math program, the students will be working on the same materials regardless of their teacher (either Mrs. Gallagher or Mr. Tyson). Saxon allows students to move at their own pace through the book.

--All students have Reading with Mrs. Gallagher. We are working on reading for context and recognizing character development. The best way to become a better reader is to read! So, we encourage your child to read nightly. Its a great way to wind down at the end of the day.

--Of course, all students have their extra-curricular classes: PE with Mrs. Green, Spanish with Ms. Hernandez, Library with Miss Parsons, and Music and Computer with Mr. Tyson.

As we prepare students for the more independent structure of the middle school environment, we will begin stressing the importance of time management and organization. Students should come to school prepared and with all necessary materials. They should also begin transitioning to all of their classes with the necessary materials for class.

Please check your child's planner nightly! We are trying to make sure everyone has everything written down before they go home.

Check back soon for some "Day in the Life" updates from your children!