Mrs. Williamson
Media Elementary School Room 326
610-627-6843
th
Mrs. Williamson’s 4 Grade
Newsletter for September 2015
Fourth Grade
Welcome!
SUPPLIES
Welcome back to school and to
Fourth Grade! We are all setup and ready to
go and looking forward to working with your
children this year.
I was glad to meet many of you at
your homes in August and to see many of
you at the Open House. I look forward to
seeing all of you in the near future. I am
sure it will be a wonderful and exciting year.
This is my first monthly newsletter for the
year; you can expect one on or about the
first of each month, through
June. I will usually focus on
curriculum and special
events for the month. I will
also post this newsletter
on my website.
We welcome
Miss Evans, our
student Teacher from
West Chester University.
Miss Evans was at Media
last year when she participated in the
Reading Practicum. Miss Evans is very
excited for this school year to start and to be
working with your children. She has four
siblings, a kitten, and a dog named Ziggy!
She comes from a very close knit family who
is from Media! She loves to play all sports,
especially soccer and enjoys running half
marathons. She cannot wait for this school
year to begin.
Our room is air-conditioned, so
please help your children dress accordingly.
If your child complains about cold, a sweater
or sweatshirt may be kept in lockers for use
when needed.
Your child should have a designated
plastic folder for daily homework and graded
tests for you to look at, sign, and return. Thank
you for sending supplies in. If you have not yet
sent everything in, including a set of
headphones or earbuds, please do so as soon
as you can.
E-mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
WEBSITE: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
GRADE 4 SUPPLIES
5 Spiral Notebooks
1 Marble composition book
2 dz sharpened pencils – more needed later
2 yellow highlighters
Zippered Pencil Pouch
12 count box of crayons
8 pads of 3” x 3” post-it notes
6 Dry Erase Markers (Expo preferred)
6 plastic folders (red/blue/green/yellow/orange/purple)
1 plastic pocket folder (take home folder)
2 - 1” binders (only 1 needed unless in Acc. Math)
2 packs dividers with at least 5 tabs each
2 Large Box of tissues
.
Communications
I am very aware of the importance of
open and frequent communications
regarding your child. If you need to speak
with me about anything, please call or email
me and let me know when I can return your
call. Please leave me a number where you
can be reached both during the day and in
the early evening if I am unable to reach you
during school hours. I check my voice mail
when I arrive around 8:00 AM and again at
the end of the day. I can occasionally check
it during the day, but can’t promise that… If
you have an emergency and need to leave a
message, please call the office to speak with
Mrs. Boyer or Mrs. Emmons.
It would be very helpful if you could
Mrs. Williamson
Media Elementary School Room 326
spot check your child’s folder daily for
homework assignments, important
information, and papers to be read and
returned. Please look over, sign and return
all tests and graded materials, which will
be sent home as soon as I grade them. Your
child will be responsible for filing the
returned, signed tests in the classroom after
you have reviewed them with him or her.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
Homework is an important aspect of
school. The homework assignments are
chosen to reinforce skills and learning. It is
beneficial for a child to have a consistent,
quiet place to complete their homework
each evening. All assignments will be written
in the same place, on the front board each
day. Students are responsible for writing
down the day’s assignments in their
Homework Notebook, which has been given
to them. I will initial their books after they
have written down their assignments each
day. If you do not see my initials, then I
haven’t seen your child’s book. Daily
homework includes a math page Monday –
Thursday nights; independent reading for 30
or minutes EVERY night (may include
KidBiz) and word study homework starting in
a week or two. Students should keep their
homework notebooks in their plastic takehome folders each day.
Please take time each evening to
review your child’s assignments and see
that they have completed the work. Your
cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Class Mascot
We will have a Minion as a class
mascot this year. Each child will have an
opportunity to be the Student-of-the-Week
and take the Minion and the mascot’s
journal home with them for a week or so.
More information on the Student-of-theE-mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
610-627-6843
Week will be available at Back-To-School
Night, September 15.
Text Books
Textbooks will be used in social
studies and math. Math homework pages
will be torn out so students do not have to
take their book home.
Back to School Night
Tuesday, September 15th is Back to
School Night. In addition to seeing your
child’s classroom, textbooks, and teacher,
sign-up sheets will be available for
classroom helpers, guest readers, and
guest speakers. I will go over expectations,
major projects, and curriculum for the year.
Please try to attend this informative evening.
I look forward to seeing you.
BOOK CLUBS
Scholastic Book Clubs are an
excellent and inexpensive way to add to
your child’s library and promote good
reading habits. Book club order forms will
be sent home from time to time with a due
date at the bottom. You may also order
online through the link on my website for
Scholastic Books.
Books usually arrive within two weeks
of the due date. If you would like to order
books as a surprise, please let me know and
I will hold the books at until you can pick
them up. They make great gifts and you
can’t beat the prices anywhere!
Our class also benefits from the
purchase of books through classroom
bonuses and teaching aides
and materials. I can
hold book orders if
you’d like to give
books as gifts. Just
let me know.
WEBSITE: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
Mrs. Williamson
Media Elementary School Room 326
Schedules
I will go over the daily schedule with
you at Back to School Night. Our Encore or
Specials run from 11:05-11:55 AM daily. The
schedule is as follows:
Day
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Encore
Library/Guidance
Gym
Music
Art
Gym
Music
Art
Gym
Art
Library/Guidance
Gym
Music
September Curriculum
Language Arts
Our curriculum includes word
study, grammar, reading workshop, and
writer’s workshop. We will work in
flexible groups to best meet individual
needs. We will begin using Writer’s
Notebooks this week. Thank you for
helping your child cover their notebooks.
All Writers’ Notebooks need to be
decorated (covered) by September15. I
will cover them in clear contact paper to
preserve their decorations.
Some student reading levels are
being assessed this month. Once that
information is collected, reading
partnerships will be formed. Students are
reading independently for part of the day,
and will be reading with a partner
beginning next week.
Reading homework is to read for
at least 30 minutes a night, which can
E-mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
610-627-6843
include reading two or more KidBiz
articles and comprehension questions on
the computer (scoring 75% or higher).
per week. I expect all students to write
meaningful Post-it notes while they read
and will collect those each week.
Math
We will begin the year with
multiplication and arrays in our new Math
Envisions program. Homework will begin
this week, and will usually be a practice
page to reinforce that day’s lesson. We
will also be focusing on problem solving
in math and using writing in math as a
communication tool and to explain how
we got answers to specific problems.
Science
We are starting out the year with a
science unit. We will alternate between
science and social studies units
throughout the year. The fist unit this
year is Microworlds. This is a hands-on,
exploratory unit that teaches students
how to use hand lenses and
microscopes to see objects up close and
to observe the world around us.
Class Website
My Web Site for notices, projects,
homework, and general information is as
follows: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
I update the Announcements page
frequently. If you would like to be notified
every time a page has been updated, you
may sign up for E-Alerts through the Media
School page, then choose your child’s
teachers for teacher specific pages. If you
have suggestions for additions or other
features you think may be of interest or
beneficial to others on the site, please let me
know.
WEBSITE: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
Mrs. Williamson
Media Elementary School Room 326
Date Savers:
Sep. 11
Sep. 14
Sep. 15
Sep. 17
Sep. 23
Sep. 29
Welcome Back Potluck
Supper 6-8 PM
School Holiday
Back to School Night
Picture Day
School Holiday
PTG Meeting 7:00 PM
If you have questions about anything at
any time, please, please ask! I am here
to help you and your child in any way
that I can.
Responsive Classroom
& Bucket Filling
Our school district uses Responsive
Classroom in every elementary class.
Responsive Classroom is a research and
evidence-based approach to elementary
education that leads to greater teacher
effectiveness, higher student
achievement, and improved school
climate. Morning Meeting is one
component of RC. As students enter the
classroom, they read and respond to a
message on the board. At 9:00 AM, our day
officially starts with a Morning Meeting. All
students are seated in a circle on the rug.
The meeting starts with a greeting. This
week, we are shaking hands, making eye
contact, and saying “Good morning ___”.
The greeting is passed from one student to
another until all students have been greeted.
As the weeks progress, additional greetings
will be added. This really helps us learn
everyone’s name and shows respect to all.
The next part of Morning Meeting is a
shared reading of the morning message. A
leader points to each word as we all read
along. Students usually respond to the
E-mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
610-627-6843
message in writing before 9 AM and a class
discussion follows.
Sharing is next. Each child will be
assigned one day a week to share. After
sharing, we have a short energizer when
time permits and wrap up with The Pledge of
Allegiance.
Morning Meeting Sharing Schedule:
Monday: Ryan, Lily, Maeve, Angelo
Tuesday: Keira, Tyler, Isamar, Jacob
Wednesday: Morgan, Jack, Jared, John
Thursday: Lois, Aiden R, Hope, Hayden
Friday: Aiden T, Amelie, Maya
On the first day of school I read the
book, “Have You Filled a Bucket” to the
class. The idea is that everyone has a
bucket they carry around with them every
day. Your bucket gets filled up when you are
feeling good about things and yourself –
maybe when you do something nice for
others, or when someone does something
kind for you. However, you dip from your
bucket when you are unkind. In class,
students are encouraged to fill out a little slip
of paper and note who filled their bucket and
how, then place the paper in the BUCKET
FILLER’s bucket.
The buckets are displayed on a
bulletin board in the classroom all year and I
will refer back to “Being a Bucket Filler”
throughout the year.
So if you hear your child talking about
being a Bucket Filler or a Bucket Dipper, you
will know what that means. We want
everyone to be a Bucket Filler in our class
this year!
WEBSITE: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson