November 2015
4th Grade
Media Elementary School
Room 326
610-627-6843
Mrs. Williamson’s
November 2015 Newsletter
Conferences
Parent -Teacher conferences will be
held on Nov. 23 and 24. If you have not yet
signed up for a conference online, please do
so this week. The link to sign-up for
conferences is on the Media School Web
Page. As of today, all evening conferences
have been taken, but there are many morning
and afternoon time slots available on
Tuesday, Nov. 24.
As the weather continues to get
cooler, please make sure your child wears a
sweatshirt or jacket to school and has it
available for recess. The classroom can be
cool, too. Students are welcome to keep a
sweatshirt in their lockers to use in the
classroom as needed.
November Curriculum
Language Arts
We are in the midst of our second
reading unit, Navigating Nonfiction. Students
are reading self-selected nonfiction books at
their Just Right level.
In writers workshop we are working on
an essay writing unit. Students are doing a
great job organizing their thoughts into
cohesive sentences, crafting opening
paragraphs, supporting details, and good
closing or summarizing paragraphs as well.
Each day, students read for at least
30 minutes in class. They are responsible for
logging this time in their blue reading log.
Homework is to read for another 30 or
more minutes at night, and log this reading in
as well. As of today, all students should have
read and logged in at least 2300 minutes.
E-Mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
Students turn in their reading logs
each Monday. When I check logs, I look to
see if students are on target. If a child is not
on target, I note that in their reading log and
they should be putting in extra effort at home
to catch up. KidBiz is also homework every
week (2 per week scoring 75% or higher
on the FIRST attempt) and MAY also be
logged in as reading at home. As of today,
students should have completed 12 or more
KIDBIZ articles.
Math
We are completing the third unit in
Math multiplication. Topic 3 test will be
this Friday, Nov. 6. Topic 4, which follows,
is more multiplication. This is where it is
really important that all students know their
multiplication facts. Please help your child
master their basic multiplication and division
facts – a few minutes a night makes a huge
difference in mastery! All students are taking
part in a math fact reinforcement program in
class called Tools for Success. We have one
fabulous parent volunteer and could sure use
some more help on any day but Thursdays
from 10:15 to 11 AM. Free training is
provided.
Social Studies
The Geography Dioramas were
FANTASTIC!! Students did a great job
creating them and sharing what they learned
with classmates.
We will finish chapter 3 in Social
Studies in a few days and are about to begin
a two week unit on Pennsylvania in class.
Every 4th grade class in the US studies their
own state in 4th grade and to support this
study, all 4th Grade Students in the
Website: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
November 2015
4th Grade
Media Elementary School
COUNTRY are granted FREE ADMISSION
to any federal land or water in the United
States, during their 4th grade year – what a
fantastic opportunity!!
To participate, go to:
everykidinapark.gov to download
passes and to get more information. I sure
wish one of my kids were still in 4th grade (I
think…).
Date Savers:
Nov. 11
Picture Re-Take Day AM
Nov. 17
Parent Visitation Day
Nov. 20
Progress Reports Issued
Nov. 23
Regular day for students,
Conferences 5:00 to 8:00 PM
Nov. 24
No school for students
Conferences 8:30 AM to 8:00PM
Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 – No School
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
Homework is as follows:
Reading: 30 minutes of independent
reading a night, every night; ONE response
activity in the Yellow Response Journal due
Fridays each week; KidBiz – 2 or more
articles and activities per week, scoring 75%
or higher on the first attempt, due Mondays.
Math – a math page* per night, Monday
through Thursday and at least 30 minutes on
Khan Academy per week.
Science or Social Studies homework MAY
be assigned from time to time and could
include a project, study guide completion or
studying notes for a test.
Each week I keep track of homework
completion in all areas, and as noted at Back
to School night, this information is used to
complete the progress reports throughout the
year.
• I have told my math students that if
math homework takes LONGER than
30 minutes, please STOP and let me
know that the next day.
E-Mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
Room 326
610-627-6843
BOOK CLUBS
Scholastic Book Club order forms will
be sent home from time to time with a due
date noted. If you would like to order any
books, please complete the form, noting your
child’s name, and include a CHECK made
out to Scholastic Books for the exact amount
of money, and send it to school in an
envelope in your child’s folder. 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 school until you can
pick them up. They make great gifts and you
can’t beat the prices anywhere!
SNACKS
Snack time is at 10:15 AM. Students
may bring in a healthy snack like fruit, carrot
or celery sticks, granola bars, crackers or
pretzels to eat in the morning; nothing that
needs a spoon or fork, nor takes
a long time to eat. Students
are responsible for getting
their snack out of their
lockers before 9 AM and
having them in their desk.
Guest Readers
If you are willing to come in and read
to the whole class, we have many slots for
guest readers on Friday Afternoons, from
3:15 to 3:30. You may bring your own book
or use one of ours.
Please call or email me if you would
like to come in and read to the class on any
Friday afternoon that we are in school. The
students LOVE having their parents come in
as our GUEST READERS!
Website: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
November 2015
4th Grade
Media Elementary School
Class Website
My Web Site for notices, projects,
homework, and general information is as
follows: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson
I update the site frequently.
Please sign-up for E-Alerts so you are
notified every time a page has
been updated. Directions are
below: Registering for E-Alerts
To do this, please do the
following:
1. Go to your schools website:
www.rtmsd.org – Click your child’s school
from the drop down menu.
2. Please sign into the website now using
your Sign-In Name and password. If you
don’t have an account, click the Register
button and create one.
3. Once signed in, you will need to click on
the My Account – Edit Account Settings
link that appears at the top right of the page.
4. You will now see your profile displayed
and available to edit if necessary. Look for
the Subscriptions tab on the left.
5. Click Manage Subscriptions
6. Put a check in the school pages your
children attend, Click Other Areas of
Interest for additional choices
7. Please select any additional pages that
may apply to you or your child/children, for
example: teacher page(s), athletic page(s),
Weekly Packets at Elementary Schools, etc.
8. Scroll to the very bottom and click on I’m
Done. You will now be set to receive
important alerts from our website. Thank you
very much for helping us to provide
E-Mail: swilliamson@rtmsd.org
Room 326
610-627-6843
exemplary communication to our parents and
students.
9. Delete your account when your students
have left the district.
KHAN ACADEMY DIRECTIONS
1. KHANACADEMY.ORG
2. Students use their google email:
lastnamefirst initial@rtmsd.net
Password is the lunch #
3. Our class code is RDXVCJ, but they
are all already setup for our class.
4. Students should be working on math
activities each week. AFTER they
have completed at least 30 minutes of
regular math, they can (if they
choose) do programming or other
areas).
Pearson Math Program website
information:
Website: www.pearsonrealize.com
Information includes review of daily math
lessons, videos, and the actual homework
pages assigned.
Click on SIGNIN at the top of the screen
Student logins are lastnamefirstinitial@rtmsd
Password = cat123
Go to PROGRAMS
- TOPIC (chapter #)
- LESSON (lesson # - on workbook
pages)
- Choose Student Edition –this is
where the pages we do in class plus
homework pages are.
Have a safe and
Happy
Thanksgiving.
Website: www.rtmsd.org/swilliamson