Short but Sweet Weekly Blog Post

 Hi Everyone,

Today marks the end of our first quarter.  The school year is passing quickly!  I can't believe we made it through our first quarter of distance learning! Some days I don't think we will make it, and others, I cannot believe how far we have come! We had such a fun week with Halloween and science experiments. Have I told you I think your kids are the BEST?  😊 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will begin our Nonfiction unit
• Math:  We will continue working on multi step addition problems. 
• Social Studies:  We will continue with science investigations

It's been a delight to visit with so many of you at conferences.  Thank you for taking time to talk with me about your child's progress!  Thank you for being vested in your child's social, emotional, and educational development.

Don't forget...the kids don't have school Monday or Tuesday due to Teacher Work Days.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Weekly Updates

Hello parents and Happy Friday! 

We have made it through another week of distance learning!  Today we were able to take a 'Virtual Field Trip' to Jamestown. Mrs. Shannon from the Jamestown museum came into our class this morning and taught us about Jamestown, the Powhatans, and showed us some of their artifacts. It was a great introduction into the colonization of Jamestown, which we will begin studying next quarter. Make sure you ask your child about it! 

I do not have too much other news to share, but below, you will see a few updates for next week.

No School :

Reminder that  Monday, October 26th is a Staff Development Day, so there will be no school or Morning Meeting that day. 

Fall Conferences:

This Friday we conclude the 1st Quarter! Where has the time gone? I would like to meet with each family for a conference to go over student progress, and see how distance learning is going for everyone. These meetings will take place over google meet, a similar process as the meetings we held in August before the 1st day of school. Fall conferences will take place the last week of October. I will have several options available, and sign ups will be scheduled through Volunteer Spot. Please click HERE to sign up for a 15 minute conference. If none of these days or times work for you, please reach out and let me know. We will work together to find a time that will work with both of our schedules.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Writing:  We will work on our Personal Narrative Unit. The students have chosen the picture of the event in their life they want to focus on and begun writing their draft. We will continue to work through the writing process.  

• Math:  We will work on addition and subtraction. Students should be able to create and solve multi step addition and subtraction problems. 

• Science:  We begin our  very first science unit on Scientific Investigations. 

I hope you all have a nice weekend! I plan to spend mine on the ball field and getting my youngest ready for school next week. He will be filtering in with the hybrid K-2 kids. So haircuts and new shoes are on my to do list! I am not sure he is going to know what to do when I make him put on real clothes next week! 😆

As, always, please reach out with any questions or concerns. 

Weekly Update

Hello Fourth Grade Families, 

It is hard to believe that we are wrapping up our sixth week of fourth grade! This class has been so much fun to get to know, and they are doing an incredible job with distance learning. I continue to extend the BIGGEST thank you to each one of you for supporting your student in this challenging time.  

Fall Conferences:

As we head toward the conclusion of the 1st quarter, I would like to meet with each family for a conference to go over student progress, and see how distance learning is going for everyone. These meetings will take place over google meet, a similar process as the meetings we held in August before the 1st day of school. Fall conferences will take place the last week of October. I will have several options available, and sign ups will be scheduled through Volunteer Spot. Please click HERE to sign up for a 15 minute conference. If none of these days or times work for you, please reach out and let me know. We will work together to find a time that will work with both of our schedules.

Chromebook Assistance

Many of you have asked for the Computer support information that was sent out at the beginning of the year. I have put that information in the Resource tab of my blog so you can find it easily when needed. If you have connectivity or computer questions, please reach out to the support center. 

DRA Testing

Next week I will begin administering the DRA Test. This will be done individually with students during the Small Group Time in our schedule. There will be no small groups held next next week due to testing. Students who are not taking the DRA test during this time, should work on their small group work listed on the agenda in Schoology each day.  Not all students will need to be tested. If your child needs tested, I will email you individually with the date and time, so you can make sure your child is logged in. I ask that you do not help or assist your child with this assessment. This is not graded. It helps me get a better understanding of your child's reading level and needs so I can better plan my instruction based on their needs. 

Student Spotlight

Does your child have work he/she is really proud of? Maybe they would like to show off how hard they are working at home, or want to show how they are demonstrating the 3Rs. Upload a picture or short video of his/her work to share with the whole school! Images and videos shared will be featured on the Student Spotlight segments on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the morning announcements. Students may not be featured right away depending on how many submissions have been made.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHvYFBkX7g6SyitfKAjBNTfmfvcHQzDmRB1K31BwsTOzoMxA/viewform

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Writing:  We will work on our Personal Narrative Unit. The students have chosen the picture of the event in their life they want to focus on and begun writing their draft. We will continue to work through the writing process.  

• Math:  We will work on addition and subtraction. Students should be able to create and solve multi step addition and subtraction problems. 

• Virginia Studies:  We will wrap up the five regions of Virginia. The study guide for chapter 1 in the resources in the Virginia Studies course on Schoology. You can also use the book to study as well. It is called Five Ponds Press and can be found in LCPSGO. Your child knows where to find this. The test date is Friday, October 23rd. 

 I hope that you find some time this weekend to unwind. I plan to spend my day on the ball field and then at home getting some much needed things done around my house. I find it difficult to balance home and work with working at home. I am sure many of you can relate. Please reach out if you have any questions or comments. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Weekly Update!

Hello and Happy Sunday!

It feels so nice to have a long weekend. I know you would agree that we have all earned it. The kids have been working very hard and are doing a great job with their online learning. 

Last week we completed our first Reader's Workshop Unit. The students did such a nice job visualizing and discussing the book The Tiger Rising. They really enjoyed the story. Reading the story, discussing and debating events with the students was definitely the highlight of my day. 

Next Writing Unit:

Next week we will begin our first Writing Unit. We will focus on writing Personal Narratives. Over the next few days, I would like the students to gather a small collection of pictures (3-5 photos). These pictures should be of different things that happened to them in their lives. On Thursday during small group time, I will give each of the students an opportunity to share their pictures with the class. This will help me and the other students get to know each other better. It will also provide your child with some ideas of what to write about. Please have their photos ready to share by Thursday, October 15th. 

Fall Conferences:

As we head toward the conclusion of the 1st quarter, I would like to meet with each family for a conference to go over student progress, and see how distance learning is going for everyone. These meetings will take place over google meet, a similar process as the meetings we held in August before the 1st day of school. Fall conferences will take place the last week of October. I will have several options available, and sign ups will be scheduled through Volunteer Spot. Please click HERE to sign up for a 15 minute conference. If none of these days or times work for you, please reach out and let me know. We will work together to find a time that will work with both of our schedules. 

Grade Book and Student Progress

Student progress can be monitored through Schoology and Parentvue. If you want to keep up with work submissions, including overdue or missing assignments, Schoology is the place to go. However, the best way to keep up with assignment grades is through the gradebook in Parentvue. Schoology does have a gradebook feature, but it is not currently synced with our Parentvue gradebook, which is the program we use to calculate report card grades. If you have questions about how to use Schoology or Parentvue to keep up with student progress, this is something we can go over during our fall conference time.

No School :

Reminder that tomorrow, October 12th is Columbus Day. There will be no school. This includes our Morning Meeting. Monday, October 26th is a Staff Development Day, so there will be no school or Morning Meeting that day either. 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Writing:  We will begin our Personal Narrative Unit. The students will share their pictures with the class and identify an event that they would like to focus on to write about. 

• Math:  We will continue rounding numbers this week. The student will round whole numbers expressed through millions to the nearest thousand, ten thousand, and hundred thousand.

• Virginia Studies:  We will continue learning about the five regions of Virginia. The study guide for chapter 1 in the resources in the Virginia Studies course on Schoology. You can also use the book to study as well. It is called Five Ponds Press and can be found in LCPSGO. Your child knows where to find this. The test date is TBD.

Please reach out anytime. I welcome all questions, comments and concerns. 

Weekly Update

 Hi Parents,

What a beautiful Fall weekend it was! I spent most of it outside playing with my kids. It was exactly what I needed. I hope you found time to unwind as well. 

Last week we completed the Reading part of the MAP test. YAY! Your children did such a nice job. I know those tests can be challenging. I do realize that one of the hardest things to do is to watch your child take a test. It is both challenging for the parents to watch their child struggle at times, and for the child to try and work through their frustration. I appreciate you not assisting your child. These assessments provide much needed data for me on where your child is academically. I will use these results to guide my instruction and create groups. It is important that I get the most accurate data on your child. 

MAP Testing:

This week we will begin the MAP Math test. If your child takes the assessment with me, they will begin on Tuesday. We will test from 10:15-11:15 am. I am hopeful that since we have done this last week, we can fly through this one in a day or two. If something arises and we must extend that time, I will let you know. 

Reading Logs:

I have introduced your child's reading log to them. I have also posted this in the Reading Course in Schoology. I have asked the students to record their reading on it each day. They are welcome to print it out or download it and type using text boxes on it. If you do not have a way to print it, just please have your child record their reading on another piece of paper. I will be asking to see these at times and they will be part of their participation grade. The expectation at this time, is that your child is reading at least 30 minutes a day and recording it. I have discussed with the students that they should be reading chapter books at some point in the week. These books will provide them with a lot more storyline and information to decipher. 

Missing Assignments:

Please make sure your child is checking Schoology each day to make sure they have no missing assignments. You can also access your child's Schoology account through ParentVue. When you log into ParentVue, Schoology will be on the left hand side in the menu. You can also access their gradebook from there as well. I have walked the students through finding their work in Schoology several times. Hopefully this will make it easier for them to track their assignments and see their scores once I have graded them. 

No School Next Monday:

Reminder that next Monday, October 12th is Columbus Day. There will be no school that day. 

1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports:
1st Quarter Interim Progress Reports ("interims") will be issued Wednesday, October 7th.  If your child receives an interim, it will be emailed to you on Wednesday, October 7th using the email address on file in your ParentVue account.  You can update and/or verify your email address by logging into your ParentVue account.  If you are unable to access your ParentVue account, please contact our school office.  (I'm sorry; I'm not able to help you with this - you must contact the office.)

Please Sign Up for My Remind!
If you haven't yet signed up for my Remind text messaging service, please do so by downloading the Remind app and joining my class.  After you download the Remind app, click "join a class" and enter my class code:  @krivera4.  I send many messages and pictures via Remind.  Please don't miss out and please let me know if you have any questions!

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will continue reading The Tiger Rising. We are noticing the characteristics of the different characters and interpreting the meanings of the events in the story. There will be a quiz tomorrow on chapters 11-20 of the book. 

• Math:  We will begin rounding numbers this week. The student will round whole numbers expressed through millions to the nearest thousand, ten thousand, and hundred thousand.

• Virginia Studies:  We will continue learning about the five regions of Virginia. I have also posted a study guide for chapter 1 in the resources in the Virginia Studies course on Schoology. You can also use the book to study as well. It is called Five Ponds Press and can be found in LCPSGO. Your child knows where to find this. The test date is TBD.

Please reach out anytime with questions, comments or feedback! Have a wonderful evening!