June Newsletter

ELA

Reading:

Ø  Students are beginning our last unit in Journeys! The format stays the same for our lessons but we’ll be using magazines and a chapter book titled Phineas L. MacGuire…Gets Slimed!

Ø  We will not be having any reading logs during the month of June but I ask you still have your student read 30 minutes a night.

Writing:

Ø  We’ll finish our autobiographies and write some informational text for next year’s 4^th graders.

Assessments:

Ø  We will still have our spelling and reading assessments Friday mornings as usual. 

Math

Getting Ready for 5^th Grade:

ü We will continue with our exposure lessons to 5^th grade material. Many students have commented how excited they are for 5^th grade math because they can do it already!

ü Mrs. Schram, our district math coach, will come in to teach a lesson on toilet paper area and perimeter

Reflex:

ü  Our class logs on to Reflex math fluency twice a week. For maximum benefit they should do another 20-30 minutes at home. Many math skills are dependent on fact knowledge!

Social Studies

Chapter 5 American Revolution

v Students will learn the important dates and events of the American Revolution and how it affected NYS.

Chapter 6 NYS Government

v Students will find out how New Yorkers take part in their local and state government

v Students will find out what it means to be a US citizen

v Students will learn how NYS was effected by various water ways and means of transportation

Reminders

6/1 – NYS Science written exam

6/5 – Junior Achievement

6/11 – Mabee Farm trip

6/12 – Flag Day assembly & 11:00 dismissal

6/16 – field day

6/19 – 4^th Grade picnic 9:00-11:00

11:00 dismissal

6/24 – Last day of school ~ 11:00 dismissal

I'm back....

Dear parents,

I am so happy to be back teaching your amazing students. I missed them dearly while I was out snuggling my little ones. If you didn't hear I had a little boy named Noah. :)

While I was out Mrs. VanDeCar did an amazing job keeping the routine and structure of the classroom the same. She also did an excellent job keeping pace to make sure all topics could be covered by the end of 4th grade (all this without  the advantage of shadowing me like we planned).

The end of the year is coming up quick. May and June are very busy times. Please keep an eye on the blog (http://mrscushmansclass.blogspot.com) and my newsletter for important dates.

As a reminder:

5.19 - Budget vote / Celebrate Reading Night
5.20 - Science performance test & PTA meeting in library 6:30
5.22 - No school
5.25 - No school
5.26 - District level achievement test (ELA)
5.27 - District level achievement test (math)
5.28 - Albany field trip ** this is a change in date!!

Maternity Leave

Dear Parents and Families,

          As you know, I will be out on maternity leave soon. Mrs. Jean VanDeCar will fill in during my absence. She has been with our district as a daily substitute in past years and is currently filling a sick leave within our building. This makes for a smooth transition to our classroom! She is very familiar with building procedures, our students and Shatekon’s rules.

          I believe she is going to be a great fit for our classroom! We have already begun discussing how our classroom is run and you can expect minimal changes in routines and expectations. She will be in to observe our class to familiarize herself with our routines, students and curriculum content.  I have supplied Mrs. VanDeCar with many notes concerning our students individual needs as well.

I do plan on returning for the end of the school year and we will work together again to create a smooth transition. I look forward to returning to finish off a great year with your students!

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to take a moment to wish all of my families a very happy, healthy and restful winter break. I learned about so many traditions your families will be / have been participating in and they all sound wonderful. Enjoy the time together and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Community Assembly

The Behavior Team is planning our next upcoming assembly in January.  Our theme of this assembly is “You Make a Difference”.  As part of our community building at Shatekon and reminding all that we are all H.E.R.E. (helping everyone reach excellence) together, we are putting together a short video.  We are looking for pictures of our students helping others in the community.  This can be here in our Shatekon community or out and about in neighborhoods, food drives, scouting events etc. 

Please send all pictures to me if you have any asap. Happy Holidays!!!!

Concert Preview

We were lucky enough to get a preview of the winter concert. Check it out!!

Concert Update

The new day for the concert is Monday, 12/15/14, at 7:00 pm, in the Shatekon Gym. Chorus students should arrive around 6:30 to make sure their families get a seat, and Mrs. Grebe will take responsibility for the singers at 6:45 pm, at which time she will invite them to come up to the risers to warm up and get ready for our concert.