Welcome Back from Thanksgiving Break!

There will not be a spelling test this week  Students are asked to work on the Ghost Writer writing and bottle project.  Directions are on my web page, and students also have a hard copy.  Please have fun and enjoy being creative.  The finished paper and bottle due date is Wednesday, December 5th.

Colonial Day was a huge success due to all of your help.  I am so thankful for all you do to make experiences like Colonial Day happen for our students.  We learned a lot and had fun.

The Holiday Project information is available for you.  The fourth grade is adopting 4 families.  Manzanita families are so generous, and anything you can donate will be appreciated.

Today students learned about string instruments from the Tucson Symphony.  It was such a treat!

I hope all of you had a restful, peaceful, and enjoyable Thanksgiving.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  kasmith@cfsd16.org

Fondly,

Kathy Smith

Biography Bottle Project

Dear 4^th Graders and Families,

Over the past few weeks, our 4^th graders have been researching famous people. The students used the research to ghostwrite a biography about their person. The report contains information about their person’s early life, their education, their family, their accomplishments, and their impact on society.

Now that we have learned all about their famous people, we would like our students to bring his/her famous people to life by creating a bottle biography at home. The inspiration from this project came from Ms. Choate's Classroom that I found on Pinterest. 

A bottle biography is a clean water bottle that is decorated to look like the person they researched. The bottle can be decorated using an actual person or by using creative material to make the face. For example, a small Styrofoam ball with a straw inserted in the bottom makes a good head. You can add yarn for hair, eyebrows, or mustaches. The details your child adds to the bottle should depict the character and his/her profession or personality. You can use any type of art medium to create their clothing or details. The bottom of the bottles can just be plain or you can add shoes or feet. The possibilities are endless. 

Creating a quality project will take time. You may need to let the head dry between paintings or adding details, so you will need to create a plan for getting your project done. This is not the kind of project that you can wait to do the weekend before it is due. Your completed bottle biography is due in class on December 5^th, 2012. We will share our writing and biographies on that day between both classes and students will try to identify who each person is.

Here are some links to other classes that have done the project. Their pictures will give you some good ideas about all the different ways you can bring your person to life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smcl/4390976720/in/photostream/

http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/AChoate1/our.cfm?subpage=1417626

Have fun with the project. Email us if you have any questions.

Mrs. Moricz and Ms. Smith

Turkey Time Is Approaching!

Spelling Words for Test on Friday, November 16
Focus:  prefix un
unafraid, unbeaten, unbutton, uncertain, uncomfortable, uninteresting, unknown, unspoken, unused, unwelcome, an, can, we, when
Challenge Words:  uncle, unconscious, unite, unreasonable

Vocabulary root test on Tuesday, November 13 (arch, cracy/crat, theo,the/dia, di)

Colonial Day is Tuesday, November 20. It is almost here.  In order to get into the Colonial spirit, we are asking children to dress up.  Please do not feel the need to purchase any clothing.  We ask that all students wear closed-toed shoes.  Here are some things your child can wear:
Girls:  *shawl or cardigan, long dress, button down blouse & long skirt
Boys:  *black or dark colored pants (or jeans), button down shirt
Please don't forget to bring your supplies.  You are the best!

Today we had an important lesson on "Internet Safety" from Mrs. Fletcher, the counselor.  Your child is bringing home a letter today with information that was presented.  Please discuss this with your child, as all of us want children to be safe.

Thanks for all you do to help this be a wonderful school year.
Kathy Smith

A Great Big Thank You

All of the parent support is absolutely amazing.  Thank you so much.

Northeast Region States and Capitals Test is Thursday, November 8 (Smith) and Friday, November 9 (Moricz)  Packets for both classes are due Friday, November 9.

meter, bio, log/logue, and mono root test on Tuesday, November 6th.

Book Fair is the week of November 12.

Colonial Day is Tuesday, November 20.

Thanks so much for all you do to make this a fantastic year for our children.

Kathy Smith