Grade 4 Newsletter
15 September 2006

• The PCMS magazine drive continues next week. Your child can earn some neat prizes by participating, and will benefit from the profits that fund our field trips in the spring. Please help!
  
• A change of plans brought Mr. Donn Fendler to us sooner than expected. Students enjoyed his visit on Thursday. His book, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, which tells the true story of his being lost on Mount Katahdin as a young boy, is available at Mr. Paperback in both Dexter and Dover. (What a great Christmas gift idea!)
  
• Math classes have begun our second unit. It will focus on adding and subtracting large numbers and finding landmark numbers (maximum, minimum, range, mode, and median) for a set of data. Family letters and goal sheets went home with students earlier this week. There’s a great game called Name That Number in the “Games” section in the back of the Student Reference Book. Try playing it with your child. A regular deck of cards will work, just remove the face cards.
  
• In language arts we have been reading stories in our anthology and chapter books related to our first theme, It’s Cool. It’s School! Some favorite authors discovered so far are Johanna Hurwitz, Beverly Cleary, Dick King-Smith, Barbara Robinson, and Clyde Robert Bulla. Books by these authors can also be found in the Guilford Public Library. Check it out with your child. It’s a great place to read!
  
• Remember to look at your child’s assignment book each night, determine if all work has been accomplished, and sign it. A good idea is to pack the binder, all homework, PE clothes, etc. back into the book bag before bedtime. Place it near the door so it will be all ready in the morning.
  
• Want an easy way to support our school? PCMS participates in the Box tops for Education program. All you have to do is cut those tops from products you use and send them in to school in a baggie. They are used to purchase playground toys for recess. Get your extended family and neighbors to save them too!