Newseum Field Trip

Girls and Parents,

We are going to Washington next Wednesday, April 30, to visit the Newseum.  This field trip provides an opportunity for a wonderful extension of our social studies curriculum.  The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism....featuring such things as the Berlin Wall and an NBC Breaking News newsroom!

The girls should come to our classroom at 6:50 A.M. for attendance.  I know that this is early, but please be on time!  The bus must depart at 7:00 in order for us to be on time for the museum.  
Barring any problems, we should be home on time for carpool.  Mrs. Cockerham will contact parents if we are going to be late.

The girls should wear their field trip uniforms and yellow Fourthie hat.  They will purchase lunch at the Newseum Food Court.  See the menu on on the side of the blog.  Around $10-$12 should be sufficient.  Girls may also bring snacks for the bus; however, they may not bring any electronics.

This should be a fun, educational experience for all of us!

The moon - PIXAR (La luna) full

Hi Girls!

Watch this little video and think about the theme that is being presented.  Who are the main characters?
What kind of relationship do you think they have?
What does the little boy learn from these men?
What do you think they learn from him?
What do you like best about this film clip?
What can you learn from the people in your own life that you love?

Fai-Tea, Fai-To, Boston Tea Party...Hello?

Go USA!  Beat the Brits!  I won a Bronze Medal!  I won a Silver!  I won a Gold!  Sochi, you ask?  No, Roberts M06...8:00 A.M, 9:20, 10:45, 2:00, 5:30PM, 7:30PM....every minute of the day.  These were the cries from MO6 during a recent international math competition with the UK.  The girls were begging for math....a teacher's delight, and no doubt, a parent's also!  We won our Fai-To with our individual school, but alas, the US lost the Fai-Tea to the Brits.

Some comments by the Fai-To competitors....

"I was really surprised when I won the last round.  It was hard because you had to think fast and click the mouse even faster."  Elise Round winner
"It made me do hard math problems in my head."  Another round champion.    Taylor
"I thought that it was cool that we could play other people from all around the world."  Round champion Claire
"I liked the feeling of completing a challenge and knowing that you have done something to help your team win.  Even if your team does not win, you have done something to help."  Round winner Evie
"If you know your basic facts, it helps with more difficult problems."  Katie
"I liked how you're against someone way across the Atlantic Ocean."  Jewell
"I enjoyed it as a friendly competition...playing math games and competing with people that you don't know.  I found games that I really liked."  Ellie
"It was really fun when you finally got your first medal...maybe your first gold.  It makes you happy. Oh my gosh!  I got a gold medal."  Bella
"You may not get it on the first try, but you just have to try hard, and eventually you get the lowest medal, and then maybe the highest one."  Zoe
"There are all different games, and if you don't understand that game, you can go to another, and you can do it over and over again. It's fun."  Lizzie
"I like to have a competition against other people because I love math.  It is my favorite subject."  Mimi
"It was really fun.  Earning points was really satisfying...to contribute to the USA competition."  Reed
"At first I didn't really like it, but the more I played it, the better I liked it."  Cathryn
"It was very challenging, but once you got used to it, then it became a very fun game."  Olivia
"It was really fun to earn medals, and when you got a silver or a gold, then your name would appear, and you would feel really proud seeing your name."  Lane
"I liked trying to beat the Brits."  Emma






Hard at work trying to win the competition.  Not a sound could be heard, except......

when victory was achieved!  Go Evie! Go Fourthies! Go USA!

Innovation, History, Valentines...What's This?

Ssh!  Don't tell....but today, February 18th is really Valentine's Day in the fourth grade.  February 14? Passe!  History is alive and well, and every decade is represented.  We have a refrigerator from the 50s, a race car from the 80s, a spinning top representing how animation and photography have evolved, a laptop from 1981, a disco ball, and the list goes on!  Such energy and creativity in this class!  It is amazing and really fun for all of us.

Engineering, Building, Reading and Art...on Halloween?

How do you mix reading, clay, glue, cardboard, and end up with an engineering project?  Ask your girls!  You know about the first part, right?  Your daughters read mysteries this month, chose a scene to depict in a diorama, and then, in class, they built their own original haunted house!  Some planning went into this  endeavor.  They had to talk about the foundation, and they had to choose which boxes would be sturdy enough to support the structure. Their collaboration was outstanding.  There was genuine concern that every girl's project have visibility.  I shot several videos, so you could see and hear the discussion.  Unfortunately, so far, I have only been able to download two of them.  Tech problems!  Sorry!

If you have a chance, bring your iPhone or iPad, and check out our bulletin board in the hall.  Along with the mystery assignment, the girls wrote settings for spooky pictures.  Then they made a recording which they  downloaded to  a QR Code.  Pretty wild for a fourth grader!  Pretty wild for a fourth grade teacher also!  

Enjoy your free Monday!  I will be at the annual VAIS conference.  It should be a great day of learning for all of us!

Globes and an Astronaut---What? All in One Day!

Dr. Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space, visited St. Catherine's today.  Dr. Sullivan was on three shuttle missions and is a 2004 inductee to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  Dr. Sullivan was not scheduled to meet with fourth grade, but what I could I do when a saw her walking down our hall, but ask her to please say hello to the girls.  They were in awe.  Rachen Sterling was talking to the class about peer pressure, and Dr. Sullivan told them there is even peer pressure as an adult.  The girls were enthralled!  This has been quite a week--Spirit Week, Globe Day, an astronaut visit...plus the girls became official Fourthies today.  There will be more on that later!

We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands!

What a wonderful morning of Fourthie fun!  The girls loved having the parents help with the globe making this morning.  They were so excited and could hardly wait to join you on the Greentop.  St. Catherine's is a school of traditions, and this is a big one for fourth grade.  Kemper Young, an upper schooler, came by the classroom this morning, and was thrilled to hear the girls talk about Globe Day.
She remembered it fondly!  Keep all of this joy in mind when you are helping your daughters position the continents on these spheres!  Don't worry, we have some learning to do before that happens!

Craziness and More Craziness....It's Spirit Week!

Lots of crazy fun in the classroom

today!  Amidst all of this action, we still solved problems in geometry, read Number the Stars, did some writing and some discussing, learned some new words, but most of all we had a crazy day!

Spatial Problem Solving-All in a Day's Work

Fabulous Friday was truly a fabulous Friday, as we had our second spatial problem solving day.  The girls rotated through several different types of spatial activities.  These included spatial puzzles, metal loop puzzlers, block puzzles, sudoku cubes, card games, and SmartBoard activities.  They are beginning to learn that there are many different ways to think creatively and solve problems!
What a great group of girls!

What

Fun with Polygons

Our first unit of exploration in math is geometry.  The past few days we have been working with angles and polygons.  Today we made a giant polygon!  The girls collaborated in small groups, and then they worked together to make a fabulous polygon.

What Roberts' Girls Love About Fourth Grade

We have only been in school for five days, but here are a few comments about the first five days in Fourth Grade.

"I like dance class!"    Mimi
"We are going to have a great year because we have a really good teacher."  Lane
"I am excited about being able to do carpool."  Claire
"I like being a leader, and I like the freedom we have this year!"  Evelyn
"It's fun being the leader of the school."  Elise
"My favorite thing about being a Fourthie is being with Mrs. Roberts."  Emma
"I am excited about fourth grade, and I think it will be my best year in the Lower School."  Bella
"I like the Skittles!"  Cathryn
"I like raising the flag in the morning and taking it down."  Lizzie
"I like being a leader of the Lower School."  Ellie
" My favorite part of being in Fourth Grade is Mrs. Roberts."  Olivia
"I like the fun things we do in this class!"  Reed
"We are like the point of a pencil when it is sharpened, and we have good days.  The pencil shrinks on not-so-good days. The teacher helps to make it better."  Zoe
"I like being a Fourthie because of all the cool things you get to do like doing carpool, reading in chapel, and being a leader of the Lower School."  Katie
"I like doing carpool duty."  Jewel
"I like being a leader of the lower school because you can be a good role model for the smaller kids."  Taylor

Our Girls Raising the Flag

Swimming in September

                                                                                                September 9, 2013

Dear Parents,

            On Tuesday, September 17, your daughter will begin the swimming unit of her Physical Education class.  The classes will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday through September 27.  If there is a deviation from the schedule, the girls will be notified.

            Swimming is a wonderful fall activity; however, there are a few pointers to remember.  Your daughter should come to school wearing a one-piece swimsuit under her school clothes.  She should bring a swimming bag in which she stores her underwear (in a plastic, Ziploc bag, please), towel, swim cap, goggles, hairbrush, and a healthy snack, as well as anything else she may need. This next item may not apply because of the current warm weather, but tights are a troublesome piece of clothing to put on after being in the pool, so it is recommended that they not be worn on swimming days.

            This year the girls will swim from 8:00-8:45. Upon arrival at school, the girls can drop their backpacks in the classroom, then go to the playground, as usual.  When they are dismissed from the playground, the class will walk to the Kenny Center for swimming.  We are looking forward to a wonderful two weeks of swimming!

           

           

Sincerely,

Pam Roberts

Raising the Colors!

It's Friday, and already what a whirlwind of a week!  Today the Fourthies learned the process of raising the flag and taking it down at the end of the day.  Each girl will have this responsibility, together with three classmates, for a week.  The girls were very respectful and also excited at this opportunity to raise the colors.

After our beginning of the year service at St. Stephen's this morning, the girls headed to the Green for a celebration of the new year and another opportunity for a picture of the entire school population!  Look for that soon on the website.  Meanwhile, here is a picture of the Roberts' Girls for you to enjoy.

.You know that we need, at least, one crazy picture of these girls!

Our Fourthies - Class of 2022

First Day!


The Fourthies are off to a great start!  Although they are not yet sure what it entails, they are excited to be the leaders of the lower school.  Their notebooks are stuffed with paper, their books are labeled, and they are ready to go. Whether it is designing their avatars or learning about geometry, their curiosity is keen and their enthusiasm real.  You cannot help but be thrilled to be in the midst of such a group!