Welcome Back!

Welcome back families and Happy New Year!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break with your friends and family. I am always blown away at how fast the holidays fly by each year. Believe it or not, before we know it, we will be going through the fun again at the end of this year!

Some reminders as we head into the second half of fourth grade:

• Please continue to encourage your child to work on their 25 book challenge. I want to see each and every student at our celebration at the end of the year.
• Please make sure your child is reading each night for at least 20 minutes. Students should be reading for a total of at least 2 hours each week. I have seen a lot of growth in many of the students this year in reading, and I know that can be attributed to their nightly reading. If possible, I would encourage you to read with your child and ask them questions about what they are reading.
• The weekly homework responses are starting back this week. Please make sure your child completes these at home, and if you have any technology issues then please let me know and I will work with your child on getting it completed in the morning.
• During this time of the year, our expectations for students are increasing when it comes to academics and behavior. I would encourage you to talk with your child about controlling their talking as we, their teachers, are working hard to provide them with all of the necessary information they need to not only be successful on the Milestone tests but also in 5^th grade and beyond. It is critical that the students are equally as engaged and dedicated to their learning as their teachers. Excess talking and inappropriate behaviors during instruction negatively impact their own learning and the learning of others.

I look forward to working with you for the remainder of the school year to ensure your child is successful in fourth grade.

On Thursday we will be taking our field trip to the Safety Village. Please make sure your child wears their class t-shirt (under layers if necessary) and dresses appropriately for the weather! We will be going outside rain or shine. Also, please make sure your child wears tennis shoes. If your child is bringing a lunch, please make sure it is in a bag that can be thrown away. If you have any questions, please let me know!

I hope you all have a great week!