Weekly Update, Monday, November 7, 2016

I hope everyone enjoyed another beautiful Virginia weekend!  The husband and I hung curtains, moved furniture, and watched the Eagles lose to the Giants - jealous?  I bet your child did something more fun - PLEASE SEND ME PHOTOS!  If your child doesn't want you to send a picture, please send a picture of your pet if you have one!

Reminders for this week:

1) I have made it to the top three finalists for Turkey of the Year!  Please encourage your students to read, turn in the Turkey of the Year voting form (I have extras if they need them), and then vote for me on Friday!

2) The Read-a-Thon has begun!  Students should be logging the minutes they read at home on the Read-a-Thon website.  www.read-a-thon.com/readers/   Please consider making a donation - or asking your coworkers, parents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and friends to make a donation!

The second quarter starts on Wednesday, if you cancelled your conference, please email me a time that will work well for you this week!  Thank you!

Weekly Update, October 30, 2016

FIRST THINGS FIRST!!!  THE READ-A-THON BEGINS ON FRIDAY!!
Information went home about this year's Read-a-thon last week.  Your child has already set up his or her fundraising page, thank you to everyone who has ALREADY donated money!  To access your child's page, visit: http://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/ Your child has the code to login to his or her page in the back of his or her homework folder.

REWARDS!  
The Read-a-Thon is an amazing fundraiser because it truly promotes students to READ!  Last year I rewarded three students who went above and beyond  and spent a Saturday afternoon with them at The Zone bowling.  THIS year, I've changed up the reward a little bit.    
This year my prize is a movie afternoon with me (on a Saturday!) and a trip to get frozen yogurt for the following students:
1) The top fundraiser - the child who raises the most money
2) The student with the MOST sponsors
3) The student who READS the most!

My class was the winner in the whole school last year, and I'd like to remain undefeated!

SECOND THINGS SECOND!!!  TURKEY OF THE YEAR HAS BEGUN TOO!
I was fortunate enough to be nominated for the third year in a row to be Turkey of the Year!  Students may bring in their slips on Friday that has the total number of hours they read with a parent signature to receive tickets to vote!  If you misplaced the paper, just send in a note with the amount of hours your child read with a signature and I will accept that.  Will this be the year I finally win?!

THIRD THINGS THIRD! CONFERENCES!
If your conference is after 4:00 pm, please text me at 703-307-1113 so I can let you in! Please text me as well if you are running late.  

The rest of the weekly update....
What a beautiful weekend, I hope everyone spent some of it outside!  I had fun trick-or-treating with this two-year old dinosaur:

Please send photos of your little ones in costume so I can feature their pictures on our morning message!

A HUGE thank you to Claudia Thomas for all the planning and execution of an AMAZING Fall Party!  Thank you also to Christine Curtis for all the help setting up, cleaning up, and operating the donut eating challenge!  The kids obviously had a great time and enjoyed all the food and games.  Thank you also to all the parents who contributed goodies!

This week in...

Virginia studies: Students are loving learning about Jamestown!  I've been reading Blood on the River, a historical fiction novel about the colonization of Jamestown and the hardships faced by the colonists.  Students received week 7 of their Virginia Studies Weekly last week, they will have an open-note quiz on Tuesday.  .  

Science: Students began learning about some vocabulary related to our next unit about the Earth, moon, and sun.  Students will have a quiz on these vocabulary words on Thursday, all of the words and definitions are in their science notebook.  The words are: axis, phases, rotation, revolution, satellite, orbit, earth-centered model, and sun-centered model.  .  

Reading: Students began practicing differentiating between fact and opinion this week within their reading.  Additionally, students will continue to show me how they are making predictions within their reading to demonstrate their comprehension.  We will focus on reviewing a lot of reading strategies we've learned this first quarter this week in Reader's Workshop.  New reading logs will go home tomorrow!  Make sure your child is reading AS MUCH AS HE OR SHE CAN EACH NIGHT!!  Children should also be filling out the BACK of their reading log each night as well.  

Writing: Students will receive new word study words tomorrow and have a test on Friday as usual.  Students will focus on how to use reference materials this week, specifically the dictionary, thesaurus, and glossary.  

Math: All fourth grade students are expected to complete three sessions of Reflex Math per week unless they are 100% fluent with their multiplication and division facts.  

Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, November 2 at 7:10: Walk to School Day
Friday, November 4: End of first grading period
Friday, November 4: Read-a-Thon Begins!
Monday, November 7: Student Holiday
Tuesday, November 8: Student Holiday
Wednesday, November 9: Monday Schedule AND Family Life Education Class
Thursday, November 10: Family Life Education Class
Thursday, November 10 at 11:30 am: Parent Coffee "BYOT"
Thursday, November 10 at 6:30 pm: Family Reading Night
Friday, November 11 from 8:00 to 9:45: Veteran's Day Parade and Speakers
Monday, November 14 at 6:30 pm: PTA Meeting
Tuesday, November 15: American Education Week Activity from 12:35 to 1:35 PLEASE COME VISIT OUR CLASS!  I'll send out more information at a later date about this!
Wednesday November 16: Report Cards Go Home
Friday, November 18 at 6:00 pm: Basket Bingo Fundraiser
Wednesday November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, November 29 at 10:15: Author Visit Jennifer O'Connell

Weekly Update, October 23, 2016

I hope everyone enjoyed the changing leaves and had a great fall weekend!  



Fall Pictures
Your child received their fall pictures on Thursday. All students received a picture package if their picture was taken. You may keep the package if you have paid for it. If you did not purchase pictures, you will have the option to buy the pictures.  Instructions for purchasing are inside each picture envelope.  Please have your child return their pictures if they are not interested in purchasing the proof.

If you do not like the pictures, or your child did not receive photos,  there is a makeup picture day on December 6^th.  You will need to return your child's picture package for retakes.  More information will follow closer to December 6^th regarding the makeup picture day. 

Fall Party

Our fall party will be this Friday, October 28 from 12:15 to 1:45.

You should have already received an email with the sign-up to contribute items  here it is again if you need it: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080A49A4A92AA13-fall2 

THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL SLOTS OPEN, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!!! :) 

Other random items:

• Please send in your photos of your kids, they love seeing them on the morning message!
• I will be going by Mrs. Bernstein moving forward, but will not be changing my email address in the near future because of logistics/ paperwork.  

This week in...

Virginia studies: Students began learning about the English colonists settling in Jamestown last week, they've been enjoying a new read aloud called Blood on the River which is a historical fiction novel describing the settlement of the first permanent English colony from a 12 year old's point of view.  Ask your child about, the kids are loving it!  Students received Week 6 of their Virginia Studies weekly last week, they already knew a lot of the answers to the puzzles from listening so closely to Blood on the River!  Students will have an open-note quiz on their VA Studies Weekly Newspaper on Tuesday, October 25th.  As a reminder, students can play additional games and review by going to www.studiesweekly.com.  The username and password is their lunch number and birthday.  

Science: Students did well on their planets quiz last week, we will begin learning about the Earth, sun, and moon next and the difference between rotation and revolution.

Writing: Students will receive their new Word study words tomorrow and will have their Word Study test on Friday, October 28th.   In writing workshop this week students will learn about new strategies to develop ideas for stories and how to use their own voice in their writing.

Reading: Students began writing reading response letters to me last week.  This allows students to demonstrate their understanding to me about the independent book they are reading and gives them an opportunity to chose what to tell me about.  I respond to readers with follow up questions so we can continue an ongoing communication about their book.  Students are expected to read a minimum of 20 minutes nightly and record their reading in their reading log.  

Math: All fourth grade students are expected to go on Reflex Math three times a week until they are 100% fluent.  If you would like to know how fluent your child is in his or her multiplication facts, please email his or her math teacher.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Upcoming Dates:
Friday, October 28 from 12:15 - 1:45: Fall Party
Saturday, October 29: Pinebrook Color Run
Wednesday, November 2 at 7:10: Walk to School Day
Friday, November 4: End of first grading period
Friday, November 4: Read-a-Thon Begins!
Monday, November 7: Student Holiday
Tuesday, November 8: Student Holiday
Wednesday, November 9: Monday Schedule AND Family Life Education Class
Thursday, November 10: Family Life Education Class
Thursday, November 10 at 11:30 am: Parent Coffee "BYOT"
Thursday, November 10 at 6:30 pm: Family Reading Night

Monday, November 14 at 6:30 pm: PTA Meeting
Tuesday, November 15: American Education Week Activity from 12:35 to 1:35 PLEASE COME VISIT OUR CLASS!  I'll send out more information at a later date about this!
Wednesday November 16: Report Cards Go Home
Friday, November 18 at 6:00 pm: Basket Bingo Fundraiser
Wednesday November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, November 29 at 10:15: Author Visit Jennifer O'Connell

Weekly Update, Sunday 16, 2016

Greetings from Mrs. Bernstein!  My apologies for not sending a weekly update last weekend, but as I'm sure your child mentioned, I got married last Sunday!  Thank you for all the well wishes.  I will not be changing my name officially until summer, but will answer to both Mrs. Bernstein and Ms. Akbar.  You all can of course just call me Alysha!

Parent/Teacher Conferences begin this week, if your conference time is AFTER 4:00 pm, please text me at 703-307-1113 when you are outside so I can come let you in.  The front office staff leaves at 4:00 pm, and I will need to let you in.  If you have not already signed up for a conference, please do so at Akbar Parent/Teacher Conference Sign-up

Also, if you have a photograph of your child from the weekend that you would like to share, or a photo of your family pet, PLEASE email it to me!  The kids love seeing their picture on the morning announcements when they walk into class.  Here are some photos of my weekend with my 2 year old nephew and husband... and a couple dozen of my favorite animals at the Reston Zoo!

We fed a baby giraffe named Waffles!

The zoo has a sloth named Priscilla, I love her!

Goat feeding :)

Petting the Watusi cow.

My husband petting a bison!

Feeding a llama!

Loved feeding these friendly, furry sweethearts!

This week in...

Virginia studies: students will have a test on the Native American unit on Tuesday, October 18th.  We will review tomorrow, and I encourage students to use their notebooks and solpass.org to study!  Students enjoyed acting as archaeologists on Friday, hopefully they told you about the artifacts they discovered!

Science: we began learning about the solar system last week, specifically the order of the planets from the sun, as well as the order of the planets from largest to smallest.  Students will have a quiz on these concepts on Thursday, October 20th.   They need to remember three main things: 1) The order of the planets from the sun (My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.  - Back in my day, Pluto used to be a planet, this generation has one less planet to learn!)  2) The order of the planets from largest to smallest (Just Sing Until Noon, Every Voice Makes Music. = Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury.)  3) Which planets are gas giants, and which planets are terrestrial (rock).

Writing: Students will get a new set of word study words this week and will be tested on Friday, October 21st.  In writing workshop this week students will work on finding their voice as a writer, as well as learning the correct format to write a friendly letter.

Reading: Students are developing well as accountable readers every day and working well to explain their thinking when reading their fiction books.  They are enjoying both read alouds, Absolutely Almost and Blood on the River.  Students are expected to read a minimum of 20 minutes nightly and record the number of pages and minutes they read on their October reading log.

Math: All fourth grade students are expected to complete three sessions of Reflex Math per week.  It is fine if students need to complete any or all of their sessions on the weekend due to weekly activities.  

Upcoming dates: 

Monday, October 17 @ 6:30 - PTA Meeting
Tuesday, October 18 @ 11:15 - Parent Coffee "How do we fit it all in?"
Friday, October 28 @ 1:15 - 2:30: Class Fall Party
Saturday, October 29 @ 8:30 - Pinebrook Color Run
Monday, November 7th and Tuesday, November 8th: Teacher workdays, student holidays

My mistake!

Interims actually go home on Wednesday, not today!  My apologies - if your child has one, it will be sent home on Wednesday.  Thanks!

Weekly Update, October 2, 2018

Thank you to anyone who sent in a hat for Ellie's Hat Drive!  The school collected 185 hats for children who lose their hair due to cancer treatments.

Interims will go home tomorrow - only students who have a 2 or below will receive an interim.  It will be stapled into your child's agenda.  If your child has an interim report, please sign the bottom and have your child return it.  

My apologies for those of you who have been checking ParentVue and not seeing grades!  Phoenix (the program in which I enter my grades) is continually updating their software, and for some reason the "allow parents to see grades" box was not checked on a lot of assignments.  There are about 14 options I have to select before I can enter grades in for any given assignment, so my apologies for the long wait.  You should be able to check ParentVue now to see all grades, which will correlate to all the assignments that have been coming home in Thursday folders.  

This week in...

Virginia studies: Students will begin learning about the Native American groups that live and lived in Virginia, there was a humongous printing error with the two Virginia Studies weekly newspaper issues that teach the kids about the American Indians.  Because of this error, I did not assign students to read their newspapers this week and take a quiz for a grade.

Science: I hope students told you all about the amazing watershed demonstration they created, there are photos and videos available on my twitter feed @educatorakbar
Students will continue to learn about Virginia's natural resources this week.
The test on this unit will be on Friday, October 7th!  Students should review the study guide that went home two weeks ago as well as their Science Interactive notebook, and www.solpass.org  

Reading:  Students will continue to synthesize their reading and analyze how characters develop in their reading.  New reading logs were distributed last week, please make sure your child is filling out BOTH sides of their reading log - the pages and minutes read nightly, AND the title of the book they are reading on the back of the page.

Language arts: Students will receive new word study words tomorrow.  PLEASE check to see that they are following the instructions correctly.  All assignments are listed on the inside front cover of their Word Study notebook.
Students have been combining what they are learning about watersheds with their writing in their "Journey of a Raindrop" stories.  Students have been creating stories that describe the journey a raindrop takes through the watershed and working through the writing process: brainstorm, draft, editing, revising, publishing.
As usual, students will take their Word Study Test on Friday.

Math: Please make sure your child is going on Reflex Math AT LEAST 3 times a week, this can include weekends if your weeknights are too busy to get all three sessions in.

Upcoming Events: 
Monday, 10/3: Scholastic Book Fair Begins
Monday, 10/3: INTERIMS SENT HOME
Tuesday, 10/4: Scholastic Book Fair Family Night from 3-6 pm
Wednesday, 10/5: Walk to School Day @ 7:10 am
Sunday, 10/9: I get married!
Monday, 10/10: Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL
Monday, 10/17: PTA Meeting @ 6:30
Tuesday, 10/18: Parent Coffee @ 11:15 am "How do we all fit in?"

Weekly Update, Sunday, September 25, 2016

I'll start with what your kids really want me to focus on - SPIRIT WEEK!

In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness month, Pinebrook is hosting a hat drive.
Please donate a NEW hat.  All donations will be given to Ellie's Hats Foundation and will be distributed to children who have lost their hair because of cancer treatments.  We will also be raising awareness through spirit week.  

Monday - Pajama day!  Wear your PJs to school.

Tuesday - Twin day!  

Wednesday - Wear a hat to school.

Thursday - Mismatch day!

Friday - Wear gold or yellow 

Sign up for a conference here: Conference Sign Up

Sign up to volunteer to stuff Thursday folders here: Thursday Folder Volunteer

This week in:

Virginia Studies: Students will begin to learn about the native American groups that lived/ live in Virginia and how American Indians used the natural resources of Virginia to live.  Students will review the major waterways of Virginia tomorrow, and have a quick quiz on the waterways on Tuesday.  Students need to know the location of the major waterways we've studied (Potomac River, Rappahanock River, York River, James River, Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean, Dismal Swamp, and Lake Drummond).  Students should use www.solpass.org to review AND their VA Studies notebook.  

Science: Students will continue to learn about the natural resources of Virginia.  We will continue to explore how "we all live downstream."  Students will reinforce their understanding about watersheds through their writing this week.  

Reading: Students will continue to develop their comprehension skills by practicing multiple strategies like making connections, retelling, and actively thinking about their reading.  

Homework: Students should read for 20 minutes nightly and record the pages and minutes read on the calendar side, and the books they are reading on the back of the page.

Writing: Students will work on their own story about the journey of a raindrop this week.  They will work through the writing process to create a story that demonstrates their understanding of how the way we treat the environment affects all of us.  Students will receive new word study words this week.

Homework: Word study.  The list of assignments are glued to the front cover of each student's word study notebooks.  

Upcoming Dates: 

Monday, 9/26: Fall After School Enrichment Programs (ASEP) begins

Monday, 9/26: Ellie's Hat Drive Begins

Tuesday, 9/27: Critical Thinking Night

Wednesday, 9/28: Believe Kids Fundraiser Packets Due

Wednesday, 9/28: Girl Scout Information Meeting @ 6:30

Friday, 9/30: PICTURE DAY!

Friday, 9/30: Community Night at John Champe HS

Saturday, 10/1: Fall Festival at 4:00 pm

Monday, 10/3: Scholastic Book Fair Begins

Tuesday, 10/4: Scholastic Book Fair Family Night 3-6 pm

Wednesday, 10/5: Walk to school Day @ 7:10 am

Monday, 10/10: Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL!

Important School Dates!

• Thursday, September 22nd--BYOT night for PARENTS ONLY in the gym at 6:30pm.
• Friday, September 23rd-- Box Tops Due for September!
• Friday, September 23rd - Recorder money $6 due!
• Monday, September 26th--Last day for Believe Fundraiser
• Monday, September 26th-Friday, September 30th--Ellie's Hat Drive (bring in a hat to donate to children with cancer).
• Friday, September 30th-- PICTURE DAY! Order forms going home in Thursday folders this week!
• Thursday, September 29th--Watch DOGS kickoff program at 6:30 pm in the gym (I LOVE to have Watch DOGS in my room...hope you can sign up!)
• Saturday, October 1st--Fall Festival at 4pm

Weekly Update, Sunday, September 18, 2016

It was LOVELY meeting the majority of you on Thursday at Back to School Night.  For those of you in the first session, thank you for indulging me and dancing around the room, I'm sure your children were impressed you earned some Puma Paws for them!  If you couldn't make it on Thursday I'm sending home the information about my class that was given out home on Thursday, in Thursday folders.

Thank you for turning in the money for recorders so quickly too, there were a handful of students who still need to bring in $6 and the permission slip, this is your friendly reminder to send it in tomorrow :)

This week in...

Reading: We will continue to read Absolutely Almost as a class and I will model how to retell the story and synthesize reading.  Sttudents will use their own books to practice retelling and synthesizing their reading.  Students will also continue to visualize their reading, and we will start to focus on how to interpret characters.  This week students will also begin the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA's).  I will listen to students read aloud and students will demonstrate their comprehension skills as well.
Homework: Read for a minimum of 20 minutes nightly, record reading in reading log.

Writing: Students will receive new word study words this week.  Tomorrow we will go over expectations for this work and students will be given time in class to work on the assignments.  Any unfinished word study work will be expected to be completed for homework.  In Writer's Workshop students will continue to write their realistic fiction stories and develop their characters.
Homework: Word study assignments  (will be glued into notebooks tomorrow)

Virginia Studies: Students will review the first topics we've covered and will have a quiz on Tuesday!  Students will be expected to know the bordering states of Virginia, the five regions of Virginia in the correct order, and the names of all the waterways we've discussed.  I encourage students to use their VA Studies notebooks to review.  I also encourage students to use www.solpass.org to study, if it prompts you for a password, it's "pinebrook"  There will NOT be a VA Studies Weekly this week,
Homework: Study for quiz on Tuesday, go on www.solpass.org to review.

Science:  Your kids will begin learning about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and what a watershed is this week.  We will discuss the journey of a raindrop and how to keep our watershed clean.

NEW: Throughout the year I like to include a photo of a student, or a student's pet on my morning message.  Kids love seeing themselves when they walk into the classroom, and it adds some excitement to the morning, "Who's going to be on the board today!?"  Please email me a photo of your child from over the weekend doing something fun, or a photo of your pet!  If you're going to Cox Farms next weekend, send me a photo of it!  If you went to a sporting event and took a photo - send it to me!  This obviously isn't a requirement, just something fun for the class!  You can pick one from your phone and send it to aakbar@lcps.org  

Please email me any questions, comments, or anything else at aakbar@lcps.org  

TWO Mid-week REMINDERS!

Back to School Night
This Thursday is Back to School Night. I hope you will be able to attend! Here is some important information about Thursday:

• Session 1 will start at 6:30 in my room and last until 7:25
• Session 2 will start at 7:30 and last until about 8:20
• Ignite Kids Club will be at Pinebrook to provide childcare services as you attend a session (no children in the session please). They are charging $10/child or $15 for two or more children. You may bring your children to the gym starting at 6:15 but will not be able to head down to our classroom until 6:30. 

Recorders!
If your child hasn't already told you, recorder order forms will be going home in Thursday folders.  Please return the form with $6 on Friday!  (If your child already has a recorder from an older sibling, or already purchased one, let me know that on the form as well!)  

**I will send out a Sign-up genius for parent-teacher conferences in the next coming weeks!  

Weekly Update, Sunday, September 11, 2016

It's hard to believe it was 15 years ago and that this year's high school class will learn about 9/11 as part of our country's history, not something they actually lived through.

I sent out a sign-up genius link for those of you who can volunteer to stuff Thursday folders, thank you so much in advance!

This week in...
Virginia studies: students will receive their second VA Studies weekly newspaper on waterways, and read and complete the puzzles on the back.  They will be given time to work on this in class, and are expected to use the facts in the newspaper to help them answer the questions, both on the puzzles, and for the open-not quiz that will be on Friday.  (This is pretty much the routine for the rest of the year unless I mention otherwise!)  We will continue to learn about the regions of Virginia and their importance to our state.
Homework: Virginia Studies Weekly Newspaper, read, highlight, puzzles
Quiz: Open note on Friday

Science: students have been learning about the natural resources of our state, we will continue to learn about specific water features and the benefits of the forests that stretch across our great state.  We'll also begin to learn about living in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Reading: students will learn how to "talk back to their books" this week and continue to learn skills do develop their comprehension of fiction texts.  We will also review how to answer comprehension questions by finding evidence within the text.
Homework: Read 20 minutes nightly, record page numbers and minutes read on reading log

Writing: students will review the difference between proper nouns and  common nouns, and what gets a capital letter!  Please emphasize to your students that their names always get a capital letter, both the first and last name!  Many students are NOT capitalizing the first letter of their last name!
Homework: Word study will begin this week, everyone will be getting the same words, they are commonly misspelled words, and they are used by fourth graders quite frequently!  The words are:
Ms. Akbar, people, great, because, awesome, Pinebrook, Virginia, friend, a lot, vowel, success, favorite, very, every, always, Aldie, Williamsburg, interesting
Nightly word study assignments may change from week to week, the assignments for this week are:
Monday - write a sentence for the first nine words.  Each sentence should begin with a capital letter, be at least seven words, and end with punctuation.
Tuesday - write a sentence for the second nine words.  Each sentence should begin with a capital letter, be at least seven words, and end with punctuation.
Wednesday - alphabetize all eighteen words, in other words, put them in ABC order
Thursday - have an adult read each word out to you and spell it like you're practicing for our quiz tomorrow.  Bonus, write a five-sentence paragraph using at least five of your words.
Friday - QUIZ!  

Math: students are currently learning about place value, rounding, and comparing numbers in fourth grade.  If your child's math teacher has not sent home information about Reflex Math as yet, that should be coming home this week.

Upcoming Dates: 
Monday, September 12th: 6:30 pm - PTA Meeting
Thursday, September 15th: 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Back to School Night - See you then!
Tuesday, September 20th: Oddysey of the Mind tryouts
Thursday, September 22nd: 6:30 pm BYOT (Bring your own technology) information night
Wednesday, September 29th: 6:30 pm - Watch DOGS Kickoff night
Saturday, October 1st: Fall Festival
Sunday, October 9th: Ms. Akbar gets married!
Monday, October 10th: Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL!

Reminder:
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR BOX TOPS!!!

My email address is aakbar@lcps.org and my phone number is 703-307-1113.  Please feel free to email me questions, concerns, and anything else you think I need to know!

Weekly Update, Monday, September 6, 2016

Happy Labor Day!  Thank you all so much for making me feel so special on my birthday, I am genuinely humbled by your thoughtfulness!  I hope your children had positive things to say about our first week together, hopefully they don't think I'm too strange or quirky!  This is a long first message, but I find it's easier to provide more information than not, so here we go!  Please read to the end, and as always, feel free to email or text me if you have any questions.

Last week if you asked your child, "What did you do/learn in school today?"  you may not have received a very strong response as we were just learning about one another and going over expectations and routines.
Questions I'd love for you to ask your child are:
1. What is the class pledge?
Answer: As a Pinebrook Puma, I promise to: respect myself, respect others, and respect property.
2. What is a prize puma?
Answer: Ms. Akbar picks a student each morning and keeps an eye on him or her all day to make sure he or she is doing exactly what is expected.  At the end of the day, she shares with the class if he or she earned the title of "Prize Puma" and that student can pick either 7 Puma Paws, or 7 marbles for the class jar, or a combination of each.
3. What does it mean to snake around the room?
Answer: Instead of Ms. Akbar passing out papers to 22 students, she has them get in a snake formation and dance around the room to music and the students pick up one paper each, it's an example of being efficient!
4. What are Ms. Akbar's two favorite words and why are they her favorites?
Answer: "Efficient" and "because"  She likes the word efficient because it's the best way to run the class.  Another example of being efficient is instead of 22 kids asking, "what are we doing in science today?" and Ms. Akbar giving 22 answers, kids can wait until Ms. Akbar tells the class as a whole what we are doing in science today.  She loves the word "because" BECAUSE it always means there is about to be an explanation to support an answer.

This week in...
Virginia studies:  students are learning about the states that border Virginia, and the five regions of Virginia.  Your child should be able to tell you the five states that border Virginia (Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina).  Students will be receiving their first issue of the Virginia Studies Weekly Newspaper!!   I will go over the expectations of how this is assignment is to be completed, and will give students time during class to work on their newspapers.  Students are expected to answer all the questions on the crossword puzzle on the back, and highlight where they found their answers in the newspaper.  Students are also expected to complete the map assignment that is underneath the crossword puzzle.  We will do the first newspaper as a class, and it is due on Friday.   Students will also have an open-newspaper quiz on Friday where they will be expected to answer multiple choice questions.  All the answers are in the newspaper!!!

Science:  students began learning about natural resources and we will continue to learn about the natural resources of our state this week.  I will send home a Natural Resources study guide this week, please review it with your child!

Reading: students and I reviewed reading expectations last week, such as picking a "just right book," expectations during independent reading, and how to treat the classroom library.  We will continue to review some of the lessons they had last year, like the different genres and how to complete their reading log.  I will be sending home the September reading log tomorrow.  Directions are on the reading log, students should read twenty minutes on school nights, and record the amount of total minutes and pages read nightly.  I recognize students have activities after school, if students need to read 40 minutes one night because they have extracurricular activities another night, that's fine - as long as students read at least one hour and 20 minutes a week.  

Writing:  Students will begin reviewing writing concepts this week including fundamentals like capital letters, when to use them, punctuation, and editing marks.  Word study will start in a few weeks, I'll keep you posted.

Math:  Students will have their first math class tomorrow with their assigned math teacher.  As with previous grades, this allows students to be exposed to different teaching styles, different classmates, and receive the academic support they need.  All teacher teach the same material, and all students take the same assessments.  All students in fourth grade are expected to complete two sessions of Reflex Math per week.

REMINDERS:
If you have not already sent in your $13 (cash or check) for the Scholastic News Weekly Reader and Virginia Studies Weekly subscriptions, please do so this week!!! THANK YOU!

We are always collecting Box Tops and Labels for Education, if you have the form to collect either over the summer, please have your child bring them in!

Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, September 7th: Walk to School Day
Friday, September 9th: Oddysey of the Mind Interest Forms Due
Friday, September 9th: 8:05 am Patriot Day Ceremony
Friday, September 9th: 8:35 am  Volunteer and Room Parent Breakfast
Monday, September 12th: 6:30 pm - PTA Meeting
Thursday, September 15th: 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Back to School Night
Tuesday, September 20th: Oddysey of the Mind tryouts
Thursday, September 22nd: 6:30 pm BYOT (Bring your own technology) information night
Wednesday, September 29th: 6:30 pm - Watch DOGS Kickoff night
Saturday, October 1st: Fall Festival
Sunday, October 9th: Ms. Akbar gets married!
Monday, October 10th: Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL!


My email address is aakbar@lcps.org and my phone number is 703-307-1113.  Please feel free to email me questions, concerns, and anything else you think I need to know!

Weekly Update: Sunday, August 28th, 2016

Happy Sunday!  
I typically send out a weekly update on Sundays so everyone knows what to expect for the week ahead.  The next couple blog posts/ emails will be more logistical than academic, and I will always include a schedule of upcoming events at the bottom.   

Important Information:

• The First Day of School is tomorrow, Monday, August 29th (just in case anyone forgets :-)) 
• A lot of paperwork went home at Open House. Please try and have it returned to school by Wednesday, August 31st!
• If you did not turn it in already, please make sure students bring in their blue transportation form on MONDAY!
• Finally... if you haven't already subscribed to my blog, please do so at www.educatorakbar.blogspot.com, scroll to the bottom and enter your email address where it says, "Follow by email."  

Again, it was a pleasure to meet everyone. I can't wait to work with you all this school year! Take care and please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns at aakbar@lcps.org. 

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, August 29th: First Day of School!  Doors open at 7:30.

Wednesday, August 31st: Please have all forms returned!

Friday, September 2nd: Ms. Akbar turns 34.

Monday, September 5th: Labor Day, NO SCHOOL

Thursday, September 15th: Back to School Night 6:30 - 8:30

Thursday, September 22nd: BYOT (Bring your own technology) information night

Welcome New Fourth Graders!

Welcome to a New School Year!

Hello New 4th Grade Families!

I'm Ms. Akbar and I am going to be your child's teacher this year. This is my fourth year teaching fourth grade and I love being a Puma! We are part of a great school and community which supports our students' interests and needs, helping them grow into lifelong learners, thinkers, and dreamers. I couldn't be happier to start this year off with you!

Since you are reading this , I can assume you found our classroom blog :-) I use this blog multiple times a week as my main form of communication with you. I will post class updates, pictures, important dates, and reminders, all to help you stay as connected to our classroom as possible. Please check here often!

SUBSCRIBE NOW!! To save you time from having to continually visit our blog, you can scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page and type your email in the FOLLOW BY EMAIL box so that you are sent an email with my blog post every time I post something new! 

You can also follow me on twitter: @educatorakbar

I look forward to a SUPER year!

Love,

Ms. Akbar

Update from Ms. Akbar!!

There is so much going on in the last 7 days of school, please read below!

Sorry that I'm starting at the end, but our End of the Year 4th Grade Party is Tuesday, June 14th, the Sign-up genius is: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4ba9ab2aab9-4thgrade

Important Dates:

Tuesday, June 7th: Students will have math with their math teacher from 8:45 - 9:45
Tuesday, June 7th: Scientific Method Quiz!!!
Wednesday, June 8th: FIELD DAY!  Please read the important notes below!
Thursday, June 9th: Last math class 8:45-9:45;
 Guidance from 11:05-11:50  (The last time we'll see Mrs. Roberts!)
 Rock N' Read from 12:35 - 1:05  (Please have your child bring in a towel or blanket!)
Friday, June 10th: 4th Grade 40 Book Challenge Celebration
Monday, June 13th:  5th Grade Promotion Ceremony in the morning
Tuesday, June 14th: Principal's List and Character Awards Ceremony from 8:50 - 9:15
End of the Year Party!  Last day of school!

FIELD DAY NOTES (Wednesday)
On this day, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD:
- Wears appropriate clothing (we will be outside!)
- Wears appropriate shoes (sneakers - we will be running around playing games!)
- Is prepared to get wet (can wear a 1-piece bathing suit under clothes if desired).
- Brings a CHANGE of CLOTHES for the afternoon
- Brings a CHANGE of SHOES for the afternoon
- Brings a TOWEL to dry off

As always, if you have any questions, please shoot me an email!  aakbar@lcps.org

Weekly Update, Monday, May 30th

Happy Memorial Day!

I just flew back from Rhode Island and am recharged for the last 11 days of school!  I hope everyone had a great weekend, if you have any photos to share, please email them to me!

Please ensure your child reviews some of their math materials tonight, if even for a few minutes so when he or she sits down for the Math SOL Assessment tomorrow at 8:00 am, it isn't the first math problem he or shee has seen in three days!  On Friday I asked students to bring home their math materials and morning workbooks, either of these would be good to review, or you can go on the VA Department of Education website to the math SOL practice questions: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/released_tests/2013/gr_4_math_released_in_spring_2014.pdf

Other noteworthy items in Academia:

Science: 
Students started their open-note plant quiz on Friday, I'll have them finish it this week.  I couldn't ethically give them ONE MORE TEST during a week of testing!  I feel confident they know a lot about plants, and will allow them to use their notes for the rest of the quiz.  Once this unit is over, we will finish our last unit which is on the Scientific Method.  Students will have a quiz on this next week.

Health:
Either later this week or early next week, I will begin to teach health!  We will primarily focus on content related to nutrition.

Reading: 
Students should still be reading!  I will be finishing DRA testing this week and next to determine student reading levels.  This information will be reported in report cards.

Homework for the rest of the year:
Prior to the Reading SOL Assessment, I made a deal with students that if they used their scratch paper during the test to show me their "active reading," and explained why they chose the answers they did, they would not have homework for the rest of the year!  22 students did this and as a result will not have homework for the rest of the year!  Students are obviously still encouraged to read, but are not expected to write summaries about their reading.  That being said, these students will not have Word Study homework either.

Lastly, the boys bathroom has had toilets purposely clogged with paper towels for several weeks in a row.  Until this issue is resolved, teachers are unfortunately going to be stricter with giving permission  to boys to use the restroom.  If your child knows anything about the toilets being clogged, please let me know, or have your child let me know.    

Homework Tonight!

In your child's homework folder, there is an SOL passage, "Melting Away."  If your child has a note on their assignment that says, "Please make corrections with explanations for homework,"  this is their homework.  If your child does not have this note, the assignment is graded and does not need to be resubmitted.

Students who missed the last two questions typically did so because they did not read the question carefully.  When the SOL question says, "which of the following words..." they need to recognize that there is more than one answer!  Sometimes there are three correct answers!

I've been stressing the importance of highlighting and going back to the text to prove answers.

Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep, has a healthy breakfast, and is in class BEFORE 7:50 tomorrow morning,  our reading SOL assessment begins at 8:00 am!

If you have any questions, please shoot me an email!

Weekly Update, Sunday, May 22nd, 2016

First:


Second:

Thank you to those parents who returned the Party Permission form and money as well as the LCPS SOL Retake letter so quickly!!!

If you have not turned in both of these items, please send them in with your child tomorrow!  Also - on the LCPS form, please make sure you include your child's name!

Third:
Wednesday, May 25th @ 8:00 am - Reading SOL Assessment, Part 1
Wednesday, May 25th - Fitness Night and Bike Rodeo
Thursday, May 26th @ 8:00 am - Reading SOL Assessment, Part 2
Monday, May 30th - Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 31st @ 8:00 am - Math SOL Assessment, Part 1
Wednesday, June 1st @ 8:00 am - Math SOL Assessment, Part 2
Friday, June 3rd @ 8:30 am - Volunteer Breakfast
Friday, June 3rd @ 6:00 pm - Ice Cream Social
Monday, June 6th - Gum Spring Library Visit
Wednesday, June 8th - Field Day
Tuesday, June 14th - Last Day of School

This week in Academia:

Math: 
Tomorrow and Friday students will review and practice a lot of math!  The fourth grade teachers have each chosen a math topic to review with the entire fourth grade, and tomorrow we will continue with these rotations.  Ask your child about it!

Reading:
We will continue to practice reading SOL passages and questions so students feel comfortable for their tests on Wednesday and Thursday.  Students should continue to read at home as well.

Writing:-
No more Word Study!  Students will continue to work on their Poetry Packets this week.

Science:
Students have been learning about the different parts of the plants and how plants reproduce.  This week we will build and label plants as well as continue to learn about photosynthesis.

Virginia studies:
No more 

Two Important Papers In Your Child's Thursday Folder!!!

ATTENTION!
There are TWO forms in your child's folder in the "Return to School" section that I need ASAP!
1) The LCPS SOL Retake form - Please complete this tonight and send it back with your child tomorrow.
2) The 4th Grade Party Permission form and $5 Cash

THANK YOU!

Weekly Update, May 15th, 2016

Hopefully you and your family were able to enjoy some of the much needed sunshine this weekend!!  We have less than a month of school left, and your kids have been reviewing hard for our Virginia studies test.

This week in academia...

Virginia studies: As a reminder, the SOL assessment will be Tuesday, May 17th at 10:15 am.  We will spend a lot of time reviewing tomorrow through various activities and review games.  The SOLpass Review is due Tuesday (the schedule of all the activities and games with your initials).

Reading: Students will review all concepts we've learned throughout the year as we continue to prepare for the SOL assessment at the end of the month.  Students are still expected to read nightly, and summarize their reading on their reading log.  (New reading logs will go home tomorrow.)

Writing: Students will practice with their word study words from last week and will have their test on Friday, May 20th.  Students are expected to know the meanings of the affixes from their packet that was given out last Monday.

Science: Yay!  It's back!  We will begin learning about plants starting on Wednesday.

Upcoming Dates:
Monday, May 16th @ 6:30 - PTA Meeting
Tuesday, May 17th @ 10:15 am - Virginia Studies SOL Assessment
Wednesday, May 18th - Interims go home
Wednesday, May 25th @ 8:00 am - Reading SOL Assessment, Part 1
Wednesday, May 25th - Fitness Night and Bike Rodeo
Thursday, May 26th @ 8:00 am - Reading SOL Assessment, Part 2
Monday, May 30th - Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, May 31st @ 8:00 am - Math SOL Assessment, Part 1
Wednesday, June 1st @ 8:00 am - Math SOL Assessment, Part 2
Friday, June 3rd @ 8:30 am - Volunteer Breakfast
Friday, June 3rd @ 6:00 pm - Ice Cream Social
Monday, June 6th - Gum Spring Library Visit
Wednesday, June 8th - Field Day
Tuesday, June 14th - Last Day of School


If you have any questions about this week, or anything in general, please send me an email!

Weekly Update, May 9th, 2016

My apologies for not getting this post to you before the end of the weekend.  I hope you were all enjoying your Mother's Day celebrations and too busy enjoying your families to even think about the work/school week.

I am humbled by the outpouring of generosity from you all this past week!  Thank you for making my Teacher Appreciation Week SO special and sweet!  The decorations, cards, gifts, and kind words mean so much to me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This week in Academia: 

Virginia studies: We will finish our last unit of Virginia studies this week!  We will have a quiz on the three branches of government and the products and industries of each region on Thursday, May 12th.  Students will be expected to know the difference between agricultural products and manufactured products, as well as the significance of the federal government on Virginia's economy.  We will be reviewing daily for the VA Studies SOL Assessment, which is Tuesday, May 17th.  Please make sure your child is completing the assigned activities and games on the solpass.org review schedule!

Writing: Students have been finishing up their reading response letters about their book club book, these will be returned in Thursday folders for a writing and reading grade.  This week for word study we will be focusing on prefixes, suffixes, and root words.  Students will receive a packet, similar to a few weeks back, and will be tested on them next Friday, May 20th.  Although there are recommended dates for the assignments, students will have two weeks to complete them.

Reading: Reading logs are due this Friday, May 13th.  We've been preparing daily for our reading SOL by reviewing passages, and just good old-fashioned independent reading.  Released SOL practice tests are posted on the following page (for all subjects, not just reading.) Please take some time to review some passages with your child: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/practice_items/

A note about SOL testing: 
In previous years the fourth grade team has given students candy or mints to have during the test sessions.  This year we will not permit candy or mints, we will not be providing them, and they will not be permitted to bring them.  If you have any questions about this, please just ask me!

Thank you, and as always, email me if you have any questions about anything!

Weekly Update, Sunday, May 1st, 2016

I apologize in advance for an abbreviated update, I'm out of town!

This week in Academia...

Virginia Studies: We will learn about a variety of people this week that made significant contributions to Virginia history in the 20th century including Maggie Walker, Lindwood Rose, Oliver Hill, Harry Byrd, Woodrow Wilson, and more.  Ask your kids who Harry Byrd was, be prepared for a surprising answer!  The SOL Assessment for VA Studies is in 17 days.  Students are doing well with their reviews, thank you for signing off on their solpass.org review schedule.  On Friday I gave students in-class time to complete some more activities and games in advance and gave them stickers to indicate that I checked their work.

Reading: Students will continue to participate in book clubs this week and be expected to read nightly and write brief summaries on their reading logs.  In addition to book clubs, we will review testing strategies and reading strategies, and implement these with practice passages.

Writing: Once students complete their book club book, they will be expected to write me a reading response letter in which they summarize the book and share their opinions.  This will be graded for reading and writing.  I will pass back their Williamsburg letters this week so they can see what they need to improve upon when writing a friendly letter.  The Word Study test will be this Friday, May 6th.

RELEASED SOL ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE for MS. AKBAR'S CLASS:

Virginia Studies: Tuesday, May 17th from 10:15 - 12:15

Reading: Wednesday, May 25th from 8:00 - 10:00 AND Thursday, May 26th from 8:00 - 10:00

Math: Tuesday, May 31st from 8:00 - 10:00 AND Wednesday, June 1st from 8:00 - 10:00