Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Bring your child to work Day!

Thursday is Bring Your Child to Work Day and some parents have already emailed me to let me know their child will not be in school that day.  It is an excused absence.  If you have not already let both the attendance office and me know that your child will be out on Thursday, please send me an email!!!  Thank you!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Weekly Update, Sunday, April 24th, 2016

First things first!  Thank you to all the chaperones who came to Williamsburg last Thursday.  We received a lot of praise from the tour guides for having such wonderful students!  If ANY parent has any photos they would like to share with the class, please email me!

SPIRIT WEEK THIS WEEK:
Monday - +
Pinebrook colors/spirit wear
Tuesday - College spirit day - Wear college gear or college colors
Wednesday - Interview outfit (dress to impress)
Thursday - Dress like what you want to be when you grow up
Friday - Dress like you would when you're retired 

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

This week in academia...

I was out Wednesday and Friday with a terrible cough and cold, so my original plans for last week are getting pushed to this week.  Our only interruptions for this week will be Career Day on Tuesday and watching the 5th grader's DARE graduation on Wednesday, so hopefully we'll get a lot in!

Virginia Studies:
We will continue to learn about Virginia in the 20th century and the Civil Rights movement in Virginia.  Your child will receive a permission slip tomorrow, stapled in his/her agenda, to give him/her permission to watch various clips from the Disney movie Remember the Titans.  PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN THIS SLIP BY WEDNESDAY!!! Additionally, students will receive the next VA Studies Weekly newspaper, this will be due Thursday and students will have an open-note quiz Thursday as well.  In preparation for the Virginia Studies SOL assessment, students will be expected to complete a few games/ activities nightly on www.solpass.org.  A schedule will be sent home this week, students may complete these assignments in advance if necessary, but I encourage students to try to stick to the schedule so that they don't do all their studying super far in advance of the test!  Though the list may seem long, everything your child does on solpass, they should have done at some point earlier in the year, so this is all review.
  PARENTS MUST INITIAL THAT THEIR CHILD HAS COMPLETED THE ASSIGNMENTS NIGHTLY!  
**I will give students in-class time to complete these activities and games as well and initial what they complete.**
Thank you so much for your support :)  As a heads up, if a game or activity doesn't work because of a problem with solpass and your child cannot complete the activity or game, just write "didn't work" where you would ordinarily initial.  

Reading:
Students should be reading their book club book and preparing sticky notes to share during their book club meetings in addition to summarizing nightly on their reading log.  In addition to book club meetings this week, we will begin to discuss "Test Talk," the language test writers use on the SOL assessment, and begin to discuss and employ test taking strategies.  Students will also practice using all their reading strategies to demonstrate their comprehension on various passages.

Writing:
Students will receive their next group of Word Study words, their next word study test will be Friday, May 6th.  

HEADS UP!
Every morning students are expected to complete a page or two in one of three "SOL Review Morning Work Books."  The majority of students complete this in ample time. In the event that your child does not complete the assigned pages during morning work time, he or she will be asked to complete it for homework so that we can check all the answers as a class the next day.  If you see any of these books come home, please understand that it is because your child did not complete the work during the given time.  Also - as we check our answers in these books, I ask that students highlight the questions they answered incorrectly so that they can go back and review the questions they missed.

CALENDAR:
Monday, April 25th: Puma Pounce Begins
Tuesday, April 26th: Career Day
Wednesday, April 27th: Report Cards go home
Wednesday, May 4th: Walk to School Day
Monday, May 16th: PTA Meeting @ 6:30



Sunday, April 17, 2016

Weekly Update, Sunday, April 17th, 2016

Can you believe it snowed last weekend?  I hope your family had an opportunity to enjoy the glorious weather this yesterday and today, hopefully it will stay this beautiful for our field trip to Williamsburg on Thursday!

This email has A LOT of information in it, including information regarding the colonial project, colonial performance, and the field trip.   (If you are a chaperone, you will get a separate email.)

COLONIAL PROJECT
All projects are due tomorrow!  If your child has a digital presentation, please have him or her bring it in on a zip/thumb/ flash drive. All other props, posters, or other materials should be brought in tomorrow as well.
Your child DOES NOT need to wear colonial clothes tomorrow!  I believe the music teachers may have asked them to wear them for the rehearsal tomorrow, I will speak with Mrs. Hoffmaster and let her know that I asked that they do NOT wear them tomorrow, only on Tuesday!  
If your child presents his or her colonial project tomorrow, he or she does NOT need to wear an outfit unless it is part of his or her presentation.

COLONIAL PERFORMANCE
The performance will be at 8:30 am in the gym.  Your child SHOULD COME TO SCHOOL DRESSED in HIS OR HER COLONIAL OUTFIT!  There will not be time to change prior to the performance.  Please have your child bring a change of clothes, I will give them an opportunity to change prior to PE.  If you have any questions regarding what he or she should wear, please refer to my earlier blog posts.  We hope you can make it!

WILLIAMSBURG FIELD TRIP
I will remind the students every day this week, but want to remind you as well:
1) Buses will NOT pick up your children from their bus stop, YOU need to provide transportation for your child to Pinebrook.  Students and chaperones should be here at 6:00 am!  Go to the GYM and find me, Ms. Akbar to check in.
2) If your child is going home with another parent (for example, you know your neighbor is a chaperone and can drive your child home) YOU MUST PROVIDE WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION saying that I have permission to send your child home with that parent!  If I don't have a note, I can't send your child home with someone else!  (Even if the adult says, "Johnny's mom said I can take him!"  I am not allowed to send him home with that adult without a note!)
3) The weather is supposed to be clear and nice, without any rain!  HOWEVER!  At 6:00 am in Aldie, and on the bus, and maybe on the way home - it will not be 70 and sunny, please do not let your child show up in a t-shirt and shorts, please dress him or her in layers!  If your child has any Pinebrook clothes, please have him or her wear them, OR wear maroon or navy.
4) Make sure your child brings his or her own snack and lunch!  If something needs to stay cold, put a freezer pack or frozen water bottle in the lunch, we will not have coolers.  There is nowhere to buy snacks or lunch, so make sure your kiddo has enough food!  Kids may snack on the bus in the morning, please make sure they have breakfast that day!
5) On that note, there is NO reason for your child to bring money - there is no time to stop at gift shops!
6)  Please review the list I'm sending home tomorrow about things to bring (sunscreen, water bottle, sunglasses, cinch sack, etc.)
7) When picking up your child at 7:30 pm, please remember to check OUT with me so I know he or she is accounted for.
If you have ANY questions, or are missing your baby, you can call or text me at 703-307-1113 at any time!  I will do my best to text or email you photos/ updates throughout the day.  If you have any other questions, please email me or give me a call!

This week in academia...
Fourth quarter begins tomorrow, we're in the home stretch!  

All of Monday and Tuesday will primarily be spent presenting the Colonial projects and preparing/participating in the Colonial Performance.  Students will still have math, it will be from 11-12 on Tuesday.  Thursday we'll be in Williamsburg, the following applies to pretty much just Wednesday and Friday!

VA Studies:
We will begin to learn about Virginia's history in the 20th century, as well as begin reviewing for the SOL assessment in May.

Reading:
Students are enjoying their new book club books, they will have their next book club meeting on Wednesday.  All students should be prepared by having read the number of pages agreed upon by their book club, and have sticky notes prepared with their opinions and thoughts.  Additionally, students will receive new reading logs this week, they are required to write a brief summary of their nightly reading on this new reading log, as well as obtain a parent signature.  Please note that students are encouraged to read their book club book at home, and their summaries can be about their book club book.

Writing:
NO WORD STUDY THIS WEEK!  Language arts grades for this week will come from the colonial project presentations!

Math:
If your child is not 100% fluent in his or her multiplication and division facts, he or she should be going on Reflex Math nightly.  If you are unsure about his or her fluency, please email me and I can let you know.

OTHER:
I still don't have the SOL assessment schedule, I'll get it to you as soon as I do!

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Clarification for Colonial Performance on Tuesday

A few things...

The performance is Tuesday, April 19th at 8:30 AM  (Sorry, I said PM in the first post!)

Clothing!
Please have your son or daughter come dressed on Tuesday for the performance, there will not be time for them to change before the performance.  Have your child bring a change of clothes as well  for afterwards.  

Children do not need to be dressed in colonial clothing for their presentations.  I know the original form I sent home said that they do, but I'd rather their costumes be fresh for the performance, and don't want them to wear them unnecessarily two days in a row.  

Clothing for boys: I know I originally said khaki pants, but black pants, or any pants that aren't jeans or sweatpants, are just fine.  Boys can wear white knee socks over the pants, and a button down.

Clothing for girls: Girls can wear dresses or a top and long skirt that are colonial colors (any color but neon colors really!)  They should have an apron on /over their skirt/ dress as well.

If you have any questions about clothing or the performance, please don't hesitate to send me an email!  aakbar@lcps.org


Sunday, April 10, 2016

Weekly Update for the Week of April 11th, 2016

Heads up, there is A LOT of important information in this update, please read the entire thing!

Read-A-Thon Pizza Party Permission Slip!
Our class won the 4th Grade Pizza Party for having the most sponsors for the Read-A-Thon!!!  A permission slip will go home inside your child's agenda on Monday, IT MUST BE RETURNED BY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13th!!!  Please keep in mind that the school is just supplying pizza, and you should still send in any supplemental snacks, fruit, and drinks.  Thanks!!!

SOL ASSESSMENTS:
The Standards of Learning Assessment (SOL Assessment) window opens May 13th.  We should be finding out the specific dates of each test (VA Studies, Reading, and Math) very soon.  As soon as I find out, I will pass that information on to you!


This week in Academia...

Virginia Studies: Students will continue to learn about Reconstruction, including what life was like for freed slaves, the problems faced by Virginia's economy, and the importance of railroads, new industries, and the growth of new cities.  The Reconstruction Unit Test will be this Thursday, April 14th!  This is a fairly short unit, and we will be spending a lot of time on it this week.  As always, students should be using solpass.org to review as well as their notebooks.
 
COLONIAL PROJECT REMINDER: Projects are due Monday, April 18th!  Please refer back to the expectation sheet and rubric that went home two weeks ago!  

COLONIAL FAIR REMINDER: Students will sing and play instruments for the Colonial Fair on Tuesday, April 19th at 8:30 pm in the gym.  Parents are welcome and encouraged to come!  All students are expected to be dressed in colonial type clothing.
   Boys:  White button down shirt, Khaki pants, pull knee high white socks up over pants for the colonial look!
   Girls: Long skirt or long dress with a white apron

Here's a photograph from last year's show to give you some ideas (students should NOT wear a Native American costume though!)Picture

Science:  Every year after the Ecosystems unit, fourth grade decides to pause teaching science in an effort to prepare students for the upcoming SOL assessments.  We will use the time we usually spend teaching science on reading, math, and Virginia studies.  This week we will be spending science time teaching Reconstruction.  We will resume teaching science, specifically plants, in May, after the VA Studies SOL test.

Reading: 
Students are enjoying inferring during reading, and read some amazing picture books that challenged their thinking, ask them about it and if they like Chris Van Allsburg! Students had an opportunity to pick their books this time for our new book club groups, and wrote their book club constitutions.  For the next few weeks we will be working in book club groups to implement all the different strategies we've learned throughout the year, as well as begin on our test prep and reviewing testing strategies,

Writing: 
Students will have a different kind of word study this week.  We are going to focus on common prefixes, suffixes, and root words over the next three days, and students will have a quiz on Thursday, April 14th.  All of the prefixes, suffixes, and root words are review from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.  (For example, the suffix "-s, -es" means the plural of something, for example, "boxes" means more than one box.)  Students will receive a packet tomorrow of the homework assignments they are expected to complete each night.  The quiz on Thursday will require them to know the meanings of each of the prefixes, suffixes, and root words, as well as be able to provide an example.

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Monday, April 11th: PTA Meeting at 6:30 pm
Thursday, April 14th: End of third quarter, TRIPLE PLAY!!!
Thursday, April 14th: TRIPLE PLAY AT JOHN CHAMPE HIGH SCHOOL!!!
Friday, April 15th: LCPS Planning Day, NO SCHOOL  (What a great day to finish up the final touches on the Colonial Project!)
Monday, April 18th: COLONIAL PROJECT DUE!
Tuesday, April 19th: COLONIAL FAIR from 8:30 to 9:30!  Come watch!
Thursday, April 21st: WILLIAMSBURG FIELD TRIP!  Students need to be at the school at 6:00 am!
Wednesday, April 27th: Report Cards Sent home

Camp STEAM-tacular 
Pinebrook's summer STEAM camp -spots are filling up! Camp will be Monday, June 20th to Friday, June 24th, from 9 am to  3 pm each day. Open to Kindergarten through 5th grade. Each grade has it's own theme and will be fun and educational! Don't miss it!
Register at    www.campsteam-tacular.com

Focus on Nature Photo Contest
The Purcellville Gazette and The Nature Generation, an environmental nonprofit in Loudoun County, believe photography can inspire positive change of attitudes and behaviors. In celebration of Earth Day, we invite readers to submit photos of Loudoun County with a “Focus on Nature.”
One winner, runner up, student and “people’s choice” photo will be selected in each of these two categories:
1. General - shots that inspire you and remind you to care for the Earth
2. Nature Selfies - you in an outside place that you want to preserve and protect

Entries due by Earth Day, April 22.
Winners will be published in the April 29th issue of the Purcellville Gazette.
Enter at Facebook.com/PurcellvilleGazette/


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

WE'RE ALL OUT!

I genuinely thought we'd make it to at least May without having to beg for glue sticks, but here we are.  Please send in glue sticks!  We still have a lot to learn, which means a lot more gluing in notes to the notebooks.  If you can donate ANY gluesticks to the class, we would greatly appreciate it.  If you just want to provide glue sticks for your child, that's fine too!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Weekly Update, Sunday, April 3rd, 2016

The kids enjoyed my April Fool's joke on Friday!  Here are a few pictures :)





This week in Academia...

Virginia Studies: Students did very well on their Civil War test!  We will now begin our unit on Reconstruction.  Students will receive a new VA Studies Weekly tomorrow.  The crossword puzzle is due on Wednesday, April 6th, and they will have an open-note quiz that day as well.  Students do not need to complete the "Let's Write" part of the newspaper.

All students should be working on their Colonial Project as well!  It is due Monday, April 18th!

Science: Students learned about food chains and food webs last week in our Ecosystems unit.  This week we will finish the unit up by learning how humans impact ecosystems.  The Ecosystems/ Animals unit test will be on Thursday, April 7th.  Students should use their study guide, notebook, and solpass.org to review.  

Reading: Last week we finished Number the Stars, and discussed themes that we find within books.  Students discussed the themes of their historical fiction books within their book clubs and we had a class discussion about the final thoughts in Number the Stars, ask your child about this!  We will work on making inferences this week, by using our background knowledge to better understand what we read.  

Writing: Students will continue to review possessive nouns this week, and will have their Word Study test on Friday, April 8th.  

REMINDER FOR PHOTOS THAT WERE SENT HOME ON THURSDAY:
1.      Parents, you must decide if you want all or a partial set of pictures and then pay for them.  You may pay online by following the directions on the picture packet or you may send in a check (made check out to Lifetouch).  There is a portrait ID and Access Code located inside the picture packet. 
2.       Any pictures that have not been selected and paid for must be returned to Ms. Akbar.
3.       Students had to pre-order the class picture.  If you did not receive the class picture but want one, have your child bring me a check for $11 made out to Lifetouch - I have a few extra!


IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Saturday, April 9th: STEAM EXPO!!!  PLEASE VOLUNTEER!
Monday, April 11th: PTA Meeting at 6:30 pm
Thursday, April 14th: End of third quarter, TRIPLE PLAY!!!
Friday, April 15th: LCPS Planning Day, NO SCHOOL  (What a great day to finish up the final touches on the Colonial Project!)
Monday, April 18th: COLONIAL PROJECT DUE!
Tuesday, April 19th: COLONIAL FAIR from 8:30 to 9:30!  Come watch!
Thursday, April 21st: WILLIAMSBURG FIELD TRIP!  Students need to be at the school at 6:00 am!
Wednesday, April 27th: Report Cards Sent home

Camp STEAM-tacular 
Pinebrook's summer STEAM camp -spots are filling up! Camp will be Monday, June 20th to Friday, June 24th, from 9 am to  3 pm each day. Open to Kindergarten through 5th grade. Each grade has it's own theme and will be fun and educational! Don't miss it!
Register at    www.campsteam-tacular.com

STEAM Expo:
Parent Volunteers NEEDED for our STEAM Expo on April 9th.  Two sessions available: 9:30 am to 12:00 pm and 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. You will help by running an activity - which is easy and fun! Please sign up by going to the Pinebrook website and clicking  on STEAM Expo.