September/October Newsletter

Fourth Grade September and October Newsletter Mrs. Hladky, Ms. Jung, Mrs.Leuschner, Mrs. Lucas, and Ms. Westra Math Workshop We are currently studying topic 2 in Math entitled “Fluently Add and Subtract Multi-Digit Whole Numbers.” This topic addresses finding sums and differences, estimating sums and differences, adding whole numbers, adding greater numbers, subtracting whole numbers, subtracting greater numbers, subtracting across zeros and reasoning. Toward the end of September, we will begin unit 3, “Use Strategies and Properties to Multiply by 1-Digit Numbers.” In this unit the kids will learn a variety of strategies to multiply two, three, and four digit numbers by one digit numbers. We will be learning how to apply strategies that include partial products and area models. As a reminder, your child will have homework two to three nights a week. Reading Workshop During Reading Workshop in the month of August, the kids began to learn and practice how to think deeply about their reading, determine if they are truly reading “just right books” at their level that will help them grow as readers, and analyze character traits while providing evidence from the text. I was and will continue conferring independently with readers as well as working with kiddos in a small group format as I focus on the aforementioned and upcoming skills. Our reading focus in September will be on how to read nonfiction effectively. The kids will learn how to find and use key details in the text to determine the central (main idea) of the text as well as the author’s purpose in writing the text. We will study the various text features that go along with nonfiction text; headings, subheadings, captions, graphs, pictures, etc. The kids will use these features to gain more information about the topics they are reading. Lastly, the kids will be writing about their reading as they write short constructed responses detailing the main idea of the text read as well as supporting the main idea with the key details they found. I could really use your support at home….please encourage your child to read. Volume matters!! Please support your child as they log their reading on their weekly reading logs. Science We have begun our first unit and our focus is on Life Science. By the end of this unit the kids will be able to construct an argument detailing how plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. This unit is very hands-on and involves many engaging partner and group experiments. Thank you for sending in the supplies to make our first investigation successful. The kids made wonderful observations and came to thoughtful conclusions as they studied the inside of fruits and observed the structures of the celery and flowers change as they absorbed the water dyed with food coloring. Writing Workshop We have started our year as informational writers. The students spent the first week of the unit generating and developing ideas for their informational piece; they thought about and shared their interests and selected their topic. Once they selected their topic they used non fiction texts to learn more about their topic, decide which topics they will teach about, and develop their subtopics. The kids will spend the beginning of September taking notes on their topic while at the same time ensuring that they include important facts, detailed and clear examples, and comparisons to other animals. The next step in the writing process will begin just before the start of October. This will be the drafting of the informational book. Drafting will require the students to synthesize their notes and use a clear teaching tone as they write. They will incorporate transition words and phrases in their piece as they elaborate on their thinking. The final product will be an informational book that the kids will be sharing with their classmates. It will include their writing as well as text features such as pictures, captions, maps, tables, and charts. I will do a great deal of modeling with a class topic in order to support the kids as they engage in this writing process. Important Dates Digger Dash: Friday, September 15th No School due to Teacher Professional Development Day: Friday, September 22nd Fall Break: October 16th - 20th

Welcome to the Fourth Grade School Year of 2023-2024!

Dear Families, Welcome to fourth grade at Gold Rush Elementary. My name is Jennifer Poli, and I will be your child’s teacher. I am excited for the journey of a new year to begin and to experience it with all of the children and you! I look forward to getting to know you and your child as we embark on this journey together. I truly look at my role as your child’s teacher not only as an educator with regard to the fourth grade curriculum, but as someone who will be a part of his/her growth as an individual (academically, socially, emotionally). I teach with both my “educator hat” and my “mom hat” at all times, and I will do all I can to challenge and support your child as we grow together throughout the year. Allow me to tell you a little about myself as I will be spending a great deal of time with your child. I earned my undergraduate degree in psychology from William Paterson University in northern New Jersey. My teaching degree is from Rutgers University, and I earned my Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Temple University in Pennsylvania. I have been teaching for nineteen years, and I have had the privilege of teaching here at Gold Rush for the past ten years. Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my family. I have two children; my son is fourteen and will be entering ninth grade this year at Legend. My daughter is twelve and will be in the seventh grade at Cimarron. My fiance and I are getting married this October so I will be going from Ms. Poli to Mrs. Lucas. I thought it would be best to begin the year this way so it’s easier for the kiddos. I will be going by Mrs. Lucas from the start. My email account with the district is still Poli. Hopefully I am allowed to change it soon so it’s not so confusing. For now, you can always reach me at this address. I’ll let you know when they are able to update it. In my spare time I enjoy cooking/baking, reading, hiking, physical fitness, and cheering on my children at their many sporting events. You can often find me on the volleyball or basketball court when I am not in the classroom. Kids sure do keep you busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I look forward to working with you and your child in the upcoming school year! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jennifer.poli@dcsdk12.org. I have an open door policy, and I feel that communication is an essential part of a successful school year so please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me with regard to anything you or your kiddo needs. I hope you enjoy every last moment with your child before the school year starts. Here are a few important reminders for the start of the upcoming school year. Please send your child to school with a water bottle and several healthy, non sugary snacks for snack time starting on the very first day. Lastly, it would be wonderful if your child could come to school with at least 4-8 books of his/her choice. The books can be fiction chapter books or nonfiction (a mix of both is great too). We do have a classroom library the kids can borrow from, and we will be going to the school library in the upcoming weeks. Having a few books from home at the start of the year helps us build the foundations for reading workshop before we have a chance to get into book borrowing. The books can be from your home or from the Parker library. If this is not possible, please know that I will give your child time to select books from the classroom library. Feel free to bring the books on Meet the Teacher Day or the first day of school. Please refer to the Welcome Back to School email from GRE. The email has information about express check-in, signing up for Meet the Teacher Day, and lots of other valuable information. It was emailed on July 20th. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to seeing you soon! Sincerely, Jennifer Poli (soon to be Lucas - yes, this will be a bit confusing for us all…me included. We’ll get there!)