Q1 Week 3

Dear Parents,

"Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage." -C.S. Lewis.

A new week begins, with new challenges and new adventures. We are beginning to fall into our routines now, and as the freshness of the year wears off we are likely to see slips and mistakes on everyone's part. If you see one or two infractions coming home, that is okay. Everyone is getting comfortable in fourth grade, and everyone makes mistakes.

As we push forward let us always keep our minds on our mission, to help these students become excellent human beings. They are very likely to face many enemies and difficulties as they grow up and take leadership of the world, we must at least prepare them to face them with heroic courage.

This Week

History: We will be learning about the fall of Rome this week. The students will learn about  the instability and chaos left in Rome's wake and how the people of that time adapted and built the beginnings of the kingdoms and nations that would form into the modern world. There will be a quiz on Friday.

Writing/Spalding: We are going to really focus on handwriting this week. By the end we will have gone through cursive and manuscript letter formation and should all be writing proficiently. The best way to help your student improve their handwriting is by checking their homework (or anything they write) and insisting on their best work. It might be painful to rewrite a sentence, but the benefit of what it teaches them will save them a lot of time in the future. There will be a handwriting quiz on Thursday.

Reading: We will continue with Prince Caspian. This week Caspian and the Pevensie's situation will become even more dire and they will encounter some truly cruel enemies. If you read with your students (a great idea!) then talk to them about the courage that was required by the children to face such terrible enemies. Such courage is worth emulating.

Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi
4th Grade History/ELA Lead Teacher