THANK YOU!

Dear Parents and Grade 4's,

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS and WELL DONE to all my kids! I am soooo very proud of you all and your performances today, at the Music Day Concert, but also at the Graduation!

Thank you to those parents who were able to attend the graduation and also stopped by the classroom to look at the art. Thank you also to the parents who were able to attend our concert today! It is always nice to be able to have quick chat.

By now you will know that I will not be returning to HIS in the new school year.

There is no easy way for me to extend my gratitude towards you all.

To my students, so many of you have been a part of my everyday life for the past two years, and others for this year, and it is difficult for me to express just how much I will miss you! I love you all dearly and hope that one day, you will be able to tell your children about the "mean" 4th Grade teacher you had, but that you will also remember all the good times we had! Remember... "If the shoe fits..." don't ever feel bad about things, that you know are not relevant to you!

To the parents, thank you for all your support! I wish we were able to get together more often. Your children have grown so much, and you can all be very proud of who they are! They are all special!

I hope to be able to stay in touch, and will keep my email account barry.his@gmail.com active, so please feel free to send an email and let me know how you are doing!

But now, there is not much left for me to say, but "Farewell! Until we meet again!"

With much love,
Ms. Erma Barry

Graduation Performances

Here are the video clips from the performances. More on this later.

Assignment

Dear All,

Thank you to the Grade 4's for a WONDERFUL field trip. Although I am sorry that no parents joined us, I do think it was a good way for the students to show me how much they have grown up.

I am very proud of their co-operation and fantastic behavior! It was a most enjoyable day for me, knowing that they were following my instructions and that they were where they needed to be. Thank you, Grade 4's!

Next week sees the start of our final Oral Presentations for the year. The students have been working on presentations in the Computer class and will be presenting them over the next few weeks.

Please refer to page 393 of your English Text Book:
1. This presentation is not a written presentation or report, but an oral presentation.
2. The length of time allowed will be a maximum of 10 minutes per student. The presentation should be a minimum of 5 minutes long.
3. All students have to include some form of media in the presentation. It may be a a video clip, article, photograph, graph, etcetera, which is used to SUPPORT the presentation.
4. Topics HAVE TO relate to the topics provided on p.393!
5. Please prepare everything in advance.

Field Trip Related Homework

Grade 4's,

Please find the answers to the following questions, so that we are able to discuss this in class on Monday.

You may use the following Taipei Zoo websites to complete or find some of your answers. There are many links and sections to search under. Be patient and you will find all the answers!
Good observation skills at the zoo will help you too!

http://english.zoo.taipei.gov.tw/

http://www.zoo.gov.tw/edu/felids_2010/en/inde.html

http://www.zoo.gov.tw/edu/exotic/index-en.html

1. What are "Alien" or "Exotic" species?

2. What "welcomes" you to the Insectarium?

3. What are the weather conditions in the Panda House? In other words, what temperatures and humidity do Pandas enjoy?

4. What does the word "Nocturnal" mean?

5. Where will you find the center of the "Asian rain forests"?

6. List 5 "Formosan" animals at the Taipei Zoo.

7. List 7 of the areas we visited at the zoo.

I am looking forward to a fun day with you all!

Mother Barry

Music Class

Field Trip

Dear Parents and Grade 4's,

Please prepare the following for our field trip to the zoo on Friday, 21 May. A reminder also about all the important information, as mentioned previously in the newsletter.

Students should be at school at the usual time, as the buses will depart at 8:30. A reminder that there will NOT be any bus service when we return to school at 5:00. Students have to wear the school PE shirt, to help with easy identification at the zoo.

In addition to the above, students should please prepare the following:
1. A backpack to carry everything they need. (Do not take more than you need, as you are responsible for carrying your own things)
2. A "poncho" style raincoat or small umbrella in the event of possible rain.
3. Sunblock and a cap.
4. A water bottle.
5. Lunch or money for lunch. Please note, there are some restaurants available.

Please do not give students more than NT$500 to spend.

If there is anything in addition to this, I will inform you by Thursday.

Regards,
Ms. Barry

Social Studies Theme: Our Neighbors

Make a Fact File about Japan. Use the following titles in your one page presentation. Pay attention to neatness and the layout of your page. You may use a border, or add pictures, if you would like to, but do not cover any information in doing so.

- Capital City
- National Flag
- National Language
- Emperor
- Prime Minister
- 4 Main Islands
- Currency and Symbol
- Traditional Clothing for Women
- Traditional Food
- Popular Sport
- Highest Point in Japan
- Neighboring Countries

IOWA Week

Dear Parents,



Next week we will be writing our yearly IOWA Tests. Please click on the link below to see the schedule for next week. Please note that we will be starting some tests at 8:35, so please try and get students to school in time for the start of school at 8:30.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AelPpB0BljkKZGZjcXFqZ2RfNGZ0cm5tcWhj&hl=en

Regards,
Ms. Barry

Social Studies Graph

Please also remember that we will be doing pottery tomorrow, so bring an old t-shirt to wear when doing the pottery.

Good Sports!

Dear Parents,

Congratulations to ALL GRADE 4 students on their fantastic spirit and achievements, during this year's Sports Day! I was so proud of each student for showing what a good sport they are, and not making winning a priority, but the enjoyment of being part of a team, and being able to participate, the key focus.

Secondly I wish to congratulate Angel Huang on her selection, by her classmates, as the "Outstanding Student" for Grade 4. Well done, Angel, your hard work and dedication, along with a great attitude has been noticed, by all of us around you!

As you know, the IOWA testing will be upon us soon. Please may I ask that students do not go to bed too late, as we have many tests to write. As per school policy, students will not be receiving homework during that specific week.

We have started working on Social Studies again, and will be completing our final two themes for the year. In Math we are working on Geometry, and I would like to request that you please make sure that your child has a ruler and protractor. These items were on the stationary list at the beginning of the year, but there are still some students who do not have all their stationary items.

Some upcoming dates:

Wednesday 5/5 Math: Chapter 16 Test: Class Test
Thursday 6/5 English: Unit 5 Tests: Homework Test
Friday 7/5 Social Studies Test: Chapter 13 and 14 Test : Open book Test
10 - 14 May : IOWA Tests

Spelling : Week 12
Copy and define the following words:
1. gig (job)
2. orchestra
3. jambalaya
4. improvise
5. ragtime
6. jazz
7. heritage
8. interdependent
9. network
10. commute
11. satellite
12. communications
13. economy
14. interstate highway
15. global

Regards,
Ms. Barry

Week 11: Vocabulary

Please use the following link to find definitions if you do not have the textbook at home. Copy and define each word in your Spelling and Dictation Book.
http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi?template=/kids/hmm/eglossary/eg_popup.thtml&grade=4

1. fraction
2. range
3. graph
4. diameter
5. obtuse angle
6. perpendicular
7. parallel
8. consecutive
9. axis
10. angle
11. triangle
12. segment
13. radius
14. reflection
15. intersecting.

Spring: Week 9

Dear Parents,

Welcome back! By the sounds of it, all the students had a good break and are eager to work, as always!

As you may know, the school has informed us about a Story-telling Contest which will be taking place this month. I have briefly spoken to the students about this, but as the due date will soon be upon us, we will not be able to spend time on this during class. Please see the following links for more information.

Chinese: http://act.ic975.com/story2010/

English: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-TW&u=http://www.pups.hc.edu.tw/sfs3/school/board/board_show.php%3Fb_id%3D4712&ei=sjm8S8PDGcyLkAXRrbjjBw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://act.ic975.com/story2010/%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dgmail%26rls%3Dgm">

Upon returning I have found that some of the dates I posted previously will not be accurate, and so our tests that were scheduled for next week will need to be postponed. Please note the updates below.

16/4 Friday: Math Test: Chapter 15 (Homework Test)
17/4 Sports Day
20/4 Tuesday: Science Test: Chapter 11 (Open Book)
21/4 Wednesday: Science Test: Unit D: Chapter 10 & 11 (Class Test)
10-14/5 IOWA Testing
21/5 Field Trip

I look forward to seeing you at our Parent/Teacher conference coming up in the week ahead.

Regards,
Ms. Barry

Happy Easter!

Dear Parents,

At the start of the Spring Break, I would like to wish you all a Happy Easter! I hope you will enjoy the break with your family.

Spelling: Week 8

Copy and define the following words in your Spelling and Dictation books.

1. obliged
2. apologized
3. stooped
4. lobbed
5. congratulations
6. chorused
7. skidded
8. chamber
9. examiner
10. petitioners
11. oath
12. enrich
13. allegiance
14. citizenship
15. outstretched

Vocabulary: Week 7

Use the words from week 6's Spelling List and the definitions you did in class. Write your own sentence using each word. If a word has more than one meaning choose one of the meanings to write the sentence.

Upcoming Dates

Dear Parents,

Just a quick note to give you some of the dates to look out for in the future.

23/3 Tuesday: Science Test: Chapter 10 (Class Test)
24/3 Wednesday: Math Test: Chapter 14 (Class Test)
12/4 Monday: Math Test: Chapter 15 (Homework Test)
14/4 Wednesday: Science Test: Chapter 11 (Open Book)
15/4 Thursday: Science Test: Unit D: Chapter 10 & 11 (Class Test)
17/4 Sports Day

Stay warm and healthy!

Regards,
Ms. Barry

Spelling :Week 6

Copy the following list of words into your Spelling and Dictation books. Skip a line in between each word to add definitions at a later stage.

1. arrangements
2. gathering
3. great-uncle
4. aunt
5. cousin
6. nephew
7. niece
8. homestead
9. taper
10. persisted
11. baptismal
12. pitches in
13. reunion
14. satisfaction
15. reassured
16. limbs
17. faded
18. aromas
19. murmured
20. drumroll

Spelling: Week 5

1. biodegradable
2. condensation
3. conservation
4. evaporation
5. fossil fuel
6. humus
7. coke
8. natural resource
9. nonrenewable resource
10. pollutant
11. pollution
12. precipitation
13. renewable resource
14. soil profile
15. topsoil
16. borrow
17. lend
18. glaring
19. eager
20. February

Upcoming Dates

Dear Parents,

Here are some of the upcoming dates. A reminder that these dates are based on estimated completion of our work. It may happen that we take a day or two longer than planned to complete work and then I would need to postpone the initial test date. We try our best, however, to avoid that.

25/2 Thursday: Math Test: Chapter 12 (Class Test)
1/3 Monday: Oral Presentations: Newspaper Reports
3/3 Wednesday: Science Test: Chapter 9(Class Test)
5/3 Friday: Science Test: Unit C Test: Chapters 8 and 9 (Open Book)
10/3 Wednesday: Math Test: Chapter 13 (Class Test)

Here are some of the pictures from our baking experience, just before the Chinese New Year break. We had some fun looking at the difference between Conventional Oven Baking and Microwave Oven Baking.

Hsin Nien Kai Le; Gung Syi Fa Tsai

I would like to make use of this opportunity to wish you all of the best for the coming Chinese New Year. “Hsin Nien Kai Le; Gung Syi Fa Tsai”. This year Sunday 14 February is also a special red day, as it falls on Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! I trust you will all have a very pleasant break and enjoy your time spent with family or friends.

As you may know, students have a News project to work on, which will coincide with their next Oral Presentation.

I have given students a demonstration of what it is they would need to do. Students are to use the 4 pages they have been provided with, to complete the following tasks. Here is a summary for reference:

Newspaper
Look through your local newspaper. Cut out five items of information which interest you. Sort these items into local, national or international news. Briefly summarize your item or explain why you chose each item.
Please do not place more than 2 items per page. Try and group the items together according to groups, above.

Television
Watch a news program and write five news items which have been of interest to you. Are they local, national or international? What was the topic of each item?

Radio
Listen to a news broadcast on a radio station. Make a list of three news items. Describe what each item was about. Was it local, national or international?

The project will be due on Monday, 1 March.

Enjoy the cooler weather and the wonderful rain!

Ms. Barry

Spelling: Week 2

We will be writing an English Test on Thursday. The test will be about Unit 4: Adjectives.
It will be a class test.

Copy the following words into your Spelling and Dictation books. Write each word only once, with its definition.

1. borrow
2. lend
3. igneous
4. metamorphic
5. mineral
6. rock cycle
7. sedimentary
8. sediment
9. earthquake
10. magma
11. landslide
12. lava
13. volcano
14. deposition
15. erosion
16. glacier
17. weathering

Spelling: Week 1

1. inch (in)
2. half inch
3. quarter inch
4. eighth inch
5. foot (ft)
6. yard (yd)
7. mile (mi)
8. gallon
9. quart
10. pint
11. cup
12. capacity
13. ton (t)
14. millimeter (mm)
15. decimeter (dm)

Newspaper Request

Dear Parents,

As part of our Social Studies, students have been asked to get an English newspaper to use to complete certain questions. The answers to the activities are only required for after Chinese New Year, thus giving them about three weeks to complete the activities.

Could you please assist me in buying any English newspaper to enable them to complete this.

Once they have cut out the articles required, the remainder of the paper could be brought to class, which we will use for many other activities in all subject areas. If you are unable to get a paper, please let me know so that I can make an alternative arrangement.

Regards,

Ms. Barry

Writing Instructions

Please visit the following site: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/stepchart_eng.pdf

Print, or if you are unable to print, copy and complete this chart on the back of your lined paper. This must be handed in with your paragraph. Choose your topic and plan your paragrpah on the Step-by-Step chart.

I have asked all students to take their English Textbooks. Use the textbook if needed. Remember, choose only ONE of the topics.

Topic 1:

The first topic relates to page 358
Write the instructions to go with the pictures that explain how to make a bookmark.

Topic 2:

Write the instructions to "How to Make a Fossil". You may draw pictures on a seperate page to hand in with your paragraph, if you would like to.

Have a good weekend!

Ms. Barry

Upcoming Dates

Dear Parents,

We are making good progress in our Curriculum, and as you will know we are nearing the end of our First Semester. Semester 2 commences on February 1st, 2010.

Here are some upcoming dates:

21/1 Thursday: Social Studies Test: Chapter 4 (Text Book: p.73 - 79, p.89 - 94), and Workbook up to Farming Technology (Open Book)

21/1 Thursday: English Test: Unit 10 (Homework Test)

29/1 Friday: Math Test: Chapter 11 (Homework Test)2/1 Monday: Math Test: Unit 4: Chapters 8-11 (Class Test)

3/2 Wednesday: Social Studies: Chapter 5 (Text Book: p. 110 - 117, p.126 - 143), and Workbook Worksheets (Open Book)


Please note that all dates are estimated dates. Sometimes a section takes longer than planned and I may need to change the date, closer to time. Stay warm and healthy!

Ms. Barry

Vocabulary Week 18

Copy and define the following words, as they are used in your "Reading Books" in your "Spelling and Dictation" Books:

1. conductor
2. depot
3. jolting
4. lurching
5. platform
6. satchels
7. creek
8. calico
9. delaine
10. craned
11. stubble
12. callused
13. bristly
14. bobs
15. suspected
16. shanties

Welcome to 2010!

Dear Parents,

A "Warm" Welcome to 2010! I hope you all rested well and were able to enjoy some good family time!

Fossil Presentations:

You need to talk about the things that one can discover by looking at the fossil. So, maybe what kind of animal/plant/thing it is. Talk about some of the features about the animal/plant, for example, maybe it has wings(animal), or a flower (plant). Look at what the Paleontologists learn by looking at fossils, if you need more ideas. Lastly you must say something about how you made the fossil. Materials you used and so on.

The presentation must be short and to the point. Maximum time allowed will be 1 and a half minutes. NO poster is required, only the model of the fossil.

Keep warm and have a good weekend!

Ms. Barry