Monday, May 27, 2019

May News

Carney’s Crew Class News and Updates  
May 27, 2018  


Dear Families,

Happy Memorial Day! Wow! I can’t believe that we are already at the end of May. Where has the year gone? We have been VERY busy in the classroom working to finish everything before the year comes to and end.

Here are some updates from the classroom:

Math-
In math we have focused on multiplying fractions and mixed numbers and measurement conversions. We are also working on basic multiplication and division facts and multidigit computation. The unit 7 assessment is very long, so we took part of it on Friday and we will take the second half the week of June 3rd.

Reading-
We are currently learning about the five regions of the United States. Together as a class, we read about the land, water, climate, products and natural resources, and culture of the Northeast region. Students are now working in small groups to read about another region of the United States. They will be making google sideshows to share their learning about their region with the class.

Writing-
Students have been working hard on our opinion writing genre. They have been focusing on introductions, conclusions, and transition words.. Next week students will get to choose their own debate topic to write about.  

Science-
Students are really enjoying our plant unit. So far, we have learned about what plants need to survive and about seed dispersal.  In our mystery science lesson last week, we investigated whether or not plants eat dirt. Ask your child about the lesson! We also made root viewers with CD cases and radish seeds.  We will make our final observations tomorrow when we return to school and see how much our roots have grown. This week we will begin planting seeds, start our plant webquest and learn about photosynthesis.


Upcoming End of Year Dates-

Monday, June 3rd: Shelburne Museum Field Trip-  This will be an all day field trip. Thank you to everyone who returned permission slips and donated to student scholarships. It is MUCH appreciated!

Thursday, June 6th: Cardboard Carnival- Students have been working on their cardboard carnival games during genius hour and we will have a celebration on June 6th from 2:00-2:45 in the Lighthouse 4th grade classrooms. We hope to see you there!

Friday, June 7th: MBS Field Day- Field Day information letters went home a few weeks ago in Friday folders. 4th grade time slot is from 10:30-12:00. Field day will be at MBS behind the school.  Feel free to stop by and join in on the fun!

Tuesday, June 11th: Fly Up Day- Students will find out who their new 5th grade teachers will be and will spend about an hour in their new classroom.

Thursday, June 13th: Bayside Day- We will walk to Bayside Park around 10:15 and spend the day playing games at the park and swimming at the beach (yes, in the freezing cold water!) Bayside forms went home last Friday. Please send them back ASAP and remember to indicate whether or not you would like your child to swim.

Friday, June 14th: BBQ- Feel free to join us for our annual end of year BBQ lunch! I will email our specific lunch time when I hear from the kitchen!

Monday, June 17th: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL- This is a half day and students will be dismissed at 12:45.

I hope you are enjoying the sunshine this weekend! Have a great week!

Mrs. Carney

Friday, March 15, 2019

March News

Carney’s Crew Class News and Updates  
March 15, 2018  


Dear Families,

Spring is in the air!  It was so nice to get outside this week and enjoy the warmer weather.  Along with the warmer weather comes lots of water and mud! Please remember to send your child to school with boots and extra socks.  It’s also not a bad idea to have a change of clothes, as we have had many puddle accidents this week.

Here are some updates from the classroom:

In math we have been learning about line plots, lines of symmetry, angles, and mutlistep number stories. Next week we will review all of these skills and then take the second half of our unit 5 math test.  Unit 6 will focus on division and angles.

In reading and writing, we have been working on our passion projects.  Students have all narrowed down a topic and have worked so hard on researching their topics using books and the internet.  We have learned how to ensure a source is credible, take quality notes, and organize our notes into subtopics. Next week we will draft and type our writing, along with editing and revising.  The goal is to start our projects by the end of next week. Students may work on their projects at home if you would like, but will also be given time in school. Trifolds will be available at school if students would like one. Please let me know if you have any questions about our passion projects.

We are planning to invite families in to view our passion projects on the morning of March 29th.  We are still narrowing down a specific time, and I will send an email early next week with final details.

We have started our land and water unit and are beginning to explore how land and water interact.  We looked at soil components and compared the properties of sand, humus, gravel and clay. Next week we will use sugar cubes, graham crackers, and water droplets to help us understand the concepts of erosion.

Upcoming Dates:

Inservice Day- There will be no school for students on Friday, March 22nd due to teacher inservice.

Random Acts of Kindness Week- The week of March 18-21st.  There was a blue sheet that went home today in Friday folders with more details for each day.

Passion Project celebration- The morning of March 29th.  Specific time to follow early next week!

SBAC- Save the date! We will be taking the math and reading SBAC assessments the week of May 6-10th.

Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Carney

Monday, February 18, 2019

February News


Carney’s Crew Class News and Updates  
February 18, 2018  


Dear Families,

Happy snowy Monday! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. It’s hard to believe that we are only a week away from February break!

Here are some updates from the classroom:

We are in the middle of unit 5 and are learning about adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators.  We are halfway through unit 5, so we will take the first part of our math test this Friday and then we will take the second part of the math test in early March when we return from break.  Students who will be absent this Friday will take their test on Thursday.


In reading, students are exploring informational texts and are working to identify the topic, main idea and supporting details. We have been using the website www.newsela.com for some of our informational texts.  Students have logins for this website and can access from home.  Login information is on their password card in their google drive.  They know how to access all of this!

Students have been working so hard on their informational writing pieces.  We are working to publish our writing today and will have our author’s celebration tomorrow afternoon during our writing time.  Students will share their writing with you at conferences after break. Information about our next big writing project will be coming home in Friday folders!

Our next science and social studies units will be happening simultaneously.  In science, we will be starting our Land and Water unit and in social studies, we will be learning about the regions of the United States.  

Upcoming Dates:

Recorder Concert- Our 4th grade recorder concert is TOMORROW, February 19th from 7:00-7:30. Students should come down to the classroom at 6:45, no earlier.  They should bring ONLY their recorders with them. I will walk them down to the concert and then they will meet their adult after the concert.  Students will NOT be coming back to the classroom after the concert.


Conferences - Trimester 2 conferences will be on Monday and Tuesday March 4th and 5th. Mrs. Burke sent out information about conference sign ups in her newsletter last Friday.  Please email me with any conference related questions.

MBS Yearbook- Yearbooks are available to order until Feb. 22nd using the following link- http://jostensadservice.com/?REF=A09886611

February Break- There will be no school for students from February 25th-March 5th. School will start up again on Wednesday, March 6th.

Passion Projects- Please look in Friday folders for a yellow piece of paper explaining our upcoming passion projects.

Inservice Day- Save the date! There will be no school for students on Friday, March 22nd due to teacher inservice.

Have a great rest of your week and a restful vacation. See you all in March!

Mrs. Carney

Sunday, January 27, 2019

January Updates

Dear Families,

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. It’s nice to see temperatures finally above zero! Thank you for remembering to send all winter gear to school each day, it is much appreciated!

Here are some updates from the classroom:

We took our unit 4 math test on Friday and tests will be coming home sometime this week. Unit 5 will focus on fraction and mixed number computation and measurement.  We will continue to work on multiplication facts and computation throughout this unit as well. Any additional practice with multiplication at home will benefit your child, especially with division fast approaching.

In reading we have wrapped up our mythology unit and have started focusing on nonfiction.  Students have been working hard to identify text features and explain how they help when reading an informational text.  Ask your child to name a few text features for you. This week we will start learning how to identify the main idea and supporting details of a nonfiction article or text. We will also learn about the difference between main idea and topic.   

We started our informational writing unit and students created expert lists in their writer’s notebooks. Students brainstormed topics that they know and care a lot about and then selected one topic to begin writing about. We are currently in the process of drafting our first informational writing piece based on the topic from their expert lists.  Students have brainstormed subtopics and listed facts, details and examples for each. We are working on using the “hamburger” structure to organize our paragraphs for each subtopic. Ask your child to explain the hamburger to you! Stay tuned for information coming home soon about our Passion Projects!

In social studies, we have started our Vermont Land and Economy unit and are learning about the physiographic regions of Vermont.  Students are working on identifying similarities and differences in both the land and products in each of the regions. We will switch to our Land and Water science unit sometime in the beginning of February.

Upcoming Dates:

Valentine’s Day- We will do a valentines exchange on February 14th.  I will send home a list of student names this week. Please remember, there needs to be a valentine for every child.  We will not have a big party, but if you would like to send in a small treat, please email and let me know!

MBS Yearbook- Yearbooks are available to order until Feb. 22nd using the following link- http://jostensadservice.com/?REF=A09886611

Early release day- Students will be dismissed at 12:45 on February 6th.

SBAC interim assessments- Over the next few weeks, students will take a math and reading SBAC interim assessment. This is a much shorter version than the SBAC testing that we will do in May.

Recorder Concert February 19th- I will follow up with the exact time and details of the concert after I get more details from Mr. Mast, but I wanted to give you a save the date for your calendar!

Your kids are working so hard both academically and socially each day! It is amazing to see how much they have grown since the beginning of the year. I am so lucky to be their teacher!

Have a great week!
Mrs. Carney


Friday, January 4, 2019

Fort Day

Students had a blast during our fort day this afternoon! Check out the pictures!






















Thursday, January 3, 2019

Fort Day Tomorrow!

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year! 

We filled our fish bowl and will be celebrating tomorrow with forts, stuffed animals and a read-a-thon!  Students can bring in sheets and/or blankets to help make their forts.  They may also bring in a small stuffed animal and an electronic  device for reading (or just a good old fashion book!). There are plenty of books in the classroom and students will also have access to chromebooks for other online reading options.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great night!

Mrs. Carney 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Making Frindles

We made frindles today!  Be sure to ask your child what a frindle is.













All set to go into the oven! 

Reminders