Class Newspaper

Editors' Meeting

It's been a busy week in 4.1, with everyone working on the class newspaper. Section editors have been appointed, and the chief editor and her assistant. The editorial team is: William (news and people), Justin (sport), Hannah (features), Sharmaine (entertainment), Anna Grace (jokes and puzzles). The chief editor is Carmela and her assistant is Olivia. The children are very enthusiastic and our classroom buzzes with activity. This is the first time that I have handed over the reins completely to the students. They are totally in charge of the planning, organizing, editing and publishing. We have set up a routine in which the day starts with a short section meeting, when each  editor meets with his/her team to discuss the previous day's progress and assign the day's tasks. This is followed by an editors' meeting, when the editors report back to the chief editor and assistant editor. The deadline for completing articles is next Friday, to give our graphic designers, Konstantin and Maxi, time to put the newspaper together. With the approval of the editor, the newspaper will finally roll off the printing press (the photo copier) in time for every student to take a copy home.

Math

Last week we continued to investgate 3D shapes. We used blocks to make real-world constructions, photographed them, sketched them and labelled them. In the last two weeks we will review some of the math we have been learning in the second semester. If time allows, we will have a Countdown competition.

End of Year Picnic

Dear Parents,

We would like to invite you to join us for an end of year picnic lunch on Thursday, June 9th. The school will provide lunch, drinks and some music. All you need to do is join us and your children in the I Garden between 1:15 p.m and 2:00 p.m.

  We look forward to seeing you soon.

The  Fourth Grade team.

Math

We have been working on decimals, related to metric measurement. At the moment we are  reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We will also be investigating 3D shapes and their properties.

Unit of Inquiry

We have been enjoying the unit and working on the activities with great enthusiasm. The radio broadcasts were very successful, with everyone reading their parts confidently and clearly. This week we will begin to work on our class newspaper. Deadline for completion is Friday, 4th June, to allow plenty of time for printing, so we have a very busy two weeks ahead. Interviews will take place in the next couple of days for the editors' jobs.

Library

Please look at the library blog for an important announcement.

Math

This week we worked on some challenging math problems. First, we had to measure the soccer field and find its area. Then we made a plan on squared paper, on which 1 cm represented 1 m. Finally, we had to divide the plan to give each grade an area relative to the number of classes. This was done in groups, and required collaboration, cooperation and concentration. Afterwards we discussed the problems we encountered and how we might have made the task easier to work on. We realised that the people who were most successful had collaborated throughout the activity.

Last Unit

We have started our last unit of inquiry, under the transdisciplinary theme How we organize ourselves. The central idea is Collaboration influences how well organizations function. During the unit we will be working in a variety of group situations to achieve common goals. Our performance task, in which good team work will be essential, will be to work collaboratively to produce a class newspaper. Our class will also be working in small groups to broadcast the Fourth Grade News. You will be welcome to listen in the foyer when your child's group is broadcasting. Please aim to arrive by 10:15, as we will begin promptly at 10:20 and will not be able to delay the beginning. The groups will broadcast as follows:

Monday 9th May:  Olivia, Erin, Sharmaine, Shinri, Casper
Tuesday 10th May: Anna Grace, Carmela, Yaser, William, Justin
Wednesday 11th May: Hannah, Puck, Max, Yota
Thursday 12th May: Nina, Chloe, Maxi, Konstantin
Friday 13th May: Alessandro, Jack, Pol, N.