Friday, December 17th

Friday, December 17th is an Early Dismissal day and students will be released at 12 Noon. Our Winter Holiday Parties will begin at 11:00 AM. Students WILL eat lunch before dismissal.

Equivalent Fractions

Parents,
We are learning about Equilvalent Fractions in math. Here is a great tool to help your child review Equivalent Fractions at home!

Also, each math teacher created a math assessment in Odyssey. Your child can log into Odyssey at home and school. It reviews all of the TAKS objectives and reteaches concepts that they are struggling with. You can find the link for Odyssey on the SBISD Library Resources page- about half-way down the page.

Parenting with Love and Logic

Parenting with Love and Logic

Free for all parents
January 3 @ 7:00 p.m.
WAIS Auditorium
901 Yorkchester

Betsy Geddes, Ed. D., is a much sought after speaker on school and parent issues. She is known for her humorous yet practical approach to dealing with kids in today’s fast-paced, complicated, and sometimes difficult and dangerous world.

Parents leave her seminars with ideas that can be implemented successfully the moment they walk into their homes.

Betsy talks from her experiences as a teacher, administrator, Love and Logic consultant, college instructor, parent and grandparent.

She will be speaking to elementary and secondary teachers during our staff development on January 3rd.
Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to hear her speak to parent.

Help RCE win a GRANT from Pepsi

From Mrs. Harrell- RCE's Librarian


The grant is for an afterschool program to teach healthy lifestyles.

What needs to be done.
Go to the Pepsi Refresh site http://www.refresheverything.com
Register (YOU MUST REGISTER)
Vote for Refresh, Refuel, React - # 360 Education for 50,000
You can vote with every e-mail address you have – just must register for each one.
Once you have registered, you just log in each morning and vote quickly. (Hopefully you will see us at the top of the list!)


Once you have voted – you can click on ideas you support and the ones you have voted for will pop up…much easier the second time.

Thank you so much for your help!

Karen Harrell
Librarian
Rummel Creek Elementary
Every child can succeed @ your school library!

Nutcracker

Parents,
Just a quick reminder for our upcoming Nutcracker performances on
Monday morning.

If you son is a Soldier or a Mouse please send them to school in BLACK
pants.
If your son is a Baker please send them in KHAKI pants.

Please also send a change of pants/shorts for after. We will keep
their pants at school for the evening performance on Tuesday.

Please send your daughters with their hair in a bun, with makeup
applied (optional). Our helping moms will help tidy hair but will not
have time to apply makeup on every girl.

The children and staff have worked very hard on this production, it's
going to be fabulous.

Have a great weekend.
Karen and Molly

Nutcracker Reminders from Fine Arts

Students will be performing the Nutcracker during school on Monday, December 6th and during the evening on Tuesday, December 7th.

Monday (12/6/10) performances:
8:30 a.m. and 9:20ish a.m.
Parents, please do not take pictures during or after either of these performances.

Tuesday (12/7/10) evening performance: 7:00 p.m. following PTA meeting which begins at 6:30.
Please no pictures during the performance.

Monday morning:
All students should report to their assigned dressing rooms at 7:45 a.m. with hair already done.
Tuesday evening:
All students should report to their assigned dressing rooms at 6:15 p.m. with hair already done.

Following the evening performance parents are welcome to take pictures.
All students will need to change back into their street clothes and turn in their costume and props before being
served refreshments.

Cesar Rincon is filming on Monday morning and the DVD’s are available for purchase. Order blanks were sent home this week.
Please return those by Wednesday, Dec. 8th so that the orders can be delivered before we go home for winter holiday.

The children have been working hard and are excited to perform next week.
A special thanks to Karen Miller and Molly Hermes for heading up and doing so much of the “foot work” behind the scenes with costuming and staging!!! Thanks to their wonderful crew for decorating the cafeteria with the handiwork of the 4th grade students.

It truly takes a community to put on a show of this caliber! Thanks to ALL!

Lunch

We have students with life threatening food restrictions that need respect and monitoring. Elementary Student and Parent Handbook states, “State and Federal regulations prohibit meals and snacks provided by parents/guardians from being shared with classmates during lunch.” In other words, you can bring lunch to school for your own child but not for any other students even if you have parent permission. It is a safety issue, but it also causes hurt feelings when all the other children are excluded. Thank you, in advance, for following this rule.

Supplies Needed

Parents,
We are collecting a couple of things for upcoming projects. We need 2 Liter bottles (we are not sure if our project will work with the new Coke bottles- other brands are ok, but please remove the label) and colored comics (from the Sunday paper). Please help us "reuse" these resources at school. We need the bottles in January and the Color Comics by November 22nd.

Thanks!

What is your 4th Grader Learning in Science?

We cover a lot of material in science this year. We started this 9 weeks learning about the Earth's Structure and Landforms. We are currently working on Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition and their effects on Earth's surface.

What is your 4th Grader Learning in Math?

We have been extremely busy in math so far this year. We are currently working on Data Tables and Bar Graphs. Next week we will be learning about Area and Perimeter. We are continuing to review and apply previous concepts including: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (LONG division), place value, and rounding. Problem solving strategies are being reinforced through our Exemplars problems which put together multiple concepts at a high level. Check out our posts about Math Websites to help support your child at home. Math facts are being applied daily, so please continue reviewing these every night.

Talent Show

The 4th Grade Talent Show is TODAY, 11/3 @ 2:00.

Sack Lunches on 11/2/10

Election Day Sack Lunch Menu

Chicken Sandwich
Sandwich Trimmings
Baby Carrots
Fresh Apple
Cookie (Chocolate Chip)
Choice of 1% unflavored, fat free unflavored or chocolate Milk
Straw, napkin, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise and Ranch Dressing included in sack lunch bag

Individual School Pictures

Do not forget that tomorrow, October 26th, is school pictures.

PTA News

Check out the October Newsletter from the PTA!

Fact Strips

Does your child need extra help practicing their math facts? Click the links below for Fact Strips!



Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

September 25 is National Free Museum Day. There will be free shuttles between the activities at all of the different museums in the district. By all means, be sure and to go by the Contemporary Craft Museum…..good stuff.

Have a good time!

The fourth grade students had a great lesson on measurement in the lab yesterday. The teachers would like to send a big THANK YOU to all the parents who participated in the HANDS ON SCIENCE activities. The students love this time with you and benefit from the experience!

Tumblers

RCE is selling some great tumblers!!!! The 16 oz is $10 and the 20 oz is $12. You can buy them in the office!!!!

No school on Monday September 6. Have a great Holiday weekend!!!

We're off to a Great Start!

School is off to a great start and we are already working hard! The 4th graders will learn many new things this year! We want to keep you informed about what we are working on and what is to come. During the first 9 weeks period we will work on learning and reviewing basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We will give quizzes periodical to evaluate their progress. We will also review and expand our knowledge of addition and subtraction of large numbers with regrouping. Rounding, place value and number sense in general will be our focus in math during this first grading period.


The kids are very excited about Hands on Science starting September 13! Be sure to sign up as a volunteer to help, Hands on Science is an incredible enriching experience for our students. Current science topics that we will study are; lab safety, scientific tools, observations. Additionally we will cover seasons, tides and weather.


Back to school night will be on September 21st

In Language Arts we will be setting the routines for our reading groups and putting students into literature circles. DRA testing will be taking place the next couple of weeks so that we can use their levels to help them better in the classroom. In writing we will be focusing on having the kids work on narrative papers and learning to use the story arc to help them get their ideas organized on their paper.

In Social Studies we are started to learn about landforms in our state compared to the United States. Latitude and longitude are being reviewed so that the students can use it to find places on a map. We will soon be learning about the four regions of our state and doing a project that helps the students remember our different regions.

Math Websites

Mrs. Schappell, our new math specialist, found some great Math Websites. Mrs. Harrell also included these on the RCE Library Link.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://cms.springbranchisd.com/Elementary/RummelCreek/MathCurriculum/tabid/6165/Default.aspx
For the link above I went to the RCE homepage.
Click on Library Links.
Click on Curriculum Links
Click on Math

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/math.html

www.aaamath.com

Unsubscribe

If you do not have a 4th grader this year, feel free to unsubscribe from our blog- there is a link at the bottom of the email. We'll miss you!

Calendar

The SBISD calendar is always at the bottom of our blog. We will also be adding dates of important happenings around 4th grade!

Jump Rope for Heart

Students 1st-4th will participate in
Jump Rope For Heart
Friday, April 16th
During their Specials time

Students in 5th Grade will participate in
Hoops For Heart or Jump Rope
Friday, April 16th
During their Specials time

Students may bring a towel to sit on, a water bottle, and a healthy snack!
They MUST have returned their permission slip to Health Fitness by Friday!



Debbie Moore
Health Fitness Teacher
Rummel Creek Elementary
deborah.moore@springbranchisd.com

Math Facts Apps

Many students have IPod Touches… the following is a list of FREE apps to download to practice math facts.

Flash to Pass
Math Minute
Math Dr
Basic Math
Kids Math Ace
Math Train

Austin Field Trip

The Austin Field Trip is Thursday, April 15th

Students should:
Arrive at RCE by 6:15 AM.
Wear RCE shirt (if you have one), comfortable shorts/pants, tennis shoes and socks
Bring a sack lunch (plastic gallon ziploc bag). Make sure everything is labeled and disposable
Bring a snack- pack it separately from the lunch
Students can bring games or books to keep them busy on the bus (NO ELECTRONICS)

Parents need to be at RCE by 6:00 PM to pick up their children.

We are looking forward to an exciting day of Texas History!

What's going on in Language Arts and Social Studies?

We are learning about the cultures of Texas and doing state reports for social studies. For Language Arts we are continuing to work on narrative writing allowing the kids to pick their own topics to write about, practicing comprehension of reading passages, literature circles with the kids leading the discussion on their groups books, and beginning to look at Tall Tales and writing our own Tall Tale.

What's going on in Science 4th 9 weeks?

We are ending the school year with our Physical Science Unit.

We are studying:

Matter
Chemical and Physical properties of Matter
Heating and cooling matter
Magnetism and Density
Mixtures and Solutions
Force- Gravity and Friction
Energy- heat, light, sound
Electricity- conductors and insulators

Science Fun Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/keeping_warm/play.shtml

Science Fun

Class Pictures

On Friday, March 26th, we will be taking Class Pictures. A bright orange order form is going home. Pictures must be ordered in advance.

Field Trips

Yesterday, permission slips for our Taste of Texas field trip were sent home. We will be going to Taste of Texas on Monday, March 29th, from 8:30-11:00 AM. We will be treated to a tour of the restaurant and it's wonderful Texas History memorabilia.



Our Austin Field Trip is on Thursday, April 15th. We will be leaving at 6:00 AM and returning at 6:00 PM. Please let your child's teacher know if you would like to be an official small group chaperone and ride the bus with the class. We have room on the bus to take 4 chaperones per class. We will be drawing chaperone names on Thursday, April 1st.

Breakfast @ RCE

Breakfast available at School!

$.30 for reduced priced students
$.75 for full price students
$1.70 for adults

We will be following Week 1 of the posted breakfast menu starting on
Monday, February 22nd
Service starts at 7:30am and stops at 7:50am
A choice of two Entrée’s, unflavored 1% or Fat Free Milk,
Fruit or Fruit Juice

Tuesday, February 23rd is RCE Los Tios Night

Come join us for Rummel Creek night at Los Tios Memorial location TONIGHT!! February 23rd from 5- 9 PM. Bring family and friends to enjoy a Mexican fiesta. Be sure to mention Rummel Creek to your server and RCE PTA will get 20% of your bill.

Austin Fieldtrip

The Austin Fieldtrip will be on April 15th! The students will visit the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History!

Reminder about the Upcoming Holiday and Curriculum Night

Parents,
Monday is President’s Day and all SBISD campuses will be closed. Tuesday is Curriculum night. Please let us know if you are planning on buying dinner- we want to make sure we have enough pizza. Have a fabulous 3-day weekend!

Details about Curriculum night can be found on RCE's Homepage

Have a fabulous 3-day weekend!

From the RCE Fourth Grade Teachers

Curriculum Night Next Week

Curriculum Night at RCE is next Tuesday, February 16th! Your child's homeroom teacher will be emailing you the details. Please be looking for an email soon!
An attachment to the email includes the schedule and opportunities offered.
There is also a registration form at the end of the attachment if you want to sign up for dinner that night as well.

Come join your child! Bring your laptop, or cell phone, or digital pictures and learn how to create a Wordle, or an Animoto movie, or a trading card! See how we use technology with our curriculum!

We look forward to seeing you!

The Fourth Grade Teachers

Valentine's Celebration

Since Valentine's Day is on a weekend, Rummel Creek's fourth grade will be celebrating on Friday, February 12th from 12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. You should hear from the homeroom parent who is charge of your child's party about things you can donate or do to make this a memorable experience. Fourth graders love valentines!!!!
Don't forget to have your child address valentines for everyone in their homeroom to share on this special Valentine's Day celebration!

Curriculum Night is coming

View the blurb below for more details about Curriculum Night!


Click on:
http://www.acapela.tv/goodolddays-100597467_c0f6a03269577.html

Rummel Creek's night at Los Tios

Come join us for Rummel Creek night at Los Tios Memorial location on Tuesday, January 26th 5- 9 PM. Bring family and friends to enjoy a Mexican Fiesta. Be sure to give this flyer to your server and RCE PTA will get 20% of your bill. Hope to see you all there!

Language Arts and Social Studies Update

Language Arts

The students are working on creating a well organized writing piece with the focus on personal narrative. They are also looking at the grammar components of correct word choice, combining sentences, spelling errors and being able to identify complete sentences.

Literature circles or book clubs are still going strong. The students are reading books for pleasure and involved in their group's discussions. Book clubs give the teachers a way to introduce the students to different genres.

Social Studies

Fourth grade continues their Texas focus and we are currently studying the Texan's fight for independence from Mexico. Some current topics we are reading about and discussing include
the missions and their roles and Texas heroes that were involved in the Battle of the Alamo.
Soon we will learn about Texas becoming the 28th state of the Union.

Math and Science updates

Math

Fourth graders have been working with equivalent fractions this month. We have learned how to identify or make an equivalent fraction both with manipulatives and
mathematically. Please have your child show you how the multiplication table/chart can be used to identify equivalent fractions. This is amazing! It can also be used to find the simplest form (lowest terms) which is an area of fractions we are currently learning. We are also comparing and placing fractions on a number line and determiningg which fractions are greater than, lesser than or equal to others. We will be moving into improper fractions and mixed numbers soon.

Another area we are continuing to visit is two digit by two digit multiplication. This is a big step for fourth graders and takes lots of practice. We are currently using the model of using partial products to arrive at the final answer. Practice a couple of these problems with your child nightly to help increase his/her proficiency and accuracy.


Science

We just had a great time exploring and classifying rocks in the Geology lesson at Hands on Science last week. We really appreciate the parents who helped plan, set up and teach this fun unit!
In our science curriculum, we have also been discussing Recycling, Reusing and . This went along with our green week at RCE last week. Fourth graders made recycling posters to help remind everyone the steps they can take to help.

This month we have been exploring habitats and biomes. We discussed the characteristics of climate, plant and animal life for each biome and how they interact with each other. The students have found this interesting and some have done additional research to share with the class.

Science Fair is coming up and we hope your child chose to participate in this fun event! We are looking forward to see what our junior scientists have discovered
On January 28th.

Literature Ideas

You can read and discuss any of the following on one of these wintry nights!

A Blizzard of Wintry Books
Brrr! Warm up to a winter wonderland of literature! From viewing the splendor of snow through a child’s eyes to exploring the miracle of snowflakes through a camera lens, these books are sure to deepen appreciation for the coldest season of the year!

Dear Rebecca, Winter is Here by Jean Craighead George
A grandmother describes the arrival of winter in a letter to her granddaughter. Her brief, poetic prose explains the winter solstice in easy-to-understand terms, conveying the interconnectedness of winter and nature as well as the transition from one season to the next.

Building an Igloo by Ulli Steltzer
This photo-illustrated selection provides a fascinating look at the centuries-old Inuit tradition of building igloos. Inuits do not live in igloos today, but the craftsmanship and cooperative spirit needed to build these icy shelters continue to be passed on to younger generations.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz
In this picturesque tale, nothing can dampen a young boy’s growing anticipation of a snowstorm. Caldecott Honor-winning illustrations gradually transform the gray buildings into a magical snow-covered cityscape.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Young Wilson Bentley was so fascinate4d by snowflakes that he became determined to find a way to share their beauty with others. Tinted woodcuts and sidebars with related facts complement this Caldecott Medal-winning biography of the boy who later became know as “The Snowflake Man.”

Homework Help

Homework Hints

One way to help your fourth grader is to check their agenda nightly for the homework assignments. While we encourage your child to complete their homework on their own, it’s always helpful if you look over their work to see how they are doing. Intervene if you see that they are off to a rocky start or have a misconception.
Homework should be a review of what your child has already learned at school, but sometimes a child might need a little extra practice on something or a little more TLC to understand the concept fully.

Another way to help with homework is to have your child read a page to you from their current book. Ask your child their opinion about the plot or the author’s style.
Don’t be afraid to discuss any of the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where and how) about their book to make sure that they are comprehending what they are reading.


Math facts can be a chore but definitely help with speed and accuracy in multiplication and division problems. Make up a facts game or quiz them in the car on the way to an event. It’s helpful to ask them division facts now if you haven’t done so recently. For example, 70 divided by 12 is ___.

Fourth Grade Tidbits

Hands on Science

On Monday, January 11th the fourth graders explored the area of Geology.

Several parent volunteers helped the students classify and study rocks.

The students learned a lot and enjoyed the experience.

Thank you to the parents for the planning,the set up and the teaching of this great unit!

Surf into Science Fair

The third through fifth grade science fair is the evening of Thursday, January 28th.

The registration forms were due last Friday, January 15th.

The set up will be after school on Wednesday, January 27th.

We hope you enjoy the planning, the preparation and the project that your child creates!

A section of the library has books with lots of ideas if you or your child needs some help.

Have fun!

Mrs. Kohl is Back

On Thursday, January 14th the fourth grade was glad to see Mrs. Kohl's smiling face back at RCE. Macy continues to do well and her big brother, Lincoln, has been a great helper!

Mrs. Amy White did a great job and we enjoyed having her at RCE!

Valentine Party

The fourth grade valentine party will be from 12:45-1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 12th.

We know the parents in charge of the party would appreciate your help and item donations.

You will be hearing from them soon!

Your child will need to bring valentine cards for his/her class! What a fun time!

Museum of Fine Arts Fieldtrip

Our fieldtrip to the Museum of Fine Arts will be Thursday, February 18th.

This event is done in two groups so your child's time will be indicated on the permission form.

Docents lead us through various exhibits so we get a taste of different styles, eras and media.

Curriculum Night, February 16, 2010

Rummel Creek's Curriculum Night is Tuesday, February 16th from 6-8 p.m. The emphasis this year is Technology and how we Integrate and Use it with Language Arts.
There will be four half hour sessions with several options that you may choose from and all the action is in the library, Kiva and Computer Lab area.
Teachers will be available to explain, demonstrate and help you become familiar with various web 2.0 options the students have access to and utilize at school.
Choices will include items like the Spring Branch Libraries Resource Page, Wordle, Animoto just to name a few.
You can actually create a wordle or animoto movie. Your child can share with you some things he/she has created.
Specifics will be coming home soon.
We're looking forward to seeing you that evening!

We need to borrow bedsheets for the freeze

Rummel Creek is requesting old sheets to borrow (with their names on them) to help cover all of our new plants for the big freeze we are expecting Thursday? We will return the sheets after the freeze.