Sunday, October 30, 2016

Watts Going on in Fourth

Week of October 31st

It is an exciting week in fourth grade this week. Scholars start off the week with a field trip to Rockledge Park in Grapevine. Scholars will gets hands on and real life experiences while learning about soil, weathering and erosion. Scholars should come wearing comfortable clothes and tennis shoes. If they are bringing a lunch, it should be in a disposable bag. There will be a snack time built into our schedule, so send your scholar with a snack if they want one. 

Thursday is an early release day for student led conferences. Your scholars will be working this week to prepare to let you know about what they have been learning this year and some goals they have set for themselves. If you have not already signed up for a conference, take the opportunity to set one up now, HERE

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Cub Dash = Success! 

If you were unable to make it out on Friday to the Cub Dash and your scholar didn't fill you in on how exciting it was (or tiring for some of us who are a little out of shape).  For more pictures of all that went on, click HERE!





Storybook Pumpkins

If your scholar participated in the Storybook Pumpkin challange or if they didn't, check out some of the amazing pumpkins the scholars at Cannon created!


Barnes and Nobel Mini-Maker Faire

Cannon & GMS Student STEMbassadors will be showcasing a variety of STEM learning tools, robotics, and electronics at this mini maker faire next weekend! Please make plans to stop by with your family to see this awesome event! A percentage of purchases made at the Southlake Barnes & Nobles on 11/5 & 11/6 or online at BN.COM/Bookfairs will be donated back to our schools!

The Bookfair ID code: 12021457 should be presented at the time of purchase. The flyer & bookmark below will go home with all students in Monday folders on 10/31.


Veteran's Day Program- November 11

On November 11, 2016, from 8:15-9:00 a.m., we will be honoring all Veterans of the U.S. Military during a celebration in the gym. We would love for any family members currently serving, retired, or have a family member serving to please join us. We want to show our appreciation for all they have done for us and our country. If you or a family member who is a veteran can attend to be recognized, please complete this form to let us know who we can add to our guest list.

TEA- Parent Survey

The Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, announced last week that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has launched an online survey offering parents, taxpayers and the general public an avenue to provide input on the state’s implementation of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The online ESSA survey, which will take less than ten minutes to complete, is available at http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3003630/ESSA-Public-Input-Survey. The online survey provides an opportunity for anyone to share views on how the state should implement provisions of ESSA. The survey period will run through Nov. 18, 2016. All parents are encouraged to participate!

Holiday Greeting Card Contest

The 2016 Holiday Greeting Card Art Contest has begun, and all GCISD students are invited to take part. Three winners will be selected--one elementary, one middle school, and one high school. ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE COMMUNICATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT by Friday, Nov. 11, 4 p.m. Click here for the contest instructions and entry form in English! The instructions & entry form in Spanish can be found here.


Steam Tables and Clay Pots

This week our scholars dove into weathering, erosion and deposition. Last week scholars had the chance to break cereal "rocks" to model the different ways rocks can break up or weather. They also got the chance to watch how the broken down sediment moved on or eroded. Sadly I got so wrapped up in this I forgot to take any pictures. Whoops! This week we moved our class to the science lab and observed models of erosion and deposition with stream tables. After collection their observations, scholars spent the rest of the week designing an experiment they will get to test this next week.







On Friday, once scholars had woken up from the Cub Dash, scholars got the chance to work with clay. After talking about soil and their properties a few weeks back, scholars were challenged to create a pot that would hold the greatest volume of corn to store for winter. After they were finished, they were challenged to blog about their design and why clay was the best material to use to make their pot.