October 24, 2025

Dear Families,
It has been another exciting and productive week in our classroom! The students have been growing as learners, thinkers, and community members, and I’m so proud of their progress. Here’s a look at what we’ve been working on together this week:
During our Morning Meeting, we have continued checking in on our Zones of Regulation. My students are becoming more fluent in recognizing and regulating their emotions, especially when they find themselves in the blue or yellow zones. This gentle routine has been a wonderful way to start our mornings, allowing us to learn about one another’s feelings and build empathy. It’s heartwarming to see how students are supporting and encouraging each other.
In Math, we have been constructing a Great Wall of Base Ten to deepen our understanding of place value and multiplying by multiples of 10. We also explored decimals during snack time, using hundred grids as our “Tool of the Week.” Students have completed their end-of-unit assessment on multiplication and division, and the corrected tests will be included in next week’s portfolio.
During our Daily 5 Literacy routine, students have continued to build their stamina in independent reading and writing, practiced this week’s vocabulary words, and completed an assessment on text features. In small groups, we have focused on reading comprehension, identifying text features in informational texts, and finding key details to summarize. We also began our personal narrative writing unit, and students have brainstormed creative ideas to begin drafting soon.
In our WIN block, students have worked on individual learning goals — some in small groups, others one-on-one with a teacher, and some independently. Their focus areas have included completing assessments, improving handwriting, and strengthening fluency and comprehension skills.
During Social Studies, students have been generating thoughtful questions about how maps give us information about land and people. We practiced identifying open and closed questions, and even challenged ourselves to change one type into the other. This exploration helped us think critically about how we can use maps to understand North America.
Finally, during our Self-Reflection time, we have been celebrating both accomplishments and challenges. Students shared pride in progress — such as improving math scores, understanding decimals, earning SOAR coupons, or taking on new classroom jobs. They also reflected on challenges like avoiding distractions, slowing down their handwriting, or remembering to listen when others are speaking. We understand that we are all works in progress and that our classroom community is a safe space to grow and learn.
And as the cherry on top, we enjoyed a joyful visit with our kindergarten buddies from Mrs. Pilkington’s and Mrs. Smith’s class! This week, my students read stories aloud to their younger friends, who listened to their every word. Our fourth graders were kind, patient, and engaging readers — and they glowed with pride after the visit!
It’s been a week filled with growth, learning, and kindness. I’m so proud of how far our class has come and can’t wait to see what the next week brings!