News and Notes 4/17

News and Notes

From Fourth Grade

Conductors

The fourth graders have continued their study of energy and electricity in science.  This week we continued our study of simple circuits and explored different materials and their interactions with electrical energy.  We found that we could sort materials into two groups: conductors and insulators.  Conductors were materials that we found were able to allow electricity to flow through them.  Insulators were materials that did not allow electricity flow well.  The fourth grade scientists really enjoyed testing different materials, from hair clips to shoes, they determined if the objects around them would make good conductors of electricity.  It was exciting to see how engaged the fourth graders become when they get to discover and experiment and act out all of those great inquiry-based learning skills we encourage of them.  These are life-long learner qualities that we are trying to instill in them now!

Assessment

This week the fourth graders worked through the SBAC testing in mathematics.  It was quite the challenging test, but these fourth graders certainly gave it their best.  So much of their lives will be accounting for themselves, whether that be an evaluation by a future employer or demonstrating their knowledge of driving safety on their (long from now) driver's education exam.  Knowing the content is the work we busy ourselves with during the rest of the school year.  Knowing how to take a test and demonstrate what we know is what we get to do during this season of testing.  These skills of sticking with a challenging and reading directions carefully will have so many applications for these students later in life.  Although we breathe a bit of a sigh of relief with the SBAC testing completed for this school year, we recognize that there is so much more learning and work left to be done before we close the book on fourth grade! 

Springtime Songs

This week marked the annual whole-school music concert.  The fourth graders, along with the rest of their schoolmates, were full of nervous energy on Thursday as they anticipated the evening's concert.  What a terrific turn out to this favored annual event.  The fourth graders were so excited to share the great musical selections with their friends and families, and it was obvious that the audience really enjoyed the performance.  It is exciting to see the unity and community we have at Simonds School during an event like the spring concert.  Many thanks to the families who took the time and effort to make it out for the concert.  It is truly a gift that you give your child and their school when you make these kinds of school events a whole family adventure.  It is so encouraging to see friendly faces of families there to support their children in all aspects of their academic careers!

Researchers with a Critical Eye

Not all websites are created equal.  This may be an obvious truth for some of us, while others many be willing and eager to accept anything found online as reliable and accurate.  This week as the fourth graders continued working on their research projects, we took some time to talk about how to be a critical thinker when it comes to finding online resources.  We heard some stories of researching misadventures that demonstrated the importance of checking to make sure that our sources are reliable and academic.  It is fun to collect information using technology and the internet, but we are learning how to do this in a way that is safe and helpful!