Week of October 7 to 11

What We Have Learned this Week:
Bible: We have moved on to the Samuel unit. We studied how God called him during the night and the significance of his conversation with God. Later, we learned of how the Israelites angered God and the attack of the Philistines which led to the capture of the ark of the covenant. We also saw Samuel acting on Israel's behalf and asking God to remember the Israelites before another battle against the Philistine army. We will be finishing this unit soon, and we will be testing over this unit on Tuesday, October 15. A paper study guide was sent home with the students on Thursday, October 10. I am including a digital version of the Spanish study guide here. I will also include an English study guide for parental use only. I am also including some links to Blooket review games. 


Math: We learned how to use estimation in order to check for the reasonableness of our answers to multiplication problems. We have studied a method of multiplication that involves calculating partial products (of the tens and ones) and then adding those products. We are applying that knowledge to study a handful of area models that will help us to visualize multiplication of two digit numbers with a one-digit number.
  
Reading: We have moved on to unit 2. We have started to read "The Tiger Rising", and we will be using the book to help us step into the world of strong characters and study them- how they change and grow. I have reminded the students, but I will remind the parents as well. By this time, the students should have found a good fiction chapter book (with good character development) to read at school during silent reading time. It matches up with unit 2 which is all about analyzing characters in fiction chapter books. Graphic novels and non-fiction texts simply will not do. They have had opportunities to look in the classroom library and the school library. If they didn't find books that interested them, they were instructed to look at libraries outside of school. 

Writing: The students are working on typing out the rough draft of their realistic fiction stories. They will be taking some time to get them typed out, and then we will work on adding some details like dialogue punctuating and transition words. 
 
Grammar: This week, we reviewed the certain words and phrases that are used to indicate past tense or the imperfect tense. We also talked about the "r" sound vs. the strong "r" sound in Spanish. The strong "r" is the sound found in words like "perro" and "receta."

Spelling: Here is next week's spelling list!

Hispanic Heritage Month 4th Grade Activity:
The Honduras display table turned out wonderful! Thank you, everyone, for pitching in and helping to make my vision come to life. The students (and the entire school!) enjoyed viewing the table. It is also a beautiful sight to see the other display tables the Spanish Immersion teachers have put together.


 
Parent Teacher Conferences:
Conferences are scheduled for Thursday (October 17) and Monday (October 21). If you haven't signed up yet and would like to do so, please check your email for an email sent on Monday, September 23 from Dan Vos. You will find instructions of how to login into the Virtual Paragon. 

From Mrs. VanderZwaag (4th Grade Teacher):

Your children may excitedly have told you about our current studies of layers of rock and how they form over time.  We are using the Pictured Rocks to base much of our inquiry on.  As we begin to dig into this exploration, we will encounter views about the age of the earth (you may notice this on a worksheet or two that come home).  While HC does not have an official “stance” on the age of the earth, per se, our approach to both science and the Bible is rooted in the Reformed conviction that God makes Himself known through His Word and His World.  These two major forms of revelation will never truly conflict, though they also have largely different scopes.  Out of respect for these different scopes, we are comfortable engaging God’s World through the process of making observations, collecting data, and building models (the processes of science). Our science curriculum engages general data that largely reflects significant process in the formation of the earth (though that doesn't necessarily exclude literal 6 day perspectives--ex: the idea that God created the world with the appearance of age, etc.).  In our classroom, I make sure to preface our studies by alluding to the varying view points that exist regarding this topic.  I humbly acknowledge to the students that my human brain cannot understand God's processes and design.  But I do know that God created this world, the layers of rock, and the fossils in them according to His perfect plan.  Beyond that, I am grateful that our families are part of the church - home - school triangle.  Each family may wish to continue this conversation at home, in conjunction with the views taught at their church.  As our children grow, they will encounter data about the age of the earth in society (museums, books, documentaries), and they will need to be able to place that information into their beliefs.  While we, as Christians, are not of this world, we do live in this world and continue to develop our understandings of how these viewpoints meet.  

Our faith is integrated into everything we do. Our faith impacts how we do science by rooting all our scientific endeavors in the reality of our Creator God. When done this way, all genuine scientific observations and discoveries can lead us into deeper wonder, wisdom, and worship.  Our Creator God is written all over our earth.  He was there in the past, exists in the present, and also knows what will happen in the future.

Thank you for continuing this conversation with your children at home.


From the Office:
  1. School picture retakes will be happening on October 21, if your child is interested.

  2. Holland Christian Schools will be facilitating an event called Parent University: a conversation around Jonathan Haidt's Book: The Anxious Generation

  • Aim: How, collectively, parents can make choices to counter the smartphone culture and guard their hearts.

  • Focus: We will discuss the harmful effects technology has on our children. We will dive into data that demonstrates the psychological damage that can occur to a child immersed in a phone-based childhood. Join us in these conversations and walk away with a clear call-to-action that will make a difference not only in your child's life but their time here at Holland Christian Schools. Please RSVP at this link or the QR Code provided:




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