Researchers To Reporters

Helping Hands

Thank you to those who were able to make it to our Passion Project Breakfast. The Mosaic students worked hard to complete these projects, completing hours of research and creative thinking to put these projects together. We had a variety of passionate people who demonstrated what they knew and learned about a range of topics from sharks, to football, to rubies, to women in baseball. We applaud all the hard work!

Teamwork on
those finishing touches

 When the fourth graders weren’t polishing up their passion projects, they were learning more about angles, lines, shapes, and everything geometry. We have expanded our mathematical vocabulary tremendously by introducing the terms degrees, circumference, radius, diameter, symmetry, and more! Geometry has been a great opportunity to make learning this new vocabulary a hands on experience through literature, manipulatives, and collaboration.

Proud presenters

Who knew their Halloween Costumes
would inspire their Passion Projects?! 

 This coming week we will be starting our new science unit on the Earth and its forces. One of the best parts of this unit is that students will be thinking about the forces of the Earth globally and locally. To discover the forces of the Earth on the local level, students will explore erosion and human impact in the Allen Brook. Make sure your student is prepared and brings appropriate gear to be exploring in the Allen Brook!

This coming week students are choosing their Red Clover favorites! The following are the options: Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer
Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton
Dragon was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio
Frankencrayon by Michael Hall
Ada’s Violin by Susan Hood
Penguin Problems Jory John
 I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London
The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh

Continental Math Students
 celebrate their hard work

They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

 This upcoming week we will also get to see the "Top Secret" dance choreography that students have been working on in P.E. class. We can't wait to see their dance moves. We will also be saying farewell to our wonderful interns, Zoe D'Olimpio and Tori Barrows as they complete their internships. Mosaic won't be the same without them and we wish them both a bright future as teachers!

Passionate Researchers

The fourth graders have officially finished Because of Winn-Dixie! This week, we have been exploring theme in the text as we have come to a close with reading. In this theme unit, students were able to infer many impressive themes based on the plot of the text. We thought about how we could use mentor texts to help us come up with themes, we thought about why Kate DiCamillo may have chosen certain themes to write about, and we even thought about how we could creatively illuminate themes that we have read.

Theme cartoons and poems

To conclude this unit, students created a comic strip or poem about plot and theme in Winn-Dixie using metaphors, creative illustrations, and strong sentences about the plot to show what they know about theme in Winn-Dixie. Many of the themes students inferred were about friendship, loss, inclusion, and loneliness. Comic strips and poems about themes in Winn-Dixie We have also been working away on our passion projects. Students have finished their research on the topics that they are most passionate about and are now in the process of creating their projects. The passion project breakfast is from 8am-8:45am on Friday, 4/13. We hope that you are all able to make it to this event!

 In math, we have started a new unit on geometry. Students have been using pattern blocks and rotations on a clock to help them think about angle measurements in a variety of ways. Through this hands-on approach to teaching geometry, students have been able to work towards

Using familiar tools to measure angles

conceptualizing the concept of measuring in degrees. As we continue this unit, students will explore protractors, how to measure the circumference of a circle, and more! Pattern blocks are a great tool to help students identify angle measurements.

 This Friday, many of our fourth graders participated in Jump Rope for Heart. Thank you to all who helped to make this event a success. Both Williston Central and Allen Brook raised $20,000 for the cause! To celebrate this enormous success, a teacher was slimed and the whole group got to cheer on. 

Next week, the Williston Safety Committee will be hosting an open house/meet and greet for families at 7:45am-8:30am in the WCS dining room. This is an opportunity to become more informed about school safety and the efforts that are in place to ensure school safety. We hope that you are able to attend this event!