January 20th Newsletter
Mrs. Manfred’s Class News
January 20, 2023
“Be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud.”
-Maya Angelou
Upcoming Events:
January 29th-February 3rd Catholic Schools Week
Sunday, January 29th Parish Appreciation Mass, 11:00 at St. Al’s Church (If students attend and wear their uniform, they will get a free dress pass.)
Thursday, February 2nd, 1:15 at church, Fr. Tony and his choir will perform
Friday, February 3rd Friends and Family Mass, 10:00 (time change) at church
February 9th Chapel Mass (3rd & 4th grades)
February 7th & 9th Open House Tours
February 14th Valentine’s Party at 1:30 (more info. to come)
February 16th & 17th No School (Teacher In-services)
February 20th No School (President’s Day)
February 22nd Ash Wednesday Mass, 12:15 at church
Homework:
The children have packet #15 due on Friday, January 27th.
Spelling Test: Friday, January 27th
Silverwood Reading Log: Please keep the Silverwood reading log (attached to the homework packet) at home until it is completed. To receive a free Silverwood ticket, students must read 10 hours and keep a log of those hours. If you need more logs, please let me know. Logs are due by March 31st. Nightly Reading minutes count towards your Silverwood logs!
Important Information:
Scholastic Book Order: These went home yesterday and are due by January 27th. My class code for ordering anytime online is
MAP Testing: Please look at the following schedule so you are aware of the days we will be testing this month. Please try your best to have your child at school and ready (fed & well rested) on the following days:
Tuesday, January 24th (Reading)
Below you will find an overview of Catholic Schools Week and the themes for our dress-up days.
Catholic School Week Overview:
Sunday, Jan. 29: Parish Appreciation with 11:00 AM Mass at St. Aloysius Church. Students attending Mass in Uniform will earn a free dress pass!
Monday, Jan. 30: Nation Appreciation with VACATION free dress. Dress for vacation in the tropics, on safari, going camping, or even to Disneyland. No swimsuits please!
Tuesday, Jan. 31: Staff Appreciation with FUTURE YOU free dress. Dress as your future self – career, job, dream, or goal.
Wednesday, Feb. 1: Student Appreciation with CHARACTER free dress. Dress as your favorite book, movie, tv show, or Broadway character. No images or references to violence please!
Thursday, Feb. 2: Community Appreciation with SPORTS free dress. Dress in t-shirts, sweatshirts, or a jersey representing your favorite sports team.
Friday, Feb. 3: Friends & Family Appreciation– All students wear UNIFORMS on this day for Mass.
Annual Open House: We are gearing up for our annual Open House tours on February 7th and 9th. If you know anyone interested in Catholic education at our school, please encourage them to sign up for a tour! If the family you refer enrolls, you will receive $100 tuition credit.
Enrollment Information: FACTS is open for the 2023-2024 school year.
Annual Fund: Please consider making a donation to our Annual Fund this year. It plays a vital role in our operating budget. We are in a class competition until February 3rd for the most students donating in each class. We are hoping to have 100% of our families participate with any size of donation. Thank you to those of you who have already made a donation!
Highlights from our Week:
Math: The 4th graders worked more with fractions this week (equivalent and adding). The students are learning these concepts both visually with tiles, as well as how to convert fractions mathematically by finding a common denominator. The 3rd graders worked on measurement story problems and also began their formal study of fractions. They took a measurement quiz this week.
Religion: We continued learning the Beatitudes. We learned “Blessed are the merciful for mercy shall be theirs.” We read the Parable of the Good Samaratin in Luke’s Gospel. It was a good illustration of showing mercy towards others. Ask your child to tell you why this Parable is a story of mercy.
Grammar: The 3rd graders continued to learn about possessive and reflexive pronouns, as well as began learning about indefinite pronouns. The 4th graders reviewed regular and irregular verbs, as well as they learned about passive voice. Both groups played a fun game to review their parts of speech.
Writing: We continued learning about transition words and what makes up a good paragraph. They wrote their 3rd and 4th paragraphs this week.
Word Work: We continued working in small groups and whole groups on phonics, including multi-syllabic spelling and affixes. My goal is for this practice to transfer to their independent writing.
Reading: Both grades continued Lit Circle books this week. The 4th graders were really into their discussions of survival during their Lit Circles! During comprehension practice, we began learning about paraphrasing and reviewed annotating our thinking as we read a new historical article.
We also LOVED reading to the toddlers in the Chickadees classroom on Thursday! We are excited to start this partnership with them on a weekly basis. Our MAC kids were wonderful big kid leaders!
Science: We learned about parallel circuits this week!
Social Studies: We went back to our unit on the Washington Coastal Tribes. We began a timeline of when we know these tribes existed. We also continued to compare them to the Plateau tribes we learned about last year.