ALL YOU EVER WANTED

TO KNOW ABOUT
4TH GRADE!

Mrs. Michelle M. Duffy

mmduffy@cdeducation.org
St. Vincent de Paul School
(740) 393-3611
August 2013

Learning through Christ, the St. Vincent de Paul School family strives to
excel in knowledge, service, leadership, and faith through Roman
Catholic Tradition.
A Letter for Parents
My name is Michelle Duffy and I will be your 4th grade childs teacher
this year. I will spend a great deal of time with your child this year.

Because of this, Id like to take this opportunity to tell you a few things
about myself-both personally and professionally.
I graduated from Ohio Dominican College with a degree in Elementary
Education. I felt the need for adult brain stimulation (ha, ha!) and
returned to school to earn my Masters degree, a masters in the Art of
Teaching, through Marygrove College. This is my 14th year as a staff
member at St. Vincent de Paul School. I taught 5th grade homeroom
and 7th grade Language Arts for two years before moving to 2nd grade
for an additional three years. I wanted to be home more and be able
to be just a mommy for a few years so for the next six years, many of
you got to know me as the Director for the Extended Care Program,
otherwise known as SACCP/PSEC. When the chance arose for me to
return to a classroom when Mrs. Arnold retired, I jumped at the
opportunity and this will be my 3rd year of teaching 4th grade.
My husband, Wil, and I both grew up here in Mt. Vernon. I was
baptized, went to school and was raised as a parish member-all here at
St. Vincent. My husband and I were married here and we have chosen
to raise our family in this blessed school and church community as
well. We have two daughters. Our oldest, Makayla, is a junior at Mt.
Vernon High School; our youngest, Claire, is in 5th grade here at St.
Vincent de Paul. St. Vincent de Paul School and Church is HOME for
me as you can see!
The beginning of the school year is a very busy time. In addition to
interim reports, report cards and parent/teacher conferences, I am
always available to meet or speak with you. Please feel fee to call me
here at school, send a note with your child, or call to set up a meeting
time. In return, I will contact you by note or phone for any problems,
as well as praise! Yes, you are reading correct, just because I contact
you does not necessarily mean there is a problem. It could be a
praise contact too I need your support with homework
assignments, academic goals and the classroom discipline plan I have
set for the students. I will keep you informed about your childs
progress. With school and home working together, I know your child
will have a successful school year!
I look forward to the fantastic school year that is ahead for you and
your child
Blessings, Mrs. Duffy
Classroom Rules/Procedures/Housekeeping in 4th grade
PLEASE read this packet some time the week of August 19th. Welcome
to a new and exciting school year. I know that the beginning of the
school year can be overwhelming and be filled with lots of information

for you to read, etc. It is a daunting task, but as you know, our
classroom routines are established from day one-August 20th. I try to
be as organized as I can and in turn, I try to help my students and
parents become as organized as we can be so that our school time
becomes routine. This information to follow lets you and your child
know some of the details of our curriculum and a tentative plan for
what well be doing on a routine basis. Please read through the entire
packet carefully. Then go over the information with your child. We will
be working on these items at school as well. If you have any
questions, please feel free to jot me a note, email me or stop in to
speak with me. There is an Acknowledgement Form at the end. You
will be sent home a hard copy of this form. Please sign and return it by
Monday, August 26th. Within a few weeks, this will all be a routine and
a habit. Together, we will have a successful school year. We are
partners in your childs education. Thank you for your time.
CLASSROOM RULES
Listen Carefully.
Follow Directions.
Work quietly. Do not disturb others who are working.
Respect others. Be kind with your words and actions.
Respect school and personal property.
Work and play safely.
At the beginning of the year, the above classroom rules will be
established. My hope is that students will make good choices
everyday and follow our classroom rules; however, making poor
choices can be a learning experience and will have the following
consequences:
Daily
1.
2.
3.
4.

Consequences:
YELLOW Card-Verbal Warning
ORANGE Card-Lose 10 minutes of recess.
RED Card-Lose entire recess.
2nd RED Card-Visit with Principal; additional consequences,
depending upon the offense.
Students who do not receive a behavior card during the school
week, will receive a homework pass
ARRIVAL Procedure:
Students may arrive at school when the doors are opened at 7:30am.
Between 7:30am and the 7:45am bell, students are arriving and
beginning their school day. From 7:45am-7:50am, students will be
asked to complete their morning jobs among other housekeeping
procedures. This is a very busy time as we set up our day. During this
time, fourth grade students will also be raising the flag at the High
Street side of our building. What at honor for our 4th grade students!

DISMISSAL Procedure:
Students will be dismissed at 2:15pm, unless there is a scheduled early
release. Please be sure to discuss with your child where they are to
meet you at this time. We share our hallway with the junior high
students lockers, as well as the school office. This is a very busy place
at dismissal time. You may want to have your child meet you at a
siblings classroom or another designated spot.
WATER BOTTLES:
I encourage students to bring a water bottle for the day. Studies show
that our children do not drink enough water to keep their bodies fully
hydrated. Students should bring their bottles home a couple of times a
week to be washed and sanitized.
LUNCH/RECESSES:
Our morning recess is from 9:45-9:56am and will be enjoyed on the
playground, weather provided, with the 3rd grade. Our lunch time is
from 11:20-11:40pm in the cafeteria and will be taken with the 5th
grade students, followed by recess with them from 11:40-12:00.
Students may pack or buy lunch. Lunch cards and/or milk cards can be
purchased in the school office.
BIRTHDAY TREATS:
Birthdays are still celebrated in 4th grade. Students may bring in a
treat to share with the class on their special day or on their halfbirthday. Healthy snacks are preferred; however, what is a birthday
without cake, right?! Please include any utensils or paper products
(napkins, plates, classes) necessary for the treats. For ease of
distribution, I strongly suggest getting individually portioned treats or
pre-packaged treats. Please keep in mind that in school we try to build
a family of support and inclusion. I dont allow students to bring in and
distribute party invitations to select members of the class. In the case
of an all boys or all girls party, that is acceptable as well. Unless the
whole class is invited, please distribute invitations in a different
manner outside of the school environment.
CLASS PARTIES/HOLIDAYS:
We will be having a Halloween party, a Christmas party, and a
Valentines Party; possibly one or two more. I will be sending home a
sheet to sign up for these by the end of Septemberstay tuned!
SUPPLIES:
I hope that you were able to find the school supplies requested for our
classroom and your child. As supplies are depleted through the year,
you will be asked to replenish them so that your child can complete

schoolwork in a timely and efficient manner. In addition to the school

supplies your child needs, we always welcome donations! At the top of
our most wanted list are PENCILS and TISSUES. Some other items we
can ALWAYS use are baby wipes (for quick clean-ups), envelopes, postit notes, as well as extra glue sticks and scotch tape. Thanks for your
generosity!
ASSIGNMENT PAD:
One of the supplies on your childs supply list was an assignment pad
to be purchased from the school office. This is an essential
organizational tool that helps your child keep track of assignments for
the day. Students are responsible for bringing their assignment pad to
and from school on a daily basis. All homework for the day will be
written in the assignment pad by your child. Prior to your child being
dismissed for the day, I will sign, initial or stamp their assignment pad
in an effort to be sure they have the correct assignments written down.
At home, upon completion of the work, I would encourage you
to sign or initial the completed work. You may choose to
initial/sign beside each individual task or initial/sign at the end of each
days row, whatever works best for you and your child. It is not
intended to make more work for busy parents. The request is made so
that you are aware of your childs homework and I know you are
getting vital information and are aware of expectations and upcoming
events. It helps to open the line of communication between parent
and teacher as well as parent and student. If incomplete work
becomes a problem during the school year, parent-teacher
communication via signing the assignment pad daily may be a
necessity.
SCHOOLWORK vs. HOMEWORK:
On a daily basis, students practice their skills through a variety of
means. One way to check individual progress is through the assigning
of school work. Schoolwork is work that is assigned at school to be
completed partially, if not fully, within the classroom setting. In some
cases, a student will not get their schoolwork done; that work is then
sent home as homework. A 4th grade student should expect to have
about 40 minutes of homework each night, 10 minutes for each grade
they have been in! Exceptions may be any project or research that
may need to be done. By Monday of each week, I will send via email a
4th grade WEEKLY Happenings sheet for the upcoming week,
summarizing what we will be covering, highlighting any tests/quizzes
we will be having, and listing any special events. This sheet will also
list our weekly spelling words. You should print this out and keep this
sheet at home for the week or keep it pinned in your childs
assignment pad for the week so your son/daughter is aware of ongoing
assignments for homework time. Any schoolwork your child does not

complete during our class time will go home with them to complete as
well and will need to be returned the following day.
ASSESSMENT/GRADING:
A variety of assessment and grading will be done throughout the
school year. In- class observations, one-on-one assessments, use of
rubrics, and written quizzes or tests are just a few of the many ways
your child will be evaluated.
GRADED PAPER and/or Teacher/Parent Communication
FOLDER:
Every time you receive the schools bi-weekly newsletter envelope, you
should also be looking for your childs GRADED PAPER FOLDER. This
folder will contain graded work enclosed from the few weeks before.
Please keep the graded papers. Sign the sheet inside and return it
with the folder so that it can be used the following weeks and
subsequent times.
ABSENCES or LEAVING SCHOOL FOR APPOINTMENTS:
As with school policy, please make sure that you send a note or call in
to the school office to notify us of any absences or any appointments
during the school day. Appointments are preferred to be made for
after school hours, however, it is understood that sometimes they
cannot be that way. Students cannot be released until they have been
signed out by their parent/guardian. Upon returning to school, it is
asked that you bring your child back into the building and sign him/her
in. If you know of a planned absence for an extended period of time,
please notify the office and myself as soon as possible. The absence
will be noted and arrangements for missing schoolwork while your
child is absent will be made so that he/she does not fall behind.
CONTACTING MRS. DUFFY:
Should you need to contact me, please do so in the following ways:

Email me at mmduffy@cdeducation.org, (note-it begins with

mmduffy)
Send me a note by writing it directly in your childs Assignment
Pad or on another piece of paper or a note enclosed in an
envelope,
Call and leave me a message with Mrs. Foreman at (740) 3933611. I am available during school hours from approximately
7:30am-2:45pm. Please see your childs schedule for any
planning periods I may have (Art, Music, Spanish, Gym), as these
will be good times to contact me during the school day if you
need to.

Our daily SCHEDULE and the PRAYERS we will be saying are in

your childs GRADED PAPER FOLDER. They are yours to keep
at home. Please help your child become familiar with our daily
schedule, especially GYM class day and other specials.
Prayers will be posted in the room; however, will be expected
to be memorized at some point during the school year. Keep
these copies at home

4th Grade Daily Prayers

Here are our daily prayers we will be saying. They are on a chart board for us in the
room until we know them well. We will also be practicing and/or learning other prayers
through the year such as The Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Apostles Creed, and
others.
Morning Offering (said with the Pledge and morning routines)
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and
sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.
I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, in

reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for all the intentions of
the Holy Father, our bishops, the Apostleship of prayer and in particular for our special
intentions. Amen.
Grace Before Meals (before lunch/recess)
Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Act of Contrition (end of day, before dismissal)
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to
do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend,
with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.

4th grade Curriculum, 2013-2014

Here is a very brief overview of our 4th grade curriculum highlights. If
you want a more detailed list, you may look on-line at
www.cdeducation.org, under the Course of Study tab.
Religion
Materials: Textbook
As you know, RELIGION is at the core of our teachings here at St.
Vincent de Paul School-a faith filled learning environment, not just in
religion class but across the curriculum. Our school mission statement
is the essence of this very subject: Learning through Christ, the St.

Vincent de Paul School family strives to excel in knowledge, service,

leadership and faith through Roman Catholic Tradition.
Gain a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith, sacraments,
and prayer
Live as people of God through the Ten Commandments and the
Beatitudes
Language Arts
Materials: Writing and Grammar Textbook, English Workbook (EWB),
English Grammar & Writing Simple Solutions workbook (ESS),
Handwriting workbook (HW)
Mrs. Gibson and I will be assessing each student the first week to week
and a half of school to see who may be returning to the Virtual Van,
who may need to go to Virtual Van, and/or who will be doing Reading
in our classroom. You will be notified of our placements. If your child
will be attending Reading (Virtual Van) with Mrs. Gibson, they will not
be required to do the in-class Reading or monthly genre reading. Mrs.
Gibson provides these students with leveled appropriate reading
materials and assignments. She and I will try to work together to
provide opportunities for the Virtual Van students to do reading and/or
language arts projects that are related. Additional Reading information
and details will come after the placements are made.
Language Arts is a very large element for any student as it
encompasses all elements we need to do any subjectreading, writing, vocabulary, handwriting, spelling and
English/grammar! Essentially, the focus is writing good
paragraphs, writing more detailed reports, and preparing
and transitioning for upper elementary school.
Reading focuses on literature genres (i.e. historical fiction,
biography/auto-biography, fantasy, mystery, etc.) and
building vocabulary.
The English element focuses on different types of writing,
grammar, and mastering the skill of writing a good
paragraph that turns into an awesome essay or research
paper.
With the new Common Core curriculum this year being
implemented, some elements of language arts will focus
more on non-fiction material.
We do not use a Spelling book; however, weekly Spelling words are
assigned.

Spelling words will be on your Weekly Happenings sheet. Each night, a

different spelling assignment will be given. Ordinarily, the spelling will
be as follows: Monday-alphabetize the words, Tuesday-define 10 of the
words, Wednesday-use 10 of the words in a GOOD sentence (seven
words or more and not just a bun and burger sentence! Add pickles,
ketchup, lettuce, mayo-whatever your preference by using plenty of
adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, etc.!), Thursday-write words 5 times
each, Friday-TEST. Spelling assignments will be checked daily and
should be completed in the students Spelling Notebook.
Health
Materials: textbook
Fitness
First Aid
Consumer Health
Social, mental and emotional, and physical health aspect are all
important, while keeping our focus on the spiritual health which
is the foundation and support of our school teaching.
Enrichment teaching from the Freedom Center in Knox CountySecond Step, and Tobacco/Substance Abuse
OSU Extension-Nutrition, Eggs to Chicks (combines with Science
also)

Math
Materials: Go! Math textbook with tear-out pages, Go! Math workbook
(MPW), and Math Simple Solutions workbook (MSS)
We cover six key areas:
Mathematical Processes
Numbers, Number Sense and Operations
Measurement
Geometry and Spatial Sense
Patterns, Functions and Algebra
Data Analysis and Probability
Class work provides review and/or learning a particular concept,
followed by work in a workbook to provide extra practice for the
concepts as well. Our Simple Solutions workbook allows us to review
daily skills we may have put on the back burnerhelps to keep us on
our toes!

Social Studies
Materials: Social Studies textbook
4th Grade Social Studies is all about OHIO history! Yeah! We will learn
about the history of Ohio, the people in Ohio, and the geography of
Ohio. As we travel through Ohio history, we will also learn about our
state of Ohioits symbols, early beginnings and present history. We
also focus on what it is to be a good citizen of the United States and
the makings of our government. We have a weekly Flag Ceremony to
present our colors!
Science
Materials: At St. Vincent, we use a wonderful program, Delta Education
Foss kits to teach Science from a unique approach. This approach is
that of inquiry based learning-allowing the students to create their own
understanding of concept by learning through doing. I have also
created units of study for Science as well, based on our curriculum.
Earths surface
Electricity, Heat and Matter
Earths Living History
Other: In addition to Religion, Language Arts, Health, Math, Social
Studies and Science, your child will also be going to Music, Art,
Spanish and Gym each week. Please see our schedule for specific
days and times
Please note on our schedule that during our lunch, 11:20am-11:40am,
4th grade will be doing MILK duty in the cafeteria during their lunch
time. This is a special job for 4th grade It is a great responsibility; 4th
graders work in pairs for the week AND they get to practice Math
counting and money skills!
At the end of the day, I have last period reserved for SSR/Open Study.
This is time where students will be writing down their nightly
assignments in their assignment pad. It could also be an opportunity
for them to work on homework if they choose to do so, once their
assignments are written down. For the most part, I also set that time
for everyone to decompress from our busy day, reading to the
students an age-appropriate piece of literature. I love reading middle
elementary books and look forward to a great year ahead!

Acknowledgement Form
A Microsoft Word document titled, ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW
ABOUT 4TH GRADE, has been sent to you via email. If you are unable
to view the document, please let Mrs. Duffy know. Please read and
review the document, then sign and return this Acknowledgement
Form by Monday, August 26, 2013.
I have read, reviewed and understand the classroom policies for Mrs.
Duffys fourth grade classroom.
_____________________________________________
Student Name

____________
Date

_____________________________________________
Student Signature

____________
Date

_____________________________________________
Parent Signature

____________
Date