Health wise, we are struggling here in fourth grade. We've had so many students sick lately, something is most definitely going around! Mrs. O'Keefe was even out sick for three days this week. I'm not sure how I've avoided it... (knock on wood...) Viruses aside, our week was great. On Tuesday we got to attend the school-wide talent show. It was awesome to see so many students show off their talents and creativity. We didn't have any fourth graders participate, but after the talent show some of them were already brainstorming their acts for next year. On Wednesday we had another special guest for our poetry unit: our vice principal Mr. Marshall! Mr. Marshall has been regularly writing poetry since he was in elementary school. He wrote a poem a few weeks ago as an ode to our very own fourth graders. I asked him if he could come in and read it to us, and then lead the kids in a lesson breaking down the meaning of different parts of the poem. Lucky for us, he agreed! It was wonderful to see the kids analyze a poem that was written especially for them. So many kids have been writing their own poems too, which has been such a treat.

In writing, we're taking our expository writing (on an important person, place, or thing) through the steps of the writing process. We are on the revising stage, specifically focusing on organizing our writing in a way that clearly responds to the prompt. We'll eventually be publishing these pieces. It'll be fun to look at the progression from their original brain frames to jot down ideas, to another graphic organizer grouping those ideas, to an initial rough draft, to a second draft, and eventually to typed up writings.

Below you'll see pictures from the Snowflake Festival on Thursday and our school-wide assembly on Friday. At the assembly, students learned some dances led by the Somerville High School Dance Team to kick off our Health and Fitness Week, which will begin on Monday. Our Bucket Fillers this week were Kailyn and Jordyn. Kailyn has been writing poems galore! Her poems have revolved around all sorts of topics, from the Patriots, to softball, to beaches, to boredom. I love her enthusiasm for poetry. Jordyn worked really hard during writing this week. Her second draft of her expository essay blew me away. I love pushing her to incorporate description in her writing, because she's so good at it! Congrats ladies...and GO PATRIOTS!