Madeleine Fourth Grade Blog: January 29, 2018

During these soggy days of January, the 4th graders have been working hard in the classroom. Next week marks the halfway point in the year. It is hard to believe!
In science, the 4th graders have been learning about energy. We started the unit with a trip to the science lab a couple of weeks ago to explore and observe different kinds of energy with Ms. Yuhas.

Since then, the students have been testing how energy is stored and released by creating rubber band racers in class. Energy transfer was explored by creating "Bumper Coasters". The students also discovered that hills store energy. We will continue to study energy in the weeks to come looking at how it connects to engineering concepts. Science is a favorite time of day!

In Social Studies, the 4th graders have been traveling along with Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. The students are creating story maps of the timeline of this epic journey. Using books, websites and snippets of the Ken Burns documentary Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, the student have an understanding of the importance of this exploration to the history of the United States. You can watch the Ken Burns documentary through the Multnomah County Library site under resources, then hoopla to stream the movie. The websites the students used are located in Google Classroom and show the animals and plants documented on the trip. Take a moment to look!

The 4th graders have been preparing for the All School Mass on Thursday, February 8th we will be leading. I hope you can join us at 2 pm. This coming week is Catholic School's Week and The Madeleine School will be celebrating in many ways. One special way is this Tuesday, January 30th at 9 am, Archbishop Sample will lead The Madeleine School in our All School Mass! It is a true honor to have the Archbishop join us and I hope you can too.

Here are some photos of moments from the last couple of weeks.