I've been re-reading the letters you wrote to me last June and I thought I'd try to answer some of your questions and address some of your worries.
First of all, I can't wait to meet you! I've been in school all this week getting our classroom ready and planning some of the things we'll do next week. I've got some wonderful books to read with you and some exciting projects for us to work on. I have a feeling we're going to have a really great year together!
Quite a few of you mentioned being worried about how hard the work in 4th grade might be. I'll be honest with you - we work very hard. But - we have fun doing it and we learn a lot. No one should be at all worried; I can tell just from reading your letters that you are ALL up to meeting the challenge of 4th grade.
We do have some changes. In the past, the NYS tests that you've probably heard so much about have been in January (ELA), March (Math), and April-May (Science). This year NY has changed the schedule so that ELA will be at the end of April, Math will be the beginning of May, and Science the end of May. That gives us plenty of time to be sure you're well prepared.
Several of you mentioned your pets. For most of my life I never had any pets except for fish, but last year we got a puppy (Fenway) and a kitten (Bart). I've spent a lot of time playing with them this summer. I'll show you pictures when you come to school. If you have a pet, please bring in your picture so we can share. If you don't have a pet, is there something else that's special to you? I'd love to see a picture or hear about that too.
It sounds like many of you had great vacations planned. I can't wait to hear about them. I went to Maine at the end of the school year for my daughter's graduation from college but I spent most of the summer in Brooklyn. with my dog and cat. Remind me to tell you about my dog's adventure at camp!
You told me lots about your families - some of you are only children, some are oldest, and some are youngest. I was the oldest girl and I had three younger sisters but no brothers. I always wanted a brother. Now I have a husband and two daughters, but the kitten and dog are boys!
I hope you've all been reading this summer. Reading is one of my most favorite things to do. I love talking about books too. I'm really looking forward to hearing about what books are your favorites. I have a bulletin board ready for us to post about books that we recommend, so start thinking about what books you read this summer that you might like to recommend to others.
Enjoy your last weekend of summer! I'll see you all on Wednesday morning.
Mrs. Curry
