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This month we...

Worked hard editing our final writing projects.

Started learning about puberty, including imagining how we'd look when we're older.

Learned about theme and started discussing how to find theme by analyzing plot and character changes.

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Students built working flashlights while learning about electrical circuits and energy transfer!⚡️

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In our last unit of the year, students investigated different forms of energy and discovered how heat, solar, and wind, energy can be transformed into electrical energy. Through hands-on engineering challenges, students designed and built devices that convert energy from one form to another, such as heat into motion and electricity into light.

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This month, students continued strengthening their multiplication skills by practicing written multiplication with three-digit numbers, including problems containing zeros. They worked carefully on applying the multiplication algorithm and checking their work for accuracy.

We also explored cube buildings (Würfelgebäude) and building plans (Baupläne). Students practiced visualizing three-dimensional structures, interpreting building plans, and creating their own constructions. These activities helped develop their spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills.

In addition, we focused on word problems (Sachaufgaben) and real-world math situations. Students learned to identify relevant information, choose appropriate strategies, and explain their mathematical thinking. We also worked with money, practicing calculations involving purchases, change, and solving practical everyday problems.

We're wrapping up our last Math lessons in German and are ready to move to 5th grade where math will be completely in English.

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This month, we continued reading our class novel Wer ist Lolly Blu? Together, we summarized chapters and discussed important themes from the story. One focus was exploring the advantages and disadvantages of social media and reflecting on how it can impact our daily lives.

We also continued our exciting profession presentations. Many parents and other adults visited our classroom to share insights about their careers. The students greatly enjoyed learning about a variety of professions and asking thoughtful questions. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate and make these experiences so meaningful!

As we approach the end of 4th grade, we have also spent time reflecting on everything we have learned and accomplished this year. The students have worked hard, grown academically and personally, and are ready for the exciting transition to 5th grade.

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This month we continued our exploration of Ancient Egypt and learned more about this fascinating civilization. Students formed groups based on the topics that interested them most and worked collaboratively to create posters.

One topic that captured everyone's interest was the food people ate in Ancient Egypt. During one of our final lessons of the school year, students had the opportunity to experience this aspect of history firsthand by preparing flatbread from scratch. They then enjoyed it with honey and grapes, just as people in Ancient Egypt might have done thousands of years ago. This hands-on activity was a wonderful way to bring history to life and conclude our Sachkunde lessons for the year.

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· Continue improving running endurance and pacing strategies over longer distances.
· Develop stamina through varied running exercises and training methods.
· Apply fitness and endurance skills in structured running challenges and game-based activities.

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This month we...

Compared the federal, state, and local governments and discussed the role of local leaders like mayors.

Imagined ourselves as mayor and created our own “movement” to improve our city or community, encouraging students to think about how the government can solve real-world problems.

Learned about Westward Expansion and its effects on the growth of the United States.

Worked in teams to debate the pros and cons of westward expansion from the lens of a settler, Native American child, farmer, merchant, and canal worker.

Learned about the California Gold Rush and how it supported westward expansion.

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Hearing the opening arguments from the Native American children team during our Westward Expansion debate

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Adas clay vessel with two little owls in a nest

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Our "creative clay vessels with a curious content" have been finished and are in works to be painted. Time is running out, but we will make full use of the two last weeks before summer break.

The students have been so creative to come up with new ideas and to think "outside of the box". They utilized the 3S technique (score, slip, smooth) to safely attache clay to clay and added details and textures by carving and adding.

We had a great art year together and it was so fun working with your children. I can't wait to see everyone back this fall.

Please remind your children to pick up the art portfolios from their class teacher and then happy holidays to you all!!

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· Engaged in small-sided team challenges where students designed their own strategies and roles within the group.
· Explored problem-solving movement tasks, such as team obstacle courses that required full group participation.
· Combined cooperative elements with simple competitive formats to strengthen tactical thinking and fair play.
· Continued developing leadership skills, responsibility, and the ability to give constructive feedback within teams.

· Worked with frisbee games and developed them using the “genetic concept” approach, where students adapted and modified games through trial, variation, and improvement.
· Created our own frisbee game versions with self-designed rules and learned specific throwing and catching techniques.
· Intensified our dodgeball (Völkerball) unit, focusing on tactics, teamwork, and game awareness.
· Prepared for and participated in activities connected to the Fun Run, focusing on endurance and group motivation.

Coming soon
· Transition into the topic of running and endurance.
· Improve stamina, pacing, and long-distance running ability.
· Explore different running forms and training methods.
· Build fitness through structured running activities and challenges.

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I have had a great time getting to know 4th grade. We learned the names of the different parts of the house and objects around the home. Additionally, they learned some important Spanish vocabulary like adverbs of place “in front of” etc., and common verbs like “to write."

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We wrote poems for Earth Day and hunted for verbs while studying for our exam.

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This month we...

Learned about the poetry forms haiku and limerick.

Practiced using and understanding figurative language like similes, metaphors, and personification.

Began planning and writing our final projects.

Dug in to adding evidence to opinions in preparation for writing literary essays

Next month we will...

Edit drafts of our final project and get feedback from the class.

Start our class novel: Because of Winn-Dixie

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Students have been working very hard on their concert songs and are excited to present their performances on Tuesday, 5/19. Throughout rehearsals, students have continued developing their musical skills, confidence, and teamwork. They also have been learning about different note values and rests.

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Students model energy transfer and collisions through hands-on experiments using marble rollercoasters and ramp systems.

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Up ’Til Now:
In 4th grade Science, we began our final unit on energy and energy transfer, exploring how energy can be stored, moved, and changed from one form to another. Students have investigated how energy makes objects move and how collisions transfer energy between objects.

Coming Soon:
Students will apply what they have learned by designing and building their own Rube Goldberg machine machines using a series of energy transfers and chain reactions.

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This month in Sachkunde, we continued our learning in the “Water and Weather” unit and successfully completed our final quiz of the school year.

Students explored the states of matter, the water cycle, and the topic of air through a variety of experiments and discussions. They investigated what air actually is and also learned about air pollution and its effects on the environment.

We also began our final unit of the year on Ancient Egypt. Students were introduced to the origins of Ancient Egypt, the role of the pharaohs, daily life, and the different professions people had during that time. In the coming weeks, students will continue discovering many more exciting aspects of Ancient Egyptian civilization while preparing for a group poster project. Soon, groups will be formed and students will begin creating informative posters to present their learning collaboratively.

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This month we...

Learned about the U.S. Constitution and how it organizes the government.

Explored the Bill of Rights, including why it was created and how it protects people’s freedoms.

Studied the three branches of government and the role of each branch.

Learned about checks and balances and how they keep power fair and balanced.

Next month we will...

Compare the federal, state, and local governments and discuss the role of local leaders like mayors.

Imagine ourselves as mayor and create our own “movement” to improve our city or community, encouraging students to think about how government can solve real-world problems.

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📚 German – Monthly Highlights

This month, we continued reading our class novel Lolly Blu and wrote our own creative acrostic poems inspired by the story. ✍️

We also learned how to summarize chapters and practiced identifying the most important information in a text.

In grammar, we prepared for and completed our grammar test focusing on the spelling rules for ck, tz, and ß, as well as the FRESCH strategies Verlängern and Ableiten. 📝

Another highlight was our job presentations! Students shared exciting information about different careers, and we even had special guests visit our class to talk about their professions and answer questions. 👩‍⚕️👨‍🍳👩‍💻✨

➡️ Coming up:
• Continuing our class novel Lolly Blu 📖
• Focusing on neat handwriting ✍️
• Free writing in German to encourage creativity and confidence 📝✨

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🔢 Math – Monthly Highlights

This month, we worked on expanding numbers up to one million and practiced multiplying and dividing larger numbers.

We also focused on written multiplication without carrying (Multiplikation ohne Übertrag). ✏️

➡️ Coming up:
• Written multiplication with carrying
• Strengthening division strategies
• Solving real-world math problems 🚀

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4th graders finished their collage pop-up books

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Up till now:

4th graders worked diligently on their pop-up books and finished them this week. The background was drawn using oil pastels and the pop-ups were made solely with collage. Students used our research about NYC's waterway secrets as their foundation, but were encouraged to also let their own imagination flow. The results are dazzling and sparkly and you will be able to see them in person at our Arts Fest on May 19th at 4pm. The kids are excited to share their work with you!

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3. Unit: Sculpture: Imaginary clay vessel with curious content

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3. Unit: Sculpture: Imaginary clay vessel with curious content

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Coming up:

We will start on our last and 3rd unit of the year: Sculpture - creative and unusual clay vessels

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This month in Sachkunde, we successfully completed our Children’s Rights exchange project with an austrian school. Students greatly enjoyed connecting with their partner classes, exchanging questions about their schools and daily lives. The video quizzes they created on children’s rights were both educational and fun to solve, reinforcing their understanding in an engaging way.

In our Space unit, students created Steckbriefe (fact sheets) on the planets of the solar system, strengthening their research and presentation skills. We then transitioned into our new unit on Water and Weather, using the concept of tides (Ebbe und Flut) as a bridge between topics. Students explored the Wasserkreislauf (water cycle) and began understanding key natural processes.

Looking ahead:
In the coming lessons, we will focus on learning about wind and its effects as part of our ongoing Water and Weather unit.

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This month we...

Continued practicing finding the main idea when reading nonfiction texts.

Began planning for our final writing project.

Worked on spelling and vocabulary through games like Scrabble and Quiddler.

Practiced keeping our fingers on the home keys while typing

Next month we will...

Tackle reading and writing poetry. We will dig into figurative language and different poetic forms.

Wrap up verbs and begin studying adjectives.

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This month we...

Started looking at the 5-paragraph essay structure for opinion pieces

Used note-taking strategies like webs and Venn diagrams to help us find main ideas for the nonfiction we use

Learned how to match verbs to their subject and the spelling rules for present, past, and future-tense words

During Kindness Week we made flexagons with ways to be kind and inclusive

Next month we will...

Wrap up our personal essays and move into writing poetry

Move to reading nonfiction about history and begin learning how to research a specific topic

Begin learning to type

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This month we…

Went on a field trip to Jazz at Lincoln Center

Learned about the life and music of Nina Simone

Analyzed her song “To Be Free”

Were introduced to the song “Kompliment”

Chose an instrument to play for the song, such as keyboard, vocals, electric bass, guitar, drums, or percussion

Up next, we will…

Begin rehearsing “Kompliment” in small groups using our chosen instruments

Develop ensemble skills as we prepare the song for performance

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Students have been mastering numbers from 1 to 100 and practicing the conjugation of -AR verbs in the present tense. We are also learning to describe classroom activities by using verbs such as bailar (to dance), cantar (to sing), and dibujar (to draw) to talk about what we do in class.

Next, we will review the distinction between hay and está, focusing on when to express existence versus location

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4th graders are creating their own personal collage materials by painting sheets of paper with tempera paint

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Up till now:

1. Collage techniques: neatly gluing, cutting and tearing paper, layering and overlapping forms, detailing and textures

2. students practiced making their first collage animals or objects for their pop-up book. No pencil allowed! Every detail with paper!

3. This week we started planning and practicing our pop-up scene. Students experimented with different tabs and planned out their story and characters.

Coming soon:

We will be starting with the Master piece Pop-Up Book. The ground will be drawn with oil pastels and the pop-up characters will be made with collage technique and their painted papers.

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Safiya demonstrating how vibrations create various wavelenghts! 

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The month we...

have been are exploring the science of sound by:

Building devices to feel vibrations

Using digital tools to visualize sound waves

Investigating how sound waves affect what we hear

Coming up:

We will start our new unit in which we will explore types of Energy!

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This month we...

Compared the early Dutch vs. English rule of New York (New Amsterdam)

Learned about the causes of the American Revolution and created foldables and mini-posters to share our learning

Learned about the leaders of the Revolution

Compared and contrasted the traits of Patriots and Loyalists

Learned about the battles of the American Revolution

Learned about the results of the American Revolution

Up next we will...

Begin our new unit- Freedom and the New Nation: Federal, State, and Local Government

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This month, we focused on the FRESCH strategies “Ableiten” and “Verlängern” to support correct spelling. We also practiced identifying short and long vowels and applied important spelling rules (e.g., h, tz, ck, ss, and ß).

We started our new class story “Wer ist Lolly Blu?”, which we’re excited to continue after spring break.

🌟 A big highlight was our “Nur-Deutsch” challenge! The students are making great progress speaking German in class and already earned their first reward: a snack party with a movie 🎉

Coming up:

continue Lolly Blu book

focus on nouns

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Up till now
· Engaged in small-sided team challenges where students designed their own strategies and roles within the group.
· Explored problem-solving movement tasks, such as team obstacle courses that required full group participation.
· Combined cooperative elements with simple competitive formats to strengthen tactical thinking and fair play.
· Continued developing leadership skills, responsibility, and the ability to give constructive feedback within teams.

Coming soon
· Move on to more complex games that require advanced strategy, communication, and teamwork.
· Further develop tactical thinking in dynamic and competitive situations.
· Continue strengthening cooperation, leadership, and fair play in increasingly challenging activities.

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🔢 Math – Monthly Highlights

This month, we continued working on multiplication and expanded our number range.

We also learned how to add and subtract numbers up to 10,000.

➡️ Coming up:
• Solving real-world math problems (Rechnen in Sachsituationen)
• Working with numbers up to 100,000 🚀

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This month in Sachkunde, we began our new unit on Children’s Rights. As part of a collaborative exchange project, students explored selected articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and discussed why these rights are important for children around the world.

In small groups, students chose one of the 42 children’s rights and created a short one-minute scene to present it. These scenes will be filmed and shared with our partner class, who will try to guess which children’s right is being represented.

Through this project, students are deepening their understanding of their rights while strengthening teamwork, creativity, and presentation skills.

Alongside our exchange project, we are also continuing our unit on Space and Planets. Working in pairs, students are creating fact sheets about important planets, stars, and moons, building their research and collaboration skills.

Looking ahead:
In March, we will begin our new unit Water and Weather, where students will explore natural phenomena and the science behind them.

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This month we…

Learned about the origins and characteristics of jazz music

Learned to sing the song “Little Liza Jane”

Began writing original group lyrics to the melody

Up next, we will…

Perform “Little Liza Jane” with our original lyrics

Learn about the life and music of Nina Simone

Learn to sing the song “Kompliment” by the group Sportfreunde Stiller and add drums, piano, guitar, bass, and percussion to create a full band arrangement

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This month, we focused on the different parts of a sentence. We learned how to identify the subject, predicate, and adverbials of time and place.

Furthermore, we talked about Fasching, wrote our own jokes, and prepared to perform them at the Lower School Fasching celebration.

Coming up:

Continuing to practice identifying parts of a sentence

Starting our weekly presentations about a profession

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This month, we focused on multiplication, revisiting the "kleine Einmaleins" and reviewing what we learned in 3rd grade.

Coming up:

Expanding multiplication into the number range up to 10,000

Identifying, building, taking apart, and drawing different 3D shapes and their nets

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working with Schüttelboxen to play a number game

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This month, we continued expanding our number range up to 10,000 and completed our first math quiz. We also focused on three-dimensional shapes and explored their nets. We challenged our spatial awareness and mathematical vocabulary.

Coming up:

working with place value chart (Stellentafel) and exploring place values (Stellen)

identifying, building, taking apart, and drawing different 3D shapes and their nets.

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In this activity, students compared thick and thin “lava” to investigate how lava type affects a volcano’s shape and eruption style. 🌋

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This Month We:

Investigated the features and processes that shape Earth’s surface

Explored rapid changes like volcanic eruptions

Examined slower processes such as weathering and erosion

Applied our learning to design solutions that reduce the impact of natural processes on people and communities

Up Next:

We will start our World our Sound Unit where we will:

Explore the science of sound

Build simple devices to feel vibrations

Use digital tools to visualize sound waves and understand how different vibrations create different sounds

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🌳 Why don’t the same trees grow everywhere?
Students acted as “Tree Detectives,” using models to explore how roots and branches work together to help trees survive in specific environments.

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This month we...

continued to learn about adaptations by modeling different types of tree branches and testing how they bear weight. This helps students understand which trees are best suited for different climates.

Next month we will...
Begin our next unit focusing on Earth’s geographical features and the rock cycle.

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Current Unit: La clase de música

What We’ve Accomplished

We have finished the first half of the unit, focusing on identifying objects and using numbers in context. Students can now:

Identify School Supplies: Use vocabulary for items like mochila, tijeras, and cuaderno.

Discuss Music: Name instruments and categorize them into families (cuerdas, percusión, vientos).

Use Numbers 16–30: Apply these numbers to count objects and solve basic math problems in Spanish.

Identify Existence: Use the structure ¿Hay...? / Sí, hay... to talk about what is in the classroom.

What’s Next:

Routines & Activities

We are now moving into the final part of the unit, which shifts from naming objects to describing actions. We will focus on:

Classroom Logic: Explaining the order of activities (e.g., "Primero escuchamos, después tocamos instrumentos").

Daily School Life: Phrases for waking up, arriving at school, and describing a typical schedule (Math, Music, Recess).

The goal is to help students move from single words to flowing sentences about their own daily experiences.

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Up till now
· Focused on communicative and cooperative games that required clear communication and shared decision-making.
· Played strategic games such as Flag Tag, where teams had to protect their own flag while planning how to capture the opponent’s flag.
· Took part in cooperative relay races, for example transporting a ball in pairs without holding it, which required coordination, trust, and teamwork.
· Reflected on how communication, planning, and encouragement can improve team performance and create a positive group atmosphere.

Coming soon
· Introduce small-sided team challenges where students design their own strategies and roles within the group.
· Explore problem-solving movement tasks (e.g., team obstacle courses where everyone must contribute to succeed).
· Begin combining cooperative elements with simple competitive formats to strengthen tactical thinking and fair play.
· Continue developing leadership skills, responsibility, and constructive feedback within teams.

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Up till now:

1. Students finished their first master piece: "A detailed look into nature". Here students are reflecting on their process and their finished work. Bravo!!!!!!

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4th graders are working on their research sketches

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2. Unit: Collage: Collage Pop-Up Book (with hand-painted paper) - NY Harbor/ River Scene

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2. Unit: Collage: Collage Pop-Up Book (with hand-painted paper) - NY Harbor/ River Scene

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2. As a class, we are exploring the theme "NY Harbor and Rivers" by reading the article "Secrets of the Deep" (New York Magazine. 04/07/2008). Students summarized, sketched and made notes from all what we learned on a large sheet of paper. We call it our "research paper/sketch"

3. 4th graders have also practiced drawing various NY underwater animals and plants from photographs. We always pay attention to details and textures.

Coming up soon:

We will be creating our own collage paper by hand-painting sheets of paper with tempera paint. For that purpose we will first need to study the true colors of our NY rivers. Students will experiment with texture and brush strokes and pay attention to color scheme.

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This month we...

Began our new unit exploring the colonial and revolutionary periods in the United States.

Learned about the Age of Exploration and the reasons Europeans wanted to discover new land.

Created an "Exploration Plan," imagining we were European explorers setting off on a journey. We considered our motive, what to bring, our route, and the obstacles we might face.

Learned about 5 main explorers of New York- Verrazzano, Hudson, Block, Champlain, and Cartier

Compared the Native American vs. European perspectives on the conquest of "new land"

Up next we will...

Compare the early Dutch vs. English rule of New York (New Amsterdam)

Learn about the causes of the American Revolution

Learn about the leaders of the Revolution

Compare and contrast the traits of Patriots and Loyalists

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This month we...

Presented our Native American folktale plays

Began writing personal essays by freewriting

Practiced writing down what we already know and what we want to focus on before reading nonfiction books

Learned spelling rules for plural nouns and possessive nouns

Next month we will...

Dig in to essay structures

Learn different note-taking strategies

Begin our next grammar unit on verbs

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This month we….

4th grade students worked hard and did a wonderful job performing at this year’s Winter Celebration. The video was included in the weekly newsletter before winter break.

Up next in Musik we will…

Prepare for the music notation exam

Explore Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg

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This month we...

Learned about the traditional roles of the Lenape men, women, and children, and imagined what a day in their life might have looked like.

Examined Lenape contributions that are still present in NYC today.

Created a collaborative poster with group members on Lenape contributions

Up next we will...

Begin our new unit exploring the colonial and revolutionary periods in the United States.

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This month in Sachkunde, we continued our unit “From Farm to Table.”

Students worked further on their lapbooks, with time to work independently at their own pace. They were able to make their own layout and design choices while exploring many different aspects of agriculture and life on a farm.

Topics covered in the lapbooks included:

Work on the farm throughout the seasons

Corn and potatoes

Animals on the farm and animal families

Different types of farmers

Milk and dairy products

Farm buildings

Farming in the past and today

Through a class vote, students decided that the next quiz will focus on farming in the past and today and animal families.

Looking ahead:
In the new year, we will begin a new unit on children’s rights (Kinderrechte).

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This month in Sachkunde we worked on our unit “From Farm to Table.”

As an introduction, we explored:

Wild and domestic animals and how they differ

Their roles within agricultural systems

To support this unit, each student has begun creating a lapbook. The first section focuses on: “Arbeiten in den Jahreszeiten” – understanding how work on a farm changes throughout the year.

In addition to this new topic, we also wrapped up key ideas from our forest unit. Students completed their first quiz on Nahrungsketten und -beziehungen im Wald, demonstrating what they learned about how animals and plants depend on each other in forest ecosystems.

We look forward to adding more entries to the lapbooks as we continue our journey from farm to table in the coming weeks!

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What we have achieved so far:

The Verb Tener: Students have learned to use the verb tener (to have) to describe possession, focusing on singular forms.

Thematic Vocabulary: We have practiced using classroom and birthday-related vocabulary to identify, describe various objects and express possession.

Descriptive Skills: Students practiced asking and answering questions about objects, including details like color and ensuring correct gender and number agreement.

Family & Possession: We introduced the use of the preposition "de" to discuss family members and describe relationships within their own families and others'.

Our next steps:

Cumulative Project: Students will now consolidate these skills through a creative project where they will introduce themselves, describe their family, and talk about their birthday celebrations.

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Up till now:

1. Students started on their master piece. They received a square format paper and everyone had to sketch out their "zoomed in nature composition" with light pencil. The goal was to show a large variety of nature elements and show depth through layering and overlapping.

2. Then it was time to add color. Through shading with lighter and darker accents, nature forms look more 3-D and more alive. Also, color mixing makes the color palette more interesting.

Coming up soon:

Adding more details and textures and staying with the work until full refinement.

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This month, we focused on reading comprehension through logical puzzles to strengthen both our logical thinking skills and our comprehension in the German language. We learned that not every piece of information helps immediately in finding the solution and that we often need to return to certain facts later. As a result, our patience and ability to handle frustration were challenged as well.

Coming up:

parts of speech (focus on nouns)

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This month we...

Focused on a project adapting Native American folktales into plays

Practiced summarizing stories and breaking them down into scenes

Looked at how to use dialogue in a play

Learned about common and proper nouns

Next month we will...

Perform our plays for the class

Read and write personal essays

Dig into spelling rules for nouns

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Up till now
· Played group games with a focus on preparatory exercises for handball in a fun tournament-style format.
· Practised a variety of team-based ball games, including wall ball, cone-gate ball, and similar activities to build passing, movement, and spatial awareness.
· Reflected on teamwork challenges, talked about problems that came up during the games, and developed solutions together to improve cooperation.

Coming soon
· Shift the focus toward more creative games that encourage students to think strategically and work together in new ways.
· Continue strengthening teamwork, communication, and fair play through playful group activities.

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Up till now
· Completed the Rollboard License and everyone passed the test, yeah!
· Continued to build confidence and safety through coordinated movement tasks.
· Played various teambuilding games, including different dodgeball variations.
· Reflected on teamwork challenges, discussed problems, and developed solutions together.

Coming soon
· Apply teamwork skills in more complex group activities.
· Strengthen cooperation, communication, and fair play.

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We continued expanding our numbers up to 100,000 and learned how to break numbers apart into thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. We also practiced showing numbers using blocks, lines, and cubes.

In addition, we learned how to use the calculator for simple addition and subtraction.

Coming up next:

We will continue exploring and playing with place value.

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This month we prepared for our Stolperwörter test.

By reading sentences, we had to identify the word that didn’t make sense in each one. We completed a test that compares our reading level and comprehension to students in Germany.

We also started our Reading Buddy Project with 2nd grade.

In small groups, we prepared a book to read aloud. After reading, we discussed the story, chose five important words to summarize it, and created a drawing together with our 2nd-grade buddies. The final result is our Thanksgiving turkey, filled with all our summary words.

Coming up next:

We will continue working with the FRESCH reading strategies.

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This month in Music we…

Learned about the staff system

Began reading and writing musical notation

Continued preparing the songs for our winter celebration performance

Up next we will…

Deepen our understanding of musical notation

Continue getting ready for our winter celebration show

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First we had to summarize and draw a scene from our folktale.

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Then we worked as a group to determine characters and scenes.

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After writing scripts we got to work creating costumes and props.

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This month we:

Students practiced public speaking by delivering a brief introduction, which included a greeting, their name, and their age.

Reinforced the skill of asking and responding about age, along with practicing numbers 0 to 15.

Practiced vocabulary related to birthdays and birthday parties.

Reviewed the concept of gender and number of nouns.

Mastered the use of both definite articles (el, la, los, las) and indefinite articles (un, una).

Learned vocabulary related to the family.

Next:

We will focus on two key areas: expressing possession (using some possessive adjectives and the preposition 'de') and learning vocabulary to describe family and kinship.

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This month we...

Learned about the meaning, origin, and history of the Day of the Dead and made an ofrenda for our school’s altar.

Continued to practice more phrases to help us communicate and follow directions in the classroom.

Practice asking and answering questions about our age and nationality.

Reviewed numbers 1–15.

Learned exciting words to talk about birthday parties and gifts.

Next:

We will learn vocabulary related to the family and how to use the verbs “es” and “son.

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This month we...

Learned about the way of life of the Lenape people. We learned about their houses, food, jobs, and clans

We examined Native American totem pole art and learned that totem poles were traditionally created by tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Then, we imagined what a Lenape totem pole might look like if the Lenape people had made them. Groups of students chose a Lenape clan and designed a totem pole inspired by their selection.

Up next we will...

Learn about the traditional roles of the Lenape women, men, and children, and create a "Day in the Life" book imagining what it may look like for the Lenape people.

Learn about traditional stories and art of the Lenape people

Learn about the contributions from the Lenape people that are still present today

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students at Brower Park, near our school, to draw nature from real life

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Up till now:

1. We went outside to draw nature from real life.

2. Students learned how to mixed unique colors with colored pencil by laying different colors and by pressing harder or lighter. Finally we held a class competition who can mix the most different green tones.

3. We looked at a painting of Henri Rousseau and observed how he cropped his painting by cutting elements on all sides and how he showed depth by layering elements in the foreground and background

Coming soon:

Now we are prepared for our master piece: "A detailed look into lush nature".

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Which beak works best? Our scientists were on the case!

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This month... we’re studying animal and plant adaptations, and students explored bird beaks help birds survive in their habitats. Using tools like tweezers, tongs, spoons, and chopsticks, they tried to pick up different “foods” (rice, rubber bands, marshmallows, and pasta) to see which beak works best. Students then matched each bird and its food to the correct beak tool.

Next up: we are focusing on plant adaptations and how plant structures vary depending on their environment.

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Stella and Leanna showing off their Thaumatropes!

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Grade 4 Science:
Students have been learning about how our eyes work and how light interacts with them. To celebrate Halloween, we explored optical illusions and created our own spooky Halloween thaumatropes—a fun way to connect science with creativity!

Coming Soon: Our next unit will focus on animal and plant adaptations, including learned behaviors and instincts.

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This month we...

Learned alternatives for the word "said" and how they can show character traits or emotions

Started using paragraphs to break up our writing

Practiced identifying character traits and explaining why we think a character embodies that trait

Explored compound and complex sentences

Wrote spooky stories

Next month we will...

Edit and publish one of our stories

Discuss theme and practice

Learn the rules for singular and plural nouns, including possessive nouns

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Up till now

Continued with the Rollboard License unit

Practiced various obstacle courses

Learned new techniques for balance, steering, and coordination

Trained safe setup and takedown of equipment

Created and tested own obstacle courses in group work

Coming soon

Final Rollboard License test

Demonstrating control, coordination, and teamwork to earn certificates

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This month in Musik we…

Continued playing the recorder, learning the song “Merrily we Roll along”

Sang the fall song “Bunt sind schon die Wälder

Began learning about the staff system and musical notation

Up next we will…

Learn to read and write musical notation in the treble clef

Learn the songs “Hoch” and “A Million Dreams”

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Numbers up to 100,000

In October, we worked on several important topics. We continued revising key competencies from Grade 3 and began expanding our number range up to 100,000. We built a field of 10,000 and practiced breaking down large numbers into thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones.

We also started exploring Geometry, challenging our spatial imagination with different shapes and patterns.

Coming Up Next:

Building cube constructions and drawing their plans

Continuing to expand our number range up to 100,000, and later to 1,000,000

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Nouns and verbs

This month, we concentrated on forming nouns from adjectives, learning and memorizing common endings such as:

-ung

-tum

-heit

-keit

(and others!)

We also reviewed the verb tenses, focusing on Präsens (simple present) and Präteritum (simple past). We practiced recognizing the different verb endings and discussed when and why we use each tense.

Coming Up Next:

FRESCH strategies for spelling

A closer look at the parts of speech in more detail

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3rd Grade Review

Since our first day of school, we have focused on getting to know each other as a class and establishing our daily routines with rituals, while also getting familiar with our teachers and classmates.

In German class, we reviewed the most important topics from 3rd grade to prepare for 4th grade:

Identifying nouns, adjectives, and verbs

Writing complete sentences

Combining nouns to create new compound words

Coming up next:

FRESCH strategies for spelling

Parts of speech in more detail

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In October, we continued our Sachkunde class by deepening our exploration of the forest, focusing on:

The layers of the forest

Animals that live in the forest

Plants in the forest

Threats and dangers facing forest ecosystems

As part of this unit:

Students worked in groups

Each group prepared and presented on one of the above topics

We concluded the topic of fungi by:

Cutting open a mushroom

Drawing and labeling its key parts

Before beginning the next unit on children’s rights, we will first explore:

Agriculture and food production in the unit “From Farm to Table”

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We began the Sachkunde class with:

Introductory activities through personal profiles

A review of the topic human senses, which was covered last year

Our current unit focuses on the forest, including:

Its functions

Its inhabitants

Its global significance

As part of this unit:

Students will work in groups

Each group will prepare a presentation on a key forest-related topic

The upcoming unit will cover children’s rights, aiming to:

Promote awareness of their rights

Strengthen the students’ political understanding and sense of agency

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This month we...

Had a museum historian from the Plimoth Patuxet Museum visit our classroom portraying Mistress Barbara Standish. We will use the colonial woman’s perspective in contrast with Native perspectives throughout this unit.

Began our second unit- Native Americans: First Inhabitants of New York

Had an introduction to the Lenape. We listened to an original Lenape story called "The Bear and the Blue Corn." We compared what happened in the Lenape story to what Manhattan is like today.

Up next we will...

Study the ways of life, customs, beliefs, traditions, values, and contributions of the Lenape

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Up till now:

1. students learn to see basic forms inside an object and lightly draw these first before going into more details and adding the contour line. That way we make sure to capture correct sizes, forms and proportions

2. we created a list of ideas for various plant types, so we have a library to pick from when we start our master piece

3. We learn about different shading techniques, and how to draw light and dark with a pencil

Coming soon:

We will observe how other artists draw nature/landscapes and look at:

- for- and background

- how objects are large in front and small in the distance

- how overlapping creates space

- and we want to challenge ourselves to see how many different shades of green we can mix with colored pencils

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This month we focused on...

Planning realistic fiction stories by thinking about problems, settings, and characters.

Writing details by breaking the action down to show, not tell.

Using our reading journals to record our thoughts on what we are reading.

Identifying the subject or predicate of a sentence and the different types of sentences.

Next month we will...

Begin editing our writing to add more dialogue and action.

Learn how to use internal traits to talk about characters in our books and gather evidence to support our ideas.

Discover different ways to make complex sentences.

Start building our spelling toolkit by learning about prefixes and suffixes and revisiting important spelling rules.

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Here is a picture of the model we made! 

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This month we...

Began our first unit focusing on our bodies

Built models of fingers to demonstrate how tendons and muscles work

looked at the structure of the eye and how we process light

Next up...

How our brain and nervous system connect

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Learned the round Sally Go Round the Sun

Sang the rock ‘n’ roll back-to-school song “School Days”

Began playing the recorder, focusing on the notes B, A, and G

Up next we will…

Play simple songs on the recorder

Learn to read and write musical notation in the treble clef

Learn seasonal fall and Halloween songs

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Up till now

Yesss! The rollboards from Germany and the boxes have arrived – thank you very much for the donations. Our PE program has gained a new activity area!

Reviewed gym rules and behavior.

Practiced more complex game forms than last year.

Started with the Rollboard License.

First explorative practice: How to move safely and effectively on the rollboard.

Discussed safety rules: rollboard parking, equipment distribution, no standing on the boards, tying back hair.

Coming soon

Completing more challenging obstacle courses with the rollboards.

Working on speed, coordination, and control.

Moving toward the final Rollboard License test and receiving the certificate.

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sketch books made by students and different kind of lines

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1. Unit: Drawing: Sketching and Observing Nature: Flower/Plant and Insect Still Life, using pencil and colored pencil. A detailed look into lush nature

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1. Unit: Drawing: Sketching and Observing Nature: Flower/Plant and Insect Still Life, using pencil and colored pencil. A detailed look into lush nature

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Up till now:

1. Students made a personal sketch book and designed the cover

2. We examined a Matisse drawing and found and described different kind of lines. Students transferred those lines into their sketchbook, named them and gave them a “feeling" description

3. Students then put into practice what they have learned by “going on a journey with the pencil on a piece of paper”: the line transforms and switches between different kind of lines while experiencing different emotions and adventures along the way

Coming soon:

I will introduce our topic “nature” and students will practice drawing plants, flowers, trees and bushes by using different kind of lines. We will also learn about contour drawing and how to add surface/texture by shading.