Along with a new school year, we have a new teacher joining us at St. Clare teaching our 3rd and 4th grade blended classroom. The students in room 12 are such a great team and are forming a close bond! They love working together and are also learning how to be independent learners. In Math, both sections have been reviewing place value and learning strategies to compare numbers. In Language Arts, they are reading many stories to determine the author’s purpose and sequencing the main events. We have also discussed major events in our history such as The Constitution and September 11th.
 
In religion, the 3rd and 4th graders have been reviewing the life of Jesus as given in the 4 gospels. We will be emphasizing special feasts of the year. Already, we have celebrated Mary’s birth (September 8th), the Holy Cross (September 14th), the Sorrowful Mary (September 15th), and St. Teresa of Calcutta (September 4th).
 
One of our favorite classroom activities to close each week is writing in our Happiness Journals. This gives each of us an opportunity to reflect on what makes us happy throughout the week. This past Friday we had the
opportunity to spend our journal writing time in St. Clare’s beautiful garden