Tinker and Techxploration

The girls enjoyed the Lower School Tinker and Techxploration Fair on April 18th.  The girls had an opportunity to explore and tinker with 10 of the latest technology innovations and gadgets. 

 
The Beam is an experimental telepresence robot. It lets you move around and talk to people, even when you’re not with them in person. The Beam uses WiFi, cameras and sensors to move around.

Google Cardboard is a virtual reality set of glasses. What’s virtual reality? It’s a way to experience something through our computers that doesn’t really exist.
    
You can connect the MaKey MaKey to a computer and then to just about anything.

  
Makeup Genius uses augmented reality code to put makeup on your face!

 

Robot turtles is a super fun game that will also teach you how to think like a computer scientist.
  
Drones are machines that fly themselves.
   
Alexa is an artificially intelligent bot that you can have a conversation with.

  

Leap Motion allows you to control a computer through motion rather than a keyboard or mouse, that’s called a “gestural interface.”

   
The Spirograph was created by a mathematician in the late 1800s. He used it to calculate the area of curves. But a British engineer soon realized that the Spirograph could also be used to create really pretty drawings.

Language Arts/Social Studies

As you know, this year the fourth grade girls have traveled the world!  We are still on our journey while we work on our country reports.

In order to become accustomed to using the websites on LiveBinder, learning to take notes in our own words, putting information in writing, and preparing to work on an individual country, the girls wrote detailed reports on China.  As part of learning about Chinese culture, we had a visiting artist stop by to teach us about Chinese ink painting.  We had a wonderful time making some beautiful designs unfold right before our very eyes!  Thank you, Ms. Sia and Mr. Morgan, for coming to visit the fourth grade and helping us be so creative!

Math

Before spring break, the fourth grade girls completed a unit on measurement.  They ended up by measuring and cutting shapes to make a spring mural.  Can you find a centipede? twin butterflies? a dragonfly? What other creatures can you identify?  Ask your daughter what she made to add to our mural, and stop by to see it in person - it's hanging outside the fourth grade rooms.

We are now completing a unit on relating fractions, decimals, and percents.  Stay tuned - these girls are on top of this material!

From the Library

Annual Book Swap!

Thursday, March 31

Girls may bring in 1-10 PAPERBACK books, grade level and in good condition, to swap for the same number of books.

Ms. Mason will accept books March 15-30. Please leave them in a neat stack on my desk with an elastic around the bundle. Write your name and class code (4E or 4G) on a sticky note and attach to your bundle.
Books that are too young or too old or too worn out will be returned to donors. Any leftover books will be donated to charity.

There will be a table for each grade so Fourth grade girls will swap within their grade.

This is voluntary! Girls do not have to participate. It's a great way to pass along books you've enjoyed, and get a few new books without spending a nickel.