Fourth & Fifth Grade: February 9-13, 2026
Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Families,
Thank you for taking the time to come to the Lunar New Year presentation. We hope you enjoyed the performance.
After wrapping up Ashanti mythology in the previous week, the class learned about the Yoruba region of West Africa (southwestern Nigeria, parts of Benin, and Togo). We compared and contrasted the Yoruba and Ashanti creation stories. We also dove into learning about the Orishas, or the demi-gods, of the Yoruba pantheon: Obatala, Yemaya, Shango, Oshun, Eshu, Oya, and Ogun, which are commonly known as the Seven Yoruba Powers. The class started their group diorama project. Like the Yoruba creation story, they created human figures out of clay. When the class returns, we will continue to assemble the rest of their ancient Yoruba civilization.
The class continued reading their class readers, Tristan Strong: Punches A Hole In The Sky. After spending the first six days of class learning about Ashanti mythology, the students were able to identify more of the references to what was learned in class, like the Adinkra (ancient symbol) for Anansi and Nyame.
In math, the students are reviewing fractions from last year. Prior to the break, the class utilized the 4-Square court on the parking lot as a way to relearn the concept of expanding and simplifying fractions by dividing the four sections into smaller ones. During our indoor math practice, we worked on comparing fractions with different denominators and illustrating improper fractions and mixed numbers by recreating a “pizza shop” and identifying which customers ate more of their pizza or an equal amount of it. The class will continue with their fractions review, which will perfectly set them up for the Decimals Main Lesson block in March.
Announcements & Reminders:
Teacher-Parent Conferences are coming up next month (March 12 and 13). Please be sure to sign up here!
March 7: Community Work Day
March 12: Teacher-Parent Conferences (Half-day)
March 13: Teacher-Parent Conferences (No School)
March 18–19: Picture Day - Class photos will be taken, along with a makeup opportunity for students who missed photos in the fall.
Warm Regards,
Ki Nicole
