Autumn Johnstone
  • About Mrs. Johnstone

    Welcome to 4th Grade!  This is going to be an exciting year because all 4th graders  have three teachers.  I will teach Math and Science to all 4th grade students.  This is my 21st year teaching, and my fourth year teaching 4th grade at Paxson.   I love being a part of Paxson's dynamic 4th grade team!

    I grew up in Maine and attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  After graduating, I moved to Washington DC to teach Middle School Spanish for three years. Next, I moved to New York City where I taught 5th grade for two years.  My husband and I moved to Helena in 2004.  I taught a 4th/5th grade combination class for 7 years.  Eight years ago, we moved with our three beautiful kids and two energetic dogs to Missoula.  I taught at Garden City Montessori for two years then I moved over to Paxson to teach first grade.  I taught first grade for 3 years before moving up to 4th grade.

    I am so honored to be at here. Paxson is my neighborhood school.  I know it's a great learning community because my own children go here!

    phone number:  728-2400 extension 4578
     
     
    Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday Schedule:
    8:30-9:15 Specials
    9:15-10:45 Rotation 1
    10:45-11:15 WIN time
    11:15-12:00 Lunch and Recess
    12:00-1:30 Rotation 2
    1:30-2:00 Recess
    2:00-3:30 Rotation 3
     
    Thursday Schedlue:
    8:30-9:15 Specials
    9:15-9:30 Recess
    9:30-10:55 Rotation 1
    10:55-12:20 Rotation 2
    12:20-1:05 Lunch and Recess
     
    1:05-2:30 Rotation 3
    2:30 Early Dismissal
     
     
     

     

     
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    GRADE LEVEL UPDATES AND UPCOMING EVENTS:
     
    January 9:

    Happy New Year, 4th Grade Families, 

    We hope you had a restful break.  It’s been great to be back with your kiddos!  

     

    CLASS UPDATES:  

     

    Mrs. Johnstone’s Class:  

    • We are getting into our Division unit.  Students will learn many ways to solve division problems, including the traditional algorithm.  
    • Our goal is for all students to have their multiplication facts (0-10) memorized in the next few weeks.  Knowing the facts quickly will help them immensely when working through upcoming long division problems.  We have started working on a fact fluency program called XtraMath.  I will send home an XtraMath report next week so you can help your kiddos at home.    

    Maestra Corona’s class: 

    • We are finishing “Region Medio Oeste.”  we looked at states, capitals, resources, animals, and created a map that shows the resources of this area.
    • We will start “Region Suroeste.”
    • We are practicing sentence’s structure, nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the past tense.

     

    Mrs. Parkey’s class:

    • We are continuing to work on opinion writing.  Students are separating introductions and conclusions away from body paragraphs and using direct quotes from texts to support their opinions.
    • We will be taking the STAR test next week to measure our reading progress so far this year.
    • We have been learning about Indigenous cultures of North America though a fictional story.  Our next texts will continue this learning.  We will read nonfiction texts about four different indigenous cultures in North America.
    • We have begun learning and using Greek and Latin root words to help students with both spelling and vocabulary acquisition.
    • We continue to practice and learn proper conventions and grammar.  We are focusing on punctuating dialogue correctly, as our next writing standard will be narrative writing.
    • We have begun discussing figurative language and using words as an artform.  We will continue this investigation as we start our 6 week poetry unit at the end of January!  

     

    UPCOMING EVENTS:  

    • Friday, January 10:  Progress Reports go home.  Please check on missing assignments!

     

    • January 13-24 ELA, SLA, and Math STAR testing window.

     

    • January 15: Paxson’s  Around the World Cultural Night (This is a fun evening where students get to learn about some of the diverse cultures represented at Paxson!)

     

    • January 20: NO SCHOOL for Martin Luther King Day

     

    • January 22:  Mid-term reports go home 

     

    • February 7: MCPS 4th Grade Youth Symphony Field Trip

     

    Have a great afternoon!

    -The 4th Grade Team

     
     
     
     
     
     

     

     
     
     
     

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