Fourth Grade PCS 2025

                  

                                                              

Welcome to the fourth grade blog at Pathway Christian School !!!

It's important for parents to be a part of what their kids are learning and it is my desire to partner with you in that endeavor. This is why I have created a classroom blog beginning the fall of 2025. Here you find updates and information about what is happening in the classroom. You will see the most current pictures of our learning and what your kids are excited about. You will see notes from me, and occasionally the students will even add to the blog. I hope you enjoy this unique and special way to share with you what we are doing and how your child is being prepared in fourth grade both academically and spiritually at Pathway Christian. -Mrs. Alatalo

Who is your child's teacher?

I'm glad you asked...My name is Regina Alatalo, and I have been teaching at Pathway for eight years. This school year is my ninth year. I have a BA degree in elementary education with an endorsement in reading from the University of Iowa. I really feel like teaching kids to read is my calling. Since I have been here I have taught all grades from first through sixth grade. During my first year the school was still using the ACE curriculum. It has been great to be a part of the  many changes that have taken place as we transitioned to BJU Press.

I absolutely love teaching, and know God placed me here over anywhere else.  ! look forward to teaching each child in my classroom and finding new and creative ways to help every child succeed, thrive in the classroom, and be who God wants them to be. 

I have been married to my husband Dave for 39 years and have two boys and two grandsons. In my spare time I like to decorate our new home we moved into in 2025, work in the yard, watch women's basketball, and complete an occasional craft project now and then. 

 Pillars of Character

 This year Pathway has initiated a way to communicate pillars of character to our students using our school mascot, the Panther, as an acronym for the qualities we want to build in our students. Below you will see what each letter of the word PANTHER stands for. You will also see  signs promoting these qualities throughout the building and in each classroom.  It is our hope that each student internalizes and displays these qualities at school and in their everyday lives as they are draw closer to a relationship with Jesus. 

Growth Mindset and Critical Thinking

The entire Pathway staff spent many days in meetings preparing for the return of students for the 2025-2026 school year.  A couple of things we discussed at length, and want to be very conscious of striving for in our classrooms with our students are: 1- growth mindset and 2-critical thinking. Let me address growth mindset first. 

Growth mindset is believing that we can learn no matter who we are, where we start, or our individual ability level. Keeping an "open mind" and a "can do" attitude is essential in learning.  Growth mindset helps students understand they can learn and grow even when challenged or stretched.  Understanding things like, "I can do hard things," "Mistakes help me learn," or "My mind grows when I am challenged," are some of the phrases that are common in a Growth Mindset mentality. Here at Pathway Christian we also want our students to know they can learn and grow in Christ. Everything we do is to glorify Christ, by putting Him first in our lives. 

Here are pictures of some of the concepts of growth mindset I have had in my room since I started at Pathway nine years ago. Feel free to take a closer look at them when you visit.                                                                            

Critical thinking is a buzz word in education today, and I don't think that will change. We want critical thinking to not only be a buzz word but also a word that demands action. In other words, we want our students to be critical thinkers. How do we do this? We do this by asking thought provoking questions, analyzing information,  digging deeper in our learning, and providing hands-on activities to promote participation and discovery.   

Bloom's Taxonomy gives parents an illustration of how we as educators promote critical thinking. 

                              

Noeo Science

This year at Pathway the elementary teachers have put aside the science curriculum we had been using and are now using Noeo Science. Noeo is packed with many hands-on experiments and activities. The curriculum comes with material kits and reference books directly related to the learning in each unit. Our first unit is about using the microscope. Our classroom was blessed to be gifted with two microscopes that connect directly to lap tops for viewing specimens. We also have a microscope that connects to a cell phone as well as a conventional table top microscope. The students have been documenting the differences between cat, dog, and goat hair. They were also able to view chicken feathers.  I think it's going to be really fun and exciting to see the students develop their scientific skills as they learn to use the scientific method in their experiments and observations. I hope you enjoy these photos of our first week of learning with Noeo Science.

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