August 27, 2014 Weekly Update

WELCOME TO FOURTH GRADE!!!

Hello to all of our new "4H" families (Grade 4/Hannam)!  I am very much looking forward to meeting all of our new 4th graders and you, their families!  If we can't meet on the evening of August 27th, please do stop in after school one day very soon.  Remember, students can bring in their school supplies that they've collected so far, and choose a seat in our classroom during Back To School Open House Night anytime from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. 

This blog site will be one very good way to stay connected!  Each day I will be updating the homework list on the Homework Page, there is a page to view our Daily Schedule, and there is also a Google Calendar I will update with upcoming events.  The Home Page will provide you with my weekly newsletter, where you will be kept up to date on all our hard work - and fun together! 

On the Home Page of our classroom blog, you will find a space to type in your email address, and then hit "Submit".  Then whenever I post my newsletter, you will receive that notice in your inbox!  I will also send out emails for quick news notes or announcements, so I will want to collect any and all email addresses to which you would like such notices sent.  You in turn may always feel free to contact me by email or phone at any time.  You will receive a bright colored card with all of my contact info on August 27th (or Sept. 2nd).  The blog address will always be listed under my name when I send you emails, too.  (mrshannamsclass.blogspot.com)

There is so much to tell you!  We will take it one step at a time!  In the meantime, I will have a questionnaire to give you so I may learn more about your child, and other useful pages for you to keep at home for reference.  I hope we can all meet on the evening August 27th, or as soon as possible thereafter! 

Fourth Grade will be a year of much growth for your child, as well as a year filled with precious memories!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

May 30, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello, dear 4H Families! We started our week on Tuesday with our big trip to the Cave of the Mounds, and it was a beautiful day! We want to thank our parent chaperones for their fun company and their help in making everything go so smoothly: Mary Ozers, Tom Albert, Melissa Corrigan, Lisa Bote, Lorrie Carr, and Cindy Malcheski. We also owe a big thank you to our PTO for their generosity with all of our expenses that day. We have one more trip planned -- next week on Thursday, June 5th, our three 4th grade classes will be at Pope Farm Park from 11:45 to 2:15 to join local naturalists and geologists for six different activities around the Park. We would love to have as many parents meet us there as are able to make it, and join in on the fun and beauty of this gorgeous Park. Let me know if you can come! We can meet you with our bus at the upper level parking lot by 11:45. Our kids will be able to eat lunch as usual in the WM lunchroom before we go, so no special arrangements needed. Our students should, however, come prepared with a water bottle, sunscreen, and maybe a cap or sun visor. I hope you can join us!

Everyone in class has been very involved in creating their own Google Presentation about a special feature in the Western Region of our United States these last days of school. This week we all decided on a personal 'due date' - it will be one of the days next week, when each student will have the opportunity to present their topic to the class. Would you ask your student about their progress and give them the support they might need to meet their deadline? Since they are working in Google Documents, they can access their work at home as well. Thanks a lot! Be sure to take a look at what your child is creating! I am so impressed with their rapidly growing ability to find information and feature it all with such creative 'pages'.

This coming week, our 4th grade math students will be taking their final unit math test!! We are completing the last assignment pages this week, and we have already begun to congratulate ourselves on getting through the entire curriculum! Woohoo! A Unit Review will be started today, and I am projecting the Unit 12 test for Tuesday next week. By the end the school year, please look for both Journal 1 and 2, the Studylink booklet, and the yellow folder with all of their Unit Tests and Reviews to come home. I made a speech this week, in fact, about how all of these items should be saved, and NOT tossed into recycling baskets!!! These materials are excellent sources for refresher mini-lessons over the summer to keep from getting rusty before they start up again in 5th grade. This goes for our 5th grade math students who will begin 6th grade math next year as well! They have all learned SO much and come SO far this year - it is a great feeling of accomplishment!

We are still meeting daily with our Book Clubs and reading as many books as we can still get in before the last days of school. We may not be able to check out books from the school library any longer, but we have lots of amazing books right in our own classroom library to keep us happy and reading. Thank you for helping your student to find and return any last books that belong back at school, for either the LMC or our classroom library. I really appreciate your support in so many ways for all of your child's reading minutes throughout this year. I hope they can make visits to the public library a regular part of their summer routine, and keep those good habits going! It has been SO much fun sharing awesome books and stories with each other this year!

Stay tuned next week for details about the final week of school. I will let you know about special events and activities as the final details get organized. One thing I would like to ask you all about -- would anyone have a connection or know of a way we could get a strong, young tree (such as a maple, perhaps) donated or at a reduced cost? One thing we would like to do is to plant a tree as a lasting gift to West Middleton from our departing 2014 Fourth Grade Classes. We want to have a small dedication ceremony on the afternoon of June 11 as part of the planned special afternoon for our last class of 4th graders to attend our school. We have the approval and the location for this tree already chosen, and the lead I had been pursuing did not work out. Thank you for any tips or help!

I will be back in touch soon! Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

May 16, 2014 Weekly Update

Greetings to our 4H Families!  The list of reminders and events just keeps growing as we approach the last few weeks of school!  Here's an update:

Please look through your 4th grader's Take Home Folder together.  You will find pages that should be weeded out, as well as new sheets that require your attention. 

One new item is the May 27th Cave of the Mounds Field Trip permission slip.  Thank you for signing the bottom half and sending it back as soon as you can.  All the info you need about that day should be on the attached letter and top portion of the slip, which you can keep.  Students will have to let me know on Monday if they want to order a school sack lunch or not.  Let me know if you have any more questions.  We have a great crew of parent volunteers.  Now all we need is perfect weather!  :)

You will also find a sheet requesting that your student bring in a baby (or toddler, perhaps up to 3 years old) photo - by EARLY in this next week.  This is a fun tradition reserved for classes who are leaving the 'era' of West Middleton Elementary behind and are movin' on!  Some parents are creating a bulletin board in the front entryway with these past photos and current pictures - and it is SO fun to look this display over.  You'll have to see this before the end of the school year comes.  You will get all photos back - remember to put names on the back!

Our school librarian has sent out info about due dates for books.  She is also giving students notices of overdue books - please check with your child about this!  Also, the last day for book checkout in the school library is our field trip day, May 27th.  All library books are due back by June 4th.  My classroom library will be open for book checkout through the last day of school.  In fact, if we have anyone who is still reading any of our Room 117 books at the end, these books can be dropped off in the school office through the end of June.  Just put my name on it and Sue can put it in my mailbox.  Again, please check if you have any classroom books still hiding somewhere in your house.  Thank you!   Mrs. Dagitz, our simply amazing school librarian is transferring to Elm Lawn next year, and I am so disappointed to lose her.  She has been such a supportive and helpful colleague, and just an excellent teacher for our kids.

We have each begun to create google presentations on a special feature, location, or person connected with the Western Region of our United States in Social Studies class.  Thank you for your support at home if your 4th grader would like to work on this project outside of school hours.  I am requiring that at least one source of information for their reports comes from a "non- computer" source - like a reference book!!  All slides in their presentations must be written in their own words.  Our students have really taken off with their enthusiasm for creating these google presentations, on all variety of amazing and delicious subjects!  This is excellent preparation for their research efforts in future years of school.

Future events:  We are scheduled for a two hour exploration of Pope Farm Park on the afternoon of June 5th, with the naturalists again, though with an entirely new focus than we experienced on our fall trip there.  We will be there from 12:30 to 2:30 that day, and more info will come with a permission slip soon.  If you would like to join us for a pleasant hike, reserve this time period on your calendar!  Also coming later will be info about special days the last week of school including the West Middleton Hot Dog Picnic on June 10th, to which families are invited, and also a 'field' afternoon for our 4th graders on June 11th, being arranged by a group of 4th grade parents. 

When I get more news and details about any activity coming up, I will keep you posted.  My calendar for the coming week includes a Public Library presentation for our students this Monday in school, the Spring Orchestra Concert on Tuesday at 7pm at the PAC, and on Wednesday afternoon we have a parent special guest coming to present his experiences working at Yellowstone National Park - Mr. Corrigan!  We can't wait for that!   Another highly anticipated day is likely to occur on Friday of this week - we have earned our 4th Reward Day in our classroom for compliments and good behavior.  You will hear more about that day once we have our class meeting to work out the details.  Till next note - !  Melanie Hannam 

May 9, 2014 Weekly Update

Happy Mother's Day greetings to you all! 

We have a busy week ahead of us in 4th grade.  Here are some reminders:  On Monday, our final Scholastic Book Order is due - you may take all day Monday yet to enter any orders online, and then I will submit our order on Tuesday.  Because of your enthusiasm and dedication in buying good books for your children, our classroom library has grown by leaps and bounds this school year, due to the bonus points your orders have earned.  This is a win-win endeavor for us all!  Thank you so much.  It has been one of my most fun challenges this year to stay ahead of our many voracious readers in Room 117.  Our students have helped each other get fired up about all the great stories there are to read, and almost every day in our classroom, I have felt like I am a member of the best Book Club ever.

One more thing about BOOKS -!  Would you please do a search with your 4th grader throughout your own bookshelves and other good book places around your home, and see if you find any of our classroom books?  I do not have our room number or my name on many of them, but your 4th grader will remember if it is a book from school.  I appreciate your efforts - thank you! 

Wednesday, May 14th, we will be spending our day on the track and field at Middleton High School.  Feel free to stop by and try to catch your athlete during his/her events.  Remember to send along a completely disposable lunch.  Right now the weather forecast for that day looks dry but not all that warm - I saw a report of around 60 degrees - so students should come prepared by dressing in layers.  It will be very helpful if you could make sure names on marked on sweatshirts and jackets, etc. in case items get peeled and left on bleacher seats.

Thursday, May 15th, I will be out for the day.  Our youngest daughter, Abbie, is graduating with her Masters degree in school counseling from the U of M in the Twin Cities!  Her ceremony is on Thursday.  I am very happy to report that a favorite teacher from a few years ago (remember those Science Enrichment classes?) is coming to sub for me - Mrs. Montgomery! 

Friday, May 16th, is the last day our PTO will be collecting BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION, as well as food donations in the front entryway of our school.  Thank you for your generosity.  I am pretty sure we will be putting ourselves over the goal of 12,000 items, which means Mr. Macklem will be sporting pink hair one day in the near future!!

Looking farther ahead, keep Tuesday, May 27th, in mind - it is our Cave of the Mounds field trip.  Permissions slips for that day will be coming home this next week.  Also, Tuesday, June 10, is the annual School Hot Dog Picnic Lunch outside, to which family members are invited.  An info sheet came home this past week in Take Home Folders.  To purchase a lunch, the cost is $3.75.  Some plans are also cooking up among some 4th grade parent volunteers to hold a special day of activities during the last week of school for our entire 4th grade, and you will hear more news of that coming soon.

I had a very fun week last week during Staff Appreciation Days, and I thank everyone who showered me, and our classroom, with needed supplies, along with flowers and treats and lovely notes and cards.  Wow!  It warmed my heart - thank you so very much.  Being with your children this past year has been a very richly satisfying gift for me.  Most sincerely, Melanie Hannam  

May 2, 2014 Weekly Update

Happy MAY! Hope it will feel like May! As I look back on our April calendar, I realize just how much we accomplished! And the coming month is filling up fast! First of all, some reminders:

This Sunday, May 4th, there will be a second day to partner up with Novanta in a delicious fundraiser for West Middleton! They are open that day from 11 am to 8 pm. Last Sunday, they were doing a brisk business, and it is so generous of them to hold another day to benefit our school! I love it - two Sundays in a row without cooking a meal! (And I tried my first 'canoli' - luscious!)

Our 4th/5th grade Track Meet on May 14th will be upon us quickly, so thanks for sending in your permission slip soon. This meet has always been held for 5th graders from all 6 elementary schools on one day, but now that all of our current 4th graders will be at middle schools next year, the physical education department wants to give them a chance to participate in a future middle school activity as well. On the 14th, the schools that will be headed to Glacier Creek (West Middleton, Sunset Ridge, and Park) will hold their meet at MHS, while the other three schools that head to Kromrey will hold their track meet on May 7th. If you have any other questions about this day, please contact me or Mrs. Odgren, our gym teacher. The green info sheet with the permission slip gives you more details. We will be asking your student - probably today! - if they want to bring their own disposable lunch or order one through school for that day..

Just two weeks following this event, we will be heading to Cave of the Mounds on May 27th. You can still let me know if you are able to chaperone - so far, four parents from our room have said they can come. We welcome everyone who can fit this day into their schedule. We will leave school around 8:30 and be back by 2:30 or so. Remember, if you are able to join us, I would need your entrance fee of $15 (check to the Cave, or cash) by May 9th, since we must pay everything ahead of time. Our wonderful PTO is covering all of our other expenses.

This past week we began our second last math unit of the year. It involves measurements of weight and mass (both metric and customary), 3-D shapes, volume calculations, and subtracting negative numbers. In Readers' Workshop, we have been slowly evolving from Historical Fiction to Social Issues and meeting in Book Clubs over some shared books, along with reading individual books. We will be writing essays on our thoughts and opinions over some of these issues. Our kids are demonstrating yet again that they have been developing into some deep thinkers - our discussions and the ideas they volunteer have me very impressed! In Social Studies, we continue to roam around our United States, finding notable places to visit, and mapping them. Google Presentations continue to be a favorite project of many in our class, and we will be directing this great enthusiasm toward some reporting about special regions of our country. In the meantime, extra presentations of all kinds get recognized on our GOLD STAR RESEARCH wall - with our stars sweeping across the walls, windows, and across the ceiling! Stop in and see it if you can!

Watch for quick update notes in the coming weeks, as we approach special events and plans during these last weeks of 4th grade! Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

April 18, 2014 Weekly Update

Here's hoping you are all enjoying a beautiful, long spring weekend!  I want to keep you updated on upcoming events.  On Tuesday, April 22nd, West Middleton begins a BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION  and food donation drive (for Middleton Outreach Ministry) which will last until mid-May.  If our entire school collects 12,000 Box Tops and food items, we will get to see our Mr. Macklem walk through our halls with PINK hair!  There will be containers for Box Tops and nonperishable food in the school entry way, so send everything you can with your students in the coming weeks.  Thank you!   We are also looking forward to a delicious fundraiser through our PTO, thanks to Novanta, located on Old Sauk Road.  On two Sundays (April 27th and May 4th) from 11am to 8pm, they will donate a portion of sales to West Middleton!  I will forward a flier to you all.

Also beginning on April 22 and during the following 2 to 3 weeks, all of our classes will be scheduled for the third round of MAPS testing in the computer lab  - one session for reading skills, and one session for math skills.  Our own class will do one session on April 23rd, and the second session on April 29th.  I highly recommend a good night's sleep and good breakfast for those days!  On the morning of May 2nd, our 4th graders get their tour of the new 5th grade wing of Glacier Creek - that will be so exciting!  On May 14th, our 4th and 5th graders will take part in the annual elementary track meet at the high school.  Mrs. Odgren will be sending you more info about that day very soon.

I would like to remind everyone that our biggest field trip of the school year will be on Tuesday, May 27th, when we go to the Cave of the Mounds.  Our PTO is covering the cost for every student. If you would like to chaperone (and we can take every parent who volunteers!), the cost for the day is $15 (cash, or checks made out to the Cave of the Mounds - thank you!).  We do need your commitment and check or cash by May 9th because they require us to send everything in two weeks earlier than our visit date.  I do hope you can come spend the day with us - it is so much fun!  In addition to a 45 minute tour of the caves below ground, we get a guided tour above ground for signs of the caverns below, we 'pan' for precious rocks and minerals, there is a 'class' in a big old barn, and we picnic on a large, tree covered lawn.  You can carpool and follow the buses - we will leave by 8:30 and be back around 2:30 that day.  So let me know soon if you can join us!

In class, we are still being held spellbound by the drama and suspense of our class read aloud book, Number the Stars.  This is the mentor text to our Historical Fiction reading unit, and our 4th graders have been reading dozens of their own books as well - everyone is keeping a growing list!   History has come alive for our kids, and our reading discussions and journaling reflect some very bright and deep thinking!  We are all learning together, and I am very proud of our students!   In May, we will transition to Book Clubs using books that center on a variety of social issues, and write some literary essays in Writer's Workshop, which will pair together very nicely.

Many of you have probably noticed increased interest in creating Google Presentations on the part of your student.  This was introduced in Technology class when I told Mrs. Tofte of my plan to give everyone a chance to focus on one United States Region in Social Studies and teach the rest of us through a presentation.  Thank you for your willingness to share your home computers, because so many of our kids have just taken off with this method of presentation, and after even one Tech class, they have been motivated to create special reports for the rest of us on all variety of topics!  It has been so wonderful to have fellow 'teachers' in class, and they all get extra credit, with their names on our 'Gold Star Researchers' wall. 

Thank you for sending an extra pair of shoes to school now that we are truly in 'mud' season.  I will keep you up to date on information and reminders as we get to each event that is filling our calendars during these last two busy months of 4th grade!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam  

April 4, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello, families!  We are all back to our regular schedules and routines by now after a week off, and in Room 117, it was a very satisfying week of reading, writing, math, social studies, and science lessons.  Our students have shown they are ready to get involved in our discussions, and I am so impressed by the deep thinking revealed this week.  We have been reading "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry, as the mentor text for our Readers' Workshop Historical Fiction unit. It is a suspenseful story centered on a 10 year old girl and her family in Copenhagen during World War II.  This has opened up a whole section of history most of our kids have not yet studied, so there have been many good questions.  Everyone in our room is also expected to read several of their own choices in the historical fiction genre over this next month, and all have found books they are identifying with.  This is one of the main teaching point of this study - to be able to lose ourselves in a different time and place and experience how people were affected and changed by the events of their world then.  We are adding an important writing component as well, with journaling about our new thoughts and questions as we read.  Our fourth graders are also practicing the essential skill of note taking while they are listening to our Read Aloud book.  Good stuff!

In 4th grade math, we are close to the end of Unit 9, which involves changing between fractions, decimals, and percents.  This unit is giving us some hard work to do, but I must say I am very proud of our group for hanging in there and not giving up until they can say, "Oh, I get it now!"  (music to my ears).  Our unit test will take place later this next week after we review all the content one more time.  We jumped into a whole new focus in Social Studies this week!  We have moved from our studies of Wisconsin history to exploring our whole country!  The way we will make it 'do-able' is to divide the states into 5 main regions, explore geography, resources, special attractions, and notable people unique to each region, and compare what is similar as well.  We will be able to create some maps and at least one group project to help each other learn more about our breathtaking country.  Don't be surprised if your child comes home some day pleading to take a family trip to a national park or a coastline or mountainside somewhere in the United States!  In Science with Mrs. Bertz, our kids are deep into experiments with electricity!

Some extra notes to be aware of:  Take Home folders came home this weekend stuffed with past papers that needed to get cleaned out and now kept at home.  (Folder inspection will take place Monday morning!)  April Scholastic Book Order forms have been given out and our due date for orders (both online or turned in to me) is next week Friday, April 11th.  Also, I have been asking our fourth graders if they could all make a search around home (under car seats, etc....) for any stray and forgotten reading books that should find their way back to our libraries in school.  Thank you for helping out with this!   An event that is coming up: The 3rd grade classes are once again holding their annual Market Day, and our class will be able to 'shop' the week of April 14th.  I will forward a short flier about all the details.  Also, keep in mind that Friday, April 18th, there is no school, and on Monday, April 21st, students do not come to school again, due to our final district professional development day for teachers.

Trips coming up:  On the morning of May 2nd, all three of our 4th grade classrooms will get the exciting opportunity to go to Glacier Creek for one hour to tour the new 5th grade wing being built for them for next year!  We can't wait to see this!  On May 14th (rain date May 21st) there will a 4th/5th grade track meet at the MHS track all day - more details will be coming.  On May 27th, the day after Memorial Day, our 4th graders will all spend a full school day at Cave of the Mounds!  The PTO will fund our students' costs for this day.  We teachers are hoping many of you can join us for this highlight to the 4th grade school year, so let me know if you want to chaperone.  I must add that all of us adults will need to pay the cost of our participation that day which is $15 each, and we will need to know if you can come, and receive your admission fee, a full two weeks before May 27th.  We are signed up for three different guided tours throughout the day both above ground and below, as well as the chance to 'sluice' for precious rocks and minerals that students may keep.  We will have time built into our day to have a picnic lunch together at their park as well.  More specific details will come later, but I wanted to give you all plenty of time to look at your schedules and think about whether you are able to come along. 

As always, do let me know if you have questions about any of our activities, and I will be sure to keep you posted on details as each event comes closer.  I feel us slowly revving up into a higher gear as we approach the end of 4th grade in just two months.  In the meantime, we will take it one week at a time, and focus each day on getting in as much learning as we can! 

Sincerely, Melanie Hannam