December 12, 2014 Update

Hi, families.  As you may have noticed, this past week our 4th grade level math students have been introduced to multi-digit multiplication problems. We are taking some extra days just to get the steps practiced - over and over as much as we can.  (First, 1 digit times 2 digit numbers, then 1 digit times 3 or 4 digit, followed by 2 digit times 2,3,4 digit numbers - have your student show you in their journals and studylink pages).  This has been a big, new skill for most of our kids.  Any extra problems you can throw at them throughout the next days and weeks, the better!  They all need the practice! 

Here's a special note for all parents who may wonder about different ways these problems are solved:  You will see pages in their books practicing both "partial products" and "lattice" methods.  I have looked into 5th grade and beyond math curriculum, and after this year, these methods are not used any more.  Therefore, after reminding our students how these methods work (and some kids really like them and can find them useful), we are pretty much abandoning these alternative methods and sticking with the faster and more efficient "traditional" method to solve mult-digit multiplication problems.  If any parents feel 'rusty' with this, let me know - I have a step by step guide sheet illustrating the traditional, and can send one home. 

I must say here that for any 4th grader who has still not mastered his/her basic multiplication facts, this stage of math is very frustrating and difficult.  It is one thing to master the steps of new and longer problems, and then add to that the inability to recall the facts themselves, it makes doing this work incredibly difficult and tedious.  I urge all families to give special attention to your child's ability to know their basic facts with quick recall and accuracy - practice as often as you can together - even odd moments in the car, etc., ask what 6 x 9 is, 7 x 8......and so on!  Not being proficient with facts in all four operations will also be crucial when we will soon get to long division problems and fractions.  Like I tell the kids, this is not going away - they will need to use their facts all through their school years and lives, so it is worth the extra effort in 4th grade.  I think some of our kids hope this will all just sort of 'sink in' to them without having to work and practice!  THANK YOU for your extra support with this subject!!!

On a more triumphant topic, our classroom has won the West Middleton Box Tops for Education Contest!  Therefore, this coming Monday, December 15, there will be no need to send in lunches for our 4th graders!  The PTO is treating us to a pizza lunch, with juice boxes and cookies!  Woohoo!!  Thank you for your support at home - we collected 3,029, more than double the next place winners!

Report cards are coming home today!  Please remember to sign the envelope and send that back to school next week.  You may keep all the papers inside that envelope.

Next Wednesday at 12:30 is the Winter Tea.  Our time is 12:30, with the first 10 minutes of singing from our 4th graders, and the rest of the time to munch treats and have a visit with everyone.  All family members are welcome!  Students are asked to dress nicely that day, but also remember they do have one outdoor recess after lunch, too. 

We have earned our second Reward Day in Room 117 - having collected another 25 compliments from staff throughout the building for model behavior!  Way to go, 4H Kids!!  We will use the last day before Winter Break to have lots of reading time, some game time, a movie time, dress in comfy clothes, bring a pillow or small blanket, and have treats!!  Early next week, I will contact all parents who offered snacks for that day, and get organized.  Thank you!

Enjoy the weekend!  Melanie Hannam

December 5, 2014 Update

Warm December Greetings to our 4H Families!  I so enjoyed the chance to meet with each of you and your families during our conferences last month!  Please know that any time during the year that you feel like a sit down visit with or without your 4th grader would be helpful, we can do that! 

We have three weeks this month to see how much we can accomplish in Room 117!  We have made some excellent progress in new lessons about informational reading material in Readers' Workshop, identifying text features that grab our attention and help us learn nonfiction information.  Ask your student to point out the most effective text features in any info book/magazine you hand them, and they will likely be able to point out numerous features.  Next we will go on to the important skills of summarizing and notetaking within those pages.

In Writers' Workshop, our students have already written at least two essays!  They are learning to state strong thesis statements, and back them up with reasons and examples.  We will write several more essays about social issues and important people and places in our lives.  Our students are taking to this topic with great enthusiasm!  (It helped that we began together by defending 'ice cream'.  :)  )

I have introduced "Gold Star Researchers" to the class this past week.  This 'project' will last all the rest of the school year.  I want you to have the details, too, since most of this work gets done on our students' own time.  It happens just about every day that during our class discussions in every subject, some interesting, unusual, intriguing fact or question comes up that we all wish we knew more about!  We can't follow every side road to explore these ideas during class (though we wish we could!).  So I have presented to the students an opportunity to explore any topic that really piques their interest.  They may research that subject in more detail through books and/or the internet, and even through people in their lives who have the expertise. Then they may prepare any kind of report or presentation to us all in class whenever they are ready (no deadlines or due dates ever).  This may take the form of a written report, a poster or other project, a google presentation, bring in an expert....  Once a student has 'educated' all of us on his/her discoveries, he/she receives a GOLD STAR on our wall of stars! Their names are written on a special star, all of which will create a trail across our walls, and the windows, and the ceiling....!  It is fun to watch the trail grow with stars and names, students will receive extra credit in my grade book, they learn to do research (in their own words!!), they gain experience in presenting, and we all - including me - learn so much more about such a wide variety of topics.  I love that I become not the only teacher in the room! 

We all have a request to relay from our school social worker, Susan Sims-Mormino: 

WINTER BOOTS NEEDED: If you have any gently used winter boots that you no longer need, we would greatly appreciate your donation! We will add them to our winter clothing supply for students in need. These are also helpful for kiddo's who sometimes forget their boots at home :-) Please send donations to Susan Sims-Mormino, School Social Worker. Thank you!

Also, all of our 4th grade students are planning a special holiday art project, as a gift to their families.  On Friday morning, December 12, from 9 to 10 am, our own class will be working on this project, and it goes very smoothly if I could have the help of two or three other adults during that time.  If you are available (land like paint!), please let me know. I will confirm with the first three parents who respond.  Thank you so much - this project always turns out to be so awesome!!

On the last afternoon before Winter Break, on December 19th, I would like to let our class kick back and enjoy a movie connected to our literature/social studies units, and have a couple treats.  If you are interested in bringing in a goodie, or something to drink with that goodie, let me know.  Again, thank you for your support!

We will let you know next week, but our class has HIGH hopes of winning the BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION school contest for bringing in the most box tops!  So stay tuned for hopefully exciting news.  Also coming next week -- the first trimester report cards.  Look for them to come home on Friday, December 12.  The envelope needs to be signed and returned to me, but you may keep all the contents inside that envelope. 

Keep in mind that I will submit any book orders from our Scholastic December flyers on the evening of December 8th.  We should get our new books before Winter Break.  Also, make sure the West Middleton Winter Tea on Wednesday, December 17th, is on your calendar!  We will meet you in our "Winter Wonderland" lunchroom at 12:30 that day, first to sing to you and then to share cookies and hot chocolate and visit till 1:10. 

As more events and news flashes come to our attention at school, I will be sure to pass along all information and reminders to you!  Enjoy this busy and exciting month!

November 14, 2014 Update

Hello, again, to all of our families in "4H"!  Our days at school have been very full this month, continuing through all our lessons in our core subjects, along with fitting in 5 mornings with swimming lessons, two WKCE assessments, and a trip to listen to Beethoven symphonies at the Overture (I knew this trip had made an impression when I could hear students singing bits of "Ode to Joy" throughout the rest of the day!).

There are several reminders and upcoming events that I want to pass along to you:

*NO school on Monday, November 17th.  Please check your bright blue parent conference schedule for this Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday after school.  I am really looking forward to meeting with you and your 4th grader.  We have collected some good work to show you!

*The Scholastic Book Fair is all set up in our WM Library, all ready for students and families to browse!  The Fair will be open from 10am (T/Th) till 7:00pm, and 10am to 4pm on Wednesday. The book selection looks delicious!

*Speaking of books -- would you help your 4th grader check your own bookshelves, coffee table, car... at home for any of our classroom library books that may not have made it back to our classroom?  I do not have them all marked with my name, nor do I have a check out system, so I need to trust that my students will return the classroom books when they are done with them.  Thank you so much!

*The Lost & Found collection of clothing, etc. in our school's entryway is overflowing!  Please take time to look through these items as soon as you can - or when you come for conferences.  There are some brand new, nice coats, and other gear, not marked with names that students are not picking up.  All items will get delivered to Goodwill after November 25th!

*Mrs. Odgren has again requested that all students PLEASE bring in (and preferably keep at school) an extra pair of gym shoes for gym class days (which takes place 4 out of every 6 days!).  Students have been coming to class in boots and other inappropriate footwear for gym classes.

*We will have school the Thanksgiving Week ONLY on Monday and Tuesday!  That Tuesday, November 25th, marks the final day of our first trimester!  Wow!

In our classroom, we have been able to fill our 4th Grade Writing Binders with the final drafts of our big Realistic Fiction Story project.  We will next be moving on to writing Thesis Statements, getting practice on how to express our opinions on issues we care about, and clearly back these opinions up with evidence.  In Readers' Workshop, we are also making a shift - toward Informational reading material of all kinds, learning how resources are organized so we can most easily understand and get the information we want.  Your students may be coming home with some amazing information on all variety of topics!

Math class has us beginning work this week on decimal numbers.  This unit adds a whole new set of columns in the place value chart - behind the decimal point!  Please make it a regular habit to look through your child's two math journals together, so they may show you and explain what they are learning!  This is so valuable for them, to reinforce their learning, AND so you can see that they are putting in their best efforts to practice their skills.  Do not hesitate to point out items that you see they need to try again or finish - some of our students really need that extra prompting at home to at least attempt their best on all homework pages.  They know they do not ever have to worry about having these practice pages perfectly correct, but they do need to try their best on their own for every item assigned.  Your support with practicing their basic math facts continues to be a crucial part of homework as well.  Most students are making noticeable progress, but there is still a good way to go before mastery for many!

As more news and events happen, I will be sure to pass along the details to you!  I will see you all later this week - we'll have our class photo album out in our doorway 'waiting area' for you to page through if you have to wait a minute for your conference to begin.  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

October 27, 2014 Weekly Update

Hi, everyone!  I have a growing list of reminders, and a calendar getting full of special dates and activities, so I want to make sure you all know what is coming up each day and week!  Here goes (maybe grab your calendars) ....! 

Tuesday, October 28th:  Our school will be participating in a routine 'evacuation drill' during the first hour of the morning.  We will all walk out to the west end of our parking lot to practice orderly and efficient movement out of our school building. 

Wednesday, October 29th:  The school district transportation staff will be coming to WM to meet with each grade level group to review safe behavior on buses.  This session includes a video, discussion of safety rules and tips, and then actual practice with bus drivers on how to properly get off the bus in an emergency.  Also, on this day right after lunch, our class will be celebrating Autumn with a special treat, a game or two, and a creative project.  Many thanks go to Mrs. Pinka, Mrs. Comerford, Mrs, Engelke, and Mrs. Hull for coming up with fun ideas and providing the food and supplies.

Thursday and Friday, October 30th and 31st:  NO school for students!

Monday, November 3rd:  If you can, come to Culvers in Middleton for dinner or a snack!!  This is the fundraising night that Culvers is hosting to benefit West Middleton PTO!  AND, if you can come between 5:00 and 6:00 PM, Mrs. Hannam could very well be running your order and serving you!!  I hope I see you!  :)

Tuesday, November 4th:  Besides being Election Day, it is also Picture Retake Day.  This day is also the first day of SWIM class for all of our 4th graders.  They will board buses to the Middleton High School Pool at 9:00 am with Mrs. Odgren and return to school by 10:30.  Remember to pack a separate bag with swimsuit and towel.  The other days for swim class are:  November 6th, 10th, 12th, and 14th - mark your calendars!  

Tuesday, November 4th and Wednesday, November 5th:  Even though the annual Wisconsin State assessments (WKCE) have been replaced with Smarter Balance Assessments in Literacy and Math to be taken in Spring, 4th graders around the state are still required to take the WKCE Social Studies and Science tests.  Each test is a timed 45 minute session.  We will take the Science test on Tuesday afternoon between 12:15 and 1:15 pm, and we will take the Social Studies test on Wednesday morning between 9 and 10:00 am.  Please make sure your student gets an extra good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast! 

Monday, November 10th:  West Middleton will begin the great Box Tops for Education Contest!  Our competition between classrooms will last until December 5th, and the classroom that collects the MOST Box Tops will be rewarded with a pizza lunch from the PTO!  So start 'scrounging' now and raid all cupboards and pantries for Box Tops!  Each Box Top is worth 10 cents and can raise several thousand dollars for playground equipment, and other educational equipment and materials for our classrooms.

Tuesday, November 11th:  All 4th graders will be going to the Overture Center in downtown Madison for the morning (8:15 to 11:00 am) to attend the Symphony Youth Concert.

Monday, November 17th:  NO school!

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, November 18, 19, 20th:  Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences after school!  Please refer to your master schedule of appointments sent home last week on Friday (bright blue sheet), and I look forward to meeting together.  These are also the dates for the annual Scholastic Book Fair in our LMC!  You can shop for brand new books before and after your conference time!

Monday and Tuesday, November 24th and 25th:  The ONLY days of school this week!  NO school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!  Also, this is the END of the first trimester!

**If any more helpful details come to light, I will be sure to pass them along to you!  Happy Autumn Season to all!  Melanie Hannam 

October 6, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello to all!  I want to thank you all again for the amazing response we had with our first field trip last week to the World Dairy Expo!  I am sure we broke a record with 13 parent chaperones joining us for a very special experience.  The kids all seemed to be pretty engaged with all the new sights, sounds, (and really quite pleasant smells, believe it or not) they encountered there. The new facilities reminded me of luxury hotel accommodations for milking cows!  I was very proud of our group - not only was everyone very well behaved and attentive, they knew the answers to many of the questions that our guides asked them!  It was just a great day, and I love knowing that we created new memories together.  I took over 60 pictures, and will be sharing them with you.  I like to keep a photo album each year, so there will be copies entered there, and you can page through the album when you come for conferences in November.

We have half of our permission slips returned for next week's trip to Pope Farm Park on October 15th.  If you would like to meet us there and chaperone, just send me an email.  We will be there from 11:30 to 2:00 that day - and naturalists and archeologists and gardeners will be our guides.  Park in the lot at the top of the hill.  Let's hope we are fortunate enough to hit a good weather day!  (Lunches will be eaten - hot or cold - as usual, but at 10:30 again that morning!(

I sent home the new flyers for the October Scholastic Book Orders on Friday.  These will be due by October 13th - either paper form to me, or done online.  In September we had enough orders that gave us bonus points to add 20 new books to our classroom library!!  Awesome!  The kids get so excited by our books - pretty much fun!

We are moving to history and landforms (Glacial Age) of Wisconsin in Social Studies, as well as continuing to practice writing accurate addresses and phone numbers.  In Writers Workshop, we have begun to draft our Realistic Fiction stories, and in Readers Workshop, we are reading with renewed attention and following our book characters with deeper understanding.  Today's discussion was so rewarding - on their own, our students commented on how what we are practicing with our reading is helping us be better writers as well!  I am so happy they are making these connections!!  Woohoo!

We are halfway through our second unit in Math, which involves more work with place value, organizing and reporting data, graphing, and more practice adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers.  Remember, whenever possible, to provide some practice and review of basic facts in all 4 operations - thank you, thank you!!

Toward the end of the month, I will send home a sheet of time slots where you can mark your first, second, third choices for parent/student/teacher conferences during the week of November 17th.  I really believe in including our 4th grade students in our conferences, so please choose times that your 4th grader can also attend the conference.

If any other news bits come up, I will continue to forward them to you as I have been doing.  I am happy to answer any questions that might come up, at any time!   (Looking ahead - I think I would like to hold a "Harvest Party" in class on the afternoon of October 29th - probably from 12:15 to 1:00.  We don't have school on October 30th and 31st.  If any parents would like to do a bit of planning for snacks and activities centered on Harvest/Halloween, I would so appreciate that, and just let me know.  I can put all interested parents in touch with each other.)   Till next note -- Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

September 19, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello to all!  We have completed our 3rd week of the new school year!  This weekend I will be ordering our first books from Scholastic Book Club.  Families will get the chance to order new books during every month of the school year.  Also, the annual Scholastic Book Fair will come to our LMC during the parent conference days in mid-November.  Speaking of books, the question came up over the last week in class about the use of electronic readers (Kindle, Nook, Tablets...) in school.   I am willing to give students the opportunity to use these devices during our daily reading time in class.  I have told them it will be up to parents, and that they should be stored at their desks during the day and that they are responsible for taking good care of them.  Also in Readers' Workshop this week, we have discussed and written out our personal 'Reading Resolutions' which means we are all identifying goals which will make our reading lives richer and more a part of our daily routines than ever before!  Thank you for your support at home in providing the time and space and priority to have 'nose in the book' chances whenever possible!

In math, all of our groups are completing Unit 1.  Within the next few days we will be reviewing the new skills and vocabulary and then taking our first Unit Test.  Once we have the chance to go over every item together after the test is returned, students will be taking them home for you to see and getting your signature.  They will also be instructed to RETURN these test pages back to school!  We save all reviews, tests, and special notes in our yellow math folders.  This folder becomes very important to look over during conference time, as well as provides an ideal collection during next summer for reviewing and brushing up on skills to avoid "rust" before 5th (or 6th) grade math classes!   The other special note about math:  Please continue to regularly help your 4th grader practice his/her basic facts in all 4 operations.  We are seeing improvement already, but many of our students need to work hard on mastering their quick and accurate recall of the basic facts.  At the end of each week, you should find in Take Home Folders the daily 3 minute drills we do in class, so you can keep track of your child's progress.  They also record their results on the back page of their Studylink books.  Learning their basic facts well is crucial to succeeding and progressing in math and is a real priority!  There is enough need in our groups this year that I am also working to take extra time during the school day to provide more instruction/practice time just for acquiring these skills.

In Writers' Workshop, we are getting closer to officially writing our realistic fiction stories by developing believable characters with realistic challenges to resolve - or not resolve!  In Science with Mrs. Bertz, our class is - literally - digging into rocks, discovering the properties of rocks and minerals.  Social Studies has us all making sure we know addresses and emergency phone numbers, as well as learning what 'agriculture' actually includes, especially in our state.  We will be digging deeper into the dairy aspect of agriculture now as we approach our first field trip on October 1st to the World Dairy Expo.  Thank you for returning your signed permission slip along with $1 for student admission.  I have heard from a couple of parents about chaperoning - remember, we welcome all who can come join us that day (11:00 to 2:30 total time if you ride with us from school and back).  Just let me know!  We'd like a parent for about every 5 students.  We will all wear our new Tie Dye Shirts that day as well!

Other business:  Orders for school pictures taken Friday can be done online, or envelopes can be returned to school by September 25th. Retakes are scheduled for November 4th.  Remember there is no school for students on Friday, September 26th (a professional development day for staff). Also, good for you to know is that we are in the midst of two sets of progress assessments.   On Monday morning, our class will be in the computer lab for at least an hour to take the math MAP (Measures of Academic Progress).  This past Thursday we did the reading MAP.  Over the next two weeks, I will also be meeting with each individual student to listen to them read a short leveled story and have a 'comprehension conversation' about what they have read.  Each of these assessments will take place 3 times over the course of the school year.  It is very helpful to your student if they can get a good night's sleep and a good breakfast.

As we say goodbye to summer and officially greet autumn, we are filling our days to the max with meaningful lessons and some deep conversation about being readers and writers, about being a helpful and caring member of our classroom and school, along with LOTS of needed practice with listening skills and organization!  Thanks for your teamwork on these endeavors!  More news again soon!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

September 12, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello, dear 4H families!  We have completed our second week of school (and we had some pretty 'tuckered out' kids by Friday afternoon!).  I wish everyone a weekend of good rest, so we are all fresh to start out a new week on Monday.  We did keep going at a steady pace this past week, getting into our first lessons in every subject area.  I will bring you up to date on our work:

Math class has begun with a unit on Geometry.  There are lots of new vocabulary words/definitions to learn, and you will see some helpful reminder sheets coming home next week so you can practice a bit more together.  It's a fun unit because there is a good amount of sketching and drawing included - a good way to practice that vocabulary.  Perhaps more pressing than this unit is our students' recall of the basic facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Almost everyone is 'rusty' - and if you can even spend just 15 minutes most evenings reviewing facts, it really does make a difference in a hurry. Thank you for your support with this!  We start out every class with a 3 minute opportunity to see how many problems we can answer correctly out of the 100 basic facts for each operation.  We are keeping track of our scores so we can see them go UP with each passing week.  Most weeks you can depend on the following:  Mondays:  Addition / Tuesdays:  Subtraction / Wednesdays:  Multiplication / Thursdays:  Division / Fridays:  We take a look at our progress and hand back the week's pages to put in Take Home Folders so you can see how the week went.  I record the scores, and the students do, too - see the back of their Studylink booklet.  During the 4th grade year, the math curriculum requires and assumes that students are proficient with all 4 operations - the new skills go SO much easier if our kids are not also struggling to recall their facts. 

One more note about math class that is important for you to know:  After we introduce and practice the new math skill each day together, our students get the chance to try out the lessons by working in their Journal and Studylink booklets.  Most days there is time to begin this work in class.  Sometimes they can finish it all in class - BUT I have announced to them that they must still bring home both books each day so you can see what they are working on - please ask them to show and explain it to you!  This is another excellent way to reinforce the new concepts.  If students cannot complete the items on their pages in class, the rest is to be completed at home.  (It is rare for work time on this at home to go over 30 minutes!  If it gets to be much longer than 30 to 45 minutes max, then please stop and let me know they worked this long, and I can help them finish in class the next day.)  I have told the kids that I never 'grade' this work!  I want them to feel ultra comfortable trying out new skills on these pages - the goal here is to try and practice every item, even if they aren't sure they are doing it correctly.  You do not have to stress over making sure they are answering everything perfectly.  I would like to see every item attempted with their best efforts.  Then the next day in class, we take time to go over items together, self checking and correcting pages - which gives each student yet a third chance to practice/review/reinforce their knowledge. 

On to our other subjects!  In Readers' Workshop we have been happily building our stamina for sustained "pin-drop" quiet reading time - we love it!  We are practicing good reading habits and using our Reading Logs to keep track, and our kids have been really enjoying Book Share Time.  This gives them the chance to hear what other books classmates are excited about reading, and we have all begun a Wish List of books to keep in our purple reading folders.  We should never run out of book ideas this year!  We still have until next week Friday, September 19th, to order from the September Scholastic Book Club selections, either online (class activation code is MFRC8) or by sending me a paper copy of the order form with checks made out to Scholastic Book Club.  Writers' Workshop has us digging into ideas for writing realistic fiction stories.  Our ideas are coming from small moments in our own lives, and we are developing lists of ideas and expanding these ideas into possible story lines with each passing day.  We have also begun to write entries into our Thoughtful Logs.  These journals are giving each student a chance to reflect upon their own opinions and reactions to what is happening in the books they are reading.  This exercise gives our kids more practice with writing skills, and best of all, it gives them practice expressing their thoughts on paper and reflecting more deeply about what they are reading.  I really see the value in combining reading and writing whenever possible!

We have begun map study in Social Studies, centering mainly on Wisconsin.  We will gradually transition into Wisconsin agriculture in the next weeks as we prepare for our first field trip!  It was just confirmed this past week that we are able to attend the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy grounds on October 1st!  Permission slips will come home next week with all the details.  We can take as many parent chaperones as are able to come (from roughly 11:00 am until 2:30 pm) -- so let me know if you can join us for this special trip!  In the past, parents have carpooled from school and met us there, but this year with needing two buses for 4 classes, we think we should have enough room for parents to ride with us.  Some parents may still want to drive themselves, and we will be receiving parking vouchers for anyone who does take their own car.  I will keep you posted on all details.

Business notes:  On Monday, we will be tie dying our new West Middleton T-Shirts!  Look for them to come home in a plastic bag with washing instructions.  We will all be wearing them for our October Field Trip.  Another Picture Day is scheduled for this coming Friday, September 19th, with yet another makeup day to happen in October.  On October 3rd in the evening, the PTO is hosting our annual Fall Dance and Pumpkin Sale!  Flyers about this event have come home.  Please check daily with your student and their Take Home Folders.  We've had a lot of mail come home so far this year!!

Thank you for your support at home with good breakfasts and school snacks, gym shoes and socks, long and restful nights' sleeps (hopefully for all of us!), and your guidance with your student's keeping track of papers and assignments.  Remember the daily update on the Homework/Reminders page of our classroom blog.  I will be back in touch soon!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam