Parent Note May 13, 2011

Thanks for another great week! The students continue to work hard, despite my absence this week. I was gone Tuesday afternoon to Elkader for Keystone Advisory Committee meeting and on Wednesday morning for an Iowa Core Curriculum in Decoarh. The students continued to work hard despite the weather and my absence. GREAT WORK KIDS!

We finished up our Vesterheim Journals, they did an amazing job! I hope all of you made it to the museum for the open house or during the week for the display of the projects at the museum. WE will be getting back the projects next week for me to grade and return to the students the following week.

Writing has been exciting this week! Students have finished writing their letters to other 4^th grade classes and addressing envelopes to send across the United States and Europe. We are hoping for some letters back, but may not get them until fall, when I would pass them along to Mrs. Sand to share with the class. I think the students had fun forming a letter and finding an address of school that they wanted to write to. You will have to ask your son/daughter where they wrote.

Math is coming to a close. We will be taking our final chapter test on Monday. So please look for a study guide to come home this weekend. Also, next week we will be practicing some fun math skills, as well as, taking our year-end math test to wrap up the year. Continue looking for math homework, as there may be nights when homework may not get finished up at school.

Sarah, Plain and Tall is the final book we will be reading together as a class. The students have read about the author, talked about the cover and back of the book, and started a KWL chart on the prairie. We will continue reading this book and end the year by possibly watching the movie.

Important Dates:

• Monday, May 16^th DHS Choir singing at school for us
• Tuesday, May 24^th Field/Fun Day
• Friday, May 27^th LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 11:15 dismissal

Any questions please let me know.

Enjoy your weekend!

Parent Note January 21st, 2011

Wow! What a start to the third quarter with no school and a late start! What an Iowa winter we are having. I hope this letter finds you keeping warm and having fun in this great Iowa snow.

We have been working really hard in the 4^th grade room. We have been working on Skills Iowa assessments, both paper and in the computer lab. The students have been showing great progress and the skills that they are learning will help with their upcoming ITBS assessments.

We will be taking the ITBS tests over the next two weeks, except for Monday mornings. Starting the 25^th of January and running until the 4^th of February, your son or daughter will be having a 30 to 60 minute testing window each morning. We are encouraging you to help us with these tests by making sure your son or daughter has a nutritious and delicious breakfast. I would also encourage a good nights sleep so that students are alert for the testing periods, which typically start between 8:30 and 9:00 and run no later than 10:00 am. We are doing this testing over a two-week period so that students don’t get “tested” out in one long week of testing. Please see the attached sheet to see how you can help out in other ways.

Students were able to complete 3 labs on Thursday with the help of three J-Term Luther students that are currently in Ms. Meade’s room. They helped the students learn more about sound. Now, the students are going to take that knowledge to create an instrument at home as one of the finals for this unit. The projects will be due on the 31^st to allow students this weekend, all next week and the following weekend to complete them. Then we will have an opportunity to share their instruments with the class.

Reading calendars seem to be going well. Remember that I am not requiring students to complete a reading project this month, rather just read 240 minutes for the month or 60 minutes per week. We are keeping track here at school of the number of minutes read each week and will add them up at the end. Students who accomplish this goal of reading 240 minutes will be going to the Cresco Fitness Center on February 11^th for a fun, energizing, and exciting time to celebrate their reading accomplishments so far this year!

Report cards are coming home today. If you have questions or concerns about your son or daughters grades and need to discuss them before conferences please feel free to contact me at school via phone or e-mail so that I can answer your questions.

Valentine's Day is approaching fast...do you have an idea for the one you love? The North Winn Student Council can help you with that special gift AND it will "keep on giving" during the year. The NW Student Council is selling a card that can be punched each month for an entire year. Each punch comes with one FREE bouquet of flowers from The Country Garden in downtown Decorah. The cards are only $20 each! That's right 12 bouquets of flowers for only $20. To get yours today contact Melissa Wicklund at mwicklund@n-winn.k12.ia.us or the NW School Office. Get the gift that keeps on giving! (Some of the proceeds will go towards new playground equipment at the North Winn School playground).

Important Dates:

· ITBS Testing: January 25^th-February 4^th

· Early Out/Teacher In-service February 2^nd

· Instruments Due for Science January 31^st

· Reading Calendars Due February 4^th

· NAEP Tests February 3^rd (Afternoon)

Thanks for all the work you are doing with your son or daughter! It is much appreciated!

Melissa A. Wicklund

Parent Letter 1~7~2011

Happy 2011! Welcome to your son/daughter’s final two quarters in 4^th grade. It has gone by quickly and I am certain that the last two quarters will go just as quickly. The students came back ready to learn and tell me all about their winter break. Unfortunately, I was there on Wednesday and then my son was ill for Thursday, so I didn’t get into the routine yet this week with them. I am sure the 4 full days we have next week we will all get into routine and be even more ready to learn!

There are a few changes being made as we start the new year. The 4^th graders will NOT have a book project this month. Rather, the students will have a reading log where they will track the minutes read, pages read, and also the book that they are reading. These logs will be collected every Friday and a new one will be put into their assignment notebooks. I am doing reading logs this month because Mrs. Sand, Mr. Halweg, and I typically take the 4^th and 5^th graders to Cresco Fitness Center in February for swimming. The details have yet to be worked out, but more news will come by the end of next week. So, the expectations for students are this:

1. Read at least 60 minutes per week.

2. Bring back reading log weekly with parent initials somewhere on the sheet.

3. Students should be ready to tell about their book at the end of the month.

As teachers we always look forward to taking the students over to Cresco for a fun and active morning for their reading accomplishments.

Another change is in math. Students were sent home with a packet containing games to practice their multiplication facts. We have now started working on gaining our Taco in a Bag ingredients this week. Students are given 60 problems of one particular multiple. Then they must get all of them right. I am not expecting a certain time, however, I am having the students make goals for themselves on a time. We take one initial test on a multiple to see how they do, and then they make a time goal from there. When they reach their goal and get all 60 problems correct they earn that ingredient. The students were very excited about it and some even passed the multiple of 2 on the first day! Ask your student weekly if they gained new ingredients. Also, continue to work on those facts, it will just help your son/daughter with their math skills. If you have questions about this please contact me.

Finally, the last change is in the computer lab. Students got e-mail this past quarter and it has been going okay. Mr. Dovenberg and myself have spoken with the students about appropriateness of content. However, some things came up over winter break and I have spoken with the students that one person can ruin it for all. I want them to be aware that this is a communication tool. I will be monitoring closely the amount of e-mail time they have here at school, but if you try to monitor them at home that would be appreciated. However, I also noticed the typing skills. Most 4^th grade students don’t know how to type, so I am going to become their typing instructor. We will do typing twice a week here at school but I have found an online program that the students will be completing. They can work on it at home. If they pass a lesson please write me a note to let me know. The website is www.freetypinggame.net . Students can go here to work on lessons, take quizzes, and also play games. The more typing we can get them doing the greater the skills they will gain.

We will continue on with all of our units and the end of quarter is next week. Keep your students on top of their homework. If you have further questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via e-mail or school phone.

Thanks for the gifts for Christmas for both the classroom and myself. They are greatly appreciated!

Have a great 2011!

Mrs. Wicklund

December 10th Parent News

4^th Grade News

The 4^th graders have been working hard to finish up work before the holiday break arrives. We are finishing books, starting new books, and gaining more knowledge along the way! Students have been exploring sound in science, gathering information by using PVC pipes to play musical tunes. They are doing algebra in math by finding the missing number or variable in multiplication and division problems. With all these great skills the students are learning in the core subjects, students are also having fun too! They performed an amazing concert for us on Thursday evening for music, creating a “surprise” for you, as parents, in art, and also developing teamwork skills in PE! However, the Winter Break is fast approaching so please make sure that your son/daughter is keeping up on work for class.

The 4^th grade Holiday party will be on Wednesday, December 22^nd. We get out of school at 2:15 that day and will be having our party that afternoon. Austin, Mason, Stacia, Billy, and Kailer are signed up for the holiday party. I will provide the drink, plates, and napkins as this holiday did not match up with the original sign up sheet.

Many times students give me a gift for the holidays, which is great! However, I would like a gift not for me but for our classroom. Classroom gifts that everyone can enjoy! Board games, books, gift cards, or other classroom supplies are much appreciated! Know that you don’t need to give anything for the holidays but if you choose to, make it for the class.

Now, I know that you have seen the following several times, but I would like to show you again, as the school gets ½ of the funds raised! So please take time to read the following and tell your friends and family about this amazing deal!

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!

No need for you to look any further for that perfect gift. The North Winn Student Council has what you need. For $20 you can get 12 flower bouquets from The Country Garden. That’s right, one bouquet a month for an entire year! To order yours, fill out the order form attached with check or cash and send back to school. Your flower cards will come home with your son/daughter. Don’t wait or hesitate, now is the time to get your flower cards for you, grandma, auntie, babysitters, and all those other special people in your life! Remember, $20 for 12 flower bouquets, you can’t go wrong. For more information contact, Melissa Wicklund at mwicklund@n-winn.k12.ia.us .

Stay warm over the weekend as it is supposed to be cold! Send your student with all the gear needed to keep them warm on our COLD playground!

Warm Winter Wishes,

Melissa Wicklund

Parent Letter 11~19~2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Dear Parents,

The students have had another busy week. We have been working hard in all subjects, starting new topics, ending others, and continuing to work hard yet on others. The students are ready for the break next week and it is well deserved. A few notes before I am not at school for a while.

Reading: New books, new KWL charts, and continued progress on ReadAbout. Students started new non-fiction books this week. They are topics of pets, westward travel, hockey, and talking birds. Not only do the students learn about these topics, they also learn skills to help them read other non-fiction texts. I have noticed that their learning on ReadAbout is transferring over into the classroom. They are talking about their learning and then using it to read their non-fiction books in their small groups.

Writing: Wow! Tall tale characters are coming along great! Students have been using their creative juices to create a character for their future tall tale stories. It may seem that we are doing the process backwards, however, I want the students to gain inspiration from their characters to create their final writing on tall tales. Be looking for their tall tale characters and stories.

Math: We have started chapter 4 in math about multiplication and division. Please be working with your students on their basic facts whenever possible. Students can even be working on them in the car.

Science: Sounds…. what is sound? Students have asked this question and in the next few weeks will be doing research and experiments to answer this question. They will be keeping a journal on their findings and be looking deep into sound.

Social Studies: Business planning and government branches are what have been on the horizon in social studies. Students have been looking at all the vocabulary and facts that go along with learning about the United States. They will continue to learn about these ideas during the next few weeks and then start in on their first region. We will move quickly through these regions as the Vesterheim Immigrant Immersion program is quickly approaching.

Again, a reminder that I will be out of the classroom until December 3^rd. I will have my e-mail but will not be checking it throughout the day. If you need to contact the teacher about after school plans for your son or daughter please contact Wendy or Lynn. Thanks for your understanding.

Keep encouraging your son or daughter as we progress through the month of December. They should be reading an adventure book right now and be working on their rough draft for their sandwich project. I also need them to work extra hard if they are in a group of Mrs. Evelsizer’s because they are leaving my room throughout the day and still need to be doing the work they are missing. If you have questions or concerns about this issue please contact me as the practices will continue and be more frequent as the concert draws near.

Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving! I look forward to being back in the classroom after my surgery.

Thanks,

Melissa A. Wicklund

Parent Letter 10-29-2010

SKELETON BOOK PROJECT:

Please make sure that your son/daughter is reading a book to use for this month’s book project. These book project explanations came home at the beginning of October and are due on November 8th. I have sent home the skeleton body parts to trace in hopes of the students starting their projects soon. If you have questions let me know. There are only 2 weekends to work on these projects and they are part of each student’s reading grade.


RINGS OF RESPECT:

The students have been working really hard this past quarter on earning their “Rings of Respect”! Well, this past week they earned all their rings. When they accomplished this task they were to get something for what they did. The students have decided that they wanted pajama day with a movie, popcorn, and hot chocolate. We will be having this fun and exciting day on Thursday, November 4th. I am so proud of these students for wanting to work hard to earn these rings and not have them taken away! WAY TO GO 4TH GRADERS, I AM PROUD OF YOU!!


It has been a busy week in our class with finishing up last quarter and getting started with the 2nd quarter of their 4th grade year. I have spoken with ½ of the parents and look forward to talking with the rest of you next week. Our second quarter is off to great start with some modifications and changes in our room. I look forward to having each child grow and learn in my classroom. I hope to learn more about each student and what they have to offer to the classroom. Thanks for all that you have done so far this year with your 4th grader. There is so much more to come this school year!

Thanks!

Parent Letter 10-22-2010

REPORT CARDS:

My grades are due on Monday so if your son/daughter has homework this weekend it is likely homework that needed to be finished Friday and was not. So, if you could make sure that those things get finished up that would be great. Report cards will then come home on Wednesday of next week in their homework folders or assignment notebooks. This allows you as parents to have the report cards before conferences. I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next Thursday or November 4^th.

SKELETON BOOK PROJECT:

Please make sure that your son/daughter is reading a book to use for this month’s book project. These book project explanations came home at the beginning of October and are due on November 8^th. I have the skeleton body parts to trace here at school. If you have questions let me know.

HALLOWEEN PARTY:

We will be having our Halloween party on Friday, October 29^th in the afternoon. After the reorganization of the holidays, due to my misplacement of the original, the following students have the Halloween treats. Michael, Zach, and Ashton are to bring treats. Brendan is to bring drinks and Jake is signed up for cups/plates/napkins. We have 21 students in our classroom. Also, remember that the state implemented the Healthy Kids Act, saying that treats served in school should be healthy snacks. Meaning cheese sticks, fruit, veggies, trail mixes, etc. There are some fun snacks that you can make or buy that are healthy to serve in class. Thanks for your help on the party. I know that students will look forward to dressing up, decorating pumpkins for the Pumpkin contest, and having a party!