Mrs. Hottinger’s 4th Grade Class
September 5, 2013
Welcome to Fourth Grade! I am Joan Hottinger, and I am very happy and excited to be teaching your children this year. I have too much information to share with you about our classroom in one newsletter, so I’ll begin with the most important items today. I’m looking forward to meeting and getting to know you in the coming weeks. It’s going to be a great year!
Together – We All Fit In
Our classroom theme this year is “Together - We All Fit In.” I’ll be using this section of the newsletter to keep you informed of the non-academic happenings in the classroom.
Assignment Notebooks
Assignment notebooks will be going home every day. Students will have approx-imately 45 minutes of homework each night, usually consisting of math and reading with the occasional addition of social studies or science. Spelling and grammar will be homework when it is not completed during the school day.
Please check your child’s assignment notebook each night, check off the assign-ments that he/she hascompleted, and sign
it. Going through the assignment notebook each day is a great way for families to touch base and chat about what is going on at school. It also teaches children to be accountable for getting their assignments done. The space for notes between you and me is small, so feel free to write in any blank space or email me. If your child had a difficult time with any of the assignments, please let me know with a short note in the notebook.
Folders containing school announcements, my classroom newsletter, and completed work will be sent home on Thurs-days again this year. Please remove and read these announcements, then send the empty folder back to school on Friday.
Math
At the beginning of each unit, a Unit Family Letter is sent home. It gives you an overview of the unit, activities you can do with your child at home, and the answers to the Study Links (previously called Home Links in 3rd grade). The answers are for you, so that you can see if your child is on the right track when you check that the assignment has been completed. These materials should be a useful resource for you to use to help your child understand and become more comfortable with new math concepts throughout the year.
Students have been given their passwords to access the games and online reference book for EverydayMath. Please explore both with your child.
Reading
Mrs. Trudi Leder and I will be switching classes for reading and math. Mrs. Leder will be teaching my students reading, while I teach her students math. Fourth graders are expected to average about 15 minutes of reading outside of the school day every day.
Writing
I will be teaching writing, spelling, and grammar. We will be using 6 Traits materials for writing.
Spelling
Spelling words will be taken from the Treasures reading program, with a pretest on Friday, posttest on Thursday. Alternative spelling lists will be provided for students who pass the pretest.
Science
We will be starting off with nutrition. States of matter and weather will follow.
Spanish
Mrs. Emily Urquizo will be teaching Spanish twice a week, covering some of our social studies material.
Keyboarding and Social Studies
Fourth graders will have keyboarding twice a week with Mrs. Becky Cassel for the first half of the year. Students will learn about Wisconsin in social studies the second half of the year.
Schedule, Lunch, and Snack
I have included a copy of our weekly class schedule in today’s folder. I’ll send an updated version if any changes occur in the weeks ahead.
Lunch for 4th graders is early, at 10:45 a.m. We will have two snack times each day, one in the morning at 8:00, and one in the afternoon at 12:30. Students should bring their own snack. We do not have sharing snack. In the morning, students will have milk from the cafeteria (paid for by semester), juice (from home), or water along with their snack. No milk is served with afternoon snack. Healthy snacks are strongly encouraged.
Students may have water bottles at their desks throughout the day as long as they have a top that can be securely closed. I also permit chewing gum, as long as it comes from parents (no sharing) and does not become a distraction.
If you would like to send in a snack for your child’s birthday, please be sure that it does not include any nuts, raw eggs, or melon. We have 25 students.
Also, if you wish to eat lunch with your child at school, please send your choice of entrée with your child in the morning, or call me with your choice before school begins (if you want to surprise your child). This will help prevent running out of an entrée before the kindergarteners come through.
Calendar
Please check the district site for important dates. I will only be listing 4th grade events in my newsletter.
Email and Website
I am very open to communication by email with parents. Please be aware, however, that the last opportunity I have to check my email while the students are still here is 1:00 p.m. (afternoon recess). If you need to get an important message to me for your child after that time, please call the office so they can relay it to me.
Please feel free to call after school or write me a note. I will respond as soon as possible. I would be happy to set up a conference at any time as well.
I am looking forward to a great year working with you and your child!
Joan Hottinger