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