Library Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Day 2, so students will have a chance to sign out new library books. In order to do so, they must return their books from last week.

September 26 - 30

Hi everyone!

A quick update on the week ahead.

Literacy: 

We will continue with Self Monitoring strategies through read alouds and teacher modelling. Students will also be applying these strategies during independent reading. Please continue to discuss your child's reading with them at home and ask them how they are figuring out challenging parts in the text.

We are building our ideas in our Writer's Notebooks this week. Most covers have come back in - thank you! If you still have one at home, please send it in as soon as possible.

We will wrap up the examples of activities in Word Study, so students should be getting their own words next Monday to start Word Study homework.

Math:

We will continue our work in representing numbers and the value of digits in a number. The first math homework sheet will be coming home tomorrow.

Homework:

I had many reading logs come back in! Thank you for your support. Just a reminder to please ensure students are recording their reading nightly. Math sheets are included this week, and are due back with reading logs on Friday, September 30th. Students all have access to Xtra Math - feel free to use this at home in order to improve their math facts!

Other News & Important Dates:

1. Monday, Sept. 26 - I will be out tomorrow for another mandatory PD session. I know the students of 4D will be fantastic hosts for Ms. Schneider!

2. Wednesday, Sept. 28 - We will be having Terry Fox Fun. If you are able, please send a loonie or toonie to donate to this very important cause.

3. Thursday, Sept. 29 - School pictures for KA, KB, grades 2, 4 and 6. Please send your forms back in your child's homework folder.

4. October 3rd - The end of the Magazine Campaign.

5. October 4th (a.m.) - Cross country meet - the rain date is October 5th.

Have a great week!

Femke

Thank you!

I wanted to thank all the students and parents for the way they handled the evacuation yesterday! The students listened well, were responsible, and were calm in an unknown and uncertain situation. Although I did tell the students that we needed to leave the school to ensure everyone's safety, I did not tell them it was specifically because there was a bomb threat. Everyone prefers to handle this in their own way and with their own explanations and reassurances. We will be back at school today, and there will be counselling services available to anyone who feels they might need that. I hope you all spent some extra family time together yesterday. I know that I certainly felt the extra appreciation as I played in the sunshine with my kids and enjoyed some extra snuggles with them throughout the day!

Follow the Blog

Hi again,

I wanted to let you know that you can follow the blog now. If you add your email address under the "Follow by Email" spot on the top right of the blog, you will receive notifications when I add a new blog entry. Mind you, the notifications may not be immediate but hopefully they will be timely. There seemed to be a glitch today, but I am hoping that won't be an issue in the future.

Please let me know if you have any questions :)

Dynamic Digits

Dynamic Digits Questions:

Choose any 4 digit number.

*Start with reading the number out loud! Remember, don't say "and" (ex - five thousand two hundred sixty-two)

1) What is 1 more than that number?

2) What is 10 more than that number?

3) What is 100 more than that number?

4) What is 1000 more than that number?

5) What is the value of the ones place?

6) What is the value of the tens place?

7) What is the value of the hundreds place?

8) What is the value of the thousands place?

September 19 - 23

I hope everyone had a restful weekend! Here is what is on the agenda for 4D this week:

Literacy:

We will continue our focus on Self Monitoring through read alouds this week. This will continue to be our comprehension focus for reading for the next few weeks. Students will also have an opportunity to use a variety of strategies when they encounter challenging words or sections in their independent reading. This would include using context clues to understand an unknown word - "what makes sense?". It is also important that they are stopping and asking questions to themselves as they are reading to deepen their understanding. When your child reads to you at home, you can support them by stopping every now and then to discuss what is happening in the story.

In writing, we will be beginning to develop our Writer's Notebooks - aka our Writer's Treasure Chests. This notebook will be a haven to house any ideas, or inspirations they have that could become part of their writing. Just a reminder to please send back any finished cover pages by this Thursday, September 22nd as Friday is a PD day.

Math:

We will continue our work on Place Value. This past week we reviewed the variety of ways to show a number up to 1000 including standard form, expanded form, written form, and by building and drawing a number in a variety of ways. This week we will focus more on representing numbers up to 10 000 and what the value of each digit is. 

We have played "Dynamic Digits" in class, and it would be an easy one to practice at home. See my next post for instructions.

Also, your child will come home with an information sheet about Xtra Math. It's a great website to practice math facts. I have signed all the children up under our class so that I can track how they are doing. It moves them along at their pace, so they are getting practice with what they need. They should be able to access that at home. They should be practicing their math facts for 5-10 minutes a night. There will be some class time available for them to use Xtra Math as well.

Social Studies:

This week we will begin our social studies unit on Explorations. We will begin to talk about what exploration means, and we will look at ways we can explore places, other people and ideas.

Homework:

Homework will start this week. I will send a reading log duotang home with your child. Reading at home is one of the best things your child can be doing. Please help them fill out their reading logs each night. I will collect them on Thursday. Word Study and math homework will be included in the coming weeks.

Important Dates/Information:

1. Magazine Campaign - the packages were sent home with your child this past week. We ask you keep orders and money at home until the end of the campaign, if possible. We appreciate all your support with this fantastic fundraiser!

2. Picture Day - forms were also sent home for picture day. Grade 4 pictures will be taken on September 29th.

3. Class Wish List - Kleenex boxes - it is always useful to have extras stashed away. Thanks!

4. PD Day -  There is a PD Day on Friday, September 23rd, so there are no classes for students.

Have a great week!

Femke Hakkers

Writer's Notebook Cover Pages

Hi everyone,

Today I sent home 2 pieces of yellow paper with your child. They are asked to decorate them as a collage using photos, pictures, computer images, or drawings of things that define who they are and what is important to them (i.e. family photos, pets, hobbies, special trips, fond memories, favourite foods, etc.). They also need to ensure their name is on the front. They will need to design the front cover, but the back cover is optional. These collages will be attached as special covers to their Writer’s Notebooks. Please have your child return their collage by Friday, September 23rd, or sooner if completed.

We did discuss this at the end of the day, but I realized I did not send information home for parents. I will include an information note in their folders tomorrow.

Also, I have included a few samples below. Happy decorating!

Thank you for your support!

September 12 - 16

This past week we developed our classroom criteria. We all contributed our ideas of what is most important in a productive and positive work space. Then, as a class, we sorted them and came up with headers that represented what mattered most to us. I have no doubt that this will be a wonderful classroom to work in!

Now that the routines and expectations in our classroom have a solid start, we will be delving into more curriculum this week. Here is our focus for the week ahead.

Literacy:

We will continue to have mini lessons to establish the set up of our Reader's Workshop. So far students have been introduced to the classroom library and to the expectations during Independent Reading. We will focus on choosing Just Right books (see a "handy" guideline below), and how to "buzz" (discuss respectively) with our partners. We will also begin working on our first FL's (Foundational Learnings). During read alouds we will begin working on Self Monitoring. This is what we do as readers to ensure our understanding. It is one thing to be a fluent reader, but it is also crucial to notice when words or sections of a text don't make sense, and to use strategies to self correct in order to understand what it is we are reading.

In writing, we will begin looking at our Writer's Notebooks. These will be very special notebooks in which students will have a place to record ideas, observations, wonderings or anything else that may inspire them as writers. I will be sending home a cover page for this notebook to be completed at home. Students may personalize it as they wish to represent themselves. It is due back by next Monday, Sept. 19th. 

Math:

We are starting on our first FL in math as well, which is N1 - Representing and describing whole numbers to 10 000. Through different activities we will establish some of the different ways to write numbers (in place value charts, standard form, expanded form, written form, etc.).

Important Dates:

Tuesday, Sept. 13 - Meet the Staff Night - There will be 2 sessions available. The first session starts at 6:30 pm in our classroom (#183 - the old computer lab). Each session is about 20 minutes. Please come directly to our classroom instead of heading to the gym first.

Wednesday, Sept. 14 - Kick Off for the Magazine Campaign -  This is an incredible fundraiser for the school and we are looking forward to all the excitement that will bring!

Have a wonderful week!

Femke Hakkers

September 6 - 9

Wow!! What an incredible first day! There was so much positive energy, respect and eagerness to tackle new challenges today. I am so excited to be on this adventure with your children this year!

This week will be focused on lots of ice breaker activities, get to know you games, and establishing classroom routines and expectations. We will be working together to develop what we believe to be important in our classroom in order for us all to have a productive and positive work space to learn in every day. Stay tuned for the results!

In Language Arts, we will be starting Reader's Workshop, and we'll be having conversations about how to use our classroom library effectively, as well as appropriate book choice. We will also begin our first read aloud novel - "Holes" by Louis Sachar.

Several forms were sent home with your child today. Please ensure they are returned to the school by Friday, September 9th.

In other news:

• There will be a Math Club this year run by Karma McCallum. It will be held on Wednesday afternoons for grade 3 and 4 students. It is focused around partaking in enriching activities to further develop math skills in a fun way! If anyone is interested, please let me know.

I hope everyone is enjoying the gorgeous weather. Please don't hesitate to contact me via your child's Communication Book, email or phone at any point if you have questions or concerns. The first week is always one filled with many organizational details - let me know if you require any additional information.

Have a great week!

Femke Hakkers

Welcome Letter

September 6, 2016

Dear parents/guardians,

My name is Femke Hakkers and I will be your child’s grade 4 teacher. I am very excited to be joining the team at West Royalty Elementary, and am thoroughly looking forward to working with your child, and you, to make this a wonderful school year.

Although this is my first year at WRE, I have been teaching for nine years. I grew up on the Island, but started my teaching career in Ottawa. I have taught a variety of elementary grade levels in a number of different provinces. My husband, our two daughters, and I are now thrilled to be back on PEI.

I believe strongly in the importance of communication between school and home. I will be using a blog to help provide necessary information. I will include a weekly update on the upcoming focus for subject areas, as well as homework and other important information related to activities in our classroom or the school community. The blog address is http://grade4d-informationhaven.blogspot.ca/, or you can follow the link provided on the school website.

A few logistical items:

Meet the Staff Night will be on Tuesday, September 16th at 6:30 pm. It will run a bit differently this year. Parents/guardians are asked to go directly to their child’s classroom. Our classroom is the old computer lab, which is room #183. I look forward to discussing what this year has in store for us at that time. We will have a chance to talk about our focus for the grade level subject areas, the classroom set up and routines, homework policies, and to answer any questions you may have.

Just a reminder that a phone call to the school is always best if you need to communicate crucial information (i.e. transportation information). Although I do check my email regularly, there is no guarantee that I would receive the information on time.

We are always looking for parent volunteers, and are so appreciative of any help. Please let me know if you would be interested in helping out this year.

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns. You can reach me at the school (902-368-6790) or via email at fmhakkers@edu.pe.ca.

I look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,

Femke Hakkers

Welcome!

Welcome to our class blog! My name is Femke Hakkers. I am very excited to be your child's grade 4 teacher this year, and to be a part of such a positive and welcoming school community! I will post the Welcome Letter that went home with your child today, and I will update this blog regularly with pertinent information. 

I am, very much, looking forward to an exciting school year filled with learning and laughter! I look forward to meeting you at the Meet the Staff Night on Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 pm.

My husband, AJ, and I in India.

Enjoying a wonderful beach day with our daughters, Maya and Alice.