We Have Great Taste!

Friday was the fourth grade Taste of the States Celebration. Each classroom served foods from a region of the United States. We presented some delicious food from the Midwest. Thank you to all the parents who donated food and supplies and helped out. It was a fun and yummy way to find out about our country!

March Into Reading

Each year our principal sets up a reading challenge. This year if the students meet the challenge, Mr. Drenth will take a bath in Oobleck, a mysterious substance from a Dr. Seuss book! Students read for 100 minutes to earn a Dr. Seuss "hat." The hats are hung in the school hallways and Mr. Drenth has challenged the students to have the hats go all the way around! There is also a reading calendar that has fun ways to earn extra minutes each day. Notice what Sunday's is? If parents just encourage their child to read more, they can earn 100 minutes! Students who bring a hat in Monday can have first choice for borrowing the new books Miss Frank has bought for our classroom library.

Khan and Kane

Yesterday students logged into Khan Academy. It is an online resource with math activities and instructional videos that can be accessed from school or home. Students can earn badges and assign teachers and parents as coaches. Coaches can view activities and progress. We all love it!

Thank you to Dani for finding Rick Riordan's web site for The Kane Chronicles. Miss Frank is reading from The Red Pyramid after lunch each day. Students can find out more about the Kane family and Egyptian mythology at the site.

Be My Valentine!

On Tuesday, February 14, we will have a small Valentine's Day celebration at the end of the day. There will be a treat and students can exchange Valentine cards. Students who bring in cards should bring one for everybody in the class. A class list will be sent home.

Hugo!

Each day after lunch recess Miss Frank reads to the class. Earlier this month it was from the Caldecott Award winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Thanks to the Charlevoix Waterfront Artfair Committee/Council for the Arts all third and fourth grade students are going to get to go see the movie that was based on the book: Hugo. The movie was directed by Martin Scorsese and is nominated for best picture. We are going Wednesday, February 1, but students need to return the permission slips that were sent home today. It will be interesting to hear if Miss Frank pronounced the French names correctly!

New Book Orders

Two new book orders went home today. Please send in completed forms with cash or a check made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. Orders are due Friday, January 13. If you would rather order online, you can go to http://clubs.scholastic.com/. Enter code JFC6L and our class will still earn points. The more we order, the more points we earn for free books to go in our class library!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you to the parents who helped with the Christmas party and to everyone who donated supplies. Everyone had a great time, and the students created some amazing crafts out of recycled materials. Merry Christmas to all, and see you next year!

Conferences and Crafts

Parent-Teacher conferences are this week! If you need to know your child's conference date and time, Mrs. Towsley has a copy of the schedule in the office. Let Miss Frank know if you need to change.

Thank you to the moms who are going to organize our Christmas Party on December 21, at 12:05. Students are going to make Christmas crafts out of recycled materials. We are asking to please send in what you can: jars, lids, ribbons, buttons, fabric scraps, wrapping paper, or anything else. Thank you!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to one and all! What a great day! Thank you to all of the parents who helped out and sent things in!

Halloween Help (Please!)

Halloween is fast approaching. This week the class made symmetry pumpkins to decorate the classroom. We are now asking for parent volunteers to help with our party on Monday, October 31. After lunch that day students will change into costumes. At 1:00 there will be a parade downtown or around the school if the weather doesn't cooperate. After we will have our party. The class needs parent volunteers to set up and help with the activities. It would also be great if families could send in treats and beverages. Finally, Miss Frank is also looking for party activity ideas. Parents, please comment below or send a note to Miss Frank if you can help out or with any ideas you may have. Also, you can click here to sign up online. Thank you!

10/24 Update: We are all set for treats (thank you!), but need plates, cups (which I forgot to put on the note), napkins, and another beverage! We also need volunteers and ideas.

10/25 Update: Thank you everyone for stepping up! All we need now are napkins and another beverage. I also got an activity idea from a teacher from another school, so we are all set with ideas. We could still use parent volunteers to do it, though.

MEAP Starts Tomorrow

The state's MEAP test starts tomorrow, so students, make sure you get to bed early each night and have a good breakfast each morning. Do your best and show how great we are at Charlevoix! Parents, we will be taking the tests October 11-13, 18 and 19.

Flywheelers!

Our first field trip will be September 22, 2011, to the Flywheelers in Boyne Falls. We will learn about crafts and trades of the past from volunteers who have special talents. They will demonstrate their fascinating and fun skills for us. The bus from the elementary school will leave promptly at 8:30 a.m. and we will be gone all day. Students should bring a sack lunch with a throw away drink or two. They need to wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather: hot, cold, or it may even be wet. Parents, if you are interesting in chaperoning, please send a note to Miss Frank.

Keep Up With Us on Facebook

Parents, Are you on Facebook? You can find our class there at Miss Frank's Fourth Grade. Click the "Like" button and updates will show on your News Feed. I plan to link new posts to the page, upload class photos, and list events and reminders.

A Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

I am so excited to have my own class again and to have your child in my class. I enjoyed teaching computers and knowing all the students in the building, but I am looking forward to having the same group everyday and getting to know them really well.

I think it will be a lot more fun having a regular classroom. As a computer teacher I had to run a pretty tight ship. One reason was the computer lab equipment cost over $50,000 and there are no funds to replace broken computers. Another was the limited amount of time with each class. In the hour each week students had computers we had to practice keyboarding, cover the Michigan Technology Standards, learn Spanish vocabulary (which I was asked to start last year), and hopefully squeeze in some time for exploration (which I believe is one of the best ways to learn). Although a classroom schedule can get busy, there is room for fun, too.

I am excited to teach fourth grade because that was my favorite year growing up. It was the first grade that I got "A's" in. It was the year I fell in love with reading chapter books. I have other great memories of that year, and the year was great because of my teacher. I look forward to making this a great year for your child the same way she made fourth grade great for me.

When I taught third grade for two years downstate I really bonded with my classes. I enjoyed going to their sporting events and performances. I returned for their eighth grade graduations from the school and exchanged Christmas cards with some of the families for many years. For the last 13 years I have been a "Special" teacher to the students of Charlevoix Elementary School. This year I look forward to having a group of kids special to me.

Thank you for letting me be your child’s fourth grade teacher,

Miss Dana Frank

Communication Nights

There will be a school Open House August 31, from 4 to 6 p.m. for students and parents to stop by. On September 12, there will be a Parent Communication Night. The fourth grade time will be announced soon. I look forward to seeing everyone at one or both of those nights! The room is pretty much ready, and I am getting there! You can see more pictures by clicking on the photo in the right hand menu.