Parent+Letters

 March 10, 2011 Dear Parents and Guardians, Fourth quarter has arrived! Starting next Monday, we will have some changes to our schedule, and those revolve around the addition of a daily art class for your children. Here is our new schedule: · 8:30 – 9:25: Science/Social Studies · 9:25 – 10:10: Specials (P.E., Music, Instrumental Music) · 10:10 – 11:00: Writing · 11:00 – 12:30: Reading · 12:30 – 1:10: Recess/Lunch · 1:10 – 1:30: Read Aloud · 1:30 – 2:30: Math · 2:30 – 2:45: Spelling · 2:45 – 3:25: Art · 3:30: Dismissal We have many things planned for the upcoming 9 weeks, and here’s a preview: · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Monday, March 14 is Pi day: We’ll be doing activities to introduce the concept of pi to your students, as well as enjoying some pi(e) as a treat! If you’re interested in sending a pie in to share, let me know. · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">After Spring Break, we will be working on some large projects. Your students will be writing a research paper on the topic of their choice. We will begin a Stock Market activity in math and students will be “investing” in companies and watching their money grow (we hope!). · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Junior Achievement will be coming to our classroom for five weeks and leading us through a civics and economics activity. · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">We will have an April field trip to see Pippi Longstocking at the Pikes Peak Center. · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">May 5 is Track Day at West! <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I’m sure that we’ll be doing more exciting things, and I will update you as we progress. Don’t forget that our website always has information available for you: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> and <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">http://yenne4th.wikispaces.com/ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As always, I consider it an honor to be a part of your children’s lives. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ann Yenne <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">yenneam@d11.org <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> or 328-4959 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">************************************************************************************************************************************* February 10, 2011 Reminder: Thursday, February 17 is our field trip to Mitchell High School. Several of you haven’t turned in permission slips, and many of you have not paid the $3.00. Please return those as soon as possible. If you aren’t able to provide $3.00, please contact me at 328-4959, yenneam@d11.org, or send a note with your student. Also, Valentine’s Day is Monday, and we will be having a celebration at the end of the day. Please send Valentines for classmates and a snack to share. The story is about a village where people didn’t have enough, but they each put one thing in the pot and made soup. If you are able, would you please send one thing to add to our soup? It might be a carrot, a bit of rice, a can of tomatoes, or a potato. I would like for each student to contribute a small portion so that we can have a community soup together at the end of our day.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I truly am enjoying each of your children, and it’s exciting to me to see their progress every day! At this time of Thanksgiving, I can truly say that I am thankful for the community that is our classroom. With thanks, Ann Yenne 328-4959 yenneam@d11.org

November 4, 2010

Dear Parents/Guardians, It was so nice to speak with all of you at conferences last week! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come. We don’t need a conference to communicate about your child. Please feel free to call or e-mail me any time a question or concern arises. I wanted to mention a few things this week: · Because everyone benefits from reading, we are going to begin a new homework requirement that involves students tracking their time for reading. It’s called Star Readers, and students will be required to read for a total of 1 hour per week and then summarize their reading. This is an important skill for them. Be watching for Star Reader forms coming soon (thanks to Coy’s mom and Mrs. Shaw!) · We have a new class website: [] Hopefully we will get it linked to our West Elementary page soon. You will see links on this page to sites that we use in class and also to our class wikispace page where we post student work. · Don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour this Saturday night! · Remember, we are collecting food for the Harvest of Love this month.

Thank you again for coming to conferences – you have amazing children, and I’m honored to be walking along this educational road with them!

Fondly,

Ms. Yenne yenneam@d11.org 328-4959

October 14, 2010 Dear Parents and Guardians, I wanted to mention a few things that are happening in 4th grade! 1) Tuesday, October 19 is our first field trip! We are scheduled to go to Rock Ledge ranch and experience Pioneer life. I have some students who have not turned in their permission slip and their $3.00. **If they are missing either of those, they will not be able to attend. Please get the permission slip and money turned in Monday. Part of this field trip will be outside, and the weather report is looking cold. Please be sure your students dress appropriately.**
 * 2) We have started a class group on a website called [|www.edmodo.com]. This is a “social networking” site that is designed for classrooms, and I monitor all the student conversation. Also on this site are a class calendar and a library of website links. The students will have a writing assignment due each week on this website. They will have some time to work on it in class. If you have no computer/internet access at home, you and your student may come to West on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and use the computers in the library. They can also use computers for assignments during Homework Club in the mornings before school.**
 * 3) We are using a reading program on the laptops called Read About, and each student uses headphones to hear their own programs. If they have ear buds at home, they may bring them to use on the laptops rather than the large school headphones.**
 * 4) Our school collects Box Tops for Education, and we are turning in a bunch at the end of October. For every Box Top your student brings in before the end of October, I will give them a Wow Buck.**
 * 5) Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming soon, and I would like for students to be a part of them. They will lead you through part of the conference. We will be scheduling conferences on Wednesday night, October 27th, and during the day on Thursday, October 28th. Please look for more information coming soon!**
 * This has been an exciting quarter, and we’re seeing lots of progress in all areas! I am really enjoying each of your children, and I look forward to even more progress. As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. **
 * Sincerely, **
 * Ann Yenne **
 * 328-4959, yenneam@d11.org **


 * October 4, 2010 **
 * Dear Parents/Guardians, **
 * Attached to this note is a packet of your student’s completed work for the past few weeks. If your student is in the classroom all day, there should be at least 15 pages in this packet. (If they are pulled out for Learning Center or some intervention, there will be a few less.) I wanted you to see how they are progressing on both class work and homework. If there is a star on the paper, they received 5 points (the maximum). Just a few mistakes would be a 4 point paper. Many mistakes is 3 points, most of the paper having mistakes is 2 points, and no effort is 1 point. Of course, if the paper wasn’t turned in, they received a zero. I have gone over missing assignments with them so that they know where the stand. **
 * Report cards are coming soon – there are only two weeks left in the first quarter! Their grades will be based on understanding, quality of work, and effort. We will have a chance to talk in detail about their grades at our upcoming parent/teacher conferences. For now, would you please take a minute to sign their planner, acknowledging that you’ve seen their work? **
 * Thank you, and as always, please contact me if you have any questions. I am thoroughly enjoying your children! **
 * Ann Yenne **
 * 328-4959 **
 * yenneam@d11.org **

September 2, 2010

Dear Parents and Guardians, Thank you to all of you who came to the Open House – it was a great success! Our class had the best representation of all the classes, with 15 families coming. I appreciated the opportunity to tell you where we’re headed and to hear from you. I wanted to mention a couple things. 1) Snack – we don’t eat lunch until 12:45, so it would be helpful if you could send a snack. We begin to wilt after 11:30, so a little mid-morning boost would help. Please don’t send candy and/or soda – I’ll send that back home unopened. 2) Book orders – I will send book orders home occasionally. Please don’t feel obligated to purchase books. If you are interested, be sure to make the check out to the book company. The book orders coming home today are due by next Thursday, the 9th. 3) Gold C books – The sale ends next Thursday as well (the 9th). Feel free to send the orders/money in any time before then. If you’re not interested in buying the sample book that was sent home, just return it to school. 4) I am looking at getting a class pet, meaning a small caged animal. I want to be sure that none of the students have allergies to animals like gerbils, hamsters, mice, or rats. If you have a concern, please write me a note, call me or e-mail me. If I don’t hear from you by Tuesday, I’ll assume that it’s okay to move forward with this. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">5) Planners – We have started to be more organized with using our planners. The students are writing homework assignments and other notes in them, and I am signing them. Please take time to look at the planners and sign them each day. You may also use that as a place to communicate with me. I am delighted to be working with your child this year! They are all full of potential, and I consider it a privilege to work with them. Please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me if you have any concerns. Ann Yenne 328-4959 yenneam@d11.org  Dear parents and guardians of 4th graders, It was nice to meet some of you on Tuesday and Wednesday. My name is Ms. Yenne and I will be your child’s teacher for this school year. Here’s a little background about me. I have been a teacher in District 11 for 11 years. I taught for 10 years at Washington Elementary and for 1 year at West Elementary. All 11 years have been spent in the gym, because I was a P.E. teacher. This is my first year to teach in a classroom, and I'm so excited that I get to spend that time with your children!
 * August 19, 2010 (Sending home in Thursday folders on 8/19/10)

I have high expectations for all of my students. The fourth grade curriculum is challenging, and I know that they will feel pushed at times. I want you to know that they are safe in my class, emotionally, physically, and intellectually, so I want them to learn to take risks without being afraid. I want your child to be the best person that they can be, and I'm here to help them figure out how to do that. I promise that I will come to school prepared to give them my best, and I would like for them to come prepared to give their best. Having a regular bedtime and getting enough sleep, eating a good breakfast, and getting to school on time will give your child a head start on their learning. Our lunch isn’t until after 12:30, so they will need something in their tummy to hold them through the long morning. If you would like to send a healthy snack, you may. If it’s candy and soda, I will ask them to save it until after school. We will have homework many nights. The purpose of the homework is to reinforce what we've been learning in class. When your child does the homework, they'll have more practice, and they'll improve their skills. If they get stuck on a problem, please just have them write "stuck" on it and then I’d like for you to initial it. It will help me to know what we need to work on, and they won't be marked down for it.

Planners are an important tool for your child and an important way for me to communicate with you as their parents. Your students will practice organizational skills with them. They also are a place for me to tell you what a great job your child is doing, and give you news about events in our class and school. You will also see a folder on Thursdays called the Thursday folder! This folder will contain important school-wide and classroom information. Please make every effort to check through the papers and return the paperwork that needs to be returned as quickly as possible. Our school received a grant last year to help us increase our technology education. In order to start in that direction, I have created a wiki page for our class. I have written a brief introduction there and will update it frequently. The address is http://yenne4th.wikispaces.com. Please feel free to visit it and give me your feedback. We will be integrating technology throughout the school year. One last thing, please feel free to contact me if you have any issues or concerns, or if you need to let me know anything about your child. My e-mail is yenneam@d11.org, and I check that at home as well as school. The phone number in our classroom is 328-4959. If I don’t answer, I am probably in the middle of teaching, so please feel free to leave a message and I will return your call as soon as I am able. I look forward to a great year with your children, and I can’t wait to see all that they will become! Sincerely, Ann Yenne