Class Newsletter- Week of March 30, 2015

Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter- March 30, 2015

I am so proud of everyone’s effort and perseverance on last week’s PARCC! We will be taking the math portion of the PARCC next Monday and Tuesday (April 6 and 7). This week we are reading “Seeker of Knowledge” by James Rumford.  We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story.  It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child.  Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week. Let’s have a great week!

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
ancient	of times long past
link	anything that joins or connects, as a loop of a chain does
scholars	learned people; people having much knowledge
seeker	one who tries to find; one who searches
temple	building used for service or worship
translate	to change from one language into another
triumph	victory; success
uncover	to make known; reveal; expose

Spelling Words: village, except, explain, quick, bridge, knowledge, question, equal, queen, excited, expect, excellent, exercise, quart, liquid, aquarium, frequent, advantage

I have created a website for our classroom. You can access the site by going to “4^th Grade” on the school’s website, or you can type www.mrhauptmanngrade4.blogspot.com in your browser’s window. I will be updating the site each week.

Please sign, cut on the dotted line, and return on Tuesday:

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Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

Unit 4, Week 4- March 30, 2015

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________

Parent Signature: _____________________________­­­­­__________________­­­­­

Straw Tower Challenge

After completing our third day of PARCC testing I could tell our class was ready for a little hands-on engineering challenge so we busted out some straws and twist-ties. We set the timer for 20 minutes and had a contest to see which team could design and build the tallest free-standing tower with only 25 straws. The top two teams built towers that were 88 and 73 centimeters tall and the average of all the towers was 62 centimeters. The towers are still standing 24 hours later! I really believe some of the best learning takes place during these impromptu challenges and I enjoy seeing everyone engaged and working together.

Class Newsletter- Week of March 16, 2015

Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

March 16, 2015

The first day of Spring is on Friday! We will be taking the PARCC ELA test next week (March 23-25). It is very important that your children are well rested and come to school on time. We will begin testing promptly at 9:30am. I will be providing sugar free mints for during the testing sessions. The school will also be providing a small morning snack, but you may wish to send in an additional healthy snack for later in the morning. Looking ahead, we will be taking the math portion of the PARCC April 6-8.

Later this week we will be reading “The King in the Kitchen” by Margaret Slattery. Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the next two weeks.  Please practice these words at home as well.  No spelling test this week, it will be on Friday, March 27.  Let’s have a great week!

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
duke	nobleman of the highest title, ranking just below a prince
dungeon	a dark underground room or cell to hold prisoners
furiously	with unrestrained energy, speed, etc.
genius	person having very great natural power of mind
majesty	title used in speaking to or of a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc.
noble	high or great by birth, rank, or title
peasant	farmer of the working class in Europe, Asia, and Latin America
porridge	food made of oatmeal or other grain boiled in water or milk until it thickens

Spelling Words: brother, together, dinner, popular, center, calendar, similar, regular, summer, clever, supper, pitcher, filter, hangar, never, shelter, cellar, caterpillar, theater, deliver

Have you seen our classroom website? You can access the site by going to “4^th Grade” on the school’s website, or you can type www.mrhauptmanngrade4.blogspot.com in your browser’s window. I will be updating the site each week.

Please sign, cut on the dotted line, and return on Tuesday:

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Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

March 16, 2015

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________

Parent Signature: _____________________________­­­­­__________________­­­­­

Class Newsletter- Week of March 9, 2015

Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

Week of March 9, 2015

The students are working very hard in math and I am seeing amazing progress! We have been learning how to add and subtract fractions and this week we are working with mixed numbers. We will be reading “Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon” by Sy Montgomery.  On this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week.  Please practice these words at home as well.  The words in italics are our challenge spelling words.  Let’s have a great week!

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
aquarium	building used for showing collections of live fish, water animals, and water plants
dolphins	any of numerous sea mammals related to the whale, but smaller.  Dolphins have beaklike snouts and remarkable intelligence.
enchanted	delighted greatly; charmed
flexible	easily bent; not stiff; bending without breaking
glimpses	short, quick views or looks
pulses	regular, measured beats
surface	the top of the ground or soil, or of a body of water or other liquid

Spelling Words: chicken, eleven, jungle, national, several, natural, needle, single, citizen, threaten, diagonal, paddle, marble, mumble, frighten, strengthen, knuckle, individual, cubicle, three-dimensional

Note: Tomorrow is an early-release day, dismissal will be at 12:40pm.

Looking ahead, we will be taking the PARCC March 23-25 (ELA).

Please sign, cut on the dotted line, and return on Tuesday:

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Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

March 9, 2015

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________

Parent Signature: _____________________________­­­­­__________­­­­­

Tuesday

Class Newsletter- Week of March 2, 2015

Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

March 2, 2015

This week we are reading “The Houdini Box” by Brian Selznick. We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story.  It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child. Looking ahead, we will be taking the PARCC ELA Test on March 23-25. This is a new test for all of us, and the message I want to send to parents and students is that we will do our best, but I don’t want anyone to stress or panic over this. The work we have been doing all year has prepared us for this new and challenging test. Let’s have a great week!

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
appeared	was seen; came in sight
bustling	being noisily busy and in a hurry
crumbled	fell to pieces; decayed
escape	to get out and away; to get free
magician	person who entertains by art or skill of creating illusions, especially a sleight of hand
monument	something set up to honor a person or an event.  A monument may be a building, pillar, arch, statue, tomb, or stone
vanished	disappeared, especially suddenly

Our classroom website is a great tool for communication and is full of useful information about our class. The address is www.mrhauptmanngrade4.blogspot.com. I will be updating the site each week.

Important upcoming events:

Wednesday, March 4- PTO meeting @ 6:30pm

Thursday, March 5- Fresh Market (3:30-5:00pm)

Tuesday, March 10- Early Release @ 12:40pm

Monday, March 23- PARCC Testing (ELA)

Tuesday, March 24- PARCC Testing (ELA)

Wednesday, March 25- PARCC Testing (ELA)

Please sign, cut on the dotted line, and return on Tuesday:

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Mr. Hauptmann’s Class Newsletter

March 2, 2015

Student’s Name: _______________________________________________

Parent Signature: ___________________________