Happy New Year!

I just received an e-mail from Mr. Smith and he has directed the elementary teachers to have our Christmas party on Friday, January 4, 2013. The parties will start after lunch. I know the students hated having to miss school on Thursday. This is just a good lesson in patience. We will still do a gift exchange game. So boys bring a gift labeled "boy" and girls bring a gift labeled "girl." The food list is still on my blog.

Box top update: I'm so impressed with how many box top and Campbell points we turned in. We were asking neighbors, relatives, high school teachers with out kids in the elementary, para-pros, librarians, etc. We raised an amazing 8000 + labels. The only problem is that was 90 labels short of first place. I can't believe it.... second place again! The good news for the students is that the PTO is still awarding a pizza party for second place because of the massive amounts of labels turned in. So good job class. Thank you parents for putting up with my campaigning for these labels. Just remember there is a second semester competition too. So keep them coming in.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

Mr. Fredin

Christmas Party

The Christmas party is going to be held on Thursday, December 20, 2012, in the afternoon, with the gift exchange game. A boy brings in a boy gift labeled to a boy, and a girl brings in a girl gift labeled to a girl. Please try to limit the price to $3.00-$5.00.

 

 After the gift exchange game we will have our food party. The following people have volunteered to bring in some items:

Special Treat-Dereck                                               

Special Treat-Kendra   
 Cucumbers-Emylee
Carrots-Alexis                      
2-liter drink-Kaiden
Veggie Dip-Tory                   
 2 liter drink-Gunner
Strawberries-Luke               
Pineapple-Paxton                                                       
Grapes-Justin                      
Fruit Dip- Logan                                                          
Plates & Napkin Kyle       
Cheese-Gwen                                                                         
Crackers- Tristan                
Forks and Knives Grayson             
Cups: ?                                              

 

We have 24 students and sometimes 4 adults so please try to provide enough.

 

On Friday, December 21, 2012 we have a Christmas sing along at 9:30 and then a movie afternoon.

 

Thank you for your support. Have a blessed Christmas and enjoy time with family.

 

 

Mr. Fredin

Christmas

IN THE NEAR FUTURE –December 10 @ 7:00 pm is the Elementary Christmas Concert, be here at 6:45 pm

Delayed Start December 17,

December 20 for afternoon Christmas parties, Boys bring in a boy gift labeled “boy” and girls bring in a girl gift labeled “girl”.  The party signup sheet for goodies is coming.

December 21 School Sing-a-Long @ 9:15 am in lunchroom, and videos in the afternoon. 

Box Tops.  We are so close but so far away.  We’ve invested so much we can’t turn back now.  We have 3750 box tops but that is 1061 behind 1^st place.   We are in 5^th place.  Wow! McBain parents have stepped up.  We have one week to go, let’s see what we can bring in.  Every 20 box tops puts your child’s name into the drawing for gift cards.  If we won our class would get a pizza party and 10,000 point to spend in the Campbell’s catalog for great things for the class.  I know there are grandparents and aunts and uncles that you could ask.  Please, please, please.

8^th Grade Buddies is a chance for us to read with an older student.  A note went home yesterday.

Progress reports are coming home today.  Please look for them.

Updates

Thanks for coming to parent/teacher conferences. It was good to see all of you. Thank you for being so involved in your child’s education.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break. I saw a cute poster that said “Don’t forget to set your scales back 10 pounds at 2:00 am.

3rd & 4th grade students: Please remind parents that Co-Ed basketball forms are due in by Nov. 20th. Extra forms are in the office.

1st - 4th grade students: Speed Stack orders are due by Nov. 30th. There are extra forms in the office.

 

The Middle School is doing a fundraiser. Project Pj is underway. However, WE NEED PJ's!! Our goal is to collect 150 pairs for Project Christmas (each year this particular item seems to be a "hot spot" for those families chosen). It's such a blessing to know that we can be a part of making this a great Christmas for families in our area. As you shop in the days ahead, it would be so awesome if you could pick up a pair of pajamas to donate and drop them off at the middle school office by Dec. 3. Thank you!

 

The Elementary is doing a fundraiser called Project Christmas.  Here is a note from Mr. Smith.

PROJECT CHRISTMAS – Please “fire up” and encourage yours students to

bring in non-perishable items for Project Christmas. The food items will

be organized and given to Missaukee County residents for the Holiday

Season. Collection boxes are at the east & west end of the hall. Jackie Soltman dropped off two Project Christmas collection boxes for our building. We can begin collecting food items as soon as possible. Mrs.Soltman will pick up the boxes on December 7 so the food items can be organized fordelivery prior to Christmas to area families. 

 

Halloween Food Sign-up

We have 24 students with 4 adults at any given time.

Special Treat Logan
Special Treat: Luke
Special Treat: Gunner
Finger Jello: Dereck  
Eye Balls: Kyle          

2-liter pop: Klaire    
2-literPop: Gwen
Cider___________________
Juice: Paxton

Carrots_____________________ 
Cucumbers:Emylee
 Veggie Dip:Kyle

Strawberries_______________
Pineapple________________
Grapes: Gunner

Fruit Dip__________________ 
Carmel Dip: Tristan 
Apples: Tristan
Cheese: Alexis                        
Crackers: Alexis                         
Plates__________________________

Napkins: Klaire
Plastic Ware: Grayson
Cups: Paxton

Up-coming Events

Upcoming Events

Oct 23, Family Night Fiesta, Elementary Title One Night (Supposed to RSVP) Dinner starts at 5:00pm

Oct 24 Picture Retakes

Oct 31 Halloween Party/Wax Museum:  Look for food signup on my blog,  E-mail, call, or write a note and I’ll sign you up for the item.  Updated list will be on my blog

Nov 1 No School Teacher in-service

Nov 2 End of 1^st marking period.  All fix it tickets need to be turned in.

Nov 7 Report cards probably go home saying the next day is PT conferences

Nov 8 Parent /Teacher conferences 4-7:00pm

Nov 13 Parent /Teacher conferences 4-7:00pm

Nov 14 School till 11:00 then Teacher In-service

Book Bags

 

Today we are beginning our “Book Bag” program.  In your child’s backpack you will find a large folder containing a book and a calendar on which to keep a log of your child’s home reading.  I will try to send a book home each evening for you to share with your child.  When you and your child finish the book, please record the title of the book and your initials on the calendar.  Then return the book bag with the book and calendar the next morning.

We will use our "Book It" calendar for Pizza Hut, where you color in the days that you read. If you don't have that I will make more copies. Just put the calendar in the folder that is coming home

 

I realize that some evenings can get very busy, but I would like you to try to have your child read EVERY night.  This reading activity should last at least 15-20 minutes.

The books are of varying levels of difficulty.  Some your child may be able to read independently, some may require assistance, and some you child will enjoy listening to you read.  If you are reading a chapter book with your child just have them read one to two chapters a night.  What we are saying is they don’t have to finish a book a night.  Read for the 15-20 minutes a night.  On the reading log just record the chapters that they’ve read.

I do realize that some children have books of their own that they would rather read at home.  That is fine.   Please record these books on the log if you choose to read them instead.  Just make sure the reading log and book bag get back to school each morning. This way I can keep track of every child’s reading.

Our classroom library is not very large, and some books are getting old.  So, please remind your child to take special care of these books by always keeping them in the protective folder.

Here are some tips on how you can help with reading at home:

·         Listen to your child read

·         If a word is not known have you child use chunking strategies they’ve learned at school

·         Be positive

·         Enjoy the story

Remember that the best activity to teach reading is reading.  Relax, cuddle up in a comfortable spot, and enjoy the story together.  With you support this program will be a big success.  Happy reading!

Progress Reports

Look for your child's progress report to come home on Friday, October 5.  I had to get the grades in on Tuesday night.  Some Fix its that were out then may have come in by now.  Call or email if you need the most updated list.

On going collections

We are trying to raise money to feed the hungry.  Students can bring in money to put in a bucket at school.  Don't feel any pressure to donate but the opportunity is here if you were looking for a cause.  The winning class gets a Pizza Hut pizza party.  This week we raised $42.00.  Way to go!!!

Box Tops, Labels for Education, Tyson, and Spartan UPC
We have collected quite a few.  I see some of you took advantage of the special coupon at Meijer to get 200 bonus points.  That promotion is now over but if you see or hear of any others let me know.  I got to believe we are in the lead on this competition but we will need about 2000 more points to win it.

MEAP is finally here!

We have worked so hard on preparing for the MEAP test.  Here is the 4th graders MEAP schedule.  Tuesday Oct. 9  Reading part I
Wednesday Oct. 10 Reading part II
Thursday Oct  11 Writing part I
Tuesday Oct 16 Math
Thursday Oct 18 Writing Part II

Please have your child get plenty of rest at night and feed them well in the morning.  The school is going to supply the 3rd and 4th graders a small snack before the test of each day, thanks to the PTO.

MEAP Prep

We are preparing for the MEAP test.  During our 4th grade switches, Mrs. O'Keefe teaches Social Studies with the Michigan book, Mrs. Mosher teaches Science.  I teach the subject English.  It is a study of grammar.   With the MEAP test being the second and third week of October, I'm postponing the grammar subject so we can focus on the MEAP prep.  Each day we focus on two of the GLCE's (grade level content expectation).  By the time we take the MEAP math test each student will have seen a particular GLCE question at least 3 times and many of them 8-9 times.  I had an issue with the MEAP pretest scantron sheet.  Our scantron machine put incorrect marks on the answer sheet.  Mr. Culp has gone back through them and recorrected them. 

I gave each student a pretest packet and their regraded scantron sheet.  Jokingly I told the students to study four to ten questions a night.  I told them to put it under their pillow at night.  The only problem is that not every student turned their old scantron sheet in. So turn them in if they don't have highliter marks.  But I would like you and your child to talk about a few problems a day

Soon, the students will get their Short Task Packet back and they can study from that too.  We will staple the individual worksheets together to make another packet to keep studying from.  The key is to not memorize answers but to look for test taking strategies.  Look for ridiculous answers and cross them out.  Look at each question and try to answer which operation to choose.  (Add, subtract, Multiply, divide, fractions, graphs, etc.)  Look at the incorrect answer the MEAP test gives and explain to your child how they chose that answer as a choice.  For example, Perimeter and Area questions will have the answers when you times and add the length and width.  The students really need to know the question inside and out.

Thanks for being patient with the MEAP, but please stress with your child that it is so important.

Box Tops/Labels for Education/ Spartan/ Tyson

The labels for education program is a great way for the school to make money from our trash.  In a way if you throw these labels away, it's like throwing a pop can away.  The school can earn 10 cents from each label you send in.  At McBain your child has two opportunities to win some prizes: before Christmas and before the end of the school year.  Last year it was gift certificates to Meijer.  The top class gets a pizza party and 10,000 points to spend to get cool things for the classroom.  My class has come in second place so many times.  It is almost frustrating.  Last year we were 300 labels short.  The next day a student brought in a bunch of labels.  I don't think it was enough but who knows.  This year I'm campaigning... Meijer has a deal were you buy 5 box top items and they give you a coupon worth 200 labels.  What a deal!!!  So if you shop at Meijer buy a couple of extra items and you could earn 200 extra labels.

Second Week

Important Dates:

Picture day K-2nd Grades, Tuesday, Sept, 11th
                   3rd-5th Grades, Wednesday, Sept 12th
                   6th-8th Grades, Thursday, Sept 13
                   9th-12th Grades, Friday, Sept 14th
You can turn in your picture money anytime before Wednesday.

Important Papers to turn in:
Field Trip Permission Slip (purple half-sheet)
Power Announcement (white paper)
Acceptable Use of Technology Resources

Look for an assignment sheet folder to come home every night.  It has a "to-do" side and a "done" side.  The assignment sheet is in the middle and the students fill it out each day.  They will earn a "Class Dojo" point if a parent signs it nightly. 

Class DoJo:
This is a website set up to help teachers monitor student behavior.  I'm using it as an incentive program to reward possitive behavior.  Things that I'm looking for are homework done, assignment sheet signed, good hall walking, quiet silent reading, good behavior, etc.  Behaviors that can lose points are disruptive, out of seat, chair tipping, owing time at recess, etc.  There is a way I can email your child's results.  I'm working on collecting parent e-mail addresses.  If you were at the open house and didn't receive a test email from me, please email me at lfredin@mcbain.org  I must have typed your address in wrong.

Spelling:
Each week for spelling
Monday:Abc order 5 x's each due Tuesday
Tuesday: Unit wkst (3 pages) due Friday
Wednesday: Word Search or Writing due Friday
Thursday:Pre-test if passed with a 94% or higher they pass out of Friday's
test
Friday:Final test and correct wkst 
If your child can score 100% on their test 5 weeks in a row they will move up to a 5th grade list.  If they struggle on that list they will move down to the grade level list.

MEAP Prep:
We are using are grammar time to prepare for the MEAP test.  You will see MEAP prep packets, one is called Short Task the other is called Multiple Choice packet.  These are overviews of all the GLCE's the students learned last year.  Then we will dive into individual GLCE's and try to get the students to understand these standards.  We will get to the grammar after the MEAP test.  (About 6 weeks into the new school year.)
Late Start:
Late Start has change this year.  It is the third Monday of the month.  School starts at 10:00 a.m. on those days.

Ways to reach me:

Class Blog- go to mcbain.org.  McBain Public School's homepage.  click:
Elementary Teacher's Pages
Lars Fredin

From the class blog I have links to my website.  My homepage, assignments, spelling lists.

Email me at lfredin@mcbain.org

Call 825-8330 ext 1518 to leave a message

Call the Elementary office 825-2021

Thanks,
Mr.Fredin

Welcome to 4th grade.  We don't have gym the first day so you don't need to bring your gym shoes until Friday the first week only.  Our normal gym time is Wednesday and Thursday and that starts the second week.  See you Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. and bring your me bag.

Funny thing that happened during the Valentine's Party

     A chance to eat during the teaching day has always been a highlight, and something I look forward to with great anticipation; it is extremely important to me that the food be distributed smoothly, and my room avoid becoming a hazardous zone.
   Therefore, I like to have the students seated while I pass out the food and drinks during a classroom holiday party.  This year during the Valentine's party, I decided I would be the responsible recipient to pass out the hot, BBQ sausages brought in by a student excited to share his mother's outstanding recipe. My serving platter was merely a paper plate, but I figured with my ingenuity, I could manage the task without flaw. Paper plate in hand, I meandered around the room, sharing the hot sausages with each student.
   Simultaneously, Mr. Culp (a parent volunteer) was passing out the pop. Being a multitasker, I asked the students to raise their hands if they wanted Sierra Mist to drink. As I made the announcement, I was preparing to deliver sausages to a student extremely excited about receiving pop, for the student's enthusiasm led him to raise his hand quickly and violently upward in my direction, unaware of my proximity, hitting the  precious BBQ sausage plate out of my hands.  Ten sausages and a rich, thick sausage sauce went flying straight up in the air. I closed my eyes, hoping this was only a dream and hoping for the best, for I knew that once something goes up, it must come down. And that's exactly what the sausages did, hitting me in the face, shoulders, and chest, while sauce splattered on me like rain.
     And yes, I was wearing my favorite red Valentine shirt and tie; these pieces of clothing suffered the brunt of the sausage attack, and still have the stains to prove the seriousness of the matter. The student that bumped me was very apologetic and repeated over and over, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fredin. I'm so sorry." For repentance, this student quickly rescued eight sausages from the floor, and loaded them back on the plate. Stunned, and bit annoyed that food was being wasted, I said, " I don't want them; throw them away!"
     The student who brought in the sausages, chimed in quickly, not wanting to see his Mom's prized sausages go uneaten said, " I'll eat them." 
     And he did.
    
   

Labels for PTO

Keep sending in those labels.  Our class took third place in the 1st semester competition.  We had close to 2000 labels.  Wow!  But that still only took third place.  The winning class had over 3000 labels.  I was at Meijer last week and if you bought 5 box top for education items they would print a receipt for a 100 bonus labels.  I did it and I got an extra 100.  I don't know how long the promtion last.  So check it out.  And thank you for collecting and sending  them into the school.  The PTO just received a check for $2850.00.  Pretty amazing!