Gossler Park Elementary School

99 Sullivan Street

Manchester, New Hampshire  03102

(603) 624-6327

James Adams, Principal

Dear Parents,

            Welcome to the fourth grade!  This is my twelfth year teaching, my fifth year in the fourth grade.  We had a very good start and I am sure that we will continue.  I am looking forward to a terrific year.

            Your child should expect to come to school to learn in a safe, friendly environment.  I am here to encourage and enable your child to perform at his or her potential.  I try to give each child the individual attention he or she needs.  I respect each student.  I expect that your child will return that respect and cooperation.  Because classroom behavior is so important, we spend a lot of time discussing what acceptable behaviors are and working on those behaviors in the classroom.  We have instituted a detention at lunch time for those students who have misbehaved on the playground.  There is now an internal suspension room for those students who have broken the rules stated in our code of conduct that is located in the Gossler Park handbook.

            Each Wednesday, we send home envelopes that have your child’s corrected papers and notices from school.  Please sign the outside of the envelope and return it the next day.  Book orders are often in here.  I try to send in orders once a month.

            Your child will have homework every week from Monday through Thursday.  Homework assignments and projects that are due will be sent home each day in an agenda.  I will also use this as a means of communication between home and school.  Please make sure you sign the homework agenda each night and have your student return it each day.

            In fourth grade, your child is working more independently.  We will be doing book reports.  We will be doing several projects – most notably, the New Hampshire history report and a water project for a science exhibition.  We have already completed our map project.  A book report will be assigned soon.

            We have five specials this year.  On Monday, we have library; Tuesday, we have health and gym (please have your child dress appropriately); Thursday, we have art; Friday, we have music.  Our specials are first thing in the morning most days, so it is important that your child arrives to school on time.

            Gossler Park is continuing the math program called Every Day Math.  This program does a lot of “hands on” activities that reinforce the skills learned in the day’s lesson.  This year, we will be doing “Exemplars”.  These are word problems that help the students use more analytical and writing skills to solve them.  Sometimes we will do the problems in school, sometimes the students will get the problems for homework.  Please make sure that these problems are worked on.   There are new vocabulary words and skills.  You have received a packet of letters and solutions to some of the homework problems.

            Our class is one of the classes using the new Cast-A-Spell spelling program.  You will notice that there are no spelling lists at the beginning of each week.  We work on certain patterns in spelling each day.  The students have some sight words that we spell every day – these are our muscle words.  They learn about “chunks” in words – like the “phobia” words.  We incorporate words from other subjects as our spelling words.  The children use their white boards and they are encouraged to help each other with the spelling.  So far, we have had a good time with this program and I can see improvement in their spelling.

            If you have any questions or concerns about what is going on in the classroom, please feel free to call me or send in a note to set up a meeting.  Your support and cooperation mean a lot.  It is important that there is good communication between home and school so that your child will benefit.

I am looking forward to an exciting year with lots of learning going on.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Schnick