Welcome to 4th Grade

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Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school!  My name is Ed Hagen and I’ll be teaching your child this year.  I am eager and excited to get to know my new students and guide them through a rewarding year.  I value individualized education and am looking forward to working closely with you to provide the most appropriate and fulfilling educational experience for your child.   Your children are the most important thing to me and each child’s overall well being is number one.  I am honored to be teaching them.
I’m also eager to get to know each of you as well, and want to start off by getting acquainted.  This is my 10th year in the classroom.  I have taught 2nd through 6th grades.  This will be my first year at Shanghai American School.  My wife, Maggie Hagen, teaches 7th grade Humanities on the SAS Pudong campus.  Before coming to Shanghai, my wife and I both taught in Denver, Colorado.   We are excited to be here!
This year will be filled with challenges, creativity, and growth.  The  4th grade homework policy for all classes is that students should be completing no more than 40 minutes per evening. These 40 minutes are shared with Chinese class, so expect about 20 minutes from homeroom classes. Additionally, we encourage nightly reading. I will be modeling and teaching organizational skills this year.  Students are required to use their planners and there will be a time each day when our class writes in them together.
Please feel free to contact me at any time during the school year with questions, comments or concerns. Email is the best way to reach me.  Ed.Hagen@saschina.org I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in your child’s education this year.  I look forward to meeting each of you.  Our class will be using this BLOG as a communication tool this year.  I will post updates about what we are working on, important dates, and assignments on it weekly.  Each 4th grader will also have a BLOG that you can access through this one.
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A MESSAGE ABOUT SWIMMING AT SAS

Swimming Team try-outs for elementary students in Grade 2, 3, 4 and 5will be held on Monday, August 22nd and Tuesday, August 23rd at 3:15pm sharp.  Swimmers need to attend both days because we will not finish testing out the students in one day.  Elementary swimmers who were on the team last year do not need to try out.

All students should be at the Aquatic Center with their bathing suits, caps, goggles and towels ready to compete at 3:15pm.  Parents are more than welcome to watch their children from the Viewing Gallery.  No parents are allowed on the pool deck or in the locker rooms.  As we are trying to make the swimmers responsible competitors, please support us with these requests.

Swimmers trying out must swim all four strokes proficiently.  This is not a learn to swim program but a competitive program.  If your child does make the team, they are expected to train twice a week all year long, attend all Shanghai local meets as well as one international meet.

We will be finished by 4:15pm so students can take the 4:30pm bus home.

Parents, please make sure that your children know which bus to take home after the tryouts (contact YAEP if you are unsure).  Also, please notify your teacher if your child will be going to the Aquatic Center after school on those two days.

And finally, though swimming is a lifelong skill and for everyone, competitive swimming is not.  Make sure your child is interested in trying out for the team and not something you as a parent want.  They might find it discouraging if they do not make the team.  Talk to them to avoid disappointment.

Parents, please do not contact your classroom teacher for any swim team try out information.  Do contact me personally (George Carpouzis, Aquatics Director) at

X3572 or email me at:

george.carpouzis@saschina.org

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Wednesday August 17th

Due: Friday, August 19th

Parent Homework:
I am anxious to get you on our email lists for contact and announcements.  I also want to know about your child.

Please email me tonight so that I have your email address and learn how special your child is!

Ed.Hagen@saschina.org

Please include:

  • Child’s name, birthday, and age.
  • Where was your child born and raised?  Is their place of birth different from the country they consider their home?
  • Primary phone number: If I need to call you during the day, who should I call and what is the number?
  • Describe your son or daughter to me…strengths academically and personally
  • Tell me about your child’s experience thus far in school.
  • Is there anything you want me to know about your child?
  • What do you think is an area or skill your child can work on this year?
  • What are your child’s interests outside of school?
  • What can I do to make this the best year possible for your child and family?


Thank you for taking the time to educate me about your child!
-Mr. Hagen

Student Homework: to be completed on the classroom blog
https://teachers.saschina.org/ehagen/

Hey 4EH,
I am so excited that you are at SAS and in my class!  Throughout the year we will be learning new concepts, subjects, and skills. The list of all that we will learn goes on and on, so much so that I couldn’t possibly fit it all in one blog post. One type of learning that I do want to mention is the fact that we will also learn a lot about each other.  I want to get a head start now!
Look at the list of questions below. On the welcome blog post, click “Leave a Comment” at the very bottom of the post. Once you select comment, add in your first name and an email (if you don’t have one you, you can use a fake email like: fakemail@saschina.org).  Once you’ve done that, take some time to answer the questions listed below. Once you press submit, your thoughts and questions will be posted online for everyone in our classroom community to read. I’ll make sure and respond to any questions you write.

Include:

  • Your name (Only use your first name)
  • Tell me about yourself!
  • What do you like to do in school?
  • What do you dislike in school?
  • What do you like to do outside of school for fun? Do you have any special talents?
  • Is there anything you are nervous about?
  • What are you excited to learn in fourth grade?
  • Do you have any questions you want me to answer?





14 COMMENTS

  1. My name is Tiffany. I like to ice -skate. I like to read books at school. I don’t like indoor recess. I like to play batmenten and ride bicycle. I know how to ice skate and piano.I am nervous about which class in chinese i will be in this year. I am excited to do research.I wonder if we will have a lot of experimence and field trip.

  2. Hi my name is Katherine and I am 9 years old. I am from Atlanta, GA but have been living in Colorado for the past 5 years. I love soccer and my position is goalie. Nothing gets past me! I have a german shepherd and his name Champ. He is 10 years old. I also have a hamster, her name is Tink. She is SO CUTE!
    – I love math, science and recess.
    – I don’t like history because it seems boring.
    – My interests are soccer, tennis, golf, riding my bike, swimming, running, and playing board games.
    -I am not so much nervous but excited because I just moved here last week.
    – I’m excited to go to the library because it’s really big!

  3. My name is Elena. I like the color baby pink the best and all neon colors. I love singing and dancing. I like to go to “art” and I like to read. I have no dislikes in school. I like to have sleepovers with my friends and my special talent is dancing. I’m not really nervous about anything. I’m excited about fourth grade because I get to learn more things.

  4. Hello, my name is Emil. i like to do sports. my favorite sports are skiing and tennis. i like to play games at school. i don’t like to write at school. i like to play when i am out of school. i play the piano and do sports. i’m nervous about big tests. i am excited for cool field trips. i don’t have any questions today. bye!

  5. My name is won-woo. I am a sportman because I love lots of sports. F.e. soccer, swimming, tennis,table tennis,
    basketball, roller skating and last of all baseball. Last year, I was the BISS(British International School)’s violin solist and also play the piano well. I like math tests because I am a mathematician but I hate literacy! I love to play soccer on the field. Nothing nervous about school.

  6. My name is Yuka. I came to Shanghai 2 years ago and life in Shanghai is so-so. My favorite subject is math. But I don’t like P.E . In my spare time I like to surf on the internet with my Macbook. I’m also excited to learn the names of geometric shapes.

  7. My name is Jumi and I’m from South Korea (Seoul). I was born in 2002 on January 12th. I am 9 years old. I like to write in cursive. I dislike science. I like to swing at recess. I have an special talent in art. I am nervous about the presentations at school. I am exited to learn math,and spelling. I am shy and nervous sometimes.

  8. My first name is Elena. I am eight years old. I have a sister named Nicole, she is turning three in December. I was born in November. I really like to read the series “WARRIORS”. I was born in North Carolina. It’s a lot different than Shanghai. My favorite color is pink. My hobbies are dancing, swimming, playing piano, and figure skating. I like going to art, I like reading, and I like it when Mr. Power comes and teaches us technology! But my FAVORITE part is when we get to see assemblies. They are all so funny! I don’t really dislike any part of school. When I don’t have school I like to go on vacation and have sleepovers with my friends. My specialist talent is dancing. I started when I was 3 and a half. I’ve danced for a long time. I’m always nervous about meeting new people and having new teachers, but in the end, I always end up liking them! I ‘m excited about fourth grade because you get to learn harder, and challenging things.
    Elena

  9. My name is Maheen,I like trying new things, playing outside,and doing sports, one of my favirote things to do is play with my dog. I also like reading books,especialy by Enid Blyton.My favirote book is 444 really weird facts about horses.I dont have any special talents, and I am a little nervous about 4th grade and I want to know more about sience. the questions i have for you are:what are we going to learn this year? Will we have any exams? maheen

  10. Hi my name is Samuel. I am nine years old and I am from Sydney, Australia. I like to do art and play sports at school. I don’t like writing. I like to play on my computer and on my game-boy at home. I only have one special talent which is oversleeping.

  11. Hi my name is Ryan. I like to play American football and I like to run. In school I like to have P.E and art. I do not like to have writers workshop class. The things I like to do outside of school are cops and robbers and play with my dog. My special talents are running, throwing a baseball and football, and playing tennis. I’m not nervous about anything. I am exited to learn more math and history. I have no questions.

  12. Hi mr. hagen my name is ethan I love kittens and i like yo go and swim. I like to do sports at school because they are fun.i dont like LLB because i am not good at it. I like to play four square outside because it is challenging, and i am good at swimming. I am exited to learn more about science because there are lots of fun things to do in science. When will the swimming end in PE
    From
    Ethan

  13. Hi this is Ben. I like to skateboard. My favorite color is blue and I have 2 brothers. I like PE and Art and science. I don’t like taking tests. When I am not at school I like to play computer games and play with my friends. I am a good swimmer.I am nervous about using new materials. I am excited about 4th grade science. No questions at this time!

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