Hello Hemmeter Families,

We had a great month at Hemmeter. Our First Lego Robotics team had Hemmeter’s best finish since restarting the program three years ago. Thank you to Mr. Duvendeck and Mrs. Kalkman for coaching this year. Mrs. Wagner and Mrs. Vaughn have Jr. Lego Club off to a great start. We

have over 120 kindergarten through third grade students participating. I would also like to thank Mrs. Boss for running chess club again this year. Finally, thank you to Jaime Huffman for leading another successful year of Kids Run the Nation. The students did a fantastic job representing Hemmeter at the Girls on the Run race. I had the opportunity earlier this month to spend a couple of days with the fourth grade students at Hartley Nature Center. Each year, the trip brings me back to my fourth grade experience at Hartley. If you are from Saginaw, you know Hartley Nature Center. It is one of every child’s favorite memories from elementary school. The confidence course, “almost anything goes night,” and Mrs. Ries’ famous funnel cakes are a staple of the trip. Hartley not only provides

students with an amazing educational experience but also an opportunity to practice life skills. If you have not been to Harley Nature Center, I highly recommend visiting. The center has several days during the year that are open to the public. They also have a foundation that helps fund this valuable educational experience. If you would like to donate, please follow the link below: https://saginawfoundation.thankyou4caring.org/hartley-outdoor

The first week of December was Computer Science Week, and Hemmeter once again participated in an Hour of Code. Thank you to all of the parents that stopped by Monday to participate in an hour of coding. It was a wonderful event. Thank you to all the fourth graders that served as helpers during the session.

Have a wonderful break! I can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for Hemmeter. Warmly, Jim Bailey

First Grade Alex’s Lemonade Stand

First grade students in Mrs. Morford and Ms. Bird’s class hosted an Alex’s Lemonade Stand on Friday, November 21st to help children in the community who are suffering from neuroblastoma, a rare and deadly childhood cancer. This was a PBL (Problem Based Learning) project. PBL’s cover all areas of the curriculum, are student centered, and are structured. The students investigated this issue, a problem that is happening in our community. The kids determined that there are sick children who need our help. Our class of 27 first grade students orchestrated this entire project, with some help guiding their brilliant ideas. The lemonade stand was derived from a little girl named Alex, who started hosting lemonade stands to raise awareness and funds to be used for cancer research. Alex wanted to help other children who suffered from the same cancer. Alex’s idea was to host a lemonade stand and give the money to cancer research to help find a cure. This little girl’s dream spread throughout the nation and has become a very well known fundraiser for cancer research. Although she lost her battle to cancer, her legacy lives on. It was an honor to be a part of continuing her legacy with our amazing class of first graders. They worked extremely hard and came up with many great ideas. We are very proud and excited to announce that as a school and Hemmeter Community, we raised $315!!! Our first graders also decided that they would like to donate some of the money earned to Covenant Kids. They created handmade cards to give to children that are in the hospital along with the donation. The rest of the money will go to Alex’s Lemonade Stand to benefit cancer research for children. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made this event possible, with a special thanks to Mr. Rick Wenzel of the Meijer Corporation for his generous support.

4th Grade Mock Trial Project

The fourth graders learned about our judicial system in a unique way.

Judge Meter, Assistant Prosecutor Mrs. Borchard, and Investigator Mr.

Grigg visited Hemmeter School to tell us about Probate Court. Then the

students re-enacted a trial complete with a jury, victim, defendant, and

some witnesses. By participating in the simulation, students learned

how our court system works. Special thanks go out to Mr. Grigg and the

Office of Prosecution for making this such a great learning experience!

November has been another incredibly busy month for all of us at HPTC!

Thank you to Erin CaseyErin CaseyErin CaseyErin Casey and Jenna WhiteherseJenna WhiteherseJenna WhiteherseJenna Whiteherse for their fantastic

coordination and execution of the Fall Book Fair and thank you to the

families that supported the event. We were able to meet our budget,

which means our students received not only wonderful new books but

can also continue the excellent extracurricular opportunities here at

Hemmeter. Thank you Tracy GibbonsTracy GibbonsTracy GibbonsTracy Gibbons for coordinating our restaurant

fundraisers this year! November was another successful month with a

Papa John’s fundraiser as well as a Beef O’Brady’s night, combining to

raise just about $400 for our school. Please mark your calendar for

December 18December 18December 18December 18thththth. Outback will donate 15% of sales to our school. It’s

perfect for a date night or a family night out! Remember – all of these

fundraisers directly benefit our students. 5th grade’s visit to the Delta

College Planetarium and the 4th Grade bus to Hartley were all possible

thanks to your generosity.

Finally, congratulations to Paul DuvendackPaul DuvendackPaul DuvendackPaul Duvendack and Michelle KalkmanMichelle KalkmanMichelle KalkmanMichelle Kalkman for

their fantastic coaching of our Lego Robotics Team. It was a great

season and we are proud of all of our programmers!

On behalf of HPTC, I wish you a very merry holiday season and a happy

new year! We will see you in January!