Boiling River 360

Written by Guest Bloggers: Brynn and Calvin

Miss Klipfel’s class went on another unforgettable expedition, into the Peruvian Amazon! We didn’t pack our bags or hop on a plane, but once we put on our VR headsets, it felt like we were really there. Our destination was the Boiling River, also known as Shanay-Timpishka, one of the most incredible natural wonders on Earth.

One amazing fact we learned right away is that the Boiling River is naturally heated, not by volcanoes or lava, but by geothermal energy beneath the Earth’s surface. Using VR, we explored different parts of the river, including Mayantuyacu, the hottest section. The water there could cook you alive. It can be dangerous for animals and people if they aren’t careful. We also visited Salt Creek, another steamy spot where the heat rises right out of the river.

Another stop on our VR journey was the Shanay-Timpishka Ecolodge, where scientists and researchers gather to study the plants, animals, and ecosystem around the Boiling River. We learned how explorers and scientists work together to protect fragile environments like the Amazon and why conservation is so important. Check out the website Miss Klipfel made here📎 with all our activities on it. 

As part of our expedition, we also learned about the Explorers Club Flag, which has an incredible history. The flag has traveled the world on important scientific expeditions since 1944, starting with its first journey to the Alaskan coastline with Otto Geist. It has been to the top of the tallest mountains, the deepest parts of the ocean, and everywhere in between, including to the Boiling River with Miss Klipfel!

By the end of our expedition, we felt like real explorers, curious, thoughtful, and inspired by the world around us. The VR made it feel like we were standing right next to the river, surrounded by the rainforest, learning from the past while thinking about how we can protect the future.

Disney Day

In honor of Mickey Mouse's 97th birthday, Howe-Manning 4th graders got to experience one magical day! We all headed to Disney (Disney Middleton that is). Students traveled around Disney's magical lands, meeting different characters and reviewing skills across the subject areas. Check out our Disney Map and click on each land to see what we were up to.

We started our day in Frontierland to practice our geography skills. For Mickey's birthday, Minnie Mouse planned a spectacular trip around the Northeast Region of the United States. Students used iPads to scan QR codes which led them to letters from Minnie and clues about where she was taking Mickey on their trip.

We headed off to Fantasyland for reading (after a quick spin on the teacups). We practiced the different parts of speech with a digital hunt.

In the afternoon we headed to Adventureland (aka Math) with Mrs. Weeks, we had so much fun spending $200 to buy Mickey's birthday presents. We had to round, add, and even multiply to get as close to spending all $200 as we could. We also visited Tomorrowland and Toontown for more Disney fun! Until tomorrow 4th graders, we might not be at Disney but it is sure to be magical.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

-Walt Disney

Spy Day

4th graders arrived at school today to discover some shocking news...Mango was missing! We met at headquarters to get our briefing from Agent Bryson and get caught up to speed. Quickly, 4th graders were transformed into spies and ready to use their fictional story element knowledge, mathematical skills, and problem-solving strategies in order to gather clues and uncover the secret information.

We started by opening our top-secret mission file which had our first clue, spy notebook, invisible pen, and helpful disguise.

Spies discovered the QR code took them to the spy lab where they hunted for hidden clues. There were codes to crack, puzzle pieces to put together, hidden magnifying glasses to use, and mystery high-tech pictures. Check it out:

    

Head to the full spy lab and give it a try yourself here. 

Correctly solving the different clues and discovering the mystery words granted agents access to the confidential information. Secret agents safely rescued our beloved Mango. Just another day in the life of a 4th-grade spy.

Case closed!

Reader's Workshop

Reader's Workshop is well underway in 4th grade. We have been practicing REAL reading (no fake reading here) with STAMINA. We've been enjoying read alouds together, and practicing our reading strategies. Not to mention, there are tons of comfy spots to stick our noses in our books.

We kicked off finding just right books with a delectable book tasting. Reservations were made and Klipfel Cafe was packed.

Students were exposed to a wide range of fiction texts. They whet their appetites with historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, adventure, and even mystery books. I loved hearing students hunt for these books in our classroom library, school library, and even Flint Public Library.

Wait, did I mention our noses in books? We are well on our way with our love of reading!

Welcome to Room 216

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of excited smiling faces tomorrow. I can't wait to hear about your summer adventures and look forward to many shared stories this school year. Klipfel & Kids is your one-stop spot in virtual room 216. Take our hand and let us take you on a tour of our classroom...

We can't thank those of you who purchased items from our wishlist enough! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We are truly and greatly appreciative of your willingness to help turn room 216 into a home. Our classroom couldn't look this amazing without you. Make sure to check back soon and see our adventures. We also love to receive comments on our blog throughout the school year!

Summer Adventure

Old friends and new friends, add a post or picture with your summer adventures. I look forward to seeing your days at the beach, reading by the pool, and flights to adventurous places. If you are having trouble adding a post or picture, email it to me at jklipfel@middletonps.org and I will add it for you. Happy summer days!

Goodbye Friends

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

Fourth grade sure was easy!

It's finally here-summer! This school year sure has been one for the record books. Today, I officially give you back the same child from the fall, a few inches taller, a few months wiser, and much more mature. Although this growth would have happened anyway, it has been my pleasure to watch and be a part of their year. I am overwhelmingly proud of each and every one of them.

One last thank you to all the students for their continuous hard work this school year. You rocked it and we had so many laughs along the way! Thank you also to the parents, grandparents, and relatives for all your support and encouragement from home, as well as, all our faithful blog followers.

Enjoy your days at the beach and nights by the BBQ. Don't forget to post your summer adventures on our summer padlet or send me an email jklipfel@middletonps.org with what you are up to. I love nothing more than getting notes and postcards too! This summer, don't forget to READ, READ, READ. Need a book recommendation or want to chat about a great read, just send me a message. You know I LOVE talking books.

We have truly lived, loved, laughed, and learned together this year. I wish it could continue but each and every one of you is ready for next year. Remember, I will always be interested in your future, wherever you go, whatever you do. Your joys and sorrows, I will always be happy to share, so please make sure to keep me in the loop for many years to come. Until we meet again!

Love always,

Miss Klipfel

Comic-Con 2025

Deep in the halls of Howe-Manning, students have been showing their true superpowers. By day you know them as Howe-Manning 4th-grade students but when problems arise they turn into superheroes. Some are able to leap Howe-Manning in a single bound while others are able to stop a speeding monkey. They are all here to eliminate crime one diabolical villain at a time!

Over the last month, students have been preparing for Comic-Con. Students reviewed parts of plot and watched clips of past and present superheroes/villains to then create their very own. Check out all the published 4th grade comics here.

Dressed from head to toe students, families, and friends met to share all their SUPER work for our annual Comic-Con event. This year we added a new tradition, and students made their own wooden medallions. In collaboration with Artovation, students designed and drew their medallions, then used the Glowforge (laser cutter) to actually create them out of wood. Thanks to the MPTO for helping us fund this amazing new collaborative project. 

State House

Written by guest bloggers Shawn & Joey

The State House was so fun to visit. Let me tell you ALL about it! First, we went on a bus from Howe Manning to the State House. When we arrived at the State House we saw… The GOLDEN Dome! It was so shiny and did you know that the golden dome is made out of 23k Gold. Did you know that more than a thousand people work at the State House?

When we went into the State House we had to go through security and there were big gates in front of the State House to keep it safe. There is a nice beautiful garden in front of the State House. When we got through security we had to walk up so many stairs. Then we went under the Golden Dome and under the Golden Dome is the Senate room.

Representative Jones got us special permission to go into the House of Representatives Chambers. The House floor is where the House of Representatives works to make laws and take votes. We even got to sit in the House seat.

After that, we took a picture on the grand staircase with both representatives and Senator Tarr. Then we headed over for a picnic in the Boston Public Garden and for a ride on the swan boats.

 It was a great day in our state's capital.

Patagonia 360

Written by Guest Bloggers: Maya & Penelope

Miss Klipfel's class went on an unexpected expedition today! Miss Klipfel told us to get our passports and run to the airport…“We're going to PATAGONIA!” she announced excitedly. Well, we didn’t actually go to Patagonia but we got the next closest thing. Patagonia VR!!! 

Miss Klipfel put each kid in expedition partners each with their own VR headset. Then you got to choose a video from four different Patagonia locations. Once you finished the 360 video from one location you had to solve the puzzle that went with it.

There were super fun activities to go with each location! For the first stop, Staten Island, in the VR we saw a king penguin and then went to the Lighthouse at the End of the World. After we read a passage about Staten Island to learn about the conservation work happening there then filled in the sentences. For each word, there was a circled letter and all of the circled letters would make a word. On the second stop, Karukinka National Park, the activity was a puzzle to learn more about plastic pollution and how it's impacting Patagonia. When you finished the puzzle it gave you the next clue word.

The third stop, National Geographic Explorer, which is the ship Miss Klipfel lived on, we got to see the library, the observation deck, bridge and stood on the bow while in the Chilean fjords. After we had a Patagonia map and you would answer questions like, if you were to go from Ushuaia to the Pia Glaciers would you head North, South, West, or East? Right next to the answer was a symbol and that symbol had a letter and those would make up the next word. The fourth stop was the Bernal Glacier, the activity that went with this was a mystery picture. So you would have to answer math questions about how climate change is impacting glacial recession and adding to sea level rise. Every time you got the answer right you would get a part of the picture which gave us our final word.

We put all four clue words, explorer, curious, empathetic, and empowered into the Google Form to earn our cool Patagonia Explorer Badge. Check out the website Miss Klipfel made here with all the activities on it. 

We still can't believe how real the VR felt like we were really standing in Patagonia and even felt like the elephant seals were coming right towards us. Lots of us liked the waterfall in Karukinka National Park and being able to stand on the bridge with the captain and see how the ship navigates. We are so lucky we got to go to Patagonia with Miss Klipfel!

Fashion Disaster

Written by Guest Bloggers: Gianna & Natalie

Have you seen the new fashion trends at Howe Manning School? These glamorous and eye-catching outfits are sure to blow your mind. Below are some of our top high fashion picks. Which one is your favorite? There’s a sports player, a butterfly, and just a speechless-worthy fit! You should come swing by to see some of the most fashionable, breathtaking, bold outfits in town if we must say.

As we walked down the red carpet, fans clapped along to the music as we posed our way down the runway. At the end we turned, showing our sass, hitting all the poses. Also if you ever wanted some slay fashion inspiration, we got you! Just wear these inspirational outfits inspired by the people above.

In Ms. Klipfel’s class, Levi won the first place title. Mykela won second place rocking the butterfly outfit. And then in third place was Addison, looking like every single 4th-grade boy. Then from Ms. Week’s class, Austin won, and Natalie and Gianna tied for second

Now we will explain what this day was really for. This day was used to make opinion writing about how we liked our outfit and how we turned our everyday objects into a classic mismatched crazy outfit that would win the best dressed at fashion week. We loved making these outfits and it was very fun to dress up into everyday things all put into one.

 

It was super duper cool and fun! You should buy some of these outfits! You will surely stand out! Who knows you might see these outfits at the mall, school, supermarket, or even wedding attire. See you on the runway.