Meet+Mr.+Patzner

Hi, this is Mr. Patzner, your fifth grade teacher for the upcoming school year. You are one of the luckiest students in the whole wide world. “Why?” You ask. Because you will spend an awesome year in my fifth grade classroom, and I will lead you on a journey of a lifetime!

I will encourage you to set new and challenging goals. I will expect you to become an expert in recognizing quality, as I only accept the highest quality projects and work from you. You will never be more proud of yourself than you will be this year!

I also pledge to give you the highest quality effort that I am capable of giving. I will design lessons that are interesting and motivational. I will take you on travels to visit Explorers of the New World, the Thirteen Colonies, and the United States. You will take journeys on the Internet to explore unfamiliar topics, create a portfolio that will be a keepsake for years to come, and produce projects that will dazzle the eye! We will also take fabulous field trips to the Twin Cities and Wisconsin Dells. You will also be reading fascinating novels like __Where the Red Fern Grows__, __Dear Mr. Henshaw__, and __Number the Stars__.

Wow! I’m so excited. I just can’t wait to see the big smile on your face the first day of school. I wish school would start tomorrow. Do you?

You probably want to know a little about my life history, so here goes. I graduated from Winona State University and Majored in Elementary Education. I received my Masters from the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse in Professional Development in Education. This will be my 21st year of teaching fifth grade. I have been married to my wife (Kim) for over fifteen years and we have two sons, Chase is ten and Cruz is seven. Chase enjoys hunting, fishing, sports, animals, and playing with his friends. Cruz likes snowmobiling, collecting antiques, hunting, fishing, and playing with his black and tan Daschund, Hot Dog.

Some of my hobbies are traveling, coaching athletics, hunting, and training Redbone coonhounds. This past summer we took our family vacation to cities in Wisconsin for a week. We called it the "Hall of Fame Tour." First, we went to Hayward, Wisconsin and stayed at a cottage on Grindstone Lake for three days. We went fishing, tubing, and checked out our first hall of fame called Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame located in downtown Hayward. Our second stop of our tour took us to Eagle River, Wisconsin. We visited the North America Snowmobile Hall of Fame. We even saw some sleds that were on display owned by Mike Hannon, an Arcadia bus driver. The last leg of our tour took us to Green Bay, Wisconsin to visit the Packer Hall of Fame. We also took a tour of Lambeau Field and saw the Packers practice the next day. It was a great family experience! I also coach middle school football and Chase's little league baseball team. My favorite teams are the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and the Arcadia Raiders. I also enjoy participating in fantasy football leagues.

My favorite hobby is training our Redbone coonhounds. I have a partnership with my step-father with our dogs. Our kennel name is T-Top Redbones. We have sold many of our hounds to people in the United States plus Canada. These dogs are used to tree raccoons, mountain lions, bears, and bobcats. You can check out our website at www.t-topredbones.net

That’s enough about me. How about writing about you? Please answer the following questions in paragraph format, either hand-written or word-processed. Your parent /guardian may help you write your letter if needed. This assignment is due **the second week of school**, and will count towards your English grade. 1) Tell me about yourself. (Family, hobbies, pets, and anything else you would like to share.) 2) What was your most memorable experience during the summer? 3) What do you expect from me as your 5th grade teacher?

Your second assignment will be to study and memorize your multiplication facts (0-10). You will have a math test on Friday, September 9th dealing with these facts.

Your third and last assignment is to start reading a library book that you have not read yet. Please bring this book during the second week of school.

Your fifth grade teacher, Mr. Patzner