Our Teachers:
Ms. Burton
Ms. Vue
Ms. Carson


Welcome to the Fourth Grade!

We are so excited to welcome you to the fourth grade!  All of your teachers have been working hard to prepare exciting and enjoyable lessons for you to learn.  We have also been enjoying some R&R over the summer.  Here in the fourth grade, you will find that things are a little different than in third, but your dedicated teachers will help you through these transitions.

Your teachers this year are Neng Vue, Celia Carson, and Zanne Burton. We have several ELL and reading support staff to help us as well, including Holly Mischel-Moe, Mary Anderson, and Jill Maxe.  We each bring a new element to learning and help each other in order to provide the fourth graders with an excellent fourth grade experience.

Neng Vue has been teaching 4th grade at Como for 9 years. Neng has been spending her summer with her wonderful children, Sandra (13), Lance (9), and Chloe (3).  She spends lots of time camping and has been to almost every campsite in Minnesota! Neng also enjoys going to the beach and gardening. She grows her own vegetables and loves to teach. She has never stopped learning and her favorite part of teaching is to see the students grow both academically and socially. Neng loves to see kids who struggle to read, start reading. What a thrill!

Celia Carson started her teaching career in Kindergarten, but absolutely loves the bigger 4th grade kids.  Celia has been spending her time this summer working with her college age children, growing her fantastic raspberry jungle, and feathering her nest.  She has a fabulous eye for design and has created for herself a home oasis.  Celia finds her passion in teaching.  Her favorite part is how the kids inspire her to look at the world in a fresh new way!

This will be Zanne Burton’s 12th year in the fourth grade at Como.  Before that, she taught 6th grade and Como and highschool level music at Wayzata High School.  Zanne has had an exciting summer playing with her two children, Chris (4) and Matt(1), and keeping up with her favorite hobby, music.  Zanne plays in an orchestra, a jazz quartet, and volunteers on the piano at a local nursing  home.  Teaching is one of her passions.  Zanne loves seeing students make connections with that “aha!” moment.  Her favorite subjects are, well, everything! 

The biggest transition for fourth grade is that you are entering into your intermediate education.  There will be a need for students and parents to be actively involved in monitoring learning and participation.  We are going to participate in the AVID Elementary program, which teaches organizational, leadership, and study skills.  All of these skills will set your fourth grader up for a successful academic career.  One of the biggest study skill changes for fourth graders is taking notes.  We will learn how to take two and three-column notes, from which students will be expected to study.  This may sound like a challenge, but we will learn this step by step and help each one of the students through the process.  Parents can help by reviewing notes nightly with their child.

We look forward to meeting, teaching, and learning with you!



Ms. Vue               Ms. Carson               Ms. Burton





Homework Guidelines
• Students are provided with a homework planner at the beginning of the year.
• Students are expected to read 30 minutes or more daily, at their independant reading level.
• Homework may also include math practice, reading skill sheets, or writing activities.
• Students who complete weekly assigned work may participate in Friday fun activities.


Parent / Teacher Communication
• Weekly/Monthly reports to communicate student progress.
• Monthly newsletter
• Fall/Spring conferences
• Telephone discussions