CLASSROOM NEWSLETTER June 11, 2015
We have been busy the past few weeks with lots of different activities! We reviewed many of the math concepts presented this year, and took our end of year third grade math assessment. We read some fairy tales and fables, and talked about stories that have a moral or a lesson. I told the children that I especially like books that have lessons or morals and that often the moral is not stated at the end; they are stated by the way the characters behave. For example, in the Harry Potter series, the main characters are Harry and his two friends who show perseverance, bravery, and problem solving abilities. Early in the year we studied character traits, and this brings the concept full circle. We need role models with positive characteristics. Role models can be fictional children in books, as well as famous and not-so-famous people in real life. Your children did an amazing job in learning their parts and the songs in our musical, ‘United We Stand’! I was so proud of them!
Thank you to Mrs. Sweeney (Jack’s mom) for arranging, organizing and presenting a boat safety assembly for all the classes at our school! We automatically think of fire safety in the home and have a fire prevention assembly every year, but boat safety is something that has been overlooked in many schools, and we are grateful that our children were able to learn about it this year!
The children had an enormous amount of fun on Field Day and were well-behaved! Mrs. Halbardier did a fabulous job organizing it this year!
Due to a huge interest in rocks and minerals in our classroom, I purchased a collection of informative sheets that tell about rocks, minerals, soil, erosion, etc. with responsive worksheets that require showing text evidence. This has been a fun end-of-year activity for the last couple of weeks of school!
Next week is Spirit Week and our last week of school! Look for a list of specific Spirit Week activities in your child’s Friday folder! We will also have a summer reading assembly on Wednesday. Reading over the summer is critical as many children regress if they don’t read over the summer. Your third graders need to keep their wonderful brains active during the summer! Next week I will also send home a summer packet of various math, reading, writing, and science activities to keep them thinking!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Norman
Class Family Picnic
When: Wednesday, June 17th, 2015, 12:30-1:30
Where: outside in back loop on grass (the old bus loop). You can see it from our classroom windows. In case of rain: our classroom.
Who: any family members who are not at school. Do not take any school children out of their classes for this activity!
What to bring: Bring your own food and drinks. If you want to bring something to share, like a bag of potato chips, that would be lovely, but not required. Blankets for sitting on would be nice, even if we end up indoors.
Important: Please don’t sign your child out early – there is a summer reading assembly at 2:15 that day!
Classroom
Newsletter May 20, 2015
We have been busy with learning about area and have learned how to figure it out with exact square units as well as an estimate (for example, if the shape is a circle on grid paper). We have also learned that you can take a more intricate picture (see below) and figure out the area when some of the lines are labelled. We can also use square feet, inches, centimeters, etc. instead of always calling them square units. Finally, we learned that we can use the formula Area = length times width to figure out area, and, most important, area is something that is used in real life by many people!
We have finished taking our D.R.A.’s and having ended the year as great readers ready for 4th grade!
In Writing, most of the children have completed their end-of-year expository writing pieces and have begun their narrative story. They are excited about this one, and voted to do this before the persuasive writing piece! Ask your child what the prompt is for the story they will write and if they have any plans for their story, yet!
The children enjoyed the MayFest Art Exhibit at the High School this week, and were respectful of the artwork and the artists! They got to select one of their favorite pieces of artwork and draw it! Some of their drawings will be on display in the high school. There were all kinds of medium used including ceramics, photography, paintings, story illustrations, and even architectural designs!
Speaking of amazing artwork, Mrs. Lee, our Art teacher will have artwork of all the students at the elementary school on display, in addition to having an ice cream social on Friday, May 22nd, starting at 3:30 on Friday. What she is able to accomplish with elementary children is remarkable– come and enjoy!
The children are ready for their 3rd grade Music concert on Thursday! You will be so proud of your musically-talented children! There are a lot of jazzy selections, and you will be astounded at the level of ability the children have reached in singing, playing recorders and learning to play other instruments with others! You will not believe these are only third graders!
We are continuing to practice for our ‘United We Stand’ musical with Mrs. Leonard’s class. All children have a part and they are doing a wonderful job learning the songs and reading their parts! Like their concert, half the learning will be about where to stand, when to say your part, and other logistical things that make a performance extra special! This is a bigger endeavor than I have attempted in the past, but the children are helpful and enthusiastic, and Mrs. Shuman will assist me in learning how to manage using the stage with its sound system. Mrs. Leonard is also a wonderful teacher who makes collaboration fun! Don’t forget our June 5th date for this performance!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Norman
We have been busy with learning about area and have learned how to figure it out with exact square units as well as an estimate (for example, if the shape is a circle on grid paper). We have also learned that you can take a more intricate picture (see below) and figure out the area when some of the lines are labelled. We can also use square feet, inches, centimeters, etc. instead of always calling them square units. Finally, we learned that we can use the formula Area = length times width to figure out area, and, most important, area is something that is used in real life by many people!
We have finished taking our D.R.A.’s and having ended the year as great readers ready for 4th grade!
In Writing, most of the children have completed their end-of-year expository writing pieces and have begun their narrative story. They are excited about this one, and voted to do this before the persuasive writing piece! Ask your child what the prompt is for the story they will write and if they have any plans for their story, yet!
The children enjoyed the MayFest Art Exhibit at the High School this week, and were respectful of the artwork and the artists! They got to select one of their favorite pieces of artwork and draw it! Some of their drawings will be on display in the high school. There were all kinds of medium used including ceramics, photography, paintings, story illustrations, and even architectural designs!
Speaking of amazing artwork, Mrs. Lee, our Art teacher will have artwork of all the students at the elementary school on display, in addition to having an ice cream social on Friday, May 22nd, starting at 3:30 on Friday. What she is able to accomplish with elementary children is remarkable– come and enjoy!
The children are ready for their 3rd grade Music concert on Thursday! You will be so proud of your musically-talented children! There are a lot of jazzy selections, and you will be astounded at the level of ability the children have reached in singing, playing recorders and learning to play other instruments with others! You will not believe these are only third graders!
We are continuing to practice for our ‘United We Stand’ musical with Mrs. Leonard’s class. All children have a part and they are doing a wonderful job learning the songs and reading their parts! Like their concert, half the learning will be about where to stand, when to say your part, and other logistical things that make a performance extra special! This is a bigger endeavor than I have attempted in the past, but the children are helpful and enthusiastic, and Mrs. Shuman will assist me in learning how to manage using the stage with its sound system. Mrs. Leonard is also a wonderful teacher who makes collaboration fun! Don’t forget our June 5th date for this performance!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Norman