Newsletter December 12 - 16

Wow! It's hard to believe that our year is half over. I have had such a great year so far. I have truly loved getting to know all of your children and we have had a wonderful time together. They have all worked hard this semester and I'm so proud of all they have accomplished. I cannot wait to see what the second half of the year will hold for us.

I have been blessed with so much this year and cannot tell you how grateful I am and how much I love working at BDS. It is an awesome place...I feel so lucky to be a part of it. I hope that you all have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

This week we begin our Christmas unit. The hallway looks fantastic; the kids are going to be in awe tomorrow morning. We will have our Christmas performance on Thursday evening at 6 PM. Please see the school newsletter for more details.

News to Know

• Lola is this week's snack helper. Summer will be snack helper when we return from break.
• Report cards will be sent home Monday. Please contact me if you have any questions.
• The conceptual posttests are often difficult and cover material from throughout the unit. I always encourage the students to try their best and I grade the tests on a curve. While it may look like the students are struggling with the questions, a comparison of their pretest and posttest answers will show that they are actually learning a lot about each topic and I am grading them accordingly. Students also receive conceptual grades for various projects and participation in activities. The conceptual posttest counts as only a small portion of the students' final grades for conceptual.
• Friday will be a half day and dismissal will be at 12 PM. Students are allowed to wear pajamas on this day.
• I am still looking at books for the January unit. I will be in touch soon with information about the book I've chosen.

Language Arts

This week I will be sharing one of my favorite childhood books with the students: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. It's a hilarious and heartwarming tale that I know the kids will love. We will also review grammar concepts with some fun, Christmas-themed lessons.

Math

We will wrap up Topic 8 and take a test on either Tuesday or Wednesday. It is important that students continue to study their multiplication facts over the break. Mastering their facts will make future topics much easier for them.

Conceptual

This week we will learn about other countries' holiday traditions as well as our own. It promises to be a fun week!

Science / Social Studies

We will finish up our timeline project.

Newsletter December 5 - 9

Hi parents! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Thank you so much for all your help with Friday's tea party! The students learned a lot and tried some new things. This has been such a great unit. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my love for Shakespeare with the students. They have been so enthusiastic this unit.

News to Know

• Luke Weathersby is this week's snack helper. Lola will be next week's helper.
• Family tree projects are due on Tuesday. Please refer to the assignment sheet for instructions.
• Students will need a mirror for Wednesday's center activity.
• We will begin our Secret Santa project on Monday, December 12. Remember, presents are not to be expensive: candy or small toys are perfect.

Language Arts

We will finish reading The Shakespeare Stealer this week and take a test on Friday. We will continue discussing verbs and have a grammar test on Friday. We will also continue working on our object descriptions.

Math

We will finish the Topic 7 test on Monday (the students are almost finished). We will then begin Topic 8: Division. This topic focuses on using multiplication / division fact families to figure out answers to division problems. This is a short topic and we will try to wrap it up before Christmas break.

Conceptual

We will finish the Shakespeare unit this week. We will present our family trees on Tuesday. We will discuss the mystery over Shakespeare's identity, Queen Elizabeth, and the use of sound effects during performances. We will have the Hamlet performance on Thursday and A Midsummer Night's Dream on Friday.

Science

We will continue our experiments with weathering and erosion.

Christmas

Hi parents! As a class, we decided to do a Secret Santa project this year. This week, students will draw names. Then, on Christmas week (December 12 - 16) each student will bring a small gift each day for the student they chose. Gifts do not have to elaborate - it can be a candy bar, bag of chips, or small toy (i.e. yo-yos, bouncy balls, etc). It's a fun activity and the kids are excited about being sneaky! On the Friday before Christmas break, the secret Santas will be revealed.

If you have any questions about this activity, please let me know!

Also, don't forget that Friday students need a coffee mug / teacup with their name on it and 2 boxes of cookies for the tea party. Thank you!

Friday's Tea Party

Hi parents! This Friday, we will be having a British-style tea party at BDS. I am so excited as I love tea and cannot wait to share the tradition with the students. Here is what the third grade students need to bring:

Each student needs to bring a mug / teacup with his or her name on it. Tea is just not the same in a plastic cup!

Our class is bringing biscuits (cookies). I would like each student to bring a couple of boxes of British-style cookies (shortbread, digestives, ginger snaps, jam-filled). You can find these types of cookies at Corner Market, Walmart, and Target. Or, you are welcome to bake something if you like. Basically, they can bring any fancy cookie, just not chocolate chip, Oreo, etc. We want them to try new things!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch! Friday is going to be so much fun!

Newsletter November 28 - December 2

Hi parents! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have only 2 weeks left of the Shakespeare unit, and we have something exciting things planned for the students. We are planning to have tea party on Friday; I will email and create a blog post either Sunday or Monday to let you know what our class is bringing.

I will also be sending home information about the family tree project. It will not be due until the last week of the unit.

News to Know

• Will Brett is this week's snack helper. Luke Weathersby is next week's helper.
• Students need to bring their shoe boxes by Tuesday, if they haven't already done so.

Language Arts

We will continue reading The Shakespeare Stealer. We will also begin our writing project for this unit, which will require students to describe an object they love. I will send home more details about this project on Monday or Tuesday. We will also continue discussing verbs, particularly subject-verb agreement. In centers, we will make rapiers and try to write as quickly as we can, as the protagonist of our story has to write quickly. We will also take a practice comprehension test together and discuss how to answer questions with details from the story.

Math

We will continue Topic 7 this week. This topic focuses on division as a concept, not division facts yet. We will be exploring division from several angles. It is a short topic and we will finish on Thursday. I will send home study guides on Thursday, we will review on Friday, and take a test on Monday. I do not normally give Monday tests, but I am hoping to get through Topic 8 before Christmas. That way the students will be finished with division and can start on something new when we come back from break.

Conceptual

On Monday, we will be making our quills and hornbooks. We will be using our shoeboxes on Tuesday to design our own playhouses. This week we will also learn about sonnets, Shakespeare's clever creation of words, and his use of figurative language.

Science / Social Studies

We will continue our topic of forces shape the land and experiment with weathering and erosion this week. We will also work on our class timeline.

Newsletter November 21 - 22

Hi parents! I hope that everyone has had a nice weekend. We started our Shakespeare unit last week and it's off to a great start. The hallway looks wonderful - thanks to the parents who helped put it together. The kids seem eager to learn about Shakespeare. We also had our first play performance this week; the kids were excellent and I cannot wait to see the rest.

We have a fun two days planned this week before we begin our holiday. We will be doing some fun Thanksgiving activities and crafts. We will be discussing the history of Thanksgiving and things for which we are thankful.

For this unit, students will be completing a family tree project at home. I will be sending home more information on the project, but kids may want to talk to some relatives this week while they are visiting. While the trees do not have to go back further than grandparents, I have encouraged the children to see how far back they can go.

Please remember to send a shoebox with your child after Thanksgiving. We will be doing a project.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of my students!

Newsletter November 14 - 18

This week we begin our last full unit before the Christmas holidays. I cannot say much about the unit yet, but we have some great things planned for the students. This unit is one of my personal interests, and I cannot wait to share it with the kids.

Thank you to all of the parents who helped out during the Medieval unit. It was one of the best units we've had at BDS and I cannot thank everyone enough for being so wonderful. The teachers and parents all worked hard to make this unit so fun, and all of the kids had a great time and learned a lot.

News to Know

• The snack schedule has been updated. Please check it and make a note of your child's assigned week.
• This week's snack helper is Luke Antinnes. We do not have a helper for the week of Thanksgiving as we'll only be at school for Monday and Tuesday and should have enough leftovers.
• For our centers on Wednesday, students need to bring pictures of themselves when they were younger and current pictures. We will be using different verb tenses to describe ourselves. Please send pictures that you do not mind being glued to card stock.

Language Arts

We will begin reading our new book. Students will need to read chapter 5 for homework on Tuesday night. We will begin our descriptive writing project for the unit. We will also be discussing verb tenses and have a grammar quiz on action verbs and verb tense on Thursday.

Math

We will wrap up Topic 6 this week and take a quiz on Thursday. We will begin division on Friday. Students have now worked through all 12 time tables and should be studying them at home each night. It is important that students master their time tables for division and 2-digit multiplication.

Conceptual

We will take a pretest this week and get familiar with our topic of study. There are some exciting things planned for this week.

Science

We will continue discussing how forces shape the earth. This week we will be discussing and experimenting with weathering and erosion.

Newsletter November 7 - 11

Wow! It's hard to believe the third unit is almost over and the holiday season is about to begin. This year is flying by! I hope that everyone has had a great weekend.

As we close out this unit, I want to thank you all for all your help and sending materials. This has been one of our best units and the kids have been so excited to learn. Thank you for all that you do!

News to Know

• Emmy is this week's snack helper. Luke Antinnes will be next week's helper.
• If you would like me to order you a book for the next unit, please send $7. I will be ordering the books on Tuesday.
• On Friday, students will be allowed to wear their favorite team jersey / t-shirt.

Language Arts

We will finish reading The Whipping Boy and take a test on Friday. We will continue discussing verbs and verb tense this week. We will also be writing in our journals about Medieval life.

Math

We will start Topic 6 on Monday. We will be learning the rest of our times tables for this topic. Please remind your child to study his/her times tables each night. It is important that facts are memorized now, as it will be helpful when we do 2-digit multiplication later in the year.

Conceptual

We will be closing out our Medieval unit this week. Mr. Trent has some great things planned!

Science / Social Studies

We will begin learning about different landforms this week and discussing the major landforms in the United States. We will have a short landforms quiz on Wednesday and a quiz on the continents and oceans on Thursday. Study guides will be sent home.

Newsletter October 31 - November 4

Hi parents! I hope that everyone has had a great and relaxing weekend. Thank you all so much for your help with the Medieval festival! Our tent was a big hit! The games looked great and the kids had a lot of fun playing them. Again, thank you so much for putting so much time into these big projects. It enriches the students' learning experience so much and I know that Friday is a day they will remember.

News to Know

• Will Rester is this week's snack helper. Emmy Harvey will be next week's helper.
• Students need to bring an old magazine on Wednesday, something that you don't mind being cut up!

Language Arts
We will continue reading The Whipping Boy. We will study for the nouns quiz and take the test on Tuesday. We will then begin learning about verbs. We will be doing vocabulary this week and will have a test on Friday.

Math
We will continue Topic 5, and will take the test on Friday. Students need to be practicing their times tables at home. We will continue taking times table quizzes each day. Students must pass each table before moving onto the next.

Conceptual
We will be learning about knights and castles this week.

Science / Social Studies
We will wrap up Earth's Resources this week and will take a test on Tuesday. We will then make our continents and oceans maps. Students will take a quiz on this information sometime next week. We will also start adding information to our timeline.

Newsletter October 24 - 28

I hope that everyone had a wonderful fall break! The weather has been gorgeous this week.

We have lots of exciting things planned for this week and I can't wait to get started.

News to Know

• Quinn Morgan is this week's snack helper. Will Rester is next week's helper. I will be redoing the schedule this week.
• Don't forget about the Medieval festival on Friday! Students are to dress in Medieval clothes and our class is responsible for the games booth. If you did not receive my email or have any questions about our booth, please be in touch.
• Students need to each bring a box of sugar cubes for this Thursday's conceptual lesson. Mr. Trent has something exciting planned.
• Thank you to Charlotte Phillips for watching the class while I was in technology training!

Language Arts
We will finish reading The Midwife's Apprentice on Thursday and take a quiz. We will begin The Whipping Boy on Friday. We will continue working with nouns, particularly common errors with nouns. We will take a grammar quiz on Friday. We will also begin reading excerpts from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village and writing journal entries based on the excerpts.

Math
We will continue learning concepts about multiplication early in the week. We will then begin learning the multiplication tables. Students will be creating flash cards to help them study. It is important that students study these facts nightly as they will be quizzed on each table and must pass each test.

Science / Social Studies
We will finish up with earth's resources this week. We'll take about evaporation, condensation, recycling, and pollution. We will take a quiz early next week. We will also create a map of continents, oceans, and a compass rose. Students will be quizzed on this information later next week.

Newsletter and Medieval Festival

Hi parents! This will be an abbreviated newsletter as we are having fall break this week. The Medieval unit has gotten off to a great start! The kids are so excited about everything we are learning and all of the great activities we are doing. I think this unit will be a favorite of many!

This year we will be having a Medieval Festival in place of the Fall Festival. It will be on Friday, October 28, from 12 - 4. Students are to dress in some form of Medieval costume. Booths will be set up with different activities and food and we will have some schoolwide events like singing and a jousting competition. It promises to be an exciting day!

Our class's parents are responsible for setting up and running a games booth. The games to be played are listed below. Please let me know if you need any help or if you need contact numbers for any of the parents in our class.

• This Philosopher's Game
• Shovelboard
• Knucklebones
• Hazard

The following website has rules for these games: http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/entertainment-middle-ages.htm

Thank you for all you do for our school and students!

Previous Post

Hi parents,

Please disregard the previous post. We are still going to the de Grummond, but it will no longer be on Friday. It will probably be sometime the week after fall break. I will give you more information as soon as I find out.

Also, I may still need someone for Monday, but it will probably not be from 9-2. It will likely be for a few hours at the most. I'll keep you updated on that as well.

Sorry about any confusion!

Also, with tonight's reading, it may help to read with your child, as this book is a bit above grade level.

Field Trip Friday and Substitute for Monday

Hi parents!

We have been learning about the writing process since the beginning of the school you. One thing that we have stressed to the students is that every write revises his or her work. We would like to take the third and fourth graders to the de Grummond Children's Book Museum at USM on Friday. The museum has manuscripts by authors. It will be a great way for the kids to see how published authors use the writing process and how they can apply it to their own writing.

We need drivers for Friday. We will leave the school around 9:20. If your child is in mass, he/she can go straight from there. If you are willing to drive, please text / email me. Also tell me how many kids your car can take.

I also still need substitutes for next Monday. I need someone to watch my class from 9-2. If you cannot stay the entire time, that is fine. Just let me know. I will have some fun Medieval and Halloween activities for them to do that day.

Newsletter October 10 - 14

Wow, it's hard to believe that we are already on our 3rd unit! The year is flying by! The Roman Empire unit was fantastic! Thank you to all of the parents who helped out, decorated, sent food, and so much more. I know that I say it a lot, but your continued support really helps to create such an enriching environment for the students.

The students worked so hard on their Latin play this unit! I cannot express how proud I am of all of them for the time they put into learning something so difficult. I am so impressed with what they learned and how well they learned it.

I can't say much about the next unit just yet, but I promise that there are many exciting things in store for the students. They are going to have so much fun!

News to Know

• Courtney is this week's snack helper. Quinn will be snack helper the week after Fall Break.
• Be sure to check this week's newsletter for information about November lunch.
• The teachers will be learning about SmartBoards on Monday, October 17. If you would like to help out by watching the third graders for the afternoon, please get in touch with me. I will have an assignment in place for them. Thanks!

Week of October 10 - 14

Language Arts

We will begin reading our new book (please send it on Tuesday so we can keep the unit a secret). This book is a little above grade level, so when it is sent home for Tuesday night reading, you may want to read to your child. We will also continue to discuss nouns.

Math

We will wrap up Topic 4 and take a test on Tuesday or Wednesday. I will send a study guide home for the test. We will also be taking the benchmark test this week. This test will cover Topics 1-4. It will not be for a grade, but can show some strengths and weaknesses in certain areas. If you have any questions or would like some extra practice for your child, please let me know! We will begin Topic 5: Multiplication at the end of the week. As students begin to learn their multiplication facts, it is important that they spend time each evening working on memorizing their facts. I will have a test for each number, and students will have to get 100% to go on to the next test. The kids are all so excited to start multiplication!

Conceptual

The Roman Empire has fallen. What now?

Science

We will continue learning about Earth's Resources, including the water cycle and water conservation.

Newsletter October 3 - 7

Hi parents! I hope that everyone is enjoying this lovely fall weather. We had a great week last week. We learned about the Punic Wars, Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra. We also enjoyed eating Roman food on Friday. The kids were excited to try some new things. Thank you to everyone who sent food and helped out!

News to Know

• McCall is this week's snack helper. Courtney will be next week's helper.
• If you haven't ordered your books for the next unit, please do so this week.
• For math homework, please remind your child to follow directions. I know that there are several ways to work these problems, but the math test will require them to know several different ways, and I want them to get practice using all of the methods.
• Our culmination performance for the Roman unit will be on Friday, October 7. Please make plans to come as the third graders are doing something awesome!
• For our performance, we need a king's crown and dog ears. If you have either of these items and are willing to let us use them, please send them this week.

Language Arts

We will finish reading Atticus of Rome and take a test on Friday. We will put together the final drafts of our persuasive writing projects and share them with the class on Friday. We will be discussing common and proper nouns, capitalization, possessive nouns, and combining sentences.

Math

We will continue working on subtraction this week, both two-digit and three-digit. We will also work on subtracting across zeros. On Friday, we will take a cumulative test on Topics 1-4. This test will not be for a grade, but will be a way to show how much the students are retaining and where they made need some extra help. Please let me know if you have any questions about this test.

Conceptual

We will wrap up the Roman Empire unit this week.

Science

We will continue learning about Earth's Resources and working on our culmination project.

Newsletter September 26 - 30

Hi parents! We've had another great week of learning about Rome. It always fascinates me to see how excited the students get about our conceptual units. This week we discussed Roman law. We created our own law for BDS and participated in a Roman court scenario that brought out the rhetorical talents of several of our students. If your child hasn't told you yet about the court case, be sure to ask him/her.

On this Friday, we will be having Roman day. Students are encouraged to wear togas (you can recycle their Greek chitons, just drape it over one arm this time) and we'll be preparing some Roman food. For this celebration, each class will be making a Roman dish to share with the school. Our class will be making Crustulum. Each student needs to bring one loaf of French / Italian bread for Friday. I also need a parent to send about four cloves of garlic and a bottle of olive oil. If you can send one of these 2 things, please let me know. Thank you so much for helping out! The kids really look forward to these days and they make our unit so much more enriching.

News to Know

• Summer is this week's snack helper. McCall will be next week's snack helper.
• I just sent out an email about books for the next unit. Please let me know if you did not receive it.
• Our culmination for the Roman Empire unit will be on Friday, October 7. Be sure to make plans to attend...the third graders are doing something awesome!

Language Arts
We will continue reading Atticus of Rome. Please remember that your child may need help reading this book on Tuesday nights, as it is above grade level. We will continue learning about plural nouns and take a quiz on Friday. Students will begin writing their persuasive essays.

Math
We will finish Topic 3: Meanings of Subtraction and take the test on Wednesday. We will then move on to Topic 4: Subtraction. This week we will focus on subtracting 2-digit numbers.

Conceptual
We will be discussing the Punic Wars, Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra.

Science
We will continue studying Earth's resources and also using this time to work on our culmination project.

Newsletter September 19 - 23

Hi parents! I am sorry that this week's newsletter is so late. We are in the process of moving and it has been a crazy weekend!

We had a great first week learning about the Roman Empire! We looked at maps of the Roman Empire, discussed some map features, read versions of the Romulus and Remus myth, wrote our own BDS formation myths, and discussed the Roman gods and goddesses.

News to Know

• Lola is this week's snack helper. Summer is next week's helper.

September 19 - 23

Language Arts

We will continue reading Atticus of Rome. We will begin discussing nouns and how to pluralize them. We will also begin working on our persuasive writing project for this unit. This week, students will be using elements of logos and ethos as they write.

Math

We will take the Topic 2 test on Tuesday. We will begin Topic 3: Subtraction on Wednesday. Please remind your child to do his/her homework. For every 10 homeworks a student completes and returns, I give them a 100 in the grade book.

Conceptual

We will be discussing Roman government at the beginning of this week, including the Roman Republic and the 12 Table of Rome. We will be making our own 12 Tablets of BDS on Tuesday. We will also study Roman law and set up our own courtroom scenario. On Friday, we will play some fun Roman games.

Science

We will continue studying Earth's resources. We will also be spending some of science time working on our culmination performance.

Newsletter: Week of September 12 - 16

The End of An Era (And the Beginning of a New One!)
The Greek unit was fantastic! We had a great time learning about their culture and history. Thank you to all the parents/families/friends who helped make the unit such a success. Now, we are on to a new topic. I won't say too much about it just yet, as we try to keep units a secret until Monday. The kids get so excited about what the next unit will be and have a great time trying to guess. For now, I'll just say this: we've got some great stuff planned for this one!

News to Know

• Luke Weathersby is this week's snack helper.
• Lunch forms / money for October are due Wednesday.
• I know that some of you will not have your books for this unit by Tuesday. They take a while to ship as they are out of print. If students do not have them, we will do Tuesday's homework reading in class.
  
• On Thursday, students are to bring an advertisement to class. They may bring a clipping from a magazine or a link to a commercial they like. Many commercials can be found on YouTube.
  
• On Friday, we will be doing a project with magazines. If you have any old magazines (especially ones with lots of advertisements), we would love to use them.

September 12- 16

Language Arts
We will begin reading our new book. We will continue studying subjects/predicates and introduce run-on sentences and time order words. We will have a grammar test on Friday. We will also be doing vocabulary this week and taking a short quiz. Students will be allowed to use their notes on both quizzes. For this unit, we will be working on persuasive public speaking and discovering ways to appeal to an audience. We will also be learning a new language - more to come on that later!

Math
We will continue with Topic 2: Addition Meanings. This week, we will add 2 and 3-digit numbers and practice drawing pictures to solve problems. We will take the Topic 2 test a week from Tuesday, on September 20.

Conceptual
No news yet...it's a secret!

Science
We will continue discussing Earth's resources, including fossils and the water cycle.

October Lunch Menu

The October lunch menu is now up! Please return by Wednesday, September 14.

Newsletter: Week of September 6 - 9

Hi parents!

I hope that everyone had a fun and safe Labor Day weekend. I hope the tropical storm didn't mess up anyone's plans. We had a great week last week learning about philosophers, theater, and architecture. Friday's Olympics were a blast as the students competed against one another in the pentathlon. This is the last week of our Greek unit. It's hard to believe that we've been back in school almost a month! I've really enjoyed getting to know all of my students and I know that we are in for a great year!

News to Know

• Will Brett is this week's snack helper.
• If you did not receive the email about the book for the next unit, please let me know.
  
• Our culmination performance will be on Friday at 1:30.
  
• Students who want to correct the Topic 1 math test should turn their tests in by Thursday.

September 6 - 9

Language Arts
We will finish reading The Lightning Thief on Thursday and take a test on Friday. We will do some fun activities with the book on Wednesday. This week's homework chapter is 21. We will also continue working on subject/predicates and continue revising our paragraphs.

Math
We will begin Topic 2: Properties of Addition. This week, we will focus on some new terms (commutative, associative, and zero properties of addition) along with mental math, rounding, and estimating sums. We will take a short rounding quiz on Friday.

Conceptual
We will discuss Greek mathematics, the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, art, and lasting gifts from the Greeks. We will take a closing test on Friday.

Science
We will continue discussing rocks, minerals, and types of soil.

Athletic Wear Tomorrow

Hi parents! Just a reminder that students are to wear shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes tomorrow for our BDS Olympics. Thanks!

Newsletter: Week of August 29 - September 2

We had a great second week. The students are still really enjoying The Lightning Thief. This week, we learned about the Minoans, Perseus and the Minotaur, The Mycenaeans, the Greek alphabet, city-states, and Greek daily life. Friday was a fun-filled day with costumes, Greek food, and some fun games. Thank you to everyone for sending food and helping out!

News to Know

• Luke Antinnes is this week's snack helper.
• We worked on counting back change for amounts under $5 on Friday. It is a difficult concept for students this age, so we will be reviewing it Monday. Please work on this skill with your child at home.
  

August 29 - September 2

Language Arts
We will continue reading The Lightning Thief and discussing the novel. This week's spelling test will be in the form of three sentences. Students will be required to correctly spell the sentences for the test. We will discuss the components of a paragraph and students will begin writing their own paragraphs using the writing process. We will work on identifying simple and complex subjects/predicates.

Math
We will review counting back change with amounts under $5 and discuss making an organized list to aid in problem solving. We will review for the Topic 1 test on Wednesday, and students will take the test on Thursday. We will begin discussing properties of addition on Friday.

Conceptual
We will discuss Athens and Sparta, school and children in Ancient Greece, theater, and architecture. Students are encouraged to look for Greek influence on architecture in Hattiesburg. On Friday, we will be holding our own BDS Olympics.

Science
We will begin studying Earth's resources. This week, we will focus on rocks, minerals, and fossils.

A Quick Update and a Request for Friday

Hi parents! We've been having a great week so far!

We still need one thing for tomorrow: ambrosia fruit salad. I've had 2 parents sign up for feta cheese and 2 sign up for hummus, so if anyone is willing to switch, that would be great. Thanks! Don't forget that students are allowed to come in costume tomorrow. It's going to be an exciting day!

We had our first spelling pretest today. Students who make 100% or higher do not have to retake the test on Friday. Students can get 100% by either getting all 10 words on the list correct or getting bonus words correct to bump up their score. If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

You may notice that your child's homework sheet has a note to study for tomorrow's grammar test. We will be having a test, but it will not be for a grade this week. I will be sending home a study guide for the first graded test.

Homework, Greek Day, etc

Hi parents! Our second week has been great so far!

Just a quick note on homework: we are starting our reading night today. Your child should read chapter 10 of The Lightning Thief. Your child may read independently or you (or someone else) may read to your child.

Also, I will often send home a math sheet that goes along with the students' homework. Students are not required to do this sheet; I include it so that they can use the top half to remind themselves of the lesson. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to call me.

If you haven't sent a shoebox, please send one tomorrow.

We still need items for Friday's Greek Day: olives, feta cheese, Famous Amos chocolate chip and pecans cookies, and ambrosia. Please let me know what you can send! Thank you!

A Great First Week!

We had a great first week getting to know one another and learning about Ancient Greece. We delved into The Lightning Thief and the children are loving it so far! This week we discussed early civilizations, cartography, and the gods / goddesses of Ancient Greece.

News to Know

• Emmy Harvey is this week's snack helper.
• Please remember to send a shoebox by Wednesday for a project we're doing in language arts.
• If you haven't turned in lunch money for September, please do so by Monday.
• Friday is our special Day of Ancient Greece. Please let me know if you can send any of the items needed. *We now have 8 students in our class. Check the school newsletter than went home Friday for more information.
• We will begin spelling and Tuesday homework this week. Please check your child's homework sheet each night and remember to sign off as they do their work. Thank you!

August 22 - 26

Language Arts
We will continue reading The Lightning Thief and discussing the novel. We will work on the types of sentences, using proper end punctuation, and compound sentences. We will discuss becoming a writer and following the steps of the writing process. On Friday, we will take a short grammar quiz on sentences / fragments, the types of sentences, end punctuation, and compound sentences.

Math
We will work with ordinal numbers, comparing and ordering numbers, counting money, and making change.

Conceptual
We will discuss the Minoan civilization, the story of Theseus and the labyrinth, Mycenae, fables, the Greek alphabet, the city-states, and the daily life of Ancient Greece. Students will write their own fables and create their own mazes. Friday, we will dress and eat like the Greeks. Students will imagine what it would have been like to living during ancient times and play some fun games.

Science
We will continue to discuss what it means to be a scientist and students will work together to construct their own experiments using the scientific method. More details on this project to follow.

Material Request for Friday

Hi parents!

Please send a toilet paper tube for Friday, if you have one. We are doing a craft project. Thank you!

And We're Off!

We had a great first day of school! We all had a lot of fun getting to know one another and playing some fun games. Everyone is getting along so well...I think it's going to be a wonderful year!

Starting tomorrow, your child will bring home a folder each day. This folder will contain homework, graded work, papers to be signed, school communication and forms, etc. Please check your child's folder each night and return it to school the next day. Also in the folder will be a homework schedule. This sheet will help your child stay organized and keep you posted about what homework he/she has. I ask that you please initial the sheet each night so that I know you are aware of homework. If there is no homework that night, you don't have to worry about initialing.

I try to keep the homework short (less than 30 minutes per night) and do not give homework on Fridays. I just want to make sure that the concepts we work on in class are being reinforced. If ever you feel that your child needs additional practice with any topic, please let me know and I will send home some review work.

A New Year, a New Theme, a New Unit

It's that time again, time for fresh starts, new beginnings, and the smell of new crayons and pencils. It's time for the first day of school. Ever since I was a kindergartener, I have looked forward to this day. And now, 23 years later, I am more excited than ever. I cannot wait to get started!

This year is all about history. Over my years as a student and now a teacher, I have come to see history as less of a series of dates and events and more of a story; the story of humans throughout time, the things we got right and the things we got wrong, and all of the crazy, mad, wonderful things we’ve done in between. I see history as a way to realize who we are and where we come from, to show us how even one person can make great changes. I see it as a way to learn from our ancestors and make wise decisions as we step forward in time. It’s going to be a great year for making connections and I cannot wait to begin.

News to Know

• Will Rester is this week's snack helper.
• Lunch menus / money for August and student forms are due on August 15. If you have any questions, please let me know.
• In order to include more hands-on centers and in-depth activities with the text during language arts, students will now be required to read some of our novel during the week. Our set reading homework night will be Tuesday, and a short quiz and activities will follow on Wednesday. We will begin next Tuesday, August 23, and I will put the required pages on the homework sheet.
• Students will need a shoebox of any size for our first reading activity by August 24.
• Please remember to set up a Gmail account for your child. We will be setting up student blogs the first week of school.
• Don’t forget to sign up for email updates to my blog. This is the easiest way for you to know when I update.

August 15 - 19
Monday will be a meet and greet from 9-12. Students and parents can meet the teachers and drop off supplies. Tuesday is our first day of regular school, and we’ll begin with some fun “getting to know you” activities and learn how to use the Smart Board.

Language Arts
We will begin reading our novel for this unit and making some connections with our history theme. Please send it with your child on Tuesday. We will set up our blogs and talk about the steps of the writing process. In grammar, we will discuss what separates sentences and fragments, and begin discussing the types of sentences.

Math
We will begin with a few brainteasers about numbers. On Wednesday, we will take a placement test to show some of our strengths and weaknesses. We will then begin Topic 1: Numeration and participate in place value centers. Please encourage your child to look for numbers of all sizes this week!

Conceptual
I can’t say much just yet, as it’s still a secret. Just know that it happened a very, very long time ago and we have some exciting things planned for this week!

Science
We will discuss the steps of the scientific method and participate in some fun experiments to get us thinking like scientists.