Newsletter May 21 - 25

Wow, how the time has flown.  It seems like only yesterday I was just getting started with my new third graders and now the year is almost over.  I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed working with your children this year.  They are a great group of bright, creative, and funny kids.  They've all touched my heart in so many ways.  I expect a lot from my students and they have rose to meet every challenge I've put before them.  I'm so proud of all they've accomplished this year and the many ways they have grown.  I hope that you all have a great summer and I look forward to working with you again next year!

News to Know

• Lola is this week's snack helper.
• Tuesday is future day, in which students must dress as themselves in the future.  Wednesday is favorite person in history day.  Students should come dressed as their favorite person in history or create a picture.  They should also have a few facts to share about their person.
• If you haven't set up a conference, please contact me to make an appointment.
• Students should arrive for Thursday evening's culmination at 6:00.  The performance will begin at 6:30.
• Friday is a half day with dismissal at noon.

Language Arts

We will finish reading The Giver this week.  Instead of a test, students will write their own endings to the story.  We will continue discussing adverbs and prepositions.

Math

We will continue our topic on statistics and probability.  I have some fun activities planned for this week to demonstrate probability.

Conceptual

We will finish discussing the future tomorrow.  We will also have You in the Future day and Favorite Person in History Day.

Science

We will continue our discussion on animal adaptations with Mr. Trent.  The students did a great job of creating their own animals with special adaptations!

Conferences

Hi parents,

Over the next two weeks, I would like to meet with all of you to discuss your child and his/her progress this year.  I will also have recommendations for the summer to continue your child's growth and prepare him/her for fourth grade.  Please contact me to set up a time.  I've listed my available hours for this week below, and my available hours next week will be similar.  If you cannot meet during these times, please let me know and we can work something out.

Tuesday: 1:00/1:30 or after school
Wednesday: 2:00-end of school
Thursday:1:00-end of school
Friday: 8:30 or after school
Monday: 1:00-end of school

Thanks,
Lisa

Newsletter May 14 - 18

Wow!  It's hard to believe that we are down to the last 2 weeks of school!  This year has flown by.

We had a great week last week.  We learned about the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  We created habitats and caring guides for our pet rocks and learned the "Thriller" dance.

News to Know

• Luke Weathersby is this week's snack helper.  Lola will be next week's helper.
• Students whose family order Scrip by Tuesday may come in free dress on Friday.
• Students will be dressing as themselves in the future on the 22nd and presenting their favorite person in history on the 23rd.

Language Arts

We will continue reading The Giver this week.  I'm so proud of the students for all of their wonderful insights into the novel.  I love hearing them beg for "one more chapter" as we finish reading each day.  We will continue working on adverbs this week.  The students had a lot of fun using Memrise last week, so we will do it again this week.  The link to the words for this week is below.

http://www.memrise.com/set/10027121/giver-vocabulary-week-3/

Math

We will take the Topic 17: Time and Temperature test on Tuesday.  I will send home the study guide Monday. This will be our last test of the year.  We will then begin a topic on data, statistics, and probability.  I think the kids are going to have a lot of fun with this one.

Conceptual

We will discuss the top events of the 2000s.  Students will work in groups to complete a What If? activity in which they must decide how our world would be different if something in history were changed. 

Science

We will pair up with Mr. Trent to discuss adaptations of living things.

Newsletter May 7 - 11

Hello!  I hope that everyone is having a great weekend.  We had such a wonderful week at school last week!  The kids are so excited about the new unit.  This week we learned about the 1950s and 1960s.  The students danced in a sock hop and created some awesome tie-dye t-shirts.  We had a great field day Friday as well!  Thanks so much to everyone who helped out.  I know the kids had a wonderful time.

Also, thank you to everyone who attended and helped out with the Star Wars party.  The students had a great time and we raised a lot of money for next year's conceptual budget.

News to Know

• Will Brett is this week's snack helper.  Luke Weathersby will be next week's helper.
• Students need to bring a shoe box for a conceptual project on Tuesday.  If you have any extras, we'd love for you to send those as well!
• On Friday, students may wear their tie-dye shirts.
• A lot of the students are getting hot at recess.  Please remind your child to dress appropriately for hot weather and to bring a water bottle.

Language Arts

We will continue reading The Giver.  I am so impressed by the students' insights into one of my favorite books.  Although I've read it many times, I'm getting a completely different perspective as I read with them.  We will begin studying adverbs.  We will have a vocabulary test this week.  Students may want to use the link below to study for the words.  This is a great website for students to monitor their progress as they learn new words!

http://www.memrise.com/set/10025657/giver-vocabulary-week-2/

Math

We will continue learning about time and temperature.  We will wrap the unit up this week and I will send a study guide home.  We will take a test on Monday.  The students should not have to study too much, as most of them are picking up time really quickly.  On Tuesday, we will do a retake of the Topic 18 and 19 tests.  I will send home a couple of practice sheets on Monday.  I really want the students to have a good foundation in multiplication and division as they move into fourth grade math next year.  I encourage all of them to keep working on their math facts and longer multiplication and division problems over the summer.

Conceptual

This week we will be discussing the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  We will also be creating habitats for pet rocks, learning the dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and performing some popular 90s songs.  I'm sure your children would love to hear about your personal experiences during these decades!

Science

We will be teaming up with Mr. Trent to continue our study of biology.