Quarter 3, Week 4

Dearest 3C Parents,

Hard to believe that next week we will have be four weeks into quarter two!  I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend.  See below for some announcements and a preview into next week's lessons.  Also please see my previous post and email regarding field day.  We have one volunteer, but we would love a few more to help out our classroom that day.  E-mail me if you are interested. :)

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

Announcements

1.    Student will be taking the MAP test on Monday (Math) and Friday (ELA), our benchmark exams, to gauge how far they have come since the first of the year. Please ensure your scholar has a good night's rest and comes to school with a hearty snack. 

A Look in the Classroom

1.    Language Arts: In Literature we will follow Louis to the east coast and see how far he is willing to go to win the heart of his love, Serena. Grammar will be a review in sentence classification and diagramming with compound subjects and prepositional phrases. We will have a 20 word Spalding list. We will be reciting Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening on Monday, I will be sad to see the lovely poem go.

2.    Math: This week will be our final week of fractions! Students will lean two new concepts this week: fractions of a set and fractions and money. On Thursday we will have a cumulative assessment on this unit, which will also include concepts that we have covered from the beginning of the school year until now. Expect to see a B test coming home Wednesday night in preparation of this test. 

3.    Science: This week in science we have many exciting activities planned to help the students learn the concepts of pitch and volume. A study guide will be coming home Friday that is due Wednesday, February 8th. There will be an assessment on Thursday, February 9th on our sound unit.

4.    History: We will continue our study of the Vikings, beginning with a history of the infamous Viking raid on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and how different viewpoints can affect our own perspectives of history. We will turn our attention to the seafarers of Viking culture, examining the differences between a knorr and a longboat, and how the Vikings traded with other lands to supplement their own resources.

Tests and Quizzes

1.    Monday: Poetry Recitation

2.    Thursday: Math

3.    Friday: Spelling Test

Field Day!!!

Dearest 3C Parents,

Athletic field day is upon us!! We are so excited for this fun day ahead.  I had so much fun last year at this event and was really looking forward to this year's festivities.  Unfortunately, I will be out of town as I am in a friend's wedding that weekend and need to be in California on Friday for the rehearsal.  Therefore, Mrs. Geyer will be spearheading field day on her own.  I would love if 2-3 parents were able to volunteer to join our class and help out with the organization of kids and supplies (water bottles, snacks, etc) that day.  Please email me if you are interested in volunteering with our class that day from 12:00-2:30.  In addition to classroom volunteers due to my absence, our fabulous PE teachers would love some volunteers of their own to help run the events. See below for information about how to sign up for that. 

Please see a message below from Coach Rubino and Coach Steinmann for more information on this event. 

Athletic Field Day is Friday, February 17 from 12:00-2:30 for grades 3-5.  Each year classes are assigned a Greek City State for their team.  This year, our team is Crete, and our team color is blue.  There will be no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day.  Please send your child to school with a lunch.  

 

Volunteers for Athletic Field Day

In order to have Athletic Field Day run smoothly, we need your help!  Coach Rubino & Coach Steinmann need volunteers setting up and running the event.  Please sign up here to help with the events.  Also, we need a few volunteers for class to help with donating a cooler and snacks.  Please sign up here (insert link) to volunteer for our class.    

Athletic Field Day Attire:

Please have your child wear a blue color t-shirt that day.  Students may decorate their shirts with their team name and/or symbol of their Greek City State.   Students should wear athletic clothing free of pop culture references.  Sports team and brand logos are acceptable on clothing.  Athletic shoes are mandatory (any color).  Hats and sunglasses may be worn.  Sunscreen must be applied at home.  Please see pg. 52 in the family handbook for more detailed information.  

Quarter 3 Week 3

Dear 3C Parents and Families,

It was a busy 4-day week!  We really increased our knowledge of fractions, enjoyed our new novel, "Trumpet of the Swan", and enjoyed finishing up our Roman History unit.  There is much to look forward to in the weeks to come.  See below for an update.  :)

We are still in need to volunteers for reading and math groups!  Please sign up if you are available. 

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

• Reading groups are on Tuesdays from  8:0o-8:40  this quarter.  Please see the attached link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-reading1
• Math groups will continue to be held on Wednesdays from 12:45-1:45. Please see the attached link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-math1

A Look in the Classroom

1. Language Arts: We will have 30 Spalding words this week. Our Grammar and Writing Instruction will come together as we begin a hefty in-class writing project. In Grammar and Writing we will be placing focus on how to write a text-based opinion. In Literature we are enjoying watching Louis learn to play the trumpet and navigate the waters of a mute swan.
2. Science: This week we are beginning our next unit on sound!  This will be a very exciting unit that will include many hands-on activities.  We were lucky enough to use grant money to purchase new materials over the summer so we have many new and exciting tools to use for this unit.  This week the topics will include: what causes sound and the parts of the human ear.
3. Math:  Fractions are still on the agenda for this week.  This week we will focus on adding and subtracting fractions.  Additionally, we have a fun reader’s theater activity that will help reinforce the concepts of equivalent fractions and simplest form.  There will be a quiz on Friday which will including adding, subtracting, and finding equivalent fractions on Friday.  Look for a B test coming home on Thursday as preparation.  As the combined tests are long we will be completing part of it in class, but the remainder will be homework that evening.  You can also feel free to use the extra practice packet to prepare students for this assessment.  
4. History: The final assessment of our Rome unit is scheduled for Monday; we reviewed the study guide in class this past week and a Quizlet for the vocabulary has been created. We will begin our new unit - the Vikings! - on Tuesday, beginning with how we have learned about Norse culture through the extensive work of archaeologists. We look forward to starting this eagerly anticipated unit!

Assessments

1. Monday - Rome Test
2. Friday - Fractions Test and Spelling Test

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! 😀

Quarter 3 Week 2

Dearest 3C Parents,

We had a wonderful week back in 3C!  It was so great to get back in the swing of things and we learned so much.  Hope you all have a wonderful three-day weekend!

Best,

Mrs. Bowers

Announcements

• There is no school on Monday, January 16th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

A Look in the Classroom

Math: We will continue our journey through fractions this week. The students will be finding simplest form, equivalent fractions using division, and comparing and ordering fractions. On Wednesday we will be doing a fun-with-M&Ms fraction activity.

Language Arts: Due to the shorter week, we will have a 20-word Spalding list. We will continue following Louis in his adventures in The Trumpet of the Swan. In Grammar, we will read an article about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his incredible contributions to our country, as well as the proper use of titles, abbreviations, and conjunctions.

Science: This week we will be wrapping up our short unit on the nervous system. Students will be sent home with a study guide on Friday. Here is a Quizlet for the Science quiz, which will be held Friday, January 20th. Next week we will be learning about brain health and safety as well as reviewing the parts of the brain!

History: Students will continue to study the end of the Pax Romana, leading to the fall of the Roman Empire and its split into separate ruling entities. A study guide will be going home to prepare students for a quiz in week 3; a Quizlet will also be prepared very shortly.

Tests & Quizzes

Tuesday - Grammar quiz

Friday - Science quiz, spelling test

Quarter 3 Week 1

Dear 3C Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful break!  I am excited to get back to work on Monday and am looking forward to seeing all of my students again.  :)  Below is an update on what is to come this week!!

Best,

Mrs. Bowers 

Announcements

1.     We will dive right into The Trumpet of the Swan our first day back, please send your scholar with his or her copy. I do have several extra copies so please just let me know if your student needs to borrow one.

2.     The new year means a fresh start with new math workbooks! You will notice that we are going a bit out of order; while everything will be covered by the end of the year, we are starting with our fractions unit. I am sending home a packet of extra fractions practice with every student. While this is not required work, I wanted to give the option of additional exercise if needed.

3.     Our tutoring schedules have been adjusted for the new semester, please refer to the individual emails I sent for details.

4.     The third grade team will be sending home new reading logs this semester. They are similar to the ones we used last semester but we are no longer requiring parent signatures, instead students will be asked to answer one question per night about their current book. These reading logs are a great opportunity to check in with your student and support them in their comprehension.

• Reading groups are on Tuesdays from  8:0o-8:40  this quarter.  Please see the attached link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-reading1
• Math groups will continue to be held on Wednesdays from 12:45-1:45. Please see the attached link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4daead2fa2fb6-math1

A Look in the Classroom

1.     Language Arts: In Spalding we will have a 20 word list as we are having our January benchmark on Monday to monitor student progress. You will notice that your student will now have a reading comprehension test on the back of their weekly spelling tests. This assessment does not go into our gradebooks, but rather serves as regular gauge on the grade level comprehension ability of your scholar; the circled number at the bottom of the page is their current grade level performance in reading comprehension. In Literature we will start the quarter strong by diving into our new classic, The Trumpet of the Swan. We are greatly looking forward to following Louis and all of his adventures! In grammar we will be reviewing the 4 types of verbs as well as simple and complete subjects and predicates. In writing class we will begin a paragraph writing activity on our favorite winter break activities. Our idiom for the month of January is "Cold Feet" and our new poem (my personal favorite) Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

2.     Math: This quarter we will begin with an exciting unit on fractions! This week we will be finding equivalent fractions and comparing and ordering fractions. There will be a quiz on Thursday. Expect to see a B version of the test come home for homework on Wednesday.

3.     Science: This week we are going to start our unit on the nervous system. We will be discovering the different parts of the brain, conduct a short experiment, and depict the pathway a signal takes through the nervous system.

4.     History: Students will play a review game of what we covered before the break before jumping right into one of ancient Rome's most fascinating events: the destruction of Pompeii. It's the last hurrah before the end of Rome's glorious empire, as well as our Rome unit, as we'll begin studying the factors that lead to the fall of the empire and how it formed into new structures of power.

Assessments

1.     Monday: Monthly Spalding Benchmark

2.     Thursday: Fractions Quiz

3.     Friday: Spelling Test

Please reach out to me if there is anything I can help you with and welcome back!!