It has sincerely been a wonderful first two days of school. I have had the best time with your children! I also appreciate the donations that have been sent in and the volunteer help that you are willing to offer.

Almost every child turned their folder in today. That never happens! Thank you for your support with this. No GoMath or LA homework will be sent home throughout next week, but keep your eye out for the reading calendar. The required reading is twenty minutes each school night. They need to be turned in at the end of each month.

This is our schedule for the year:

-Mondays: 12:30- 1:30: P.E.
-Tuesdays: 10:30- Music
-Wednesdays: 10:00-Music
-Thursdays: 10:00-10:45- Art

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
email- marie.holmes@ironmail.org

Only 4 more weeks of school- It's so hard to believe! The following is an outline of the schedule for the rest of the year:

Reading/Language Arts- The 3rd Graders benefitted greatly from the lessons presented by Mrs. Eves' regarding narrative writing. The students are now working on a narrative writing assignment about our unit of study, which is "A Trip to the Moon". We are also working on the other components of the Daily 5.
Battle of the Books- During our read-aloud time, I have been reading the books from the battle list. We also have several students that have read the whole list and received a treat from Mrs. Marriott.
The students still have a chance to earn this prize.
Reading Celebration- Our reading celebration is scheduled for next Friday, May 1st. The author focus of the celebration is Mo Willems. The point of the reading celebration is to celebrate all of the reading the students have done during the year, along with giving them an incentive to do even more reading during that week.
Math- You've probably noticed that we've been moving rapidly through these last couple of chapters. We have recently finished chapter 10 (Time, Length & Volume) and are midway through chapter 11(Perimeter & Area). Our last chapter, which is 12 and will focus on 2 dimensional shapes. Thank you for your support at home.
Times Tables- Please continue to work on times tables with your child. I will be passing them off until the last week of school.
Unit Study-We have started our "Moon Unit". The students are having a ball and already know so much about this subject.
Mini Mall- I have promised the students that they can give the "Mini-Mall" another shot. I have tentatively scheduled it for Thursday, May 14th in the afternoon. The students can bring items from home to sell to each other.
Store- Our store will be winding down in the next couple of weeks. After that, I will let the students use their "sticks" to purchase raffle tickets. If any of you are willing to send in a prize to be raffled, that would be great. Some ideas: $5 gift cards, books, bags, beach toys & craft sets. Thank you for your continued support this year to make school a fun place!

Next Tuesday, March 31st, the 3rd Grade will be traveling to the west side of town to Diamond Z Arena for our district wide Farm Field Day. The bus will be leaving at 9:00 or so that morning and will bring the students back in time for lunch. That afternoon, we will have our Easter Party. The following is a list of those who signed up:

Plastic Filled Eggs: Amy Wittwer
Plastic Filled Eggs: Sandi Lunt
Plastic Filled Eggs: Robyn Ekker
Plastic Filled Eggs: Brynda Thomson
Plastic Filled Eggs: Tori Jenkins
Boxed Drinks: Lacey McGarvey
Boxed Drinks: Kim Holyoak
Boxed Drinks:

Thank you all for helping with our class parties. The students really enjoy them.

Our schedule has slowed down for the time being while we prepare for testing. The testing window opens April 15th and we will soon be making a schedule for the individual classes. I will let you know as soon as that is figured out. The following is the content that will be covered in the next couple of weeks:

Math- We are almost through with Chapter 8 - "Understanding Fractions". Chapter 9 will focus on "Comparing Fractions". Thank you for your help at home with the homework.

Times Tables- We have had a few students pass off all of their times tables. We will continue working on these until the end of the year.

Reading/Language Arts- Daily 5 continued. To address our 5 reading strategies, we are reading "Third Grade Angels" and "Fourth Grade Rats".  We are reading them in a guided reading setting while completing a work book. Comprehension and fluency are two components we are working very hard to improve. We are also looking forward to some special writing lessons by Rosalyn Eves, a professor at SUU and Andrew's mom. She will focus on narrative writing strategies. Mrs. Eves will be coming in on Monday and Wednesday mornings for the next couple of weeks.

Unit Study- We are still practicing our keyboarding skills three times a week. We have had to put off the moon unit a bit longer so we can get our testing practice in. More science and social studies lessons will continue as testing gets under way.

Music/Art/P.E.- continue as usual

Please let me know if you have any questions. I will be sending home a reminder of the Easter Party in the next week.

It's hard to believe that half of the year is over! Each student is working hard and making so much progress. Thank you for your help at home!

Math- We are getting ready to finish chapter 6 and move to chapter 7. Both chapters deal with division and the students seem to be understanding the concepts.
Times Tables- We are continuing times tables pass-offs. Generally, we are working on 3's, 4's, & 6's. Please keep drilling your child at home.

Reading/Language Arts- We are concentrating our efforts on writing since our writing SAGE assessment is so early this year. (February 10th & 12th) The students are finishing an informative writing on simple machines and will tackle opinion writing next.
Although we are mostly working on writing, we are still doing a lot of reading. All of our Daily 5 areas are covered each day. We are also reading "Third Grade Angels" as a class. The students are working on vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and much more with this unit.

Keyboarding- Yay! All of our 20 lessons are complete. We will still have keyboarding twice a week to keep up the students' skills.

Unit Study- We will soon be working on our "Moon Unit" as soon as our schedule slows down.

Art/Music- In music, the students are working on patriotic music along with the regular core standards. In art, the students have been working on graphic art and mural making.

Valentines Day Party will be on Friday, February 13th @ 2:30 p.m. The students are able to bring a valentine for each student if they wish.  (Please make sure they have one for each student.)Below, I will include a list of students in our class. I will also include the party sign-up list:

Valentines Sign-ups:

Sugar Cookies- Kim Holyoak
 (unfrosted,  one dozen heart-shaped from Lin's- will want to call ahead and order)
Sugar Cookies- Lacey McGarvey
Sugar Cookies- Brynda Thomson
1 container Pink frosting- Kris Slack
1 container White frosting- Amy Wittwer
Small candy for decorating- Sandi Lunt
Small candy for decorating- Rosalyn Eves
One gallon milk- John Jenkins
One gallon milk- Vicky Heiner

Our class:

Lydia
Aidan
Charlie
Madelyn
Andrew
Preston
Conner
Simon
Jace
McKinley
Jantzen
John
Kailoni
Koden
Dontay
Joshua
Katen
Tristan
McKay
Ariana
Bella
Gavin
Bladen
Brooklyn
Levi
Ammon

Christmas break will be here soon and we much to accomplish!  The following is an update on each subject:

Unit Study- For Social Studies we are learning about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. If any of you are knowledgable about how another culture celebrates Christmas (and you're willing to come in to present to our class) please let me know. I would love to have parent participation if possible. I can accommodate any time that will work for you. Also, on the Friday that school gets out for the break (Dec.19th), we will be having a pajama party. For the p.j. party, the students are allowed to bring one item such as a stuffed animal or blanket. During the afternoon, I would like to have  "Christmas Around the World" story time. If any of you would like to share any kind of Christmas story with the students that day, please let me know and we will schedule a time that works for you.

Keyboarding- There was no keyboarding number 8 homework, in case you were worried. Please encourage your child to continue practicing their keyboarding skills over the break.

Math- We took the chapter 4 math test today. Please watch for the results to come home. As always, corrections are accepted. Chapter 5 continues on with multiplication.

Times Tables- Students are struggling a bit with the 12's. If you could keep practicing those, that will really help.

Language Arts/Reading- Daily 5 as usual with an emphasis on writing.

Sing-Around-The-Tree: Everyday next week the students will sing Christmas carols in the gym for half an hour.

Christmas Party Sign-ups:

One dozen cookies- Amy Wittwer
(Any holiday type cookies will work)
One dozen cookies- Angie York
One dozen cookies- Kristen Woffinden
Boxed drinks-
Boxed drinks- Janna Davidson
Boxed drinks- Tori Jenkins
Holiday candies- Natalie Beacham
Holiday Candies- Brynda Thomson

Thank you!!


P.S. If your child received a Lifetouch class picture that you did not purchase, will you send them back. Apparently there was a big mix-up this year. Thank you!

It's amazing how time flies. Next week is our Thanksgiving Holiday. We will be holding school on Monday and Tuesday (Nov 24th & 25th). School will resume on Monday, Dec. 1st.

We will be focusing on the following items for the next few weeks:

Math- We just finished up Chapter 3 on Multiplication. If you have not received your child's test, it will be coming in the next day. If you would like to have your child make corrections and send them back, I will add the points on the progress report. Chapter 4 continues to focus on multiplication strategies. You will be seeing some homework come home that will have your child work on the "Distributive Property". This strategy is difficult for some students and will probably cause some frustration. Do what you can, and then just have your child complete it the traditional way if necessary. 

Times Tables- We are finishing up pass-offs on 5's, 10's & 11's. We will work on 9's and 12's next. Have your child show you the "9's" trick if they haven't already. 

Language/Reading- Daily 5 continues with an emphasis on writing. Continue reading at home, it makes such a difference. I would also suggest asking your child some comprehension questions during their reading, or at the conclusion of their reading time.

Keyboarding- Yay! Our Chromebooks arrived and we are off and running! Keyboarding homework will be coming home on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays. I will be sending lesson 5 today. The homework assignments end on 20, so hang in there! Please watch that your student is using correct home row position. If you have a questions, let me know. 

Unit Study- We have just completed our hands-on portion of our Simple Machines unit. Next we will work on an informational writing assignment that will express the learning from this unit. The "Step-Up-To-Writing" program will be used to help students organize their thoughts. I also like to use some "Four-Square" strategies to supplement.

Art/Music- Continue as usual- The students have been working on Michelangelo style drawings which require the students to paint upside down, reminiscent of the work he completed on the Sistene Chapel. It has been a marvelous learning experience for the students. 

Next Tuesday we will have our Thanksgiving Celebration the last hour of the day. The following is a list of people who have signed up for contributions:

Apple slices:

Chips: Amy Wittwer
Chips: Kim Holyoak

Cheetos: Angie York

3 cans of olives: Vicky Heiner

Cheese cubes:

One Jar of Pickles: Brynda Thomson

One Jar of Pickles:

Boxed Apple Juice: Tori Jenkins

Boxed Apple Juice: Lacey McGarvey

Boxed Apple Juice:

Plates:

Thank you for making our parties so fun!