Dear Parents,

Please make sure that your child is truly reading for 20 minutes each night for homework.  I will be encouraging students to read books at their comfort level this year.  I will also be encouraging them to try to read a variety of genres instead of the same type or same series of books all the time.  For instance, if they are reading Dumb Diaries books, they should switch after a few books and try some mysteries or perhaps something non-fiction.

Remember that Wednesdays are early out days.  Your child will be dismissed at 1:40 every Wednesday.

Be sure to sign up for PTA!  Tickets to all school functions are less expensive as part of the PTA.  Also, being a part of the PTA helps to support our school.

Here is a look at what we are doing this week in class:

Math – Students will be taking a test on chapter 1 this week on Thursday.  We will be reviewing on Wednesday. We have been learning how to round to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred.  Students then learned to estimate sums by rounding each number first and then adding them.  We have also learned some strategies for adding more quickly.  We have also learned to subtract two and three digit numbers more quickly using a variety of strategies.

Reading –
We are reading our Impact social studies book and learning some strategies that good readers use when reading non-fiction.  Students are given short quizzes every other day or so to check for their understanding as we read.

Writing – Students have written their first draft of a personal narrative.  They are learning about writing interesting leads this week as well as using dialogue to make their narratives strong and interesting.

Grammar – Students are using learned prepositions to identify.  They are also learning about nouns.

P.E. – We have P.E. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Computers – Our class goes to computer lab on Thursday mornings.

Library – Students need to bring their library books to school to be returned on Tuesdays.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to my classroom blog!  I hope you are finding the blog helpful.  Please keep reading for important dates, general information, and updates on what’s happening in our class.

Important Date:

APEX annual Fun Run will take place this Thursday!  Our class will start their run at 8:20.  T-shirts will be given to them in class.  Please consider making a pledge to help make this the best fundraiser yet!

Classroom learning for the week of September 9th:

Math – We are working on lessons in the first half of the first chapter in math.  We have been working hard on practicing a variety of strategies for rounding to the nearest ten and the nearest hundred.  This is often a tricky skill for third graders.  Your child may need extra practice at home.  We often have used a number line during class to help with rounding.  There will be a mid chapter quiz on Wednesday.

Reading – We are working on our stamina to read individual chapter books silently for longer periods of time.  We are also practicing the routine for reading to someone in our class.  One reading lesson we had this week and will apply to our social studies text is to Retell and Jump Back In if your mind wanders while reading.  We have also discussed the strategy of re-reading a portion of text when necessary.  We are focusing on looking for specific information to answer a question or two when reading expository text.

Writing – We have begun the first draft of a personal narrative.

Grammar – Students are memorizing a list of prepositions and learning to use them and identify them in sentences.

Spelling – Our pattern this week is the long o sound.  Spelling patters are _oe, oa, o, o_e, and ow.  Example words are toe, boat, most, home, and tow.

Social Studies – We are reading about communities in our new Impact Social Studies textbook.   Three types of communities are urban, suburban, and rural.

P.E. – Every Tuesday and Thursday we have P.E.

Computers – Students will have computer lab after lunch this Thursday due to the Fun Run in the morning.

Library – Every Tuesday students will go to the school library after lunch.

Dear Parents,

Every night, silent reading is assigned as part of homework.  Please make sure that your child is reading for at least 20 minutes.   Reading is very important and thus it is a part of their nightly homework.  I always tell them not to skip it as a homework assignment.  They also need to fill out their reading log on a nightly basis.

Dates to remember:
September 9th – Annual Apex Fun Run!  This is such an important fundraiser for our school.  Please do your best to raise some pledges for laps.  Turn them in to me or to the office first thing in the mornings.  There are some really cool prizes the kids can earn for pledges!

Here is look at what we are doing in class this week:

Math – We are learning how to round to the nearest tens and hundreds place.  We are also learning some strategies for mental math and common properties such as Commutative Property of Addition (you can add numbers in any order and get the same sum) and Associative Property of Addition (you can group numbers that are added in any way and get the same sum.  i.e. 2+(3+4) = 9 and (2+3) + 4 = 9).  There will be a quiz on the first half of chapter one on Tuesday of next week.

Social  Studies – We are learning what a community is and using that information to understand why people live in certain types of communities.  Students will write about their community and how they would describe it at the end of this chapter.

Writing – We are brainstorming ideas for our first personal narrative.

Grammar – Students will be memorizing a condensed list of prepositions and then practicing using them and identifying them.

Library – Library starts this week.  Our class will be going on Tuesdays after lunch each week.

PE –  Tuesday and Thursday afternoons

Computer Lab – Thursday mornings

We will be alternating Social Studies and Science this year.   We will be utilizing Mystery Science to teach the science standards this year.  It has fun and interactive lessons for the students!

Dear Parents,

August is nearing an end already!!  Where did that month go?  I have enjoyed the first full two weeks of getting to know your children a little better.  We are still finishing up with a few assessments but otherwise are academically in full swing.  P.E. began last week as well as computers.  P.E. will be every Tuesday and Thursday and Computers will be on Thursdays.  Our school library day is Tuesdays and our first visit to the library will be next week.

Important Dates:

Monday, September 2nd is Labor Day.  There will not be school on that Monday.

APEX Fun Run is coming!  The team will be on our campus starting next week.  This is a great way to earn much needed funds for our school.  Please be on the lookout for more information.  The actual run will happen on September 12th!

Color Days this week (dress in this color as much as possible):
Monday – Purple day
Tuesday – White day
Wednesday – Brown day
Thursday – Black day
Friday – Favorite color day

What are we doing in class this week?
Math – We are continuing to review rounding and will be learning mental math and break apart strategies for addition.

Reading – We will be reading some Kevin Henkes books as we discuss story elements and character traits.  Last week we learned our routine for Read to Self and are practicing building our reading stamina.  We will continue with that this week as well as expectations for Work On Writing.

Writing – Last week and the first part of this week, students have been learning the routines and expectations for Writer’s Workshop time.  It will consist of a mini lesson, work time and share time on an almost daily basis.  On Wednesday students completed a pre-assessment writing piece.  On Thursday we will be starting our unit on Personal Narratives.

Spelling – The spelling pattern this week is long a.  Spelling patterns are ie, ea, a_e, _ay, a and ai_.  There will be a test on Friday.

Vocabulary – Students are learning 5 new words.  They will know their definition, an example sentence using the word, a synonym for each word and an antonym for each word.  Words will be reviewed daily in simple ways and a fun review activity will take place this Friday.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a new school year and to room E6.  I am very excited about my new class of students and the opportunity to teach them this year.  I believe we are very much like a team for the year.  That team consists of myself, your child, and you!  Together I  know we can make a big difference in the life of your child!  Go Team!!

It was so great to meet so many of you at Back To School Night!  Thank you for coming!  If you were unable to be there, I will send home lots of  important paperwork with your child on Friday.  Please be sure to review everything and sign/return any pages requiring it.

Please make sure to sign up for Bloomz app as it will be my primary means of communicating with you. Be sure to read the instructions on the golden paper given to you at Back To School Night.

Kindergarten celebrates color days for the next two weeks.  Our whole campus joins them by dressing in the daily color!  Here is the schedule of colors to wear each day for the first week:
August 19- red day
August 20 – orange day
August 21 – yellow day
August 22 – green day
August 23 – blue day

Here is a look at what we will be doing in class next week:

Math – We are reviewing place value and using base ten blocks to get ready for lessons in rounding. We will be beginning training for math groups we will be engaging in.  This will allow me to meet with students in smaller groups to work on math skills.

Reading – We will be reading stories in our Wonders textbooks and focusing on describing characters and how their thoughts and actions affect the story.  We will also be practicing the reading strategy of visualization.  Vocabulary words will be introduced and we will practice using those words appropriately.

Social Studies – We are beginning our discussions about our location in the world.  To begin with, I want the students to learn their full address and phone number.  A study guide will be sent home on Monday.  Students will be asked to study this information all week for homework.  They will take a quiz on Friday.

Writing – Students will be learning the parts of a friendly letter.  We will look at an example of a friendly letter and practice writing one together before students will write one on their own.

Grammar – Students will be given a list of prepositions we will be memorizing as a class.  Students will complete activities using these prepositions.  In the next week or two, we will use this knowledge of prepositions to learn about prepositional phrases.

PE – Tuesday and Thursday
Computer Lab – Thursdays
Library – Tuesdays

In addition to all of this, we are still learning classroom routines!

Here is a link on Screen Time and handling boredom:

https://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/intelligent-creative-child/boredom-busters-good-for-kids

Dear Parents,

It is the time of year, once again, that I become a bit emotional.  I treasure your children and consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to teach them this year.  It is hard to say goodbye but I know there are many good things in store for them in fourth grade.

I strongly encourage you all to have your kids read every day over the summer and continue to practice multiplication facts so they don’t forget them.  Have them use a journal to practice writing for the summer.  Give them a topic to write about on some days and on other days, let them free write.  Allow them to share with you what they have written.  Use any of the workbooks I have sent home with the students as a way to review reading and/or science concepts.

Please go to my classroom blog at egusd.net/e6 and click on “links” at the top of the page.  Once on my links page, there are several math practice websites your kids can go to play multiplication games and take practice multiplication quizzes.  You can use math flashcards from the Dollar Tree as well.

Thank you for all of your support from home this year.  I will miss your kids and wish them the very best in their future.  They are welcome to come back to say hello and chat with me any time.

Dear Parents,

Please be aware of important dates below as we near the end of the school year.  Your children are currently working on final assignments that need to be turned in to be graded before report cards. I’ve been so happy to see them all healthy and at school every day so they can finish this very important work and be a part of a variety of fun activities!

Important Dates:
May 22nd – minimum day; dismissal at 12:30 for grades K-6.  Movie day right after dismissal for those who purchased a ticket already.

May 23rd – Multi-cultural Day at school

May 27th – no school; Memorial Day

May 31st – last day of school; minimum day

Tentative Schedule for the last week of school (subject to some changes):
Monday – no school
Tuesday – STEM activities/movie
Wednesday – Chocolate Day
Thursday – read-a-thon/game day
Friday – annual Staff vs. Sixth Grade kickball game; Memory Books, sign yearbooks, pictures, clean

Here is a look at what we are doing in class this week:

Math – We are practicing multiplication facts as well as subtraction with zeros and division.  Students will be solving performance task problems.

Science – We are learning about how long humans and animals can survive in space.

Grammar – We will be learning about pronouns.  We will also be practicing the four types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.  In addition, we will be reviewing the rules for when to use periods and for how to use apostrophes correctly.

Social  Studies – Students are finishing their national and local symbols packet.  They are also taking a test on these symbols.

Writing – Students are completing their narratives.  We will be doing some impromptu writing to review skills we have learned this year as well.

Dear Parents,

Please make sure your child is at school as much as is possible for the next two weeks.  We are testing some of the days but we are also finishing some important assignments that need to be turned in in a timely manner.

Important Dates:

Minimum Day:  May 22nd; dismissal is at 12:30 for grades 1-6.

Movie Day: May 22nd after school for those that purchase tickets by Wednesday, May 15th.

SBAC testing: Tuesday, May 14th and Thursday 16th; Monday, May 20th and Friday, May 24th

Report Cards – go home on Friday, May 31st

Last School Day – Friday, May 31st (a minimum day)
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Here is what we are working on this week:

Math – We will be finishing chapter 12 on two-dimensional shapes.  This included polygons and types of quadrilaterals (trapezoid, square, rectangle rhombus).  It also included intersecting and parallel lines, right angles, greater than right angles, less than right angles (the terminology we begin with in third grade), and combining what we know about shapes, fractions and area.
There will be a test on Wednesday this week.

Writing – Students are going through the writing process to write a narrative.

Grammar – We are learning about subject/verb agreement.

Reading –  We are reading poems.

Social Studies – Students are writing about various national and local symbols.

Science – Students are learning about traits and environment.  Our question will be whether humans and animals can survive in outer space.

Library – Books need to be returned to the library this week.  There will not be any more books checked out this school year.

P.E. – Students will have P.E. on Tuesday and Thursday.

Computers – Students will not have computer lab this week.

Dear Parents,

We are still busy little bees in our classroom learning and completing assignments and projects.  It doesn’t even feel like it is the end of the year yet.  The end of the year always bring a bit of sadness to my heart.  I do not look forward to saying goodbye to your children.  I have enjoyed our time together this year.  So … I am not going to think about it yet!  Read on and find out about all the important things we are learning and doing in class.

Mark your calendars:

Testing begins this week.  We will test on Tuesday and Thursday.  We will continue testing for the next two weeks after this one.  It is important that your child is well rested and has eaten a healthy breakfast.  It is also extra important for them to be at school on time for testing days.
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Here is a sneak peek at what we’ll be doing in the classroom this week:

Math – We are working in our final math chapter now.  Students are learning about plane shapes, types of angles, polygons and sides of polygons (intersecting, perpendicular and parallel).  There will be a mid chapter quiz this Wednesday.

Reading – We are reading Scholastic News this week.

Science – Students are learning about mosquitos and how to get rid of them or at least avoid getting bitten.  There will be a test this Tuesday or Wednesday.  Students are also beginning an animal research report.

Writing –  Students are writing a narrative using attention grabbing story starters and dialogue.  Their narratives will include story elements: setting, characters, problem and solution.

Grammar – We are studying subject/verb agreement.

Social Studies – We are beginning to research and write about national and local symbols.

P.E. on Tuesday and Thursday
Library on Thursday *note: this will be the last week for students to check out books at school

Dear Parents,

As we enter the month of May, we know the end of the year is coming but need to keep in mind it is not here yet.  There is still much learning happening in the classroom, tests being taken and assignments being completed.  I truly appreciate that your children are at school as much as they are.  I understand, of course, they need to stay at home if they are sick.  I’m hoping the sharing of germs will be kept at a minimum for the next several weeks!

Our last day for checking out school library books will be a week from this Thursday.  All books will be due at that time.  Please be sure your child returns all their books or, if necessary, pays for any lost books so that their report card will not be withheld.

Important Dates:
May 22nd – minimum day; dismissal at 12:30 for grades 1-6
May 27th – no school for Memorial Day
May 31st – minimum day for the last day of school

Here is a quick look at what we will be doing in class this week:

Math – We are continuing our work in chapter 10.  We have been learning about elapsed time, measuring to the nearest 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch, liquid volume and measuring mass in grams and kilograms.  There will be a test on Thursday.  We will then begin chapter 12.  In chapter 12 we will be learning about triangles, squares, rectangles, cylinders, angles and more!

Reading – We are reading Scholastic News articles this week.

Grammar – We are practicing with the four sentence types: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory.  We are also practicing with correct punctuation for dialogue.

Writing – Students are learning about narrative writing.

Science – We are taking a test on Wednesday of lesson 6 and will begin lesson 7 of our animal unit immediately after.  Next week, students will be assigned an animal research project which will be done in class.

Social Studies – We have been learning about physical features on Earth.

P.E. – Tuesdays and Thursdays
Library – Thursday
Computer Lab – Friday