Ms. B. in Class

As we close out the last week of the year, I’d like to thank all of you for your continued investment in your student’s progress at school.  I know weekdays are long and weeknights are short.  Your student would not make the progress he or she is making without your continued classroom support.  Your time means the world to your student and to me.  Additionally, I’m personally thankful for the support you’ve given me.  You’ve stepped up time and again for themed events, classroom celebrations, and a Diet Coke when it has been a long day.  Words don’t adequately convey how sincerely thankful I am. 

If you did not receive your cookie request for the kid’s sugar cookies (decorating, not the ones you are baking for our cookie exchange), please let me know.  The original is here: Cookie Decorating.  We get what we get and we don’t throw a fit (as one student said last year.)

Spider-Man was a great success.  I really enjoyed hearing your kids tell me about their favorite Spider-Man.  I can’t wait until next weekend to watch it again with your students.

Thank you to everyone who has participated as a guest reader so far!  The kids love the different traditions and customs to which they are being exposed.  I hear them discussing it with their friends during partner talk and free time.  This type of learning is so meaningful.  If you would like to read and haven’t signed up, I can get you in! I may even have a book I can lend you (thanks to our librarian).

We will review those standards we’ve learned so far this year throughout this week, and will have time for unfinished work as we close out the semester.

We have five more themed dress days and Pajama day on Friday.

 

I can’t wait to see the rest of you next weekend! It is a great movie!

I will send a slip home tomorrow that I’ve detailed below.  I’m a little late on the rollout, but I wanted to share this with you.

Dear Parents,

Happy Holidays!  Just a few things to be mindful of as our Winter Break draws near.  Friday, December 21^st will be the last day of school before Winter Break.  School will not be in session December 22nd – January 6^th.  School will resume on Monday, January 7^th.

The next few weeks are an exciting time for all!  Third Grade will travel around the world to different countries to learn about different Holidays Around the World.   We will conclude our week on Friday, December 21^st  by decorating cookies in the morning and watching a movie in our PJ’s in the afternoon. Our class Cookie Exchange will also be held on this day.  (Don’t forget to send in 3 dozen cookies of the cookie recipe your child used in class.)

Since we are decorating cookies next week, it would be appreciated if you could help out with the following necessary items.  You may send in your item on or before Thursday, December 20^th.  This will allow us enough time to purchase items that have not been donated.

Thank you in advance for all of your support!   We wish all of you a happy and safe Holiday Season!

Happy Holidays,

Mrs. Boelter

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“Cookie Decorating”

This is a fun project that the students enjoy!  We are in need of the following items to make this project a success!  Your child is assigned to bring in the following marked item.

___Gumdrops ___ M&M’s ___Red Hots ___Hershey Kisses ___Gummy Bears ___Holiday sprinkles ___Holiday sprinkles ___Holiday sprinkles ___Holiday sprinkles

___ Sprinkles ___ Sprinkles ___ Small, Sturdy Plates (30) ___Small Bowls (12) ___Plastic Knives (30) ___ ANY other candy that can be used for cookie decorating ___ ANY other candy that can be used for cookie decorating

___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED) ___ Icing (2) (NOT WHIPPED)

 

___  I, ________________, am able to provide the marked item

ON   or  BEFORE  Thursday, December 20^th.

 

___  Unfortunately, I am unable to provide the following item at

this time but look forward to providing for a future project.

If you can bring the items I’ve marked for you, please let me know.  I look forward to enjoying this weekend and this week with your students!

Students have earned a technology day.  We will do this on Tuesday, December 11.

Expectations and Limitations:

• I am bringing in Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U.
• Students can bring their own devices, Tablets/Phones/iPods and use them for a designated period of time on a school appropriate app.
• Students will engage in this activity for a designated period of time and participation will depend on student behavior.
• Students who prefer not to bring in their devices can use their Chromebooks or rotate through the Wii station.
• Students will be chosen randomly for the Mario Kart Station.
• 4 students can play at one time.

Needs:

• If you have WiiMotes or controllers, the more the merrier.  The WiiMotes from the Wii or Wii U work with this system.
• We could also use AA batteries.  I have all of mine charging, but we’ll have a few more hands on them than I normally do.

Students earned this time through fundraising.  If you have any questions, I’m here.

Happy Holidays!

We do have a lot to do this week.  We will have guest readers and activities all week.  Remember we MAPs test on Wednesday again in the morning.  If you would like to send a note, please do!  The stationary I created for the our reading test is available here:  Testing Letter

Students can bring a snack for MAPs testing, but please no Doritos, Cheetos, or chips.  We use touchpads on the chromebooks, and the residue is hard to get off fingers and off  of the touchpads.

I made a Google Sheet Calendar to keep all of our activities organized.  You can view and comment here.  If I marked you down for the wrong date, please let me know.  If you’d like to come and read a book and we haven’t schedule a date, please let me know and I will get you added.  Click here to review:  Google Calendar Ms. B’s Class

In math, our class completed our time unit on Friday.  This week we will take a time assessment and start a unit on rounding.  In reading, we will work on referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers when reading informational text.  In writing, we will start to write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

Please remember that each day this week is a dress up day, but if not dressed for the themed day, students must wear their uniforms.

If you would like to meet with me regarding MAPs testing results next week, please reach out and I will do my best to get you in during our last two weeks before break.

Have a great week!  Thanks for all that you do.  Our classroom is a better place because we have amazing parents.

Homework for the week:  2018-12-10 Homework

I’ve collected data for Spider-Man.  Based on responses, I’ll take two groups.

These are the days and times I have scheduled for AMC Town Square:

• On Saturday December 15, I will go to the 11:00 show. 
• On Saturday December 22, I will go to the 11:00 show. 

I am reserving 15 seats per show, so please let me know which show your student can attend and I’ll add or remove numbers from the reservation.  You can drop your student off with me and pick them up.  The film is 1 hour and 56 minutes, so roughly two hours.

If you are dropping your student off, we should be out front by 1:05.  You are also welcome to join us.  If you are joining us, just give me a head count for ticket reservation.  🙂

Tickets are $5.29 on both days because they are matinee shows.

December 22 is a sensory friendly show.  If your student has sensory issues, this date would be better for them.

Thank you!

 

 

We are MAP testing tomorrow. Please send in your student well rested and well fed. If you would also like to send a non-greasy snack, students will have the opportunity take a small break and eat.

Good snacks:
Dried fruit
Veggies carrots and celery
Veggies and hummus (Ziploc)
Cheese
Seeds
(No nuts because of classroom allergies)
Granola/Energy bars

Also, if you decide to send chips make sure they are not greasy and do not have any powder on them (Cheetos, Doritos)

Finally, please send water if you can. : )

A letter to you and a letter that you can write to encourage your student is attached. 

Click me:  Testing Letter

Please send them an encouraging note.  I also put one in their GO Folders.

Ornaments

We will be making ornaments for our classroom tree. We glue fantastic items, candy, and colors to a ball, bell, or tree ornament and create an ornament that is all about us.  Students in the past have used pages from sports magazines or comics, cheerios, colored Rice Krispy treats, marshmallows, a boa, strips of a deconstructed baseball, and material from an old dress.  The sky is the limit.  🙂

If you could send these in with your student by Thursday in a ziploc bag, I’d be most appreciative.  I only need the items, I’ll work with them on how to get them onto the ornament here in class.

We are doing so many things!  All of the things are being done!  This is actually quite true.  Please accept my sincere apologies if we bombard you with thoughts, lessons, ideas, home incorporation of in school concepts, and a whole lot of learning.

Things I need from you…please and thank you!  I mean the thank you now, too, and then.  Without you, this doesn’t work.

• A cookie recipe.  (Trust me, I do not care if you make it.  You can print off one from the internet for chocolate chips or oatmeal and bring in store bought cookies.  Only bake if you love baking.  You have enough on your plate).  But, if I don’t get a recipe from you by around Tuesday, I’ll likely pick some recipes for the students and we’ll get the project running.
• Would you like to come read to our class?  Some of you have already done this, but it really does help me plan for day in which parents or grandparents will be in to read.  There are only three or four questions…. maybe five, but two of them require one word answers, and there are multiple choice options.  Please do this.  🙂 Just click on the link and you can sign up and help me better know your family traditions.  Holiday Questions
• Spiddddermaaaaan.  I’ve had a few folks say that the 15 works for them and the 22 does not work for them.  Please let me know which days are best.  I’m happy to go to this movie twice with your students.  Spider-Man… Which Day?

Classwork:  This week, my class will complete Informational Text Compare and Contrast standards.  We have completed telling time to the minute and will work on calculating elapsed time through a few different strategies.  We know that one strategy works better for all of us, but we do ask students to dip their toe into even those they may not like as sometimes we find the best one for us in that pond.  We will review concepts learned in this unit throughout the year, but the end of explicit instruction will be this week.  In writing, we are making our way through our first guided performance task and students will complete a second one on their own this week.

As we get closer to more and more holidays, I will do my best to tie activities to the themed days chosen for us.  Those days are:

Homework for the week (note, this is the paper pack.  Students who do digital homework receive a one page log on which they can log which programs they are using to complete their homework.  If anything is unclear, let me help you. )

Weekly Homework

You may have noticed that I sent home a flyer about bringing in a cookie recipe yesterday.  Please send a cookie recipe in with your student as soon as possible, so that we can start this project.  Thank you! Winter Cookie Exchange

We will be celebrating the holidays in our classroom and the focus of that celebration is kindness.  To make sure to include all families and cultures, please read and respond to this form  I’d love to have you come into class and read your favorite holiday book if you would like to join us.

Just click on the link and you can sign up and help me better know your family traditions.  Holiday Questions

We will complete our first winter MAPs test next Wednesday.  We will likely take the next text on Tuesday, December 11.  Please make sure your student gets plenty of rest on those days.  Thank you!

Welcome back parents and students! I hope everyone is well rested and ready to get to work.

This week, we’ll jump back into our time curriculum in math.  Please continue to practice math facts with students.  We will work on reviews and rotations with multiplication and division, but it will no longer be the focus of our daily math lesson.

In reading, we will work on comparing and contrasting the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.  We’ll do this by continuing to compare and contrast Indigenous Native American tribes.

Students will still be able to complete digital homework, but will have the option of completing paper homework as we have always done.  ALL students must complete nightly fluency.  Students should complete the reading log or work on Lexia or Freckle for at least 15 minutes per night.  I’ve attached our weekly homework packet here.  2018-11-25 Homework

I am looking forward to seeing all of your student’s faces!

I’ve had a lot of amazing parents ask what we need in our classroom.  I’ve made a page about what we need in our classroom here:  Class Items.  Please do not feel obligated.  When I’m asked, I’m not always good at remembering or articulating what we could use and how we would use it, so I figured this would be easier.

Thank you!