ms-cs-blog

Saving the Rain Forest

Wed, 01 May 2013 04:11:31 +0100

Last week we celebrated Earth Day by focusing on our responsibility to help preserve the rain forest. Students felt very passionate that we should take action. They brought in unwanted toys to create an Estimation Jar. At the Spring Festival, participants paid 2 tickets to make a guess. In the end, there were 232 toys and Caiden in the 5th grade guessed it exactly! He won the whole jar of toys. We raised almost $300.00, which will be donated to the Nature Conservancy. We researched and learned that we could help preserve an acre of the rain forest for $50.00 an acre. That means we will help preserve 5 acres!

Also at the Spring Festival, one of our classmates, Geo, performed Native American dances. Geo really enjoys this type of dancing that shows his heritage. Check out how fabulous he looks in traditional Native American clothing with his brother and sister.

Cursive Handwriting

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:09:30 +0100

Last week I began teaching cursive writing to the students. There is a lot of enthusiasm about learning this. My guess is that they feel it is another step to growing up. Although teachers no longer require cursive writing in the older grades, it is good for fine motor development. In addition, students need to be able to read it. If they don't know what each letter is, they cannot read the words. Therefore, I'm spending about 10 minutes each morning introducing a new letter. They have a packet that they are currently working in and are very eager to practice.

Scootpad is Here!

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:45:44 +0100

In your child's Friday Folder, a Parent Welcome letter from Scootpad.com was included. This letter gives you information about how your 3rd grader can log onto Scootpad and how you can keep up with his/her progress. This is a new computer program for us, so we are all learning it together. It has math and reading practice for students to complete. In addition, I can assign assignments for students to work on. Students will enjoy posting on the "Class Wall' as well. Let me know if you have any questions!

Student Career Day

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:12:42 +0100

Friday, March 8th is the end of our unit under the theme How We Organize Ourselves. Students will be presenting this posters and dressing up to represent the career of their choice. Please join us starting at 2:45 p.m.

Students should dress up to the best of their ability for their career of their choice. They should not go out and buy anything, but instead they should get creative with the materials they have at home. Please let me know if you have any questions.

AR Quizzing and the End of the 2nd Trimester

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 04:34:14 +0100

Just a reminder to kids and to let you know that the second semester ends on March 1. This is the last day to AR quiz this trimester. On March 8 (this is the same day as our Student Career Day), we will be having the second semester awards ceremony. If your child is receiving an award at this awards ceremony, you will be notified next week. Again the categories are: Excellent and Perfect Attendance, IB awards (one boy and one girl per class) and Most Improved and Exceptional Achievement in Reading, Writing, and Math.
The time for this awards ceremony has not been announced, but will most likely be at roughly 9:15 a.m. again. This is not to be confused with our 3C assemblies where Ms. Heintzman draws from the box of 3C slips and students win prizes. Our next 3Cs assembly is Friday, February 22 from 2:15-2:45.

TCAP is Right Around the Corner!

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:27:06 +0100

TCAP is right around the corner!

Reading – February 26^th and 27^th

Writing – March 12^th and 13^th

Math – March 19^th-20^th

All testing will begin at 9:30am

Test-Taking Strategies

· Luck Isn’t Enough – Learn in the classroom and practice what you learn!

· Don’t Rush – Speeding through the test doesn’t help!

· Read Directions Carefully – They are there for a reason!

· Read the Questions First – Find out what you are reading for!

· Don’t Get Stuck on One Question –Going on and reading the other questions might help you figure out the answer to the question you are stuck on! But make sure to answer all the questions! Don’t leave any blank.

· Don’t Be Too Calm or Too Scared – although TCAP is a very important test, just relax and realize that all you need to do is apply what you have learned in class!

· Be As Neat As Possible – in order to grade your test accurately, people must be able to read it. Be Neat!

· Eliminate Wrong Answers – generally on most multiple choice questions, you can eliminate two answers that you know are incorrect! That gives you a 50% chance of figuring out the right one!

Help From Parents

· Make sure your child goes to bed early and gets plenty of sleep.

· Make sure your child has a healthy breakfast at home or school.

· Reassure your child that although this is an important test, there’s no reason to get stressed or panic. Just to try their best! Remind them that they have been practicing for this test since they were in ECE and Kindergarten.

· If your child wears glasses, please make sure he/she has them on when leaving the house.

· Make sure your child is ON TIME and ATTENDS school everyday!

How We Organize Ourselves End of the Unit Exhibit: Student Career Day

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:24:58 +0100

Mark your calendars for Friday, March 7 when students will be sharing their end of the unit projects for our current unit How We Organize Ourselves. Students will be presenting their projects showing their career choice, necessary education, and budget. They will also dress appropriately for their career. Please join us for another exciting end of the unit event! It will begin at 2:45.

Junior Achievement and Creating Healthy Money Habits

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 04:14:02 +0100

Today we had a great day with our JA teacher, focusing lessons about the topic "Our City." Lessons included city zoning, creating blueprints and construction, opening a restaurant, writing newstories and banking. I have a few photos posted in the photo gallery.

In addition, this week we have been focusing on the student question, "How did the boy get a lot of money?" This question came from looking at a picture of a young boy with money. As a result, we have been learning about creating good money habits, such as budgeting and saving, including earning interest. It is possible your child might ask you about opening his/her own savings account. There are some students who already have a savings account and they have been discussing how they earn money to put in their account. There has been a lot of interest around this topic. If you decide you will assist your child in opening a bank account, there is no school on Tuesday, February 19. Banks will be open on this day, so this might be a great opportunity for them to open an account and make their first deposit.

We will now focus more on creating a monthly budget and having an income to sustain that budget. This includes looking at different careers. Talk with your child about things you pay for each month and categorize each as a "need" and "want."

Morning Meditation

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:08:33 +0100

One of our parents, Cindy Koder, Haven's mom, has come in two times for about 10-15 minutes to teach our class some visualization strategies for relaxation and focus. The purpose to help students prepare their minds for a positive, productive day. I thought these would be great strategies for students to use any time, but especially as we head into TCAP testing. In our first session, she helped students visualize a "safe place" in their mind where they feel relaxed, happy and their best selves. Today students visualized letting go of negative thoughts and helped students warm up their bodies and minds with stretches. She will come in for two more sessions before TCAP is upon us. Students are really enjoying this warm up to the day.

Career Forum and Valentine's Day Information

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 04:13:34 +0100

On Thursday, we have 15 third grade parents share their careers with the third grade students. It was very interesting and a huge success. It was a great way to kick off our new unit called Money Makes the World Go 'Round under How We Organize Ourselves. Please head over the Photo Gallery to see photos from this event. A special thanks goes out to Heather Berg, Marinka Kartilija, Stephanie Ring, Tana Lucero, Kimberly Lemme, and Heather Holtzinger. They have students in our class and took time out of their busy schedule to share their careers.

I also wanted to bring your attention to the class list and Valentine's information that went home in the Friday Folder. I've also posted it in the Newsletter section of the website.