March 25th

Happy Monday!

Classroom News...
We will have a spelling test and vocabulary quiz this Friday.

Our next field trip is to Sawgrass Park on Tuesday.  Please make sure your child has a consumable sack lunch or has already let Sage know that they need a sack lunch.  We will eat at the park.  This trip will launch our next Science unit and project.

The children are learning to write to a prompt to practice for the WrAP test that will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

We are continuing to read The Whipping Boy as a class novel and focusing on using context clues to gain meaning from this text.

School Happenings...

Children in the third and fourth grade will be taking the WRap (which is a "standardized" writing assessment independent schools administer) next Tuesday and Wednesday morning. It is very important that your child arrive for the start of school - 8:00AM. At this time of year, especially during testing, we think it would be best for our third and fourth grade students if parents said their goodbyes to their children outside of the third and fourth grade corridor. In the north breezeway is better, instead of walking the children to their lockers. Used Clothing Drive One of our former students is collecting clothes. Please read note below: "My name is Jessica J. and I am in seventh grade. My father goes to Jamaica every year to do charity heart surgery on children with congenital heart disease with the mission group Cardiac Kids Foundation. I am doing a clothing drive to collect clothing from the students in Lower Division for the less fortunate children in Jamaica. I am asking the children (with their parents' help) to go through their closets and look for any gently used or new items that don't fit them, such as clothing, shoes, socks, hats, and accessories. Think of it as spring-cleaning with an act of kindness attached to it! Students can put the clothing items in a bin by the LD office labeled "Jamaica Cardiac Mission". Since my father leaves on April 1, the clothing drive will be completed by Friday, March 29, so he can bring the clothes with him on the surgery mission. Thank you! Relay for Life is next Friday, April 5. Teacher Appreciation Day is April 10. You will be receiving more on this event from your grade level representatives. Celebrate the Arts is the week of April 15-19.  On April 19 we invite you to the children's Celebrate the Arts performance at 11:00AM. This share will be followed by a picnic lunch with your child. (LUNCH ORDER FORMS ARE GOING HOME TODAY.) The children are expected to sit down and eat lunch. They will have recess at another time during the day. Please don't let your child run around or play on the playground. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

March 18th

Welcome Back!
I hope everyone had a restful and fun Spring Break.  My daughter's wedding was the highlight of my break.  Cherish every moment with your little ones.  They grow up so fast!

This week we are back on track with our vocabulary words.  They are: diagram, frustrate, frustrating, graduate, prank, primary, risk, risky, stress, urge, vacant
We will test on these words Friday, March 29th.
We will have a spelling test this Friday as well as a math test.  Spelling homework this week is a little different.  Your child needs to "Get to 50" by selecting items from the list I sent home to help them learn the spelling words.  The assignment should not be turned in until Friday.  The Friday reading sheet is also due that day.

We began a new class novel today called The Whipping Boy.  It involves much vocabulary that requires the children to use context clues to determine the meaning of the word.  I am going over each chapter with them and discussing the book along the way.  Please be sure to ask your child about this class novel.

This week we are celebrating Reading Week.  On Tuesday we will Drop Everything and Read in the morning.  If the weather permits, we will go outside with our blankets/towels and enjoy this special time outside.  Thursday we have a guest author visiting, and Friday is Oldie Goldie!  Fun!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

March 4th

Happy Monday Everyone,

I'm so proud of my class!  They work hard in every subject area, and they put on a great show last Friday!  All the third grade classes worked very hard to put on the show.  Bravo!  Also, the cake was not only beautiful, it was yummy!  Thank you to everyone for helping.

This week we are trying to "get back to normal". Of course, that's hard to do with Field Day on Thursday and Spring Break starting on Friday!  We will wait until after the break for new vocabulary, but we will have a spelling test this Thursday.

We are publishing our realistic fiction stories this week in writer's workshop.  The students are also finishing their partner reader books in reading workshop.  We are continuing to work with angles in math as well as symmetry this week.  In science, we will explore how adding weight will effect our "cars", and in social studies we are discussing the Plains Indians.

Your child has been assigned a color for field day.  He/she should wear that color shirt if possible.  I'm sure they will have a fun day!

Reading Week begins on the Monday that everyone returns from Spring Break.  We are kicking off the week by encouraging children to wear something that represents their favorite book character.  The children will be able to see one another's costumes at Town Meeting that morning!  Please be creative, and not feel the need to purchase anything.  Oldie Goldie will take place that Friday.  We need books donated to help make this a success.  Maybe there is a little time during Spring Break to do some spring cleaning of the bookshelves.  :-)

Once again, thank you for all you do to help make third grade a successful year for your child.
Wishing you all a wonderful week and a happy, safe Spring Break!

Ms. Mitchell