Friday Newsletter

I can't believe it is already the end of October! This month has gone by so fast! This week was Red Ribbon Week. On Wednesday, we went to a great assembly at which the students were able to see a "drug dog" do a search for drugs. Some of the students had an opportunity to pet the dog. The officers that came to the assembly spoke to the students about the importance of staying drug-free. Today was "wear red" day, and it was neat to see many students come to school wearing red!

Halloween

Be sure to look for the note that Mr. Lowe sent in the Friday Folders about Halloween. The note reminds students and parents about costume rules. Besides the Halloween party on Monday, we will also be doing many different Halloween related activities. It is going to be a great day!

Picture Retakes
If your child was absent on Picture Day, or you are not satisfied with your child's picture, please be aware that picture retakes are on Tuesday, November 1st. There is reminder note in Friday Folders.

Canned Food Drive
C. R. Hanna is going to be participating in a food drive starting next week, and it is being turned into a friendly competition. There is a note about the food drive in Friday Folders. The food drive is optional. Please do not feel pressured to make a donation!

The Week Ahead
English: We will finish our unit about nouns! We will be having our test on Friday, November 4th. I will send a reminder note home early next week. The note will include recommended study pages. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this upcoming test.
Math: We will learn to conduct a survey, draw and read a pictograph, identify place value to hundreds, write three-digit numbers in expanded form, add two-digit numbers using mental computation, name line segments, and identify and make scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles. Make sure your child is practicing their math facts. They are getting harder and harder. If you feel that your child is struggling to finish the timed facts, try using flash cards with him or her. You can turn it into a game that they will enjoy. Flash cards can be purchased at many locations. I have seen them available at the dollar store, Walgreens, Target, and many more locations. Creating your own flash cards is also a great option.
Reading: My reading class will be reading and exploring a story called, Little Grunt and the Big Egg. We will discuss reality versus fantasy, how to self-question while reading, how to make predictions, open and closed syllables, and much more.
Science: We will continue our plant unit!
Social Studies: We will begin an exciting unit about The First Thanksgiving!

Please feel free to e-mail me at bcalcott@orionschools.us if you have any questions or concerns!
Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you for your support!

Friday Newsletter

Hello Everyone!
It was so nice to see all of you during conferences!
Next week is Red Ribbon Week. This week reminds kids just how important it is to stay drug free. We will be having a wonderful assembly given by the Quad City Area  MEG Unit (Drug Task Force). They will be bringing one of their "drug dogs" with them, which will be very interesting! On Friday, the students will be encouraged to wear red. I will remind the students on Thursday.
I will be sending the insect projects home next week, along with the scored rubric. I wanted to keep them in the classroom through conferences to allow parents the opportunity to see the wonderful work of the students in our class!

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue our unit about nouns. We are getting very close to the end of this unit. I will be sending a note home soon to inform parents about the upcoming test. It will probably be the first week of November. Some of the students are still finishing up their very first expository essay about Halloween safety tips.
Math: We will learn to count quarters, find half of a set of objects, add three or more single-digit numbers, tell and show time to five-minute intervals, identify a.m. and p.m., and identify the number of minutes in an hour and number of hours in a day.
Reading: My reading class will be reading and exploring a magazine article called, Wild Shots, They're My Life. It is a wonderful non-fiction piece about a photographer that grew up taking photos of animals on the Galapagos Islands. We will also discuss author's purpose, soft c and hard c, soft g and hard g, setting a purpose for reading, how to read non-fiction books, and much more.
Social Studies: We will continue our bullying unit. We have been focusing on respecting ourselves and others. We will continue this discussion into next week, and then move on to the teasing side of bullying. You may have heard from your child about a new anti-bullying system in our class called, "Fill a Bucket." If not, each student in the class has a "bucket" that sits on the book shelves in the reading corner. There are little slips of paper on which the students can write nice comments to each other. The point is to fill everyone's bucket with positive thoughts and feelings. Right now, the students are loving the concept and are filling out slips left and right! I am hoping this will instill a strong sense of community in our class!
Science: We will continue our unit about plants.

Again, thank you for coming to conferences. It is always nice to touch base with parents!
If there is anything that you feel we did not discuss at the conferences, please do not hesitate to e-mail be at bcalcott@orionschools.us.
Thank you for your continued support! Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Newsletter

Hi everyone! I hope you have all had a great week! We had a wonderful week in 3rd grade. Today Ag in the Class came to our room and did a lesson about how footballs are tied back to a farm. They also discussed the types of food your order at a concession stand, and how that is tied back to a farm! You may notice a small bag filled with random items in your child's book bag. This bag contains different items that are meant to remind the students that many things we see and eat at a football game came from a farm. We also did an integrated art project with fractions this week. The students were given a circle, and then told to make halves, fourths, eighths, and sixteenths. They were then required to form these fraction pieces into fish. They all turned out really cute. Currently, they are in the hallway.

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue our unit about nouns.
Math: We will learn to order three-digit numbers, list combinations, and write story problems for addition and subtraction number sentences. We will have our fact assessment for the adding 3, 4, and 9 facts on Tuesday. We will have our written assessment on Wednesday.
Reading: Since it is a short week, we will not be starting a new story. There is also no spelling test. Instead, we will be focusing on comprehension skills, sequencing skills, decoding skills, root words, inflected endings, making compound words, and much more! This will be a great opportunity to tackle some of the skills that the students need extra time practicing.
Science: We will continue our plant unit.
Social Studies: Will continue and possibly complete our bullying unit.

Pencil Shortage
Many of the students are starting to run out of pencils. I have been giving some of my extra pencils out, but am running low! Please ask your child if he or she is out of pencils (or close to being out of pencils), and send them to school next week. Thanks!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Remember, conferences are next week on Thursday and Friday! You can still sign up for a time slot by calling the office. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you!
Thank you for your support!

Friday Newsletter

What a beautiful week we have had! It was great that the students had these last few days of warm weather during recess. As cooler weather starts to set in, please make sure that your child is sent to school with appropriate outdoor clothing. With each passing day in the month of October, the students are getting more and more anxious for Halloween. There is an exciting energy in our classroom! Please remember that Donuts with Dad is on Friday, October 14th. The RSVPs for this event were due today.

The Week Ahead
English: We will continue our unit about nouns. We will also do some expository writing.
Math: We will be learning how to add multiple of 10 using mental computation, estimate the sum of two two-digit numbers, estimate, measure, and draw line segments using centimeters, and add a multiple of 10 to a number using mental computation.
Reading: My reading class will be reading a great narrative nonfiction story called, Balto, the Dog Who Saved Nome. We will also focus on some very important skill and concepts. We will learn what analogies are, how to make predictions, what the author's purpose is, how to decode words containing a root word and the inflection -ed, how to classify word relationships, and much more.
Science: This week, we started a unit about plants. We will continue this unit next week.
Social Studies: We will continue our bullying unit. I will be introducing some literature to go along with it. This week, the students made "Peace Plans" for our school. Some of the students have already presented their plans, and they are great! I am looking forward to hearing the rest of them.

There is a Scholastic Book Order in the Friday Folders. If you would like to place an order, please have it turned in by next Friday, October 14th.

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at bcalcott@orionschools.us.