Good-bye 2008...Hello 2009!

Snow Day!

I hope you all enjoyed our snow day! Thank you to everyone for a great first half of the year! I am looking forward to a lot more fun and learning in the new year! I wish each one of you a happy, exciting, and relaxing winter break, full of laughter, love, friends and family. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful group of students this year! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Upcoming Events:

*Monday, December 22: No School for 2 weeks: Winter Break!

*Mon. Jan. 5th: Welcome back to school and Happy 2009!

*Thurs. Jan. 8th: Social Studies: Culture Day Report

*Friday, Jan. 9th : 4's multiplication timed tests

A LOOK AHEAD:

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Reading: We will focus on summarizing when we return from school. Also, your child received the rubric and instructions for the book project for Jan/Feb. The genre focus is Animal Fiction or Mystery and the project is to make a book mobile. The due date will be Thursday, Feb. 26th. I handed out the information in case your child wants to get a start on reading the book. Since I might not be able to see their book of choice before the break, please make sure your child is reading a book at the appropriate reading level (not too easy or too difficult). Thanks!

*English: We will focus on friendly letter writing and reviewing grammar and punctuation when we return from break. I will be holding the students accountable for writing in complete sentences in their daily work and applying all of the grammar and punctuation rules we learned into their writing.

*Spelling: We will be on list 14 when we return. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday. Tests will be done in cursive from now on. A packet will be sent home Monday to be completed and turned in on Friday. Thanks!

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: We have finished our inquiry unit. There will NOT be a final, cumulative test. We will begin a new unit the week of January 12th.

*Social Studies: The students will continue Ch 3 on culture and immigration following break. We will celebrate our cultures on Thurs. Jan. 8th. Your child will be sharing their presentation about their culture this day. Please see the yellow handout for more details and guidelines. We will review and prepare for the chap. 3 test, which is scheduled for Tues. Jan. 13th.

Mrs. Olsen's Math:

*Math: We are finished with our money unit. We will focus on time when we return from break. Please study multiplication facts over break. We will begin the 4's times tables on Mon. 1/5 and the timed test will be on Fri. 1/9. Thank you!

Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year! See you in 2009 =)

Mrs. Olsen

December 15-19

Odds and Ends

*Bowling Field Trip: We will be going bowling on Monday, 12/15 from 9 -11 am. We will be having lunch back at school that day. If you would like your child to get a small treat at the bowling alley, please send them with a few dollars to school that day. Keep in mind it will be early and we will be having lunch when we get back, so please don't have your child bring too much money! Thanks!

*Holiday Celebration: Instead of a classroom holiday party, the school will be viewing Jim Carey in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the Tivoli Theatre on Fri. 12/19. We will be eating lunch in the classroom that day, but hot lunch will be available. Thank you! What a fun treat for all!

*THANK YOU! Thank you to each of you who donated gifts for our "adopted" family and the family shelter. We were able to collect so many gifts (see blog: Service Project for a complete list of gifts). Your kindness and generosity made the holidays bright for so many people. Thank you!!

* Volunteers Needed: Ms. Stainman needs parent volunteers to help tie roller skates during PE classes for third grade. She needs help the week of January 8-January 22. You can come as many or as few of times as you want and can go into any other class or your child's own. We have gym from 1:35-2:00 everyday. You can email her at tstainman@ccsd66.org if you are interested. Thanks for your help.

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Mon. 12/15: 9-11 am Bowling Field Trip

1:15: Holiday Concert

*Wed. 12/17: Reading: Non-Fiction Book Report Due (design your own book cover)

*Fri. 12/19: Holiday Field Trip to Tivoli

Social Studies: Culture Day Idea sheet due today. Culture Day will be Thurs. 1/8/09

*12/22-1/5: No School: Winter Break: Happy Holidays! See you back at school on Jan. 5th 2009!

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Reading: We are working on connections and making text to text, text to self, and text to world connections as we read a variety of stories. We are also working to apply all of the strategies we have learned so far as we work in book groups. Don't forget, the non-fiction book project is due Wed. 12/17. Your child needs to make a book cover for the book they read. Please see the rubric to see the exact requirements. If your child needs paper, please have them see me. Thanks!

*English: We finished our nouns unit. We will be working to finish DOL, which covers Unit 5: Grammar and Punctuation. We will be working on creative writing this week as well.

*Spelling: Due to the shortened week, we will not having spelling this week.

We will focus on word work instead.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: The students are working hard on learning about scientific inquiry and the scientific method. I have decided that I will NOT have a comprehensive test covering this material. We will finish up this chapter next week with an open book review on the scientific method. We will work with the vocab. and concepts next week to prepare.

*Social Studies: We are busy working on Ch. 3. We will work on lesson 3 and lesson 4 before break. We will not be testing BEFORE break, but we will finish the unit and take the test after break. I sent home information regarding Culture Day, which will be on Thurs. Jan 7th. Please review this information with your child. I hope this will be a fun project sharing family stories, history, and tradition!

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students are hard at work learning to count back change. I will focus on adding and subtracting money next week. We will have a graded "checkpoint" on Thurs, covering what we learned about money. We will then begin time when we return from break. Although time and money are in the same chapter, I will be testing the concepts separately. We will also work multiplication next week, focusing on the 3's. The timed test on 3's will be on Thurs. 12/18 since we will not have math on Friday due to the field trip. Thank you for all of your hard work practicing these concepts at home!

I appreciate all of your support this year! Thank you for helping your child succeed!

~Mrs. Olsen

Important Intramurals News!

Does your child like to play on scooters, or with a parachute, or sports games? Then intramural games is for them! Intramural games will begin after the winter break for all 3rd grade boys and girls who want to participate. This is a before school activity from 6:45-7:45 a.m. Permission slips are given out by Ms. Stainman and are due to her by Friday 12/12. Mrs. Cushing and Mrs. Csorba will be running this program. If your child signs up, they'll be given a schedule before the winter break.

Dcember 8-12

Odds and Ends

*Holiday Service Project: We are still collecting gifts for our "adopted" family and the children at Family Shelter Services. Please see my previous blog entry (titled Service Project) to see an updated list of what my class and Mr. Trinco's class have collected so far. The last day to turn in gifts is Wed. 12/10. I will be shopping this weekend for this great event!

*Scholastic Book Order: Holiday book orders were due in the classroom today,but its not too late to order online. I will be submitting the order tomorrow in hopes the books can be delivered before winter break. Thank you for ordering...it helps our classroom earn free books!

*Tivoli Theater Field Trip: Replacing classroom holiday parties this year is a school wide field trip to the historic Tivoli movie theater in downtown Downers Grove. We will be seeing Jim Carey in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Please send in $3 and the permission slip asap. Thanks!

*Bowling: Third grade gym classes will be going to the bowling alley on 12/15 as an extension of their bowling unit in class. This is a free trip. Please send back the permission slip to allow your child to attend. On the day of the trip, you can send your child with a few dollars to buy a snack at the bowling alley. We will be going in the morning before lunch, so please do not send them with too much money. Thank you!

*Thank you PTO! The students and teachers enjoyed a great assembly called "The Wheel of Wisdom", which was a game show for the students. We had a lot of fun cheering each other on and answering trivia questions. Thank you to our wonderful PTO for providing this fun event.

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Fri. 12/5: No School

*Wed. 12/10: English: Unit 2 Nouns Test

Last day to turn in gifts for Service Project

*Fri. 12/12: Spelling: List 13 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

Thank you to all of the parents who I met with for parent-teacher conferences. It was so great to talk about your child's progress so far this year. If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to call or email me. Thank you for being my "partner in education" and making this a successful year for your child!

*Reading: We will begin to focus on a new strategy next week...making connections. We will be reading The Mysterious Giant of Barletta. We will also begin book groups as we read chapter books to apply all of the strategies we have learned so far. Don't forget...the non-fiction book project of making a book cover is due Wed. 12/17. Thanks!

*English: We will review Unit 2 on nouns Mon. and Tues. The final test will be on Wed. 12/12. Our next unit will be finishing up Unit 5 (which we have been learning through DOL (daily oral language) and narrative writing.

*Spelling: We will be working on List 13 this week. We will have a pretest on Monday and the final test on Friday. This list focuses on the past tense of final y words.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: We will continue to work on science inquiry with the scientific method. We have made vocabulary flashcards...please have your child review them at home. Thanks!

*Social Studies: We will continue reading Chapter 3. Our next focus, lesson 3, is on early immigration to America. This is a great chapter to learn more about each other's culture and heritage. We will be having a "culture day" in Social Studies when we return from winter break. Be on the lookout for a culture day project letter coming home soon!

Mrs.Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students have been working on counting coins and comparing money amounts. We will begin working on counting back change from $1, $5 and $10. Please reinforce this concept at home in real world situations. Have your child help count back change at the store and look at ads and see how much money they should get back if the paid with a $1, $5, etc. We will also be working on 5's multiplication all week. The 5's test will be on Friday, 12/12. Thank you for helping your child practice with flashcards, practice tests, and more!

**Check out some money games below! Just click on the name and you can play the game! Learning is fun!!**

Thank you for checking out my blog this week. I hope your child enjoys the long weekend and playing in the SNOW!

= ) Mrs. Olsen

Service Project Updated Wed. 12/10

Hello~

Mr. Trinco and I wanted to keep an updated list on our blogs of what items we have received for our adopted family this winter. So far we have the following:

Family:

Gingerbread cookie kit ( no baking required)

family sized popcorn tin (3)

Wal-Mart Gift Card

Game Plan DVD

Night at the Museum DVD

Polar Express DVD

Microwave Popcorn

12 Dogs of Christmas DVD

Fiber One Chewy Bars

Jewel Gift Card

$10 KMart Gift Card

9 year old boy:

Transformer Movie

Monopoly Game

hat and gloves

Matchbox cars

nerf basketball hoop & ball

Bulls Hat

Sorry game

7 year old boy:

Pokemon game

Hat and Gloves

100 piece puzzle

spiderman pen

spiderman add/subtract book

robot coloring/activity book

Pajama's

Magna Bug

Puzzle

Bear Stays Up for Christmas book

11 year old girl:

High School Musical Phone

20 Questions Game

Bath and Body Products

long sleeve shirt

high school musical photo album

Sorry game

Wal Mart gift Card

7 month old boy:

Stackable Ring Toy

bib

blanket sleeper

Snappy Little Christmas Book

Dad:

wallet

dresser organizer

Mom:

photo album

picture frame

Pull over fleece

Candle

Picture Frames

Remember...the last day to turn in items for this fantastic project is Wed. Dec. 10th!

Thank you for your kindness and generosity!

Mrs. Olsen and Mr. Trinco

December 1-5

Odds and Ends

*Conferences: This week will be a time to meet with your child's language arts teacher. Please be on time for your conference...they are scheduled every 15 minutes and time is precious. Thank you!

*Service Project: We are still collecting for our service projects. We will be collecting gifts until Wed. 12/10. So far we have collected gloves and a winter hat. Thank you!

*Scholastic Book Order: Books just in time for the holidays! The book order is due online or at school on Friday, December 5th.

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Thurs. 12/4: Spelling: List 12 Test

Reading: Grandma's Record Vocab and Comprehension Test

*Fri. 12/5: No School

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*Reading: We will continue the self questioning strategy as we explore author's purpose and read the story Grandma's Records. This book talks about old records and dancing. If you know anyone who professionally dances and would like to show our class some steps, please email me. Thanks!

*English: We will continue nouns (singular and plural possessive nouns). The test on Nouns (unit 2) is tentatively scheduled for Mon. 12/8.

*Spelling: We will be on List 12 this week. Due to the shortened week, there will not be a pretest. The final test will be on Thurs. 12/4. The packet will be due on Thurs. as well.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are working on scientific inquiry and the scientific method. We will do another bubble experiment in class.

*Social Studies: We will continue to read Ch 3 and talk about immigration and culture.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*We are working with money in math class. We will begin counting back change next week. This is a tricky concept and it is very helpful if your child practices this as much as possible at home. Have them "pretend" to buy things they see in the ads with $5 or $10 and count back the change they should receive. There are also a lot of games online to practice this skill.

Thank you for checking my blog this week. I hope your break was as fun, relaxing, and delicious as mine was! See you in December!

Mrs. Olsen

Scholastic Book Orders

Hello!

Just wanted to let parents know that I have updated the scholastic book orders online. Paper order forms will be sent home with your child tomorrow. I will be taking orders until December 5th. Hopefully the books will make it in time before we break for the holidays. If you would like the books to be kept at school and picked up by you rather than sent home with your child, please email me or send a note and I will keep them hidden in my classroom until you can pick them up. If you want to safely and securely order online, go to www.scholasticbooks.com and use this information to log on:

Class User Name: OlsenBooks

Password: Books

Thank you!

Mrs. Olsen

November 24-28

Odds and End

*Character Counts Gives Back! The Prairiview staff and students have a yearly tradition of giving back to the community at this time of year when we have so much to be thankful for. A note was sent home this week about our service project (on pink paper) As a class, we have "adopted" a family who has a child with cancer. Due to financial struggles and spending the holidays at the hospital, we are going to help to make their holidays special. Here are the ages of our family:

9 year old boy (cancer patient)

11 year old girl

7 year old boy

7 month old boy

Mom

Dad

Please send any new, wrapped items (labeled with a sticky note with the name or age of person the gift is for and what it is). We will then collect the items in the classroom and it will be delivered to the family before the holidays. I will keep items we receive posted so we can see what family member needs what and to avoid doubles.

Also, we are sponsoring a local service called Family Services. This is a safe haven for families of domestic violence. Please send in any new coats, hats, mittens, or toys UNWRAPPED to school. We will then deliver them to the center where the items will be used in the Holiday Shoppe where parents can shop, free of charge, to help make their children's holidays bright.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness with these special projects!

*Operation Crayon: An email notice was sent out and a note was sent home with your child today explaining that Operation Crayon has been cancelled due to the fact that we have 2 other service projects to focus on this month. Thank you for your understanding!

*Don't forget...Yearbook orders are due Monday, December 1st! Get them now before its too late!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Mon. 11/24: Scholastic Book Orders Due: order online or send in book order

*Wed. 11/26-11/28: Happy Turkey Day! No school! Enjoy the holidays with friends and family!

Monday 12/1: Welcome back to school =)

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Conferences: Thank you all for replying back about conferences. I look forward to meeting with you the week of Dec. 1st.

*Reading: We will continue to work on self questioning and The Keeping Quilt. If you know anyone who quilts or quilt yourself and would like to share your knowledge and talent with the class, please let me know. We would love to have you in our classroom Monday or Tuesday.

*English: We will work on point of view writing as we write our silly turkey stories. These will be fun to share with family at Thanksgiving!

*Spelling: There will be no spelling next week.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: We will continue scientific inquiry. Remember, you can log on at home to view our science textbook. What a great way to review!

*Social Studies: We will continue to work on Ch 3 as we discuss immigration and culture.

Mrs. Olsen's Math:

*Math: We will be working on money problems and addition and subtraction problem solving. Please continue to practice subtraction facts. I will send home some practice sheets for your child. I would like them to all pass the subtraction fast fact before we our Thanksgiving break!

Thank you for reading my blog this week. I wish you and your family a wonderful, relaxing, and safe holiday break. I am so thankful for such wonderful students and great families this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble, gobble =) Mrs. Olsen

November 17-21

*Odds and Ends*

*Thank you to the following students ( and families!) for bringing in healthy treats for our Health Fest: Angela V., Jake B., Molly M., Kayal S., Grace S., and Alex P. ! The kids enjoyed them very much and found some new snack options for home!

*Thank you for bringing in your gently used books for our Book Worm Angels. The drive ended today and the school collected a huge pile of books that will find new homes in many schools and homes of children. Thank you!

*Announcing Prairieview 2008-2009 Yearbook. Order your yearbook today!!! The cost of the yearbook is $10.00 and make payments to Lifetouch. Order deadline date is December 1, 2008. No orders will be accepted after that date. Parents just a reminder-- Prairieview yearbooks are not paid for at registration. Please place your order now. Yearbook order forms went home with your child on November 13th and there a few extra envelopes available; please try not to lose them. If your child loses it, you can send an envelope with the following information on it: student’s name, teacher’s name and grade level along with a check made payable to Lifetouch for $10.00. It is very important that you put the information on the envelope; Lifetouch does not know who your child’s teacher is. There will be a limited supply in June. Order Today!!!

*UPCOMING EVENTS*

*Tues. 11/18: Social Studies: Downers Grove and Chapter 12 Test

*Wed. 11/19: Math: Chapter 4 Test

*Thurs. 11/20: Math: Subtraction Fast Facts count for grade

Math: Coins brought to class for Ch 5 unit

*Fri. 11/21: Reading: The Keeping Quilt Vocab and Comprehension Review

Spelling: Thanksgiving Words Test and "Give me 20" Due

*A LOOK AHEAD AT NEXT WEEK*

Mrs.Olsen's Language Arts Block

*Reading: We began a new strategy of self-questioning as we read. Good readers ask themselves questions before, during, and after they read to better understand and connect with the text. We will first focus on author's view point as we read the story The Keeping Quilt. If you are or know a quilter who would like to come to our classroom and show us the steps of quilting and some of the quilts they made, please email me. We would love a visitor to help make our story come alive!

*English: We are working on nouns. We will continue to work on this as well as descriptive/point of view writing next week. We will be writing a Thanksgiving story from the turkey's point of view.

*Spelling: We will be working with thanksgiving spelling words next week. There will not be a pretest and the final test will be on Friday. This week's spelling packet is a "Give Me 20" sheet. The students choose a variety of activities from the worksheet that each have a different point value. They need to complete 20 points worth of work and it will be due Friday. Thank you and have fun!

*Conferences: I sent home conference confirmation sheets and have heard back from most of you. If you have a conflict, please email me, otherwise I look forward to seeing you the week of December 1st-3rd to discuss your child's progress. Please write down any questions or concerns you have so we can be sure to cover them during our 15 minute conference. Thank you!

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We began a new unit with our new textbook. This book is available to use online and a password and username should have been emailed to you a few weeks ago. We will begin with a unit on science inquiry.

*Social Studies: We are finished with our Downers Grove and Local Government unit (ch 12). We will review on Monday and the final test will be on Tuesday 11/18. A study guide was sent home last week and the students should spend time this weekend preparing. Use any review sheets, packets, or workbook pages in their Social Studies folder to help review. Our next unit will be Ch 3 on immigration and culture.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class

*Math: We are finishing ch 4 on subtraction. We will review on Monday and there will be a test covering this chapter on Wed. 11/19. I sent home a study guide today for your child to use to help prepare. We will also continue subtraction fast facts next week, with the tests "counting" as a grade starting on Thursday 11/20. Please continue to practice these facts nightly with flashcards, computer games, or practice tests. I hope to have all of the students pass subtraction fast facts the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break.

Our next unit begins with money. By next Thursday, please send your child to school with the following coins to use in class (We will not be spending this money and it will be returned when the chapter is done): 5 nickels, 5 dimes, 5 pennies, and 5 quarters. You can send the coins in a baggie, film container, or plastic container marked with your child's first and last name. Thank you!

Thank you for reading my blog this week. Have a super weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

November 10-14

Odds and Ends

*Book Worm Angels: Thank you to Nicole and Angela for bringing in gently used books for our school wide book drive. Please look through your book shelves and donate any gently used children's books that will be donated to schools and children in need. The final day to donate is Friday, 11/14.

*Health Fest: We will be celebrating healthy habits on Monday 11/10 in honor of finishing our health unit in Science. To help us celebrate, please send in a healthy snack to share with the rest of the class...cheese cubes, crackers, fruit, veggies, 100% juice boxes. No nuts please! Thank you! Also, your child can bring in a toothbrush and toothpaste (in a baggie with their name clearly marked) and a stuffed animal.

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Mon 11/10: Science: Health Fest

*Tues 11/11: Veteran's Day: No School

*Wed 11/12: Science: Health Test

Reading: Cliffhanger Vocab Test

*Fri 11/14: Book Drive Ends

Spelling: Test List 11

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Block:

*Reading: We will continue to focus on the strategy cause and effect. Don't forget to study the Cliffhanger vocab words for Wed 11/12 quiz.

New monthly book projects were sent home. The new focus is non-fiction books and the students will be making new book covers for the books. The projects are due Wed, December 17th.

Parent/Teacher conferences for December are being held with the Language Arts teacher this year. Most of you signed up for a conference at Curriculum Night. Next week, I will be sending home a confirmation sheet. Please look over the date and time and confirm your conference with me by filling out the bottom portion and returning it with your child as soon as possible.

*English: We are working on nouns as well as descriptive writing.

*Spelling: We will be on list 11 this week. There will be a pretest on Monday and the final test will be on Friday. The assignment packet will be due on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are finishing up our health unit. We will celebrate with our Health Fest on Monday 11/10 and play a review game for the test on Wed. 11/12. Please review your study guide, reread the lessons in your textbook, and be sure to know how to make pictograph for the test! Next unit: science inquiry tools.

*Social Studies: We will continue to learn about present day Downers Grove and the local government. The test is tentatively scheduled for Tues. 11/18. More info coming soon.

Mrs.Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: We are busy learning about subtraction. We have been practicing our fast facts with a 3 minute mad minute each day. Please study over these 30 problem sheets and we will continue to practice them in class. I will let you know when they count for a grade. We will work with subtracting across zeros next week.

Thank you for checking in this week. Hope you have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

November 3-7

Odds and Ends

*Thank you to all of the parents who helped to make our Halloween Party a blast! A special thanks to Mrs. Scheiblein, Mrs. Veverka, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Duza, Ms. Schulthrope, Mrs. Zowaski, and Mrs. David. Thank you for making this a great day for the kids!

*Book Worm Angels: We are collecting gently used books for our Character Counts activity this season. If you have any gently used children's books (k-8th grade), please send them into school next week. We will collect them and they will be distributed to children in schools that need books. Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

* Science Book Online: We will be starting a new science curriculum soon and the new textbook will be available online for your child to read and study. This convenient tool will allow you and your child to have the textbook at home without every carrying it! Information about signing on and passwords was sent via email today, Friday, 10/31. Thank you!

*The Social Studies committee is looking for two parents who have an education or history background to be involved in the adoption of new Social Studies textbooks. You would have to meet with the committee and provide input choosing our textbook for the coming years. The Social Studies committee will be meeting once every other month for the next two years. Please email mpellin@ccsd66.org if you would be interested in joining the Social Studies committee. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 11/3: Spelling: List 10 Pretest

English: DOL #3 Quiz

*Tues. 11/4: No School: Teacher Institute: Happy Election Day!

*Fri. 11/7: Spelling Test: List 10

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

Mrs.Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Reading: We finished up compare and contrast and will now begin our next strategy, cause and effect. We will begin our new story, Cliffhanger. This is a story that involves rock climbing. Are you a rock climber or do you know someone who could come in and show us all of the equipment and items that are used for rock climbing? Let me know and we will invite them to talk to our class next week. It would be cool to see these items in person.

*English: We are busy putting all we learned about descriptive writing into action. The students are finishing their descriptive papers about a haunted house. We will continue to work with descriptive writing as well as nouns. We will also continue to work on grammar and punctuation in our daily DOL activities. DOL quiz #3 will be on Mon. 11/3. This will cover commas in a series, month abbreviations, and titles such as Mrs., Miss, Dr. etc.

*Spelling: We will be on list 10 next week. There will be a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday. A packet will be sent home on Monday and will be due on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies:

*Science: We are working on lesson 3 in our textbook. The lesson focuses on: *prescription medicine, over the counter medicine, alcohol, nicotine, and illegal drugs. We will be finishing this unit soon. Expect a study guide next week. The test is scheduled for Wed. 11/ 12.

*Social Studies: The students are learning a lot about the government and election, just in time for November 4th. We will continue to discuss the election, local government, and Downers Grove. We will participate in a school wide election on Mon. 11/3 and see who Prairieview students would choose as president!

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students began Chapter 4 this week, which focuses on subtraction. Items discussed: Fact Families

Estimating Differences

Coming up next...subtracting greater numbers and subtracting across zeroes.

Have a safe and SPOOK-tacular Halloween weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 27-31

Odds and Ends

*HALLOWEEN is on Friday. We will be going to Robert Crown in the morning. We will miss our lunch period, so we'll be eating lunch in our classrooms. Please send your child a lunch that day. Students should bring their costumes to school in a bag with their name labeled on it. Try to have them dress so that their costume can go over their clothes and little makeup. We will be changing in our classrooms. Boys and girls will be in different classrooms. They will not be allowed to go to the bathroom to change. Please save guns, swords, knives, and other weapons for trick-or-treating at home. They are not appropriate for school. Parents who are running the party can come by 1:15. Our school parade begins at 1:15. The party will begin at 1:30 and end at 2:15. Students will be sent home in their costumes.

*Classroom Donations: We are still in need of the following items:

-healthy snacks (goldfish crackers, pretzels, NUT free snacks please!)

-disposable cameras and film

Thank you to those of you who have donated to our classroom. It is very appreciated!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Tues. 10/28: Math: Chapter 3 Test

*Thurs. 10/29: Reading: Seal Surfer Vocab Quiz

Spelling: List 8 Test and Spelling workbook pages due

*Fri. 10/31: Happy Halloween AM: Robert Crown Field Trip

PM: Halloween Party

*FOR THE FUTURE: Picture Retakes: Nov. 6th

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*Reading: We are working on comparing and constrasting different characers, settings, and parts of a story as we read Seal Surfer. We will have our vocab quiz on Thurs. 10/30. The next story is Cliffhanger, which will guide us as we learn about cause and effect. The first book project is due Wed. 10/29...fiction: advertise-a-book poster.

*English: We are working on descriptive writing. So far we have covered:

*similes

*vivid details

Next UP:

*color words

*sensory details

*SUPER sentence starters

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 8, a review week. A review week is when we revisit all of the spelling rules from the previous 7 weeks. There will be no pretest and no spelling list sent home to study from. The students should study the spelling rules from list 1-7 to prepare.

Workbook pages will be assigned to the students on Monday and will be due on THURSDAY. The final test will be THURSDAY due to the field trip and party on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are continuing to work on our health unit. We have talked about:

* the food pyramid

*ways to keep our body healthy

*germs
*diseases

*vaccines

*ways to prevent spreading germs

Next up:

*drugs, alcohol, and tobacco use

*Social Studies:

We began to talk about the modern day aspects of Downers Grove. We will now focus on DG government, as well as local government. This week your child learned that these 4 services are provided by the local government:

Recreation, Education, Transportation, and Safety/Security.

We will continue with this next week, learning about the different officials in a local government.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class

*Math: We are busy working on addition with greater numbers and estimating sums. I am so proud of all of the students for passing addition fast facts! Way to go! We will begin practicing subtraction facts next week. We are finishing chap 3 early next week.

The test is on Tues. 10/28. The following will be covered on the test:

* adding 2, 3, 4. and 5 digit numbers

*estimating sums

*finding missing addends

* adding 3 or more numbers

*addition problem solving using PAL

Next up...chapter 4 subtraction!

Thank you for checking in this week. Together, we can make this a successful year for all!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 20-24

Odds and Ends

*A BIG Thank you to our Downers Grove field trip chaperones: Mrs. Veverka, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs.Silva, Mrs.Smead, Mrs. Klamer, and Mrs. David. Thank you for your help! We had a wonderful time seeing our history lessons come to life as we traveled to many historic landmarks around Downers Grove.

*Robert Crown Field Trip: We will be going to Robert Crown Center on the morning of Friday, 10/31. This will be an extension of our health unit in science. If you have not already, please send in a signed permission slip. There is no cost to this trip. Also, due to the nature of the trip. no chaperones are needed.

*Halloween Party: We will be having a classroom party during the afternoon on Friday, 10/31. If your child wants to dress up for our school parade, they may bring a costume to school. We will change into it after lunch. It is best to send a costume that your child can get into by themselves. More info. coming soon!

Upcoming Events

*Wed. 10/22: Early Dismissal 11 am

*Fri. 10/24: Spelling: Test List 7

Spelling Packet Due

A Look At Next Week

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*Reading: The students enjoyed learning about puffins as we reviewed fact and opinion. We will continue to work on our extended response to the story,

where we combine the author ideas with our own ideas to answer a question.
Our next focus will be on compare and contrast.

Also...don't forget....fiction book projects due 10/29!

Please let your child ask me for paper supplies if they need them!

*English: We finished up our first short writing unit, focusing on the 5 paragraph essay.

The students wrote great papers on their 3 favorite things.

Our next unit will be descriptive writing!

*Spelling: This week we are on list 7. There will be a pretest on Monday and a spelling packet will be sent home Monday with the week's activities.

The packet will be due on Friday.

We also have our final test on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We are studying health. So far we have covered ways to stay healthy

and the food pyramid. Next up...

* germs

* safe medicine use

*drugs and alcohol

*Social Studies: We will move onto modern day Downers Grove and

local government (ch 12 in our textbook).

We will discuss our nation's upcoming election!

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: We will continue to review 2 and 3 digit addition as well as estimating sums.

We practice rounding every day....try this out at home =)

Tell your child a 2-4 digit number and have them round the number out loud or on paper.

They are getting really great at this skill.

We will also continue to practice addition math facts.

Thank you for checking in. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 13-17

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We will be taking our Downers Grove field trip on Thursday, 10/16. We will leave school around 9:15 am and return around 2:00 pm. Remember to send in a lunch with your child that day if you DID NOT send in $7 for Giordano's pizza. Also, if you would like to send in some spending money ($5-7) for shopping in downtown Downers Grove, please send it with your child on Thursday. They will be responsible for their own money. Thank you to the following parents who will be joining us on our trip:

Mrs. Veverka

Mrs. Klamer

Mrs. Wilson

Mrs. Smead

Mrs. David

Mrs. Silva

Those parents should arrive to Prairieview School at 9:05 on Thursday. Thanks for your help!

If you would still like to join us on part of our field trip, you can meet us for lunch at Giordano's pizza in downtown Downers Grove on Main Street. We will be arriving there between 11:35-11:45 am. You can also join your child's group for shopping afterwards.

*Donations Needed: We are in need of the following items for our classroom:

*Healthy snacks (pretzels, cheese crackers, goldfish)-bag or individually wrapped (this is used when students forget snack)

*Film or disposable cameras

Thank you for your help!

*Box Tops: The first turn in date was today. We will continue to collect box tops for the next turn in date (TBD), so please keep sending those box tops in!

*Upcoming Events*

*Mon. 10/13: No School: Christopher Columbus Day!

*Thurs. 10/16: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Fri. 10/17: Social Studies: Downers Grove History Quiz

* A Look At Next Week*

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class

*If you have not already done this, please send a 1 inch or bigger binder to school with your child next week. It can be any color or design. This can be old or new....we will use it as a portfolio to collect samples of your child's work. Thank you!

*Reading: We will continue to work on monitoring and clarifying this week. We are working on fact and opinion as we read non-fiction text. Don't forget..the first monthly reading project is due on October 29th...fiction: "advertise-a- book" poster.

*English: We are working on our 5 paragraph essays. We will conference and edit our rough drafts next week and "publish" our final copies. Next up...descriptive writing!

*Spelling: Due to the shortened week and field trips in some of the classrooms, we will not have a spelling test this week. We will pick up with list 7 the following week. How did the spelling packets go this week? Please let me know if your child was unsure about the expectations. Thanks!

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: The students have started a new unit all about health! So far we have talked about ways to stay healthy and the food pyramid. We will focus on the food pyramid next week. A note was sent home about another upcoming field trip to the Robert Crown Center on the morning of Fri. 10/31. There is no cost to this trip...please send in the signed permission slip ASAP. Thanks!

*Social Studies: We are busy getting background knowledge for our Downers Grove field trip. We have learned a lot about the important people and places of Downers Grove. We will review next week and take a short quiz on Friday, 10/17. A study guide was sent home. Please review the yellow packet as you study.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: The students showed a lot of improvement on the chapter 2 test...I was so proud of each of them! We started ch. 3, which focuses on addition. The first lesson introduced the students to 3 addition properties (commutative, identity, and associative). I will leave that as only a brief introduction to the students. They will NOT be responsible for knowing how to identify or label those properties on a test. We will continue to reinforce rounding and place value as we add numbers.

Thank you for reading my blog this week. I hope it helps to keep you informed of our classroom happenings. As always, any questions or comments...please email or call me!

Thanks and enjoy the LONG, warm weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen

October 6-10

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We will be going on a Downers Grove field trip on Thursday, October 16th. This all day field trip will take us to many historic landmarks, which your child will be learning about in class. We will also have pizza for lunch at Giordano's in downtown Downers Grove. I will be contacting chaperones next week. A permission slip was sent home today. Please sign and return to school by Friday, 10/10. Thank you!

*Goo, Glob, and Guts: We had a great time learning all about the human body and seeing real organs! Here are some pictures of the class!

*Classroom Prize Box: Thank you to those of you who have donated items to our classroom prize box! The kids love the variety of choices and I appreciate the help! Donations accepted any time. Thank you!

*Upcoming Events*

*Tues. 10/7: Math: Chapter 2 Test

*Fri. 10/10: Reading: Night of the Pufflings: Vocabulary Quiz

Spelling: List 6 Test

*A Look at Next Week*

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Classes

*Reading: Next week in class we will start a new strategy, clarifying. We will focus on fact and opinion as we read the story The Night of the Pufflings.

*English: We finished our first unit on the sentence. We will take a break from our textbooks and do a mini writing unit on 5 paragraph essays and descriptive writing. We will also have the 2nd DOL quiz Wednesday, 10/8 on capitializing proper nouns.

*Spelling: This week the students will be on list 6. I will be handing out the list and a packet of assignments on Monday, after the pretest. I am starting a new system for spelling. We will do word work in class and all written work will be sent home Monday and due on the Friday of that week. The written work will be listed on an assignment sheet attached to the list. It will include the workbook pages for the lesson and other practice sheets. Your child may turn the work in early, but it must be in by Friday when they take their test. Any questions? Please email me! Thank you in advance for your cooperation =)

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

* Science: Our body system unit has come to an end. We enjoyed learning all about the different, fascinating systems! Our next unit is health, where we focus on the food pyramid, excercise, and how to keep our bodies healthy and safe.

*Social Studies: The students finished their map skill unit and our next unit is Downers Grove. We will begin with the history of DG and learn about important people and famous landmarks of DG. This will give the students the background knowledge for our upcoming field trip.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

*Math: A rounding we will go! We are working on rounding a lot in class. Students need to know how to round to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. Please continue to practice this at home. I put some rounding game links below for your child to play at home. We will have our chapter 2 test on Tuesday, 10/7. Our next unit will be on addition. Also, please continue to practice addition facts 0-18 at home. We will keep practicing fast facts in class each day.

Your partner in education,
Mrs. Olsen

September 29-October 3

*Odds and Ends*

Thank you to all of the families that donated items for our Johnny Appleseed Celebration. We enjoyed the homemade applesauce and apple juice. Look in your child's binder for the recipe we used to try it out at home!

Magazine Drive:
The last turn in date in Tuesday, September 30th.

Goo, Glob, Guts:

Thank you all for turning in the money for our special in class activity. The students will enjoy this program on Tues. 9/30.

Scholastic Book Order:

Please remember to order books for the month of September! The orders are due in the classroom or online by 9/30. A new October order will be sent home next week.

*UPCOMING EVENTS*

*Tues. 9/30: Social Studies: Hemisphere Quiz

Last Magazine Turn In

Scholastic Book Orders Due

Goo, Glob and Guts Presentation

*Thurs. 10/2: Math: Rounding Quiz

English: Unit 1 'The Sentence" Test

*Fri. 10/3: Spelling: List 5 Test

Science: Body Systems Test

*A LOOK AHEAD AT NEXT WEEK*

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

Reading: We are continuing to work on prediction using our own personal experiences, illustrations, and text clues. Encourage your child to use these skills as they read at home. We will start a new novel Hey, New Kid as we work on prediction and review visualization. New vocabulary words will be sent home on Monday with a graded quiz on Friday.

English: The students will be finishing up Unit 1 in our English book...The Sentence. Please continue to review subject and predicate at home. This is a tricky concept for the students. The final unit test will be on Thurs. 10/2. A study guide will be sent home. The next unit is descriptive writing.

*Spelling: This week we will work on List 5, plural of vowel + y words. The pretest will be on Monday and the final test will be on Friday. Please practice the words each night!

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

Science: This week we will finish up our Body Systems unit. We will spend all next week reviewing for our final test, which will be on Friday, 10/2. A study guide was sent home today, Please have your child complete it by Wednesday. Our next unit will be Health.

*Social Studies: Our map unit is almost over. We will take a quiz on hemispheres, the equator, the prime meridian, and the north and south poles on Tues. 9/30. Our next unit will begin next week as we explore our our backyard...Downers Grove. We will begin with history and location of Downers Grove.

Mrs. Olsen's Math Class:

Math: We are working on rounding numbers. Students began rounding to the nearest 10. We will work with rounding to the nearest 100 and 1,000 next week. We will take a rounding review on Thurs. 10/2 to check for understanding. Ask your child about the 3 steps they take as they round a number. Maybe they will sing you our "Rounding March"!

Thanks for checking in! Happy Fall!

~Mrs. Olsen

September 22-26

Odds and Ends

*Picture Day: A reminder note was sent home this week about picture day. Picture day will be Thursday, 9/25. An order form will be sent home on Monday. Please turn in your order and money by Thurs.

*Goo, Glob, Guts: Please turn in your money ASAP! The cost is $6.50 for this in-school "field trip". It will take place on Tuesday, 9/30.

*Magazine Turn In: If your child is participating in the magazine drive, the first turn in day is

Tues. 9/23.

*DONATIONS NEEDED: To celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday, the following items are needed by Fri. 9/26. Thank you in advance for your help!

*100% juice Apple juice boxes (24)

* plastic bowls (24)

*plastic spoons (24)

IMPORTANT DATES

*Tues. 9/23: Reading: Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip Vocabulary Quiz

*Thurs. 9/25: Picture Day

*Fri. 9/26: Spelling: List 4 Test

Johnny Appleseed's Birthday :Please send in a peeled, sliced, and cored apple today!

A LOOK AHEAD!

Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class:

*Reading: The students are working on the preview and prediction strategy. We read Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip as we worked on this strategy. There will be a short vocabulary quiz covering the 7 words from this story on Tues. 9/23. We will focus on this strategy as we read leveled readers next week. We will celebrate Johnny Appleseed's Birthday on Friday. Your child received a note from their homeroom teacher about bringing in a peeled, sliced, and cored apple into class on Friday 9/26. We will cook them in a crock pot to make homemade applesauce. We will also learn more about Johnny Appleseed and his important role in history!

*English: Ask your child about Mr. Morton! We are learning about subjects and predicates. We will continue to focus on this next week.

*Spelling: We will work on List 4 this week, plural words ending in s or es. There will be a pretest on Monday and a graded test on Friday.

Mrs. Olsen's Science and Social Studies Class:

*Science: We will continue to learn about the human body. Up next: Respiratory and Digestive Systems!

*Social Studies: The students did a great job on our continent and ocean unit. We will focus on the hemispheres next, learning about the equator, prime meridian, and more!

Mrs. Olsen' Math Class:

Math: We have completed ch 1 in our textbook. We will continue to work on the concepts of place value through out the next chapter. Chapter 2 will cover ordering numbers, comparing numbers, and rounding! Keep practicing these skills as home as well!

Thank you for checking in this week. I hope you enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend and once again, GO CUBBIES =)

~Mrs. Olsen

September 15-19

Odds and Ends

*Thank you! It was great to see so many parents here at Curriculum Night! Thank you for coming out and learning more about 3rd grade. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me at any time.

*Picture Day: Picture Day is set for Thursday, September 25th. More information coming soon.

*Magazine Drive: Our school wide magazine drive will begin next week. Your child will be receiving information about it after our school assembly on Monday, September 15th. Be on the look out for the packet coming home on Monday.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/15: Magazine Kick Off Assembly

*Tues. 9/16: Early Dismissal at 11:00 am

*Wed. 9/17: Mrs. Olsen's math Class: Chapter 1 Test

Mrs.Olsen's English Class: DOL #1 Quiz

*Thurs. 9/18: Mrs. Olsen's Social Studies Class: Continent and Oceans Review

*Fri. 9/19: Mrs. Olsen's Spelling Class: Test List 3

A LOOK AHEAD!

*Mrs. Olsen's Language Arts Class*

*Reading: The students are doing a great job at visualizing the stories we have read in Ten True Animal Rescues! They are finishing up their comic strips. We are done working on them during class, so any unfinished projects should be completed at home and turned in by Tuesday. Any turned in after Tuesday will result in points deducted from the final grade. Our next focus will be on making predictions.

*English: We will continue about sentences this week. We will focus on subject and predicate. We will also take our first DOL quiz on Wed. 9/17. A study guide will be sent home on Monday.

*Spelling: This week we will focus on List 3, words spelled with ou. We will take a pretest on Monday and the final graded test on Friday. The students are doing great on their spelling tests, so keep up the good work!

Mrs. Olsen's Homeroom (Science and Social Studies)*

*Science: The students are still learning about the human body. We have learned about the skeletal and muscular systems so far. Next week we will focus on the circulatory and nervous systems. At the bottom of my blog page are links to click to play some body games! Have your child take a quiz and see how well they do!

*Social Studies: The students did an excellent job on their directions unit. We will study continents and oceans next. There is a graded review scheduled for Thurs. 9/18. A study guide was sent home today. Look at the bottom of my blog page to see some fun games to review the continents and oceans!

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class*

*Math: We are continuing to work on greater numbers. We will work on 5 and 6 digit numbers. The students are learning about the expanded, standard, and written form of these numbers, as well as place value. On the bottom of my blog page, you can click on the links to find some fun place value games for your child to play and learn more. The test has been scheduled for Wed. 9/17. Our next unit will be rounding and comparing numbers.

Thank you for checking out my blog this week! Have a great weekend and GO CUBS!

~Mrs. Olsen~