Week of June 2-5

Thank you!

A great big thank you goes out to each and every family for the thoughtful and generous surprise bridal shower! What a special treat! The kids were very sweet and excited! Thank you to Mrs. Patera and Mrs. Burton for helping to organize the party. John and I are so thankful for the gift and I am so lucky to have such an awesome group of students and parents!

Thanks for making a memory that will last my lifetime!

Be sure to come back and visit me next year as the new "Mrs. Olsen" =)

A note from the office:

YEARBOOKS: will be handed out to students on June 5th. Any students who did not purchase a yearbook may do so on a first-come-first-serve basis on June 5th; they will go on sale after morning announcements. The cost will be $10.00 and children wishing to purchase should have exact amount. Checks can be made out to Prairieview. There is a limited supply. Prairieview yearbook orders were not paid for at registration. A flyer was sent out in November and orders were due by Monday, December 3, 2007.

ABC Countdown:

We are nearing the end of the alphabet and the end of a fantastic school year. Here is the schedule of days for next week:

Mon: Veggies and Video: send in some veggies for your child. I will supply the video.

Tues: Walt Disney: We will be on our field trip this day, so wear a Disney item

Wed: eXtra Recess

Thurs: Yahoo...last day of school...ZOOM out of school. Happy Summer!

Chicago Field Trip: Our much anticipated Chicago field trip will be on Tuesday, June 3rd. We are hoping for warm, rain free weather! I will be sending home a note on Monday for all families explaining what to expect and how to dress, etc. Parents meeting us in the city...Please plan for plenty of driving time...we will be at the Shoreline Dock in Navy Pier at 10:15 am. I will check us in and we will begin boarding asap. Some other 3rd grade classrooms went on the trip earlier this week and the boat began to board at 10:20. Unfortunately the boat will leave without you, so please plan to be there early. Thanks! We are looking forward to a great day!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon: Please send your child to school with a brown/plastic bag to take home any school supplies. We will be cleaning out our lockers and desks. Thanks! Any textbooks or IMC materials should be returned to school asap. Thank you!

*Tues: Chicago Field Trip: 9:00-2:00

*Wed: Picnic Day: lunch will be provided. Please send in a sack lunch if your child does not want a hot dog and chips. We will also enjoy an all school assembly Wed. afternoon.

*Thurs: Last day of School. Reports cards will be sent home. Dismissal at 9:30.

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are finished with math for the year. Thanks for a great year together! Keep practicing your multiplication and division facts over the summer so you are all ready for 4th grade!

*Reading: We have finished our reading book club books. Your child has one job left to complete this weekend for their literature circle. We will preform skits about our books next week.

*English: We will finish up our persuasive essays this week.

*Science: The students have been working hard on a planet project. They are to pretend they are travel agents from their chosen planet and they are working on songs, commercials, posters, and brochures to convince the class to "travel" to their planet. We will present these next week and vote our on favorite space destination.

It's hard to believe this year is almost over. I have truly enjoyed working with each and every student and family. I am looking forward to our last fun filled week together next week. Have a wonderful weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Week of May 27-30

Odds and Ends

*Happy Memorial Day: In honor of Memorial Day, there will be no school on Monday, May 26th. Enjoy your long weekend!

* For your information:

Center Cass School District #66 is in the process of implementing an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) mandate, Response to Intervention (RTI). RTI is an array of procedures that can be used to determine if and how students respond to specific changes in instruction. RTI provides an improved process and structure for school teams in designing, implementing, and evaluating educational interventions.
Please look for the additional information on RTI, which will be included with your child’s end of the year Report Card.

*Field Trip: We will be taking our last field trip of the year on Tuesday, June 3rd. This trip to Chicago for our boat ride and picnic is a great way to end a fantastic year. Thank you to the following parents for chaperoning:

Mrs. Gonzalez

Mrs. Palla

Mrs. Copeland

Mr. Tonietto

Mrs. Shah

The following parents will be meeting us in the city:

Mrs. Charies

Mrs. Kuhn

Mrs. Pappas

Mrs. Seelander and Erik's sister

Mrs. Imgruet

Mrs. Burton

*ABC Countdown: We are approaching the end of the alphabet and the end of the school year! How time flies!

Tues: Rock and Roll Day: bring in appropriate music to share and a rock to decorate into a "pet rock"

Wed: Sport Team Day

Thurs: Talent Day

Fri: Under the Desk Day

*Bowling: If you have not yet turned in the permission slip. please do so by Tuesday, May 27th. The students will be going to the bowling again for gym class. We will go on Thursday, 5/29 from noon -2 pm. There is no cost. You may choose to send your child with money to buy snacks at the bowling alley.

*End of the Year Reading Party: Thursday will be our end of the year celebration pizza party at lunch. Students who participated every month and read for 20 minutes will join me in the classroom for a pizza lunch. My treat!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Mon 5/26: No School

Thurs: 5/29: Bowling

End of the Year Reading Pizza Party

Fri: 5/30: Science: Sun and Planet Quiz

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We have completed ch 11. The graded test was sent home with your child today. We will work on ch 12 next week. We will introduce the concepts of multiplying with greater numbers and dividing with remainders. There will be no grades taken on these concepts. If your child did not pass mixed division this week, we will do retakes until Fri. of next week during recess.

*Reading: We are working in literature circles/book clubs for the last week of school. The class is broken into 5 clubs and we are reading 5 different books with a common theme. Your child will have a different "job" within their club each day. They should be completing the assignment for their job at home for homework each night (unless they finish in class).

*English: We will work on persuasive writing for the end of the year.

*Science: The students are very excited to be learning about the planets. A study guide was sent home today. There will be a sun/planet quiz on Friday, 5/30. A sun study guide previously sent home should also be used when preparing for the quiz. We will work more with planets next week and have a review game before the quiz.

*Spelling: We are done with spelling for the year! You all did a fantastic job this year!

It's hard to believe the year is almost over! Enjoy the long weekend and see you back on Tuesday!

Miss Carlstrom

Week of May 19-23

*Thank you to Madison Smith and Jonathan Rovella for bringing in the treats this week for ABC countdown. We really enjoyed the ice cream and Lucky Charms!

Next Week ABC Countdown:

Mon: Magic Day: if you would like, have a magic trick ready to show the class

Tues: Neatness Day

Wed: Opposite Day: Wear your clothes backwards

Thurs: Popcorn: We will enjoy popcorn today!

Fri: Quiet Day...hush...we will whisper today.

*Chicago Boat Trip: We are scheduled to go to Chicago on Tuesday, June 3rd. The following parents will be chaperoning the trip and riding the bus with the class:

Mrs. Gonzalez

Mrs. Shah

Mrs. Palla

Mr. Tonietto

Mrs. Copeland

The following parents are meeting us in the city (10:15 at the Shoreline Dock on Navy Pier) for our boat ride:

Mrs. Pappas

Mrs. Seelander and daughter

Mrs. Rovella

Mrs. Charles

Mrs. Kuhn

If this is incorrect, please let me know so I have a final count. Thanks!

Upcoming Events

*Mon 5/19: Reading: Mystery Words Vocabulary Quiz

*Wed: Miss Carlstrom's Math Class: Ch 11 Test: Decimals and Fractions

2nd Grade Pen Pals from Elizabeth Ide visit us

*Fri: Spelling: Part/Whole Analogy Test

Choir Concert

A Look At Next Week:

*Math: We will be finishing up ch 11 next week. The students will receive a study guide on Monday for Wednesday's test. They should also bring home their textbook and look over the 2 checkpoints from the chapter to study. We will be working on mixed division this week. The students will take practice timed tests (40 problems in 3 minutes) Mon-Thurs and the tests will begin to count on Friday. If your child passes before Friday, they will pass and no longer have to take the tests.

*Reading: The mysteries have been solved! The students enjoyed our detective book clubs and have been able to do a lot of activities about their mystery. We began writing our own mysterious story using the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. We will continue to work with mysteries next week. There will be a graded quiz on the mystery vocabulary on Mon. 5/19. Your child should have flashcards to use to study.

*English: We are finishing up our poetry unit. We will work on persuasive writing next. Also, our 2nd grade pen pals will come visit us this week. We wrote to Mrs. Schultz's class and are excited to receive letters back from them and meet them in person to tell them all about 3rd grade!

*Science: The students finished learning about our closest neighbor, the moon. We are now learning about our brightest neighbor, the sun. We will do several activities next week about eclipses, seasons, and other sun facts. We will also start to learn about the planets.

*Spelling: This week we will focus on analogies. We will work with part/whole analogies. The students will receive a packet on Monday and we will complete the packet in class (it will be sent home for homework if not completed in class) and they can use this packet to study for Friday's quiz.

Thanks for checking in this week! Have a wonderful, warm weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom

Classroom News May 12-16

Odds and Ends

*Last Field Trip of the Year: As an extension to our Chicago unit, we will be taking a field trip to downtown Chicago where we will be taking a boat ride on Lake Michigan, visiting Navy Pier, and hopefully have enough time to go to Millennium Park. This will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd. The cost is $7 for the boat ride. Your child should bring a sack lunch with them that day. I am in the process of finding chaperones for the event, but if you want to go and I have not yet contacted you, you can always meet us in the city and join us on the boat ride. A permission slip was sent home today with more details. Thanks!

*Stranger Danger: We have spent some time talking in class this week about stranger danger in response to some recent incidents. I encouraged the students to talk with their parents about this important issue. Thanks!

*Thank you to everyone for helping to make Teacher Appreciation week fantastic! I am so lucky to have such a great class with such generous and giving families. Thank you!

*School Supplies: As the end of the year approaches, our school supplies start to run low. Some students have run out of pencils...please ask if your child if they are in need of any supplies to get them through the end of the year. Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Fri. 5/16: Science: Moon Graded Review

Spelling: List 31 Test

Spirit Day: Dress as your favorite book character! Who will you be?

ABC Countdown Days:

Mon: Hat Day

Tues: Ice Cream day: Thank you, Madison Smith for bringing in our special treat!

Wed: Jump Rope Day: We will jump rope today!

Thurs: Kindness Day: show kindness through words and actions

Fri: Lucky Charms: We will enjoy Lucky Charms and share our lucky charms today. Thanks to those of you who donated cereal for this day.

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are focusing on decimals this week. We will talk about tenths and hundredths place. We will also do some problem solving and adding/subtracting with fractions and decimals. We will work on 9's division this week as well.

*Science: Off to the MOON! We will focus on studying the moon this week. We will learn about craters, phases of the moon, what the moon is made up of ( not cheese!), how the moon orbits the earth, and much more! There will be a graded review of the moon on Friday, May 16th. The students will receive a study guide next week.

*Reading: The students are busy reading and trying to solve their mysteries. We are enjoying have book club meetings and discussing clues and suspects. We will continue to read and do various activities as we practice our reading strategies.

*English: The students have completed their last unit in the English textbook! Way to Go! We will finish the year with a poetry unit and persuasive writing.

*Spelling: Next week is list 31: contractions. We will have a pretest on Monday and a graded test on Friday.

Thank you for checking our classroom blog this week! Have an excellent weekend!

~Miss Carlstrom~

Week of May 5-9, 2008

April Showers Bring May Flowers?

Or just more May Rain? =)

*Egypt Unwrapped: Our class will be enjoying an in-school field trip as a representative from the Field Museum will visit our classroom to share lots of interesting information about Egypt with us. This is a great review and extension to our earlier Egypt unit.

*Junior Achievement: Starting next week, we will have a community member joining our classroom 2 times a week for 3 weeks in a community outreach program called Jr. Achievement. Miss McGinnis will be teaching our class about communities, city planning, writing checks, and running your own business.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Wed. 5/7: Egypt Unwrapped

*Thurs. 5/8: Reading Party

*Fri. 5/9: Spelling: List 30 Test

English: Unit 6 Pronouns Test

Math: 8's Division Timed Test

ABC Countdown to Summer: Here is a preview of next week's days:

Mon: Crazy Hair day

Tues: Dog day: bring in a stuffed animal dog

Wed: Earth Day: bring in a no throw away lunch and snack

Thurs: Funny Feet day

Fri: Game Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Math: We are busy working with fractions. We are looking at fractional sets, comparing fractions, and mixed numbers. The students will also be working on 8's division this week.

*Science: The students love our space unit so far. We have talked about gravity, living in space, and space shuttles. They were given a study guide today for next Friday's quiz covering activities 2-6. We will continue to review and learn new concepts next week, as well as begin learning about our closest space neighbor, the Moon.

*Social Studies: We have completed all our of Social Studies units for the year. The students will have 5 Jr. achievement sessions. We will focus on space for the rest of the year. Time permitting, we may do another Chicago activity before the end of the year.

*Reading: Detective book clubs are in session! Your child has received a "top secret" file containing the information they are keeping track of as they solve their mystery. Your child will have required reading each night from their book club book. This is necessary to do in order to complete the next days activities. Please do not let them read ahead...we want to keep it a surprise and work as a team! Your child has the cards for a memory game using detective vocabulary words. Try this game at home!

*English: The students will be completing unit 6 on pronouns next week. We will have a review packet to complete and the final test will be on Friday, May 9th. We will also continue our poetry unit (we have some talented poets among us!) as well as write to our 2nd grade pen pals at Elizabeth Ide.

*Spelling: Next week we will work on List 30. The list contains words with the prefix "re".

Thank you for checking in this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Carlstrom