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