Week of September 28 - October 2

Odds and Ends

*Thank you to the Kulpinkski, Scehovic, and Thiel Family for donating supplies for our Johnny Appleseed celebration! The students had an "apple"-solutely great day!

*Box Tops: Please continue to send in box tops to our classroom for our school wide contest and collection! Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tues. 9/29: Social Studies: Continents and Oceans Quiz

*Fri. 10/2: Spelling List 6 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We are focusing on predictions again this week. We will also work on prefixes, suffixes, and compound words. Our next strategy focus will be clarifying.

*English: The students are finishing up their 5 paragraph essays-wow! They have done an outstanding job writing these 5 paragraph papers! We will write final drafts of the paper and share them with our classmates later this week. Next up...NOUNS!

*Spelling: This week we will focus on list 6, words that follow the rule: "change the y to an i and add es" when making them plural. There will be a graded test on Friday.

*Science: 3...2...1....Blast off! We are beginning our space unit on Monday! We will be busy exploring Earth, the moon, and our solar system. If you have any books on this topic at home that you would like to share with our classroom for this unit, please send them in. Make sure your name is on the book so we can return it to you! Thanks!

*Social Studies: We will be finishing up our study of continents and oceans with a graded review on Tuesday, 9/29. Your child should be able to locate and name all 7 continents and 4 oceans. They will not be responsible for spelling the word from memory-we will have a word bank on the review. Next unit...hemispheres!

*Math: We will begin chapter 3 on Monday. This will focus on addition. We will also begin timed tests for addition facts. Please send some time each night reviewing these facts, especially the tricky ones! We will have a week of practice tests before they begin counting for a grade. Please be on the look out for information coming home next week. Thanks !

Fall is here! Enjoy your weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt~

Week of September 21 -25

Odds and Ends

*Early Dismissal: We will have early dismissal on Tuesday, 9/22. Students will be dismissed at 11:00 am.

* Johnny Appleseed Celebration: A note will be sent home this week about our classroom celebration in honor of Johnny Appleseed on Friday, 9/25. Your child will need to bring in a cored, peeled, and sliced apple in a Ziploc baggie on Friday to be used to make homemade applesauce. Thank you to those of you who offered to send in supplies! You can send them in anytime next week.

*Scholastic Book Order: September book order is due on Friday, 9/25. You can put your order on line or send in a check. Thank you!

*Lunch Bunch: A note will be sent home Monday about a new program at school called Lunch Bunch. Your child can participate in book discussions with our library aide, Mrs. Walsh-Rock, during lunch. Please send in the form if you are interested in this fun, educational activity.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Tues. 9/22: Early Dismissal 11 am

Reading: Mulan Comprehension Check

* Wed. 9/23: Reading: Mulan Vocabulary Graded Review

*Thurs. 9/24: Science: Inquiry Test

*Fri. 9/25: Johnny Appleseed's Birthday

Spelling: List 5 test

Math: Chapter 2 Test

Character Counts Assembly

Boy Scout Presentation for boys

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We are focusing on predictions this week as we read and learn about Mulan. We will continue to talk about Mulan. We will have a graded comprehension check on Tuesday and a vocabulary quiz on Wed. covering the 7 words we have been practicing in class.

*English: We will work on 5 paragraph essays next week. We are going to write about a favorite topic - ourselves! Your child will be required to bring in 3 items that describe themselves. A note and bag will be sent home on Monday with more information.

*Spelling: We will work on list 5, plural words ending in y + s. A graded test will be given on Friday. Please be sure to review and study spelling words each night.

*Science: We are finishing up our inquiry unit. We have been busy learning about the scientific method. We will apply what we have learned next week with an experiment. The students will take an open book, open note test on Thursday, 9/24. Look for a study guide coming home early next week.

*Social Studies: The students have been working on continents and oceans. Ask your child about the continent family tree and the songs we have been singing in class! What fun! We will continue with continents and oceans next week. A quiz on this material is tentatively set for Tues. 9/29.

*Math: Students are focusing on rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. We will take the chapter 2 test on Friday, 9/25. Next week we will begin practicing timed addition tests. Please study addition facts weekly with games, flashcards, websites, etc. See below for links to some cool internet addition games!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt

Week of September 14-18

Odds and Ends

*Scholastic Book Order: September book orders were sent home this week. If you are interested in ordering, you can order online or send in a check. The directions were sent home, but please email if you have any questions. All orders are due by Friday, September 25th.

*Johnny Appleseed's Birthday! We will be celebrating this American legend's birthday on Friday, September 25th (his actual birthday is on the 26th). In Johnny's honor, we will be making homemade applesauce and having a little birthday celebration. We are in need of the following items:

- 24 bowls

- 24 spoons

- 24 100% apple juice boxes OR 24 cups with 100% apple juice bottles.

Please email me if you are interested in donating any of the items. We won't need them until the 25th, but you can send them in with your child starting the 21st. Thank you in advance for your help!

*Magazine Drive: Information was sent home with your child today about this school wide fundraiser. Thank you for your help!

*Donations: I am looking for an old tape recorder to use during reading class. I need one that has the ability to record voices. If you have one that you don't use anymore, I would love to put it to good use! Thank you!

*Thank you to all of the families who have been donating to our Goodie Ticket store. I really appreciate your help and the students love to earn tickets to receive the cool prizes!

UPCOMING EVENTS

*Mon. 9/14: Math: Chapter 1 Test

*Wed. 9/16: Social Studies: Directions Quiz

*Thurs. 9/17: English: Subject/Predicate/Run-on Sentence Graded Review

*Fri. 9/18: Spelling: List 4 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We will begin predicting next week with the story Mulan. We will also do word work with new vocabulary words. Please remember to send in a 3 ringed binder (any size, any design, new or old) to school to be used as your child's reading portfolio. Thank you!

*English: We will continue to work on Unit 1: The Sentence. We will spend more time reviewing subject and predicate (ask your child about Mr. Morton!) and run-on sentences. There will be a graded review on Thursday. We will model the first unit test on Friday, which will not be taken for a grade. We will show students to steps to completing an English test. Our next unit will be a writing unit on 5 paragraph essays.

*Spelling: Next week is list 4, plural words ending in s or es. There will be a graded test on Friday.

*Science: We are continuing to learn about inquiry skills. We will focus on the scientific method next week. You can access our textbook online. Please go to http://www.thinkcentral.com/. The login is the same id number used for gradebook (7 digits, including the leading zero). I will let your child know the password next week.

*Social Studies: Never Eat Soggy Waffles! The students have been busy practicing the cardinal and intermediate directions. We will have a graded quiz on Wed. 9/16. The next unit will be continents and oceans.

*Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: Due to assemblies, we had to push our chapter 1 test to Monday 9/14. We will begin chapter 2 next week. We will focus on rounding, comparing, and ordering numbers.

Thank you for reading our blog this week. We hope you have a fantastic weekend!

~Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt

Week of September 7-11

Odds and Ends

* Curriculum Night: It was so great to see so many of you at Curriculum Night! I know that you all have busy schedules and I am so happy that you were able to come learn more about your child's year in 3rd grade. I know we are going to have a great year together. We are off to an incredible start! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments as the year continues.

*Classroom collection: We are always collecting soup labels and box tops.We can work towards a classroom party!

*Donations needed: In our classroom we take a lot of photos for our end of the year memory books. If you would like to help out, please send in disposable cameras and film. I also need volunteers to take the film to be processed. Thank you in advance for your help!

*Also, we started our Goodie Ticket Turn-In each Friday, where students can turn in their earned tickets for prizes. We are always in need of toys (little stuffed animals, notebooks, pens, pencils, stickers, etc) for the prize box! Thanks!

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Mon. 9/7: No School: Labor Day

*Thurs. 9/10: Mrs. Olsen's Math Class: Chapter 1 Test

*Fri. 9/11: Spelling: List 3 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK

*Reading: We will continue with visualization next week. We will focus on character, setting, and plot. Please send in a 3-ringed binder (1 inch) with your child next week. We will be using them to make reading portfolios. The binders can be new or used and can be any color or design. Thank you!

*English: We have been busy learning about the 4 types of sentences. Next week we will focus on subject and predicate. This can be a tricky concept for students, so please be sure to review each night.

*Spelling: We will be on List 3, words that are spelled with ou. A pyramid spelling sheet will be sent home Tuesday and due on Thursday. The test will be on Friday. Keep up the good work!

*Science: We are learning about inquiry tools and skills. We will focus on the skills scientist use to conduct experiments. Ask your child about the inquiry tools we explored in class!

*Social Studies: We will begin our map skills unit next week. We will focus on cardinal and intermediate directions and the compass rose.

MRS. OLSEN'S MATH CLASS ONLY:

*We are going to finish chapter 1 next week. We will spend Monday and Tuesday reviewing and finishing up lesson 6. The chapter 1 test will be on Thursday 9/10. Your child will be taking home their math textbook next week each night to study. We will begin chapter 2 on Friday.

Thank you for checking out our blog this week!

Enjoy the LONG weekend and beautiful weather!

~Mrs. Olsen and Miss Millbrandt