Week of 3/3

Odds and Ends:

ISATs: Testing will begin for ISATs this week. I will post the schedule of our tests below. We are looking for volunteers to donate a healthy snack and/or drink to the class to be used during testing. If you are interested in helping us out, please send in a snack and or drink next week. Please send in enough for each child. We have 18 students. We also have nut and gluten (wheat, rye, barley) allergies, so please consider these when shopping. Thank you!

Conferences: An email was sent out by your child's math teacher for spring conferences. Conferences will be held the week of 3/10 with your child's math teacher on an as needed basis.

Maternity Sub: I am happy to announce my maternity leave sub. Miss Angela Simoncelli will be taking over my classroom beginning Monday, March 24th. My last attendance day is Friday, March 21st, unless the baby makes an early appearance! Angela is a certified teacher who is currently an aide on our 5th grade team. She was an aide last year in 3rd grade and I had the pleasure of working with her for part of the day last year. She is familiar with the 3rd grade curriculum and my classroom set up, so the transition will be wonderful. She will be visiting our classroom from time to time before I leave to meet the students and observe how our classroom operates. I am thrilled to have her take over and know the children will be in good hands.  Her and I will be in contact through out my leave and I am planning on visiting the classroom towards the end of the year to help with end of the procedures, etc.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Fri. 2/28: No School: Teacher Institute

*Mon. 3/3: Reading: February Reading Calendars Due

*Tues. 3/4: ISAT: Reading Test I: 10-11 am
Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess!

*Wed. 3/5: ISAT: ISAT Reading Test II 10-11 am
Happy Birthday, Chicago!

*Thurs. 3/6: ISAT Math Test I 10-11 am

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to practice finding text evidence as we write extended responses. We will also work on our biography unit. March reading calendars were passed out. They are due the Friday before Spring Break, 3/28.

*English: We will work on our narrative writing unit.

*Spelling: Due to ISATs, we will not have spelling this week. We will focus on vocabulary building and working on affixes and root words.

*Science: We will begin our unit on Space (Ch. 10).

*Social Studies: We will continue our study of Chicago, looking back at some historic moments that define  our great city.

*Math: We will continue our study of time in ch. 11. We will also do some quick concept reviews of area, perimeter, polygons, and types of lines and angles.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 2/24

Odds and Ends: 

*ISAT Testing: We will begin ISAT testing on Tues. 3/4. We will take one test a day Tues-Thurs both the week of 3/3 and 3/10.  Research shows that healthy snacks help boost brain power. I am looking for parent volunteers to send in donations of healthy snacks or juice boxes to share with the students on the day of the tests. We have 18 students in the class, so please send in enough for each child. We have nut and gluten allergies, so please consider those when selecting a snack. You can begin sending the snacks in as early as next week. Thank you for your help!

*Prize Box: Donations always welcome to our classroom prize box! Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Tues. 2/25: Math: Ch. 10 Fractions Test
English: Friendly Letter Graded Review

*Thurs. 2/27: Spelling: List 18 test
Social Studies: Chicago Quiz I: Open book review

*Fri. 2/28: No School: Teacher Institute

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will wrap up our work on our winter novels. We will begin a study of biographies.

* English: We will begin a unit on narrative writing. The students wrote a final letter to the celebrity of their choice. The friendly letter graded review will be on Tues. The students will need to know the 5 parts of a friendly letter and proofread a letter containing many mistakes.

* Spelling: We will work on list 18 this week. Due to no school on Friday, the test will be on Thurs.

* Social Studies: We are learning about sweet home Chicago! We are studying the flag and looking back through history at the early days of Chicago. We will take an open book review on Thurs. A study guide will be sent home Monday, but the students will be able to use their Chicago books for the quiz.

*Science: We will begin our next unit on Space in the upcoming weeks.

*Math: We completed ch. 10 on Fractions. A study packet was sent home today. The test will be on Tues. 2/25. We will work on ch.11 next week: measurement.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 2/18

Odds and Ends:

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Enjoy the weekend with the ones you love! 

Here's the littlest swashbuckler who stole my heart! 

* Thank you to all of the families who made our Valentine's Party LOVEly!  The students had a great time! Thank you to Mrs. Bende, Mrs. Townsend, Mrs. Selig, and Mrs. Colip for runnning the party and the fun games. Thank you to Mrs. Lafin, Mrs. Padavic, Mrs. Stanley, and Mrs. Jaikovski for sending in treats and paper goods. I apologize if I forgot to mention anyone who sent in items. Thank you!

* Spring Pictures: We will be taking our pictures on Thurs. 2/20. Please send in your form by Thurs. 2/20.

* Baby Olsen #2 will be arriving in just about 5 weeks or so! My last day with the students will be Fri. March 21st. The sub plans are being finalized and I will be working closely with the new sub so the transition is smooth and she will carry on the curriculum where I left of. I will keep you updated as the plan is finalized.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 2/17: No School: President's Day

*Wed. 2/19: English: 2 postage stamps due

* Thurs. 2/20: Picture Day

*Fri. 2/21: Spelling: List 17 Test
Science: Ch. 12 Energy Test
Spirit Day: Boys wear Red and Girls Wear Blue

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will be wrapping up our winter novels. We have been focusing on summarizing, locating main ideas and details, learning new vocabulary, and writing extended responses. We also connected our friendly letter writing unit to reading as we wrote friendly letters pretending to be characters from our book. We will begin our unit on biographies, as well as work on extended responses.

*English: We will be working on writing friendly letters. Please send 2 postage stamps to school with your child by Wed. 2/19. The test on the letter parts and proof reading a friendly letter will be on Tues. 2/25.

*Spelling: We will be on list 17 next week. There will be one homework assignment due Thurs. The test will be on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will begin our study of Chicago next week. We will begin with the early settlers and Native Americans who called this area home.

*Science: We are wrapping up our unit on ch.12 Energy. The students received a study guide today. The final test is on Fri. 2/21.

*Math: We will be doing some spiral review for the next few weeks as we prepare for ISAT testing. We will be covering and reviewing a variety of topics, which will all be covered again as review and taught more in depth later in the school year. Next week we will focus on ch. 10 fractions, and will be testing on this chapter the following week. Look for a study guide coming home next week. We are going to take a break from multiplication and division fluency tests as the students have been working so hard, they deserve it! Please continue to reinforce and practice all facts at home, but we will finish our 8's, 9's, 11's, and 12's in a few weeks.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Mrs.Olsen

Week of 2/10

Odds and Ends:

*Valentine's Day Party: We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Fri. 2/14 with a classroom party. The party will be from 1:30-2:20. Your child received a note about the Cardboard Challenge in which they will be working to create a container to be used as their Valentine collection "mailbox". We watched a video on a boy named Caine who created arcade games using cardboard and every day objects as inspiration.

You can view the video here:
http://cainesarcade.com/

Please feel free to email me with any questions. Your child should bring their container on Fri. 2/14.
Also, if they would like to pass out Valentine's to their classmates, we ask that they have enough for everyone in our class. We have 18 students: 9 boys and 9 girls. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 2/10: PBIS Assembly at 10: 00
English: Ch. 4 adjectives test
Scholastic Book Order Due

* Thurs. 2/13: 100th day of school!

*Fri. 2/14: Happy Valentine's Day!
Cardboard Challenge Due
Spelling: List 16 test
Math: 7's multiplication and division test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue our literature groups as we read our winter themed novels. We will look at the facts included in this fiction stories. We will also work on fact and opinion and compare and contrast.

*English: We will be wrapping up our ch. 4 unit with our final test on Mon. 2/10. A study guide and practice test was sent home this week.  We had a blast at our adjective fashion show! What a fun way to review!  Our next unit will be friendly letter writing and how to writing.

* Spelling: We will work on list 16 this week.

*Social Studies: We will begin our next unit on Chicago soon!

* Science: We will continue to work on ch. 12 Energy. This week we linked matter and energy together as we made our own ice cream. Ask your child about states of matter, what type of change took place (physical or chemical) and what kind of energy was needed to create our cold, yummy treat! Thank you to the Cimbalista family for providing our class with a gallon of milk to do the project.

*Math: We will continue to work on ch. 8 with a focus on multiplying and dividing by 7's and 8's this week. The focus will be on 7's. The fluency test on 7's multiplication and division will be on Fri. 2/14. It is very important that your child studies their math facts each night, especially now that we are working with more difficult numbers. They are doing a great job!

Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Olsen