Week of 2/29/16 - 3/4/16

March begins next week! Hopefully, we'll continue to see some spring-like weather. It is also the end of our 2nd Trimester. Be sure to check your child's grades at the end of the week through ParentConnect.

Prairieview is celebrating "Kindness Week" this week. Students will be performing random acts of kindness! : )

Parent Volunteer Still Needed: Is there a parent who would be interested in helping sort and classify our classroom story books? A few weeks ago, all 3rd Graders were assessed to find their Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) reading level. We need to update our classroom story books with "level" stickers to show each book's F&P level. If you would like to help for one morning or one afternoon each week, we would greatly appreciate it! I'll show you how to look up the book F&P level online and mark each book. Email me if you are interested.

"IVAN the Gorilla" Student: Ella took IVAN home this past week and spent some time with him. She will write in IVAN's journal how they spent the week together, add a photo or drawing, and share their experiences with the class. IVAN is from the book The One and Only Ivan. It is the true story of a silverback gorilla (told from his point-of-view) who lived most of his life in captivity. We will be reading this book during the 3rd trimester of school.

COMING UP:

Spelling:  New Spelling Lists will be sent home on Monday. Test #11 and the homework menu (6 activities) are due/will be on Friday 3/11/16.

Reading & Language Arts:  We’re continuing our Culture and Traditions Unit. Students will be researching and, later, presenting a Culture Day Project. A letter explaining the details will be sent home on Monday. The students will take part in an independent study project that incorporates not only textual learning, but also their technological and presentation skills. Each student will be asked to select a country to which they have family ancestry or a personal connection. Please help your child with this. They should select their "country to research" by Wednesday 3/2/16. Thank you for your help! 

In our Daily 5 Stations, students are finishing their Mystery genre books (please keep them at school during the week), practicing spelling word work, identifying verbs, and writing an argumentative/persuasive piece.

Keep reading 20 minutes! February Reading Logs are due Tuesday, March 1st.

Social Science:  We are continuing our Chicago Unit. We'll focus on the early history of Chicago.

Connecting to our Culture and Traditions Unit, we are reading about how America is a nation of immigrants. There will be an open-book quiz on Chapter 3, Lesson 3 towards the end of the week.

Mrs. Lopez & Mrs. Forsman's Math Class:   

We're beginning Unit 6 "Geometry". In this unit, your child will describe and classify 2-dimensional shapes (especially quadrilaterals), calculate area and perimeter, and represent fractions as parts of a whole shape.

Our x8 multiplication test will be Thursday, 3/3/16. The students will have the x8 practice worksheet for homework this week. Practicing with x8 flashcards is a fantastic idea, too! Your child can make their own!

IMPORTANT DATES:

3/4 - No School (Teacher Institute Day)
3/15 - No School (Election Day)
3/25 - No School (Non-Attendance Day)
3/28 - No School (Spring Break begins)
4/4 - Classes Resume

Have a great weekend!
- Mrs. Lopez