Week of 1/23

Odds and Ends

Spelling Bee: Congrats to Matthew and Amogh for winning the 3rd grade spelling bee! They will advance to the district bee, which will take place on Tues, January 24th at 1:00 pm.

Upcoming Events:

*Tues. 1/24: Spelling Bee: District level: 1 pm

*Wed. 1/25: Early Dismissal: 11 am (schedule change: No math, but we have PE and art)

*Fri. 1/27: Spelling: List 14 test
Math: ch 21 checkpoint (metric measurement)

A Look at Next Week:

*Reading: We will work on questioning and review previous strategies this week as we finish up our novel studies. We will also work on extended responses.

*English: We are going to review chapter 5 lessons (punctuation lessons from DOL) and begin an expository writing unit.

*Science: We will continue to work on ch. 9: water cycle and weather. Did your child share his/her water cycle bracelet/key chain with you?

*Social Studies: We began ch 3: a study on culture and immigration. We will be discussing an upcoming culture day project. Information will be coming home soon about this fun project!

*Math: We will be focusing on metric measurement (ch 21) and reviewing multiplication facts. The ch. 21 checkpoint review will take place on Fri. 1/27.

Have a fantastic weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 12/12

Odds and Ends:

* A great BIG thank you to all of the families who donated to our food drive. We collected several bags of food! It was awesome! Thank you for helping to make someone's holidays a little brighter this year!

*Another BIG thank you to everyone who donated supplies to the classroom for some upcoming activities. Thank you to the following families: Gustafson, Mantri, Cibulka, Chimino, Padavic, Arce, Fragoso, Kalal, Nichols, Veselak, and Cigrand. Please forgive me if I left someone off of the list. Thank you very much! Your supplies will enrich our lessons!

*Holiday Celebration: We will be watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas in lieu of holiday parties on Friday, December 16th. Since the movie is rated PG, a permission slip was sent home with your child today. Please return the permission slip by Wed. 12/14. Thank you to the following families for providing paper goods, treats, and drinks for our celebration: Hoffman, Cibulka, Messina, Sprandel, and Veselak.

*Paper Recycling Bin: Just a FYI: You can put shredded paper in the bin. It is recommended that you put the shredded paper in a bag, so that it does not blow around when the driver services the bin. Paper or plastic bag is fine.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 12/12: Evening Holiday Concert: PV band and choir

Bowling 9-11 am

*Wed. 12/14: English: ch 3 Verbs test

*Thurs. 12/15: Science: ch 11 Matter test

Math: Multiplication Test (6's, 7's, 8's: see below for facts to study)

*Fri. 12/16: Spelling: Winter Words test

Holiday Celebration

12/19-1/4Winter Break: See you next year in 2012~

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will focus on story elements, visualizing, evaluating, and non fiction text features as we read a variety of materials. We will focus on non fiction books this week.

*English: We are finishing up our chapter on verbs. We will work on a study guide this week. The test will be on Wed. 12/14.

*Spelling: We will work with winter words this week. There will not be a pretest. The homework will be due on Friday. Students will take their test on Friday as well.

*Science: We are having a blast in science learning all about matter. We have been doing various labs and experiments. We will do some more next week as well. The final test will be Thurs. 12/15. A study guide was sent home this week.

*Social Studies: The students are learning about modern day Downers Grove. We will learn more about fun things to do in Downers Grove and businesses that are located here. We will continue learning about Downers Grove and local government when we return from break.

*Math: We began ch. 6: data and graphing. We will study different types of graphs and practice collecting and organizing data. We will also work on week 6 of multiplication: 6's, 7's, and 8's. Your child should study the following facts (as well as review previous facts from weeks 1-5)

6 x 7 = 42, 6 x 8 = 48, 7 x 8 = 56, 7 x 9 = 63, 8 x 9 = 72, and 6 x 9 = 56. Six new facts to learn! What fun!

Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 12/5

Odds and Ends

*Thank you for meeting me this week for conferences. It was great to share such positive news with each of you about your child! Please remember you can contact me at any time you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you!

*Quilt Presentation: We were very lucky on Thursday to have Mrs. Vanni present on quilt making and the history of quilt making as an extension to our story this week, The Keeping Quilt. The students enjoyed seeing the book come to life through her samples of quilts.

*Holiday Party: We will be having a Grinch themed holiday party on Fri. 12/16 before we head into winter break. I am looking for parents to volunteer to donate treats and drinks for our afternoon. Please email me if you are interested in helping us out! Thank you! More details about our celebration coming soon!

*Scholastic Book Order: I did not send out paper book order forms for this month, but all of the book orders are available online. If you are interested in ordering any books, please submit your order online by Fri. 12/9. If you would like to order any books as a holiday surprise, please let me know via email and I can hold any books for you to pick up in the office. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* Wed. 12/7: Math: Ch. 5 Telling Time checkpoint

*Fri. 12/9: Spelling: List 10 Test

Math: Multiplication Test: 4's x

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will focus on evaluating and visualizing this week. We will also focus on features of non-fiction text as we apply our reading strategies to various types of non-fiction materials.

*English: We will focus on ch. 3: Verbs. Please look for your child's learning contract in their English folder next week. We will finish this chapter before winter break. The test will be the following week...TBA.

*Spelling: We will work on list 10 this week. There will be a pretest on Monday. The final test and homework will due on Friday.

*Science: We are busy learning about matter. We will focus on the states of matter this week as well as physical and chemical changes.

*Social Studies: We are beginning to study modern day Downers Grove. This unit is in conjunction with ch. 12 of our textbook: local government. We will continue this unit after winter break.

*Math: We are working on the second half of chapter 5: time. We will have a graded checkpoint on Wed. 12/7. We will begin ch. 6: data and graphing. Our multiplication facts for the week are the 4's. A note will be coming home on Monday. We will be making new flashcards for our multiplication facts i-pod! The facts test will be on Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/21 and 11/28

Odds and Ends:

I wish you all a relaxing, fun, and happy Thanksgiving break and holiday!
We all have so much to be thankful for.
I am especially thankful for the fabulous students that I am lucky enough to teach this year! Enjoy your friends, feast, and family this holiday season!

*Thank you to Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Franchi, Mrs. Moy, Mrs. Veselak, Mrs. Cibulka, and Mrs. Messina for chaperoning our Downers Grove Field trip! Despite the chilly weather, we had a very educational and fun day!

* Conferences: An email was sent regarding conference times and dates. If you have not received your conference time, please email me to confirm if the time is still good for your schedule. I am looking forward to meeting with you all to discuss your child's progress in 3rd grade so far! Please remember the conferences last 15 minutes and are back to back, so please try your best to be on time! Thank you!

*Scholastic Book Order: Book order was due today, Fri. 11/18. Please let me know via email if you have a last minute order and I can add it to the order. Thank you!

*Classroom Volunteers: I am looking for additional parent helpers to come in and use a computer to look up books and then label our classroom books with a Lexile score. Please email me for additional details! Thank you!!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Tues. 11/22: Part/Whole Analogies Quiz

*Wed. 11/23- Fri. 11/ 25: No School: Happy Turkey Day!

* Mon. 11/28- Wed. 11/30: Conferences: Please review emailed schedule for time and date.

* Tues. 11/29: Math: Ch. 5 Money checkpoint

*Thurs. 12/1: Spelling: list 9 test

*Fri. 12/2: No School

A LOOK AHEAD:

*Reading: We will focus on character traits and problem solution next week. Beginning 11/28, we will begin to focus on author's purpose and point of view.

*English: We will work on creative writing as we write a short story about Thanksgiving from the turkey's point of view. We will also be starting ch 3. verbs when we return from break.

*Spelling: We will begin list 9 on 11/28. The graded test and homework will due Thurs. 12/1.

*Science: We will continue to work on ch. 11: matter.

*Social Studies: We have finished our Downers Grove history unit. We will focus on present day Downers Grove and ch. 12 on local government.

*Math: We will continue to focus on ch. 5: money. We will take a money checkpoint on Tues. 11/29 and then move onto the second half of ch. 5: Time. Look for a note about our next multiplication facts coming home before break. Thanks for all of your hard work studying the facts. Did your child share their "multiplication" I-pod with you? We will "download" new songs (facts) each week to study and learn! What fun!!

Thanks for checking out our blog this week!

Happy Turkey Day!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/14

Odds and Ends:

*Scholastic Book Order: November book order is due Fri. 11/18. Your online book orders help the classroom earn free books...THANK YOU!

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We are set to go Thurs. Nov. 17th. Please remember to send your child with $5-8 on the day of the trip for downtown DG shopping if you would like to. Watch the weather forecast for the day and dress appropriately! We will walking around outside!

*Conferences: The fall conferences will be held the week after Thanksgiving break for homeroom parents. I sent out an email with the dates and times of the conferences. Please let me know if you have not received this conference confirmation email. Thank you! I am looking forward to meeting with you all to discuss your child's progress.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Fri. 11/11: No school: Veterans Day

*Tues. 11/15: Synonym/Antonym Test

*Wed. 11/16: Social Studies: History of DG review

English: Ch 2 Nouns test

Storyteller Assembly

*Thurs. 11/17: Downers Grove Field Trip

*Fri. 11/18: Math: 5's multiplication test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to look at character traits, identify problems and solutions, and predict, summarize, and make inferences we read our good fit book buddy books! We are will also continue to work on synonym and antonym analogies. The quiz will be on Tues. 11/15. Then we will begin part/whole analogies.

*English: We are completing our ch. 2 nouns unit. We will take the test on Wed. 11/16. Look for a study guide coming home Monday.

*Spelling: There is no spelling this week.

*Science: We are working on ch.11: Matter. Please ask your child about the objects they need for the physical properties posters we will be making.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up our history portion of our Downers Grove unit. We will have a short graded review on Wed. 11/16. Then we will begin to study modern day Downers Grove.

*Math: We are beginning ch. 5: money and time. Please look in your child's binder for a note about what coins they should bring to school to help us practice counting out change. We will also work on 5's this week in multiplication: only 4 new facts to memorize this week!

Have a wonderful, long weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 11/7

Odds and Ends

*Downers Grove Field Trip: We are all set to go on Thurs. 11/17. I will be contacting those parents who I will need as chaperons. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered! I wish I could invite you all, but if you are not contacted by me either by email or phone, you can always meet us for lunch at Giordano's.

*Scholastic Book Order: November book order is due 11/18. Thank you for ordering each month...we are earning books for our classroom library with each online order!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Thurs. 11/10: Math: 2's multiplication quiz

*Fri. 11/11: No School: Veterans Day

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will be focusing on story elements (plot, setting, problem/solution) and character traits as we read a variety of literature and novels.

*English: We started our new unit: ch 2: Nouns. Please look for your child's pretest and learning contract in their English folder to see what skills we will focus on this unit.

*Spelling: We will take a break from the traditional list for the next few weeks as we focus on analogies. We will begin with synonym/antonym analogies and then move to part/whole analogies. There will be a quiz on each type of analogy to be announced. Look in your child's assignment notebook to see when the quiz will take place.

*Science: We began ch 11: Matter.

*Social Studies: We are busy learning about the history of Downers Grove. We have learned about the early settlers in this area and will learn about how the town grew into what we know today.

*Math: We will be working on problem solving this week. We will focus on the strategy of making a table to solve the problem. We will also introduce writing t-charts, where the students writes what they did and why they did it to solve the problem. We will also start a new week of multiplication: the two's! Look for a note coming home with the facts your child will need to memorize this week.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/31

Odds and Ends

*Halloween Party: A great BIG thank you to the following parents for all of their help with our awesome Halloween party: Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Messina, Mrs. Alvarez, Mrs. Padavic, Mrs. Moy, Mrs. Arce, Mrs. Sprandel, and Mrs. Jablonski. Thank you parents who sent in any treats or supplies for the party. The kids had a "spook-tacular" time!

*Rollerskating permission slips are due by Thurs. There is a limited amount of space, so turn it in ASAP.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/31: Happy Halloween! Wear your favorite Halloween t shirt or orange and black!

* Tues. 11/1: Reading: Cliffhanger Vocab Review

*Wed. 11/2: Math: Rounding Review

* Thurs. 11/3: Picture Retakes

*Fri. 11/4: Spelling: List 8 Test

Math: Ch 2 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to discuss cause and effect and synonyms and antonyms. Also, the October Reading calendar is due on Monday. Your child will receive a November calendar on Monday that is due at the end of the month. Remember to sign 20 days that your child read 30 minutes a day to receive full credit. Thank you!

*English: We are finishing up our descriptive writing unit. Your child should be sharing their haunted house descriptions with you this weekend. We will finish our final copies early next week. Next unit: ch 2 Nouns.

*Spelling: We are back to list 8. The pretest is Monday and final test and homework are on Friday.

*Science: We will begin our new unit: ch 11 : Matter.

* Social Studies: We will begin our Downers Grove History study this week. Look for a field trip permission slip coming home this week. If you want to chaperon, it is first come, first serve, so please turn in your permission slips ASAP.

*Math: We will continue to focus on rounding numbers this week. The ch. 2 test will be on Friday, 11/4. Look for a study guide coming home this week. Also, we will begin our multiplication facts. We are going to go through all of the facts in 7 weeks. A note explaining which facts we are focusing on will be sent home at the beginning of each week. Your child will also have nightly multiplication homework in addition to the lesson of the day's homework. The tests will be at the end of every week. The first facts are the "squares" 2x2, 3x3, etc. Thank you for all of your help studying at home!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/24

Odds and Ends:

*Thank you to the following parents for helping label our classroom books with Lexile scores: Mrs. Fragoso, Mrs. Alvarez, Mrs. Cibulka, Mrs. Ozgen, Mrs. Sprandel, and Mrs. Kalal. I still have books that need to be labeled, so if you are available, please email me and we can set up a date and time for you to come help. Thank you so much!!!

*Paper Recycling: Did you know that you can help our district earn money by recycling paper here at school? You can bring in any paper (no cardboard please) to the green and yellow bin marked Paper Retriever located in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled. The more paper we collect, the more money we can earn. The provider of the bin uses the paper to make newsprint, which is then sold to other companies. That is how we are paid to recycle paper. Thank you for your help (and for helping the environment at the same time!)

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/24: Spelling: Halloween Words: no pretest

*Wed. 10/26: Science: Ch 4 Test (moved from Tues. 10/25)

*Thurs. 10/27: English: DOL Quiz #3 (moved from Tues. 10/25)

Early Dismissal: 11:00 am

*Fri. 10/28: Spelling: Halloween words Test

Halloween Festivities: Parade at 1:00 pm

Party at 1:30 pm

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will begin to focus on cause and effect as we read stories from the basal and other materials such as non fiction articles and chapter books. We will also work on synonyms and antonyms.

*English: We will be putting our descriptive writing skills to the test as we write our descriptive paragraphs about our haunted houses. We will take our DOL #3 quiz on Thurs. 10/27, which covers book titles and introductory words.

*Spelling: BOO! This week we will focus on Halloween words with a fun spelling week. There will be no pretest, but homework will be assigned Monday that is due Friday. The test will be on Friday.

*Science: We are finishing up ch 4. The final test was scheduled for Tues. 10/25, but it has been moved to Wed. 10/26. Remember, your child can find our textbook online by going to www.thinkcentral.com. The username is the same code that is used for parent connect. I will include the password in an email to you. This saves your child from having to carry home the textbook to study. Next chapter: matter.

*Social Studies: We are done with our first map skills unit. We will focus on communities and learn more about Downers Grove. A field trip during this unit will be scheduled. More information coming soon!

*Math: We will begin ch 2: rounding and comparing numbers. Today in math we cleaned out our math folders and put the worksheets we don't need anymore into the take home folder. Please look through these papers with your child and recycle or keep the papers at home, but please clean them out of the binder. Thank you! You can help our school earn money by bringing the papers to the green and yellow paper recycling bin (marked Paper Retriever) in Lakeview's parking lot to be recycled. The more paper we recycle, the more money we can earn for our district! Thank you!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/17

Odds and Ends

* Scholastic Book Order: I sent home a book order for October. I forgot that this month we have a book fair at school, so if you would like to save your orders for our book fair, that is great! If you still want to order through the classroom order, they are due 10/21. Thank you!

* Weekly Email Reminders: Just a friendly reminder... the office staff will send out a weekly reminder email containing information about upcoming events and happenings here at school. Attached to this email is often the permission slips needed for the events. This is a great tool to use when looking for permission slips or information about school events. Thanks!

*Our picture packets should arrive on Tuesday, October 18th

Our retake day is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3rd

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* Mon. 10/17: Spelling: List 7 Pretest

*Fri. 10/21: Spelling: List 7 Test

Math: Ch 1 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will continue to work on inferencing as we read good fit books. We will work on word, setting, and character inferences.

*English: We are busy working on descriptive writing. We have discussed color words, similes, metaphors, and we will discuss sensory details, sentence starters, and "hook" (good openings) this week. We will also work on DOL #3: book titles and introductory words.

* Spelling: We are back to spelling this week: List 7. As always, pretest on Monday, and final test and homework due on Friday.

*Social Studies: We are wrapping up our map skills unit. The hemispheres quiz is on Thurs. 10/20. Next unit is a closer look at our community: Downers Grove.

*Science: We will work on ch 4 and discuss how ecosystems are changing and being destroyed. The final test will be Tues. 10/25.

*Math: We will be finishing up ch. 1 as we look at 5 and 6 digit numbers. The students will need to know place value up the 6 digits and know the standard, expanded, and word form for 6 digit numbers. We will review these concepts. The final test is Fri. 10/21.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Mrs. Olsen

Week of 10/10

Odds and Ends:

*Scholastic Book Order: Thank you to all of those who ordered online last month...our class earned lots of free books! The October order has been sent home and will be due Fri. 10/21.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 10/10: No School: Columbus Day

*Tues. 10/11: No School: Institute Day

*Fri. 10/14: Math: Subtraction Timed Test: Graded

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: Our continued focus will be on inferring this week as we practice using many reading strategies to improve our reading. The inferences we make will be about text, characters and unfamiliar words.

*English: We are working on our descriptive writing unit: color words, similes, metaphors, sensory words..oh my! We are also beginning DOL #3: Book titles and introductory words.

*Spelling: Due to the shortened week, NO spelling this week!

*Social Studies: We will be finishing up our map skills unit as we study hemispheres.

*Science: We are continuing to learn about ecosystems and living things in chapter 4.

*Math: We started ch 1: focusing on place value up to 6 digits. We will continue to practice our subtraction timed tests. We will grade this test on Friday, 10/14.

Enjoy the LONG weekend and the gorgeous weather!

Mrs. Olsen