Week of 9/24-9/28

ODDS AND ENDS:

*Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed! A note was sent home this week about our classroom celebration in honor of Johnny Appleseed. Please send your child to school on Wed with a cut, peeled, and cored apple in a container or baggie. We will then use all of the apple slices to make homemade applesauce here at school in my crock pot. Thank you to the following families that donated items for our celebration (we are all set thanks to them!): Browns, Fords, and Leatherwoods. We will enjoy the applesauce at the end of the day as we do other apple themed activities through out the school day. What fun!

*Picture Day: Picture day will be Thurs. 9/27. A information sheet was sent home today. Please look in your child's binder for the information sheet!

*MAPs Goal Sheets: Please look in your child's reading folder in their binder for the MAPs goal setting worksheet. Your child's RIT score is written on the worksheet, as well as their lexile numbers, and goals for improving their score for the winter. Please keep this worksheet in their binder because we will refer to during the rest of the school year. Please view this link: http://www.ccsd66.org/map.html to find games and activities online at your child's RIT score level. Thank you for your help at home!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/24: List 5 Pretest

*Wed. 9/26: Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!
Social Studies: Continents and Oceans graded review

*Thurs. 9/27: Picture Day: Smile!

*Fri. 9/28: Early Dismissal at 11:00 am
Spelling: List 5 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will work on summarizing as we read novels. We will turn our summaries into cartoons. We will also begin our reading response journals. We are working on Daily 5 as well! We are busy readers in our classroom!

*English: We are working on the format of a 5 paragraph essay. We will share our essay and Me bags next week.  Your child will begin sharing on next week. Look in your child's assignment notebook next week to see when they are sharing. Your child brought home a rubric on how they will be graded on their Me bag presentation.

*Spelling: We will work on list 5. The pretest will be on Monday and homework will be assigned Monday and due Thursday. The graded test will be on Friday.

*Science: We will continue to work on ch. 9 and the water cycle.

*Social Studies: We will keep working on learning about the continents and oceans. Ask your child about what continent they researched in the computer lab.  The continents and oceans graded review is scheduled for Thurs. 9/27.

*Math: We are know on ch 2. We will work on rounding and comparing numbers. Also, your child's math folder in their binder is his/her MAPs goal setting worksheet for math. On the sheet is your child's RIT score from this test this fall. We worked on setting some goals on how to improve our scores for the winter. Please keep this sheet in their math folder because we will refer to it during the year. Please view this link: http://www.ccsd66.org/map.html to find games and activities online that match your child's RIT level. Thank you for your help at home!

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the fall weather!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/17-9/21

Odds and Ends:

* Scholastic Book Order: Remember your book order is due on Fri. 9/21 online or checks and order forms turned into the classroom. Online orders help our classroom earn free books! Thank you!

* Science textbook online: Our science textbook is now available online. Attached to my weekly blog email were directions on how to access the textbook online. Please email me if you are having any troubles viewing the textbook and logging on. This is a great resource to use when reviewing lessons and studying for a test.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/17: Spelling: List 4 pretest

*Wed. 9/19: Math: Ch. 1 Test

* Fri. 9/21: Spelling: List 4 Test
Book Orders Due

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will begin our first unit on summarizing and sequencing events. We will use Lost and Found as a model story and then begin a novel study. Students will work on summarizing main events as they create comic strips about the novel.

*English: We will work on paragraph writing and the 6 traits of writing.

*Spelling: We will take our list 4 pretest on Monday. Homework will be due on Thursday. The final test will be on Friday.

*Social Studies: We will continue to work on our continents and oceans unit.

*Science: We are still busy studying weather and the water cycle.

*Math: We are finishing up ch. 1 on place value. We will spend Tuesday reviewing ch. 1. The ch. 1 test will be on Wed. 9/19.  A study guide was sent home this week to help your child review. We will begin ch. 2 on Thurs.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 9/10-9/14

Odds and Ends: 
We have had a super second week in 3rd grade! 
We are off to a great start together! 

*Scholastic Book Order: Our first Scholastic book order was sent home this week. Please have your orders in online or in the classroom by 9/21. I will have the online portion up and running by tomorrow. Thank you for your patience!

*MAPs testing: We will take our reading MAPs test on Wed. 9/12 at 8:05. This will conclude our fall MAPs test.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 9/10: Spelling: List 3 pretest

*Tues. 9/11: Magazine Drive Kick Off Assembly

*Wed. 9/12: Social Studies: Directions Quiz
Band Concert
MAPs testing : Reading

*Thurs. 9/13: English: DOL #1 Graded Review

*Fri. 9/14: Spelling: List 3 Test
English: Ch 1: Types of Sentences Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK: 

*Reading: We will continue to preview strategies that we will focus on for the year!

*English: We are working on subjects and predicates this week. The ch. 1 test is scheduled for Fri. 9/14.We are also working on D.O.L. (Daily Oral Language) in which students fix and edit incorrect sentences. We are focusing on capital letters in the beginning of sentences, end marks, and capitalizing proper nouns. The graded review will be on Thurs. A review guide will be sent home Monday.

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 3. The pretest will be on Monday. 3 homework assignments will be given on Monday and due on Thursday. The final test will be on Friday.

*Social Studies: We are working on directions and compass roses during map skills. The directions quiz will be on Wed. Then we will move onto continents and oceans.

*Science: We will begin ch. 9 : Weather and the Water Cycle. We will begin by looking at the water cycle.

*Math: We are off to a great start in math! We will focus on place value up to 6 digits. We will be learning how to write the standard, word, and expanded form of  these numbers.

Thank you for checking out my blog! Have a great weekend!
Mrs.  Olsen

Week of Sept. 4-7, 2012

Odds and Ends:

*Curriculum Night: It was so wonderful to see so many of you at Wed. night's curriculum night! I enjoyed sharing what the year will bring in 3rd grade with each of you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email or call anytime. I am looking forward to a fantastic year together!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 9/3: No School: Labor Day

*Tues. 9/4: Spelling: List 2 Pretest (we begin with list 2 this year)

*Wed. 9/5: MAPS math test 8:05-9:05

*Fri. 9/7: Spelling: List 2 Test

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We will begin our reading curriculum with an introduction to our reading strategies. We will be using a variety of literature and activities to preview the strategies that we will focus on through out the school year.

*English: The students took the ch. 1 pretest on Friday. Please look for their learning contract for ch. 1 in their English folder of their binder on Tuesday.  We will work on ch. 1: types of sentences this week.

*Spelling: This week we will work on list 2. We will take the pretest on Tuesday. Since it is a shortened week, the students will only have 2 homework assignments, rather than 3, due Thursday. The final test is on Friday. Please look for an informational sheet coming home on Tuesday explaining our spelling program in detail.

*Social Studies: We will begin the year with our map skills unit. We will begin with directions and the compass rose.

*Science: We will focus on Social Studies this week. Science will be starting shortly!

*Math: We met with our math classes for the first time on Friday! What a great class! We will begin with ch. 1: place value.  We will not have math on Wed due to MAPs testing.

Thank you for checking out our blog! I am so excited for this school year with my  fabulous class full of bright students. This is going to be a wonderful year! Enjoy the long weekend!
Mrs.Olsen

Welcome to my classroom!

Welcome to 3rd grade!

It was so great to meet you all at Open House! I am looking forward to seeing you all again on Monday!

Mark your calendars: 3rd Grade curriculum night for parents is on Wed. August 29th at 6:30 pm. 

Students: please bring a t-shirt (any shirt: it will not be altered in any way) and hanger to school on Monday. We will be using it for a fun school project!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Olsen 

Happy Summer

Thank you each and every one of you for a fabulous school year! Thank you to a fantastic group of parents as well! Your generosity and kindness made this a year to remember!  I enjoyed this year so much and learned so much from the students. I am proud of everyone's hard work and dedication this school year. Please come back and visit me often! It is hard for me to say good-bye to such an outstanding group of students, but I do so knowing that I will see you in the halls next year when you are 4th graders! Have a great summer, playing, reading, and having fun! Don't forget to post on our Summer Reading Blog!



**Over the summer, it is very important that students continue to read! I have created a blog where students can write responses about the books they are reading. They can also see the books their friends have enjoyed.  The reading responses should be around 5 sentences and should include information about the book they read.  Just click on the link on my blog page to view the reading blog. In order to use the blog students simply click on the down arrow button and find their name. Then they can enter the password I have already given them. 


**School supplies: Your child received a dictionary from the Darien Rotary Club earlier this year. Please hold on to these dictionaries and use them in 4th and even 5th grade! Thanks! 

 Congrats 3rd Graders...Welcome to 4th Grade!

Happy Summer!

Mrs. Olsen 

Last week of 3rd grade 5/29

Odds and Ends:

*Thank you to any parents who are able to purchase and pick up class photos from Walgreens. Please send them to school with your child by Wed of this week so we can use them in our scrapbooks. Thanks!

*4 day countdown 'til 4th grade! We will celebrate our last days of 3rd grade with a 4 day countdown to 4th grade. The following spirit days will take place:

Thurs. 5/31: Crazy hair day

Fri. 6/1: Mis match day

Mon. 6/4: Sunglasses/hat day

Tues. 6/5: Crazy footwear day...wear silly socks, mismatched shoes or slippers!

*Bowling: We will go bowling with our PE classes on Thurs from 9-11am. Please send a sack lunch that day since we return right at lunch time and often eat at the bowling alley and don't want any hot lunches to go to waste. You can send up to $10.00 with your child the day of the trip for the snack bar. 

*Gluesticks needed! We will be working on putting our end of the year scrapbooks together next week. We need gluesticks to put these together. Thank you to those families who already sent some in. If you can bring in any more, it would be much appreciated! THANKS!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*Mon. 5/28: No School: Happy Memorial Day!!!!

*Wed. 5/30: Social Studies: Egypt vocab quiz

*Thurs. 5/31: Social Studies: Are you an Ancient Egyptian Expert? test
Math: Logical reasoning quiz 
Bowling: AM

*Fri. 6/1: Math: 8's division test
Reading: Magic show for our 5th grade book buddies

*Mon. 6/4: All school picnic
Bike Show at 12:30

*Tues. 6/5: Last day of 3rd grade! Dismissal at 9:30. 

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We started book club books and so far the students are really into their books! We will spend time discussing the books together and responding in our reading journals. We will also continue to work on our magic show in preparation for our show to our 5th grade book buddies in Mrs. Klacza's class.

*English:  We will work on some creative and persuasive writing this week.

*Spelling: No more spelling! We will practice some cursive writing and review frequently misspelled words together in class.

*Science: We will be looking at some tools scientists use and discuss and explore the scientific method.

*Social Studies: We will be focusing on the life and discovery of King Tut.

*Math: We are working on logical reasoning. We will have a graded review on Thurs. 5/31. We will also be working on 8's division. The test will be Fri. 6/1.I you have a math textbook at home, please return it next week.Thank you!  Our last day of math will be Fri. 6/1. I have enjoyed teaching math to this wonderful group of students!

Have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend!

Mrs.Olsen

Week of 5/21

Odds and Ends: 

*THANK YOU to everyone who was able to attend our poetry cafe! The students had a great time and were thrilled to perform for everyone! Thank you to everyone who brought in delicious treats and drinks so we could have a real coffee house experience! Thank you for making it such a success!!!

*Scholastic Book Order: The book order is due 5/21. This will be the last book order of the year.

*Photos: I will be making the last photo orders to Walgreen's for the year in the next 2 weeks. Thank you to everyone who has graciously helped by purchasing picture orders for the classroom this year. If you would still like to help out, please email me and I can let you know when an order has been placed. These pictures become treasured memories and allow the students to create keepsake memory books of 3rd grade.

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

*Mon. 5/21: Public Library presentations about summer reading programs
English: Ch. 6 pronouns test

*Thurs. 5/24: 2nd grade pen pals visit

*Fri. 5/25: Math: 7's division timed test
Science: Ch 14 OPEN BOOK review

*Mon. 5/28: Memorial Day: NO SCHOOL

*Thurs. 5/31: Bowling AM (please send a sack lunch to school that day)

                        * A LOOK AHEAD:

*Reading: We are working on a magic unit. We will also be working on reading good fit books and working on responding to our literature in journals. The students were also introduced to our summer reading blog on Friday. I noticed that many students have already written responses about the books they are reading now! That is awesome! Please use the link on this blog to view the summer reading blog. Also, your child received a note with their Spring MAP scores on them. I showed the students how to access games on the district website that they can play according to their RIT scores. Please ask your child more about this.

*English: We are taking our ch. 6 pronoun test on Mon. 5/21. We will then work on narrative writing/creative writing and persuasive writing.

*Spelling: We have completed spelling for the year! 

*Science: We are wrapping up our ch. 14 unit. There will be an open book review on the chapter on Fri. 5/25.

*Social Studies: We are finishing up Eye on Egypt. We will learn about mummies, Cleopatra, and King Tut this week.

*Math: We will focus on word problems this week and do a short unit on logical reasoning problem solving. We will also work on 7's division with a timed test on Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the sunshine!!!!

week of 5/14

Odds and Ends: 

* Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! We hope you enjoy your gift and card from your child! =)

*Thank you all for making Teacher Appreciation Week a great one! I am so lucky to have an incredible class to teach each day! Thank you for being wonderful students and parents!

* Scholastic Book Order: The final book order of the year was sent home this week. Please place your order by 5/21, so I can have the books in time before school is out for the summer. Thank you for your orders online...each order online earns us free books for our classroom!

* Your child's MAPS scores will be sent home by me this week.  Once you obtain your child's scores, there is a link on our District website. Click here to play games according to your child's score to help them improve. This link would make for a great ideas for summer practice.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Mon.5/14: Spelling: List 26 Pretest: Last Spelling list of the year~
Reading:  Poetry Cafe 1-2 pm.
Assembly: Concert and Choir 9 am

*Tues. 5/15: Reading: Good Fit Book Celebration Projects Due

*Thurs. 5/17: Math: 6's division timed test

*Fri. 5/18: Early Dismissal: 11:00 am
 English: Pronoun Test
Spelling: List 26 Test

                A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading:  We have been working hard to prepare for our Poetry Cafe on Monday. We are looking forward to performing to our friends and family on Mon. from 1-2. Hope to see you there! Please remember to have your child wear black on Monday (sunglasses and beret optional!)

*English: We are working on pronouns (ch 6). The test is tentatively scheduled for Fri. 5/18. A study guide will be sent home this week.

*Spelling: We will work on list 26 this week. This will be our last spelling test of the year. We will spend the rest of the school year working on different types of word work, including vocabulary building and practicing frequently misspelled words.

*Science: We are working on ch. 14 lesson 2. The ch. 14 test is tentatively scheduled for Thurs. 5/24. More info coming soon about the test~

*Social Studies: Students were busy this week learning about ancient Egypt. Ask your child about the Nile River they made and about their sarcophagus. We will learn more about mummies and pyramids next week.

*Math: We are working on ch 24: Division with remainders. We will explore more division with remainders next week. We are also working on 6's division timed test this week. Please study your facts at home!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with your children!
Mrs. Olsen

Week of 5/7

Odds and Ends: 

* Inspired by cardboard: In reading our Time for Kids this week, we learned about a 9 year old boy Caine who made a cardboard arcade. We watched a short video on Friday called Caine's Arcade (click here to watch).  What imagination! What can you create this weekend or summer out of boxes and cardboard? The possibilities are endless!

*Book Worm Angel: Thank you to everyone who donated books. Prairieview was able to collect thousands of books for schools in need! WOW!

*Thank you to Mr. Hoffman, Mrs. Moy, Mrs. Sprandel, and Mrs. Messina for providing our class with a pizza celebration!  We had a great time! What a wonderful group of students and parents I have had this year. Thanks!

Materials Needed: Thank you for those who have already sent in these items! But...we are still in need for more of the following:
*Glue sticks
*toilet paper tubes

Also, please ask your child about their own personal school supplies...we are running low on pencils, erasers, red pens, and dry erase markers. We also have several students who need scissors. Thank you! 

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

* Tues. 5/8: Reading: Good Fit Book Vocab. due

*Fri. 5/11: Spelling: List 25 test
Math: 4's and 11's division timed test

             A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK:

*Reading: We are busy writing poems and putting together our own poetry anthology. We have some very talented poets in our class. We are learning about idioms, alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, cliches, similes, metaphors, personification, and rhyming as we put our poems together.

Good Fit Book Celebrations: How is your reading and project going? Don't forget, the vocab. 4 square is due Tues. 5/8. I will begin quizzing students orally about the meaning of their 4 chosen words and how to use them in a sentence. Also, be sure they know a synonym and antonym for their words. Students partnered up this week to discuss their books. We will work together on some more activities this week to discuss our books, ask questions, and share interesting things we've read. 

*English: We are going to start ch. 6 pronouns this week.

* Spelling: We are on list 25. We are nearing the end of our spelling series! We will have a pretest Monday and the final test Friday.

* Science: We began ch 14: Heat, Sound, and Light. We will focus on heat this week-which is very fitting considering our warm weather lately!

*Social Studies: We began our unit on Ancient Egypt. Students learned to write their name in hieroglyphics. We will study pyramids and the Nile River next.

*Math: We are starting ch. 24: division with greater numbers and division. We will also be taking the timed test on 4's and 11's this Friday. Please study your math facts every night! Thank you!

Enjoy your weekend together! Create some memories (and maybe some cool things out of cardboard, too!)

Mrs. Olsen