February 24-28

Hello!

It was so great to sit down with all of you during conferences a couple weeks ago!  It was fun for me to witness your child having the opportunity to shine by sharing all that he/she is learning in school.  Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to attend conferences with your child.  Your kids are far ahead where we were in 3rd grade.  The expectations have certainly grown since we were in school.  Your children are rising to the occasion and are doing well with the new Common Core standards.  I'm looking forward to witnessing their academic growth this last semester.  Hard to believe we are already nearing March!

Here are some upcoming reminders:

• International Festival Taste Fest and the music programs are Wed., Feb. 26.
• The Taste Fest will begin at 1:30pm.
• Here is the link to the sign up genius in case you need a reminder of your food item or if you signed up to help.  There are still volunteer slots available if you have time to help on Wednesday.  **The sign up states it is Thursday, the 26th.  It is actually WEDNESDAY, February 26th.  :) 
• http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080944A8AC2E5-international1
• Music programs will be at 3:00 and 7:00 (students need to meet in the music room at 6:40)
• Feb. 28th--Books and Breakfast begins at 8:00
• March 14-23-- Spring Break
• I attached a flyer to the class news email for the Seussical Week of Fun!

Government and Civics-
We are beginning a new social studies unit this week about government.  Our focus this week will be to learn about laws and rules and why they are important for us to have.  There are some fun stories in our reading book that relate very well to this topic that we can read as we continue to practice our reading strategies.  Ask your child what "silly" laws they have learned about this week.

Math-
We are continuing to learn about polygons and their attributes in Topic 11.  There is a lot of vocabulary with this topic so it is important for your child to be able to identify all the different shapes and attributes.  This week we will continue reviewing a the various polygons we learned last week.  The students will take those polygons to create a Geometry Zombie and become cartographers to create a city map using geometric shapes.  We will have a test over topic 11 early next week.

Spelling-
Students have geometry words this week as their spelling list.  The test will be Friday, Feb. 28.  They may practice the spelling on Spelling City https://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=16884772 and can practice the vocabulary here:  http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_36/Geometry_Vocabulary_ovFq8.htm

Writing-
Students will be introduced to a new writing assignment this week.  They will be publishing their own books and will actually get to order a copy of it.  We will begin prewriting their auto-biographies this week.

Have a wonderful week!

February 3 - 7

Are you enjoying this cold wintery weather that we've been having? Well, whether you have or not, get ready for some more. It looks as if we might have a snow day (or 2) in our near future.

UPDATE!!!!!
International Festival:  Our International Festival and Taste Fest were schedeuled for this Thursday; however, because of some bad weather coming into the area resulting in possible snow days, the students will need more time with the music teacher to prepare for their program.  The program, and all related activities, have been re-scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26th. Please plan to send food for the Taste Fest on that day instead.  

Spelling: The students were supposed to take their next spelling test this Friday, however, I am going to reschedule that as well, to Tuesday, Feb. 11. This will give us a little more classtime to practice and study the list.  Kids can practice the vocabulary by clicking on the following link. 

http://www.classtools.net/mob/quiz_90/Country_Spelling_and_Vocab_3ge3k.htm

They can also practice the list on spelling city here:   https://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=16438068

Math: We completed fractions today with a review and a test. I had planned on giving the test tomorrow but after spending time reviewing with them, I did not want them to have to wait a few days to take the test.  I decided to have them take it today while it was all still fresh in their minds.
We will be learning about polygons next.

Reading: With the Winter Olympics beginning this weekend, I have a few articles in which the students will read to help them learn more about it. The Olympics ties in perfectly with our International Festival study. As the kids learn about the Olympics they get to see and hear more about different countries around the world. 

Read to Feed Update from Mrs. Luschen:  February 9th is the last day for students to read and record their minutes. On Monday, February 10th students will need to total their reading minutes and collect their pledges from their sponsors. Students will have until February 20th to collect and return their pledge money to school.

Quick Reminders
Feb. 11--Symphony Field Trip and Valentine's Party
Feb. 12-13--Student-Led conferences-Please plan on having your child attend this conference with you.
Feb. 13-17-- No School for students- Presidents Weekend

Have a safe week and try to stay warm!!