For the week of March 14th, 2016

● St. Patrick’s Day - Thursday, March 17thLearners may wear Green Tops with Jeans or Uniform Bottoms

● Friday, March 18th Prayer Partner Mass

● Blogging information from Mrs. Mildrew *See Page 3 of the Newsletter

● 4th Grade Ambassador Needed for 2016 - 17 School YearWould you like to help new 4th grade families next year transition into our school? We are looking for one ambassador to help our brand new 4th grade families entering our school next year. This is a full credit volunteer position. If you’re interested or would like more details, please email Penny Williams at penny-williams@hotmail.com

● Water Bottle WednesdaysHelp support the garden and market by tossing your empty bottles into the special receptacles in class. When you’re at the lunch benches, toss that bottle into the tall, dark water bottle shaped receptacle. Each grade level will receive a treat for the most money raised each month. So the more the better! Yes, you can bring them from home too!

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, March 16th; 6:00pmBar Modeling with Mr. Myers (in 3B)

Friday, March 18th; 1:00pmStations of the Cross

Thursday, March24th; Holy ThursdayMinimum Day - 11:50 Dismissal

Friday, March25th; Good FridayNO SCHOOL

Monday, March 28th - Friday, April 1st; Easter Recess

Sunday, April 10th; Father/Son PGO Event

NewsletterTHIRD GRADE

KIRBY MYERS PAGEL/McCORMICK

Reading - In reading workshop this week learners will extend their first thoughts about the characters in their books to grow bigger ideas, noticing patterns in a character’s actions and feelings, and using these patterns to develop a theory about their characters.

At home, during their nightly reading, learners are encouraged to follow their characters in the same fashion. Jotting down on Post-its noticings about their character, revising earlier ideas in the face of new evidence.

Writing - Learners are in the revision stage of the writing process for their informational texts and are progressing towards publishing. This week writers will work on writing conclusions that leave their readers thinking. They will then self-assess what they’ve done well and what they can improve on - with the goal of creating a classroom community of self-reflective, purposeful learners.

Spelling - Sight word practice will continue this week. The assessment will be on Friday, March 18th.

Mathematics - Tomorrow is our pi day celebration. Students in all three homerooms will have the opportunity to recite pi to as many digits as they can from memory; the winning student in each homeroom will get to hit Mr. Myers in the face with a pie of the their choice. I am looking forward to it:

3.1415926535897932384626....

Later in the week, we will continue solving challenging word problems using bar models!

I invite all parents to come out this Wednesday evening, 3/16, at 6 PM to see how bar modeling works. As an educator, I have tremendous faith in visual models such as these, and I would like to whatever I can to bridge the gap for parents who are trying to get caught up to speed. We will meet in my classroom. I hope to see you there.

Science - We have begun our new unit on the earth and the moon (and space etc.) This unit is in our science textbook. Feel free to join us this Thursday for the science lab: modeling lunar phases of the moon.

Have a great week.

Religion - We will finish looking at Chapter 8. Learners will be tested on Wednesday, March 16th. This Friday, learners will be sitting with their Prayer Partners. We will also be attending Stations of the Cross. Please join us!We continue to practice and re-enact the 14 Stations of the Cross. Learners are becoming comfortable performing their stations and the meaning is really hitting home. Cursive - We will continue with our lowercase letters.

Social Studies - Wow! Look out Capitol Hill! We have some very persuasive debaters in 3rd grade :) The learners presented their arguments for and against homework. Each debate was civil and respectful, and quite insightful! Now on to a new agenda: Littering in the downstairs bathrooms. As the “oldest students” on the ground floor, our 3rd graders feel responsible to take some action. Let’s see if we can write a bill, have both the House of Representatives and Senate approve it, deliver to the President, and have it signed as law before Easter break.

Dear Parents, During the month of March, third grade is focusing on Family Blogging! Your learner has been working on Digital Citizenship and the proper way to post and comment using KidBlog. KidBlog.org is safe, monitored, easy to use educational blog. I review all comments and posts before they go on the blog. KidBlog is now open so parents can view and comment on their learners’ blog. Our goal this month is to post and comment free of errors, typos, along with proper use of grammar and punctuation. Learners are instructed not to use slang, texting abbreviations or emoticons. After Easter break, learners with outstanding posts and comments will be rewarded “maker space free time” in the digital literacy lab. You can help your learner by encouraging them to blog at home by visiting their KidBlog, reviewing their posts and submitting comments regarding their posts. Learners love receiving positive comments on their blogs. Are you doing something fun for Easter break? What a great time to share your interests, travel or a funny story with your classmates. Last week 3rd grade posted interview questions for you to answer. At your convenience, please take some time to post your answers in the comment section and feel free to reply with questions of your own. This is a fun way create a great dialog with your learner. Learners are also working on persuasive writing skills. Each learner is creating a persuasive map that will convince the editor of their magazine to put their relative on the cover as the “Outstanding Person of the Year”. Learners will be challenged to create a unique design knowing that 80% of sales are based on the magazine cover! The KidBlog link is on the Parish School website, www.stedschool.org. Go to the Academics dropdown menu and click on Lower (TYKE-4), Digital Literacy. You may also login as a guest (#guest). The password is “stedward”. Here is the direct link to individual blogs. Click learners name on right-hand side. Click “submit” after you comment. Girls - kidblog.org/3rdGirls Boys - kidblog.org/3rd-grade18 If you have any questions regarding KidBlog, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, please check out our Digital literacy website to learn more about our program.http://steddigital.weebly.com/ Link is also on the school website under Tyke-4 Digital LiteracyThank you for your continued support. Blessings,Mrs. Julie Mildrew

from the week...

3A February Behavior Calendar Party - Popsicles on the Bluff

Snapshots

Learners noticing how their characters talk and act in order to study their observations, so they can grow their characters.

Writing a bill is very serious business!