January 31

Reminders

Hip hip hurray for 4 1/2 days off from school.  I’ve been told that many of you I’ve heard are going away, and many of you have plans in the area.  Either way, my wish for you is that you enjoy your time together.  These years go by way too fast.  Soak up every moment….the good AND the bad! I hope to do a lot of R&R.  I like to write in my spare time and I really would like to spend a good chunk of time doing just that!!

Valentine’s Day

Our Valentine’s Party is next Friday, February 14 from 2:20-3:30.  I’m still looking for a few more volunteers.  You can go to this site to sign up.

Please work on the Valentine’s over the weekend.  I sent the class list in an email earlier this week.  On Wednesday we will make a bag in class to hold all of them.  We will also start the process of passing them out.

Yearbooks

I forgot to send home the yearbooks today.  I am sure the students are so upset with me. 🙁  Please tell them I will do it on Wednesday when we come back.

Homework

Please have your child get on Study Island and complete the 10 problems.  It should be easy.  The students who have finished already scored between 90-100%.  Also remember that our reading goal is 100 minutes per week.  Reading logs are due on Wednesday, February 4.  A new one came home today.

Have a super weekend!

January 28

Updates from Room 201 – Including Valentine’s Information

I hope this finds all of you well.  There have been a few students absent due to illness, but luckily nothing major has been running through the classroom.  We keep wiping down tables and washing our hands to keep those germs away!

Below are a few reminders of upcoming activities:

P.E. Apparel Sale!

If you are interested in purchasing P.E. Apparel please check out the information on the P.E. blog at  http://mvankoev.edublogs.org.  The sale will be ending on January 29.

Valentine’s Party

We will be having a Minute-To-Win-It Valentine’s Day party this year on Friday, February 14 from 2:40-3:30.  You can sign up here.  We will make Valentine’s bags in class to put class Valentine’s in.  Over the winter break would be a great time to have your child fill out Valentine’s for their classmates.  I will send a class list in an email.  They can start coming in as early as next week!

Study Island Homework

    • This is replacing mandatory flash cards and Moby Max practice at home.
    • As we are reviewing data from our monthly standardized tests in reading and math, we have decided as a grade level to create weekly homework assignments to be completed on Study Island.
        • Each week there will be 10 homework questions assigned on Tuesdays and due the following Monday.
        • On Tuesday during our computer time, kids will take a 10 question quiz on the concepts assigned in their weekly homework.
        • Concepts and assignments created by the third grade team are specifically aligned with problem areas we have identified from our data.
    • These assignment begins at the end of the day tomorrow.  I want to walk through the steps one more time with students, so they feel confident at home.
    • If you do not have access to a tablet or computer for your child to complete this homework, I can print a worksheet for students to complete and turn in by the Monday it is due.
    • Kids do not need to have a QR code to log onto Clever – they all have their login information memorized by this point.  I’m not exactly sure what it will look like on your home computers.  Here are some troubleshooting ideas:
      • Go to Clever.com
      • They may need their gmail account.  It will be _______@hpsstudents.net.  They need to write their student id before the @.
      • If it asks what school, you can find it by typing in Georgetown Elementary.  There are other Georgetown Elementary’s in this world, believe it or not, so make sure you click on the one in Hudsonville.
      • Once into Clever, they can go to Study Island and find their homework.
      • If you are still having problems, email me! 🙂
    • Thanks so much for helping your child with their studies!
  • Upcoming Dates:

    Reading Log due – Wednesday, February 5th

    • The Reading Log is due Wednesday, February 5th (when we come back from Midwinter Break).
  • Early Release – Friday, January 31st

    • Enjoy the long break! 🙂
  • Midwinter Break – Saturday, February 1st – Tuesday, February 4th

    • Class resumes Wednesday, February 5th

    Valentine’s Day – Friday, February 14th

    Early Release – Friday, February 21st

January 22

M-STEP Schedule

Dear Parents,

The M-STEP State testing for grades 3-5 will take place this spring.  I wanted you to have information on the dates in advance so that you can schedule appointments around these testing dates.

The dates for our M-STEP tests are as follows, Grade 3: May 5, 6, 7  (9am-12 pm)

January 13

Updates from Room 201, Jan. 13

We had a great first week back, but I think all of us were very tired by the end of the week.  We took Friday afternoon a little easier and made a craft, which we don’t often get to do in 3rd grade.  Students made a snowman body by ripping the paper.  This was no easy task and some of them grumbled but in the end, they all had a great looking finished product.  With the project they finished the statement, Snow is falling, This book is calling: _______________.

Reading

Last week a reading log was sent home for January.  Please continue to fill it out each night that your child reads.  Remember our goal is to read 100 minutes total per week.

Our new book club book was announced in class today and information is coming home about it tonight.  We will be reading Room One, a Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements.  This book is a higher level so it will be very beneficial for you to read it with your child.  If you would like to participate, please send back the paper at the bottom of the page so I know to plan on you.  Our book club night will be on Wednesday, February 19 from 7:00-8:00.

Math

Continue practicing those math facts.  The scores have been going down and students have not been passing the tests each week like they used to.  I know it gets mundane after a while, but many of them are so close to being done.  We can’t give up now!!

We are also finishing our unit on measurement.  Telling time on an analog clock and elapsed time are very difficult.  I will be sending home a few homework papers this week for extra help.  I am planning on the test being on Friday, but we may have to move it to Monday for more review time.

Valentine’s Day Party

We are having our last holiday party of the year on Friday, February 14.  I will make a google doc of the volunteers and supplies needed by next week.

As always thank you for your support to our classroom.

Have a wonderful week.