Happy summer to all of you!  This year went by so quickly! We had a great time at the pond yesterday. We saw (and caught) many frogs, but only saw a few snakes and turtles.  Abrielle was so close to catching a snake in her net.  They are just so fast.  Enjoy the pictures of these little adventurers.

Also, here is the link to our talent show.  We watched the talent show in class but there is also an honorable mention tab at the top to see the rest of the performers.

Thank you for all of the cards, gifts, emails and well wishes to me.  You all have been so gracious and kind.  This has been a year like no other.  There have been so many twists and turns and new rules.  I am so proud of each of these students because they handled everything like a champ.  Some day were harder than others, but overall, this group worked well together and worked hard in class.

Have a wonderful and safe summer!

Wow! Can I just say that I cannot believe this is the last week of school?  I am really going to miss your child.  This has been a growth year for sure.  Your child has continued to adapt and follow new guidelines and rules that have been placed on all of us. As I’ve working on report cards, I have been reflecting on each individual student and I am just so proud of the effort and progress that has been made.  It makes me smile.

Looking ahead to our last week, I have some fun things planned intermixed with some review of old material.  Although I don’t want to give away all of the surprises, please plan on them being outside a little more this week so if you’d like to lather them with sunscreen may not be a bad idea. Also, everyone should bring a water bottle with their name on it.

On Thursday, we will be going to the pond.  The students earned this with their Dojo Points.  They are allowed to bring nets and boots.  I will watch and make sure no one goes into the water, but I know they will be close to the water’s edge and I don’t want their shoes to get wet.  We’ve been down to the pond a couple of times this spring and there is a lot of activity with reptiles and birds.  I think it will be a fun time.

Friday, our last day, will be a 1/2 day.  Students will be dismissed at 12:15.

Report cards are not due until June 11.  They will be collected in the office and all sent out at once.  As Mr. Waldie stated in his email on Friday, the next year’s teacher will not be known to you until later this summer.

Below are two pictures from our red, white, and blue day on Friday. I believe we are just missing Jaxon.  Sorry for this, he had an appointment at the time we took the picture. And yes, we took a quick one without masks.  I couldn’t resist.  Look at those smiles! 🙂

The kids were so incredibly excited for fort day!  They worked so hard for this reward.  I loved standing back and watching them work together, compromise, and use some creative engineering to make their forts.  This year was a little unique because they couldn’t combine forts.  We kept them in little groups of two, but it was still a success.

Here are some pictures of the transformation and cute faces. . .well, the cute top half of faces at least!

What a week it was last week! We had our first experience with MSTEP.  Surprisingly the students said that they felt it was easier than they thought it would be.  They also said that it was long and hard, but not as bad as they thought.  Unfortunately when we go into the unknown, we always think the worst.  In this case, I think it was a good thing because they thought it would be much more difficult that it was.

Next week Thursday we have the math MSTEP.

Reading and Writing

In reading and writing we have been researching in a groups on a specific animal.  Students have already written a chapter to make a “book” of their first animal.  They are now studying a new animal and writing two chapters each about this animal.  Next week they will write an introduction and conclusion together.

Math

These next few lessons on math are heavy on vocabulary.  It is one of my favorite units to teach, but students need to pay attention and learn the terms.  A vocabulary sheet is coming home tonight. Please put it in a safe place to use for homework and studying.

Social Studies

We have begun studying the geography of Michigan.  We’ve learned about absolute and relative locations.  Some students did not know their home address.  Check with your child and see if they can tell you your address.  This is good to know for safety reasons!  Today we talked about landforms such as islands, peninsulas, and mountains. We are moving quickly to get in as much social studies as we can over the next few weeks.

Upcoming Events

FORT DAY: Wednesday, May 12.  Students may bring in a (clean) blanket to use to make a fort.  There will only be two people per fort and it will be the same person that they sit with at lunch.

MSTEP: Thursday, May 13 (possibly 14) in the morning

Jet’s Pizza Night:  Thursday, May 13.  If you don’t feel like cooking, call Jet’s Pizza on Baldwin and tell that your child is in my class and we could win a class pizza party!

Have a wonderful week!

The kids were so happy, and surprised, with Fraction Pizza Friday.  They entered “Mrs. Houtstra’s Pizzeria” jumping, and laughing, and asking so many questions!! Again, thank you to all of you who signed up to donate Lunchables, juice boxes, snacks, and Lysol wipes this week.  We could not have done this without you!

Charlotte’s on TV!

Check out these exercise videos that Charlotte recorded earlier in the year and they were just released.  We are using them in class for some of our brain breaks.

Headphones

Now that we each have our own computer, headphones are needed for a couple of reasons. One, the school headphones are not comfortable.  Two, we don’t have enough headphones for every student.  If you are able, please send in a pair with your child in a ziplock bag with their name on them.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend!  The sunshine is beautiful today! 🙂

We are back in the swing of things and ready to push through to the end of the year.  We only have seven weeks of school left! Wow. We are starting a few new units this week which is exciting.

Math

Tomorrow we will have a math test on fractions. A study guide came home on Friday.  Please review this with your child.  Our next unit will be on area and perimeter.

Reading

We are beginning a new unit called, Research Clubs:  Elephants, Penguins, and Frogs, Oh My!  Students are assigned an animal to study in groups.  Right now they are learning how to research.  Soon they will be collectively bringing their information together and each of them will write a chapter for their research paper. So far, they are having a lot of fun with it and enjoying all of the new information they are finding.

Writing

Our writing is tied to the research unit.  They are learning how to be a researcher and how to look for information.

Fraction Pizza Party

I am so excited for our fraction pizza party.  And even more excited that all of the sign ups are FULL!  Thank you so much Parents for all you do.  I appreciate all of the support you give.  I am blessed to be your child’s teacher.

I have a quick update about tomorrow and then a couple other suggestions!

Pizza Party

Tomorrow is our class pizza party from winning the door decorating competition.  Students will get to enjoy two pieces of pizza provided by our wonderful PTC.  Please send in something for your child to drink, something more to go with lunch if you don’t think two pieces is enough to fill them up, and also a morning snack.

Earphones

Now that each student has their own computers we don’t have enough headphones for everyone to use at the same time across the grades.  If you are able, could you send in a pair of headphones in a ziplock bag with your child’s name on them?  They will probably need them in years to come so it will be worth the investment.

Deodorant

It is that time of year when students are getting very hot and sweaty as they play outside and even in PE class.  Believe it or not, students in 3rd grade can develop body odor at this young age.  Now would be a great time to talk to your child about hygiene and even help remind them to put on deodorant each morning.

Happy Thursday

Hello Parents!  Spring break is right around the corner and the excitement sure is ramping up.  Many students are going away and it seems like the ones that are staying home have plans with friends and family.  Everyone is looking forward to it!

March Reading Logs

Please send in the March reading logs on Monday for your child to be entered into a drawing.  Thank you for encouraging your child to read and help them record their minutes.

Math

We are working through this fraction unit.  One day the class seems to understand and the next day it seems only a few understand.  Nonetheless, we won’t give up and we will keep working on how fractions are part of a whole and what the numerator and denominator means.  I gave them a fraction sheet yesterday for independent work.  It will come home today.  For the students who did not understand, I met with them individually or in a small group.

Reading

We will finish up our unit on test taking strategies.  In this unit, students have learned how to write a constructed response with evidence and thoughtful meaning.  We have also talked about the best strategies to use for multiple choice questions like crossing off answers that don’t make sense and reading all possibilities before choosing an answer.

Writing

We have been studying fairy tales and all of the different ones written for the same story, called parodies.  Now we are going to write one with a partner.  The students were given the choice of Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Ask your child which one they are writing about and what their big change is in their writing.  They all are showing so much creativity in their writing.

Upcoming Dates:

Spring Break:  April 2-11

April 15:  Jet’s Pizza Night (When you order and give them my name, we could win a pizza party)

Pizza Party: April 16 – Our class won the door decorating competition for our hallway, which won us a pizza party.  We will enjoy this on Friday, April 16.  Please send your child with a snack and something to drink on this day.

April 23:  Early Release Day

MSTEP:  May 6 and 13 (Please avoid making any appointments on these days if possible)

Hello 3rd grade families!

Mrs. Reynolds here to give you a quick update on our learning in Mrs. Houtstra’s room. This will be the third week I spend with your children and am thoroughly enjoying getting to know each of them. What a great group of kiddos!!

March is Reading Month:

As you may know, March is Reading Month, and here at Georgetown, we are pulling out the stops for a Wild West rodeo of reading. You may have noticed your children didn’t bring home their typical reading log this month; instead, they have a March is Reading Month calendar. Completing a weekly reading goal of 100 minutes per week will gain your student one entry to our book giveaway raffle.

Additionally, we have been challenged to decorate our door in keeping with GES’ Wild West theme. The students have put quite a bit of thought into our door design and have been working in teams to complete their vision prior to Friday’s panel of judges. 😉 We are still putting the finishing touches on the door, so stay tuned!

Finally, students are welcome to participate in our reading Spirit Days to the extent they desire.

• Friday, March 12:  Dress like a cowboy/cowgirl; flannel/plaid
• Wednesday, March 17:  St. Patrick’s Day – Wear green!
• Friday, March 19:  Wild about Words – wear a shirt with words on it
• Friday, March 26:  Hoedown – Wear jeans, belt, and boots!
• Thursday, April 1:  Wear PJs for comfy reading!

Math Update:

We have wrapped up our unit on measurement, time, and graphing and will spend the remainder of this week reviewing prior to our end-of-unit assessment. We will complete a review packet that your child will bring home to use as preparation for the test. Reviewing time with your child and having them explain their work on the review material will be very helpful for them as working with time can be a tricky concept. Please feel free to contact me at areynold@hpseagles.net with any questions you may have regarding the unit test (of course, feel free to contact me at any time regarding your child).

Conferences:

A reminder that Mrs. Houtstra’s conferences will be next week Monday and Wednesday, 3/15 and 3/17.

I hope you all are able to get out and enjoy this fabulous weather – what a treat after winter in Michigan! (The students have been eagerly asking when they can shed their coats at recess – and celebrated that they could yesterday and today!)

We had a very fun day with all of our Valentine activities! Thank you so for sending in all of the valentines and for dressing your child in red and pink.  This was the best picture we could get.  It was taken after sugar and at the end of the day.  Clearly, I should have thought that one through better! 🙂