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!)