Kid President

Today we watched a video titled "Kid President."  This video sends great messages to our class.  It tells them that they can be AWESOME and it also tells them that they are part of a team.  I reminded them that they are part of our 3C team and they need to help to be an active, positive team member.  Watch and enjoy!

Slippin' and Slidin'

Dear Parents,

Wow!  Can you believe that glaze of ice we have outside?  It is slick out there, so hopefully everyone stays safe.  Hopefully, your child has some boots to wear outdoors because it will be slippery on the playground.

Today your child is bringing home a letter explaining signing up online for "Parent Teacher Conferences."  Parent Teacher Conferences will take place Monday, February 11th and Tuesday, February 12th.  Your child is to attend the conference with you because he or she will lead the conference.  I will sit in on the conference with you and your child, but your child will be the main one explaining his or her work and behaviors.  You will need to sign up using the letter for instructions.  You can begin signing up on Wednesday, January 30th, but the letter is going home tonight explaining how to do it.  If you have any questions about signing up online, please contact me or Linda.  Thanks!

Last Monday, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr's life through some books, videos, and creating a hand print peace flower that we have displayed in our hallway.  I have had several students request placing the videos online, so if your child clicks on the link below, he or she can watch some of the videos that we watched in class on Martin Luther King, Jr's life.  Enjoy!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembered

Brain Pop Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity Village (scroll down to the bottom for the choice of 3 different videos)

I have added a new site below in the "Informational Websites and Games" section of my blog.  I am also adding this link within the post.  Technology is becoming a very important factor in your child's education.  While you child may be able to navigate on a computer to search on the Internet, play games, download, etc, he or she also needs the computer to write/type Word documents.  One area your child can work on at home (with some opportunities at school) is keyboarding.  Proper keyboarding will help his or her typing skills and make it easier to type correctly.  Eventually, you would like to see your child type without looking at his or her fingers and keeping his or her fingers on the correct keys.  The program is called "Dance Mat Typing."  We will practice it at school later this week, but feel free to have your child work on this program at home.  If your child is working on "Dance Mat Typing," please see that your child starts at Level 1 in the program to start in the correct place.  See if your child wants to test it out!

Dance Mat Typing

Lastly, on Friday I introduced a video website that the students LOVED called "Animoto."  I gave the students the option to use the website this weekend, and it looks like many of them took the opportunity to use the site this weekend.  I reminded the students that this is my account when they log in and they must use it appropriately.  They also must not "delete" or "edit" another student's video.  Like the "Dance Mat Typing" link, I am adding the "Animoto" link below and also adding it to the "Information to Remember" section of the blog.  Ask your child to show you how "Animoto" works, if they have not done so already!

Animoto

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.  Have an awesome week!

Sincerely,
Mrs. McCarville

Brrr....Let's Bundle Up!

Dear Parents,

On Friday, I sent home book orders for the month.  I sent home several book orders and if your child does want to order books, please have the orders sent back to school by Friday, January 25^th.  If you would like to order online, the classroom code to order online was written at the top of the book orders.  The online code is also at the top of our blog page.  If you are not ordering online and are sending the book orders to me, I would prefer that you send the book orders with the exact amount of money for it. However, I can send back change if needed.  If you are writing a check, those can be made payable to “Scholastic Book Club."  Thanks!

Please look for your child’s reading fluency passage on Friday.  I have been sending home fluency passages that your child has practiced in school and then taken home on the weekend to practice with you.  Continue to look for a passage every Friday and please listen to your child practice the fluency passage.  I will continue sending the passages throughout the next month, so please continue to look for the passage and send the signed sheet to school.  Thanks!

Parent/teacher conferences will take place on Monday, February 11^th and Tuesday, February 12^th.  For these conferences, your child will be leading the conference so I am asking that your child come with you to the conference.  Starting in a couple weeks, we will be preparing for conferences in school so that your child can explain how he/she is performing in school.  I look forward to visiting with you in a few weeks. 

Please see that your child is still bringing his or her winter coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, and boots.  Many of the students have not been wearing snow pants, boots, and even hats!  While there may not be much for snow on the ground, it is still cold.  Please see that your child is dressing appropriately for the winter weather.  Thank you!

If your child has not returned his/her report card envelope, please see that he or she returns it as soon as possible.  Thank you!

Lastly, there is a 3-hour early dismissal on Wednesday, January 23rd.  Students will be dismissed at 12:25 PM, so please plan accordingly.  Thanks!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.  Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. McCarville

Parent Letter

Dear Parents,

Another week has gone by and January is already halfway over.  We were so busy last week that the time flew by!  Hopefully, this week will be the same way!

I am not sure if your child has mentioned to you or not but we will be having a Luther student in our classroom to help out for the next few weeks.  Her name is Miss Wermedal, and she will be spending time working with the students.  The class is super excited to have a helper in our classroom. She will be sending a letter home to you this week explaining a little about herself.  We hope Miss Wermedal has a great experience in our classroom and enjoys her time with 3C!

Report cards are being sent home today.  If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s report card, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks!

Please look for your child’s reading fluency passage on Friday.  Before Christmas, I was sending home fluency passages that your child had practiced in school and then took home on the weekend to practice with you.  I sent a shorter fluency passage home on Friday for your child to complete.  Continue to look for a passage every Friday unless there is a note explaining that we will not be doing one for the week.  These passages are not long and your child SHOULD be reading them 3 times over the weekend.  Please continue to have your child read every night.  It is very important that your child reads nightly to improve as a reader.  Your child can increase his/her fluency by reading aloud to you and can increase his/her comprehension by “checking for understanding” after he/she reads.  Thanks for your support!  

Although it is a month away, please keep your calendars marked for Parent/Teacher Conferences.  The conferences will take place on Monday, February 11th and Tuesday, February 12th.  For this conference, your child will be asked to attend and "lead" the conference so please remember that when the time comes for you to schedule conferences.  Thank you!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks and have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. McCarville

Welcome 2013

Hello and welcome back!  I hope you enjoyed the extended vacation with some snow days before break.  Hopefully, your 3rd grader is ready to finish out the second half of the school year.  Wow!  Did the first half of the year go fast or what?

As we are starting up the second half of the year, I wanted to mention some things that we will need to "wrap" up as we lost 2 days before the winter break due to snow.  Many of you may be questioning if we are going to have our "Care and Share" celebration that was scheduled before break.  The answer is...YES!  I am sure your child was planning and preparing to make an ornament and we WILL be having the party.  The party is now rescheduled for WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9th.  Please have any materials needed for the ornament either by Tuesday or Wednesday.  We will exchange ornaments on Friday, January 11th, but create the ornaments on the 9th.  Please see that your child is ready.  Also, if you were a parent that volunteered to donate snacks to the classroom for that party, please send those snacks with your child on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9th.  Thanks a bunch in advance!

Your child may have his or her December reading calendar.  If your child has met his or her reading goal and would like to turn in his or her December reading calendar, please do so as soon as possible.  The January reading calendar is being sent home today, with a goal of reading 350 minutes.  It is an option to complete the reading calendar.  However, if your child does decide to complete the calendar, he or she will receive a Pizza Hut certificate.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks!

Prior to winter break, your child completed the social studies test on communities and geography.  There are a few students that need to complete the test, so those tests will be sent home on Wednesday. Typically, I ask that you sign the test and return it back to me.  You do NOT need to return the test to me, but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.  Thank you!

Since we are halfway through the school year, we are continuing to become more responsible and work on our communication skills.  One way we have been communicating is through our sharing portion of our morning meeting.  Throughout the first two quarters, your child had the option to bring in something to share, such as pictures, favorite toys, etc.  We are about to change our sharing to focus more on communicating our sharing rather than bringing in something to show and tell.  Your child will still be able to share, but communicate his or her sharing rather than bringing something in.  If you have any questions about these changes, please contact me.  Thanks!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Thanks and have a great week!

Sincerely,
Mrs. McCarville