Homecoming Week

Happy Homecoming Week!  It should be a week full of fun as the students get the opportunity to dress up differently for our week.  A note was sent home last week regarding the dress days.  Here is a reminder for each of the Homecoming Week dress up days.

Monday: Favorite Sports Team Day (Bonus points for those in Minnesota Vikings wear!  Hey, we finally won; what can I say?!  Ha ha!)
Tuesday: Camouflage Day
Wednesday: Color Day (3rd Grade's color is ORANGE)
Thursday: Wacky-Tacky /Mix & Match Day 
Friday: Blue/School Colors Day

It is OPTIONAL to dress up for those Homecoming days.  Have fun with the dressing up!  

This week, we will be taking our first assessment in math.  We are finishing Unit 1 in math as we have reviewed various math skills from second grade.  I will send home the graded math test later this week.  Also, any time that we have a math test that is sent home, I am asking that you look over the test with your child, and sign and return the test to me the following day.  This test will be sent home the following week.  Thanks!

I am sending home your child’s October reading calendar TOMORROW.  I am attaching another letter to the reading calendar to give information about the program.  The calendar will also include a reading goal that your child will be asked to complete by the end of the month.  Beginning each month, if your child reads 20 minutes or more a night, he/she is to color in the box for that night.  If he/she brings the calendar back at the end of the month and read the amount of minutes his/her goal requires, he/she will get a pizza certificate to Pizza Hut.  If your child brings back all the calendars through April, he/she will get an additional celebration in my room at the end of the year.  This is an OPTIONAL program for students.  Each student will get a calendar every month, but I am not requiring him or her to complete it if they choose not to.  However, if they do not complete the calendars, they will not get the opportunity to eat and celebrate with those who complete it.  Look for the “Pizza Hut Book It” letter tonight, along with the reading calendar based off the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series that goes along with the "Book It" program.  If you have any questions about the program, please ask. 

Please join us in solidarity on Monday, October 7th.  Make a statement against bullying and cyberbullying and "Stomp Out Bullying!"  We are asking all students and adults to participate in BLUE SHIRT DAY: WORLD DAY OF BULLYING PREVENTION by wearing a BLUE SHIRT in solidarity to make that the day that bullying prevention is heard around the world.  Please see that your child wears blue on Monday, October 7th.  Thanks!

Lastly, please remember that there is a 3-hour early dismissal on Friday, October 4th.  The Homecoming Parade will take place at 2:00PM that afternoon.  Thanks!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  I am available anytime.  Thanks for everything, and have a fantastic week!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. McCarville 

Fall is Finally Here!

Hello 3C Parents!  What a beautiful weekend to celebrate Harvest Fest and for Fall to begin!  I hope some of you were able to see the parade.  I was able to throw candy to a few classmates that I saw there and if I missed you, sorry!


There is some EXCITING news that has taken place in our classroom.  Our class has its own class Twitter page.  Through Twitter, we hope to get connected with other classes throughout the world.  We hope to learn and collaborate with other students and are excited for this journey.  We recently tweeted some pictures from our "Dot Day" celebration.  If you have a Twitter account, please “Follow” our class at “MrsMcCarville3C.”  Feel free to read our tweets about our day, read what we are learning about, or ask us questions.  We are excited for this opportunity, so stayed tuned!

"Dot Day" was a fun celebration!  All of the students were able to show their creativity and "make their mark" in the world through many activities.  Hopefully your child shared what he/she did.  Scroll down and you can see the fun had by all!

I wanted to thank you for supplying our class with snacks!  The class absolutely LOVES them, plus it helps curb our afternoon cravings.  We truly appreciate all the food supply, so thank you!  If you would like to donate snacks at any time, that would be wonderful!  Along with the snacks, thanks for the class wipes!  With cold and flu season around the corner, we appreciate having sanitizing wipes in our room to keep things clean.  Thanks! 

Lastly, there will be a 3-hour early dismissal on Wednesday, September 25th.  We are dismissing at 12:25 PM, so please plan accordingly.  Please contact me with any questions.

Have a great week!

Mrs. McCarville

Testing This Week and End with Dot Day

Hello to all!  I hope that you enjoyed the weekend.

Hopefully your child has taken the opportunity to go onto his/her blog page at home.  If you have yet to go to your child's blog page, please do so!  if you would like to read his/her post,  you can check out their blogs at: http://kidblog.org/MrsMcCarvillesClass/  You can also click on the “Student Blog Page” from my classroom blog page.  When you go to your child’s blog page, simply click on the post you would like to read and have fun!  Students would love to read your comments!  You do not have to “log on” to make a comment.  I would prefer you do NOT have your child log on and post your comment through them.   You can simply type your comment in the “comment area” and put in your name to keep it simple for now.  If you have your 3C child log in and you make a post, it is posted as being made by them, the student, and I would rather it be from you, the parent.  Last week, the class posted about September 11th and their feelings about heroes.  They drew a hero picture from "Doodle Buddy" and inserted it into their post.  Please take the time to read their posts and make a comment.  Thanks!

Beginning this week, your child will be taking the MISIC tests.  These tests are on the computer and are similar to the Iowa Tests, and that is why it is very important that your child takes his/her time on these tests and does his/her best.  Please see that your child receives a good night’s rest.  We have tests Tuesday-Thursday this week.  It is important that the students are well rested and prepared for testing.  Thanks!

Please watch your child's folder this week as he/she will be bringing home a note about "Dot Day."  International Dot Day took place on September 15th, but we are celebrating it on Friday, September 20th.  The day is based off the story The Dot by James Reynolds.  It is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark." What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, showing a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has inspired adults and children to celebrate their own creativity on this day.  Each year on Dot Day, people all around the globe are inspired by "making their mark" to show their potential of creativity.  On Friday, we will celebrate our creativity with art activities inspired from the story The Dot.  Please check your child's folder this week for a note with more information.
  

I wanted to remind you about the class’s responsibility with completing homework.  Your child may not have a math assignment every night.  However, if your child does have homework, your child is expected to complete it and bring it back to school the next day (unless it is a longer assignment that is not due the next day).  If your child does not complete his/her homework, he/she has been staying in at recess time to complete his/her homework.  Thanks for your support with your child’s responsibility. 

Have a great week!  Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mrs. McCarville

Information for the Week

Hello to everyone!  Hopefully you stayed cool this weekend and will stay cool at the beginning of this week.  It is supposed to be HOT for a little bit longer.  Phew!

In the classroom, we are continuing to make strides in “The Daily Five.”  The class started building their reading stamina in "Read to Self."  While we have only completed read to self a few times, our reading stamina is up to 8 minutes.  We are going to continue working on our stamina until we can read for 20 minutes consistently.  Later this week, we will be adding a new component to Daily Five: work on writing.  Like read to self, students will build their stamina up and be able to write for 20 minutes.  

This past week, your child was introduced (reviewed for most students) to a strategy that helps him/her find and read “good fit books.”  The strategy that was introduced to your child and will be used throughout the rest of the year is called the “I PICK” strategy.  The “I PICK” strategy stands for:

I choose a book.

Purpose: why do I want to read it?

Interest: does it interest me?

Comprehend: am I understanding what I am reading?  

Know: I know most of the words

When your child is reading at home, ask him/her about the “I PICK” strategy and go through these steps with your child to see if he/she is reading a “good fit book.”  Ask your child to read aloud to you and explain what he/she read to check for understanding.  This will help your child choose "good fit books" at home too!

While we are making strives in the academic areas, one area that we are continually working on both individually and as a class, is our behavior.  We talk daily about showing respect at school and showing "Cadet Pride."  We discuss being a classroom community and that we need to work together to make our classroom successful.  I have recently implemented a behavior management system that monitors positive behaviors that we want to see in school and negative behaviors that we need to work on.  Each student can earn points (actually his/her avatar can earn points) and he/she can see how he/she does throughout the day.  The program is Internet based and called "Class Dojo."  The class has responded positively to it and are working hard at earning positive points and monitoring their own behavior. Today, I am sending home a pie chart/graph that shows your child's overall behaviors since we have started the program.  The sheet also includes a login for you, the parent.  Follow the steps of the instructions and you can view your child's report whenever you would like.   I plan on continuing the program throughout the first half of the year and would like to show you copies of the graph throughout the first half of the year.  If you have any questions about the program, just ask me or your child. Thanks! 

Last week, your child had his/her first homework assignment in science.  Your child was asked to bring in a beverage for a science experiment.  I wanted to thank you for helping your child with his/her homework and sending your child prepared for school the next day.  I truly appreciate your help with the homework and am confident that your child will be successful with your help.  Your commitment to your child’s education is key to his/her success.  This week, I will be sending Home Links home for math and your child is to bring those sheets back the next day.  It is your child's responsibility to bring his/her homework back.  Please check your child's folder every night to see if there is homework inside that needs to be completed.  Thanks!

Your child WILL be bringing home math homework tonight.  Please see that he/she has completed the work and has it in the folder to bring to school tomorrow.  If you notice that your child may be having a difficult time with time, scroll down to the games on our classroom blog page and click on either "Bang on Time" or "Stop the Clock."  These links both focus on time and will help your child practice time.

TOMORROW, I am sending home your child's first book order.  Your child is bringing home several different flyers for you and your child to look at.  I am also attaching a letter to the book orders that explains ordering books online rather than sending a check or cash to me at school.  This letter explains the steps of ordering online, and I have also attached a link to the top of our blog page for easy access to the Scholastic Book Clubs link.  It is your choice to order online or to send a check or cash to school with your child.  If you choose to send book orders to school, please make checks payable to "Scholastic Book Clubs."  Also, please see the letter and flyers for the due date and class activation code (for ordering online).  Thank you and Happy Reading!

Lastly, there are a couple of reminders for the week.  We have SCHOOL PICTURES on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH, and we have a 3-HOUR EARLY OUT on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH.  Please plan accordingly for both days.  Thanks!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  I am available anytime.  Thanks for everything, and have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. McCarville

First Week Down

Hello all!  Your child officially completed his/her first week of 3rd grade.  Hopefully he/she was not too exhausted because we stayed busy and the days seemed to fly by.  I just have a couple of things to share with you and for you to look for in your child's folder tonight.

We have attempted to establish a routine in the classroom last week and will continue to do the same for several more weeks.  Because we have been working on our classroom routine and it seems to be working well, I am sending home a copy of our classroom schedule.   If you have any questions about the schedule, please feel free to call.

Last Thursday, we did an introductory lesson in science on being scientists.  We conducted an experiment where we poured liquids over ice to see what the liquids would do.  We were very surprised that cranberry juice, blue Gatorade, and Diet 7-up layered in the cup rather than mixing!  Wow!  The students are taking this experiment one step further by planning a similar experiment with a group.  They are to bring in a liquid from home to conduct a similar experiment tomorrow.  I stressed to the students that their drink needed to be something that was at home or easily accessible.  I hope that the students have good luck with their drinks and bring them tomorrow so we can conduct the experiment.  There is a separate note being sent home that describes the assignment in more detail.  Happy Science! 

Have a great week!  Please contact me with an questions.
Mrs. McCarville