Week of February 4

Hello, families!  I hope you all are enjoying your week!

Please sign and return the permission forms that were in your child's communication folder last week as soon as possible.

Looking ahead:  Students will continue learning about elements in poetry (focusing on stanzas, rhyme scheme and repetition).  They will continue working on breaking down writing prompts and the writing process.  As mathematicians, students will learn about fractions being part of a whole.  They will wrap up their study of the American Revolution and test next Wednesday, February 6.

Our grade level charity, "Stuffed with Love," is starting on Monday, February 4!  We are asking all Beacons to donate ONE new or gently used stuffed animal, which will be donated to children at Sister Care.  We hope these stuffed animals bring children comfort through difficult times.  This charity will run through February 28.

After reviewing your child's report card with him/her, you may keep the report card, but please sign and return the cover as soon as possible.  

Also, we are running low on our pencil supply!  Please remind your child to be responsible for pencils that are brought home - to ensure they make it back to school!

Thank you, as always, for your support and generosity!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Check out some of the highlights from our most recent "Being There Experience" to the Lexington County Museum.  We learned many new facts about Native Americans, particularly the Cherokee!

Week of January 28

 Students collaborated with their book buddies in kindergarten to create a friendship chain in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King! 

Hello, families!  I hope you all are staying warm in this super cool weather!  It is the perfect time to cozy up by the fire and read a good book!

Note of importance:  Students are receiving report cards in communication folders on Thursday.  Please review the report card with your child and set goals for this next nine weeks.  As third grade progresses, it can become more challenging for some students.  The first nine weeks, we focused on reviewing skills and getting to know one another.  The second nine weeks brought higher expectations and this upcoming quarter will bring along even higher expectations, in order to prepare students for their future in the upper grades.  Please continue to encourage your child to do his/her personal best in all aspects of school - academic and behavioral.  I want to also encourage all children to be more responsible for practicing their math facts on a daily basis at home, completing their homework and reading each night.  After reviewing the report card with your child, you may keep the report card, but please sign and return the cover.

This Friday is our next "Being There Experience."  We will be going to the Lexington County Museum, unless the weather permits us from going (in which case, we'll use our LIFESKILL of flexibility!).  Please plan on dressing your child in warm clothes and tennis shoes.  I will send a reminder email regarding lunch.

Please sign and return the permission forms in your child's communication folder as soon as possible.  They are for our next two trips.

A note about Valentine's Day is also in your child's communication folder.  Please read over it carefully and make note of some changes at our school.

Looking ahead:  Third graders will begin working on creating a product for our American Revolution biographies they have been reading.  Students will continue learning about key Revolutionary people and events in social studies.  As mathematicians, kids will wrap up unit seven with a test on Wednesday (a review will go home this Friday).  We'll kick off our fraction unit next Friday.  In language arts, students will review run-on sentences, affixes, Greek and Latin roots.  Poetry will also be a new unit our class dives into next week!

Thank you again for all of your support and enthusiasm!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Week of January 21

Author Carmen Agra Deedy visited our school last week to share her thoughts about writing and to tell us a wonderful story about making her way to America from Cuba.  She made us laugh and cry... her stories are truly amazing!

Hi, families!  I hope you have been outside enjoying the wonderful, warm weather!  I've been encouraging the kids to run and play every afternoon!

Looking ahead:  We will continue our American Revolution biography book clubs next week.  Students will take the district Benchmark test in reading.  It will not be graded, but will give us an idea of how they've grown as readers this year.  As mathematicians, students will continue working on multiplication skills.  Specifically, they'll focus on multiplying by multiples of 10.  Students will kick off their study of the American Revolution, as historians!

Please encourage your child to practice his/her multiplication facts everyday!!!  It is super important!

Please remember to send a lunch with your child next Friday for our field trip, if that is the option you chose. If you are unsure, please let me know and I'll email you! 

February 1 is our 100th day of school!  If you are "BookMEN," we encourage you to join us for lunch that day!  We eat at 11:32 in the Seaside Cafe.  Our school goal is to get 100 men our school to visit with the kids.  If you are a dad, granddad, uncle, brother, etc and you'd like to be a mystery reader that day, please let me know!

Heads-up!  Valentines Day is approaching.  Please be reminded of the procedures at BRES.  Students cannot pass out candy that day.  They may pass out cards (which we'll do at the end of the day).  Any candy sent to school or attached to a card, will be returned home.  Thank you for your understanding and helping us keep BRES healthy!  A note from our Health Committee:

Dear Bookman Family, 

     With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we wanted to take this opportunity to review our policies and procedures regarding this day.  We will not be celebrating this holiday in school; this includes any "party" type of celebrations, costume attire, or treat bags.  Classroom snack choices, for those teachers who allow them, will continue to follow our healthy snack guidelines which are found in your child's agenda book and on our website.  Teachers are asked to ensure adherence to these guidelines during the day. We appreciate your understanding, acceptance and support of these policies. 

Sincerely,

 Your Bookman Road Health Advisory Committee

Please also check out "The Beacon" this week and learn about a new reading club starting for young kids in our community that may attend BRES.

Thank you, as always, for your support and understanding!

Week of January 14

 Ms. Sease worked with the third grade this week.  She focused on perfecting dictionary and thesaurus skills.

Students from different third grade classes collaborated to complete their dictionary and thesaurus scavenger hunts.  They had a great time mixing things up!

Hello, families!

Please be sure to return your child's permission form for our next "Being There Experience," if you haven't done so already.  They are due Wednesday, January 9.

Looking ahead:  We'll be kicking off our biography unit in reading.  Students will learn all about heroes and heroines of the American Revolution.  In writing, students will review elements of good writing.  They'll focus on body paragraphs.  As mathematicians, students will learn more tricks of the multiplication trade.  In science, students will review and test on natural resources, soil and earth features. 

Also, we are beginning to run low on our pencil supply.  Please encourage your child to use his/her LIFESKILL of responsibility when it comes to holding on to pencils!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and enjoy the great outdoors this weekend when it is warm!

Week of January 7

 Alex's grandmother, Mrs. Kivett, joined us before break to share a read aloud.  We enjoyed hearing all about Walter, the dog!  

Happy New Year, families!  I hope you all had a restful break... it was well-deserved!  It seems like all of the kids grew two inches these past two weeks.  I am so happy to see their smiling faces again!

Communication folders will have only one item in them today:  the next "Being There Experience" permission form!  Please sign and return this form as soon as possible!  Our class will be attending the Lexington County Museum on Friday, January 25, to review our Native American unit from the fall.  If you'd like to be a chaperone, please respond on the permission form.  You will be notified if you have been chosen through a lottery system.  Please understand that you will need to ride the bus to and from the museum.  Graded papers will be sent home in next week's communication folder, but you're welcome to check on Parent Portal for updated scores.

Looking ahead:  Students will be reading a Harcourt story, "Rocking and Rolling."  This story is located in the old Harcourt editions handed out at the beginning of the year, if your child would like to read it at home.  We'll be reading copies of the story in class.  Our focus will be using context clues and locating information.  Students will have an "open-book" test.  The kids will also review dictionary and thesaurus skills in the media center next week, while continuing with their cursive handwriting.  Students will take the third grade spelling pre-assessment on Wednesday.  As mathematicians, the kids will learn all about transformations (slides, flips and turns), symmetry and subdividing shapes.  They will test on their geometry unit Friday, January 11 (a review will go home on Friday, January 4).  Please continue to review multiplication facts with your child on a daily basis.  As scientists, students will discover water and land features/changes, natural resources and different types of soil. 

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm... it's a great time to curl up with a good book!

 Students enjoyed chicken nuggets, chips and carrots at our winter party.  Thank you for all of the donations!

Shave a snowman!  Students enjoyed a friendly competition at our class celebration.  Thank you, Mrs. Dotson, for planning such a fun party!