Looking ahead to the week of October 7

Mrs. Gomez, a favorite Bookman Beacon of ours, came to our community last week and shared about her Hispanic heritage. We had such an awesome time learning about the contributions of famous Hispanic people and even learning a little Spanish! Gracias, Sra. Gómez! 

Hello, families!  I hope you all are having a wonderful week!  We hope to see you walking with us Wednesday morning, in honor of National Walk to School Day!  We will be walking on the school grounds, 7:30 - 8:00!

Please look for the next permission form going home in your child's communication folder this week.  It is for our "Being There Experience" to the Lexington County Museum.  The permission form needs to be signed and returned no later than October 16.  As you volunteer to chaperone, please keep in mind our chaperone guidelines/procedures, which were outlined in your child's Open House booklet.  

In your child's communication folder, you will also find the next Envision home letter for our third unit of study in math.  You may keep this copy!  It doesn't need to be returned!

Looking ahead:  As mathematicians, students will continue working on multi-digit addition and subtraction.  We will cover lessons 3-3 through 3-6, if your child would like to take home his/her math book to review each day.  Students are also reminded that we use the textbook as a resource.  The problems within each lesson make great practice work!  In reading and language arts, students will kick off the Daily 5 rotation they have been waiting for since the start of school!  They have been practicing all of the elements of the rotation for the past few weeks, so they are ready.  During this rotation, whole group lessons will focus on different genres (we have about a dozen to study, so this unit will take more than one week!).  The children will continue their study of the parts of speech and begin writing their own narratives.  As historians, students will begin their first unit of study in social studies.  They will learn all about the regions of South Carolina, as well as, our state's landforms and river systems.  

*Please note:  Students can take home ANY textbook, ANY day of the week, so long as they return it the following school day.  It is your child's responsibility to remember to take it home and bring it back!

The Book Fair is here!  Students will have a Book Fair preview this Friday (October 4).  If you would like to send money with your child that day, you're more than welcome to do so!  The Book Fair will end later next week.

Classroom donation opportunity:  A part of our Daily 5 rotation will require students to "work with words."  If you have any word games (examples:  Scrabble, Upwords, Boggle, Apples to Apples (Junior Edition), Bananagrams, or unused Mad Lib books), which you would like to donate to our classroom, we would be forever grateful!  

A note from Kindergarten teachers and students:

Dear Friends,

The kindergarten charity this year is the City of Columbia Animal Shelter. We are very excited about collecting donations to be delivered when we go on our being there experience Oct. 29th. We will collect donations until the last week of October. A table will be set up in the cafeteria for the donations. This is a school wide effort and we appreciate all the donations that will be sent. Thank you so much.

*A letter went home in last week's "Beacon."

A reminder from our third grade team:  Parents, you are always welcome to eat breakfast or lunch with your child. If you would like to eat with your child, we encourage you to sit at the school assigned guest tables. In the morning, you may sit with your child at a separate round table away from the other breakfast eaters. We do this so students will follow procedures, have adequate time to eat their breakfast, and get to class in a timely manner. At lunch, we have guest tables on the far side of the cafeteria. You are asked to sit there, so there are enough seats for all of our third graders at lunch. You are welcome to sit among the third grade students on our specified "Friends and Family" lunch day this year.  Thanks so much for your cooperation!

I hope you all have a great rest of the week and a super weekend!

Check out some snapshots from our "Being There Experience" to Riverbanks Zoo!  We enjoyed seeing all of the animals and reviewing what we know about animal adaptations!  Thank you again to Mrs. Guntupalli and Ms. Kannaday for chaperoning our trip!

Looking ahead to the week of September 30

Mrs. Hart stopped by, as a mystery reader, last Friday!  The kids truly enjoyed listening to Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs.  Thank you for reading to us, Mrs. Hart!

Hello, families!  I hope you all are having a wonderful week and enjoying the start of the fall season!

Looking ahead:  Students will be wrapping up unit two in math, with a test on Tuesday, October 1.  A study guide will be sent home on Wednesday, September 25.  Students will be expected to complete this study guide by Monday, September 30 (so we may review it in class).  They will then dive into expanded algorithms for addition.  As scientists, students will finishing studying life cycles of plants and test on Friday, October 4.  A study guide will be sent home on Friday, September 27, so students may begin studying early.  As readers and writers, students will be practicing Daily 5 routines, in preparation for the following week.  Students will also be taking a reading benchmark test (just as a baseline for our reading series).  This test will not be graded, but students are encouraged to do their personal best!

A reminder about Thursday, September 26:  This is a half-day for students (dismissal is at 11:30).  Lunch will be served.  If your child's transportation changes, please be sure to send a note!

A reminder about our Riverbanks Zoo trip:  Students will be going to the Zoo on Friday, September 27.  Please be sure your child wears comfy shoes and clothing.  Please be sure to send a lunch with your child, if that is the option you chose on his/her permission form.  The Seaside Cafe will make only enough lunches for those who signed up for a bagged lunch.  Mrs. Guntupalli and Ms. Kannaday were chosen through the chaperone lottery to join us for this trip.  We thank all of you who volunteered!  We appreciate your willingness to help out!

Calling all veterans!  Third grade will be celebrating veterans in November, in honor of Veterans Day.  Students will collect items to send to soldiers, who are still serving across seas.  They will also write letters, thanking veterans for their service, which will be distributed among the visiting veterans during our Military Breakfast and chorus presentation on November 11.  To kick off our celebration, we are inviting any family members of third graders, who served in the military (or are currently service members), to join us for our grade level's community gathering on Tuesday, October 22, 1:30 - 2:00.  If you are able to volunteer, you will spend some time that day visiting with a small group of students to tell them about your service in the military and answer any questions they have about Veterans Day.  Please contact me, if you are able to come on October 22!

A note from the Health Advisory Committee:  In two weeks, Bookman Road will be participating in the International Walk to School Day. Third grade will be participating in this event on Wednesday, October 2, 7:30 - 8:00. The event will take place as a part of the Morning Run. This event is going to be very similar to the current Morning Run procedures. Students will be asked to place their bookbags near the recess doors of A/B hall, before heading outside.  We are also asking for families of students to join in on this event. We hope to see you all there!

Enjoy the remainder of your week!  Thank you again for all of your support and enthusiasm!

Looking ahead to the week of September 23

Students enjoyed visiting the Richland County Public Library last week!  The Sandhills branch is just around the corner from most of us.  I encourage your families to visit it often!  It has wonderful resources and a helpful staff.  Students loved listening to the read alouds, singing, and sharing all they know about the RCPL!

Hello, families!  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and your week is going well!

You will receive a letter in your child's communication folder, regarding parent conferences.  Please sign and return this form on Friday.

Interims will be issued this Thursday.  Please make plans to sit down with your child, review his/her progress and set goals for the rest of the quarter.  The transition into third grade can be a tough one!  Please encourage your child to do his/her personal best every day!

I hope you all will join us for our first PTO meeting at 7:00 on Monday.  There will be a lot of important information discussed by our board that night!  Fifth grade and kindergarten will also have presentations to share.

The fall fundraiser ends Tuesday, September 24.  Thank you for helping raise money for our school!

If students missed any kindergarten high-frequency words on their spelling pre-assessment at the beginning of September, they will have a post-test on the missed words Wednesday, September 25.

Next Thursday, September 26, is a half day for students.  Lunch will be served.  If your child's transportation changes, please be sure to send a note!

Our "Being There Experience" to Riverbanks Zoo is Friday, September 27.  Please be sure to send a lunch with your child, if that is the option you chose on his/her permission form.  If you chose the Seaside Cafe lunch, then a bagged lunch will be provided.

Looking ahead:  Students will continue learning about subtraction and addition algorithms.  As scientists, students will begin a study on plants.  In writing, students will work on pre-writing techniques and character development in their stories.  As readers, the children will wrap up their focus on reading stamina and practice creating mental images, while reading.

A big change is coming next week:  Students will no longer have reading grades.  The reading grades students currently have, will become a part of their English language arts grade.  This is a new school procedure, which will be implemented in grades two through five.

A message from our third grade team:  Parents, you are always welcome to eat breakfast or lunch with your child. If you would like to eat with your child, we encourage you to sit at the school assigned guest tables. In the morning, you may sit with your child at a separate round table away from the other breakfast eaters. We do this so students will follow procedures, have adequate time to eat their breakfast, and get to class in a timely manner. At lunch, we have guest tables on the far side of the cafeteria. You are asked to sit there, so there are enough seats for all of our third graders at lunch. You are welcome to sit among the third grade students on our specified "Friends and Family" lunch day this year.  Thanks so much for your cooperation!


Breast Cancer Awareness:  If you or your child would like to donate $1 in our "Take Steps Against Breast Cancer" campaign, you're more than welcome to do so!  Students may fill out an "in honor" or "in memory of" sign, which will be posted around the halls of BRES.  All donations stay local!

Thank you again for your support and enthusiasm!  Have a wonderful rest of your week and a great weekend!

Looking ahead to the week of September 16

Ms. Guntupalli joined us Monday and shared a funny read aloud!  

If you would like to be a mystery reader one day, please contact Mrs. West to set up a good time.  We love having mystery readers!

Hello, families!  I hope you all are enjoying the sunshine this week!

I hope students are using their LIFESKILL of effort to fill out their Active Gamecock log each day!  It is due Tuesday, September 17.  I will turn them into Mr. Schirmer and in a few weeks, he will hand out the free Gamecock tickets to those students who turned in forms.  We have been talking in class about the importance of being physically active... it helps us stay healthy!

Fundraiser packets went home on Tuesday.  I hope your family will participate and help us reach our school goal!  The fundraiser ends September 24.

Students will have their first MAP test next week in reading  (math will be the following week).  This will give me a baseline of what the students know.  They will be tested again in the spring, which will assess their growth this school year.  Please encourage your child to not stress out one bit!  It is just an opportunity to show all that they know!

Interims will be issued next Thursday, September 19.  Please make plans to sit down with your child, review his/her progress and set goals for the rest of the quarter.  The transition into third grade can be a tough one!  Please encourage your child to do his/her personal best every day!

We will be class of the week next week!  Be sure to check out our blurb in the Beacon!

Looking ahead:  Students will continue studying addition and subtraction algorithms.  As scientists, they will wrap up their animal unit by studying food chains.  Students will test on Friday, September 20.  In reading, students will continue studying text features and story elements.  They will also practice filling out their reading logs, which will begin going home daily (as a part of homework) soon!  As writers, they will build their writing stamina and practice generating ideas.

Students received copies of their usernames and passwords (stapled in their agenda books) this week.  These can be used for various web sites found on our class blog.  Students may log on to practice skills at home (which is a new part of their homework that was discussed at Open House).  Please let me know if you have any problems with usernames, passwords, or the new Tic-Tac-Toe homework.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!  Thank you again for all of your support!

Looking ahead to the week of September 9

Mrs. Gross taught us all about Chromebooks this week!  We learned not to share our personal information with anyone online, how to care for our Chromebooks and the "ins and outs" of using one!

Hello, families!  I hope you all enjoyed your three-day weekend!  

Students will be receiving two important forms in their communication folders this week:  "Being There" Experience payment letter and the Riverbanks Zoo permission form.  Please sign and return these two forms as soon as possible.  Also, your child's Sandhills Library permission form is due Thursday, September 5.

Students will also be receiving their first set of graded papers in their communication folders.  Please sign and return the stapled, graded work.  You may keep the top portion of your child's spelling pre-assessment, so you are aware of the words he/she needs to practice for the post-assessment, which is at the end of the month.

Students will receive a study guide for their first unit in math on Thursday.  Please have your child complete this review.  We will go over it on Monday and students will test on Tuesday.  Remember, study guides will not mirror tests.

Looking ahead:  After testing on unit one, students will be diving into addition and subtraction.  They will focus on addition and subtraction (meanings and properties).  As scientists, the children will learn about animal adaptations and habitats.  As writers, students will continue to build their writing stamina and take a look at subjects, predicates and nouns.  In reading, they will discuss making connections to their reading, while merging their thinking with new learning, which will further build their comprehension.

I hope you will be able to join me on Tuesday, September 10!  Open House will be in our classroom, B-113, from 5:15 to 6:15.  If you are unable to make it, no worries!  I will have an Open House booklet ready to be sent home with your child the following day, so you can catch up on what you miss!

Thank you again for all of your enthusiasm and encouragement!  I have truly enjoyed getting to know your child... it is going to be a great year!