Looking ahead to the week of February 1

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students Skyped with a NASA representative.  They learned about the possibility of landing on Mars.

Students enjoyed their "Being HERE Experience" with Diamond Del.  They found all sorts of rocks and minerals!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend and you were able to stay warm!

BookMEN: The 100th day of school is Thursday, February 4, but we'll be celebrating it Friday, February 5.  We are aiming to have 100 BookMEN visit our school Friday!  We encourage you to come and each lunch with your third grader!

Report Cards:  Please be sure to sign and return your child's report card cover, as soon as possible!  You may keep the report card.  Reviewing it will be a great way to start a conversation between you and your child about goals for the third nine weeks.

"Being There Experience" Reminder:  Please complete both the front and back of the State House permission form.  It looks a little different, since our district issued new field trip forms. Please sign and return the form, as soon as possible.  It will be due February 4.

PTO Presentation:  Third grade students will be sharing three special South Carolina songs at our next PTO meeting, January 25... tonight!  Your child will need to meet his/her teacher in the music room that day at 6:40 p.m.  The meeting promptly begins at 7:00.  Your child will need to wear jeans, a white shirt, and sunglasses.  

Looking ahead:  In math, students will begin a unit on fractions.  Check out our Family Letter with this link:  Fraction Unit Family Letter.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will continue their mixed multiplication quizzes throughout the remainder of the school year.  They will also retake any multiplication quizzes necessary to obtain their trail mix ingredients for our trail mix celebration in the spring.   As historians, students will wrap up their American Revolution unit and begin a study about government.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also learn about sentence fluency and conventions in their writing.  Students will learn about prefixes, suffixes, and root words, as well as, the spelling strategy of r controlled vowel words.  As readers, the children will begin summarizing American Revolutionary biographies.

A note from our Kindergarten friends:
Hi Beacon Friends, 

     Kindergarten will begin coming around each morning for the next two weeks to see if your students have placed any donations in our canisters. All donations will be given the the Columbia City Fire Department to assist them with their education program and to buy smoke detectors for those people who do not have any.  Everyone was so generous last year and we want to thank you ahead of time for giving us this opportunity to help others.  

The Kindergarten Team

Thank you again for all that you do!  Have a wonderful week!

Looking ahead to the week of January 25

Students wrapped up their "Don't Take It for Granite" unit on rocks and minerals last week.  They truly enjoyed the hands-on learning experiences!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great, long weekend!

BookMEN: The 100th day of school is Thursday, February 4, but we'll be celebrating it Friday, February 5.  We are aiming to have 100 BookMEN visit our school Friday!  We encourage you to come and each lunch with your third grader!

Report Cards:  Report cards will be issued Thursday, January 21.  Please be sure to sign and return your child's report card cover, as soon as possible!  You may keep the report card.  Reviewing it will be a great way to start a conversation between you and your child about goals for the third nine weeks.

Diamond Del "Being HERE Experience":  Students will be able to enjoy a mining experience, here at school, this Friday!  If your child would like to purchase a necklace from Diamond Del, he/she may bring money Friday, but they will be responsible for holding on to it.  They are looking forward to all of the treasures they'll find and get to keep!

"Being There Experience" Reminder:  Students will receive a permission form for our next field trip to the State House.  No chaperones are needed, due to group numbers.  Please complete both the front and back of the form.  It will look a little different, since our district issued new field trip forms. Please sign and return the form, as soon as possible.  It will be due February 4.

PTO Presentations:  Third grade students will be sharing three special South Carolina songs at our next PTO meeting, January 25.  Your child will need to meet his/her teacher in the music room that day at 6:40 p.m.  The meeting promptly begins at 7:00.  Your child will need to wear jeans, a white shirt, and sunglasses.  
*A note went home with your child Thursday, January 14, regarding this performance.  Please be sure to sign and return it, as soon as possible!

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue studying area perimeter.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will continue their mixed multiplication quizzes throughout the remainder of the school year.  They will also retake any multiplication quizzes necessary to obtain their trail mix ingredients for our trail mix celebration in the spring.   As historians, students will learn about battles fought in South Carolina during the American Revolution, as well as, the heroes and heroines of the war.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also learn about word choice and voice in their writing.  Students will learn about multiple meaning words, while using context clues to figure out meanings.  As readers, the children will revisit their Treasures book to work on comprehension.  Students will also take their third grade high-frequency word spelling post-test Wednesday, January 27. 

Thank you again for all that you do!  Have a wonderful week!

Looking ahead to the week of January 18

We welcomed another mystery reader to our class, Mr. Smoak.  Thank you for stopping by and reading about the Tiger's travels through our state!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Diamond Del "Being HERE Experience":  Students received a Diamond Del brochure in their communication folder this past Thursday.  Please be sure to sign and return it by January 14, so your child will have permission to go mining January 22.

Half-day:  Students will have a half-day Thursday, January 14.  Please send a note with your child, if his/her transportation changes.  Lunch will still be served and students will be dismissed at 11:30.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will begin studying area, after they test on Topic 8.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 12s facts January 19.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  12s times trick.  As historians, students will jump into their "Let Freedom Ring" unit.  They will be studying the American Revolution.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also learn how to write hooks for stories, as well as, the importance of organization in our writing.  As readers, the children will learn about point of view in a story and practice strategies that will help them with their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Thank you again for all that you do!  Have a wonderful week!

Looking ahead to the week of January 11

Students enjoyed our Winter Party!  Thank you so much to Mrs. Turner for organizing such a fun afternoon and thanks to all of you, who donated and volunteered to make it possible!

We enjoyed a read aloud by Ms. Burkett!  Students learned about similes and metaphors.

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a wonderful winter break! 

Diamond Del "Being HERE Experience":  Students will receive a Diamond Del brochure in their communication folder this Thursday.  Please be sure to sign and return it by January 14, so your child will have permission to go mining January 22.

Half-day:  Students will have a half-day Thursday, January 14.  Please send a note with your child, if his/her transportation changes.  Lunch will still be served and students will be dismissed at 11:30.

Looking ahead:  In math, students will continue relating multiplication to division, by studying fact families.  Check out our Family Letter below.  Please remind your child to practice his/her multiplication facts daily!  Students will be quizzed on their 11s facts January 12.  Here is a great trick for those facts:  11s times trick.  As scientists, students will continue exploring properties of rocks and minerals.  They will have a unit test Thursday, January 14.  In writing, students will continue learning cursive handwriting.  They will also revisit prompt writing.  Students will dive into the world of idioms.  As readers, the children will practice using their new reading log.

Thank you again for all that you do!  Have a wonderful week!