Looking ahead to the week of November 5 (STEM)

The squirrels at Carolina Wildlife Center greatly appreciated all of the acorns our third graders collected, when we dropped off the donation Saturday!  The staff and volunteers were very thankful, too.  Be sure to visit the Center's site to learn more ways you can help our local wildlife!  

Students took time to self-score and reflect on their final narrative writing pieces last week!  Reflection is an important part of the writing process.

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

LIFESKILL of the week:  The LIFESKILL of the week is effort!  Discuss examples of effort with your child and celebrate moments of using this LIFESKILL while at school, home, and out and about in the community.

Game On:  Be sure to sign up for our upcoming curriculum night!  Link to register

50th day of school celebration:  Please see the note below from the kindergarten teachers -

Hi Everyone, 

Thursday, November 8th, Kindergarten will be celebrating the 50th day of school! Students have been invited to dress in their favorite 1950's attire, make a shirt with 50 items, or wear clothing with the number "50" displayed on it. We invite anyone who is interested to please join us in dressing up! 

Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Team

Report Cards:  As always, the end of a nine weeks is a great time to reflect on your child's progress, both academically and behaviorally.  Please be sure to set expectations and goals with your child for the second nine weeks.  Although third grade can be a difficult transition year, we expect students to develop strong study habits and increase rigor, which will help them down the road in the upper grades.  Encourage your child to find a quiet place to complete study guides in a timely manner, practice multiplication facts daily, and discuss what he/she has learned with you each day.  Please sign your child's report card cover and return it to school.  You may keep his/her report card.  

Fall back:  Don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night (or Sunday morning)!  Enjoy the extra hour of sleep!

Looking ahead to next week:  As historians, students will continue their unit of study on the Colonial Period. As mathematicians, they will learn about patterns in multiplication.  We will be using the Envision curriculum for this unit, so please see the family letter below. In reading, students will learn about making predictions, cause/effect relationships, and summarizing.  As writers, they will learn about different types of sentence structures and the use of conjunctions.  Students will wrap up their Veterans Day letters, as well.  

Thank you again for all of your support!  Have a great weekend!

Looking ahead to the week of October 29 (2nd PE)

Students enjoyed going for a walkabout on the nature trail.  They found a lot of acorns for the baby squirrels at Carolina Wildlife!  Remember, if you'd like to donate acorns, the last day to send them our way is Friday, October 26.

The children enjoyed using graphic organizers to jot down their thoughts for their final narrative this nine weeks!

Students collaborated to complete a text features scavenger hunt!

Hi, families!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and you're enjoying the cooler air!

LIFESKILL of the week:  The LIFESKILL of the week is effort!  Discuss examples of effort with your child and celebrate moments of using this LIFESKILL while at school, home, and out and about in the community.

Career Week:  Check out all of the cool events happening during Career Week!

Monday, Oct. 29 -  Hats off to College & Career Week
Wear your favorite hat.

Tuesday, Oct. 30 -  Stepping into Your Future

Wear funny socks!

Wednesday, Oct. 31 - Dress for Success

Please be creative with any career outfit/costume. If the career does not have a specific uniform, then you can bring a prop. Do not bring any toy weapons.

Thursday, Nov. 1 - Career Day
Speakers will visit the school to talk to the students about different careers.  

Friday, Nov. 2 - College Spirit Day

Students, Faculty & Staff can wear their Favorite College colors.

Telling time:  We've been working hard on telling time to the nearest minute, using an analog clock in class this week.  Given that most of us have digital clocks around our house these days (and not to mention the technology that immediately tells us the time), students have very little opportunity to practice telling time in the real world.  As you have family discussions this week, please take a moment to discuss telling time.  If you have an analog clock at home (or one on your phone), have your child practice telling time now and throughout the school year.  It's a skill that fades, when not practiced routinely.  

Here are some great sites your child can visit to continue practicing telling time:

Time Games 1

Basketball Time

Clockworks

In second grade, students were expected to use analog and digital clocks to tell and record time to the nearest five-minute interval using a.m. and p.m.  In third grade,  students are expected to use analog and digital clocks to determine and record time to the nearest minute, using a.m. and p.m.; measure time intervals in minutes; and solve problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals within 60 minutes.  We will study elapsed time later this year.  

Looking ahead to next week:  As historians, students will wrap up their study on Native Americans and Explorers.  They will kick off a unit of study on the Colonial Period. As mathematicians, they will learn about multiplication factors.  We will be using the Envision curriculum for this unit, so please see the family letter below. In reading, students will take a look at author's purpose (to entertain, inform, or persuade).  As writers, they will learn about the parts of a friendly letter and create letters for Veterans, which will be distributed at our Veterans Day assembly in November.  They will also learn about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, as well as, subjects and predicates, through our mentor sentence of the week.  

Thank you again for all of your support!  Have a great weekend!

Looking ahead to the week of October 22 (STEM)

Calling all acorns!  We are going to start collecting acorns, which will be donated to the baby squirrels at Carolina Wildlife!  Please send your acorns in by Friday, October 26!

Hi, families!  I hope you all have enjoyed the start to your week!

LIFESKILL of the week:  The LIFESKILL of the week is friendship!  Discuss examples of friendship with your child and celebrate moments of using this LIFESKILL while at school, home, and out and about in the community.

Study guides:  As a third grade team, we've noticed several students not completing study guides in the week they are given to do them.  We are offering students three extra points on the corresponding assessments if they complete study guides by the day they are due for review.  

Looking ahead to next week:  As historians, students begin looking at European exploration. As mathematicians, they will begin learning how to tell time to the nearest minute.  We will be using the Engage New York curriculum for this unit, so please see the family letter below. In reading, students will take a look at informational text features (timelines, maps, charts, the appendix, glossary, photographs, illustrations, and captions) through our Treasures story, Home-Grown Butterflies.  They'll learn how these features further explain the text.  As writers, they will produce and publish another personal narrative.  Students will study comparative/superlative adjectives and adverbs, as well.   

Thank you again for all of your support!  

Looking ahead to the week of October 15 (2nd PE)

Our team hopes to see you at Saturday's Walk for Life downtown!  Be on the lookout for Bookman Road!

Hi, families! 

LIFESKILL of the week:  The LIFESKILL of the week is friendship!  Discuss examples of friendship with your child and celebrate moments of using this LIFESKILL while at school, home and out and about in the community. 

Multiplication fact quizzes:  Students have already taken their first multiplication quiz!  A letter about multiplication will go home in your child's communication folder Thursday, October 4.  Please go ahead and encourage your child to start memorizing multiplication facts!  A copy of a multiplication table went home in your Open House booklet at the beginning of the year.

Looking ahead to next week:  As historians, students will kick off their study about Native Americans in South Carolina. As mathematicians, they will wrap up their multiplication introduction.  In reading, students will take a look at text features.  They will also wrap up their study on verb tenses and continue working on narrative writing. 

Thank you again for all of your support!  Have a great weekend and stay safe Thursday, during the storm!

Looking ahead to the week of Oct. 8 (STEM)

Students enjoyed a visit from Riverbanks on the Road!  They learned about different ecosystems.

We all enjoyed celebrating our United Way donations!  Happy Pajama Day!

We appreciate everyone, who was able to make it to Cici's Pizza Night!  What a great turnout for our school!

Hello, families!  

LIFESKILL of the week:  The LIFESKILL of the week is cooperation!  Discuss examples of responsibility with your child and celebrate moments of using this LIFESKILL while at school, home and out and about in the community.  

Envision textbooks:  If you would like to keep your child's Envision textbook at home till the end of the school year, please let me know.  The children only use their workbook in class, but the textbook may be used as a resource when reviewing with your child at home.  Just send me an email and I'll pull your child's book!  You can always access your child's textbook online, using the information sent home last Friday, along with your child's password sheet.

Looking ahead to next week:  As scientists, students will wrap up their plant unit by taking a closer look at plant adaptations.  As mathematicians, the children will dive into their first unit on multiplication toward the end of the week.  It is a short unit, but go ahead and start practicing those multiplication facts!  They'll have their first individual multiplication quiz on the 1s tables next week!  Be sure to check out our Topic 4 family letter below.  In reading, students will continue learning how to dissect an article, using the TWISTS model.  As writers, they will learn about verb tenses, as well as, narrative elements.    

Thank you again for all of your support!  You're the best!