Thursday, December 19

I am happy to announce that the Grinch finally found his heart, thanks to Team33.  It was a wonderful day filled with fun and a lot of sugar - beware :)

Don't forget tomorrow is our Unwanted Gift Exchange and PJ day!  See everyone then.

Wednesday, December 18

Christmas is coming! The dungeon's full of rats! ...Wait, that's not how the song goes!  It is how the book goes.  We are almost finished, with the book.  Just a few more pages until the end, but we are definitely at the climax.  Poor Despereaux, who was trying to save his Princess Pea, is now lost in the dark dungeon with a bunch of dirty rats. We hope the next few pages will be better for our small mouse friend!  Tomorrow we will find out!  In the morning we will be watching the 3rd grade holiday presentation, with some of our own team members participating in the choir!
After the presentation we will finish the book and watch the movie!  In honor of the book we will have chocolate marshmallow soup (better know as hot chocolate) and popcorn as a snack.  When the movie is over we will be heading to lunch, recess, specials, and then the party! What a day!  I can't wait!


Side Note:  Many of the students did a GREAT job on their Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocabulary today!  There are a few students who will still need to pass the assessment before enjoying the activities tomorrow.  Please talk with your student to see how they are doing on it.  If they have not passed, they really need to study tonight!  If there is any confusion, you can always check the grade book.  You can use your parent login, or students can use their own login.  (Don't let them fool you. They do know it - it is their 4 letters and 4 numbers.)  A missing grade for the Week 18 assessment indicates that the student has not passed the Lesson 8-9 assessment.

Tuesday, December 17

Today we worked more on our An Interview with History projects.  We spent a chunk of the day learning how to gather our online resources. If you want to engage your child in a conversation about their school day, ask them how Google is like a refrigerator.  They should be able to tell you that, Google stores information the way that a refrigerator stores food.  The big difference between Google and a refrigerator is that when food goes bad in a refrigerator, someone cleans it out.  When information goes bad on Google, no one cleans it out.  All the bad information just stays.  That is why we use the reputable databases found on our website.  I believe almost all of the students were able to find at least 2 resources for their project.  I will be printing them off and sending them home, so that the students can review the resources over break as they make their two-liter bottle model. If your child needs a two-liter bottle please let me know.  I have a few at school.

Today we also took another try at the Lesson 8-9 Spelling/Vocab test.  This is the last grade going in the grade book, so I am being a stickler and requiring a 90% or better.  Many students met the requirement, but many need to study some more.  Please ask your child how they did and feel free to use the online quiz site, ThatQuiz,  to help them practice.

Monday, December 16

What a productive day!  We started by adding NWEA data to our Feedback and Data Binder, along with updated Reading Counts reports.  Please review both reports with your student tonight, and work together to fill out the reflection page.

Today we also took the Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocab assessment, or should I say we BOMBED it.  Only one student in the both TeamShoultz and Team33 passed the assessment.  That student was Emma W.  Way to go Emma!!  The rest of us are just chalking it up to being a Monday!  So we are going to study harder tonight and try again tomorrow.  Students brought home a paper to help study, and they can also use the ThatQuiz page online to help. Students will be able to continue taking the practice test until they score a 90% or better.  Then they can still review what they missed in order to get a higher score tomorrow.

The third big accomplishment of today was starting our Interview with History project. All students should be bringing home an orange paper explaining the project.  To earn the first 2 points on the project, they just need to return the bottom portion with a parent signature.

Tomorrow will be just as busy as we continue our  Interview with History project and review for our Math test.  Keep up the good work everyone!

Friday, December 13

Happy Friday the 13th!  It was a really happy day here at school.  We were happy about our NWEA scores going up, up, up! We only have a few more students who need to finish up the test, and so we are hoping the scores will go home next week.

Due to NWEA testing, we did not have an Examview assessment this week.  Next week there will be a test over the Lesson 8-9 Spelling and Vocabulary Packet.  Students will need to be able to spell each word or word part and match them with the correct definition.  This will be the last grade of the grading period, so please study.

See everyone next week.  Have a great weekend.

Thursday, December 20

Making a List, Checking it twice!

There are so many exciting things happening  this season that I feel like Santa, making a list and checking it twice. Here are a couple that you won’t want to miss out on!

NWEA: Tomorrow is our last NWEA test.  Team 33 will be taking the Math portion.  Team Shoultz will take the Reading.  Students did a great job on today's testing! 

Good Cheer Basket: We are still collecting food for our Good Cheer basket.  Any donations are appreciated.

Team 33 Winter Party:  Team 33 will be celebrating the season on Thursday, December 19.  A huge Thank you goes to Jamie Green for organizing the party, and all the parents who are volunteering their time and talents to this festive occasion.  The party will begin at 1:30. All parents and family members are welcome.

Unwanted Christmas Gift Exchange:  This exchange is back by popular demand.  For any of you that are new to the program, here is how it goes….  Students find something at home that they do not want anymore (one student’s trash is another student’s treasure), they ask their parents for permission to give it away, then they wrap it and bring it to school.  We then play dirty Santa with the gifts.  The students love it!  The funnier the gifts the better, and I am always surprised how each year at least one child tells me how they got exactly what they wanted from the Unwanted Christmas Gift Exchange.

Teacher/Classroom Gifts:  If you are planning on purchasing a gift for the teacher/classroom this year please...keep it small.  I great suggestion would be to give games.  Our indoor recess selection is slim, and we have many more indoor recess days ahead of us.  Legos, board games, card games, etc.  New or used.  They would all be greatly appreciated by the students and teacher alike.

Learning Continued Christmas Bash:  Thursday the 19th is our last Scheduled Learning Continued. The students who have been participating , will be celebrating their dedication with a party.  They have permission to bring soda, cookies, or whatever they would like to contribute.  We will be playing fun games and enjoying each others company.  Parents are welcome.  We will begin a 2nd round of Learning Continued in January.  Stay tuned for more information.

Christmas Break:  Christmas Break begins at the end of the day on Friday, December 20.  Please have a safe and happy holiday!  We will resume school on  Monday, January 6th.

Wednesday, December 11

We hope you’re ready to be FROZEN tonight!

We are all very excited for our movie date tonight and just wanted to clarify a bit of information

before the big event.

· Ticket prices are buy-1-get-1, which makes them $4.25 each. If you are buying an odd number of tickets, try to bring cash for at least 1 ticket so we can pair you with someone else to get the discounted price.

· Snacks are not discounted, but they do offer a kids pack which includes drink, popcorn and a pack of gummies for $5.50.

· Although we would love to have parent participation, students may be dropped off, but must be picked up by 8:45. (No younger siblings should be dropped off without supervision.) Please come into the lobby to pick up your child.

See you at the movies!!