3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter August 31, 2009

First Week of School
A lot happened the first week of school! We developed classroom rules, played didgeridoos (a wind instrument from Australia), hiked part of the new Nagoonberry Loop Trail, learned new math games, wrote poems giving directions on how to be like us, and read and sang with the K-2 class. Whew!

Class Rules
Our class developed the rules for our classroom this week and they are:
1. Have Fun and Be Safe
2. Be Kind and Respectful
3. Do Your Best

Glacier Bay Field Trip
The date of our Glacier Bay field trip on the Fairweather Express II has been switched to Thursday, September 3rd. Please sign and return the attached permission slip. Are you able to help with transportation? If so, please note that on the permission slip. Additionally, please send a healthy lunch and snacks and a mug with a lid with your child.

Do you have a type 1 lifejacket (Mae West style) for your child? If so, please send it to school tomorrow. The Fairweather Express II does not have enough for the number of students that we have, so we have to supply the rest.

Saxon Math
We are starting our new math curriculum this week! This curriculum distributes and integrates math concepts throughout the entire school year. This approach gives students a chance to practice concepts on an ongoing basis, instead of only during the time that a traditional unit it taught. We are excited about it!

Spelling
About 90% of English text consists of 1000 words! Last week we started to figure out which of these 1000 words your child needs to learn how to spell by taking spelling tests that gradually get harder. Each week your child will have ten words that they need to learn and they will write these inside their planners on Mondays. On Fridays they will have a test on these words. If they misspell any of these words they will remain on their list the following week. Correctly spelled words will be replaced with new words.

Technology and Book Reports
We will be creating book video book reports during technology! Each child should bring a book to school by September 14th that they have finished reading. Please contact me if this is a problem.

Book Orders
In the red folders this week you will find Scholastic book orders. This is a great way to buy books! Not only do you get great books but every item you buy earns classroom points that can spend on classroom books for our classroom. You can combine the orders on one check made out to “Scholastic Book Clubs.” The book orders can be returned at any time, but they are due no later than Tuesday, September 8th.

Reading Homework, Fabulous Fridays and Planners
Each 3, 4th, and 5th grader is assigned reading homework each week. Their assignment is to read at least 25 minutes 4 times a week. Reading on Saturdays and Sundays can count towards this reading homework. Please just note it in your child’s planner.

To earn a Fabulous Friday a student needs to have their planner signed each day of the week, have completed their reading homework (at least 4 separate days of reading 25 minutes), and have all other homework turned in. Fabulous Fridays happen during snack time (10:10) on Fridays.

Paragraph a Week
The “Paragraph a Week” Assignment this week is, “Super Spelling and Punctuation.” It is attached.

Word of the Week: squelch
Each week a word will be given for students to define and use in a sentence. These words will be from books we are reading or vocabulary from things we are studying. Students should write the definitions and sentences on an index card (or something similar in size). They can be illustrated too! These definitions and sentences will be displayed on a word wall in the classroom. The “Word of the Week” is an optional assignment.

Sincerely,

Jessie