Student Teacher Going Bye Bye!

Our favorite student teacher is going away this Thursday! We will miss her soooooooo much! Hopefuy she will visit & substitute for us. The classroom will be so lonely . I hope she will remember us for the rest of her sweet life!

My haunted book!

In class I am reading a book called "Haunting Horrors"! It is about some true and some not true stories.It has some stories that might be weird !They have Elvis!!! They also have Abraham Lincoln!!! It is so interesesing!!!!!! I can't wait to go on with the story!!!!!!!!

By:        Ashlee                     

REALLY Writing

So the whole point of teaching our kiddos to write is so they can write in "real life," right? Well, what better way to do that than to get them writing on our blog! Last week I modeled how to create and complete a post, and many students are already drafting their first contributions. 3 students started the process of typing posts (which takes much longer due to their "hunt and peck" keyboarding strategy), and you can expect to see those completed and posted for your reading pleasure within 1-2 days! Continue to check regularly for new student perspectives!!! They are absolutely stoked to write their own posts, and I love that this is a very real writing experience for them. Blogging has become such a prominent part of the Internet, and I'm grateful for the opportunity for my students to already have real life application for their writing skills at such a young age. Thank you for supporting this!!!

November calendar is also up!

All Twisted Up

Unit 3 in math is all about measuring. Yesterday, we learned how to measure PERIMETER (the distance around something, like a rectangle or your yard). First, we needed to create several different polygons using straws and twist ties. Once we had assembled our triangles, squares, trapezoids, etc. we practiced measuring the perimeter of these figures. Here we are!!!

 

 

What can you find at home to measure perimeter!?

 

Getting Artsy!!!

If you see a PTA member please tell them thank you! This past Monday I attended the PTA meeting to request financial support to cover the cost of a teaching art e-course and supplies to begin implementing these lessons in my classroom. They are anxious to see an increase in art instruction, and I'm so grateful that they also believe in promoting creative thinking. If you haven't already joined this year, please consider! Our PTA meets about once a month and works hard to support both academic and social programming for our students and families. I know they'd love to have you, even if you aren't able to attend every meeting. If you'd like to check out the course I'm beginning, here's the website!!! http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/ Some of these projects may look familiar, as we've already completed two of them this year! I could not be more excited!!!

Pumpkins & Pizza

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the parents who attended conferences last week. I truly believe that students will be most successful when their parents are aware and involved. THANK YOU for your commitment to your child's learning. THANK YOU for showing you care and taking a few minutes of your night to visit with me about your child's progress. THANK YOU for admiring our artwork and sharing successes. THANK YOU for caring about your child!!!

Red Ribbon Week is this week!!! 

Students are celebrating being drug free and spending time discussing the harmful effects drugs can have on our bodies. The #1 prevention for drug and alcohol abuse is awareness and education...you will play the most important role in this area of your child's life and decisions!!!

Tuesday - Dream about Being Drug Free (PJ day)

Wednesday - Sock it to Drugs (wear crazy socks)

Thursday - Doing Drugs is Crazy (wear crazy, backwards, mismatched clothes)

Friday - Slam Dunk, Drugs are Junk! (wear basketball attire)

What We're Learning:

Math - Measurement

Reading - Fact and Opinion

Word Work - Adding -er / -est or Using more / most

Grammar - Verb Tenses (past, present, future)

Science - Properties of Minerals

Quick Reminders & Announcements:

• Westside apparel order forms went home during conferences. Due November 9th!!!
• Fargo Force Reading is underway, and we are almost halfway through our first "period." The goal is high and there are GREAT PRIZES for the class and student who read the most minutes. So let's READ, READ, READ (and don't forget to record those minutes)!!!!! :)
• FOLLOW OUR BLOG!!! If you enter your email address, it will notify you every time I post. Or, if you are a regular "blogger," you can follow our blog and it will be included on your Blogger Reading List. 

Our latest art project! Pumpkins!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/10/04/starlight-pumpkin-art-lesson/

Pizza Party

Wow! Westside students raised $19,000 for our school through sales of the Chamber of Commerce coupon books! Thank you for supporting this effort at home. WOW!!!!! Our class sold over 100 books, so we earned a pizza party. YUM!!!!!

Cities Art Project

Our most recent art project was based on the skyline of a city. In social studies students are currently studying various kinds of communities, urban being a "big city." During this project students also learned about warm and cool colors and focused on using geometric shapes to create their buildings. After drawing students used watercolors and crayons to add interest. They turned out beautifully!!!

Project from: http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/09/26/paul-klee-art-lesson/

Fargo Force

We are SO excited about participating in the Fargo Force Reading program this year!!! Our class is full of ambitious, dedicated readers, and we're all anxious to work toward all the great prizes the program offers (see the brochure that was sent home last Wednesday). The most exciting prize is a class trip to a Force game for the class that reads the greatest number of minutes. Let me tell you, the kids are PUMPED about that! In order to more easily document reading minutes, I sent home a bright orange Fargo Force calendar for the month of October last Friday. Please help your son or daughter keep their log up to date so that we can all be working together toward this goal!!!

On a side note...I apologize for the lack of posting over the past few weeks. Miss Van Den Einde has been gradually taking over instruction, and since she's doing such a great job I've been trying to stay out of her way (hence, the lack of photos lately). Stay tuned to the blog and watch in coming weeks for an increase in posts as I begin taking over instruction after Teachers Convention weekend.

Looking forward to visiting with you all at conferences next week!

It's October already?!

Wow! Where did September go? Already the end??? Wow! We are deep into our learning and are also having a blast. Here are some of our highlights:

1. Biographies
We learned how to research using a book and how to use the information and make a final project specifically about the biography we read. We are using Kidspiration, which is a software program on the computer to create digital webs. We are also creating cutouts of our person and will have an awesome final project to show off coming this next week.


2. Flat Stanley
We have reviewed the letter writing process, have written our community letters and are ready to address our envelopes. Our Flat Selves are almost ready to go on their adventure. The students are so excited. We even had the opportunity to view a past project from a grandma of a third grader who received a Flat Stanley. What a motivator! Although, it set high expectations for those receiving our letters.


3. Math
We wrapped up Unit 1 in math and are pushing forward to Unit 2. And might I add how impressed I was with our first test in math. Wow! Totally blew my mind how well everyone did. Once again, if you haven't, you can check grades online through parent portal. Contact the office and they can help you get set up.


4. Writing
We have loved getting back into the swing of writing. We have almost completed one whole round of writing with publishing coming up this week. It is truly awesome to watch the excitement when we write and to see all our positive attitudes.

5. Circle of Greatness
I am taking a class on Nurtured Heart and love what I am learning. We have started a Circle of Greatness to end our day. We all sit in a circle and talk about our greatness. Sometimes it is as simple as coming to class on time or else it can be finishing a project or using nice words all day, either way we love to talk about our greatness.

6. PTA Membership Drive
This week we are having a PTA membership drive. The PTA does so much for our school and classroom and we are so thankful for them. So... become a member. Not only will you be able to attend meetings and have a voice, you are saying thank you in a very simple way. During our membership drive, the grade level with the most memberships will win some prize (we are not sure what it is yet, but we love a competition). So let's all join PTA.

7. Finally... Fargo Force Reading
There will be forms coming home on Monday in order to track your child's reading minutes. Also, each month, there will be a "Reader of the Month" which is open to those who have met their reading goal. There is also a classroom competition in which we can win free things and even a trip to the Scheels arena for the classroom that reads the most minutes. How fun! More details to come, watch your child's backpack tomorrow.

Upcoming Events:

* Picture forms due tomorrow
* Pictures will be taken Oct. 4th
* Book orders are due on Friday (online code is GTTYN)
* Conference schedule times will come home this week (close to Friday). If your time does not work, please contact me right away to get a new time arranged.


Thank you so much for helping our classroom get off to a great start.

Until another great day...

Mrs. Clarey