Thursday, February 28, 2013

Homework and reminders:

Math homework:  p. 366 #1-4 (Show what you know to review for test), Name Art
Math test on Measurement on Monday:  cm, m, km, perimeter, area

Science test next Thursday:  muscular force, gravitational force, magnetic force, friction

Science project:  The students were given their project rubrics and outline for their "Build a Toy" project.  Their only homework is to brainstorm ideas and collect materials to build their toy.  All other planning and building will be done at school.  Please ask your child for the project outline for more details. 

Food day orders:  order forms were sent home today.  Due date:  Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

Library books:  Mrs. Lawler would like all overdue library books returned ASAP.

Dinner table discussion:  Tell your family what happened to Edward today.  What do you really think happened to him?  How do you feel about the book so far?

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Blogger of the day:  McKenna

Today in science we were spining  tops and timing them. In math we  got to make are names with block letters. We had library and I picked out a new library book.

Homework and reminders:

Wordstudy due tomorrow
Science worksheet:  spinning away
Math test on Monday:  cm, m, km
                                      area
                                      perimeter
Please bring your library books back.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Homework:

Math p. 349 #1-4

Have a safe and WARM weekend!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Homework and reminders:

Math p. 347 #4, 6, 7
Gym tomorrow

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Homework:

Measurement worksheets:  kilometre and measuring perimeter

Writer's Notebook:  Write about your favourite speech(es) that you heard today.  What makes a good speech?  Tell what you liked about your favourite speech.

No Wordstudy this week.

Our grade 3 students are starting to recognize that success goes hand in hand with organization.  Many students are taking advantage of the cold weather and staying in at least once/week to clean out their desks and organize their notebooks.  Please read the following tips to help your child get organized.

10 Ways to Help Your Child Get Organized

Developing good organizational skills is a key ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people are by nature more organized than others, anyone can put routines and systems in place to help a child "get it together."  Here is a list of strategies that you can use to help your child get — and keep — her life under control.

1. Use checklists.
Help your child get into the habit of keeping a "to-do" list. Use checklists to post assignments, household chores, and reminders about what materials to bring to class.

2. Organize homework assignments.
Before beginning a homework session, encourage your child to number assignments in the order in which they should be done. She should start with one that's not too long or difficult, but avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments for last.

3. Designate a study space.
Your child should study in the same place every night. This doesn't have to be a bedroom, but it should be a quiet place with few distractions. All school supplies and materials should be nearby.

4. Set a designated study time.
Your child should know that a certain time every day is reserved for studying and doing homework. The best time is usually not right after school — most children benefit from time to unwind first.  Even if she doesn't have homework, the reserved time should be used to review the day's lessons, read for pleasure, or work on an upcoming project.

5. Keep organized notebooks.
Help your child keep track of papers by organizing them in a binder or notebook. This will help him review the material for each day's classes and to organize the material later to prepare for tests and quizzes.

6. Conduct a weekly cleanup.
Encourage your child to sort through book bags and notebooks on a weekly basis. Old tests and papers should be organized and kept in a separate file at home.

7. Create a household schedule.
Try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular bedtime. This will help your child fall into a pattern at home. Children with a regular bedtime go to school well-rested. Try to limit television-watching and computer play to specific periods of time during the day.

8. Keep a master calendar.
Keep a large, wall-sized calendar for the household, listing the family's commitments, schedules for extracurricular activities, days off from school, and major events at home and at school.

9. Prepare for the day ahead.
Before your child goes to bed, he should pack schoolwork and books in a book bag. The next day's clothes should be laid out with shoes, socks, and accessories. This will cut down on morning confusion and allow your child to prepare quickly for the day ahead.

10. Provide needed support while your child is learning to become more organized.
Help your child develop organizational skills by photocopying checklists and schedules and taping them to the refrigerator.  Most important, set a good example.

Celebrations

On Friday, our school celebrated French Canadian Culture with a Carnaval.  We were joined by Bonhomme Carnaval himself!  The students enjoyed a fun day of games, songs and treats.  Congratulations to our very own 3A Carnaval Queen pictured below with Bonhomme.  What a wonderful way to celebrate one of the cultures that defines Canada!

This past week, my family and I celebrated Chinese New Year and we made this video to share.

Chinese New Year with the Allison Family

The children also took some time to write about their own family traditions and share with the class.  I think it is fantastic that we can learn about so many traditions here in Canada!  I wish you all a wonderful Family Day weekend.  No matter how you plan to celebrate - I hope it is with the ones you love.

Happy Family Day to my 3A students and families!

Mrs. Allison

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!  Sending all my 3A students a big hug and smile!

Reminders:

Carnaval is tomorrow.  Wear running shoes, black and red tomorrow.

MONDAY is FAMILY DAY - NO SCHOOL.

Blogger of the day:  Michael

Today was Valentine's Day and we got a lot of candy and cookies.  We also got to play 4 corners at recess.  And also at recess we got to play bump.  Today we had Science and we got to make parachutes and Mrs. Allison launched some.  We learned that the bigger parachutes fall slower and the small parachutes fall faster.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wordstudy due Thursday
Math p.340 #4, 6, 8
Wear Black and Red for Carnaval on Friday

Blogger of the day:  Karman

I had a great day at school today.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Homework:

Science Investigation:  Push or pull page
Math:  mad minute
Writer's notebook:  Special celebrations

Blogger of the day:  Oyinda

We learned about celebrations and we talked about chinese new year and we did force and tried some experiments.

For those students who wish to send Valentine on Thursday, here is a class list:

Denzel Aguilar

Michael Antal

Patricia Arndt

Noah Carter

Maja Chandler

Katelyn Chapple

Ethan Elmer

Shengbuo Fang

Steve Ishaq

Kevin Liu

Natasha MacFarlane

Austin Mack

Chelsea McGuire

Aidan Murray

Karman Panaich

Dora Politis

Gurvind Sekbon

McKenna Smith

Oyinda Talabi

Divjot Virk

Luka Vucak

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Homework and reminders:

Parent/Teacher interviews on Thursday 4:30 - 7:30 p.m.
-please call the school and speak to one of our secretaries to book an appointment
-I will be holding interviews in the front office not in our portable

NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY:  PA Day

Place Value tests and quizzes to be signed and returned

Wordstudy due tomorrow

Monday, February 4, 2013

Homework

Science p. 117 #1-4
Wordstudy
Report cards signed and bottom portion returned

February News

Dear Parents:

Happy February!  It has been a cold and windy winter so far, but we are warm and cozy in our portable.  This newsletter has been posted on our 3A Class Blog, but since this is the start of a new term, I am sending home a paper copy so that you do not miss out on any important news.  Please note that all newsletters have been and will continue to be posted on our blog.   If you type in “3A Class Blog” in your search engine, we are the very first listing. 

Important Reminders:

Gym days:  Day 1, Day 5, Day 8

Students must have proper running shoes in order to participate.

Library : Day 1

Students must return borrowed books in order to check out new books.

Winter Wear

Boots and snow pants are needed for snowy days, please send dry inside shoes or slippers for your child to wear inside.

Wordstudy

Wordstudy is assigned each Monday and collected on Thursday.   I do not test the students on the words but still expect students to complete this weekly assignment neatly and accurately.   Students are often rushing to complete their wordstudy and making silly errors.  In addition to the wordstudy, we are constantly adding to our classroom word walls that we use to keep track of new words in literacy, math, science and social studies.  Please read my philosophy on spelling:

We know now that learning to spell and learning to memorize lists are two different things. If we want children to be good spellers, the spelling instruction must be part of the rest of the reading and writing lessons that happen every day in the classroom. Word lists are still kept and learned, but the words are those the children actually use. Many of them belong to a personal collection built up by the child, others may relate to themes or topics being studied, along with various word families in which the child can learn to recognize patterns.

Report cards and Parent/Teacher Interviews

Report cards will be coming today.  Please review your child’s report card and fill out the bottom portion of the last page.  Please return that piece and the report card envelope back to school.  The report card itself is yours to keep.  If you wish to discuss your child’s progress, please call the school at 519-969-9748 and speak directly to a one of the secretaries to book an appointment.  Please do not leave a message on the answering machine.  Parent/Teacher interviews will be held on Thursday, February 7, 2013 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.  If you are unable to attend, I will be happy to conference with you via telephone or meet with you at another time.

Homework:  Homework should be written in your child’s agenda daily.  Any homework that is assigned, is work that your child has not completed in class.  If you are finding that your child is spending more than 30-40 minutes daily on homework tasks, please let me know and we will have to meet to review why he/she is taking so long to complete assignments.

EQAO:  Please read the letter that was sent home today for more information about EQAO testing.

Curriculum News:

Math:  Measurement (Length, Perimeter and Area)

Students will:

1.    Measure lengths

2.   Measure the distance around a figure

3.   Measure the amount of space a figure covers

Math facts:  students are working at different levels in our classroom.  Some still need to review addition and subtraction facts.  Others are reviewing multiplication facts in higher or lower numbers.  By the end of grade 3, students will be expected to multiply up to 7x7.  Students should make an effort to do a mad minute, review using flashcards, iPad apps or computer games at least 3 times a week.

Literacy:   We will continue with our novel study, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.”

Students will start writing narratives with characters, a setting, beginning, middle and end.

Students will begin cursive writing.

Science:  We will continue with our Forces and Motion unit.  Students will be designing and building a toy that moves and presenting it to their classmates.

Health:  This month, we will focus on personal hygiene.

Have a great month!  Please read the blog next month for March News. 

Take care,

Mrs. Allison

Friday, February 1, 2013

Homework and reminders:

Place Value Math test on Monday

Most of the students have completed this review.  For those who have not, these questions will help them to prepare for the test.

p. 50 $ 51

#6, 7, 8, 10, 11

Have a safe weekend everyone!

Mrs. Allison