MSA's
Next Tuesday, April 1st is the beginning of our MSA testing. The children have MSA's on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week, and on Monday, April 7th, the following week.
Please keep these things in mind:
1. Being on time to school is key to having a great start to the day and to the testing.
2. Plenty of rest is a must for test takers.
3. A full stomach helps brain power...feed your child a good breakfast!
Thank you for helping your child show what he/she knows on our state tests!
Exploratory Music
Your child has been participating in a total of five "exploratory music" classes last week and this week. These classes allow the students to experiment with different instruments they might be interested in playing in 4th and 5th grade. They seem to really enjoy these classes. Their last one is this Friday.
Arbor Day
In honor of Arbor Day, each third grader in Frederick County will bring a loblolly pine seedling home on Wednesday, April 2nd. In class we will discuss why Arbor Day is celebrated and the value of trees to our environment. Directions on how to plant the seedling will come home with the tree. (FYI...Just last month my parents moved from the house where I grew up...my 3rd grade seedling is still in that backyard and is over 30 feet tall!)
Social Studies
We were not quite finished our government unit, when we received some videos to supplement our Economy unit...so we switched gears a bit! We are very flexible!! The children are learning so much vocabulary with our economy unit...and I'm so impressed how quickly they can use it! We will stay with Economy over the next two weeks and drift back into the US government. We will be doing a biography project (mainly at school!) towards the middle/end of April that ties into the government unit. Your child will be studying a person that has made a positive impact on our country. Please spend some time brainstorming with your child some different people that he/she might be interested in learning about. More to come on this fun project!
Other news...
1. We are finishing the novel, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler this week. The children have become masters at writing summaries during this novel unit. Next, we will be delving into a different novel and using literature circles where the kids will run the group discussions themselves...should be interesting! :-)
2. Most students have finished editing their creative stories...holy moly, I'm impressed! They will conference with me, make revisions, and publish these stories in the computer lab. I can't wait for you to read them!
3. In math, we are leaving our measurement unit and heading into DIVISION...keep practicing those facts...they will make all the difference as we attack long division!!
4. LAST, BUT CERTAINLY, NOT LEAST...Mrs. Huston is still awaiting the arrival of Baby Huston. She has promised to let us know soon after the baby arrives...we are all excited about Baby Huston's arrival!!
Until next time...
