Valentine's Day Cards List

The rule at UES is that if you are bringing any Valentines,

you must bring one for each student in your class.

Here is our class list to make this process a bit easier...

and to make sure no one gets left out!

Steve

Sophie

Maegan

Helen

Gabriel

Jack

Matthew

Lucy

Jerry

Jude HS

Mehta

Jessie

Emma L

Hasita

Nikita

Nicholas

Sai

Vincent

Hayley

Jude S

Nuhad

Allie

Emma S

Trixy

Maliha

Hannah

AJ

OOPS...forgot important info in last post...please read!!

Valentine's Party...in case you haven't seen the emails...our wonderful room parents are collecting money for our Valentine's Party...$3 per kid will help throw a very fun party...thank you for helping with this! Just put the money in an envelope with your child's name and have your child give it to Sophie Beers-Arthur.

Silent Auction...our wonderful PTA is throwing a Silent Auction on March 9th...the money they raise helps provide programs and services that directly impact our kids. Please consider donating money to our classroom basket...our class and Ms. Van Eck's class will be putting together an exercise basket that will be up for auction that evening. There was also an email about this...so check your In Box to see if it's there. This donation also needs to be put in an envelope addressed to Maile Beers-Arthur and given to Sophie or me!! Thank you!

Just FYI...another thing that will be up for auction that night is DUCK PIN BOWLING WITH MRS. WILLS!! Should be a fun night!! Come on out and join me in helping to raise money for our school!

Happy Weekend

What a great week we had! Here is a very quick run down...

Language Arts...we are heavy into reading our biographies and taking notes on our famous people. We are using file cards and an envelope organizer that the kids really seem to buy into...and as you, that is over half the battle! We will be using a "Cart On Wheels" otherwise known as the "COW" over the next two weeks, and the kids will have laptops to compose their biography drafts in first person. I am very excited about this endeavor!! I will be sure to take lots of pictures to make sure we capture these cool moments!

In Writing, each student is working on composing their own personal pieces, but we will also be working on an argument/opinion piece over the next two weeks.

Math...we continued this week with line plots, range, mean, median, and mode. We will delve into line graphs this week and then rap it up...(by the way...my bad on the math homework that included a stem and leaf plot...I couldn't find the homework I had intended to send, and I had a student run to the office to copy the one that went home...that's what happens when I hurry...my bad.)

We spent two full mornings this week listening and learning about each others' cultures. WOW...I don't know what else to say. The projects...the presentations...WOW. I have put together a quick slide show so you can see a small piece of what we got to enjoy...I only wish you could hear their presentations, too! Click on the words "Our Cultural Projects" below to enjoy.

Have a great weekend. I promise a longer post next weekend...

Our Cultural Projects

I'm BAAAACK...

The kids were really happy to see me...until I decided to lay down the law...four days without me allowed them a little more freedom than usual...but they were pulling it together by the end of our 1/2 day! I missed them very much and they were in extremely capable hands. Mrs. Clark and the kids did great work while I was gone.

We have begun our Biography Unit this week. This project brings together SO many different LA indicators...reading for information, collecting information, organizing information, writing an essay, and presenting the information to name a few!! It also brings in some Social Studies indicators...studying important people who have had a positive impact on our communities/ our society. This was modeled this past week using Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The kids will be able to pick an important person who has influenced our nation in a positive way. I asked Mrs. Wright to pull all the biographies of U. S. Presidents and First Ladies...but many kids would like to branch out. I am fine with that as long as they can explain how their famous person has impacted our society positively. This unit culminates with a Wax Museum...where your child will take on the likes of their famous person and "come to life" to tell you about themselves. This Wax Museum is tentatively scheduled for the third week in February. It is a morning performance that you won't want to miss...I promise to narrow down the date in a week or two. The good news is...all of the work is done IN SCHOOL!!! (with the exception of finding something to wear that appropriately represents their important person.) More details to follow.

CLASSROOM NEED: for this project kids will be using 3" x 5" file cards...if you are out and about this weekend and see a pack, pick it up and have your child bring them on Tuesday...your generosity is much appreciated!

And while I'm at it...we are running low on Kleenex and hand sanitizer....so any and all donations are helpful...thank you.

In Math this week the kids have been working with statistics...analyzing line plots, calculating the mean, median, mode, and range of the data. As I corrected homework with the kids today, I was aware that many of the kids are still confused about how the mean, median, mode and range relate to a line plot. We will be working with line plots next week to make sure all connections have been made!!

While I was gone the kids talked alot about the different jobs at the local government level and about taxes during Social Studies. We will spend a little time wrapping up this social studies unit next week, and then we will head into a REALLY fun science unit called Chemical Tests. (Side note: there will not be a Science grade this term on the report card. We only have three science units, so we didn't use one in Term 2...just FYI.)

Our word study units have been inconsistent lately due to inconsistent schedules...and although next week is another FOUR day week for the kids, we WILL have word study. HOWEVER...it will look a little different. We spend the second half of third grade focusing particularly on greek and latin roots. We use packets where the kids will do separate pieces each night...and at the end of the week they will be tested on the meaning, as well as the spelling, of the words. For these packets the kids will have the same words...they are always able to add "Challenge Words" to their lists, but for the most part, they will have the words that match each greek or latin root. I know this sounds confusing, so if after week one you are still confused, please feel free to contact me...but I have a feeling once you see the packets you'll figure it all out! ;-)

I hope you all have a great weekend...my husband is doing very well...it is a lot of work, but he's very determined, and so glad to be out of the pain he was in with the bad hip. Thanks for understanding my absence, and your patience with me as I "whip them back into shape"!!

a monday post again...

Oh dear...another weekend slipped by...I hope I get a few bonus points for posting multiple times over break...please forgive me!

Last week was great...it was so good to get right back in the saddle! We were very busy...here is how it all went down...

Language Arts
This was our final week of poetry...we ended it writing Color Poems....the kids will publish them in the lab on Thursday...they are FANTASTIC!!

We will be starting off our Biography Unit this week...most of the skills will be modeled using information about Martin Luther King, Jr...and then the kids will be choosing a famous person (I think we are doing a Hall of Presidents and First Ladies this year)...they will be researching and writing a biography in first person from the President or First Lady's perspective. They will write Diamante poems about the famous person and we will create timelines of their lives. All work will be completed in class with the exception of choosing their "outfit" and "prop"...our end product is a "Wax Museum"...it is a really fun morning for parents...I will get the date to you soon!!

We are also getting ready to write an opinion/argument piece...we have written multiple expository paragraphs...and the kids are now ready to write essays...so we're going to read up on a hot topic...there is talk that the government is getting rid of the dollar bill and moving to a dollar coin...we will be taking a stance and supporting our argument with facts...should be exciting to read!

Social Studies
We have started a unit on Immigration, Culture, and Government. This is such a great unit chock full of history and culture. Along with this unit is an "at-home" project. The description of this project went home today and is due Thursday, January 26th...I told the kids that it was due Friday, January 27th...my bad.

Math
Last week in math we focused on patterns and function tables. We worked with growing patterns, repeating patterns...growing patterns are the tricky ones...but not for this group! Then we worked on function tables and figuring out the rules that describe the function. Today we worked on writing equations using variables to describe the rule. They picked up on it very quickly!!

On a side note...
This Thursday, my husband, Bob, is having hip replacement surgery. He has severe, degenerative arthritis in his right hip, and will finally find some relief with a new hip...but he has a month-long recovery ahead of him. I will be out of school on Thursday and Friday of this week (Jan 12 and 13) and I will take off next Tuesday (the 17th) as well. I am hoping that is all I will have to miss. The kids will be in the very capable hands of Becca Clark, a substitute they all know. I just wanted you all to know where I will be and when I plan to return.

I will not blog this weekend as my husband will not come home from the hospital until Sunday. Thanks for your understanding and I promise a big update on Friday, January 20th.

Although I will not be in school those three days, I will be available by email as always. My work email comes right into my phone, so don't hesitate to send me an email.

Thanks,
Karen

ENTREPRENEURS 2011

SO...the heavily anticipated video of the new year is here!!

Our Entrepreneurs Unit in pictures...we had six amazing companies, each of whom made a profit once all was said and done!

The employees are all shown in the pictures above and their hard work and committment to creating a marketable product can be viewed by clicking on the words

"ENTREPRENEURS 2011" below.

ENJOY!!

ENTREPRENEURS 2011

UES Junior Pals

On our last week before Winter Break we had a great time with our Junior Pals! We exchanged cards and the kindergartners taught us how to play the dreidel game. We had a lot of fun with our Pals!! Click on the link below to see a photo video of our time together!

UES Junior Pals