Back at It! Read Across America Week!

Thank you to all the students who used their school email to send me emails while I was on vacation!  It was fun to read them every day and know what was going on!  I had a super time in Jamaica enjoying the 85-90 degree weather daily!  It was relaxing and exactly what I needed!  If only I could have brought back some of that weather as it sounds as if we may be in for a last minute winter storm tomorrow and Wednesday.  I am hoping not as I do not want to miss any more days of school.  I guess we will wait and see!

Thank you to the students as well for their great behavior while I was gone.  There were a few bumps in the road, but that is expected.  Overall, everything went well.  Thanks for being so respectable and responsible 3B!

I also forgot to make a post about how proud I was of the students and their student-led conferences!  Wow!  They all did fabulous and should be proud of themselves as well!!!!

So now that we are back at it, I would like the students to have their realistic fiction at home reading done by the end of the week and return the books that were sent home.  After a quick review of adjectives and word choice, we will be moving into a new genre in writing and new books will come home.  If your child has finished his/her reading at home and has already returned their book, they can select what they would like to read at home.  Please continue reading though as that is so important!

February Book-It calendars are due this week.  I would like them returned by the latest, this Friday.  I will be sending home March reading calendars on Wednesday.

The 3rd quarter ends this Friday!  I can't believe it already, but 4th quarter is around the corner.  It seems like once 4th quarter hits, the weeks go too quickly with so much to do!  Yikes!  I am not sure of the exact date report cards will be sent home, but I will let you know.

A letter is being sent home today about "Read Across America" week.  Each child needs to bring a healthy snack for our "cross grade level reading" this Friday.  The note explains everything as well.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  We will be doing various activities around Dr. Seuss and Read Across America.  I showed the students the "Seussville" online site that they can go on via the Internet and play games, watch Dr. Seuss movies, and tons more.  Some tried it today, but due to the demand and number of students on it during the day, the site was very slow.  I would encourage them to try at home maybe at a time when there is not so much Internet traffic on the site as there is during the day.

One activity the school is participating in for Read Across America is making book covers.  The students have selected a favorite book to illustrate the cover on one page and a favorite part on the other.  Some students are bringing this home to work on as they started in art and are running out of time to finish.  Please have them finish the activity and bring it back to school tomorrow.  Remind them to work neatly as they will be "wearing" the book cover on Wednesday in front of others.

Our tissue/kleenex supply is running low.  We only have a few boxes left to make it through the year.  If you have an extra box at home or are willing to donate a box of tissues to 3B, we would appreciate it (as would our noses).  Thanks!

Have a great week and let's hope that snowstorm makes a detour! :)

Student Emails and Vacation!

The students are very excited today as they learned how to use their own school email accounts!!!  They were amazed and think they are pretty important now (which they are!).

The emails are set up through Google and our school district.  Student emails can only be used to email students and staff who attend the Howard-winn school district.  Emails to parents and incoming emails from other sources will be monitored through the tech department and may not be successfully sent through.  The purpose of using these emails is for education and communication within the school district, as well as eventually sending attachments of work etc.   So, as a parent, you won't be able to directly send an email to your 3B child nor will they be able to directly send one to you.  It is for educational communication only!!!

Your child can check his or her email by following these steps:
     1.  opening up the internet and going to the school home page (http://www.howard-winn.k12.ia.us)
     2.  scroll to the bottom and click on "login"
     3.  put in login name and password
         *student login names are their last name and first name.  No spaces or capitals.  An example
          would be for me, "keriankim"
     4.  their password is a 5 or 6 digit number that is their district student number.  They should know
          the number by now or have it written down as it is a number we use for other online activities.

This should take them to their email account.  Thus far, I have just shown them how to check their email, send one, and reply to those they receive.  To send to a classmate, to me, or someone within the school district, they first type the person's LAST name and a list of choices will come up for them to select the correct person's email.  They know what to do from there.

I have also discussed the safety aspect of using email.  Being it is controlled by Google and the school, it is very safe.  But this opportunity is a priveledge and can easily be taken away if problems arise.  Students should not be using this email account to send emails about plans for weekend or whatever.  It is for school communication only.

Which brings me to my vacation.  As I have mentioned before, I am leaving for a vacation to the Caribbean with my husband and will be gone all next week.  I have told the students I would love for them to send me emails each day letting me know how the day went and what they learned.  I will be checking my school email on a regular basis while gone and would love to hear what the students did and learned about that day (even though I know as i wrote the lesson plans).  They can email from any computer any where, as long as they go to the Howard-Winn homepage first.

They are very excited and I can't wait to read some of their emails!

Again, along with that, please remember that if something comes up and you need to contact the school next week, call the office.  Do not email me as I will not be at school.

There will be no assignment for blogging about at home reading until I get back.  I would love for the students to finish the books that were sent home though so we can start a new genre when I return.

Thanks and happy emailing 3B!

Another Busy Week!

Well, the students are ready for their big night tonight - their music program. I hope all of you can make it as they are singing some pretty fun songs! Please remember to have your child to the high school by 6:45 as the program starts at 7:00 and we need to get them lined up in time to start at 7:00. A note was sent home last week from Mrs. Holten with the information about the program so hopefully none of this is a surprise to you. Remember that there is also a home basketball game so it will be a little crowded in the parking lot. Hope to see you tonight!

Your 3B child should have brought a slip home with a time scheduled next week for parent-teacher conferences. If the time written does not work for your schedule, please return the slip with a time that would work better. It is important your bring your 3B child along as they will be leading the conferences. We started getting ready today and I can tell they are a little nervous. When you arrive at your conference that night, please just come on in and get started even if there is someone else in the room. It is alright to have 2 conferences going on at the same time just so we don't get off schedule. Your 3B child will start the conferences sharing their learning and critiques, and I will join you in the middle of the conference. (I will be listening from the side though). Although it is a scary time for the 3rd graders, it is a very beneficial experiences for them as well. After all, they are what the conference is about.

February seems to have a lot of "interruptions" - if we can call them that. Remember that this Wednesday is an early out for inservice. There is no school next Friday, February 12th, due to teacher compensation for time spent at conferences. We originally were to have off the following Monday as well, February 15th which is President's Day, but that is now a make up day. Please pay close attention to calendars and notes sent home from school throughout the month as it can be a busy time.

The "Big Blast" from our fundraiser has been rescheduled for this Friday. Mrs. Sovereign would love it if students wore Cadet blue tshirts or something Crestwood realated, if you have something. Those students that earned the ride in the limo and lunch at Pizza Hug will also do that this Friday - I get to go too! Yumm! I know the students are very excited about the Big Blast as they ask every day when it will be! Good way to celebrate their hard work!

Just a reminder that I will be on vacation to Jamaica February 12-21 and will return to school the 22nd. I will have everything prepared for the sub and know things will go very smoothly. If you need to let the sub know anything that week, please send a note or call Linda in the office so she can inform my sub. I usually bring back gifts for the kids so they are already curious what that will be.

Enjoy the week!