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!

Student Led Conferences - It is Here!

Well, tonight is the night!  I think the students are ready and excited to lead their student led conferences.  (Some are also a little nervous!)  I am sending home a print out of the conferences scheduled.  Please double check that the time you signed up for matches the time on the sheet.  I printed it directly from the website you signed up on so it should match.

Conferences are blocked off for 15-20 minute blocks, aiming for 15 so that you have transition time to get to other conferences (if applicable).  I have told the students to just come in and start their conferences even if another student is finishing up in the room.  Being they are student led, the 3B students know how to start.  I will be listening from the side while the students are sharing their information, and then I will join in at the end.

I also wanted to give everyone a heads up that I will be gone next week.  My husband and I take a trip every February to somewhere tropical so the students will have a sub for the 4 day week next week.  I know they will be wonderful and respectful, as they always are, while I am gone.  The sub will not be checking my emails so if you have a message to get to her or the school, please call Linda at 547-2300.  I will be checking student blogs or emails at various times over the vacation to check in and see how things are going but can't guarantee I will do it every day.....There is sunshine somewhere warm calling my name.  :)

Nice job to the students who are working on their at home reading blog post!  Some of them are wonderful and many students have commented how they are really enjoying their book(s)!  Many students are already on their second realistic fiction book and anxious to read more.  I will be sending the blog information for this week home tomorrow as it will be due next Monday.  There will not be an activity for blogging at home about their realistic fiction reading being I will be gone.  Keep up the great work 3B and keep reading!

Enjoy the week and we will see you tonight or tomorrow at conferences!

Important Information about Signing up for Conferences!

I hope that everyone received the letter sent home yesterday about the change in scheduling conferences.  The school is piloting a way to have parents sign up for conferences online.  It is similar to what parents do to sign up for conferences with students at the high school.  We are also hoping that is it more convenient for all parents.

The letter that was sent home explained everything that you need to know.  There was one "misprint" on the direction side of the online sign up and that was step number 2.  Somehow that got mixed up with the high school directions.  When you are signing up online for conferences (following the directions on the sheet sent home), for step 2, go to the top of the Howard-Winn home page and click on "Parent Information".  Below that will be a link to click on for "CE Conference Scheduler".  Then continue on with step 3 of the directions as given.   We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that parents remember we are "piloting" something new.

Also remember that if you are having trouble or need assistance, you may contact Linda at the Crestwood Elementary office or myself.  If you are have more than one child to schedule conferences for, I suggest you do it as soon as possible to make sure you can get them all arranged one after the other.

The other big information that connects to conferences applies to only 3rd grade students, and that is that these conferences are student-led.  This means that your 3B child must attend conferences with you, and he/she will be leading the conference sharing information about their learning and behavior as well as show student pieces of work.  I will be listening but standing to the side during this time and then join you when your child is done.  While this is a nerve wracking experience for the students, they do a wonderful job and are very proud at the end.  We will be practicing starting next week so students are ready and prepared.  So please remember that your 3B child should attend his/her conference with you which ever evening you sign up.  Thank you!

Changing the subject....I just saw that one of our 3B students made her blog post about her at home reading of realistic fiction.  Yippee!  Remember that each child must make a blog post sharing comments about their at home reading by this Friday.  Information was sent home Monday.  Comments that need to be discussed are in the previous blog post and were sent home on Monday.  If you are not sure, look below in the previous post.  Remind students that they need to write enough in their post so that all readers know what they are talking about and not simple answering questions I said needed to be commented on.  It needs to make sense to the readers who read from anywhere, not just myself.

Also remember that if your child does not have access to a computer, he/she can write about their reading or chat with me to do it at school during the day.  We will make it work!

Thanks and have a great rest of the week.  I hope that everyone has success signing up for conferences.  Let me know if you have any questions!