Spring May Be Here!!!

Mother Nature has turned it around for us!  Wow!  What a gorgeous week it has been!  Along with this beautiful weather though comes the melting of snow.....which leads to mud and mess on the playground.  Many students are coming in wet after recess (even when reminded to stay out of the puddles).  I would suggest that students bring extra socks to change into incase their's get wet at recess.  We would like them to continue wearing books so they do not drag mud into the classrooms.  While I know it feels warm outside, students have also been told that they can not go off the cement unless they have boots and snow pants on.  This helps eliminate the chances of falling in the mud or water and getting pants all wet.

Parents, please check your child's backpack every night as well.  Wet clothes will be sent home every night so that they are not sitting in a child's locker and stinking up the hallways.   After a while, our hallway tends to smell like wet dog if students do not take their wet clothes home.  So parents, please check the backpack daily and help us wash up those wet clothes before returning them to school.

Let's hope this weather continues and winter stays far, far away!!!!

Book Clubs

We have now had a little over a month of book clubs and they are going strong!  The students are enjoying their book selections, even those students who did not think they would when we first started.    When we had a class reflection on book clubs, the positives that were shared were that the students love reading at home, discussing and sharing their thoughts, and having choice in their reading.  Their discussions have been wonderful and their passion to read continues to grow and grow as they find books that are fun to read.

Our focus for the book clubs coming up will be character development, making connections and inferences, use of context clues to determine word meaning, as well as building fluency.

Most groups are taking a break from reading at home this week to finish a book project based on their book club books.  So parents, if you are wondering why your child may not be brining their book club home to read, that is because they are focusing on their project - a book review video, a blog post, or a Videolicious video about the book.  All groups will return to book clubs either next week or the following week.

Thanks to the parents who have sent juice in for us. I, as well as the students really appreciate it!  They enjoy having some juice while they are discussing and reading their books together - makes it feel like they are "adults"!  If anyone would like to donate juice, we would love to have more as book clubs continue.  Just send it with your 3B student.  Thanks so much!

Iowa Assessments ....Attitude is Everything!

Today was the first day of our Iowa Assessments.  The students have been preparing for these tests the last few weeks (as much as you can prepare) by learning test taking tips as well as doing practice test.  While they were a little nervous, as it is the first time 3rd graders take the assessments, they all did a super job today and tried very hard.

In case you missed the letter that went home yesterday, our schedule for testing is below:
Tuesday:  Reading Part 1 and 2 in the morning
Wednesday:  Math part 1
Thursday:  Math part 2 in the morning and Science in the afternoon

While these tests are a "one shot" picture of how the students are performing, they are important to our school district.  You could call them our school's report card. Mrs. Jurgenson was around to all the rooms and talked about how they show what our students know and the importance of having a positive attitude.  Along with that, one of our testing tips was "Attitude is Everything".  The students have really embraced that message and are off to a great start.

I also talked to them and shared with the students the story of The Little Engine that Could.   It was great to hear some of the students whisper "I think I can...I think I can.." as they were testing and maybe stuck on a problem.  How you prepare yourself mentally is so important.  The students commented afterwards that the reading tests were "not so bad" and they had "plenty of time".

We will continue testing the next two days and give it our all.  It will be nice to return to normal instruction and get back to a routine after these assessments are done!

Great job 3B!  I am proud of you!

5th Grade Book Project

Mrs. Wilson's class shared their most recent book projects with us today, and they were great!  The 5th graders created "Book in a Bottle" for a recent book they read.  In the bottle, they wrote a letter as if they were the main character of the book talking, from their "point of view",  about the "theme", and "lesson" in the book.  After they each shared their bottle, the 5th grader orally read their book with the 3rd grade students in small groups.  It was great for the third graders to see reading projects from older students!

Thanks Mrs. Wilson and 5th graders!

Read Across America Week and Girls Send Off

Although it was a crazy week last week, we tried to celebrate Read Across America week with some fun activities.  One of those activities was "Donuts with Dr. Seuss" in which students read Dr. Seuss books with a buddy and ate donuts.  The other was on Friday, and students brought in flashlights and "friends" to cuddle up and read a book with while sitting in the dark (or as dark as we could get the room).

The purpose of Read Across America Week is to engage students in various reading activities and continue to build the love of reading.  Students throughout the school also did various Dr. Seuss activities in library that week.

So besides having the girls make it to the STATE tournament for basketball, we had lots of other things to celebrate as well!

Skype with Football Player, Richardo Matthews

The 3rd graders had a great opportunity the other day skyping with a real NFL player.  His name was Richardo Matthews and he currently plays for the San Diego Chargers.  He is the uncle to a classmate in Mrs. Midthus's room, Mallory Gosch.   The plan was for him to be at Crestwood Elementary, but due to the weather we were having that week, he could not make it.  So...he skyped in.

The students had grade questions to ask him about his life, growing up, playing football, and his goals.  He left the students with one key point to always remember in life.  That is to be respectful!  He shared different ways to show respect as well as why it is important to always be respectful to others.  It was a powerful message from a "big" guy.

Thanks Mr. Matthews for skyping with us and good luck next season!

The picture shows Richardo Matthews skyping as well as his sister, Mallory's mom.