Last Week of School Pictures...

Hi my fourth graders!!  I hope everyone has had a great first week of summer.  I miss all of you so, so, so much already!   Here are a few photos of your last official week as third graders. Stay in touch over the summer.  I would love to hear from you!  Love you and miss you!  :)  :)  :)  :)

Helping our Pre-K buddies practice for their graduation.  I am so proud of our class for all of the love and care they gave to our buddies!  We received principal awards for our service to Ms. Beth's class.  This is such a big honor because the principal awards are typically reserved for fifth graders!

Mr. Moskauski was our last "Big Banana" for the year.  Here the class is doing "rock star hands" with Mr. Moskauski.  I think the children's favorite part of Mr. Moskauski being Big Banana was all of the embarrassing stories he told about me!!

We had such a great time at our class family social.  Thank you to all of the families who were able to attend. It was so special to celebrate our wonderful year together!

I was blessed with not only an amazing bunch of sweet, smart, loving children--but also all of their amazing families!

Fourth quarter PBIS award winners

Signing the class photo autograph mats.  I was so touched by the heartfelt letters the children wrote to one another.

Third grade picnic photos...

Water balloon fight...

My little chicken nuggets!  Boy, am I going to miss these guys!! 

Class Notes and Pictures of Ms. Williams as The Big Banana

Good afternoon families!  Happy Friday!  This is your child's last Friday of third grade!  :(  If you and your family have not been affected by this stomach bug going through our classroom--you are lucky ducks and I hope you all stay well!  If your child has been sick, I hope they are able to take the weekend to rest up, feel better and be back to school on Monday.  These last few days are flying by, and it is so sad not having our entire class family here together.  :(  

We have lots in store for next week.  It will be a fun-filled, but busy week!  Although we will be doing lots of celebrating, we will be busy doing a lot of end-of-year projects and assignments (work samples to go to the fourth grade teacher, finishing our research projects, cursive writing, time capsule activities, and much more)!

A couple notes for the week:

1.  Community Service is due by Monday.  

2.  If you have not yet sent in your pizza party money, please have it in for Monday.

4.  It is not too late to sign up for food donations for our end of the year celebrations next week.  Here is the link to the sign up:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A094DA4AD2A1-endofyear  Please have all donations in by Tuesday.  

5. Tuesday, June 10th at 9:30 is the fourth quarter PBIS Celebration.  Our class family end of the year social will be right after from 10 to 11.  Parents are invited to attend!  :)

6.  Our grade level pizza party for teachers and students will be on Wednesday, June 11th from 12-2:30.  Please remind your child to bring a beach towel or blanket to lay out for our pizza picnic.

***Looking forward to seeing you all next week at our third grade class family social!  :)

Ms. Williams was our Big Banana this week.  We loved learning all about our AMAZING school counselor!  Here are photos of her showing the class a magic trick.  One of our favorite parts of Ms. Williams shares this week was when she showed us a book she wrote when she was in the fourth grade.  Ask your child to tell you some of the neat facts we learned about Ms. Williams this week!

Ms. Ramsay is The Big Banana!

We loved having Ms. Ramsay as this week's Big Banana!  We learned so much about our wonderful IRT, her family and her interests.  One of our favorite parts of her shares this week was the heartfelt letters her sons wrote to her.  One of her sons invited the class to get up and dance with his mom!  The children danced along to "Happy" around the room with Ms. Ramsay.  The children were thrilled when I told them Ms. Ramsay is going to be our proctor for Monday's EOG test.  So many Douglas staff members cheering us on!!  :)  :)  :)

Test-Taking Tips for Students and Parents

Test-Taking Tips for Students:

1.  Read everything!  (Title, introduction, italics, and subtitles)

2.  Read the question carefully.  Read all the choices and choose the best answer.  Look for key words in the question.  Be sure you understand what is being asked.  Use all the information given.

3.  Never leave an answer blank.  It is better to make an educated guess than leave a question blank.

4.  When unsure of an answer, eliminate choices you know are wrong.

5.  If you do not know the answer, but do know the process, try working back from the answer choices.

6.  If you cannot solve a problem, go to the next one and return to the skipped problem later.  Be sure to skip the number on your answer sheet.

7.  Check your place to be sure you mark the answer number that goes with the question number.

8.  Check you answer to see if it makes sense.  Work problems out on paper or in your booklet.  Double, even triple check your computations.  Refer back to reading selections to find proof of your answer choice.

9.  Keep an eye on the time.  If you finish before the testing session is over, start at the beginning.  Reread selections, questions and choices.  Check answers and think again about the questions you thought were hardest.

10.  Always remember: you are an EOG Superstar!!

Parents, How You Can Help Get Your Child Ready for the EOG's:

Research shows students do best on tests when they receive lots of encouragement from parents and teachers and develop a positive attitude.  Remember to stay positive even if you feel a bit worried.  Here are some things you can say that may be helpful:

• You are going to do just fine because you worked hard and behaved well at school this year.
• Mrs. Moskauski made sure you have been taught everything on the EOG.  There should be no surprises.
• You do not need to get every question correct to get a big score.
• I know you will do a great job.
• Do our class dance with your child and say "You are an EOG Superstar"!!

To Prepare for Test Days:

• Get your child to bed in time to get a good night's sleep.
• Make sure they have a calm morning at home on test days.
• Make sure they eat a healthy breakfast.
• Make sure they are wearing comfortable clothes that are suitable for the day's climate.

End of Year Celebrations!

Dear Parents,

            We are having an end of the year 3^rd grade celebration/pizza party. We are asking for $3 from each child.  If you’d like to donate more, that would be awesome!  Please only send in cash (exact change is appreciated), no checks.  I’d like to collect all the money by next Thursday, June 5th.  Thank you!!

            Our grade level pizza party for teachers and students will be on Wednesday, June 11^th from 12-2:30.  Please remind your child to bring a beach towel or blanket to lay out for our pizza picnic.  Our sign up to donate for the parties will be sent soon. If you signed up to donate anything, please send those items in by Tuesday June 10^th.

            We are also going to have a third grade end of year social for our class family on Tuesday, June 10^th from 10:00 to 11:00 (right after the PBIS awards assembly).  Parents are invited to attend. 

            I would be grateful for your help in donating food items for our celebrations.  Here is a link to a sign up for donations.  Thank you so much parents for your continuous support and generosity!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A094DA4AD2A1-endofyear

            I have enjoyed teaching your children so much this year! They are an incredible group of funny, caring, smart students.  They are hard working and loving to one another.  I am so thankful to have had such a great year with them and they are truly a class of students I won’t forget!  I also appreciate the support and kindness each of you has shown me this year as parents and family members.  Thank you for everything!

                                                                                   

Sincerely,

                                                                                                            Melissa Moskauski

PS- If you student is planning on being absent this week or next please send me a note so I can have their “end of the year surprise” ready early!!

Moskauski Minutes

Parent Homework: Parents your help is needed!  This is your child's first experience with the EOG's and I would love your help in making it memorable!  Please write your child a letter of encouragement (a little love note!) that I can put on your child's desk on the morning of the EOG's.  Write whatever you think would help your child relax and put a smile on their face (for example: a special message, a joke, add a drawing, etc.).  Please place it in a sealed envelope and have it turned in to me by this Thursday.  This will be something so special for the children and help them go into the EOG's knowing they have their biggest cheerleaders right there with them!  The children will save their letters for their third grade time capsules.  Thank you so much for your support!

Performance Tomorrow: Join us in watching the chorus, drama and dance clubs in the school musical tomorrow at 9:30.  Wit, Isabella and Sebastian are performing and Ella Wood will be dancing!! 

Art and Science Expo Tomorrow:  The Expo is a showcase of student work and activities - showing how our Douglas students have learned about science through the arts this year. Parents, stop by in The Media Center tomorrow to see our hard work!

Media Center Books:All school Media Center books were due today.  Please help your child check at home for any misplaced books.

Scholastic Book Orders: Our last Scholastic Book Order for the year is due tomorrow.  There are many wonderful and inexpensive books that you can purchase for summer reading.  If you have not yet used the free book coupon I gave the children, this is your last opportunity!

Community Service: Fourth quarter community service is due on Monday, June 9th.  Check out this link for some great service projects in the triangle:

http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Volunteer-and-Community-Service-Opportunities-in-the-Triangle-3086

Ice Cream Party: Thank you parents for signing up for donations to our multiplication ice cream party!  This is such a tremendous help to me!  You have been so wonderful and supportive, and I greatly appreciate your generosity!  The children are so excited to celebrate!

Classroom Wish List: We are completely out of extra pencils!  If you are able to donate any yellow, number 2 pencils--we would be so grateful!

Calendar of Events:

Wednesday, May 28th: chorus and drama musical at 9:30 (Come and cheer on Ella Wood, Isabella, Sebastian and Wit!), last Scholastic book order of the year due

Thursday, May 29th: Parent EOG encouragement letters due

Friday, May 30th: Multiplication ice cream party

Monday, June 2nd: Language Arts EOG (End of Grade Test)

Tuesday, June 3rd: Math EOG

Friday, June 6th: Third Grade Read to Achieve Test

Monday, June 9th: Fourth quarter community service due

Tuesday, June 10th: PBIS assembly for fourth quarter award winners at 9:30 (rescheduled date!)

Wednesday, June 11th: Third grade picnic from 12 to 2:30

Thursday, June 12th: Last day of school

Have a wonderful week!

Ms. Bazemore, Our Big Banana and Math Game Pics

The children loved having Ms. Bazemore as the Big Banana!  She fostered great class conversation this week about various topics including the EOG's, college aspirations and career goals.  The children enjoyed learning all about Ms. Bazemore's family and interests.  Below is a picture of Ms. Bazemore showing the class a video of Mr. and Ms. Bazemore shag dancing!  Super cool!!

We are playing a lot of fun math review games to prepare for the EOG's.  The children are ready and excited for the big day!!  Here we are playing a game where the children had to solve problems, prove their answers and defend their answers to their classmates.