End Of The Year News...

The third grade team will be having a year-end picnic with all of the third graders on Tuesday, June 5th. We will be providing pizza for lunch so your child does not need to buy or pack lunch that day unless he/she does not want pizza.  We plan on eating outside so your child needs to bring a towel to sit on.  After lunch there will be a cold treat and a movie.  I will be providing the pizza, but I would be so grateful for  help with donations for drinks and treats.  We will not be needing parent volunteers for this day, as we will be having our class celebration the following day.

Our class would also like to have a small celebration on Wednesday, June 6^th at 2:00 p.m. with just our class family.  We would like to invite parents to join us.   We have had a wonderful year together, and want to end it with a bang!  During this time, we will be enjoying treats, and also having a mini “Wax Musuem” for the children to teach us all about the hero or leader that they are doing their research project on.  If you are able to provide a treat for the class for either celebration, please sign up for something on the bottom of the handout being sent home today and return it with your child tomorrow.  I will send you a confirmation note back with what to bring.  We hope you can join us!

Community Service for fourth quarter is due by next Friday, June 1st.  I am so proud of the students’ hard work and efforts with volunteering.  I hope the compassion they have gained will grow into a lifelong love for helping others!

EOGS and Other News...

Good morning everyone!  Thank you all for a fabulous Teacher Appreciation Week!  I have felt so spoiled with all of the special pictures, letters and flowers.  I have had such a great week, and I appreciate all of the sweet gestures.  Thank you to Mr. Gibson for planning such a wonderful week for me!  Here are some notes about EOGs and some other news.

 

Have a great weekend,

Melissa

 

EOGS are next Wednesday, May 16th through Friday, May 18th.  There are some easy things you can do to help your child to be the most successful. 

 

1. Have your child eat a healthy breakfast (protein is great for the brain and also keeps you fuller and with more energy longer.)  Our school will be providing a free breakfast for third through fifth grade students on the first two days of testing (I am not sure what they are having this year though.  It could be a cinnamon bun or some type of sweet treat, so you may want to just have your child eat at home.)  

 

2.  Make sure your child get's a good night sleep  (the kids might get mad at me for saying this--but you may want to start this weekend with getting them to bed a little earlier than normal).  :-)

 

3.  I am not going to give homework next Tuesday through Thursday.  Have your child just relax and enjoy doing something fun.  (Encourage them to do whatever they find as relaxing--reading, listening to music, playing outdoors, etc.) 

 

4.  Have your child dress comfortably on the days of the test. 

 

5.  Be positive and help your child to be positive.  Make sure you and your child both are saying that he or she is AN EOG SUPERSTAR! 

 

On another note,if you have volunteered in our classroom this year, you received an invitation in Monday folders about our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Lunch.  Please RSVP to me by Monday if you plan on attending.

 

If you have not yet purchased or returned the spring pictures, please do so by next week. 

EOG Test-Taking Tips!

    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 that 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 your 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.

How to Help Your Child Get Ready for the EOG (Share with your parent/guardian)

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.

·         Your teacher made sure you have been taught everything on the EOG. There should be no surprises.

·         You do not have to get every question correct to get a big score.

·         I know you will do a great job.

Preparing for testing 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

UNRAAVEL the Text!!!

We have been partnering up with Ms. Rohwedder for some fun test-taking practice to prepare us for the EOG's.  She has taught us this UNRAAVEL song, which is sung to the tune of the "Brady Bunch" theme song.  Here is a link with the music for your child to practice on:  http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/favorites/bradymid.htm
Here are the words to this awesome song!  Help your child to practice!

Draw a line, under the title
Take your best guess what it's all about
Put a number next to each paragraph
To help you find the answer

Take some time, and read the questions
Circle all, the very important words
Write down what each word means
And now it's time to read

Cross out all the wrong answers
Pick the best of all that remain
Paragraph numbers will prove you know the answers
Now double check your work

CHORUS:        UNRAAVEL (ing)
                         UNRAAVEL (ing)
                          This is how we UNRAAVEL the TEXT!!

Use the links below for some great EOG practice!

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/eog/sampleitems/math

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/eog/sampleitems/reading

                  

Ramona Quimby Field Trip News

The third grade team is excited to tell you about our upcoming field trip to The Carolina Theatre of Durham.  At the field trip the children will be seeing a live performance of “Ramona Quimby”.  The third grade will be reading the novel and then getting to see it acted out live on stage!  The cost of the trip to cover the show and also to pay for our busses is $12 per student.  Donations to help the students who financially cannot pay for the trip are greatly appreciated.  Please fill out both sides of the permission slip going home in today's Monday folder and send in your payment  by Tuesday, April 24^th.  Please make out all checks to “Douglas Elementary School”.

If you are interested in chaperoning, we would love to have you!  We are allowed to have two chaperones per class.  Please submit your name to your homeroom teacher by Friday, April 20^th and your classroom teacher will do a drawing on this date to announce the chaperones.   To be a chaperone you must have a background clearance.  The discounted cost for chaperones for their ticket is $6.  Due to limited space on the bus, chaperones are required to drive separately and meet us at The Carolina Theatre of Durham.  This is a wonderful volunteer experience! 

We will be having a picnic lunch when we arrive at the theater.  Weather permitting, we will having lunch in the courtyard.  (If for some reason we have rain, then we will be eating our lunch on the bus.)  Our school cafeteria needs to know how many students will need a bagged lunch so they can plan accordingly.  There is a lunch plan form going home today.  Please fill it out and return it to me by Wednesday.

Thank you for your support!

The Third Grade Team

Progress Reports and Other News...

Progress Reports: In today's homework folder, each child received a progress report.  This is a snapshot of how your child is performing so far in third quarter.  Please review the report with your child, then sign and return it for tomorrow.  Thank you so much!

 

Data Sheets: In today's red behavior folder, you will find a new sheet with assessment results from the past few weeks.  Please sign and return for tomorrow. 

 

Read Across America: Wednesday is "Read Across America Day".  To celebrate the event, I am inviting the children to come to school in their pajamas.  Students can bring one small stuffed animal to snuggle up with during reading time. 

 

Writing Worskhop: Today we began a new unit of writing about imaginative narratives.  For nine days, we will be switching classes for writing (like we do for math) with each group focusing on a specific writing skill.  We had a great first day of it!  Ask your child how it went, and what they learned in writing today.

 

Book Orders: Scholastic book orders are due tomorrow.  You may order online, or you may send a check made payable to "Scholastic Book Clubs".

 

Thank You: We had a wonderful time at our field trip!  A big thank you goes out to Ms. Greene and Ms. Sturm for serving as our superstar chaperones!  The children had a great time with you.  Thank you!

 

Important Upcoming Events:

Wednesday, March 21st: 3rd Grade Dance and Music Informance at 9:35 a.m. (will last until about 10:45)

Thursday, March 15th at 7:00 p.m.: Douglas Variety Show

Friday, March 16th: Early Release

Thursday, March 22nd: Coffee House from 11:40 to 12:30

Saturday, March 24th: Douglas Carnival

Class News

Spirit Day This Saturday: Yesterday you received in Monday folders a flyer about this Saturday's Spirit Day at Chik-Fil-A to support "The Wide Open Charitable Foundation".  This cause is very dear to the Douglas community because we lost two of our Douglas students to childhood cancer in the summer of 2010.  This foundation raises money for research of Neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers.  If you plan on attending the Spirit Day, please bring the white half sheet with you.  Mr. Moskauski, Jordanna and I are planning on going on Saturday at 11.  We hope you are able to make it out and say hello!  If you are planning on going at 11, please email me so we can look for you.  :)

 

Book Orders: I am sending home some Scholastic book order catalogs today.  If you would like to order online, there are directions on the side of this blog.  If you would like to send a check in, please make your check out to Scholastic Book Clubs.  Book orders will be due Tuesday, March 6th.

 

Field Trip News: The children are super excited about our field trip to The Planetarium next week!!  A big thank you goes out to Ms. Greene (Matthew's mom) and Ms. Sturm (Ellie's mom) who will be serving as our wonderful chaperones for the trip.  The busses will be arriving to Douglas by 9:15, so if your child is a walker or carrider, please make sure that he or she arrives to Douglas by 9 to ensure enough time to use the bathroom and prepare for the trip.  We will be having lunch when we return to Douglas around 1:30-1:45, so please make sure your child eats a big, healthy breakfast.  Since we will be taking two classes back to back, there will not be the opportunity to have snack at our regular snack time.  The third grade team is hoping to have snack after our second class, right before we get on the bus at 12:30.  We were hoping to have a donation of a snack so this way everyone in our class will be eating the same snack (something quick like individual packages of pretzels or breakfast bars).  If you are able to donate a nut free snack for our class for the field trip day, please email me.  Also, because of taking Wake County school busses, we have to leave The Planetarium right after the second show to ensure the middle school busses have enough time to return back to do their regular bus routes.  Therefore, there is not any time to go to the gift shop.  If you have any other field trip questions, please let me know.  :)

 

Thank Yous:  Boy, can I just say that I have an amazing class family?!  You all have been so generous and giving, and I appreciate each and every one of you so much.  It was such a big help to me to get donations for the science projects last week.  Buying all of these ingredients on my own in previous years gets pricey fast, and this was such a tremendous help.  Also, the donations of community snacks has been such a wonderful support, too.  I also appreciated the donations for field trip scholarships.  Now, everyone is able to go on the trip--thank you!  Thank you all so much for your donations and support to our class.  I am so grateful!!  :)

 

Important Upcoming Dates:

Saturday, February 25th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00: Spirit Day at Chik-Fil-A

Wednesday, February 29th: Field Trip to The Planetarium

Wednesday, March 21st: 3rd Grade Dance and Music Informance at 9:35 a.m. (will last until about 10:45)

Thursday, March 15th at 7:00 p.m.: Douglas Variety Show

Friday, March 16th: Early Release

Thursday, March 22nd: Coffee House from 11:40 to 12:30

SAturday, March 24th: Douglas Carnival

 

 

Hope to see you on Saturday!  :)