Newsletter 5-9-13

Ms. Little’s Third Grade Beacon
May 9, 2013

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, May 10^th – Dismissal at 11:25

·        Monday, May 13^th – Math MCAS

·        Tuesday, May 14^th – Math MCAS

Classroom News:

Ali: In Music last week people were finishing their PSA projects. Our PSA projects are videos that tell people to protect the environment. Mine is about saving trees. It’s also about recycling. We also had to include music in our video.

Molly: The week before last week we planted green beans. Only 2 plants have started to grow. Ms. Little is growing parsley, basil, and chives. I’m excited to see them grow!

Daniel: In Math we made fraction strips for a game. We rolled a die. We had 1 whole, 2 halves, 4 fourths, etc. We put whatever we rolled on the whole strip. Whoever filled the whole up first won. I did not like it.

Cherokee: Last Friday we went up to Mr. Mehigan’s room to watch a play his class did about Paul Revere and the midnight ride. It was about a person named Paul Revere. He had a family and a wife named Rachel. The British were taxing them for lots of things like tea. Paul Revere had friends named John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

Katie: On Tuesday we changed seats. I sit next to David and Cherrie and also Seanalee. The seats stay like this for a month. Ms. Little changes our seats after school is over. We wait until the next month to change seats again.

Sophia: Last week in Social Studies we watched a Liberty’s Kids episode. In the episode we learned that no one knows who made the first shot at the American Revolution. Don’t you want to know who made the first shot? The unknown shot is called the shot heard round the world. It was such an interesting movie.

Lily: In Writing Workshop we started our introductions. My essay is about smiling. It is important to smile! We also made mini stories. A mini story is a little story about you that you put in your essay.

Nathan: Last week we read my birthday book because it was my birthday! The book was Shrek. I think it was a good book. It was a little weird too. I think everybody liked it.

David: In Math we’re learning about fractions. Something we’re learning about in fractions is equivalent fractions. Equivalent fractions are two fractions that have different numbers but they mean the same thing. An example of this is 1/4 = 2/8.

Logan: In Writing we wrote conclusions for our essays. I wrote: I know one thing for sure, that I will NEVER bully and I will ALWAYS stick up for myself. From now on I will try to make the world a better place. You should listen to my conclusion. If you don’t, you will have a miserable life. Have a good weekend.

Tatyiana: This week we went to Gym. We played dodge ball. We also did bucket stacking. We had to put blindfolds on our partners. It was harder to do because you could not see where you were going.

Colin: We are almost done with A Series of Unfortunate Events. I love that book! In A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudelaires find Aunt Josephine in Curdled Cave. Count Olaf gets bit on his fake peg leg by Sunny and it falls off. We only need to read 4 more pages in the book.

Seanalee: In our book groups we got new books. Some book groups didn’t get a new book. My book group is reading Secrets of the Rainforest. We have one chapter left. The book is fun to read.

Phaydan: In Writing Workshop we wrote sloppy copies for our essays. I am doing an essay about how you should listen to others. My essay partner is Emily. Emily is writing her essay about how you should listen to your parents. It’s pretty much the same. 3 people in our group are writing essays about how you should listen to something. Logan is writing his essay about how it’s important to stand up for what you believe in.

Madison: In Library we learned about birthdays. We looked at the American Zodiac. I was a scorpio. Elizabeth was a fish. Daniel was a fish. Colin was a crab. After that we did book check out. Mrs. Patino put out magazines because the teachers were using the library for a meeting.

Brenna: We saw our first grade buddies last week. We are going to get new buddies soon. We read with our buddies. We go on Wednesdays. Sometimes we go there and sometimes they come here.

Jameson: Last week in Math we learned about area. Area is when you count the boxes inside a shape. For example, a shape that is 3 boxes down and 4 boxes across has an area of 12 (square units). You need to know area when you plant a garden so you can have equal spaces and know how big it is.

Elizabeth: In Art we are doing the drawing unit. On Monday Mrs. Santillo taught us how to fix lines we don’t like. Also, she taught us how to draw birds. After we finished drawing 3 birds we could do the eye exercise level 2 or do the owl challenge. The owl challenge is when Mrs. Santillo gives you a picture of an owl and you have to try your best to draw it.

Jesse: We filled up the marble jar and we chose to watch a movie. Everyone got to bring in a movie and we voted on watching The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. In the beginning a 10 year-old boy named David passed a note to a girl named Becky. The note blew away and David chased it into a store and asked the man who worked there if he saw the note and he said no. The man gave him a magical ring. I liked the movie.

Emily: Last week we made May calendars. On the May calendars at the top we had to write May and 2013. Then we have to write Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Then we have to fill in all the dates in the month and add anything we’re doing that’s important to us. Then we get to decorate it and we can draw anything we want on it.

Ms. Little: The Math MCAS will be administered on Monday, May 13^th and Tuesday, May 14^th. There will be no homework given next week. Please make sure your child goes to bed at a reasonable time, eats a good breakfast, and arrives at school on time.  Enjoy the weekend.