Newsletter 4-16-12

The Green Meadow Gazette

April 26, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, April 27^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Friday, May 4^th – Dismissal at 12:30

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

Classroom News:

James: Yesterday we learned about equivalent fractions. Equivalent fractions are two different fractions that mean the same amount. One of them was ½ = 5/10. We got homework about it, too. It was exciting.

Cara: On Monday we had a presentation from a person from the Lowell Mills. Then we made thank you letters for John who came in. We had to write two things we learned and two things we liked. We had to do a sloppy copy and then a final copy.

Kate: In Art we had mystery art. If we didn’t finish we got a small, medium, or large bag to put things in to take home. Most of the kids in my class used a large bag. I made a house. I used foam, fabric, tape, a cardboard box, and I drew a cat and cut it out.

Graham: Ms. Little read A Series of Unfortunate Events. The part we’re reading right now is when Violet has to marry Count Olaf or he is going to drop Sunny from thirty feet in a bird cage. Now, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are trapped in the attic.

Robbi: Last Thursday night it was Open House. Our parents came and we showed them what we’ve been doing in school. Our parents were happy!

Hannah: Lately in Math we have been using these symbols to compare fractions: > (greater than), < (less than), and = (equal to). What we did to start out is we looked at the two fractions on the board and figured them out together. Then Ms. Little called on one of us to say which fraction is bigger, and we dragged the correct symbol between the two fractions. It is a good idea to teach kids how to compare fractions.

Aiden: Last week Hunter left school. He moved to a new school in Stow. We also made cards to give to him. The one I made him was orange and black.

Rory: Last week we finished our lowercase packets in cursive. So that means we are on our uppercase letters. The letters we have learned so far are uppercase A and uppercase O.

Kyleigh: The week before vacation Ms. Little’s class wrote sentences in cursive that started with the letter A or the letter O. My sentence was, “Apple picking is fun!” After that we drew a picture with it and when we were gone Ms. Little hung it up on the wall for Open House.

Joseph: Yesterday we played a math game. This is how you play: You roll the dice to get two numbers to make a fraction. You draw a rectangle and divide it into pieces, and color in some of the pieces to make it a fraction. The other person does it too. Then you compare how much of each fraction is shaded and whoever has the bigger fraction wins.

Henry: On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, we played a math game. My group asked Ms. Little if we could play on the Smartboard and she said, “Yes!” How you play is you roll the dice and write the two numbers in a fraction. Then you draw a picture of your fraction next to the fraction. Then everybody goes and whoever went first puts the fractions in order from greatest to least.

Samantha: Two weeks ago we finished our essays. I was not there so I still have to finish writing my final copy. My essay is about how being an older sister is hard but marvelous. I think everybody’s essays are going to be good!

Alonso: Last week we had Music. I forgot my recorder. We also sang songs that are kind of easy. One song, for example, was “This Pretty Planet.” I think that day was easy, smooth, and fun.

David: Last week we went to the Library. We had the Book Fair. At the book fair we bought books. I bought one. Then we watched Shrek.

Dorinda: On Friday we had extra recess. Mr. Mehigan’s class was having extra recess so we did, too. For extra recess, Ms. Little gave us a choice of having it outside or inside so we voted, and having it outside won. I had fun at recess!

Reese: On Monday a person from the Lowell Mills came to our classroom. Vinny and I got dressed up like boys and girls from the 1800s. I learned that the boy has to clean the sheep. We also got to take home wool and we weaved with thread. Also, our class got to have 4 turns weaving thread! They usually only let classes do it 3 times.

Vinny: Yesterday we went to Gym. We did stations. One station had scooters and one had tennis balls. We had a challenge where we had to get the tennis balls in buckets before anybody else.

Morgan: In Social Studies we watched Liberty Kids. It was very educational because it was about colonial times. One video was about the Revolutionary War starting.

Lindsey: Two weeks ago the Savings Makes Cents person came in. Her name was Patty. We took turns reading a book about why it’s important to save your money. I had a good time.

Ms. Little:  Thank you for attending the Open House! Many families came, and all students proudly showed off the hard work they’ve done this year. On another note, we have started practicing for the Math portion of the MCAS. Each Monday, I will send home a packet of practice MCAS questions for your child to complete by the following Monday. They should try to solve each problem independently. Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy the weekend! J

Reading and Math Websites

The third grade teachers have compiled a list of what we believe are great math and reading websites. You can use the shortcuts on the right side of this website for easier access, or just click on the links below.               

                                                                                                             

Math & Reading Websites

 

http://www.multiplication.com/games

Games to practice multiplication

http://www.funbrain.com

Reading and math games

http://www.coolmath4kids.com

Math games and activities

http://www.aaamath.com

Games and practice for various math topics (click on grade three)

http://www.abcya.com

Math and reading games and activities (click on grade three)

http://www.starfall.com

Reading games and activities

http://www.coolmath.com

Math games

Newsletter 3-12-12

The Green Meadow Gazette

April 12, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Thursday, April 12^th – Open House (3^rd grade: 7:15-8:00)

·        Friday, April 13^th – Book orders due

·        Friday, April 13^th – April vacation begins at the end of the day

Classroom News:

James: Last week we did a math activity with area and perimeter. First we made figures on graph paper. Then we traded our paper with a partner. Our partners figured out the area and perimeter of our figure. It was fun.

Brianna: Every week we read Time for Kids. Time for Kids is a magazine for kids. It teaches us a lot about history and about other people’s lives. It is very interesting. One of the articles was about a little boy who had cancer. He cooked and it took his mind off of the cancer so he got better.

Kyle: In the morning Ms. Little’s class has Writing Workshop. We each have a partner to share ideas with for our essay unit. Our partners can give us ideas if we’re stuck. We don’t have to write the ideas if we don’t want to.

David: Last week we went to Music on Friday. We played recorders. We also made posters to help us learn the song.

Kyleigh: Two weeks ago Ms. Little’s class had 1^st grade buddies with Ms. Burns’ class. I had a partner named Prisca but she was absent so I had to be partners with a girl named Meg and Dorinda. When the 1^st graders are stuck on a word while they are reading we help them. When I looked around the room I saw everyone reading wonderful books.

Kate: In Art we did three different things. The first thing we did was we had to write what the month we were born in meant in our idea book. Next, we had to write what our name meant. Mrs. Santillo taped the cards to the back of our masks. Last, we had to peel off a sticker with our initials on it and stick it to a folder.

Cara: We switched seats. These are the tables we are in now: Kate, Cara, Rory and James are together. Samantha, Aiden, Henry, and David are together. Reese, Brianna, Graham, and Kyle are another. Hunter, Morgan, Joseph, and Robbi are another. Alonso, Kyleigh, Vinny, and Dorinda are another. Last but not least, Thomas, Hannah, Lindsey, and Daniel are another. Those are all of the table groups in Ms. Little’s class.

Thomas: We started watching people to see if they are doing the right thing. At the beginning of the week, we pick a name out of a box and can’t tell anyone who we are watching. At the end of the week, we will share at least one good thing that we saw our person doing at meeting.

Alonso: In Math we used unifix cubes to find the area and perimeter of a shape. Unifix cubes are blocks that you can stick together. We had partners to help us. To me, everyone did a good job sitting for the lesson. I think my partner and I did an amazing job finding area and perimeter.

Samantha: Last week we finished listening to Ms. Little read Stuart Little. I thought it was a pretty good book. It did not end like I thought it would. Stuart Little did not find Margalo the bird. Ms. Little said we could watch the movie soon.

Aiden: Last week we finished learning the lowercase letters in cursive. We did lowercase z. It looks like a y in cursive. Lowercase y looks like a cursive h upside down. Lowercase v looks like a mountain.

Hannah: Lately in Library, Mrs. Patino told us the book fair was coming up. The book fair is when the library puts out a bunch of books and kids bring money and buy them. But if kids do not bring money, there is a video to watch until the book fair is over. If you want to get a book but did not bring any money, there are two things you can do. You can either write your name and the book you like on a slip and get your book the next day, or you can go to the book fair on a different day. The book fair is a good idea because it is an easier way to buy books.

Graham: Last week in Math we learned about area. Area is the square units inside a figure. You would need to know how to find area for some jobs. After math we went to lunch and recess.

Robbi: Last week we had two days of early release days. The days were Thursday and Friday. The special thing about it was that we got to have recess with all of the 3^rd graders. Also, Ms. Little had parent conferences. That’s why we had dismissal at 11:25.

Joseph: Yesterday we were learning about fractions. Fractions are parts shaded out of a whole shape. So if you had a square with 4 parts, and all 4 were shaded in, you would have       .       would be 3 parts shaded out of 6.

Henry: In Writing Workshop we have been drafting. My essay is 10 pages long but that is on drafting paper. It will probably be shorter on the final copy because I won’t skip lines. The teacher (Ms. Little) recommended that I write a paragraph explaining what a good sport is because my essay is about why it’s important to be a good sport.

Morgan: In class we started a new book for read aloud. It is about three kids having a bad life. The story is called A Series of Unfortunate Events. The three kids’ parents died in a fire so now they have to life with a relative named Count Olaf.

Rory: On Monday Samantha read to us because it was her birthday. She read us a book called Where the Sidewalk Ends. It was a poem book. She read three poems from the book. Some were funny.

Dorinda: Last week on Friday we watched a movie about the 13 colonies on Brainpop Jr. The video said that Native Americans were slaves. I learned that the people who settled in the colonies had to pay money to the King of England even though they were across the ocean. I liked the movie.

Vinny: Last week in Gym we played a warm up game and did our relays. We also climbed the net. After that, we played ball tag.

Lindsey: On Monday, April 9^th, Ms. Little’s class went to an assembly. It was a singing assembly. We sang America the Beautiful, The Ants Go Marching, Chicken Soup with Rice, and Risseldy Rasseldy. I liked singing Risseldy Rasseldy.

Reese: Last week in class two people from Middlesex Savings Bank came in for Savings Makes Cents. They taught us how to fill out a deposit slip. A deposit slip is a slip you use to put money into your bank account. First you write the date and your name. Then you write your account number. Then you write how much money you are putting in. It’s very simple!

Ms. Little:  You are invited to visit our classroom for Open House on Thursday, April 12^th.  We have worked very hard on our realistic fiction stories and our essays in Writing Workshop and are looking forward to showing them off! The time to visit third grade classrooms will be from 7:15 – 8:00. We hope to see you there!

Newsletter 3-29-12

The Green Meadow Gazette

March 29, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, March 30^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·        Thursday, April 5^th – Dismissal at 11:25 – Parent Conferences

·        Friday, April 6^th – Dismissal at 11:25 – Parent Conferences

Classroom News:

James: Last week we had Library. We listened to the directions from Ms. Patino. Then we used Google Earth on the computers. I liked it.

Brianna: This week in Math we learned about symmetry. We picked out half of a picture and glued it onto a piece of paper. After that we drew the rest of the picture on the other side of the paper. We had to make sure both sides were the same.

Samantha: We finished reading The Tale of Despereaux and started a new book called Stuart Little. The main character is Stuart, a very small mouse. He is only 2 inches tall and has a human family. We are on page 32. Stuart just got trapped in the window shade. His parents think he went down the mouse hole. I like the book so far.

Morgan: On Monday, people from the Concord Museum came to our class. They talked about the Colonial times. Rory and I got to dress up like the kids did in this time. I think we all learned a lot. I learned that they used clay pipes.

Kyleigh: Yesterday in Ms. Little’s class we did Writing Workshop in groups. Some kids worked with Ms. Little and some worked alone. Then we switched. The kids with Ms. Little moved to working alone and the kids who worked alone switched to Ms. Little’s group. My writing was about why you need sleep to be healthy. I wrote all the reasons why you need sleep and I kind of wrote it like a story! That’s why writing is fun.

Lindsey: Last Friday we finished our read aloud so we went to Mr. Mehigan’s class to watch The Tale of Despereaux movie. I liked the movie because it was a long, long, long movie.

Robbi: On Monday we had spelling. Some of us made our own words. Last week I got 6 words wrong, so I had to think of 4 new words to add to my list. This Friday we’re going to take a spelling test. I hope everybody gets their words right!

Aiden: This week and last week we did cursive. We learned how to write lowercase c, q, m, and n. Lowercase n looks like an m. Lowercase c looks like a regular c. Lowercase m has 3 bumps. Lowercase q looks like a regular q. I like cursive because the letters are different.

Cara: Last week we had MCAS. First we had snack and Ms. Little sent us in groups to the bathroom. Then we sat down and we were not allowed to get up until everyone was done. We sat for two and a half hours. We had to read a book while we waited for everyone to finish. MCAS is a big reading test.

Hannah: Last week was MCAS week and everybody was working very hard. There were only two days of MCAS but MCAS is over two hours long so it was still really tiring. Both days we were rewarded with an extra long recess. The extra recess was after second recess so first we had a normal lunch recess, then we had normal second recess with the second graders.  Then when recess was over, the second graders lined up and went inside, and the other half of the third graders came out. It is a good idea to have extra long recess because it refreshes our minds from MCAS.

Alonso: Last week we used tangram pieces to make pictures of animals. Tangrams are small, flat shapes that you can use to make other shapes. I made a whale. It was hard to make one. It was amazing what we could make. I loved all the work we all did!

Rory: Yesterday (3-27-12) we worked in new cursive packets. The letters inside are called downcurve letters. The letters in that packet are lowercase n, m, y, x, v, and z. It is our last packet of lowercase cursive letters.

Henry: Lately in Writing Workshop Ms. Little put sticky notes in our notebooks. My sticky note said to write 5 – 6 sentences about my thesis. I wrote 7 sentences. I am a step ahead of everyone because I was the first one to do my introduction. The introduction is just one sentence from each of your paragraphs to back up your thesis. On Wednesday everyone wrote their introduction and Ms. Little used mine to show the class.

Thomas: Yesterday we had Gym. At Gym we did rope climbing. I was the first one to climb because I was really quiet. I almost made it to the top. Then Ms. Little came in and we asked her to climb the rope but she said no.

Dorinda: On Monday we changed our desks. I sit with Kate, Graham, and Thomas. My table is near the Smartboard. I like it when my table is near the Smartboard because I can see the Smartboard really well.

Kate: You can earn a paw by helping someone, being kind, or being a learner. If you earn a paw then you get to put it in a bowl in the office. The paws get put on the bulletin board. The school is doing good so far. If you earn a paw you get to take a green tag home. The green tag is to remind you to tell your mom or dad how you earned it.

Reese: Last week in class we finished The Tale of Despereaux. It was about a mouse that was born with his eyes open. He also had humongous ears. He met a princess and they fell in love. My favorite character was Roscuro. He was a rat.

Graham: Last week in Art we painted our masks. The masks we were making were about what your first and last names mean. My first name means that I’m from a grand home so I painted a castle on my mask. My last name means that I was born in a gray house so I colored it gray. Then we went back to the classroom.

Hunter: This week our class did problem solving together because someone was not acting the right way at recess. We have a problem solving steps hanging up in our classroom that we use to help us solve our problems. We came up with a solution to the problem together.

David: We went to Music last week. We played the xylophone. Some people went outside right next to the music room to play recorders. Then we played a game. To play the game we had to hide the jump rope.

Ms. Little:  Spring conferences are next Thursday and Friday.  Reminders of your scheduled date and time were sent home in your child’s Thursday backpack folder. Please let me know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule. Enjoy the weekend.

Newsletter 3-22-12

The Green Meadow Gazette

March 22, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·        Friday, March 23^rd – Dismissal at 12:30

Classroom News:

Brianna: In Math this week we learned about angles. Angles are made by two rays that have the same endpoint. We also learned about vertices. A vertex is the corner of the angle. An acute angle is less than a right angle, a right angle looks like an L, and an obtuse angle is greater than a right angle. I enjoyed learning about it and I think everyone else enjoyed it too.

Lindsey: Yesterday Ms. Little read us The Tale of Despereaux. In The Tale of Despereaux, Roscuro persuades Miggery Sow to think she can be a princess.  Miggery Sow is a girl who was traded for a red cloth. What just happened is Miggery and Roscuro kidnapped the princess and took her to the dungeon.

Kyle: Sometimes our class receives postcards from different places. Someone named Kyle received two postcards from Kentucky and one postcard from Washington D.C. One of the postcards from Kentucky is at Kyle’s house and the other two postcards are at school.

Robbi: In Writing Workshop we have been working with our essay partners. My essay partner is Kyleigh. We have been writing about staying healthy. I helped her by giving her an idea. For example, to stay healthy you should eat a lot of veggies and fruit.

Joseph: The last time we read Time for Kids we read two magazines. One of them was about snowy owls. I forget what the second one was about but it looked interesting.

Thomas: Last week we had Gym. First we warmed up by running, walking backwards, and galloping. We do 4 things when we warm up. Then we played Freedom Ball. How to play is there are a few taggers and when you get tagged you sit down. Someone can help you if they have a freedom ball.

Alonso: Last week we went to Mr. Mehigan’s class for their publishing party. I read a bunch of stories! We all gave specific comments and compliments for their stories. I didn’t read all of the stories but they were all good!

Kyleigh: Yesterday in Ms. Little’s class we were doing Writing Workshop in small groups. All of the groups worked with Ms. Little. My thesis is that exercising and staying healthy is important. Here are some of the ways you can write sentences to make your thesis make sense: “For example…” or “This makes me realize…” or “Another example is…” or “I used to think but now I realize…” or “The reason for this is…” There are more but I only listed five.

Dorinda: This week we have no homework because this week we have the MCAS test. If we had homework and the MCAS we would have a lot of work to do. Ms. Little said we should go to bed early, have a good breakfast, come to school on time, and read 15 minutes each night. That’s our only homework. 

Hannah: Lately in Math we have been studying congruent shapes. Congruent shapes are two shapes that are exactly the same no matter how much you slide them, flip them, or turn them. They are still the same shape, just slid, flipped, or turned. If you slide, flip, and turn a shape, it will be congruent, but if you shrink a shape is it not the same. It was interesting to learn about congruent shapes.

Henry: Lately in Writing Workshop we have been writing mini-stories about our thesis. I wrote a whole page for each of my mini-stories. The teacher already told me I was one step ahead. What I did was I filled up one page with the mini-stories but they were all little paragraphs.

Hunter: This week we did Math. We learned about flips, slides, and turns. Then we used flat shapes called tangrams to learn. A slide is when you have the shape and you slide it down, to the side, or forward and it’s congruent because it’s still the same shape and size.

James: Yesterday we used tangrams. We used them to make shapes. We read a story with tangram shapes in it. I thought it was exciting. We also tried using two shapes to make one shape. We used two triangles to make a square and we used two triangles and a square to make a rectangle.

Rory: Yesterday (3/20/12) we read a book called Grandfather Tang’s Story. We each got a set of tangrams. The people in Grandfather Tang’s Story could turn into animals. For example, a person turned into a fox. We tried to make all of the animals in the story out of tangrams.

Cara: This Monday in Art we were doing our masks. After we finished cutting, we used some scraps to make it pop out. You don’t have to make all of it pop out, just a little of it. I think we are going to paint and add feathers and maybe something else next time.

Samantha: Last Thursday we went to Mrs. Messina’s class for Kindergarten Buddies. When we were there we played a card game called War/More Than. My partner’s name was Silvia. Our whole class earned a paw for helping the kindergarteners learn and by not getting frustrated.

Aiden: Last week our class did Daily 5 Rotations. It is when you rotate in four groups. There’s read to self, there’s read to someone, there’s writing, and there’s word work/phonics/spelling. I liked writing the best out of all of them.

David: In Math we learned about quadrilaterals. Quadrilaterals are shapes that have 4 sides. Squares, rhombuses, and rectangles are all quadrilaterals.

Kate: Last week in Music we practiced on our recorders.  We played a game after. Someone hid a jump rope and the other person had to find it. Last time Kyle hid the jump rope and Kyleigh had to find it.

Reese: Yesterday we did an MCAS practice test. We have the real MCAS on Wednesday and Thursday. In the test, the story was called Henry Hikes to Fitchburg. The story was about two friends who want to go to Fitchburg, but they go different ways. They were both trying to get to Fitchburg the fastest. Henry walked and Henry’s friend worked for a train ticket. Henry’s friend got there first.

Morgan: This week we have new seats. No one sits next to anyone. I am in the back of the classroom. The reason we moved our desks like this is because of MCAS.

Vinny: Last week we went to the library and we checked out books. Mrs. Patino read us a story. The book was about leprechauns. After that, we all went on the computers.

Ms. Little:  Spring conference reminders were sent home in your child’s Thursday backpack folder last week. Please let me know as soon as possible if you need to reschedule. Enjoy the weekend.

Newsletter 3-15-12

The Green Meadow Gazette

March 15, 2012

Upcoming & Important Events:

·         Friday, March 16^th – Dismissal at 12:30

·         Friday, March 16^th – Book orders due

·         Wednesday, March 21^st – MCAS testing

·         Thursday, March 22^nd – MCAS testing

·         Friday, March 23^rd – Dismissal at 12:30

Classroom News:

Hunter: Last week we had Library. I checked out a Star Wars book. It is good so far. We left the library after we checked out books.

Joseph: In Math we played a game! The game was about figuring out what shape our partner has. It’s a math game because it had to do with geometry. How to play the game: 1. Reach into the bag. 2. Describe the solid figure (explaining the number of faces, edges, and vertices) to your partner. 3. Guess the shape. 4. Keep the shape if the answer is right.

Morgan: In Math we are learning about lines. There are lines, line segments, rays, intersecting lines, parallel lines, and points. There are five types of lines and the point.

Thomas: Last week we learned about faces, edges, and vertices in Math. All the shapes have different names. A sphere is a shape that has no corners, no faces, and no edges. A cylinder has 2 faces and no edges or corners.

Alonso: Last week we read a book called The Big Orange Splot for an MCAS practice test. Next week we will take the real MCAS test. I hope I pass MCAS. I feel very ready and determined to pass.

Hannah: Lately in Math we have been studying polygons. Polygons are closed shapes that have three or more corners like a triangle or a pentagon. Some of the polygons we learned about are triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and octagons. We learned a lot about polygons in one day.

Samantha: On Monday, Mrs. Grundstrom (my mom) came in for Yoga. We made relaxation hands. To make them you wrote all the good things about you on your paper hand. We also did some yoga poses we already know. She taught us to take 5 breaths. That’s when you count down from 5 and you breathe.

Kate: We have been reading a book called The Tale of Despereaux. Despereaux is a mouse that has big ears and can read. So far Despereaux is in the dungeon for standing at the foot of the Princess Pea and the King and for letting the Princess Pea touch him. Right now the characters we have heard about are Despereaux, the princess, the king, Gregory, Botticelli, Roscuro, and the queen.

David: Last week we went to Ms. Burns’ room for Reading Buddies. My buddy and I read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Snow. We also read a pirate book.  Then my buddy and I read a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.

Vinny: Yesterday we went to Gym. We went bowling for healthy snacks and we played a warm up game. We also did our relays and played Rock Paper Scissors Fit.

Dorinda: Last week we read the book called Don’t Let the

Pigeon Drive

the Bus. When Ms. Little was done reading we told our writing workshop partner reasons why the pigeon should not drive the bus. I liked the book because it was funny.

Brianna: We filled up the marble jar! Then we got to have Friday Free Time. Friday Free Time is when we have extra recess inside. Some people played board games. It was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed it.

Aiden: This week in Cursive we learned lowercase g and o. Lowercase g looks like a plain g. Lowercase o looks like it has a tail. Now I know how to spell “go” in cursive.

Henry: Lately in Writing Workshop we have been doing theses. A thesis is something that you want to stand up for. It’s also about being persuasive. My thesis is that it’s important to be a good sport. Ms. Little had us write three good reasons why you should. My reasons were that you should be a good sport because it helps you make friends, being a good sport makes the game fun, and being a good sport will make you happy for being a kind person. The most important one I think I did was that if people see that you are being a good sport, people will tell their mom good things about you or bad things if you are a bad sport. And that’s what we’re doing in Writing Workshop.

James: Last week we created essay ideas in Writing Workshop. Mine was: “You should get a dog because…” It was exciting. I sort of liked it.

Lindsey: Last week our class had Music. We played Hide and Find. We used a jump rope for the game. How you play is a person hides the jump rope and another person finds it. My friend Henry begged the music teacher if he could jump rope.

Kyle: Sometimes our class receives postcards from different places. We have already received a postcard from each state, but we are still receiving them. The most recent postcards were from St. Croix and Honduras.

Graham: Last week in Art we made masks of what our name means. My name means I was from a grand home. I did a castle. Then we went back to the classroom.

Cara: We were at meeting when we got a phone call. When Ms. Little got off the phone she told us that we were going to have an assembly. The assembly was called Poetry in Motion. We heard some poetry. The guy also acted like a mime. It was cool.

Kyleigh: A couple weeks ago Lindsey and I went to Mrs. Messina’s room to read a story to her kindergarten class. It was called The Quilt Maker’s Gift. We only read our favorite page. Reading a story to kids made me feel so confident and proud because I helped them learn.

Rory: Last week we changed seats. We are in groups of four. I sit next to Lindsey. Joseph is diagonal from me, and Kyleigh is across from me. My table is in the middle of the room.

Reese: Last week Mrs. Copley came in from Middlesex Savings Bank to teach us about money. It’s called the “Savings Makes Cents” program. The first thing she taught us was how to open a bank account. Then she taught us about the “Fun Club.” It’s for 4 – 13 year olds. When you bring in money you could win a prize. Then she told us about the vault. The vault is a small room where they keep all the money. They have to keep enough money in the vault for all of the people who have accounts there. Say if I needed $2,000 and I had $2,000 in my bank account, they would need to have enough money in the vault to give it to me. Then she taught us about the ATM. When you use the ATM it gives you money, but you don’t get it for free. If you take money out of your bank account that means there will be less money for you for important things. Pretend I had $10,000 in my bank account. If I wanted to take out $11,000 I couldn’t. But if I want to take $5,000 out that’s ok. It’s like subtraction.

Ms. Little:  All third graders will be taking the English Language Arts MCAS test Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Please make sure your child goes to bed at a reasonable time, eats a good breakfast, and arrives at school on time each day next week. There will be no homework given next week; however, please encourage your child to continue reading each night for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy the weekend. J

1st Grade Reading Buddies

We have been visiting our first grade reading buddies since the beginning of the school year. Visiting Ms. Burns' students is a special activity we look forward to every other Thursday.