Welcome, winter weather!

As we enter the season where the weather and/or temperature could potentially cause a snow day or early dismissal, I just want to remind you to make sure the school office has your most current phone number.  In the event of an early out or no school, an AlertNow phone call will go out and it is very important that we have your number.  The closings will also be announced on KQTV, St. Joe Now, K-JO radio, and SJSD channel 41.

Setting Goals

"Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!" ~Dr. Seuss

A few weeks ago, our class set an end-of-year reading goal.  We want to reach at least 80% on-grade-level (meaning proficient or advanced readers) by the end of the school year.  Shortly after setting this goal, we read Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go!  The encouragement that we can climb any mountain, with some hard work, was well-timed!  We now have a Mountain in the front of our classroom to help us remind ourselves daily of our goal...and our ability to achieve it!

Note home this week...

Tidbits

• The brand new school district website will be launched later this month!  There will be lots of resources and information right at you fingertips, in an easy to navigate website.  There will also be a link to our class blog so you can continue to utilize this tool for keeping up with classroom happenings.
• Don't forget to use the FREE resources at our class Spelling City page to work with your child on his or her spelling words.  You can always find the link on the right-hand side of the blog under "Resources", listed as Ms. Auxier's Spelling City page.
• As the weather continues to cool down, please ensure that your child wears appropriate clothing for outside recess, including a warm jacket or coat.  We will go outside for recess any time the temperature is above 40 degrees and it is not snowing or raining.
• Don't forget you are able to make comments on this blog.  Just scroll to the bottom of any post you'd like to respond to, and follow the easy steps for commenting and posting.  This blog can be a form of two-way communication!

News and Notes…

I loved seeing many of you at the Lake Contrary Carnival last week!  I encourage you to attend the Southside Pride night this Friday as we cheer on our Benton friends at the football game!  Parent involvement is key to your child’s success as a student!

You will receive your child's current grades when you attend your parent/teacher conference next week.  Please return your Pre-Conference Questionnaire before your scheduled conference, to help us prepare for a great experience discussing how we can support your child together!

News and Notes…

Don’t forget to sign and return your child’s weekly grade report each Monday!  This is an important piece of communication, as we get closer to Parent/Teacher Conference time!

This Week's Newsletter!

 Misplaced the Friday newsletter?  Or did your child's orange folder "eat" it?  You can now view our weekly newsletter online!

Another Great Learning Resource!

Here's a great resource for practicing important 3rd grade skills!  Our tutoring group learned today about making connections as we read, and also practiced choosing the right conventions in written text.  Log on to Study Zone for lots of online lessons, practice quizzes, and other resources to help us get ready for the MAP Grade Level Assessment at the end of 3rd grade!

News and Notes…

I’m watching for friends I can award with the BEARS with character award for Being Responsible, showing that Everyone Matters, Achieving Success, Respecting Others, and demonstrating Safety First.

Our whole class displayed BEARS in our learning this week!

We are learning about using strategies for problem solving in math this year, and this week we had a special math consultant come in and lead us through a math investigation.  Our class did a great job following directions, exploring ideas, and working together!  What a great third grade!!!

Ms. Auxier's Third Grade: Subtraction Help Here!

Ms. Auxier's Third Grade: Subtraction Help Here!: Do you ever get home to do math homework and you just can't remember how to regroup? I know we practice it a lot at school, but sometimes i...

Spelling List

Our new spelling list is uploaded to spellingcity.com! Unit 3 Sitton Spelling Use this resource for fun games and activities to help your child study!

Third graders are a bunch of "characters"!

We are learning about physical and personal character traits during our Readers' Workshop, so today we did an activity to illustrate the different between physical (what can be seen on the outside) and personal (what's on the inside).  Students drew themselves on one side of a cut-out, featuring their own unique physical traits, and then on the back they wrote words describing their own personal traits, like friendly, caring, and helpful.  This also was a way for us to build character word vocabulary!  

Physical Traits

Personal Traits

You can help your child at home by discussing the character traits of your family members and friends!

Are you a "fan" of Lake Contrary?

Did you know there is a facebook fan page for Lake Contrary Elementary friends and family to keep up to date on all the school-wide happenings at the Lake?  If you haven't "liked" our page yet, go to Lake Contrary Elementary's facebook page and become a fan so you can keep up to date via facebook!

Learning Activities and Games

Unit 2 Spelling words are now uploaded! Check out the free Learning Activities and Games on our Spellingcity.com page!

Parents- Please Note!!!

Your child’s first weekly grades should have come home Friday.  Please make sure you sign and return the progress report!

Don’t forget to sign your child’s nightly reading log in the orange folder each night.

You can access all updates and class news on the web here at our class blog!  In fact, you can even print out documents like book reports and our classroom guide.  Thank you for visiting us online!  If you are looking for something you can't find, don't hesitate to comment here on the blog, or email me at emily.auxier@sjsd.k12.mo.us with your question!

Time to Start Working on Book Reports!

Parents-

Many of you have been asking about book reports.  I am excited that you are all so eager to help your child be successful!  We are just now getting started on book reports and the first one is due this Friday. 

Here’s the scoop… Students are required to complete 1 detailed book report per week.  It may be completed at home or during independent work time at school, but will be due each Friday, beginning August 26th.  Students in third grade must do at least 11 fiction book reports and 5 non-fiction book reports in a year to earn the state’s Reading Circle Certificate.  He or she will continue turning in Friday reports even after meeting the RCC requirement, because each book report will also be worth 10 points towards your child’s weekly reading grade.

This is separate from the nightly reading requirement-however, your child is welcome to write a Friday book report based on the same book he or she has been reading each evening for the weekly required reading.  Here are the fiction and non-fiction book report forms, if you misplace or run out of the ones I sent home today! 

Happy reading! :)

Spelling Words

Our Spelling City page has been updated with next week's word list!  Check out the free games and practice activities available to help your child learn his or her spelling words.

Back to School Tid-bits

Welcome to a new year!  Here a few things to keep in mind as we begin a new and exciting adventure this year in third grade.

• Friday folders- It is extra important for you to check your child's orange folder on Fridays.  This is the night they will bring home the weekly newsletter and current grades printout.  There will be no grades distributed the first week of every quarter.

• Homework- Don't forget about nightly reading Monday-Thursday of every week! Your children have been doing a fantastic job of bringing their homework folders and nightly reading sheets back signed on a daily basis!  Please remember to continue checking those folders every day, as this is the primary way we will communicate about assignments and day-to-day information.

• Safety first- We have wonderful new playground equipment, complete with a climbing wall and lots of ladders and monkey bars!  It would be a very good idea to make sure your child is wearing shoes appropriate for climbing every day... it would be easy to slip and lose your balance in flip-flops.

• Any other questions- feel free to call me or check out our classroom guide! Ms. Auxier's 3rd Grade Classroom Guide

Updates are rolling in!

If you click on one of the above pages, you may get a "Coming Soon" message when the page opens.  Rest assured that the updates are coming quickly!  Meet the Teacher and Upcoming Events are already updated for the start of the 2011-2012 school year.  It's an exciting time of year!

Ms. Auxier's Classroom Guide

Welcome to 3rd Grade!  The link below will lead you to our Classroom Guide, a parent/teacher/student agreement about our classroom procedures, management, and learning goals.  I'm looking forward to a great year with a new bunch of third grade friends!!!

Ms. Auxier's 3rd Grade Classroom Guide 

Call for Feedback!!

As we enjoy a few weeks of summer vacation, now is a great opportunity to reflect on last school year.  One new thing I implemented last year was utilizing technology to communicate with parents and the community about our classroom news.  Our third grade class had a twitter account and blog to update parents in real time, as well as have weekly updates, much like our traditional Friday newsletter.  One of my own reflections is that I wish the blog had been more interactive; in other words, I would have liked to have seen some responses or feedback when we posted news or information on the blog.  Here is a direct opportunity for you to help me out- what are some of your comments, criticisms, or congrats about our blog last year?  What do you think I could change to make it more user-friendly for parents?  What did you like about the blog, that you think I should continue next year?  Please post your thoughts in the comments below- I want to know what you are thinking as I begin to prepare for a new year, new class, and lots of new experiences!  Thank you in advance for your feedback!  :)

Field Trip

We are so excited about our trip to the Kansas City Zoo tomorrow!  Our backpacks and zoo guides are ready, and we are psyched to "interview" our favorite animals!  Check out the zoo on the web to see what all adventures we will be having!  Click this link for a virtual visit to the Kansas City Zoo.

Time for our Author Study!

It is my favorite time of year in third grade...time for our Author Study!!!  For the next few weeks we will be learning about one of my very favorite children's authors ever- Patricia Polacco.  For a preview of what we will be discussing, including lots of information about Ms. Polacco's life and her books, check out her own website.  Visit PatriciaPolacco.com!

Reading Improvement Club

Parents-

Are you looking for an opportunity for your child to raise his or her SRI scores and improve their reading before the end of the year?   

I will be available for “Reading Improvement Club” nights, immediately after school until 5:15 on Wednesdays in April, for your child to stay after school and get some small group assistance with reading skills.  Students will be reading Scholastic Reading Counts! books and taking quizzes to earn points, along with doing some small group readers’ theater to build fluency. Participation in “Reading Improvement Club” is completely optional, and is for students who want and/or need a little extra boost on the SRI or with reading fluency.  With us being almost through the year, this is a great opportunity to boost those scores before the end of third grade!   I hope several of you take advantage of the opportunity!

If you would like for your child to participate in R.I.C. (Reading Improvement Club), please sign and return the permission slip I sent home this week!

The dates for our Reading Improvement Club (RIC)

meetings will be:

Wednesday, April 6th 3:45-5:15

Wednesday, April 13th 3:45-5:15

(no club meeting on April 20th due to Spring Break)

Wednesday, April 27th 3:45-5:15

Paws-itive Test Takers are Prepared!!!

Our third graders are ready to show us all what they have learned this year as they take the MAP grade-level assessments.  Here are just a few ways you can help your child do his or her very best on the test.  

• Please make sure they are at school every day for the next couple of weeks.  
• Students who are well-rested and eat a nutritious breakfast are able to perform better on the high level assessments known as the MAP.  
• If your child eats breakfast at school, help them make sure they are at school in plenty of time to eat before coming to class.  
• Also, we are all able to think better in comfortable clothes with little to distract us, so help your child make smart choices about how he or she dresses each day during the test.

Let's work together to help our students be the most paws-itively prepared as possible for the MAP!  We want these assessments to reflect the growth and progress our students have made this year!  

Updates!

Check out the updated Take a Peek at our Week and Upcoming Events sections!

Amazing Authors!

Lake Contrary Elementary was privileged to have a published author come visit us on Tuesday, March 22nd.  Judy Young spent the day with our students, giving presentations to each class, and then sponsoring a poetry contest that evening.  Students were given the words "near, invisible, shadow, and snow" and told to write a poem, and then Ms. Young would select her favorite poems from each grade level to announce at our Author Night on Tuesday evening.  Our class had recently learned all about using free-verse to express our feelings in a poem.  The Poet Laureate (1st Place) and 2nd Place Poets in third grade were both from our class!  We are so proud of all the authors in third grade.  Here are the award-winning poems!

The shadow near the invisible snowman.

by Trey (our Poet Laureate- 1st Place Winner)

Big

Made out of invisible snow

Who is near a shadow, who stays still until

It is hot

Drip Drip

 

I see a factory

by Gabriel (2nd Place Winner)

I see a factory near by

and I see smoke coming near by in the air

and that smoke looks like snow floating in              the sky up up and away

       and

         when

            I

            walk

              in

                the

            Factory

              I see

              my characters

                          shadow

                     and when I turn around again

                       It was gone

invisible.

Problem Solving in the SJSD

As we learn strategies for solving math word problems, we are learning a fun way to think through the problem.  It is important to understand the question and know exactly what you are trying to answer.  A good strategy for this is something called the SJSD strategy.  Our class even came up with actions to help us remember each step!

S-  Stop and Think

J-  Just make a Plan

S-  Solve the Problem

D- Describe your Answer ("I know this because...")

Ask your child to "show" you the SJSD strategy to solve those tricky word problems!!! :-)

Updates!

Check out the updated Take a Peek at our Week and Upcoming Events sections!

Attendance Matters!

I just want to remind everyone about how important it is to be at school every day.  With all of the recent snow days, we have lots of work to do every day to keep up with our schedule!  We are in full swing gearing up for the MAP test, and we are on our way to being PAWS-itively awesome test takers!!!  You can help your child achieve his or her fullest potential by making sure they are getting a good amount of sleep, eating well, and coming to school every day prepared to learn!  Your support will make all the difference for your child...let's work together to help our whole class succeed!

A Virtual Water Cycle

Check out this fun interactive virtual water cycle!  Click on rain, water storage, vapor, and clouds to see each part of the water cycle in motion!

Water Cycle Interactive

Briedwell Bulletin: PACT Community Engagement

Briedwell Bulletin: PACT Community Engagement: "February 7th and 14th from 6:00-8:00 are the Lake Contrary PACT building tours. Please join us! Next week will also be a community wide PA..."

Reminders!

Important upcoming dates:


Tutoring this Monday and Wednesday, February 14th and 16th!

Tutoring is from 3:45-4:45.

February 14th Class Valentine Party

2:00 in our classroom- feel free to send pre-packaged treats or cards to school! Students brought home a list of students for addressing Valentine cards.  We have 17 students in our class.

February 14th  PACT Building-Level Meetings at Lake Contrary

Meeting will be from 6:00-8:30, and all staff, area residents, and parents are invited to participate!

To see what we are currently learning in each subject, so you can help support your child at home, don't forget to check out our "Take A Peek at our Week" section (the tab at the top of this page).

Using Money

We have been working hard this week on using money.  We all like to spend it, but there's a lot to know about using money to make purchases or make change.  This is a critical life skill that we all have to master to be successful!  A great activity to do at home to help support our learning is to play "shopkeeper".  Assign prices to a few items around your house, and let your child practice making purchases with coins and bills.  You could even trade roles, and let your child practice making change as you make purchases.

There are also a number of online games specifically for using coins.  Here's another fun game for us to practice counting money! Money Games at ToonUniversity.com

Have fun exploring all that money!  :)

Reminders!

Don't forget to check the "Upcoming Events" page often for updates!  Here are some recently added dates!

February 8th     Spring Pictures (order forms went home Friday!)

February 11th     ABC Assembly  2:30-3:00  RESCHEDULED FOR A LATER DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED

Introducing...Measurement!

Our class is beginning to learn all about measurement in our Math Workshop.  Measurement incorporates a lot of different components, so here is a breakdown of our unit and some resources you can use at home to help you support your child's learning! 

We will...

• use different tools of measurement to label length and width of objects and make reasonable estimates about size- Funbrain Measuring Inches & Centimeters (a fun game to practice measuring centimeters/inches),  PBS Kids Measurement Games (this site has LOTS of games to practice all different units of measure) 
• identify time on an analog clock to the nearest five minutes-  How to Tell Time (a sort of "lesson plan" for parents, including attached resources and step-by-step directions)
• compute using money by adding amounts together and calculating change back from $5.00- Cash Register (another math game- choose $1.00 or $5.00 and then click on the American flag to get started!)

Have fun measuring all kinds of "stuff"! Time...money...and all kinds of objects!!!

Check Out One of Our Favorite Authors!

Our current class read-aloud is Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary.  We've learned a lot about Ms. Cleary's life- did you know she based the character of Ramona on her own life?  For more fun facts, plot summaries, and even books you can read online, check out Beverly Cleary's website.  It's chock-full of fun, and a little bit of learning, too!!!

http://www.beverlycleary.com/

Subtraction Help Here!

Do you ever get home to do math homework and you just can't remember how to regroup?  I know we practice it a lot at school, but sometimes it's nice to see a demonstration to help remember how to solve a problem.  This video shows you how to solve a three-digit subtraction problem with regrouping, and it even models it with base-ten blocks!  I hope you all find this helpful! 

Subtraction With Regrouping- TeacherTube Video

Daily Updates!

Don’t forget to check us out on Twitter to keep up with our class on a daily basis!   http://twitter.com/MsAuxierGr3

 

Welcome!

Welcome, parents, students, and friends!  Have you noticed the "blogging" craze?  Well, our class is eager to share our learning and experiences, and a blog is a great way to use technology to keep our friends in the loop!  Look for updates as we share important dates, current learning, and special accomplishments in our newest little corner of cyberspace!