Iowa Tests Awards

Congratulations to 3rd grade students who received Iowa Tests awards for Outstanding Achievement or Excellent Improvement!  I am very proud of your hard work!

Hands-On Experiments

We've had a great week of hands-on experiments!  I've included some photos below.  Ask your child to describe the activities and what he/she learned.

Math
We went outside to measure the length and width of the playground in feet and meters.

We created "Poppa's New Pants".

Science
We explored how sound travels through the 3 states of matter.

Students created a closed circuit to light the bulb.

Jefferson County Park Field Trip

Watch this video with your child and have them tell you all about our great day at the park!

Jefferson County Park: April 19, 2012 on PhotoPeach

Upcoming Field Trip

This note will be sent home with students today.

Jefferson County Park

Field Trip

Thursday, April 19

We will be spending all day at the park.  You need to WEAR BOOTS and dress for the weather.

We will be hiking through the creek bed looking for rocks, so we’ll be in WATER and MUD.  Please bring a change of shoes and socks.

We will eat at the park. 

Make sure to bring a lunch

and something to drink.

Parents are welcome to join us!

Gravity vs Friction

Ask your child about today's ramp experiment.  Can he/she explain the force that pulled the marble down the ramp (gravity), and the force that stopped the marble (friction)?  We had some great synergy in our groups today.  Together is better!

Sidewalk Chalk Fractions

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather this week.  Both 3rd grade classes used sidewalk chalk to practice fractions.  Students drew a shape, divided it into sections, then wrote the appropriate fraction for each section.  It was a fun way to practice our fraction skills outside of the classroom!

Visit to City Hall

On Tuesday, March 6 the third grade students from Washington and Libertyville Elementary Schools visited City Hall in Fairfield.  Mayor Ed Malloy and City Administrator Jeff Clawson explained to the students a bit about how our city government works and the responsibilities of our elected city officials.  The students were able to take turns sitting in the council members' chairs and go through a mock vote.  One student asked the council to consider a request.  Then a "council member" motioned and seconded the motion to approve the request.  The "City Clerk" called each student to vote on the motion.  The "mayor" then announced the results of the vote.  

After a short question and answer period we went outside where Fire Chief Scott Vaughn explained all the parts of the fire truck.  Students were allowed to get inside the truck to look around.

A big thank you to Mayor Malloy for a great visit to City Hall!

Mayor Malloy addressing the students.

City Administrator Jeff Clawson explaining his responsibilities.

Quint Stark making a request of our mock council.

Mayor Logan Nelson and City Clerk Abby Schaefer

City Administrator Jose Mendoza and Mayor Clare Else

Fire Chief Scott Vaughn showing the students the parts of the truck.

Congratulations Jenny!

Jenny Giles was recognized at our February awards assembly as being a leader in 3rd grade.  Jenny's certificate reads:

Jenny is a great example of Habit 5 "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood".  She has a kind and gentle heart.  Jenny has compassion for her classmates and is a friend to all.  She is careful to treat students and adults with respect and kindness.  Jenny truly "listens with her heart!"

Parent Teacher Conferences

Thank you to all of the parents who attended conferences this week.  It is always great to visit with you about your child's successes!

Multiplication Practice Needed

Many students are still struggling with the basic facts of multiplication.  As a result, we are having trouble trying to learn division facts.  Below are two websites that would be great practice at home.  Spending time practicing facts on these websites can count as the multiplication flashcard practice time on the back of the At Home Reading Log.

http://faculty.kutztown.edu/schaeffe/Mnemonics/MultRock/multrock.html
This site has the traditional School House Rock Multiplication songs that you may remember from your own childhood.  Singing is a great way to aid memorization!

http://www.multiplicationhiphopforkids.com/samples-1.htm
This site has songs that are tons of fun!  The multiplication tables have been set to a hip hop beat.  It will have your child up and moving while they sing along.  Another great aid to memorizing the facts!

Get up and sing and dance along with your child.  Practice doesn't have to be dull and boring.  Make it fun for the both of you!

Iowa Test of Basic Skills/Iowa Assessments

We will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills/Iowa Assessments for five days beginning Monday, February 6 and ending Friday, February 10.  Testing is scheduled for the first hour and a half of each day.  This letter is to inform you of some important information and tips for testing.  We have talked about the following things at school, but please read and discuss this with your child. 

We would appreciate nutritious snacks for our class to have during testing. Examples: graham crackers, granola bars, cereal bars.  There are 23 students in our class.

Changes from 2^nd grade:

-All of the tests are timed.  When time is up, you must stop, finished or not.

-Every test is read independently.  The teacher cannot give help on any words other than the directions.

-The answers are marked on a separate sheet.  You don’t mark in the test booklet.

Tips for testing:

-Read every answer before marking a choice.

-If you don’t know an answer, take a guess.

-Work at a comfortable pace.

-When you finish, go back over all of your answers on that test.

Tips for parents:

-Make sure your child is well rested.

-Have your child eat a good breakfast.

-Send a bottle of water to have during testing.

-Encourage your child to do his/her best and not get too stressed about the testing.

Thank you for the help from home.  Results will be sent home in a couple months.

    

M&M Math

Thursday we had a lot of fun using M&M's to practice division.  Students each had 45 M&M's and had to decide how to divide them among a dozen cookies so that each cookie had at least 3 but no more than 5 M&M's.  The challenge was to find all five possible solutions.  The reward was eating the M&M's!

Habit 4 Award Winner- "Think Win-Win"

Congratulations to Helen Drish for receiving an award for Habit 4 “Think Win-Win” at a school assembly on Monday, January 30, 2012.

Helen’s certificate stated:

Helen Drish lives life with a “win-win” attitude!  She comes into class with a smile everyday ready to have fun while learning.  Her peers enjoy her light-hearted sense of humor, and Mrs. Hoskins appreciates her sunny disposition.  She treats others with respect ad can bring a smile to any one’s face.  Helen’s positive attitude is contagious in our classroom!

Measuring Physical Properties of Matter

Today we had a lot of fun measuring some physical properties of different objects!  Students used rulers and tape measures to find the length, width, and height in centimeters and a balance scale to find the mass in grams.  We compared our results and discussed why we didn't all get the exact same measurements.  Ask your child to describe the experiment and tell you what he/she learned.  We'll continue to work on matter and mass for a couple more weeks, then take an assessment of the knowledge we've gained.

Here are a few photos of our experiment.

We Made It Half Way!

Today was the last day of the first semester.  We've made it half way through the year!  Time is just flying by, but we still have so much more to learn. 

Just a few reminders as we head into the second semester:
* There is no school on Monday, January 16 as the teachers have a work day.
* The Family Fun Night is Tuesday, January 17 from 5:30-7:30 PM.  Thanks to everyone who donated items for our Iowa Hawkeye basket.  I hope to see you all there!
* The snow has finally arrived.  Make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the cold weather as we go outside unless the temperature is below 0.
* Please encourage your child to continue reading at least 20 minutes 5 days a week.  Reading more builds our "reading muscles"!

Thanks for a great first semester!  

Family Fun Night

Our Washington Parent Group is sponsoring a family night January 17.  I will send home more details as I receive them.  I received the following forward from the parent group:

Dear Teachers,

On Tuesday, January 17th we are having our first Family Fun Night.  As part of this event we are having a silent auction.  We have sent letters home with students seeking silent auction donations and the Parent Teacher Group has been soliciting donations from local businesses as well.  In planning this event we sought advice from Pence Pals members as they have a successful event like this each year.  One suggestion they gave us was to have each class come up with a basket for the silent auction.  They indicated these were big hits and did well at the auction.  So we are asking you to brainstorm with your students and come up with a theme for a classroom silent auction basket and then seek donations from parents for the items.  Some ideas are:  movie basket, pet basket, and nail care/pampering basket.

The Parent Teacher Group will award the classroom with the best idea for the silent auction basket.  So have fun with this and please encourage your students and their families to attend this event.

Sincerely,

Amy Miller

I'm wondering if any of you would like to help head up this project?  I would need a letter to go home with ideas for the basket.  We can make copies of the letter for the class.  Any volunteers?

Thanks so much for all you do for your child.  It makes a huge impact in the classroom!