Welcome to 3rd Grade!

We made it through the first three days! It was quite hot in our classroom, but the students showed up with excited smiles and positive attitudes each day.

It was wonderful to meet so many parents at the open house. I know the students feel more at ease after coming in to the classroom before school begins. It helps with the first day jitters.

I plan to do weekly blog updates to keep families informed about what’s going on in our classroom. I’ll preview upcoming events and highlight recent successes. Hopefully this tool will be a useful way for me to connect with families as well as community members.

We’re off to a running start, and I’m looking forward to a great year!

Multiplication Sundae Party

***This letter was sent home with your student***

We have been working very hard on learning the basic facts of multiplication. As a way to reward the students’ hard work we will be having an ice cream sundae party. The students earn parts of the sundae for completing a test of the basic facts with 100% accuracy. For each test that the student passes they get a different part of the sundae. For example: pass the test over the 2’s and earn the bowl, pass the 3’s and earn a banana, pass the 4’s, 5’s, and 6’s and earn scoops of ice cream, etc.
I am asking for your help with the ingredients needed to make the “multiplication sundaes”. If you would be willing to help, please check one item from the list below, sign at the bottom, and send this note back to me by May 27. All ingredients need to be at school for our sundaes on May 31.

_ ½ gallon of vanilla ice cream

½ gallon of chocolate ice cream

½ gallon of strawberry ice cream

bananas (need total of 8 - please indicate number)

chocolate sauce

caramel sauce

whipped cream in a can

cherries

plastic bowls

plastic spoons

Jefferson County Park Rocks!

On Wednesday, March 30 we had a great day at Jefferson County Park. Therese showed the kids some examples of different types of fossils. Then we headed to the playground area to search for fossils. The students did a great job of sifting through the river rock looking for patterns that would signify a fossil.

After lunch in the nature center, we spent the rest of the afternoon studying rocks. We looked at examples of the different kinds of rocks we had studied in Science class - sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. The students' favorite part of the day was stomping through the mud and water in the creek bed looking for rocks. Everyone came home tired and muddy! It was a great day!

Enjoy the pictures below.

Free Every Day Math Apps!

Games are an integral part of the Everyday Mathematics program that we implemented this year. Our students have opportunities to learn from these games as part of whole group instruction, as well as practice opportunities as partners and individuals.

McGraw-Hill does have a lot of these games available as "Apps" for iPhone and iPads. There is a cost for each of them, but as a special promotion during the NCTM National Convention next week in Indianapolis, they are offering a selection of these Apps for FREE at the iTunes Store!! These Apps will be free from April 13 - 16, 2011 (the time of the national convention) so mark your calendars!

Here’s a listing of the EM Game Apps that will be available for FREE:

- Addition Top-It™

- Subtraction Top-It™

- Beat the Computer™

- Name that Number™

- Equivalent Fractions™

- Tric-Trac™

- Monster Squeeze™

- Baseball Multiplication 1–6™ Facts

- Baseball Multiplication 1–12™ Facts
- Divisibility Dash™


I just wanted to pass along this information that I found out about to all of you! Happy Apping! :)

March P.E. News from Mr. Dunlap

We have a major activity taking place during the month of March. The
third and fourth grades will be participating in the annual Jump Rope
for Heart event. This is a fundraiser for the American Heart
Association. I will be giving the kids a lot more information about
the fundraiser during the first week of March. They will bring home a
fundraiser packet and have a few weeks to raise money. It is not
required that all kids raise money, but strongly encouraged as all the
money goes against the fight against heart disease and stroke. We will
jump rope during the last two P.E. classes before spring break. This
is a fun activity that goes to a great cause and the kids can earn
some prizes along the way.

Arrr Matey! Get to Reading!

Over the next four weeks students will be earning prizes for turning in the regular weekly reading logs. This new reading incentive program has a pirate theme. Last week we had an entertaining assembly with a skit and some great pirate songs to introduce the program. A letter was sent home with each student explaining the rewards. In order to earn the prizes, students must have read AT LEAST 100 minutes for that week. Prizes are as follows:


week 1- ring pop, bookmark
week 2- root beer floats
week 3- sword pen, pirate tattoos
week 4- free recess
Grand Prize for returning 3 out of 4 reading logs- "Peter Pan" movie in the gym and a school wide pajama party

As with any other reward system, students must of course earn the prizes. I hope that this will help get the kids reading through the last of our winter blahs. Thanks for your help from home! Get those kids reading or you'll walk the plank!

New P.E. Blog

Mr. Dunlap has created a P.E. blog to help keep you informed of what's going on in P.E. class. Please check it out!

http://mrdunlapspeblog.blogspot.com/