FALL FESTIVAL

Don’t Forget tonight is the FALL FESTIVAL from 5-7!

 

Here's what to be looking for in your child's backpack...

Like every Friday, I have sent home the upcoming week’s homework assignment. Math-A-Thon pledge sheets were sent home Monday.  Thanks to those who have already returned them with pledges.  They are due back Monday.  Picture order forms were sent home this week, as well.  Orders and money are not due until picture day.   Two papers regarding two different art clubs were sent home this week.  I know one of those clubs filled up very quickly and a wait list was created.  You will be contacted by the club teacher if your child was placed in the club or is on the waiting list. 

 

Book Order:

Last Friday, I sent home our first book order of the year, but neglected to tell you the due date for book orders to be returned.  I will close the book order Friday, September 19^th. 

 

Mark Your Calendar: 

September 15^th – Midterms will be sent home

September 16^th – Math-A-Thon Test

September 16^th – WatchDog Kickoff – 5:30 – 6:30 pm

September 19^th – Picture Day

September 20^th – PTA Mercury Gymnastics Night – 6:30 – 8:00pm

September 25^th – McTeacher Night – 4:00 – 8:00 pm

September 26^th – Math-A-Thon Money Due

 

Have a great weekend,

Jodi

The News for: September 5th

Hello Parents.  I hope you have all had a wonderful week.  This week has been very purposeful, here in Room 205.

Congratulations:

I want to take this moment to acknowledge Kaeden Pak and Mary Jo Guarino who were voted by their peers as our RESPECTFUL Super Heroes for the month of September.  Ms. Williams and I will continue to be on the look-out for more respectful behavior from others and choose two additional heroes at the end of the month.     We were also able to earn “free seating” this afternoon, as a result of reaching our goal of reading for 30 minutes without distractions!  Also, thanks for signing your child’s planner each night.  I hope you feel somewhat informed about what they are learning. 

Curriculum: 

This week we worked on strategies for decoding difficult words.  We also worked on becoming “Word Collectors” – people who have a love of words.  This can really help all readers expand their vocabularies.  In writer's workshop, we began drafting our personal stories.  Thanks so much for listening to your child’s story.  I promise this won’t be the last time I you to listen to them story tell this memory to you.  The more they tell their story the better their writing becomes. In science we designed our own experiment.  Monday, we will begin conducting these experiments.  These experiments will be used as one assessment piece for your child’s grade relating to the stages of the scientific process. Finally, in math we will wrap up our 1^st topic early next week (I’m hoping to test on Tuesday).  

Here's what to be looking for in your child's backpack...

I have sent home the third homework assignment.  Remember, homework is due back by the following Friday, but can be returned sooner. Also, parent signatures are required on the reading log side of the homework for it to count as complete.  I’ve also returned a few math assignments your child worked on in class this week.  I’ve also sent home our first book order.  I’ve attached information regarding online orders.  If you have any questions, let me know.

A Note From PTA:

If you signed up to help in any way with the October Party, then Kristi Scamman will send you a "test" email on Monday, September 8. If you do not get an email from her, please contact her directly at Kristina.Scamman@gmail.com. If you did not sign up, but would like to add your name, email her and she will add you to the group list. 

Thanks so much! 

Kristi

Reminders:

Fall Festival is Friday, September 12^th from 5:00-7:00.  At the fall festival each class will have a basket to raffle off to earn money for our PTA.  Raffle tickets will be sold for $1.00 each.  Each grade level has been assigned a theme. 

Grade Level Themes:

Kindergarten: Dress up

1st : Arts and crafts
2nd : Outdoor play
3rd : Mystery (Send in your favorite item)

4th : Science and Cooking
5th : Games ,Movies, and  Family Fun

        

Simply find a new item that fits the theme and donate it to your child’s classroom basket. All donations are requested by Wednesday, September 10th.  Thanks for your help!

Thanks to all of you who returned the blue Watch Dog reservation form.  If you haven’t yet done so, the forms are due Tuesday September 9^th.

Mark Your Calendar: 

September 8^th – Hawthorn Cook Out (If you plan on eating with your child that day, be sure to make a lunch choice in your child’s planner.)

September 8^th – Math-A-Thon Pledge Sheets Sent Home

September 12^th – Fall Festival – 5:00 – 7:00 pm

September 15^th – Midterms Sent Home

September 16^th – Math-A-Thon Test

September 16^th – WatchDog Kickoff – 5:30 – 6:30 pm

September 19^th – Picture Day

September 20^th – PTA Mercury Gymnastics Night – 6:30 – 8:00pm

September 25^th – McTeacher Night – 4:00 – 8:00 pm

September 26^th – Math-A-Thon Money Due

Parent Orientation

It was so great to see everyone at Parent Orientation.  Third grade can be a big jump for children and parents alike.  If you would like to refresh yourself on any of the topics we discussed tonight the  presentation is available for your reference  through the following link...Parent Orientation Presentation

Thanks again!
Mrs. Coen

Friday, May 9th

I am happy to announce the conclusion of our MAP testing! We finished up this past Thursday. All of the children worked very hard during the 6 days of testing. Results of your child's MAP test will be available to you in the fall.

I'd also like to say thank you for all of the wonderful ways you support me as an educator and all of us here at Hawthorn! Our "Teacher Appreciation" events were fantastic and I know several of you helped to make our week great. Thanks!

Bowling Field Trip

This coming Thursday is our field trip to Gladstone Bowl. We will load buses at 9:00. Please have your child here on time because buses will leave promptly at 9:10. All parents are welcome to meet us at Gladstone Bowl. We will bowl from 9:30-11:30 and return to Hawthorn for a picnic lunch by 12:00. Parents are welcome to join us for a picnic in the pod. Students can either bring their own sack lunch or order one from the school. If you'd like to order a lunch from the school, please let me know by Tuesday, May 13th.

Academics

Even though we only have a few more weeks of school, there is a lot of learning still going on! We are deep into researching various inventors and innovators during reading. In writing, we are working on variations of our favorite fairy tales. In Science, we will be wrapping up our solar system unit, which focuses primarily on characteristics of the sun and moon. Finally, in math we will be learning about perimeter and area.

Upcoming Events

May 15th: Bowling Field Trip (white permission forms have been sent)
May 15th: Husky 5K (yellow registration form has been sent home)
May 26th: NO SCHOOL
May 28th: Field Day
May 29th: Awards Celebration (11:30 in the 3rd grade pod)
May 30th: Last Day of School

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day!
-Jodi

Saying Good-bye to April!

Hi everyone!  I want to update you on important upcoming events as our school year comes to a close.  Midterms will be sent home on Monday.  Please sign and return your child's midterm no later than Friday, May 2nd. 

State Testing Begins

We will begin MAP/GLA testing Tuesday, April 29th.  Please be sure your child is well-rested, well-fed, and here on time each day.  3rd graders will be taking the Communication Arts portion of the test on 4/29, 4/30, and 5/1.  The math portion of the test will be administered on 5/6, 5/7, and 5/8. 

More Events for May

Please mark your calendars for the following important dates.
April 29th:  Spring Cookout!!  (3rd grade lunch time is 12:20-1:00)
May 5th:  Kindergarten Round Up (5:30-7:00)
May 6th:  PTA Meeting
May 10th:  Mercury Gymnastics Night (6:30-8:00)
May 15th:  Bowling Field Trip (white permission forms have been sent)
May 15th: Husky 5K (yellow registration form has been sent home)
May 26th: NO SCHOOL
May 28th: Field Day
May 29th: Awards Celebration (11:30)
May 30th: Last Day of School

Health Service Survey:

The Health Services department would like to invite you to complete a short 7 question survey.   If you would, please click on this link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HWHealthServices. We greatly appreciate your feedback.  Your response will be used to better provide health related information and services to our students and families. Thank you!

Have a great weekend! 
-Jodi

Happy Friday!

Hi Everyone! I appreciate all of you for speaking with your child about your expectations of them during the school day. It made a tremendous difference. I needed to give fewer redirections and the quality of work increased. Thanks, again.

I think spring has officially sprung!  Which can't help but make me smile.  Spring is such a busy time of year- so many end of the year activities and new sport schedules.  Sometimes it is hard to maintain the routines you've had in place during the year. 

Here at school, I plan to keep our routine and expectations as consistent as possible.  We've set 4th quarter AR goals, homework will continue to consist of reading and a math reinforcement page.  We still have a lot of content to cover, so my lesson plans will be full of new information, skills, and strategies for the kids to master. 

Next week, we will begin a brief Test-Prep Unit during reader's workshop.  We will be working to learn good test-taking strategies.  In writing, we will begin our Fractured Fairy Tale Unit.  Students will be comparing and ordering fractions during math.  Finally, during social studies we will begin to focus on economic concepts, such as, identifying the difference between a good and a service and naming various types of resources. 

Upcoming Events:

April 19th- Mercury Gymnastics Night
April 24th- Take Your Child to Work Day

April 28th- School Cook-Out! (during your child's lunch time)

April 28th- Mid Terms Sent Home

April 29th- State Testing Begins

Have a great weekend!
-Jodi

Monday, April 7, 2014

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had restful weekends.  The students came in very energized and glad to see their friends.  This can be good and bad- I'm happy when students are eager to see one another and share about their weekends, but this morning was so loud we needed to practice classroom expectations.  I've noticed I've had to do that a lot, lately.  Please remind your child about your expectations of them while they are at school.  The end of the year is an exciting time with lots of learning left. 

Reading

This week we will be wrapping up our mystery unit.  Students will be filling out "Detective Case Reports" as a way of showing their understanding of the mysteries they've been reading.  They have learned fun vocabulary, such as: suspect, evidence, and red-herring.  I encourage you to talk with your child about their mystery book.

Writing

I will use our writing time to build schema about "Fractured Fairy Tales" or different versions of traditional fairy tales. Each day, I will be reading a different version of Cinderella.  After the read aloud, we will focus on the variations of literary elements (character, setting, problem, solution, and point of view).  All of this will help prepare students for writing their own "Fractured Fairy Tale" beginning next week.

Math

We will continue working with fractions for the following 2 or 3 weeks.  This week, will end our work at identifying fractional parts of a group, set, or number line.  Next week, will begin our work comparing and ordering fractions.  

Science and Social Studies

Today we took our Science Terra Nova Assessment.  The students worked very hard and spent a lot of time checking over their work.  I'm sure they did great!!  Classroom instruction is still focusing on the branches of government and rights/responsibility of citizens.  At the end of this unit, your child should be able to identify each of the 3 branches and explain their role in our democracy.  Also, they should be able to list the rights and responsibilities of citizens.    

Upcoming Dates

April 19th- Mercury Gymnastics Night

April 28th- School Cook-Out! (during your child's lunch time)

April 28th- Mid Terms Sent Home

April 29th- State Testing Begins

Have a great week!

-Jodi