January 30

Our first field trip this year was a lovely experience, thanks to the Chen Dancers, who made us feel welcomed in their studio, and our parent chaperones, who buckled seat belts, took coats, and helped in every way to make our trip safe. We really appreciate Pearse's mom, Dahlia's dad, Evan's mom, Oran's mom, Lila's mom and Gwen's dad for taking the time to come with us.

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We will resume our Dance classes on Monday and have an additional session on Wednesday. Please make sure your child is dressed for movement on both these days.
• We are entering the last week of Mystery Book Clubs and will transition into Biography Book Clubs next. Please encourage your child to finish reading any independent Mystery books so that they can be returned soon.
• Family Friday will focus on our class's contribution to the School Auction. Our class parents will facilitate a fun activity where our students will create a collage with figures wearing traditional cultural costumes. Please join us for this wonderful project.

Have an excellent weekend!

January 23

Test folders were sent home today. Please look over the unit 7 Math test with your child before returning it and the folder to school next week. The spelling test from last friday was also included in the folder.

Here's what is happening next week:

• We will start unit 8 in Math which is an introduction to Fraction concepts. Students will learn what a fraction looks like; that it is an equal part of a whole object or a part of one group of objects. 
• We will be headed to the Armory this Tuesday. Please have your child dressed for physical activity and wear sneakers. 
• We will take our first field trip to the Chen Dance Center in Manhattan on Thursday. Chaperones have been notified by note earlier this month.The weather may be a bit dicey so please dress your child accordingly. 

Have a warm weekend!

January 15

As you have read in Tuesday's homework, the third grade will now have a weekly word sort where spelling patterns are highlighted. We have been working on helping students master the different ways long vowel sounds can be made. We had practiced the routines in class and today, we practiced the routine of taking a spelling test. From now on, please expect that there will be a new spelling sort each week and a spelling test on Fridays.

Here's what to expect next week:

• Schools are closed in observance of Martin Luther King Day. 
• We are going to the Armory on Tuesday. Please have your child dressed for physical activity. Sneakers should be worn.
• We will bring our for in Math Unit 7 to a close on Thursday. There will be a Math test on that day. 
• There will be a Spelling test on Friday. Students will receive the third set of words on Tuesday. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

January 9: Happy New Year!

We have had a snow cold return from a restful holiday and it was great to see so many of you at Family Friday. We really appreciate the effort you made to come out in this frigid weather so you could play math games with us.

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We will have Dance on Monday. We will not see the teaching artist again until February, when our Dance class resumes. 
• We are starting our work on Opinion Writing. Students will learn to make a strong claim and have evidence to back up their claim. This will then provide the basis for a simple essay. We will learn different ways we can support our claim and how we can develop supporting ideas for each claim. This spirited unit give children an opportunity to express opinions and convince others to agree with their thinking. 
• We are also starting an exciting study of China with a geography project. Your child has a letter with directions for making salt dough as we create a map of this country.  Some students have volunteered their families to make a double batch of dough so that we can have enough to make individual maps. The class enjoyed our earlier project with the salt dough continents and there is a great deal of excitement for this new project. By studying the geography of  this place, we hope to learn how a culture meets the needs of its people using the natural resources of its land. Please have the salt dough in by Wednesday. 
• We will be wrapping up our math work with division facts by the end of this week. While most of our class is very secure with most of their facts, some facts can be tricky. These include the four facts and the eight facts. Please help your child review them with a quick drill if possible. It would be helpful and reassuring. 

Have a wonderful cozy weekend!