Week 21

We are coming to the end of the first month of 2018 already! As we start February, please continue to check your child's Homework folder for the Weekly update at the bottom of the sheet and sign the sheet so I know you've viewed it. Thank you for the attention to this matter.

The PS 154 Readathon has ended and we have keeping a running total of the minutes we've been reading. Many children have exceeded one thousand minutes! Please take a moment this weekend to total up the minutes on your child's sheet. Every child should turn in the sheet and be recognized for their efforts, regardless of whether there was a sponsor or not.

Finally, many of you have viewed our Dance video on our playlist. Check out the latest videos of our shelter presentations. We have three shelters filmed and next week, we should have Bamboo Houses and Felt Gers featured!

Here's what to look forward to next week:

• We have started our unit on China and students have gathered many facts about the culture of this large country. We will continue to use our nonfiction reading skills to help us learn about the landforms and landmarks of this historic country. 
• Children have spent a week brainstorming ideas for Information Books. This exciting writing project allows our children to share their expertise on a subject of their own choosing. We have been making hard choices about what we want to teach others about our topics and thinking about how to organize and explain the most important parts of these subjects. This project allows us to revisit elaboration strategies we began learning about in the Opinion Essay Writing unit before.
• On Thursday, we will have BAX dance class again. 
• On Family Friday, please join us as the children will create a beautiful globe for our contribution to the PS 154 Art Auction. We are fortunate to have Penelope's Mom spearhead this awesome activity!
• We will also have the Chapter 7 math test on Friday. This unit will wrap up our work with division facts. Next up, Fractions! Please check out the following links to review division facts that will be useful for this test:

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-6-7-8-and-9-sorting

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-6-7-8-and-9

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 20

We had an amazing time at Chen Dance Center! The children were enthralled by the performance and had some fun participating with some dance moves. We want to thank the chaperones who came with us and helped keep our group safe as we navigated the crowded streets of Manhattan.

Please check our our video playlist on the right side of this post for the first video featuring this class! Our own BAX Dance enrichment classes are underway and the students have learned a series of dance moves that have become our first choreographed dance. Check out the first run through!

Here's what will happen next week:

• We are entering the last week of the Read-athon! We have been keeping total of the minutes we have read so far and many children have read almost a thousand minutes!!! The Read-athon will end after Friday!
• We are headed to the Armory on Tuesday. Please make sure your child is dressed with running shoes.
• We will have BAX Dance on Thursday. Please remind your child to dress for movement.

Here are some links for additional academic practice:
Using Capital letters

• https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/capitalizing-days-months-and-holidays
• https://www.ixl.com/ela/grade-3/capitalizing-the-names-of-people-and-pets-and-titles-of-respect

Division Facts

• https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-true-or-false
• https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/division-facts-for-2-3-4-5-and-10-sorting

Have an excellent weekend!

Week 19

We began our PTA funded enrichment this week and the kids had a great time with the Dance teacher! We learned lots of dance terms and practiced many dance moves. In the up coming weeks, we will have worked on some routines and as a culminating event, families will be invited to come to our Dance Share on April 26th and see all the fun we've had. Keep an eye out for more information as the event approaches!

We have ended week 1 of the Read-athon and many children have read close to 400 minutes. They have promised to read over this long weekend as many are excited to add to their totals!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• Schools are closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• We will have Dance class again on Thursday. Please make sure your child is dressed with loose clothing or stretchy clothing so that movement is easy. 
• We will take a field trip to Chen Dance Center on Friday. There are six parents who have been chosen as chaperones. If you are a chaperone, your child has a note for you with information about when to show up and how the trip will go. See you Friday!

Have an excellent weekend!

Happy New Year!

This was a short week but we were able to get a lot in. Thanks for making it to our Family Friday in this frigid weather! The kids were very proud to show off their shelters with the museum blurb they wrote. We are currently working on turning this project into group presentations so keep an eye out for our videos in the upcoming weeks.

Here's what's coming next week:

• Book marks are due on Monday for our school's annual Read-a-thon. We will launch the Read-a-thon on Monday and students will be encouraged to log in their reading time at home. Please check out the packet we are sending home on Monday with more details about the event and how you can help the school with this fundraiser.
• We will be going to the Armory on Tuesday. Please dress your child for physical activity, including running shoes.
• We will have our first Dance class on Thursday! We were supposed to have it last Thursday but school was closed due to the snow storm. Students will be asked to remove their shoes and socks for safety reasons as they dance. Girls were asked not to wear tights on Dance days so that they can go sockless easily. 
• The Chapter 6 Math test will be given on Friday. This will bring to and end our first division unit. Many students have been relying on inverting multiplication facts to help them solve division facts quickly. Please encourage your child to keep reviewing the multiplication facts or to practice division facts through our math links listed in the previous post. 

Have a safe and warm weekend!