Week 25: Parent Teacher Conferences

Welcome back from the Mid Winter Recess! We had a busy week as we close out the second marking period. There was also a Poetry anthology to assemble. Students had to contribute a poem for the annual PS 154 Poetry book. We have wonderful volunteers from our families who will type up the poems for publishing. We want to thank the families of Alma, Esme, Khloe, Matan and Serafina for taking the time to do this for us!

Here's what else to look forward to next week:

• Next week, we will begin our unit, ELA Review. This unit helps children review important reading and writing strategies learned previously and apply them to an on demand task like the upcoming NYS ELA test. We are reviewing close reading skills which help us to remember details from what we've read as well as more critical thinking skills such as how an author communicates an idea to a reader. Children will also used their information writing skills to explain what they have understood from the passages.  This test will take place on March 25th and March 26th. 
• We began an important unit on Fractions this week. Students have worked on identifying fractions by naming equal parts in a whole ( denominator) and counting the pieces (numerator). We've practice with a variety of models to develop a visual sense of how big fractions are.  We will have a Mid Module Assessment on Friday. Here are some links to help support this work: 

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/make-halves-thirds-fourths-sixths-and-eighths
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/unit-fractions-modeling-word-problems
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/fractions-of-a-whole-word-problems

• We will also continue our Social Studies unit on China. On Wednesday, we will head to the College of Staten Island to watch the New Shanghai Acrobats perform. 
• Thursday is an Early Release Day, with students being dismissed at 11:30. This is to accommodate Parent Teacher Conferences which will begin at 12:30 and end at 2:30 for Afternoon Conferences. Evening conferences will begin at 4:30 and end by 7:30. 

Finally, we've had a tough winter season in terms of various colds and flus. Please review with your child the importance of covering their mouths when sneezing/ coughing and washing their hands. 

Have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing soon!

Week 23

This Friday was a real whirlwind. We had a few events and some incredible weather! Our thanks goes to all of you who came to Family Friday to help us with our posters. We also want to thank the moms of Hazel, Elizabeth, Bobby, Noël and Aria for coming to our trip with us and being so helpful!

Here's what to expect for next week:

• We are headed to the Armory on Tuesday. Please have your child dress for running and playing.
• We are heading to Chen Dance Center in Manhattan on Thursday. This trip was rescheduled from a previous date. A permission slip was sent home to let you know of the change. Please return the bottom portion so that we know you are aware of the new date.
• We will have the End Module exam on Friday for Math Module 4. This unit focused on using multiplication and division skill stop solve area problems. Here are some links to help your child review.

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/find-the-area-of-complex-figures
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-3/find-the-area-between-two-rectangles

• Friday is Valentines Day. Some children have asked about bringing treats to share. It is optional but if your child is choosing to do this, please keep in mind that there are 29 children in the class. Some children have nut and gluten allergies, so please try to send a treat that is suitable for all. A festive pencil, stickers, etc. are also good for sharing! 
• We will be off from school for Mid Winter Recess starting February 17th. School resumes February 24th.

Have an excellent weekend!