Weekly Update #22: January 28 - February 1

Announcements: 

• STEAM Day and 100th Day of School - We had a super fun day today!  To celebrate STEAM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) we had 2 Design Challenges. One Engineering/Science challenge was with the Hot Wheel cars and track. The other Engineering/Science challenge was to create the most effective parachute. We also had an Art Designer/Teacher, Ginger Dixon come in to help us learn how to draw. We counted and built arrays with snack items in celebration of the 100th day of school (Cheerios, M&M's, goldfish, etc). We had our Enrichment (Eslot) time at the end of the today, where the kids went to their selected group (cooking, art, Lego Robotics, Nintendo Labo, coding). Art Class at the Art Center of Williamson County with Ms. Ginger Flyer
• Progress Report Cards: Today was the last day to turn in any assignments for Progress Report cards. These report cards will be going home in Thursday folders soon,  Please, check Home Access every week with your child to see what assignment he/she may be missing and to help your child be successful in school. 
• Valentine's Day Party and Supplies - Please, click on the link to help with our 3rd grade Valentine's Day party. The only way to make this party a success is with your help! We really need volunteers that can help out during the party with one of the activity stations (1:30pm - 2:30pm). Please, consider helping out. 
  3rd Grade Valentine Party -- Supplies and Helpers Needed Click Here!
• Valentine Boxes and Valentine Cards - A pink flyer went home in your child's Thursday folder about decorating a Valentine Box and making Valentine cards for each classmate. The list of students in our class is on the pink flyer. Please, bring these items to school on February 14th. 
• February Scholastic Book Orders - The February Scholastic Book Orders are due Thursday, February 28th Place your orders online - Your Class Activation Code NP79X.  The link to order is HERE.  Thank you to Jose's mom and Ethan H's mom for ordering books last month!
• Economics Fair Information:  The Economics Fair Project has begun!  Thank you to those students that got their "yellow" Economics Fair Sheet turned in today stating what project/product you have decided to make. Students are required to make 35 - 40 product items. Please, refer to the "yellow" sheet for requirements and expectations. 
• Six Flag Reading Program - The form came home last week in Thursday folders. Please, read and follow the directions on the form. Students can turn this form in anytime before February 22nd.  Do you lose your Six Flags Reading Program sheet?  No worries, just ask for another one!
• Home Access Center: Check your child's academic progress every week. Link to Home Access Center.   If you still have trouble logging in please contact our school's front office.
• STAAR Assessments May 13 and May 14:  They are just around the corner.  Want to help prepare your child at home?  Suggestions for math: khan academy (students have a login already or set one up for FREE) and my "Math Links" tab are excellent online resources your child has access to. You can also create your own subscription to ixl.com and create an account for your child. It's a great math resource!  Suggestions for reading: reading comprehension passages with questions and other reading comprehension skills. Check out the "Reading Links" tab for tons of great online resources. 

Upcoming Events:​​​​.​ ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• February 1 - Science Night at Elsa England from 6:60 - 7:30pm 
• February 14 - Third Grade Valentine's Day Party (1:30 - 2:30)  -  Valentine Boxes and Cards are due!!
• February 15 - Economics Fair Project Sheet - Check in (Are supplies and materials purchased? Have you gotten started on making your products?)
• ​February 18 & 19 - NO School. 
• February 22 - Career Fair Day
• March 12 - Economics Fair Day! - All items must be present for the fair for selling - major grade! 
• March 16 - 24  SPRING BREAK
• March 25 - Ocean Adventure School Assembly 
• March 29 - Mrs. Lilleboe's Class Field Trip to Westcave Preserve 

***Library Day is on Wednesdays (it's on Thursdays for TAG kids). 
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What's Been Happening In Class?  

• Writing: This week our focus was on grammar and conventions using a mentor sentence from the book The Man Who Walked Between The Towers. We are starting to practice our editing/revising skills as we prepare for the Editing/Revising DCA Test which will be in March. This week our focus was to find conjunctions in sentences and punctuation/capitalization errors in a sentence. 
• Reading:  We are in deep with Traditional Literature!  We continue to read folktales finding story elements (characters, setting, plot, problem, solution), the theme (lesson/moral) of the story, and the main events in the story. Specifically we read some funny Tall Tales (Swamp Angel, Paul Bunyan). We learned that Tall Tales use tons of hyperboles (extreme exaggerations) which make the stories funny and unbelievable. Next week, we'll continue with more Tall Tales and get into Legends and Myths. 
• Math: We are wrapping up the Geometry unit. This week the focus has been on "finding the area" of a rectangle/square or other polygon shape. We are using multiplication to find the area (length X width). Plus, we reviewed 3D shapes and familiar vocabulary (edges, faces, vertices). Specifically, we identified what makes a 3D shape a polyhedron, a prism, and a pyramid. The Geometry DCA test will be combined with the next unit (more multiplication and division). This DCA test will later in February. Date to be set soon. 
• Science: We wrapped up our Soils and Natural Resources unit yesterday with our DCA test. We did 2 fun Kahoot reviews before the test. The kids love Kahoots! Our next unit is Weather/Climate. 
• Social Studies: We've started our Economics Unit lessons. This week our focus was on Needs vs Wants. 
• Eslot: Enrichment groups (cooking, arts & crafts, Lego Robotics, coding, STEAM, Nintendo Labo)