Weekly Update #30: April 1 - April 5

Announcements: ​​

• Run Wild for Wildlife: The Elsa England Environment Club is having its 3rd Annual Run Wild for Wildlife this Friday, April 12th. Students (3rd - 5th grade) will run around a predetermined track as they run for wildlife! An envelope went home last Thursday. More information can be found on the envelope. All donations will go to the World Wildlife Fund as we try to adopt 5 more endangered animals (see previous year adopted animals in the display case upstairs by the 3rd grade common area.) All envelope donations are due by this Friday. Thanks so much for giving to this heartwarming cause.   
• Progress Report Cards:  Your child's progress report card will be coming home on this Thursday, April 11th. 
• 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:​​​​.​ ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​

• April 9 & 10 - 4th grade and 5th grade STAAR. NO visitors. 
• April 12 - Run Wild for Wildlife - turn in donations and run during Specials
• April 16 - Science Unit 9 DCA (Environments, Ecosystems and Food Chains)
• April 18 - Math Unit 8 & 9 DCA (Fractions, Perimeter, Capacity, Measurement, Elapsed Time)
• April 19 - No School
• April 30 - Last day to place an online order for April Scholastic books!
• May 2 - tentative Science Unit 10 DCA (Plant and Animal Adaptations)
• May 2 - Spring Book Fair and Family Gallery Night from 5:30 - 7:30pm (classrooms will be open)
  
• May 3 - 5th Grade Elsa England Talent Show from 6:00 - 8:00pm (cafeteria)
  
• May 13 - 3rd Grade STAAR - No visitors
  
• May 14 - 3rd Grade STAAR - No visitors
  
• May 17 - tentative Science Unit 11 DCA (Life cycles of Plants and Animals)
  
• May 20 - 3rd Grade PBL Showcase to 2nd, 4th and 5th grade classes
  
• May 22 - Field Day!
  
• May 24 - End of Year Party - Last Day of School
  

***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 our PBL project. Each student decided and created his/her PBL project this week. They choose between a Display Board, Magazine Article or Google Slide Show. We will wrap these up next week during our Fix and Finish Work Time (1:00 - 1:45pm).
• Reading:  We are reviewing reading comprehension strategies this upcoming week as we prepare for STAAR in May. This week we will focus on Summary/Retell, Cause/Effect, How Characters Change and Theme/Lesson. 
• Math: Our current unit is Fractions (comparing fractions and equivalent fractions) and Perimeter/Measurement/Capacity. We will continue with Elapsed Time and Weight (ounces, pounds, tons) this week.  Additional practice can be found under "Math Links", Khan Academy or Prodigy. 
• Science: We are in our Environments, Ecosystems and Food Chains unit. This upcoming week we'll focus on Food Chains. 
• Social Studies: Communities over time focusing on inventions that have helped shape our society. 
• Eslot: