Weekly Update #7: October 2 - October 6th

Announcements:

• Fall Conferences: This upcoming Monday, October 9. Please, check for your time slot by clicking on Fall Conferences I will try very hard to stick to the schedule. See you on Monday!!
• Xtramath:  Congratulations to Shlok, Vivian, Aadi and Effie. They have completed another section in Xtramath.  Amazing job! Kids should continue to practice their math facts using this program on a daily basis (about 10 minutes a day). I get weekly updates from Xtramath showing student progress.   Kids can win certificates and prizes! 
• ixl.com:​  This program is no longer supported here at Elsa England. It's a very expensive program to purchase for a school our size. Parents will need to purchase their own account for their child if you want your child to continue with this program. 
• Spelling Groups:​ All third graders took a pretest to determine the best spelling group for each individual student. We are buddies with Mrs. Raney's class, thus we are able to provide 6 different leveled spelling groups.  Your child should have come home with his/her spelling list this week. Please, practice these words at home. I will send home a spelling practice flyer with ideas on ways that kids can practice at home.  Our first spelling test is Friday, October 13th.  We will have a spelling test every 2 weeks, giving students approximately 2 weeks to study their words. 
• Math Superstars: This is an excellent source for keeping up with those math skills. Awards and prizes are given out to those students that complete the worksheet each week and turn it in.  Math Superstars link is on the Welcome Page. 
• Home Access Center: Check weekly to stay up to date on your child's academic progress. Link to Home Access Center.​
• Bluebonnet Book Program: Our class's goal for each student to read 5 books! The Bluebonnet Program goes until mid-January so we have plenty of time to read, read, read. So, let's get to it!
  Bluebonnet Book List 2017 - 2018 http://www.txla.org/new-tba-list-released
  Mrs. Lilleboe's Bluebonnet Book Wish List http://a.co/j39aDD1
• Wobble Stools  - Wobble stools are an alternative desk seating option for your child. Wobble stools help provide students with the ability to wiggle as they sit. They help some students to focus more on their work too. This is a parent purchased item. With that said, at the end of the year the wobble stool is yours. Your child can then use them in 4th and 5th grade. I would recommend the 18"  stool. Here are a couple of websites of where to make this purchase if you are interested. Really Good Stuff - Wobble Stool  and Active Learning Stool - Amazon.com ​​

Upcoming Events:​​​​.​ ​​​​​​

• October 2 - PTA Direct Donation Fundraiser begins!!  Click HERE to donate to our school!
• October 9 - No School for students - Parent/Teacher Conferences (scheduled times) 
• October 10 - No School for students - Teacher Professional Development Day
• October 13 - Science Unit DCA Test - Changes in Matter and Mixtures
• ​October 13 - Math Unit DCA Test - Graphs/Charts/Data - Place Value/Rounding - Addition/Subtraction
• October 13 - Spelling test - first spelling test - each spelling group will be tested on his/her words.
• October 17 - School Pictures - Return form if you want to purchase pictures
• October 18 - Don Tate Book Order form is due
  
• October 20 - End of first nine weeks grading period 
• October 25 - Third Grade Fall Music Concert @ 6:30 pm
  
• October 26 - First nine week report cards go home - sign one copy and return 

What's Been Happening In Class?  

• Writing: Personal Narrative Unit. We finished our final drafts this week!  Next week, we will begin our Poetry unit. 
• Reading: We dove into reading comprehension strategies this week, specifically the Inferencing strategy and Summarizing strategy (for fiction) using the Somebody-Wanted-But-So-Then model. We also looked at character traits. 
• Math: Place Value, Rounding/Estimation, Addition/Subtraction Unit - this week our focus has been using the compensation, bridging (number lines) and partial sums (expanded addition) to solve addition problems. We also learned how to count up and down on a number line to help solve subtraction problems.  We also reviewed Part-Part-Whole (addition strip diagram) and Whole-Part-Part (subtraction strip diagrams). Test is next week!!  It's a big test covering tons of concepts!!  Take time to review at home using the Math Links tab on this website. 
• Science: Our current science unit is Changes in Matter and Mixtures. The focus this week has been on changes in matter using our new vocabulary (melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation) and on what is a mixture.  Students can practice this material by going to my Science Links tab. Test is next week!
• Social Studies: Columbus Day next week!