Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my amazing students and families!

Christmas Party Fun!

Sorry I'm a little late posting these, but here are some highlights from our super awesome party! Our room parents are so amazing! They took care of everything from the planning, to the setup, execution, and clean up of the party. I can't even tell you how blessed I feel to have such great parents to work with.

Thank you SOOOOOOO much for your generous gifts, cards, and Christmas wishes. Our reading center got some brand new bean bag seats. I went up to school yesterday to update our reading center look to go with our new chairs.

Parents, I can't tell you how blessed I feel to get to teach your children. As much as we all look forward to a nice, relaxing break, I know I have the best job in the world when I miss my students over vacation. I can't wait to see them in 2016, but I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year!

Beautiful Christmas Program! Thank you Mrs. Bredimus!

WOW! What a wonderful program we had last night. I am so proud of all the students' hard work to prepare for this event. Everyone looked so amazing and it was a great night to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday. Here are a some pictures of the event. A big thank you also goes to

Mrs. Bredimus to preparing for this special night. Great job everyone!

Christmas Party!

Hello Families!

Just a reminder that our Christmas Party is on Friday from 10:30 - 11:30! We are very excited and getting in the Christmas spirit in 3A! It is also an early release day! We will dismiss at 12:30 p.m. Please refer to the invitation sent home in Tuesday Folder for information about the party. Please bring a gender neutral book to the party for a gift exchange between the students. If you have any issues or questions, please feel free to contact me! A big thank you goes to our wonderful room mothers and volunteers. You are amazing and we are so excited for what you have planned on Friday! Also, I want thank all our wonderful families for all of your support this year. We had a wonderful first semester, and I can't wait to see what we accomplish next year! Take care and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Program Tomorrow!

Don't forget that the Christmas Program is tomorrow in the Church. We can't wait to see the beautiful program that Mrs. Bredimus and the students have prepared! The program starts promptly at 6:30, so we need all students to be in the church and at their seats no later than 6:15. Parents, you must come pick up your child following the program in our assigned area. We are unable to dismiss students unless we have a parent sign them out with the teacher. Thank you for all your help, cooperation, and practice in making this program special. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Successful Coat Drive!

What an amazing Coat Drive we had in Third Grade. We had a total of 48 coats donated for "Warm Coats & Warm Hearts." Thank you all for your generous donations. These coats will be very appreciated this winter.

Rehearsal Tomorrow!

Rehearsal is tomorrow at school for the Christmas Program! Please be sure to be practicing our songs. Our 3A song, "Give Thanks," sounds awesome! Please also be sure to practice our school songs "Joy to the World" (which I posted last week) and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (posted below). See you all tomorrow!

Year of Mercy. Reconciliation on Tuesday.

Year of Mercy

December 8, 2015–November 20, 2016

Pope Francis has declared an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. This Holy Year of Mercy will begin December 8, 2015, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. It will close November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. This year’s motto is “Merciful Like the Father.”

 

Sometimes, when we think of the word mercy, we picture someone throwing themselves on their knees before a cruel villain, pleading to be spared some punishment. This is not our understanding of God’s mercy. We do not ask for God’s mercy because we are afraid of incurring his wrath as punishment for our sins. Rather, when we call on God to have mercy, we are calling on God in the only way we know him—as one who responds with compassion to those in need. When we show mercy to others, we are responding as God responds, with compassion.

 

This is such an awesome thing to remember as we prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation this coming Tuesday at school. Each Advent and Lenten season, the students have the opportunity to receive this beautiful Sacrament that reminds us of God's mercy and compassion. Sometimes we may feel anxious or nervous to confess our sins, but it is important to remember that God longs to forgive you. Remember, God knows that you are much more than the worst thing you’ve ever done. Knowing this amazing thing, a few things that you can do to prepare for the Sacrament:

1. Recall the Act of Contrition.

2. Examine your conscience. For example: When I make choices, do I sometimes forget about what God wants me to do? Do I pray everyday? Do I pay attention at Mass? Do I try to see God in others?
Do I listen to my parents and teachers or do I ignore them? Have I made fun of my brothers and sister or my classmates? Do I say, “I’m sorry” to the person I have hurt and “I forgive you” to the person who has hurt me? Do I play fair or do I ever cheat at school or games? Have I taken something that does not belong to me? Do I tell the whole truth? Or do I lie about things to not get in trouble?
Am I jealous of what other people have or do I appreciate all that God has given me? Do I try to do my best in school? 

3. Remember, the priest will never tell anyone their sins.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day

On December 9, 1531, a 57-year-old Aztec, Juan Diego, saw the Blessed Mother on a hill in Mexico City. She told Juan to have a church built in her honor. When Juan went to ask Bishop Zumarraga about this, the bishop did not understand the Indian dialect—and he did not believe in the vision Juan described.
Three days later, on December 12, Mary appeared again to Juan Diego, and this time she gave him a sign for the bishop. “Take these roses to the bishop,” she said, as she arranged in his cloak beautiful roses she had Juan Diego pick from the hillside although it was winter. When he was admitted into the bishop's room, Juan Diego opened his cloak, and out dropped the roses. On the cloak there remained an image of Mary as she had appeared to Juan Diego.
The image of Mary on the cloak is known as Our Lady of Guadalupe for an interesting reason. On that same day, Mary appeared to Juan's uncle and cured him, giving him a message for the bishop, saying that she would “crush the serpent's head.” The bishop did not understand the Indians' language. The Indian word for “crush the serpent” sounded to him like “Guadalupe,” the name of Mary's shrine in Spain. Thinking that the Virgin wanted the new shrine to have the same name, the bishop called her Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Mary appeared to Juan Diego dressed as an Aztec woman to show her love and compassion to an oppressed group of people. Mary had heard the prayers and pain of these people, and she came to give them hope.
Mary's visit to Guadalupe is a reminder that God will remember his mercy for all people. In Mary's song of joy, the Magnificat, she praised God because he has put down the mighty, exalted the lowly, filled the hungry, and sent the rich away empty. People honor Our Lady of Guadalupe because they recognize her motherly concern for them.

 

Storyteller Visit!

Grades 3rd-5th had the pleasure of listening to an amazing storyteller today! Mrs. McBride-Smith came to St. Ann's today to share some amazing stories. She will perform along with many other nationally acclaimed storytellers this weekend at First Presbyterian Church. Click here for more information on this free event!

Hot Dog Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our final Hot Dog Day of 2015! Please join us for lunch in the gym at 11:50 a.m. Also, since we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, we will not attend liturgy on Friday.
We are very excited to have a special guest join us in the morning. A story teller will be performing for grades 3-5 at 9:00 a.m. in the gym. After, our class will have our monthly "Counselor Corner" with Mrs. Harrell. What a fun Friday we have in store!

Periodic Table of Elements

We have been studying the Periodic Table of Elements in Science class. Here is a great like to learn more about the Elements on this chart.
Periodic Table Link

Beautiful Job Hannah!

Our very own Hannah Clark led us in song this morning at mass in celebration of the Immaculate Conception. We couldn't be more impressed and proud of her beautiful version of "Holy is Your Name." The whole class was so sweet and encouraging. It was so great to see all our amazing 3A students cheer for and praise Hannah's performance. Here is a clip of the song from this morning. Thank you Mrs. Clark for capturing this lovely moment!

December News!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass Tomorrow

Many people mistakenly believe that the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ conception was most assuredly immaculate, but the Immaculate Conception does not refer to Jesus at all. The Immaculate Conception is in regards to Mary, Jesus’ mother. “The blessed Virgin Mary to have been, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Savior of Mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin.” Essentially, the Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was protected from original sin, that Mary did not have a sin nature, and was, in fact, sinless.

In observance of this Holy Day of Obligation, we will have our weekly liturgy tomorrow, December 8th, instead of Friday. Hope to see you all at Mass.

Joy to the World

Don't forget to practice our songs for the Christmas Program. Mrs. Bredimus said you're doing a great job on "Give Thanks." Here is the video to "Joy to the World" to practice.

Celebrating Advent with the Family

When we think of New Year's celebrations, we usually think of party time. It's time to let the old year go. We anticipate the new year by making resolutions, promising changes in behavior.

As Christians, we celebrate the arrival of a new liturgical year differently. The new year that begins on the first Sunday of Advent is a quiet one. In the readings for the four Sundays of Advent, we remember the time when people waited in anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. And while we know that the Messiah has come in Jesus Christ, and we have remembered his life, death, resurrection and Ascension many times, we can still reflect on and celebrate the newness of his coming once again.
What is great about celebrating the coming of Jesus with children is that they help us approach the season with fresh eyes and insight. They present us with a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge they present is the way they soak up the values of the culture that has had them anticipating Christmas since the beginning of November. The opportunity they present is that we can introduce them to the timeless rituals celebrating the coming of the Messiah that will add depth to their spiritual lives.
There are a number of ways families can celebrate the season of Advent:

Make an Advent wreath and place it in the middle of the dining room table. An Advent wreath consists of a frame holding four candles placed inside a circle of evergreens. The greenery in the wreath symbolizes the promised new life in Jesus. The four candles denote the four Sundays of Advent. There are three purple candles and one rose candle. Purple is a sign of penance, and rose is the color denoting the anticipation of joy. Light a candle on each Sunday evening of Advent, saying a short prayer or singing a verse of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The light of the candles represents the light coming into the world as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' birth.

Advent calendars are available at many gift stores. The calendar consists of two pieces of cardboard on top of each other. Twenty-four doors are cut out of the top layer. One door is opened each day from December 1 through December 24, revealing a picture. 

There is a long tradition in Christian art of depicting the Jesse Tree, a symbolic tree or vine with spreading branches on which there are images depicting the genealogy of Jesus. There are several variations of the Jesse Tree. In one variation, each ornament has a picture on one side and a Scripture passage on the other. An ornament is hung on the tree every day during Advent.

With the celebration of Advent each year, everything old can be new again. Each year gives ourselves and our family an opportunity to remember and anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning.

Toy Drive Tomorrow!

Don't forget that tomorrow is the St. Ann's Toy Drive. If you'd like to participate please bring a new, unwrapped toy to school tomorrow. We will bring it to church to adorn our altar. At the end of weekend masses, the toys will go to families in need. Thank you for your generosity the season!

Consonant Blends

Here are some examples of consonant blends to help you through our phonics unit.

Shurley Adverb Help

Here's some help with our question and answer flow with adverbs.

Hope this helps with tonight's homework.

 

 

Regrouping Twice

Today we went over regrouping twice with subtraction. The students did well. Here is something to help remember if you need to regroup or not.

Toy Drive and Coat Drive

Hello Families!
Third Grade is getting in the Christmas spirit by helping others this season! We have two events going on that will greatly help families in need!

1st: The St. Ann's Annual Toy Drive is taking place starting Monday. If you are able to bring a new, unwrapped toy to school sometime next week, the students can present them to Student Council and the gifts will adorn our Church altar throughout the weekend. All toys collected by students and parishioners will go to families in need this Christmas.

2nd: The third grade classes are conducting their own service project. We will be collecting gently used outerwear for men, women, and children of all sizes to go to shelters. If you find any sweaters or jackets that do not wear or do not fit, please bring them to school and we will send them to local shelters to keep families warm this winter season.

Thank you for all your help and generosity! We hope these service projects will help develop stewardship within our school community and your family. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest

Mrs. Erwin (The Turkey) Visits 3A!

Mrs. Erwin got the most feathers purchased for her during our annual "Feathers for Food" fundraiser for the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. She came by to visit us in her Turkey costume to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving!

Subtraction with Regrouping Game

Here's a practice game for subtraction with regrouping. Hopefully this will help you with the skill.
Subtraction with Regrouping Game

House of Saint Bernadette Recycling Project

Veteran's Day

What a beautiful Veteran's Day Service we had at school! Thank you Veteran's for your bravery and dedication to our freedom. We salute you! Here are some pictures from today's ceremony.