All Saints Day!

What a BEAUTIFUL celebration we had today! I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of all our "Saints." They carried out a lovely, respectful, and joyous celebration. They also did a fantastic job on their reports and presentation. Parents and families, a simple "thank you" doesn't even begin to cover what I'd like to say to you. You all helped with this project from start to finish covering everything from the research, to writing, to the costumes. I also want to thank all of you who not only came to watch, but helped us with refreshments, supplies, and clean-up. I just can't even fathom how lucky I am to work with such wonderful families! THANK YOU! Here are some pictures from today's celebration. Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!

 

Red Ribbon Week Fun!

We had so much fun this week with Red Ribbon Week!

Here are some pictures of all our crazy get-ups!

 

November News!

All Saints Day

The students are working so hard on practicing Saint Presentations and Mass Preparations. We want to thank you all again for making this project meaningful and enjoyable for your child by providing your help and support. Here is a brief reminder of our schedule of events for Friday to provide a better description as to how your child will conduct their findings. As a reminder, the students should wear their costumes to school on October 30^th.  The students may stay in their costumes, or change into their Red Ribbon Week attire or uniform.

The students will participate in a “Living Wax Museum.” We will practice lining the students in the hall of the commons, chapel, and vestibule of the church. They will portray wax sculptures until you press “the button,” which brings the sculpture to life. The students will give their brief presentation (no longer than a minute) then return back to their sculpture like state. These presentations will allow the students to have practice runs before performing in front of their families as well as giving other classes in the school the chance to see all of their hard work.

The students have created a final copy for the presentation day, so all of the work is finished. Each student has a final copy typed up. As far as pictures are concerned, we will have a group picture taken at the end of presentations, before lunch. We will also take individual pictures of your child throughout the morning. Here is a schedule of our events. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you!

Friday, October 30^th

All Saints Day Mass

7:40: Arrive at school and meet in the cafeteria. We will pack up your children promptly at 7:40a.m. to prepare for mass

8:30: Please join us for our liturgy in the Church
9:15: Students and teachers will go to the Commons and set up for Guests
9:20: Kindergarten, 1^st, and 2^nd

9:40: Break

10:00: Prepare for 4^th and 5^th

10:05: 4^th and 5^th

10:25: Prepare for Middle School

10:30: Middle School

11:00: Prepare for Parent Presentations

11:05: Parent Presentations

11:30: Lunch

If you are unable to come during the parent presentation, please feel free to come during another presentation time. We scheduled the parents’ presentation time to be separate so that you may get to see your child in a more intimate setting and so that you may accompany them to lunch if you wish, but it is not required that you watch your child at that time. If it is easier for you to come earlier, we would love to see you then! Thank you again for all of your help and support! See you on October 30^th!

Garden City Field Trip Information

Hello Parents!
We have a field trip planned for next week to the Garden City Community Center and St. Lawrence Cotton Field and Cotton Gin. This trip will allow the students to explore various aspects of agriculture, as well as show them how cotton is grown, picked, cleaned, and distributed. It is a wonderful, well-planned trip that all past 3rd grade students have loved.

We will take a charter bus and the trip will take the whole school day. This trip is of no cost to your child. We simply ask that they come in their uniform (with a jacket, depending on the weather), show up NO LATER than 7:40, and return their permission form from Tuesday folder. Lunch is also provided that day, so there is no need to send a lunch with your child.

A few important things to know as we plan to go:

• We MUST leave the school no later that 8:30 a.m. It will take us a while to get to Garden City, and the program starts promptly at 9:30 a.m. We are sharing the trip with the Garden City Third Graders, and a late departure will cause them to wait and get us off schedule, also making it more difficult to be back to school in the afternoon on time. Please make plans to have your child here between 7:30 - 7:40 a.m. so we have enough time to pass out Tuesday folders, take a restroom break, and board the bus.
• You are more than welcome to join us on the trip, however due to such a large third grade class this year, we only have enough room to accommodate the students, and three teachers (Mrs. Owen, Mrs. Butler, and Mrs. Holt) on the bus. The charter bus only seats 52. If you would like to attend, we'd love to have you meet us in Garden City at the Community Center. Students must ride the bus to and from the event.
• Please look at the weather forecast before we leave. We spend most of the day indoors, however one portion of the trip is outside, and we do not want your child to be uncomfortable.
• We will arrive back at school no later than 3:30 p.m. If you are picking up your child, instead of going through the carpool line, the best option it to park in the lot across from the church office and wait for us to arrive there. If your child is attending after school, we will walk them back to school and send them to their appropriate after school teacher.

Jump Rope for Heart

We had a wonderful assembly this morning about Jump Rope for Heart. Each year, Mrs. Reker leads the school in a wonderful fundraiser benefiting the American Heart Association. This is an event that not only allows our students to learn how to keep their hearts healthy by exploring information about diet and exercise, but also raises money for those battling heart conditions. Tomorrow, you will receive information in Tuesday folder about this phenomenal program and how to participate.

Thank You!

What a pleasure it was to meet with each of you these past two days. Thank you all for taking the time to meet with me to discuss your child's progress. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with each of you. Thank you for all your help and support with your child's education.

Red Ribbon Week

Hey families! Don't forget next week is Red Ribbon Week. Here are the events for the week:

Monday: Red Day. Wear jeans and a red shirt.

Tuesday: Team Up Against Drugs. Wear your a shirt with your favorite sports team and jeans.

Wednesday: Follow Your Dreams. Pajama Day.

Thursday: "Sock"tober. Crazy Sock Day.

Friday: Saints and Superheroes Day. We will already be in our Saintly costumes. You may bring a superhero shirt or costume to change into after our presentation if you'd like.

Early Release Days

Don't forget that Thursday and Friday are early release days for Parent/Teacher Conferences. There will also be no lunch served by the cafeteria. If you would still like your child to bring a lunch or a snack, we will still go to the cafeteria at our normally scheduled time. Look forward to meeting with all the parents this week!

Pep Rally Thursday!

Hey everyone!
There will be a pep rally in the gym on Thursday to cheer on our Football Team at 10:00 a.m. Thursday's game will be one of their last. We'd love to see you there to cheer on the Saints!

Shurley Jingles

Hey kiddos! If you're looking for a place to practice our Shurley Jingles, here is a link to a set of YouTube videos that also provide the lyrics. Hope it helps!
Shurley Jingles Link

Thank You!

Our class was so spoiled by all of your generous donations to our Library from the Book Fair. I have the most wonderful students and families! Thank you so much for the beautiful gift of literature. I already have them set out to start reading tomorrow!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I'm looking forward to meeting with all of you for Parent/Teacher Conferences. A reminder notice is being sent home in Tuesday Folder with your scheduled time. If this doesn't work, please call the office as soon as possible so we may reschedule. Also, conferences mean that we will have an early release on Thursday and Friday. Thanks everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all.

Saint Reports Complete!

We are all done constructing our Saint Reports! Thank you parents for all your efforts in research and writing. Students, you did a great job and worked very hard! Now, we just need to focus on practicing our reports and costumes.

I hope the costume planning is going well. I've already heard that some students have begun or even finished their costumes! That's great! If you have any issues with your costume, PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know and we can come up with a solution.

I'm so excited for this project and the students' progress. Please let me know if you need any help or have any questions regarding the project. I note will go home in Tuesday folder with our schedule for that morning.
Here are a few tips for practicing an oral presentation:

• Make eye contact frequently - Make sure your eyes leave your paper occasionally to engage your audience
• Speak clearly (slowly) - Don't rush your report. The audience is interested in learning about your Saint. Speaking clearly and slowly allow them to understand you better.
• Speak at a good volume - No, you don't have to strain your voice, but make sure you are speaking loud enough for your audience to hear.
• Practicing saying your report MANY times - It may feel tedious, but the more you say it the more comfortable you feel speaking, and it helps you to not stumble over difficult words. 

Door Decorating Contest Winners!

Yay! 3A won the Monster Mash Book Fair Door Decorating Contest! Thank you Mrs. Guebara for presenting our class with these sweet treats!

Adjective vs. Adverb

Hello everyone! A few have asked for a brush up on adjectives and adverbs. If you ever need to revisit the concept you, be sure to check the English section of your spiral, and now you can use your "Jingles Packet" for the Adverb and Adjective jingles to help as well. I did want to post on here as well though in case you need the notes but do not have your spiral handy. Also, here is the link to the post I made earlier that has some online games to practice the difference in adjectives and adverbs. Hope this helps!

Adjectives and Adverb Games 

Saint Song

3rd Graders,
Here is a link to the new song that we will be singing for our "All Saints Day" Mass. Listen and get familiar with it. We will practice in class.
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God

Thank You Mrs. Harrell!

Thank you Mrs. Harrell for visiting the class today. Our lovely counselor came by to have a lesson with the class on the importance of listening to each other. The students had to guide their blindfolded partners through a worksheets. The blindfolded students had to rely only on the verbal instructions of their partner. We learned a lot about how important listening is not only through words, but by seeing. We look forward to your next visit Mrs. Harrell!

Twofer Saint/Halloween Costumes!

Thanks Mrs. Bredimus for finding this link! This is a great site with some ideas on how to get two uses out of your Saint costume (well for some students). Hope it helps! If any of you are needing help or ideas for your costume, please give me a shout! We've seen some very creative ideas in past years and might have a way to get crafty with your costume!
http://www.catholicallyear.com/2015/10/twofer-costumes-for-halloween-and-all.html

Book Fair Fun!

Two fun events being put on my the lovely Mrs. Guebara in Library to celebrate the Monster Book Fair!

1st: Teachers are participating in a spooky door decorating contest for a Halloween Basket. I've got my eye on the prize ;)

2nd: The class that buys the most books next week earn an hour movie party with Mrs. Guebara!

We have our preview day on Monday, then students can start buying books at the Book Fair Monster Mash on Tuesday evening. They can also purchase in school throughout the week and at Hot Dog Day!

A lesson in Math... and Social Studies. Happy Weekend!