Christmas Party Tomorrow!

When: Tomorrow, (Wednesday) December 21st

Time: 10:30 - 11:30

Where: 3A Classroom

Hope to see you there!

Christmas Reminders!

Fun Run T-Shirt Contest: Deadline, January 20th

Christmas Program on Monday!

Don't forget that our Christmas Program is Monday, December 19th at 6:15 p.m. in the Church! See you all there!

Busy Bag Reminder: Due December 16th

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PTO Week at a Glance

Save the Date!

Christmas Party!

Hello Families!
By now you have received a letter in your child's Tuesday Folder regarding our Christmas Party in 3A. We are getting excited! If you have misplaced the letter, here is a copy. A big "Thank you" to Mrs. Herrera and all parents who are helping or providing for our party. Can't wait!

Christmas Program!

The students have been working so hard on their Christmas Program. 3A will present their program along with all of the other "A" classes at 6:15 p.m. on Monday, December 19th. Looking forward to seeing everyone there in their Christmas Best!

Reconciliation: December 15th

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 Thursday 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.

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.

PTO Week at a Glance

Feast of St. Nicholas: December 6th

Prayers for Iraan: Jean Day December 9th

Interested in the Christmas Eve Children's Choir?

December News

Toy Drive on Friday!

Don't forget that Friday is the St. Ann's Toy Drive. If you'd like to participate please bring a new, unwrapped toy to school this week or on Friday morning. 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!

Box Tops

Our new Box Top Competition began yesterday! We will be collecting Box Tops for the class to turn in by December 16th. The top three classes get to have some Hot Cocoa!

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

Jump Rope for Heart Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our annual Jump Rope for Heart Day! Students are encouraged to wear a Jump Rope for Heart shirt OR a Red Shirt with Jeans and school tennis shoes. Our grade "Jump Time" is from 2:00-2:30 and parents are encouraged to come watch or join in if you'd like!

Advent Sacrifices

We have been talking about Sacrifice this week in our daily Advent Prayer Services. Here is a list of suggested sacrifices your children can make during Advent. You can use this list in several ways. You may want to select a sacrifice for all of Advent, something to give up or an extra job to do. Or you can cut these ideas up into strips of paper and place them in a jar, and then everyone can take out one or several every day or week to do.

Ideas for sacrifices we can do to prepare our hearts, minds, and wills to serve God:

• Give up a special treat or snack. 
• No snacks, no dessert, no favorite food. 
• Give up TV, video games, computer time – at night, during the week, on weekends, you choose! 
• Do an extra chore without being asked. 
• Only drink water to become “thirsty for Jesus.” 
• Say an extra prayer like the Hail Mary or Our Father (especially good to say this prayer for a special intention). 
• Make a bowl of sacrifice ideas and pick one every day to perform. 
• Clean your room without being asked. 
• Help your parents the next time you see them cleaning. 
• Don’t complain about what is served for meals. 
• Give one of your siblings the choice of game or toy you are going to play with. 
• Serve younger children first at mealtimes. 
• Do a chore for someone else. 
• Let someone else choose the bedtime story. 
• Read a saint book (or two!) 
• Go to bed right away when you are told. 
• Say prayers every night for particular people – the Pope, friends, and family. 
• Add more family prayers – or learn a new prayer by heart by praying it at every lunchtime/every meal/every morning/every night (a great way to learn a Latin prayer or a song). 
• Kneel and say prayers after Mass. 
• Put your own money in the Poor Box. 
• Don’t push “snooze” when the alarm goes off in the morning! 
• Light a candle, pay for it yourself, and pray for someone. 
• Make a card for a sick person and mail it. 
• Go through your own toys and give some away to another child or to a thrift shop. 
• Everyone give away something nice to St. Vincent de Paul so that another child can have a Christmas gift. 
• Help your Mom cook dinner and clean up afterwards. 
• Gladly go to confession or to Mass when the time comes. 
• Go to daily Mass more – especially on feast days that are special to our family. 
• Say a prayer for your parish priest. 
• Instead of watching your favorite TV or video, do a job around your house. 
• Do your homework without being told. 
• Help a sibling. 
• Make a present for someone. 
• Help clean up after a meal. 
• Give cookies or small gift to someone that serves you (like your mailman). 
• The next time someone says something mean to you, say nothing in return. 
• Say a prayer for your family.
• Read a story to a sibling. 
• Tell your parents how much you appreciate all their work and love. 
• Call a grandparent or close relative who is lonely or who lives far away and tell them about your day. Pray for your deceased relatives. 
• Don’t yell for someone in the house to come to you, but instead go find them to talk to them quietly.

PTO Week at a Glance

Division

We've been working on division in 3rd Grade! Here's a recap of our division vocabulary.

We've learned to divide items equally in groups, but more importantly we've witnessed how our multiplication facts help us in division.

Here is a table much like our multiplication tables that might help with division. Hope it helps. Enjoy!

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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Busy Bag Donations!

We're Ready for Thanksgiving in 3A!

PTO Week at a Glance

$5 Jean Day on Thursday!

Bake Sale/Toy Drive

Thank You Veterans!

Called to Protect Permission Forms

Please return as soon as possible so we can begin next week

PTO Week at a Glance

Feathers for Food: Ends November 16th!

All of third grade is doing stellar job on their multiplication! We will begin to incorporate these facts into a fun memorization incentive beginning next week! Here are some tricks for memorizing some of the facts. Hope this helps for your test tomorrow and for our future incentive! :)

2× is just doubling the number. The same as adding the number to itself.

2×2=4, 2×3=6, 2×4=8, etc.

So the pattern is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

(And once you remember those, you also know 3×2, 4×2, 5×2, etc., right?)

 

5× has a pattern: 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. It ends in either 0 or 5.

9× has a pattern, too: 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81, 90

Now, notice how the "ones" place goes down: 9,8,7,6, ...? And at the same time, the "tens" place goes up: 1,2,3,...? Well, your hands can help!

Example: to multiply 9 by 8: hold your 8th finger down, and you can count "7" and "2" ... the answer is 72

10× is maybe the easiest of them all ... just put a zero after it. 10×2=20, 10×3=30, 10×4=40, etc.

11× is mostly easy: from 11×2 to 11×9 you just put the two digits together. 11×2=22, 11×3=33, ..., 11×9=99.

Congrats to Our Sweet Saints!

Here's a full page feature on our All Saints' Day Wax Museum! Thank you Midland Reporter Telegram!

 

Election Day!

How fortunate are we to live in a country where we have a say in who leads it! Hope all our parents and guardians go out and vote!

Find the Missing Factors

Here is a video that can help practice on finding missing factors. We are going to use strategies we've learned for multiplication memorization to find any factors that are missing. Hopefully this helps to prepare for your test on Wednesday!

Veteran's Day

Be sure to turn in your Veteran's Day information by November 8th! 😊

PTO Week at a Glance

MRT Pictures

So proud of our sweet Saints! Here is a link to the gallery of pictures that the Midland Reporter Telegram took!
All Saints Day Gallery

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!

Garden City Tomorrow!

Hey Families! Don't forget that tomorrow is our Field Trip to Garden City. The bus will start loading promptly at 8:15 a.m. so please make sure we are all here on time. We will return around 3:30 p.m. so please park in the lot across the street from the church since we will not make it back in time to start carpool. We will all walk over to get our backpacks and belongings and then you may take your child home. If your child is going to afterschool, we will walk them over and send them to their afterschool teacher when we have completed the trip. We're looking forward to learning about agriculture tomorrow!

November News!

Hearing and Vision Screenings

"Called to Protect" Parent Session

PTO Week at a Glance

Pep Rally!

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!

Planet Orbit

Hey kiddos! Click the link for a simple animation that shows approximately how the planets orbit the sun. Notice the difference of the time is takes to orbit as you move farther away from the sun.
Planet Orbit Animation

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, the best course of action is to NOT go 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.

Red Ribbon Week!

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.

PTO Week at a Glance

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. 

Early Release Days

Don't forget that Thursday and Friday are early release days for Parent/Teacher Conferences. Look forward to meeting with all the parents this week!

Two-fer Saint/Halloween Costumes !

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

Saint Report

Hello Families!
We had a great week in 3rd grade on our Saint Reports. We've ended the week with all students being able to utilize their resources to complete their rough draft. Our goal for this coming week is to finish and finalize the draft to prepare for writing the full report. We will edit and correct any mistakes that we see and prepare to write the final draft. We hope to complete the full report by early next week so that we may utilize the next few weeks before All Saint's Day to practice. By now, I hope you and your children are beginning to think about how you might want to do your costume. Remember: Costumes do not have to be expensive or elaborate, just an appropriate depiction of the Saint's typical outfit. If you refer to the resource section, I will include some good websites for research and also some useful sites that show how some Saint costumes have been made. I will also include a few pictures of our students' costumes from years past. Thank you for all of your help with this project! We're having a lot of fun learning more about the Super Heroes of our faith! Good Luck!

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

Problem Solving Strategies

Hey everyone! Here are some tips on problem solving in math. Hopefully it is helpful with tonight's homework and any in the future. Enjoy!

Parent Teacher Conferences

I'm looking forward to meeting with all of you for Parent/Teacher Conferences. This is a great time to discuss the strengths of your child as well as set goals for the future A 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 October 20th and 21st. Thanks everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all.

PTO Week at a Glance

Shurley Parent Guide

Hey families! As we continue classifying sentences, I wanted to provide parents with a help guide that might clarify how the Shurley English program teaches and also how parents can assist their child at home. The link provided below will direct you to open a PDF file that displays the booklet. Hope this helps!
Link:Shurley Parent Help Guide

Regrouping Twice with Subtraction

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.

Box Tops "Battle of the Grades!"

Keep bringing in those Box Tops! Contest ends on Friday!