Phases of the Moon

Here's a quick animation that demonstrates the phases of the moon in motion. Hope it helps prepare you for your upcoming test. Don't forget to study your review and look through lessons 1-9.

Short Season Ends: Friday, September 30th

PTO Week at a Glance

MCT Outreach

We are so excited to welcome back the Midland Community Theater Outreach Program to St. Ann's. Each week, Midland Community Theater will come to work with our Third Graders from 10:30 - 11:30. There will be one session each week for four weeks beginning on September 29th. The students get to learn about pantomime, stage and acting terms, speech projection, and the performing arts in general. What a wonderful way to prepare for our Saint Wax Museum coming up. We will start tomorrow and meet each Wednesday for the three weeks thereafter. Hopefully your children come home with some great knowledge about theater!

Saint Study!

Hello Families! 
In your Tuesday Folder tomorrow, you and your child will receive a packet about our Saint Study Project that we will be working on over the course of the next several weeks. Please review this information carefully with your child. It outlines what should be expected over the next month while we construct our reports in class and practice for our presentations. The most important thing you can do at home is to research the list of Saints that are given and choose some that your child might be interested in doing. Please return this form no later than Friday, September 30th. If your child has no preference as to which Saint they research, they do not need to return the list of Saints to class and we will choose one for them. Your child will be given their Saint by the end of the day on September 30th. Please take time to look up some information about their Saint so they will be prepared to work on it in class. We are so excited for this project. It is one of the most exciting things we do all year. If you would like to look at some places to research Saints, or look at some examples of costumes, please refer to the Resources section. Thank you so much! I am looking forward to working on this project with your children.

Picture Day: October 5th

Please Remember to be in Mass Uniform on both Thursday and Friday on October 5th and 6th.

Regrouping with Addition

Hey kiddos. Here's a link to a video that reteaches regrouping twice when adding. If you want some extra instruction and practice. Hope it helps! 
Regrouping Twice with Addition

Friday and Fair Day Reminders!

Interested in Honor Choir?

Don't forget to turn in your sign up forms as soon as possible! Can't wait to hear our angelic 3rd grade voices in the Honor Choir!

PTO Week at a Glance

Friday Fun!

Hello Parents!

I just wanted to give you details about Friday's event for your children. As stated in an earlier post and addressed in the Tuesday Folder, all St. Ann's students are invited to ride the carnival rides free of charge tomorrow from 10:30-11:30. I just wanted to go over a few things that will make this a safe and fun event for your child!

• To participate in Friday's event, permission forms must be turned in by Friday morning. We are not allowed to let the children ride the carnival rides without your signed consent. Please make sure this is turned back into school as soon as possible.
• Friday is an early dismissal day in order to prepare the school grounds for the fair. All students must be picked up for a 12:30 release. There will be no After School Care provided on this day.
• You are welcome to come watch Friday's activity, but you MUST sign in at the office before andm heading to the field and get a Yellow Visitor's Tag. The school staff will only be able to identify you as a member of the St. Ann's Community if you are wearing a St. Ann's uniform or Yellow Visitor's Tag. 
• On that note, ALL students MUST be in a St. Ann's Mass Uniform Friday. This is a safety issue so that all teachers can keep track of the St. Ann's students as well as allow the carnival operators to identify your child as a St. Ann's student. No "Out of Uniform" passes may be used on Friday.
• If you would like to take your child home after the conclusion of the rides, that is fine. We just ask that you meet at our meeting place (the benches in front of the gym) to sign them out with the teacher. After you check with the teacher, you may get their items from the classroom and sign them out in the office. No student is allowed to leave school property early without signing out with the teacher and the office. This is very important to ensure their safety.
• If your child is planning to go home with another family on Friday, that is fine as well. We just need a note from you stating that they have permission to go home with another party. Please state your child's name, your name, and who they are to go home with on the note and sign it.
• Lastly, Friday's event is a wonderful tradition that we have had the privilege of participating in for many years. We are invited to do this repeatedly each year, which is a wonderful honor. On this note, we expect all students to be kind and respectful to the workers, visitors, staff, and students. Please remind your child to use manners ("Please and Thank You") with the carnival staff. If we see any behavior that we feel is harmful to others or may hinder the fun for other students, they will be asked to sit in the office for the event. We want each and every participant to enjoy Friday's activity! :)

Thank you families for all you do! I'm looking forward to seeing you Friday or at the fair on Saturday! Have a great day!

Dismissal in Front this Week

Don't forget! Due to Fair Construction, A-L families will move to the front of the school for dismissal this week. To accommodate a larger group of students dismissing at the same location, we will begin carpool early at 2:45pm from Monday-Thursday. Carpool on Friday will begin at 12:30pm for Early Release. If you have any questions, please refer to the lavender flyer that went home in Tuesday Folder this past week, or call the office at (432) 684-4563. Thanks parents!

Jean Day: Wednesday, Sept. 21st

Testing Over! Hot Dog Day and Fair Construction!

We have officially finished testing! The kids did very well. I want to thank all parents for their efforts in preparing your children for this week. I really appreciate it. 

Now that testing is over, we have Hot Dog Day to look forward to tomorrow. Your child may wear any Fair T-shirt with Jeans or uniform shorts and their regular uniform shoes. Our lunch time is a little later on Hot Dog Days so we will meet for lunch at 11:50 a.m. in the gym. We would love for you to join us for lunch is you are able. Look forward to seeing you!

Construction will begin this weekend in preparation for the 68th St. Ann's Family Fair, which will take place on Saturday, September 24th. Our carpool procedures will change next week to accommodate the construction, so therefore all families with the last name ending in A-L will join all students in the front of the school instead of the blacktop and we will begin carpool pickup earlier at 2:45 p.m. If you have any more questions regarding this, please call the school office at (432) 684-4563 and they will be happy to assist you. 

As many of you are aware, Friday, September 23rd will be an early dismissal day to prepare for the fair. The students will attend mass in the morning and then are able to ride the carnival rides free of charge. I will post further information regarding this next week, but if you would like your child to participate in the carnival rides, it is imperative that you sign and return a permission form that will go home in this coming week's Tuesday folder. We will remain on school grounds, however we need to have parental consent for your children to ride. Teachers and staff will supervise the students and you are more than welcome to join us as long as you have a visitors pass. Check back here next week for details on times and procedures for this fun event!

Lastly, the fair is a wonderful fundraiser for the school. It is a fantastic event with great food and fun! I hope to see you all there on the 24th. If you are interested in helping with this important fundraiser, please contact the church office for a list of available booths to volunteer. There are opportunities for children and adults to help. Also, the fair construction committee can always use volunteers for set-up before and tear down after.

Thank you again for all that you do! I am thoroughly enjoying this year with you and your children! Have a wonderful day and God bless!

Discounted Fun Fair Tickets

Hey Families! Fun Fair Tickets for the 68th Family Fair will be on sale at a discounted rate at Hot Dog Day. The normal cost is $0.75 per ticket, but St. Ann's families can purchase tickets on September 16th at Hot Dog Day anytime between 10:45am - 1:00pm for $0.50 a ticket.
Tickets will also be discounted the week of September 19th through 23rd if you pirchase through the Church or School Office.
Look forward to seeing you at Hot Dog Day!

PTO Week At A Glance

Testing Begins Tomorrow!

Testing begins tomorrow! Please remember to get a good night's sleep, a hearty breakfast, and be on time. We begin our tests immediately after morning routine and annoucements.

Why Estimate?

Estimation is a Skill for Life

As you walk around and live your life, imagine if you could easily estimate: 

• how much a bill will be
• which item is the best value for money
• the size, areas and angles of things

Also, it would be great if you could quickly guess how many people are in a room, how many cars in the street, how many boxes on the shelf, or even how many seagulls on the beach?

We are not talking exact answers here, but answers that are good enough for your life. 

Exact vs. Estimate:

Estimation is ...

... finding a number that is close enough to the right answer.

You are not trying to get the exact right answer
What you want is something that is good enough (usually in a hurry!)

Why Estimate?

1. Estimation can save you money. Always do a quick estimation of how much you should pay:
Example: you want to buy five magazines that cost $1.95 each. When you go to buy them the cost is $12.25. Is that right?

"five at $1.95 each is about 5 times 2, or about $10"

$12.25 seems too much!
Ask to have the total checked.

2. Estimation can save you time (when the calculation does not have to be exact):
Example: you want to plant a row of flowers. The row is 58.3cm long. The plants should be 6cm apart. How many do you need?

"58.3 is nearly 60, and 60 divided by 6 is 10,
so 10 plants should be enough."

3. Estimation can save you from making mistakes with your calculator:
Example: you are calculating 107 times 56, and the calculator shows this:

952.00 Is that right?

"107 times 56 is a bit more more than 100 times 50, which is 5,000"

 Ooops! you must have typed something wrong ...
... in fact you pressed 17×56 (you left out the zero), and without estimating you could have made a really big mistake!

      
4. Estimation helps you focus on what is really going on. It is Fun, and Good for your Brain.
It is actually good fun to do estimating because it keeps your mind active. As you walk around see how good you are at estimating answers before they come up.

• At the supermarket try to add up everything yourself, and then compare it to the final bill
• Estimate how long it will take you to get home
• When shopping, see which is the better bargain by estimating the price per quantity
• and so on!

Example: You are making invitation cards. It took you 3 minutes and 20 seconds to make one card, but you need to do 15 more ... how long will it take? Think:

"... it took a little more than 3 minutes for one card, and 3 × 15 is 45...

... add a bit more ... maybe 50 minutes and I will be done."

And then see how close your estimate was when you finish.

Wanna Practice?

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/round/mathman_round_addition.htm

Midterm

Our first midterm of the year has arrived. I average all the students' grades up to the midterm, and determine their progress. If I feel your child could use improvement on any areas, a progress report will be sent home by the end of next week that indicates their current grade in the subject and helpful tips on how to improve. I will also be emailing a current report of each of your child's grades today. As I am sitll learning how the RenWeb program works, please let me know if you do not receive one. I want to be sure it is working properly and that you know the status of your child's averages. As a reminder, if you are interested in knowing your child's average at any time, I can provide it for you. Just let me know through email, phone or conference, or you can always access RenWeb to check at any time.

Thank you again for all your help and support! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Adjective Notes

Adjectives and Adverb Practice

We are focusing on identifying adjectives and adverbs in sentences this week. Here are a couple of games that might help your child practice:

• Grammar Blast! (Adjective/Adverb)
• Adverb Game
• Adjective/Adverb Trail Game
• Adjective/Adverb Millionaire

Adverb Notes

Testing Next Week

Next week is Testing Week. I am attaching a schedule so that you may see when your child will be testing. Here at St. Ann's we take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. This test is actually quite different from tests you will see at most schools. It might seem strange to be testing in September, however the reason we do this is to actually help identify the best ways to help your child throughout the year. Your child should feel no pressure about this test, however we do want them to do their best in order to assess them properly, which allows you and the teachers to get the best reading of their strengths and weaknesses. The best way to prepare your child for testing week is to simply allow them to have plenty of sleep, get a good breakfast, and arrive on time. It is especially important to be on time during this week so they do not miss any tests. You should also expect your child to have no homework during testing week in order to rest and have a fresh mind. We will test Tuesday through Thursday.

Some have asked about bringing a snack to school during testing. A healthy snack can often bring an energy boost and help your child concentrate. Your child may bring a small snack for testing this week if they wish. Keep in mind that we only have about 10 minute breaks that also include using the restroom if necessary, so snacks should be very simple. Some good choices are dried fruits or apple slices. Any snack packed with protein is a great option too, like cheese cubes or string cheese, but please keep the peanuts, peanut butter, and any kind of nuts at home as we do have students with allergies. Pretzels, goldfish, and crackers are good options as well. Really any snack that is healthy and easy to eat quickly will be good for breaks. It is not necessary that you bring a snack. We will provide plenty of breaks and our lunchtime will be the same as normal.

I hope this helps in preparing your child for testing, but the best way to get ready is to get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast, arrive on time, and above all else...RELAX. The purpose of testing is to help the teachers learn how to educate your child the best way we can, so please remind them that they should feel no pressure, but to simply do their best work. Thanks so much for all of your help!

Happy Labor Day!

No School Monday!

In observation of Labor Day, we will not have school on Monday! Enjoy your long weekend and we'll see you Tuesday!!!

Pizza Day Tomorrow!

Don't forget that Pizza Day is tomorrow! The students should still be in mass uniforms and we will have lunch at our normal time, but we will have PIZZA for lunch!

September News!