A rainy Friday - YUCK! Hopefully the sun will shine for the weekend!

We had lots going on this week... Here's some of what happened:

We had a our pictures taken on Monday and began our Personal Body Safety Unit on the same day.

Tuesday we had a wonderful time at Bye, Bye, Birdie - Thanks to Jim McCown and Jennifer Romer for going with us! Even though the play was long - the entire third grade did a great job watching and acting respectfully.

Wednesday we were fortunate to have Mr. Esko, our 5th grade Magnet teacher and resident collector of fossils, to give our class a virtual tour of Purse State Park where he has gathered thousands of fossils. Your child's thank you notes were given to him and he was so pleased about how excited they were!

Thursday - a big thank you to Jim McCown - he came in and helped our class and Mr. Clutz's class make our own fossils! They'll be coming home today! Very cool...

Now... on to next week:
We will have one more day of the Personal Body Safety Unit on Monday. Your child will be bringing home some papers we've done and some information - please go through this with your child.
Language Arts: We're continuing reading our novels. We'll be meeting in Literature Circles to discuss the chapters that have been read. Your child may need to read in the evening to reread or to catch up with the group - please listen while he/she reads and ask what is happening. This will help with comprehension of the story.
Math: We've been working with graphing and next week you'll be asked to give information for a data gathering homework. Your child will then decide which type of graph will work the best to display the data and then will independently create a graph with all parts that a graph needs.
Science: We're continuing with fossils and will begin talking about soil. We'll decide which soil is best for growing seeds... should be helpful for the gardeners!
Word Study - We'll be doing Latin roots for the next 2 weeks since they're both short. So, the words they get on the 29th, they'll get tested on April 9th.
Cursive - We're still plugging away at upper case letters - hopefully we'll be done soon so we can write something ALL in cursive!

Have a great weekend! Hope it dries up for everyone...
Mrs. Humerick

Wow! As I'm typing this it is such beautiful weather outside! I hope everyone gets to enjoy it this weekend! Even after MSA's we've been working hard to get ready for 4th grade. Here's what we'll be doing next week:

Language Arts: We've started our novels. Your child may be reading any of three novels. Ask them which one they're reading and what it's about! We've been discussing main idea this week.
Next week we'll be doing some Literature Circles where each child will have a job to complete and share in their group. Fun!

Word Study: We will not have word study words this week because of our Personal Body Safety Unit.

Math: We'll be doing some collecting of data and turning that into a graph. I'm also really pushing facts. After I see they're proficient with their addition ones, they will be practicing subtraction and then multiplication.

Science: We're almost done with erosion and weathering. Next is Fossils! This is always a favorite. The best part is going to Mr. Esko's 5th grade portable where he'll teach us everything he knows (believe me - it's A LOT!).

Tonight (Friday) is the Multicultural Fair.
Class picture Monday, March 22.
Personal Body Safety lessons begin on Monday.
Tuesday is our trip to Urbana High to see "Bye, Bye, Birdie".

That's it for now - get outside and enjoy this weather!
Mrs. Humerick

IT'S FRIDAY AND.... IT'S OVER!!!! I can't tell you how pleased I am with these kids! They kept at it and did the best they could! The worst part of the test is the waiting... but each and everyone held it together. Let them know how proud you are!

Next week:
Language Arts: We're starting our Novel unit. Each child will have a novel to read with different activities to do in school and at home. Most, if not all, of the reading will be done in the classroom, but, if they do need to bring a book home, please be sure it comes back the next day.

Word Study: We'll be working with Greek roots.

Math: We'll be continuing our work with multiplication/division facts. Our new unit is "Stories, Tables, and Graphs", so we'll be doing a lot of graphing and table making.

Cursive: We're almost finished all upper case letters. As soon as we're done your child will be required to do some of their tasks completely in cursive.

Science: We got to do a lot of science during the MSA's, which was fun. Next week we'll be learning about weathering and erosion.

ATTENTION:

• Thanks to Lauren's family for sending in baggies and pencils! We still need hand sanitizer, tissues, and small baggies.
• On March 23 we will be going to Urbana High School to see their production of "Bye, Bye, Birdie". We are starting a "Play" unit in the coming months, so this will be great! If you would like to chaperone, please let me know. Permission slips will be coming soon. We will leave UES at 9:10 and return around 12:45. We'll be eating lunch here when we get back.
• Multicultural Fair is March 19th - sounds like a wonderful time!
• March 22 - Class pictures.

Have a great weekend - my third graders certainly deserve it!

Mrs. Humerick

Well, Spirit Week is over and now it's time to get SERIOUS! The big test is next week...and we are ready! Monday and Tuesday mornings your child will be tested on Reading skills. Thursday and Friday mornings your child will be tested on Math skills. We have been doing practice MSA problems all year, but have really hit them hard the past few weeks. I keep telling the kids the hardest part is the sitting and waiting quietly!!

Please remind your child to read carefully, look at all the answers before choosing, and reread to check! Also, a good breakfast and plenty of rest is a must!

Other than test taking next week, we will be working on our "Rocks, Soil, and Fossils" unit and writing some Poetry for a national contest.

I really need to remind some parents to have their child here at school on time. If your child doesn't ride a bus, he/she really needs to be in the classroom between 8:30 and 8:50. Anything later makes them feel rushed. Thanks...

Classroom needs: hand sanitizer, baggies, and it seems every child has run out of good pencils with erasers! We will supply new pencils for the testing, but your child really needs a couple extra.

Please remember: 3/19 Multicultural Fair
3/22 Class Pictures

Have a wonderful weekend - I heard the sun will be shining!
Mrs. Humerick