I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with their families!! I look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday, January 6!

When we return, we will continue practicing math multiplication and division facts, and begin using them to solve story problems. We will continue our social studies study of landforms and major U.S. rivers and mountains. As always, we will be practicing reading and writing skills all day, every day, in every subject.

Please watch the weather forecast daily, and dress your child accordingly. We will go outside unless it is raining, or below 40 degrees (per Cobb County). Layers are always a good idea, as our classroom temperature tends to be very warm!

Conference Week is January 26-January 30. Second Quarter report cards will be given to you during your conference, or sent home at the end of that week if you are unavailable to come in for a conference. I will be scheduling these the week we return to school. If you have days or times that you prefer, conflict with your schedule, or if you prefer a telephone conference, please let me know. 

January
6	First Day of School in 2009...Welcome Back!
	Heroes Essay Contest Begins
9	Spirit Day - Wear Your GM Shirt
	Relay for Life Hat Day
15	Target Parent Orientation 6 PM Media Ctr.
19	Martin Luther King Holiday - NO SCHOOL
22	Munch & Learn 10 AM
	Talent Show Auditions (4th & 5th grades)
	100th Day of School
23	School Dance 6:30-8:30 PM
26-30	Conference Week  12:20 PM Dismissal all week
27	County Reflections Reception

It is really looking and feeling like fall now! Please layer your children with sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, etc. We do go outside every day (unless it's raining), and our class  has P.E. at 9:30 A.M. Please watch the weather predictions nightly as temperatures can "dive and resurface" at any moment. If you don't like the weather here in Georgia... just wait a minute, and it will change!!

In math we have completed our study of subtraction with regrouping. Everyone worked hard and did well! We are now learning to read schedules and find elapsed time. Please review "telling time" with your child as we go through this chapter. Also, please continue to help your child MEMORIZE addition and subtraction facts if they haven't already. Multiplication and division are coming soon!

We are completing our social studies communities/roots of democracy/Mary McLeod Bethune unit, and the test is planned for Thursday, October 30. Please help your child review the material a little each night.

Red Ribbon Week is next week in Cobb County Schools, and we will be discussing drug and alcohol information during health. Please ask your child about these discussions, so it opens the door of communication for this topic. An information sheet was sent in Thursday Folders today outlining Garrison Mill's plan for the week. We will also be writing that information in our agenda.

Please continue to encourage your child to read books and record them on the reading log found in the back of the agenda. Remember that every third grader is to have 9 new AR points or book summaries by Winter Holidays.

Some important dates to remember:

Oct
20-24	National School Bus Safety Week
24	Bus Driver Appreciation Day
25	Foundation Pancake Breakfast & Raffle 7-11 AM
27-30	Red Ribbon Week
27	Reading Night 6-8 PM
	Square One Art
30	Student Mock Election
Nov
4	Election Day - Student Holiday
6	6:30 PTA Meeting/3rd Grade Performance
7	Spirit Day
8	Foundation - Adult Gala
11	Veteran's Day
12	Giving Tree begins
14	Picture Day - Retakes
17-21	Book Fair - Open until 6 PM
17	Relay For Life Dessert Auction
19	Grandparents Luncheon - K & 3rd
20	Grandparents Luncheon - 1st & 4th
21	Grandparents Luncheon - 2nd & 5th
24-28	Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL Have a wonderful weekend!

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL $22*
Nov. 1st price increast to $25*

On-line ordering available at:  http://www.myyear.com
*Note:  cost includes taxes.  Does not include 1x $1.75 processing fee per transaction, multiple items per order allowed.  Be sure to print & keep your confirmation for proof of payment.

ORDER FORMS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE CREDENZA OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE.

Autumn arrives, and it is my very favorite season of the year!! The weather cools off, leaves begin to change, and college football is fierce! (Thank goodness UGA has the week off to regroup!! Maybe Tennessee will let us out of the "doghouse!")

Your children did a great job with CoGAT and ITBS test taking. It was their first experience with reading questions in a book and "bubbling" answers on an answer sheet. Day 1-challenging. Day 7-experts!

We are back to a normal schedule with lots of academic standards in place. In math we continue to practice addition and subtraction facts, while applying them in 3-4 digit problems with and without regrouping, as well as word problems. Thinking  "why" and "how" is constantly being practiced.

In social studies we will be discussing communities, choosing leaders, and the Greek influence on democracy. We will also be learning about Mary McLeod Bethune and her contribution to American History.

Several great sites are loaded on Garrison Mill's web site. On the left side of the site, click on "Web Links." Then click on "3rd" for third grade links. Your child can practice spelling words if you click on Sitton Spelling and choose the unit we are studying. (This week is unit 6.) There are word searches, matching games, crosswords, etc. that will help your child with spelling. There are great sites under subject areas as well!

Dates to Remember:

Oct
1	Hearing & Vision Screening -1st/4th/New
3	Spirit Day/Silly Socks & Sneakers Day
	Fall Festival and Fun Run 5-8 PM
6-10	Fire Prevention Week
7	Sally Foster Pick-Up 2-7 PM
14	Picture Day
15	Early Release Day - 12:20 dismissal
16	Report Cards
20-24	National School Bus Safety Week
22	Box Tops Due
23	Relay for Life Biscuit Sale
24	Bus Driver Appreciation Day
27-30	Red Ribbon Week
27	Reading Night 6-8 PM
	Square One Art

Our class is settling into September nicely! We are adding more academic standards to our daily schedule which involves more focus, responsibility, and studying. Everyone is showing great progress!    Mrs. Schwenker and I are proud of our class!!

We have finished our introduction to map and globe skills in social studies, and we will revisit those standards throughout the year!

In science, Mrs. Swanson has begun an "Inquiry Skills" unit where our class conducted a bubble experiment. High Touch, High Tech also visited our class this week to introduce our class to rocks, minerals, and layers of the Earth. Volcano eruption was involved, and the students got to "dig for gems" and keep them! Thank you Parents for supporting this great in school field trip!

In small group reading, we are learning "literature circle" jobs, while increasing our vocabulary, making connections, summarizing, and visualizing information from a novel. Chocolate Fever and Sea Monsters Don't Ride Motorcycles are two of the books we are reading. We continue to practice editing and word choice in our writing.

In math we are completing our comparing numbers and estimation through the thousands chapter and will be testing next Tuesday. Again, these skills will be revisited throughout the year. Please help your child memorize addition and subtraction facts to help them be more successful with our math program.

Please continue to look at your child's agenda and encourage them to complete assignments or study for important tests. They should be reading at least 20 minutes each night and recording books read on the reading log in the back of the agenda.

We will be taking the CogAT test September 17-18 and the ITBS September 22-26. Please have your child come to school on time, in a calm frame of mind, and with an extra healthy snack.

Remember that Tuesday, September 16 is an Early Release Day (12:20).

Congratulations to Aubrie Migliorisi and Johnny Dow for being elected as our Student Council representatives! I know they will do a great job representing our class!

Enjoy your weekend...

GO DAWGS!!

Every Night   Read, Practice Math Facts, Read, Read

Aug. 26   Boy Scout Night

Aug. 28   Kindergarten & New Family Ice Cream Social   6:30 PM at GM

Sept. 5   Sally Foster Fund-raiser Ends

Sept. 8   Reading Night at GM   6:00-8:00 PM - Read books and take AR tests :)

Sept.13  GM Habitat Day

Sept 16  Early Release Day

We have a had a great start to our school year!! The students are settling in and getting used to our rules and routines. Please look for your child to bring an agenda home daily and  a folder on Thursdays containing completed assignments and school information.

In math we have taken some baseline data for our school computation goal and are reviewing place value to the ten thousands.

In writing, we have written news articles about our hero, favorite things, and a big event in our lives! They are displayed in the hallway and our students are very proud of them!

We are reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary while we review main idea and details.

We look forward to seeing you at our Open House on Thursday, August 21, following the 6:30 PTA meeting.