Moore News

An Exciting Week Ahead

Congrats to Kaitlyn and Nuna!  They were elected ,by their classmates, to represent our class in the Student Council.  The election fit in perfectly for our social studies democracy study.  I love it when things like that happen.

Our class earned popcorn on Friday for our excellent lunchroom behavior.  Way to go kids.

We were also the only class, in the whole school, to have 100% participation on Spirit Day!  Great Job!

We are still collecting boxtops.  Don't forget to snip and send them in!

Thank you Minor girls for your company, laughs and cleaning as we close down every Friday.  What a nice way to end my week.

Thanks to Mrs. Hamel for our beautiful Fall decorations.  The students enjoyed helping put up fall leaves in our classroom.

Thank you Mrs. Pietsch for the stories on Friday.  The student really seeing their parents coming in their classroom.  The stories were great too!

Thank you Mrs. Wood for copying for us on Thursday.  You really help our classroom run smoothly.

Please make sure that your child comes to school with their weather data.  We will be going to the computer lab on Monday to make a graph of the temperatures around the United States. 

In computer lab we will also be generating a "Fall Word Cloud".

This week in math, we will be studying math addition and subtraction properties.  This is a study of Chapter 3.  I give a pretest.  If a student makes an "E" on the pretest their grade stands and they will be in an extension group for that chapter.  If they do not earn an "E" then they will be in a group that is taught the skills in the chapter.

Timed math is working as I had 2 students who went to the skill of multiplication last week.  This means they mastered both addition and subtraction.  The majority of students are right behind these two.  Way to go kids!!!

Fact buddies will be on Tuesday of this week but not Thursday due to CoGat testing.  The students are working well with their fifth grade mentors and all seem to be benefiting from this relationship.

We will have Spelling this week, Unit 5.  I have reduced the number of words on the word search and have given the students more in class time to work on them.  I understand that the word search of giving the kids fits.  Sorry, I hope this helps.

Three students have earned their 8 points for AR already.  Please do not let the AR deadline creep up on you.  October the 15th is the deadline.

Reading journals are working out well.  The students are reading and responding every night.  This is what makes a great reader.

I will need someone to hang papers on Thursday.  We will take down the newspapers and put up the weather graphs and Fall word clouds.  Let me know if you want to help.

Dates to Remember:

Monday: computer lab 1:10

Tuesday: Early Release

Wednesday: CoGat Testing

Thursday: CoGat Testing/Spelling Test/Progress Reports Go Home

Friday: CoGat Testing/Book Buddies

Patrick is our "Super Hero of The Week".  Mitch will be next week.

Secret Word is: caravan

Second Week of School

We had great week last week and our year is off to a great start!

Please, please mark your calendar for next Thursday 6:30 for Open House.  This is where you get the "411" on your child's classroom.  You find out expectations and generally how the school year will be organized.

Science: Last we week we studied the concept of the scientific method and scientific inquiry.  We conducted an experiment on "bubbles" and put our observation skills and writing skills to the test.  It was a good lesson, the students enjoyed blowing a few bubbles after the experiment as well as explore a website about bubbles. 

Rock and Minerals will begin on Monday.  We will learn that rocks are made of minerals.  Rocks and minerals have different physical attributes and how the environment over time. (S3E1a,S3e1b these are the Cobb County Standards associated with the unit)

Math: Timed tests of all computations were conducted and each student will be working on their own level, depending on their scores.  The students are to master all four operations basic facts by the end of third grade (addition, subtraction,multiplication and division facts).

Place value to the ten thousands and elapsed time Will be our first unit.  We completed per-tests for Chapter 1 and will have assignments on their level.

Response to Literature is our first study in literature.  We are reading Roald Dahl, Danny Champion of The World aloud and will be completing exercises related to the book in class.  I am still conducting reading survey to find each child's level.  When completed they will be involved in guided reading groups.

We will also be studying Traditional Literature and how to read and comprehend folktales.

I hope we all have another great week.  I hope to see you all this Thursday at 6:30 for Open House.  Friday is Spirit Day, please have your child wear a GM t-shirt if they have it.  As always my door is open, if you have questions please feel free to ask.

A Few Reminders

We are having ice cream sundaes tomorrow, Friday, with our Book Buddies, Mrs. Gabriel's Class.  I sent volunteer items home with the students.  8:30 and ice cream should be very interesting.

Memory Afternoon:

We are having "Memory afternoon from 12-2 tomorrow.  I will give out yearbooks to those who bought them.  They have 25 extra yearbooks that will be on sale at the school store if you did not purchase one.  You may send money with your child.  I will give them time to sign each others book.  I also told them that they could wear their shirts again tomorrow and let their classmates sign it.  Sorry moms but we were supposed to do that today.

We are also completing an art activity to leave for the upcoming 3rd graders and a letter as well.  Posters will be made for Mrs. Wilson's surprise party on Monday.  Tomorrow will be a very busy day.

Monday 8:15-9:00 3rd grade Writer's Tea

Come and enjoy reading all the writing your child has done this year.

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail or ask.

Important Updates March 20th

Dear Parents,

I hope several of you enjoyed a tasty burger at Backyard Burger tonight from 5-6.  10% of the profits will go to Garrison Mill.

Picture Day is tomorrow and class pictures will be taken also.  We don't have pictures until 11:40 so I will do my best to preserve them until picture time.

We are collecting canned goods for Must Ministries this week.  The Student Council is the force behind this important service project.  Look through your pantry and see what we can come up with to help others.  I like to call it , "pantry diving."

HABITAT POSTER DATE CHANGED:  I FORGOT THAT MANY OF US WOULD BE CELEBRATING EASTER AND HAVE EVENTS PLANNED.  I BELIEVE IN FAMILIES AND WANTED TO CHANGE THE HABITAT POSTER DATE TO FRIDAY MARCH 28TH.  I AM SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.  I WANT TO LINK THE RUBRIC BUT CAN'T DO THAT FROM HOME.  I WILL TRY TO LINK IT BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

Additional Info

The students worked beautifully today.  Perhaps they were tired from the time change but they had a great day.

Reading logs are due on Friday, March 14th.  Every student was required to read 490 pages.  Most of them have already reached this goal. I appreciate all support that you have provided to help each child reach this goal.  I have seen a huge improvement in reading since the beginning of the year.  Way to go!! 

The Atlanta Percussion Trio will perform for the children at 8:15 tomorrow morning.  This should be treat for us all.

The Chattahoochee Nature Center will  be in our classroom tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.  This will be our last trip from the CNC.  These in-school field trips have been so valuable for the students.  The instructors are well prepared and informed.  Many times they bring a live animal with them for the children to see and touch. 

Bingo Night is this Friday at 6:30 right here at Garrison Mill.  It should be a fun time for all.

I hope everyone has a great week and I as always let me know if you have questions.

Great Week!

Dear Parents,

The student's hero papers were awesome.  There was a glitch on Friday and the computers were not charged up.  So I decided to let, students who wanted to, read their paper.  I was in tears by the end.  The papers were well written, honest and from the heart.  What a pleasure to know that so many real live heroes still exists.  By the end, I was so happy that the laptops were not charged.

Research papers were completed on Friday.  I can't believe it, what a journey the research process was.  First, learned to use the Cobb Virtual Library to access information.  Then, we set up a folder to help the students sort through information.  The next step was, to prepare the Inspirations web, a computer based program, to organize the facts.  When complete, the children could push one key and this program gave them their outline.  The final step was to put the outline in paragraph form.  As I was reading over them this weekend, I was so proud of each student and the effort they put in.  We will be hanging them in the hall as soon as all revisions are complete.

Our next writing standard is to teach persuasive writing.  We have drawn pictures for "Be Kind to Animals Week".  The students chose one of six topics to draw.  The art work they created were just beautiful.  The students will now go through the writing process to create a persuasive paper that coincides with their art work.  All of the writing will be done in class unless your child has been absent and needs to catch up.

I will be testing on Chapter 13 Monday morning and going right into Chapter 14 which also deals with division.  The students need to continue to work on their facts.  They are expected to complete 100 multiplication and division facts with 80% accuracy within a time limit of 7 minutes by the end of this year.  Fact buddies come to our classroom every Tuesday and Thursday morning at about 7:30 until 8:00.  Anybody can work with a fact buddy if they let me know they are interested.  I will also be sending home timed tests to practice at home if I feel it is warranted.

Spelling will continue this week as we learn skills from  Unit 24.  We will have a class Spelling Bee the 29th for our monthly activity.

Relay For Life Bake sale is Feb. 29th please help with this.  The third grade is to bake goods and package them into baggies that will sell Friday morning for 50 cents each.  I can't wait to see what all of you come up with.  Thank you in advance for your participation.

Science continues to be Georgia Habitats and is a fun unit to learn about.  We will be making a book this week about Georgia regions.

Please continue to do the CRCT practice tests at home.  The practice will really make the children more comfortable come test time.

If you have not subscribed to my blog please do so now to insure you will get all updates that are sent out.  I get many questions that are answered in my blog.  Let me know if you need instructions on how to do this.

As always have a wonderful week and the secret word is "Piedmont Region".

February News

We would like to acknowledge Zach for his runner-up (2nd place out of all the posters) in our Anti-Bullying Campaign efforts.  Way to go Zach, we are proud of you!

Box Top winners once again goes to Mrs. Moore's Class.  Way to go!  It is the little things that really get the students motivated.  Each child will get a coupon for a treat at lunch.  I do not know when they will give it to us but I will give it to the students when they come to me.  GOOD JOB and keep saving those boxtops.

This week is very short with much to do.  Today, which is Wednesday, is grammar/language Arts review and Math Chapter 12 day.  The children are doing a great job with spelling but are still having difficulty with grammar and language skills.  We will be hitting it hard this week.

Thursday and Friday we will be finishing up the research papers.  If your child is doing a Power point presentation to go with their report they need to bring in a flash drive.  Thanks to those who have brought them in.  This is not a requirement but an extension of the research paper if the student feels they are ready to tackle this.

This Friday we will have laptops in our classroom all day so we will be finished with the research papers by the end of the day on Friday.

Dates to remember:

Feb. 21st:  6 hr. Reading logs has been extended to tomorrow AM at the latest.   This is an expectation for all my students and a free ticket to 6-Flags as well.

Feb. 21st: Chick Fil A Spirit Night, check the PAWS newsletter for the time.

Feb. 22nd Hero papers are due.  This is the homework for tonight and tomorrow night.  Please send the essays in with a picture and a signed entry form.  You may help your child type.  NO EDITING BY MOMMY AND DADDY PLEASE!!!!!.  I know this is late going out and I apologize in advance but I feel each is capable and can complete this assignment in 2 nights.  Thanks in advance for your support.

Feb 29th: The 3rd grade's turn to supply baked good for the Relay For Life Bake Sale.  Please send your baked goods in baggies that will sell for 50 cents.

Feb 29th: is also the Class Spelling Bee.  Remember to be practicing the Sitton Spelling Words from units 1 through unit 24.

The very secret word for this week is "prefix"

February

I can't believe that February is almost over.  I have not returned to school but I am assuming the children were fine in my absence.  They will present their book covers tomorrow and through the week.  I hope they really thought about this assignment and did a good job.  I will be giving their maps back by Wednesday with suggestions and a grade.  They all did a wonderful job.  There is no long term project this week due to Valentine's Day and President's Day.

This week will be busy as we finish Chapter 13 on Tuesday and have a math test on Wednesday.  The students who really know their facts are finding these chapters less difficult.  Keep working on multiplication and division facts at home.  We will also be finishing up an exemplar (problem solving) this week. On Valentine's Day we will have a multiplication and division Bingo so have them practice their facts.

We should be almost finished with our informational reports by the end of this week.  They are doing a fantastic job with technology and research skills.  I can't wait to see their final projects.

Our next writing project will a persuasive paper on "Be Kind to Animals."

High Touch High Tech will come to our room tomorrow for a lesson on Magnets.  This will finish our magnet unit.

We are performing a Reader's Theater play "Yankee Doodle" in honor of President's Day.  We will do the class play on Friday but it will be just us this time.  Each student will have a copy of the play with their lines highlighted.  They are to practice at home.

Valentine's Day will be special as we will pass out valentine's to our classmates.  We will also make a valentine for our book buddies and a special one for home.  I will read Junie B. Jones and The Mushy Gushy Valentine this week for read aloud.

Unit 22 is the unit for this week and a Spelling Bee from our previously learned words will be the last day in February.

A few dates to remember are:

Feb. 11th-High Touch High Tech

Feb. 14th Progress Reports go home

Feb. 18th-19th No School

I hope everybody has a wonderful week and that is filled with lots of kindness!

The word to earn 3 stickers is "Kindness"

What a Great Week

Dear Parents,

Your children were so awesome this past week.  In math,  we are finishing up Chapter 11, introduction to division, on Tuesday.  We are moving right along in math.  Please allow your child time to complete their math page and practice math facts every night.  It is essential that they can readily remember multiplication fact and division facts.  I have incorporated many thinking skills within the math.  The students are doing a beautiful job with this.

Reading logs are due EVERY MONDAY.  PLEASE make sure that your child is reading every night at least 25 minutes.  The due date for the 420 pages is MARCH 14TH.  It is helpful if the students keep a running account of total pages.  This will help with time management. 

We began our magnet unit this past week.  We conducted a magnet lab to see which objects were magnetic.  During a Promethean Board activity we also review the facts we learned in our lab.  To further expand our knowledge, we watch Bill Nye's Magnet video. 

Be Kind to Animal Week Art Contest parent permission slips, they are green, went home on Friday.  We will be writing our persuasive papers about being kind to animals and then we will submit our art to the Humane society to be judge.  This contest is in Hall County, Gainesville, Georgia.  We will just send them off and they send us a ribbon and a certificate of participation.  The lady I spoke with asked if she could come pick up the art work and bring PUPPIES.  I will let you know what Mrs. Wilson says about this.  I am all for it if the kids would like it.

We are starting State reports next week.  We will do a class report on Georgia and then each student will select a state to report on.  This is an in class assignment as I need to take them through the process.  It is a new skill for most of them.  There will be a technology component to each report and Mrs. Schullman has assured me that we can post them on our blog so you all can see our wonderful creations.

We are reading Chaorlotte's Web whole group and working on comprehension, vocabulary and I am modeling fluency in oral reading.  They will have a little quiz as we finish this up.  What a wonderful book.  This book also counts towards their reading log.

I will see you all next week for conferences.  Please remember that the children get out of school at 12:15 next Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., and Monday.  Please be prompt for your conference as 20 minutes is not long.  I also have a schedule to keep so be try to have your questions written down or prepared ahead of time.  If you need additional information from me then we can reschedule for another time.

A HUGE thanks goes out to all the parents who have helped in the room so far.  We will be setting up a Parent Reader schedule shortly.  Thank you to MRS> Cook, who we call our angel" for making copies every Thursday.  It makes a big difference. THANK YOU!

I will see you all on Tuesday or sometime during the week.  Have a great weekend.

Here is a virtual snowman sight if you would like to build a snowman indoors.  Remember you will be leaving Garrison Mill website when you click on the link.

http://www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/online/virtual_snowman/

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!! REMEMBER TO TAKE PICTURES OF ANY SNOWMEN OR PEOPLE THAT YOU MAKE!!

Let it snow!!!!!!!!

   Dear parents,

   I had a feeling that it might snow.  I don't know if we will have school tomorrow.  Today we read a book about snow people and all the various items that you could use for a snowman.  Then we wrote "Directions For Making the Perfect Snowman".  In keeping with our writing assignment.  Please take a picture of any snowman that you make.  We can print the pictures and display them with the ones we drew in class today.  If we are snowed in tomorrow, please read when you come in for a break.  Here is a link to make a snowflake.  You will be leaving the school website when you click the link.  Have fun and perhaps I will see you all in the morning.

http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/