Ms. Todd

Dear Parents,

Each week I will be blogging your child's assignments for the week.  Children write their assignments in their homework planners each afternoon, but I will be sending assignments to you in advance in this format so that you know what to expect for the week.  Please note that I am asking children to share their assignment planners with you each day, and to obtain a parent signature showing that they've done so.  This is a great time for your children to be able to have a few minutes with you each day to talk about school and how their day went.

Before school begins, establish a consistent place and time for your child to complete homework.  Also, help your child to organize a routine of getting the completed homework into the home folder, and then into the backpack.  Homework should take between 15-30 minutes to complete.  If your child is having difficulty completing homework in a timely manner, please email me so that we can put together a plan to help him/her out.

Your children and I will also be having a conversation about getting outside each day to play, and to spend at least 15 minutes each day curled up with a good book.  Many parents find that reading is a good activity to end the day, just before bedtime.   

Tuesday Evening:

1. Bring art shirt
2. Parents complete and return packet of paperwork
3. Return Summer Reading Challenge
4. Bring items for poster
5. Return field trip permission and money
6. Parents sign homework planner

Wednesday Evening

1. Bring gym shoes
2. Complete Home Link 1.1
3. Parents sign homework planner

Thursday Evening: 

1. Complete Home Link 1.2
2. Complete as many addition problems as you can in 5 minutes!
3. Parents sign homework planner
4. Last call for field trip permission slips and money
   

 Enjoy your long weekend! 

Dear Parents,

            We have had a great first week.  Your children have had a chance to get to know each other a little better through the glamorous posters that they made about themselves.  We have talked extensively about the traits that make a good student, and they are staying focused on following the rules that will govern our classroom for the year.

It’s not too late to volunteer for our field trip to Maine Wildlife Park.  Drop me an email if you’d like to join us.

Sincerely,

Pru Todd     

Homework Week of 9/8/08

Monday Evening: 

1. Return Clipboard Games
2. Return Library books
3. Home Link 1.3
4. Parents sign homework planner

Tuesday Evening:

1. Home Link 1.4
2. Wednesday is Early Release Day
3. Parents sign homework planner

Wednesday Evening

1. Home Link 1.5
2. Field Trip to Maine Wildlife Park on Thursday.  Bring bag lunch.
3. Parents sign homework planner

Thursday Evening: 

1. No homework! 

Dear Parents,

We've had an unbelievably busy week and next week looks just as exciting!  Our field trip to Maine Wildlife Park was a huge success.  Many thanks to our parent volunteers.

For literacy next week, we will be concentrating on setting goals for literacy and math, plus a goal of a personal nature.  Shortly, you'll be receiving the booklet containing your child's hopes and dreams for the year.  You'll be asked for your input as to how you can help your child achieve his/her goals. 

We are fully immersed in Step Up to Writing.  Children learned to make "Power Plans" or organize their thoughts before they write.  Each child has a power plan for the topic "Fire Drills".  We learned how to write a good topic sentence that includes "who, when, where, and a number statement". Each student will be writing an essay on fire drills in the classroom in the coming week.  A writing assignment may be given during the week to finish writing a paragraph, to revise or to edit.

In science, we are learning about habitats and biomes.  Our concentration this week is on the deciduous forest.  The homework assignment for Monday night is to look for leaves, acorns and other "fallish" nature items.  We will be using these for some leaf rubbings and to decorate a fall picture.  

For social studies, we will have a brief review of early Native American life, and will be making a tipi village for our classroom.

Mrs. Glynn will be in our classroom each Wednesday from 9:00-9:30 to teach study skills and to help prepare children for the MEA tests that take place in the spring. 

All for now.

Sincerely,

Pru Todd

Monday Evening:

1.  Home Link 1.6

2.  Bring leaves, acorns, etc for fall picture.

3.  Return library books, clipboard games.

Tuesday Evening

1.  Home Link 1.7

2.  Read 15 minutes.

Wednesday Evening

1.  Home Link 1.8

2.  Read 15 minutes.

3.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday Evening

1.  Home Link 1.9

2.  Read 15 minutes.

3.  Bring mosaic challenges, recorder money. 

Dear Parents,

    Wow, have we learned a lot this week!  Our power plans and paragraphs about fire safety turned out great and are now in published form, complete with remarkable illustrations.  We have become experts about Native Americans and our tipi village is taking shape.

    Today your children are going to bring home their booklets of hopes and dreams.   Please add how you will help your child achieve his/her hopes and dreams, and return the booklet to school on Monday. We will be revisiting these goals frequently to mark our progress.

    Next week we will be continuing our study of biomes and habitats, and writing about the deciduous forest.  On Tuesday we will be taking a closer look at some owl pellets.  We are moving ahead on our timeline and taking a look at life in the Colonial Era, while reading a biography about Squanto. 

Monday
1.  Home Link 1.10

2.  Return library books and clipboard games.

Tuesday

1.  Home Link 1.11

Wednesday

1.  Home Link 1.12

2.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday

1.  Bring a favorite poem.

2.  Bring recorder, mosaic board.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Pru Todd 

Dear Parents,

Wow, we are headed into the first week of October!  Your children are doing a good job of settling into third grade routines.  They are trying hard to be good role models for the younger children at KES.  This Friday, each student from my classroom will be paired with a child in Mrs. Hayes' kindergarten class as a book buddy.  It will be a terrific learning experience for all parties involved!

In our classroom this week, we will be learning similes and metaphors through our study of poetry.  We'll be writing our own fall poems, complete with descriptive adjectives, and a simile or metaphor added for good measure.  In science, we have learned about the deciduous forest, taiga, and tundra biomes.  This week we will add grasslands to our list. Addition and subtraction will be our focus for Unit 2 in Everyday Math.

The three "must know" spelling words for this week are:  friend, because, September.

Just a reminder that Wednesday, October 1 is Early Release Day and Friday, October 3 is Picture Day.  Your gift wrap fundraising materials are due Monday, October 6.  Next week, the NWEA tests will be administered to your children.  Students will take them on the computers in the school lab.  We are scheduled to take the Reading test at 8:30 on Monday, October 6.  The Math portion of the test will be administered at 8:30 on Wednesday, October 8.  Please make sure your children arrive at school on time.  Also, please make sure they get a good night's sleep and that they have a filling breakfast before they leave the house.  We want everyone to be in tip-top test-taking condition!          

Homework

Monday: 

1.  Home Link 2.1

2.  Return library books, clipboards.

Tuesday:

1.  Home Link 2.2

2.  Bring recorder to try out for White Belt.

Wednesday:

1.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday:

1.  Home Link 2.3

2.  Study for spelling test

3.  Bring recorder/music, mosaic challenge. 

Enjoy your last few days of September!

Sincerely,

Pru Todd

"The best thing you can give children are good memories."

Dear Parents,

The air is getting crisp.  It's jacket weather again!  It might even be time to think about pulling out the mittens and hats for your children.

Our parent volunteer won't be able to make it in on Friday, October 10, for prize box. Encourage your children to keep reading and playing board games, and recording their times.  Prize box will resume on Friday, October 17.

If your children are still having trouble telling time, have them log onto Internet Workshop.  There are several fun games there, centered around the concept of telling time.

Just a reminder that we are taking the NWEA tests on Monday and Wednesday at 8:30 am.  Please be sure your child eats a good breakfast before arriving at school.  

Spelling Words this week:  want, mother,  father

 
Homework:

Monday:

1.  Home Link 2.4

2.  Return library books, clipboards

Tuesday

1.  Home Link 2.5

2.  Early release on Wed.

Wednesday

1.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday

1.  Home Link 2.6

2.  No prize box Friday.

3.  Bring recorder/music.

Remember that Monday, October 13 is a holiday and there is no school.  Have an excellent week!

Sincerely,

Pru Todd

KES Grade 3
  

Hello everyone!

I hope you had a terrific long weekend.  The weather sure was nice for this time of the year!

I will be sending November book orders home with your children on Thursday.  I will be sending in your orders shortly so that you will get them in time for the holidays.  If you would like to place the order and have them delivered to you rather than given to your children, just drop me a note with your order, letting me know to save them aside to give to you at conference time.

Speaking of conferences, I will be setting up conferences for Monday, November 24 and Tuesday, November 25.  I will be sending home the sign up sheets with your children on Thursday, so please look for them, fill them out, and return them to me as soon as possible.  I will be providing morning, afternoon, and evening conferences on both those days.

On Monday, October 20th, our class will have a guest speaker, Dave Carpenter, in the classroom to teach the children about maps and map-making. 

Finally, I am blogging the homework for 2 weeks.  I will not be in school from Friday, October 17 through Tuesday, October 21.  Because I won't be checking emails during that time, I will ask you to contact the office at 985-2383 with any changes in your child's schedule.   

Homework

Monday 10/13  No School

Spelling Words of the Week:  four, waste, something

1.  Return library books and clipboard games.

Tuesday 10/14

1.  Home Link 2.7

2.  Bring recorder to try out for recorder belt.

Wednesday 10/15 Early Release

1.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday 10/15

1.  Home Link 2.8

2.  Bring recorder, music and mosaic challenge.

Monday 10/20

Spelling Words this Week:  where, when, different

1.  Home Link 2.9

2.  Return library books and clipboard games.

Tuesday 10/21

1.  Math Practice Worksheet

2.  Bring recorder to try out for recorder belt.

Wednesday 10/22  Early Release

1.  Bring gym shoes.

Thursday 10/23

1.  Bring recorder, music, and mosaic challenge

Have a great week!

Sincerely,
Pru Todd

Dear Parents,

Our visit to the Brick Store Museum yesterday was fantastic!  The children got to see a collection of doll houses and they learned about the big fire of 1947.  The museum is a great place for the whole family to visit. 

Your children will be bringing their endangered animal research packets home today in order to finish taking notes over the weekend.  All children should include lots of detailed information for each of the five guiding questions.  The completed packets are to be returned on Monday, November 10. 

Here's what will be going on in the coming week!

Monday:

1.  New spelling words for the week:  with, were, picture

2.  Home Link 3.8

3.  Study for Government test on Friday.  (Study sheets went home today!) 

4.  Work on Endangered Animal Habitat Box:  Due December 5 

Tuesday:

No School- Veteran's Day

Wednesday:

Early Release Day

1.  Work on Endangered Animal Habitat Box:  Due December 5 

2.  Study for Government test on Thursday

3.  Bring gym shoes. 

Thursday:

1.  Work on Endangered Animal Habitat Box:  Due December 5

2.  Bring music, recorder, mosaics. 

3.  Study for spelling test.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Pru Todd