Monday, January 30th is a teacher workday. Students do not have school. |
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Recent ActivityClass Announcements Game DayTomorrow (Weds 6/16) is game day in our classroom! Bring your favorite board game, electronic game (DS, ipod, etc.), or card game to share with the class!
Lunch MenuWed.............. Crispy chicken
Turkey Sub w/bacon
Pierogies
Thursday................ Cheeseburger
Hot dog
Morning star chic nugget
Friday......................Cheese pizza
Pep pizza
Chimichanga
Economic Mini MallSOL's are officially complete! Parents will receive student results in the mail sometime in the next few weeks. As you are aware, we will be having our mini-mall this Friday. Students should be collecting their goods to sell. They can bring them in Thursday or Friday. They also will need to bring in $5.00 in change with a cash box such as a shoe box. We are expecting about 15 classes so they should make around 50 to 80 if possible.
Field Trip Reminder!Please be at the school at 7:45am on Monday, June 7th. The buses will be parked on the road and everyone should find me by bus 1. Do NOT go into the school. We will leave at 8:00am without you so be sure to get there early! We will be back around 3ish, in time to be dismissed for buses. Backpacks are encouraged to hold lunches, cameras, cell phones, water bottles, etc. It might be hot and sunny so sunscreen is advised. Please be sure to wear your tye-dye t-shirt if possible! See you on Monday!
LAST CALL!!!Our classroom basket "Health/Fitness" is due tomorrow. Thank you to all those who have donated. We could still use more items dealing with health and fitness (healthy snack foods, equipment, games, attire, etc.) to add to our basket since we only have a few items. Giftcards/money are also great to add. Please be sure to send something in by tomorrow if you are able to. Thank you again!
Class BasketsThis is a reminder about our class basket for this year's fun fair! Our class basket is "Health/Fitness". So far we only have a few items donated (power bars, jump rope, biggest loser dvd, etc.). Please, if you have anything you'd like to donate that would be excellent! The baskets will be picked up mid-end of this week. Thank you!
SOL TESTINGJust a quick reminder of our testing days starting next week. Practice, practice, practice! It's the final stretch and what we've been working for all year!
SOL DATES: May 19 - History - PM (laptop lab) May 25 - Reading - AM (laptop lab) May 27 - Science - PM - (computer lab) June 3 - Math - AM (laptop lab) A great big THANK YOU!I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to all of my students and their families. It was a wonderful teacher appreaciation week. The fantastic parent support I've gotten from home all year, the involved families, and great students has made it very easy to learn and have fun this year. Please know that I appreciate all that YOU do for this class and our school to make it a great learning environment...and fun! Thank you again for all the kind words and appreciation you have shown!
Countdown!!!30 days left? Really? We are starting to wind down with our curriculum just in time for SOLs. Here is what we are doing right now in class:
Reading - Fables, Porquois, Tall Tales, Myths, Legends. Spelling - This is the last week for spelling this year...woo hoo! Science - Earth, Moon, and Sun. Social Studies - Economics Math - Measurement and Probability As we have about 1 week until our first SOL (Social Studies), please make sure your child is reviewing the examples we've been doing in the SOL binder. This year the SOLs are spread out more so we will have more time to prepare and practice for each one. This is also the last week for our SOL binder. Hopefully everyone has been studying and most importantly relaxing! Relaxed but focused! Our class has really been doing well with our online practice sessions, keep the good work up! Alvey/Gravely 5k race and Fun RunThe Alvey and Gravely Family Fun Run has finally arrived! Packet pick-up will be Friday, May 7 from 4:00-7:00 at Alvey Elementary School in the music room, #142. We encourage you to pick your packet up Friday evening. Packets will also be able to be picked up on race day too.
Parking will be a premium. We asked that you try you best to park in Alvey's parking lot. If you have to park on Waverly Farm Drive, please park from the intersection of Dominion Valley Drive and Waverly Farm Drive as far as the main entrance to Alvey. DO NOT PARK PAST THE ALVEY ENTRANCE BECAUSE YOU WILL BE BLOCKING THE RACE COURSE AND WE DO NOT WANT TO PUT ANYONE IN DANGER. We also encourage those of you close enough to walk to please do so.
The races will start and end in the Alvey bus loop. Remember this event is rain or shine. We are looking forward to seeing all of you there! IMPORTANT - SOL Testing Dates ReleasedSOL testing dates have been released! There will be 2 sessions a day, AM and PM. This is a tentative schedule due to any unforseen complications but these are the dates we are expecting to take them in our class. Please be sure that your child does not miss the SOL testing days or have them excused on those days.
SOL DATES: May 19 - History - PM (laptop lab) May 25 - Reading - AM (laptop lab) May 27 - Science - PM - (computer lab) June 3 - Math - AM (laptop lab) It's countdown time. Everyone should be practicing their reading and math facts everynight. If you have any questions, please let me know! Thanks! Newsletter 4/12Hello and welcome back after a hopefully relaxing and re-engergizing break! As we approach the 4th quarter next week (can you believe we are here already?!), I just wanted to update you on what we are doing and what is coming up.
Reading - We started our "Famous Americans" project. It is an in-class project where each student was given a famous American to do a report on. We will be working on researching and writing skills. This project is due Friday, April 23rd. The research and rough draft will be done in-class but the final TYPED project can be done at home. If you would like to do research at home and bring it in as many already have, that would be great too! Guided reading groups will be at a halt for 2 weeks while we do this since it incorporate many skills at once. Science - We are reviewing and going more in depth about "matter". Solids, liquids, gases, types of matter, etc. will be discussed. We will be reviewing life cycles for about a week and the water cycle. Our last unit of the year will be "Earth, Moon, and Sun". Social Studies - We began our unit on "Government". We will be discussing the 3 branches of government and their purpose. After that we will began our "Economics" unit which should round out the school year with some other mini-units in between. Math - It's FRACTION time. So far everyone has been doing a great job. We will learn what fractions are, how to add/sub them and compare them. We will be doing an activity with Hershey's bar! Chocolate! We are becoming ever closer to the wonderful and magical SOLs. We have been practicing everyday and reviewing for about 15min. There are some great websites to practice at home. www.solpass.org Please make sure everyone is reading for at least 15min every night and practicing those math facts! It will be a busy few weeks so if there are any questions/concerns/comments please feel free to e-mail me or just let me know! I really do appreciate all the help and support you give from home. Thank you! Field Trip ChaperonesThank you to all who have volunteered their time to help out with the field trip on June 7th. The response from you to help out was tremendous but unfortunately I can only take 5 and those spots have now been filled. Thank you again for all the support. I've posted a file below, the informational sheet, in case you have misplaced the other one. Thanks!
SOL Night ReminderCome join us in the library at 7pm tonight (3/11) for an informational meeting about the SOLs. Expectations, practices and routines, history, and examples will be given to make you more comfortable and aware of what to expect in May.
Online SOL PracticeHello everyone! Here is a great website for previous SOL released questions for your child to practice. They are questions from the SOL tests since 2005 and will give great practice to the ones we will take in May. Please take some time and practice them with your child when you get a chance!
http://www.iq.poquoson.org/grade3.htm SOL BindersI've attached a letter in the "files" section below about the SOL Binders. We went over them in length today in class. Please be sure to ask your child about the binders and they should ask you to sign them every night. We will do examples in class everyday and their homework will be very similar to our classwork. This practice for the SOLs will continue everyday for roughly 9 weeks. It's great exposure for your child since they are questions from previous years!
NEWSLETTER 2/19 - UPDATESI hope everyone had a very enjoyable and relaxing snow break! I'm sure most of you are glad to have school start back up even at a modified schedule. I'm glad to be back. I thought I would give you a general overview of where we are at now and what is to come in the next few weeks:
Language Arts/Reading - We have finished reading biographies (which was a great intro for our Famous Americans unit in Social Studies). We will move into researching skills, report writing, past and present verb tenses, and paragraph structure. Also, we will be learning about the literary elements of Fairy Tales, Pour quois, and Tall Tales. Social Studies - We have finished Ancient Rome and Greece. We have started and will complete Ancient Mali next week. Moving on we will be studying Famous Americans and Explorers. Science - We are finishing up Natural Resources and Recycling and moving into Energy starting next week. Math - We finishing our division unit. Everyone has been working on with remainders! The more practice using the times tables (fact families) each person has, the more comfortable they will become solving problems. Geometry (shapes, line segments, rays, etc.) will began next week also. Report cards went home yesterday. I have received almost all the folders back signed. If you have not, please make sure I know you got it! Please, if you ever have any questions or concerns about anything, e-mail or call me so I can help you. Thank you for all the work you do at home to help the class and myself! Movies Part Deux!I've heard from a few people who went to the "The Lightning Thief" today that all the showtimes were sold out and we should be there ONE HOUR before hand. I might recommend buying your tickets online tonight to guarantee you have a seat!
See you tomorrow! Movie TimeThe Lightning Thief Movie is at 1:00 in Manassas on Sat., Feb. 13Our movie class field trip is taking place on Sat., Feb. 13 at 1:00pm at the Regal Theater in Manassas, by the Borders store. I plan on arriving at 12:15pm to meet and greet everyone in the lobby and guarantee some good seats. I'm sure it will be packed since it's only the second day since it opened and everyone is trying to get out of the house so try to get there early. Pass the word along to neighbors, friends of our class to be sure everyone is aware of the event on Sat. Thank you for your help!!
Mr. MulcahyI am looking forward to seeing everyone and hearing about their snow days. See you Saturday! From BOOK to MOVIE!! Third Grade Family Movie
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  Saturday, February 13, 2010 Regal Theater Manassas, Va. Dear Parents, The third grade classes have been hard at work this past marking period in a unit of study involving Ancient Greece and Rome. It has been a high interest of study for the students and many have become fascinated in the Greek Mythology surrounding the civilizations. Our class has recently begun reading the book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians:The Lightning Thief, as a daily read aloud. The story involves a boy, Percy Jackson, who finds out he is the son of Poseidon and is given a quest to go to Mt. Olympus to return an item stolen from the Greek God Zeus. The PG movie version is to open in theaters next weekend and I would like to invite the students to a “movie theater class field trip” to see this movie on Saturday, February 13 at the Regal Theater in Manassas. I invite you to visit the trailer at www.fandango.com/hdmovietrailers/percyjackson:trailer to enjoy the movie experience yourself. It will be a wonderful way to connect what we have learned in class to what we have been reading about! In order for this to be enjoyable and successful for all, some things would need to occur:
I hope all children from the class will be able to join in this family movie experience! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Thank you for your support, Mr. Mulcahy
Updates, Conferences, Checks, etc.Can you believe HALF of the year is just about done? Time is really starting go by quickly especially with SOLs right around the corner. The 2nd marking period ends this Friday, Jan. 29. My final grades will be done February 1st and ready to be put into the report cards. I've met with a few people for conferences, gave quick updates to others, and casually talked with a few more parents about anything that was concerning them. On that note, PLEASE if you have any questions, concerns, status updates, or just want to know what's coming ahead, let me know! I'd be more than happy to take the time to sit down, talk on the phone, or e-mail you with any of that information. Most likely if you do not hear from me, everything is going well in the classroom. If there is anything that would be of concern, I would most certainly notify you of that situation.
I'm looking forward to a great start to the 3rd quarter and the last half of the year! Thank you for all the work you put in at home. I really do appreciate it. Word Study ListsBy popular demand, as popular as word study lists can be, I put the groups "word study" words in a word document at the bottom of the page. I'll update it weekly from this point out. I know some words get lost, damaged, forgotten, and eaten so hopefully this will aid you and your child from home.
Happy New Year and welcome back!I hope everyone had a very enjoyable and relaxing break and a great new start to this year! I just wanted to give a general synopsis of what is to come in the next month as we start to get back into the groove. Here is what we will be working on:
Language Arts/Reading - Abbreviations, Idioms, Analogies, Similes, and Researching skills - Emphasis on Autobiographies and Biographies in our reading groups, which will resume next week. Social Studies - We finished Ancient Greece before break and will continue our Ancient Civilizations with Ancient Rome followed by Ancient Mali. Science - We are currently finishing our Natural Disasters unit. We will be reviewing this week with a test on FRIDAY, Jan 8th. A study guide will go home this week. Our next unit is "Soil, Natural Resources, and Recycling". Math - We are continuing to work on multiplication story problems, the times tables facts, and recently started 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication. Please practice those "times tables" facts at home every night. The more practice and exposure the better! Interims also went home yesterday with the marking period ending in about 2 weeks. It's hard to believe half of the year is almost over. Please, if you ever have any questions or concerns about anything, e-mail or call me so I can help you. Word Study - Our new way of spellingWe have started a new "spelling" program in our classroom. Some of you may be familiar, others brand new. We are using a program called "Word Study". Instead of your child getting a list of spelling words every week and trying to memorize them, we do interactive activities in class as well as at home. Each student has a word study notebook. Every Monday your child will receive a new set of words that will be cut out and put into a baggie. Throughout the week we will use these words in spelling activities (word sorts, alphebetically order, and various games). It gives everyone a chance to learn the spelling patterns and sounds instead of memorizing a word and forgetting it by the time they turn their test in to me.
The notebooks will be returned to your child every Monday and they are to be left at home until Friday, at which point I will give them their spelling test in it and grade their activities from the week. Not every student has the same words. Groups were created to target specific skills according to what each student needed. Activities are graded on completeness. Only 4 activities are to be done each week. They can all be done in one night or spread throughout the week. Grades are equal to 4 - A, 3 - B, 2 - C, 1 - D, 0 - F. They seem to be enjoying it and I truly believe it will help them become better spellers! Thank you again! MultiplicationWe've made it to multiplication! The subtraction with regrouping has come to an end and the class did a really nice job with it. After a few struggles and bumps in the road in the beginning, we ironed them out and have now entered the wonderful world of multiplication.
The expectation and goal for this class is to master 2 by 1 digit and 2 by 2 digit multiplication. We are starting with the basics (fact families, times tables, etc.) and working our way up. Right now we are working on arrays, using pictures and equations to solve word problems. We have also been working on "skip counting" and "counting on" for those of us who haven't memorzied the facts. So far, so good! As a practice for the math facts, we are taking timed times table tests everyday. As soon as you pass yours 2s you will move on each day until you finish the 12s times tables. Your child should have brought home an example packet that shows you what we are doing. If a student misses more than 3, he/she will have to repeat the test the next day. These are not for grades but to practice repetition and memorization. When everyone passes, we will have an ice cream party. Woo hoo! The more exposure they see at home with practicing and memorizing the tables, the easier it will be for them when we work on different strategies and problems in class. Thank you for all the help you give at home! Following directions and listeningPlease take a moment to look at the November 16th newsletter for classroom updates!!
Part of this week's newsletter dealt with listening skills and following directions. Our biggest weakness so far this year has been actively listening to teachers, adults, and peers. Directions have to be given multiple times for activities, whether it is in-class, in the lunch room, hallways, and specials. Even after being repeated multiple times, not all listen to what is being said. This has been a cause for many minutes of recess being missed everyday. Activities and assignments are not completed on time and most importantly concepts taught in class are being neglecting which has resulted in lower grades and understanding. Our class talks about ways to improve yet it is forgotten a day later. There will be NO retakes for quizzes, tests, projects, etc. as a result of a student not paying attention. If a student receives a poor grade because he/she didn't understand, then that is a different circumstance and I will be glad to help. However, if a student receives a poor grade because they chose not to listen or put forth effort, the grade will remain the same. Again, with reinforcement from home and in the classroom, we can certainly turn this around to become better listeners. Thank you so much for all you do at home to help our classroom. Both the students and I really appreciate the care and effort you put into us. SubtractionIt's the wonderful time of year where subtraction will become our best friend. Regrouping has found a special place in our hearts (some deeper down than others) and we are working hard at it in class. Every day we practice problems in class and quick checks are consistently given to assess understanding. As a whole, we have mastered 2 digit by 2 digit regrouping (borrowing and adding 10). We have now moved onto 3 digit problems and it has been giving us a run for our money. While the majority of the class can regroup once, the entire class is having difficulty with regrouping twice in the same problem. That coupled with basic subtraction errors, has halted us from progressing any further. Regrouping homework will be given every night as practice to help us master this concept.
Please feel free to help your child at home, not by giving them answers but by asking them to explain the process they are doing. The more practice they are exposed to, the more comfortable they will become at this skill. The SOLs require a student to be able to do a 4 digit regrouping subtraction problem. Smaller goals have been set (breaking it up into 2, 3, 4 or more digits) to help us accomplish the bigger picture. Thank you for you help. With support from home and in the classroom, we will succeed! Field Trip is tomorrow!Good morning!
Tomorrow is our field trip to the National Zoo. Please be sure to check the weather and dress appropriately! It has been cool out lately, especially in the morning. Things to remember: 1) Camera if you would like to take pictures 2) Warm clothes 3) A lunch 4) Tie Dye t-shirt Please be here at 7:45am. The bus will leave at 8. We will not wait past that time so our day doesn't get pushed back. We need to be back for dismissal at the end of the day. Thank you! Edulink is up!The online gradebook is finally up and running! A few quick notes to calm your nerves when you look at them.
1) If there are blanks for an assignment, that means that I plan to have a grade but have not administered or graded that assignment yet. 2) If your child was absent, I will mark it with ABS and when they complete it I will put it in the gradebook. 3) "I" means incomplete and they have to finish it for me. There are projects that are happening in class right now and that are due by next week, those will go on this report card but will have nothing entered for them so far. Study Island homework!Here is the schedule for Study Island homework. It is a daily homework assignment throughout the week (Mon-Fri). Please make sure it is done every night!
Monday - Reading Tuesday - Reading Wednesday - Math Thursday - Science Friday - History The big picture...I hope everyone is enjoying and finding comfort in School Fusion. It's a wonderful way to keep informed about our classroom and what's happening. I feel even I am getting better at it...ME! Please be sure to you frequently check the whole page for any new announcements, files, calendar events, etc. I know how easy it is to overlook everything else when the "announcement" section takes up the majority of the page. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get a hold of me. Study IslandToday we learned how to use an interactive website that will help us study for the SOLs and content learned in our curriculum throughout the year. Study Island uses interactive games to help students engage in learning. Starting next week, a subject a day will be assigned for students to practice at home. Ex: Mondays - Reading, Tuesdays - Math, Wednesdays - Science, etc. A sheet containing information about Study Island, the student's username, and password should be home to you today. There are sections in each subject that break down the curriculum. Ex: Math has a section for place values, comparisons, measurement, and so on. The goal is practice and mastery so the more they practice what we have learned or are currently learning, the better they will become. Trying new things we haven't discussed yet could become frustrating but if you would like to help guide your child then that's fine too! I'll update the Study Island homework frequently so they can concentrate on a specific area. I hope everyone has fun using the site. Everyone in our class really enjoyed learning how to use it! ...and the games. InterimsInterims have arrived! You should be getting 2 copies from your child. One copy is to stay with you and the other copy is to be signed and handed back into me as soon as possible. The "yes" for conference requested is meant for the parent/teacher conference that is scheduled in November. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!
Chaperones for the Zoo field tripThank you to all who volunteered to chaperone the field trip in November! The chaperones are Lori Walther, Janice Foster, Christy Hastings, Lisa Hoagland, and Tzu Chen. EdulinkGood morning! Edulink is still not operational and is in the process of being setup. I will let know you as soon as it goes up. Thank you for your patience!
Perfect Attendance!So far this year we have started off with a bang! We have had no one absent in our class for all of September. Perfect attendance! One of the key's to becoming a successful and properous student starts with being in the classroom. Having the opportunity to participate in meaningful discussions and activities, enhances the learning process. We're hoping keep the train rolling into October. Thank you! Field TripThe field trip to the National Zoo is OFFICIALLY on Friday, Nov. 6th. I will be sending home a paper with the itinerary and other information regarding the trip. We are scheduled to leave at 8am (be at the school by 7:45am) and return by 2:30pm. After school bus riders will be able to make their bus. I'll attach the field trip sheet to school fusion as well as send it home in paper form. The Beginning...
Discussion Topics Class Files
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Homeroom: 01 Schedule
Morning Work- 8:30-8:45
Reading - 8:45-9:35; 10:20-10:50 Science - 10:50-11:20 Math - 11:30 - 12:20 Lunch - 12:24-12:54 Recess - 1:10-1:35 Social Studies - 1:40-2:10 Core Extension - 2:10-2:50 Pack-up - 2:50 Class Contacts
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