IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

• Thursday, January 15, 2009 --- IT’S THE 100^TH DAY OF SCHOOL (storytime and a special snack from 2:15 – 2:35)

• Monday, January 20, 2009 --- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday (schools closed)

• Wednesday, February 4, 2009 --- Interims go home with possible retention letters(if there is a possibility that your child will not go to grade 3).

• Monday, February 16, 2009 --- Jump Rope for Heart Envelopes will be sent home.

• Tuesday, February 17, 2009 --- PTA Meeting/Fifth Grade will perform; No Homework

• Friday, February 13, 2008 --- Valentine’s Day Exchange and Learning Experience (I will send home a class roster in February).

THIRD QUARTER CURRICULUM UPDATE

What will we be learning during third quarter?

• SCIENCE:  Our unit of study will be Air and Weather.   We will be learning how air affects weather and learn more about weather conditions.  The students will be engaged in two experiments or investigations per week. 

• MATH:  Students will continue to work on learning the basic addition/subtraction facts (we are getting really good).  Our main focus during third quarter will be addition/subtraction regrouping (borrowing and carrying), and problem solving.

• SOCIAL STUDIES:  Students will analyze how individuals, families, and communities are alike and different.  They will also identify individuals of diverse cultures and describe their contributions to society.

• READING:  Students are expected to be reading on levels 21/22 with a retelling score of 3 by the end of the third quarter.  Students are expected to answer specific questions about the stories they read by referencing the text (finding the answers in the story).

• WRITING:  Students will learn to write narratives (stories about themselves) during the third quarter.  I will continue to go through with the writing process with the students and have them write two narratives in class this quarter.  Our major focus in writing will be elaborative detail (adding more details).

NEW YEAR CHANGES FOR 2009

1.      The transition from second to third grade is huge!!!  Third grade students are expected to demonstrate a certain level of independence.  For this reason, students will be required to write their homework in their agendas for the rest of this school year.   I will continue to allow students to copy their homework for the week.  Next year, a weekly homework plan will probably not be an option because 3^rd graders probably copy their homework daily. 

2.      We will be learning how to write the upper and lowercase letters in cursive this nine weeks.  Hopefully, during fourth quarter, we can put what we have learned together and write some assignments in cursive.

DONATIONS NEEDED

(Please donate one item if you can)

• Kleenex

• Germ – X

• Lysol or Clorox Wipes

• Baby Wipes

*****We are in desperate need of all of these items. *****

THANK YOU

Thank you for your continued support of our classroom.  Your donations, assistance with homework, stopping by whenever you can, notes to keep me informed, and YOUR CHILD are greatly appreciated.  Mrs. Wall and I enjoy working with him/her each day.

Karen Craig