Last Week's News!

Hello Parents! I hope you all had a great weekend! So sorry, I meant to post this on Friday. Now I have adjusted it and added a few things!

Math: In math last week, we started on division! Students have learned division as sharing and breaking apart into equal groups. We have also talked about how division is just backwards multiplication. So far, they are doing a great job with it! We will finish up Unit 7 this week and have a test on Wednesday of next week.

Science: In science last week we finished up our meteorology unit and learned about reporting the weather and different types of severe storms. Students learned about hurricanes and tornadoes. We also watched a Bill Nye on different storms. Today they are completing a study guide and we will spend the rest of the week reviewing for our test on Thursday.

Language Arts : Last week we learned about prefixes. We also continued to work on writer's workshop.

Reading: Our story in reading last week was "In My Family". Our reading strategy focus was author's purpose and point of view. Students learned how to decipher how and why an author may choose his/her writing topic and his/her feelings about their writing! As always, we also worked on comprehension and vocabulary.

Religion: In religion, we reviewed all of Unit 2 and took Unit 2 test.

*VALENTINE'S DAY*

FAITH PARTNERS - Students made cards for their faith partners today in class. We will meet up with them tomorrow at 10:30 to exchange cards and say Happy Valentine's Day! Students may bring a treat or small gift for their faith partners but it is by no means necessary or required.

TREATS - Students may bring PEANUT FREE treats to pass out to the class, but again, it is not required. If students choose to bring a treat or valentine, they must bring enough for ALL 25 students in class. All snacks must be peanut free/NOT made in a peanut facility. They will be sent home if this is not the case.

LUNCH - Mr. Elliott and some of the parents have been very generous in putting together a pizza lunch for students tomorrow. Students may still bring snacks to go with their pizza if they wish! Or, if they do not prefer pizza, please have them bring a separate lunch.

DRESS DOWN - Any student who participated in Valentine's for Vets or paid the $1 dress down fee for tomorrow may dress down in Valentine's colors. The $1 will still be collected for students tomorrow who wish to dress down.

Classroom News/Reminders:
- Fatherhood Essay contest due THURSDAY Feb 16th - ALL students must participate
- Read to Succeed reading logs due February 24th
- There is NO SCHOOL Friday 3/17 and Monday 3/20 - Enjoy your long weekend! :)

Friday News

Here's a look at what we did this week in third grade:

Math: In math this week, we have been continuing to work with multiplication by learning how to multiply three numbers together and focusing on the associate property of multiplication. We ended our week by reviewing two part problems. Students review for a Unit 6 quiz next week.

Science: Still at the beginning of our meteorology unit, students have learned about the different layers of Earth's atmosphere and the water cycle. Ask them to teach you the song they learned!

Reading: Students formed discussion groups and went through Chocolate Fever this week. We finished the book at the end of the week. There will be a test on Monday. No study guide will be provided. Students should review the plot and characters and they will be fine on the test!

Religion: After finishing up Chapter 8 and taking a quiz at the beginning of the week, we have moved on to Chapter 9. We have discussed ways the Church prays and learned about Jesus himself praying.

Writing: We have brought Writer's Workshop back into the classroom and students have been doing a great job getting back into the swing of things!

Catholic School's Week NEXT WEEK:

Monday - Mediation Monday - Students will visit the Church and have time to reflect and pray as well as visit the Church and look around.

Tuesday - Caring is Sharing Tuesday - Students will meet up with their faith partners on Tuesday to share a peanut-free snack and discuss the importance of sharing. Tuesday is also color day! Each grade will be assigned a color and 3rd grade is red!

Wednesday - What you want to be Wednesday - Students dress up as what they want to be when they grow up! There were also be a BMX performance.

Thursday - Backwards Thursday - Students may dress up and wear their outfit completely backwards! We will also switch up our schedule!

Friday - Thankful Friday - Grandparents or a special adult are invited to eat lunch with students on Friday. Students who ordered lunch with be provided lunch as usual but we ask that grandparents bring their own lunch. Please EMAIL me an RSVP if your child will have a grandparent/special adult attending.

*Jeans for Teens - All week long we will heave a collection for gently used jeans in teen/adult sizes.

Reminders:

- Fatherhood Essay due February 16th

- Valentines/Dress Down Day - Forms due February 3rd

- Six Flags Reading Logs - due February 24th

- Open House tomorrow 2:30-4:30 with Mass at 5:00

Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns!

Have a great weekend!

Friday News

Here's a look at what we did this week:

Math: In math this week, we focused on the Distributive Property of Multiplication. This was a hard concept for students to grasp, so we spent a few days on it. We used the visual of breaking apart an array to show why the Distributive Property works the way that it does. We also spent time on our math facts. Students are encouraged to study their facts every night as we will have bi-weekly fact tests.

Science: We finished up our Physics unit at the beginning of this week with a test. We are now moving on to our next unit, Meteorology. So far, students have learned about the different gases that make up Earth's atmosphere.

Social Studies: This week in social studies, we have been focusing on economics. Students have learned the difference between goods and services, increase and decrease, supply and demand, scarcity and availability, and how all of these things affect each other.

Reading: After finishing our "Be Creative!" Unit in reading, we are taking a break from the basal to do a novel study. Students have started reading "Chocolate Fever". We will work on vocabulary, comprehension, and different reading activities along with this book! We will also make connections to our current read aloud, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and we will learn more about chocolate with some non-fiction texts!

Religion: Chapter 8 focuses on the Communion of Saints. Students learned about multiple different Saints in this chapter as well as the canonization process. We will have a quiz on Chapter 8 on Tuesday!

Current Events: We took some time today to talk about the Presidential Inauguration. I felt that this was a good opportunity to tie current events into school. We focused on "Inauguration Day" rather than talking about President Trump. Although, I did have students write prayers for our new president. I communicated that although not everyone may be happy about Trump being president and we may not all agree on his views, it is important that we pray that he does well in his new position. If you have any questions about this, please let me know.

Reminders:
- Due to a request, book orders will be EXTENDED until MONDAY *online code is P8VFX
- Fatherhood essay contest is due February 16th - All students MUST participate
- Six Flags reading contest sheets are due February 24th
- Tech T-Shirt day will be next Friday, January 27th
- Open house will be January 28th from 2:30-4:30 with mass following immediately after
- Catholic Schools Week will start January 30th - more information will come at the beginning of next week

Have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns!
- Miss Rizzo

Friday News

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is staying warm! Here's a look at what we did this week:

Reading: In reading this week, our story is a tall tale play called Pecos Bill. Students have practiced their speaking skills by being assigned parts and reading the play out loud. We have also worked on our vocab and story elements.

Math: We are continuing with multiplication in Unit 5 as we learn rules and focus on memorizing our multiplication math facts.

English: In English this week, we reviewed all the rules we have learned about verbs and different tense. We have also been working on our letter writing and fluency. The students have recently become pen pens with my sister's homeroom class at Lowell Catholic High School in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Science: We are continuing our physics unit in science by focusing on the different states of matter. After measuring the mass and volume of mater, students have recently learned how to measure temperature. We have also been observing the change in temperature over time.

Religion: We have been celebrating Advent by continuing to read our Jesse tree stories and adding ornaments to our tree. So far we have read 21 bible stories. We also wrapped up chapter 7 in our religion book.

Classroom Community: I have recently become more aware of some bullying problems in the classroom. I can assure you that both Ms. Smith and I are not going to tolerate this type of behavior. We have been talking to students about the behavior and will continue to be working on respect and classroom community.

Classroom/School News:
- Christmas Playlet and All School Mass is Tuesday at 8:30am
- Wednesday is early dismissal at 1:50pm for break
- School will resume on January 5th, 2017

Please let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns! Have a great weekend before break!

Friday News

Happy Friday! Here's a look at what we did this week!

Science: In science this week we started our physics unit! We moved on from chemistry and learned about physical changes versus chemical changes. We also learned about matter vs. mass and how to measure the mass of an object.

English: In English, we are focusing on the different tenses of verbs. Students are learning how to change a verb based on whether you are talking about the past, present, or future. We will complete a study guide at the beginning of next week and we will have a test on Friday.

Math: Third graders are doing such a great job with multiplication! We have learned about equal groups, arrays, and the Commutative property of multiplication. Make sure students start to practice their facts at home!

Reading: This week we read "The Little Painter of Sabana Grande". The reading strategy that we focused on was story elements. Students learned how to identify plot, characters, problem, solution, and key events.

Religion: Religion this week was a mixture of Chapter 6 review and the start of Advent. Students made Advent wreaths and reflected on what Advent is and why it is important. They also learned about the tradition of the Jesse tree. We will continue to add to our Jesse tree throughout Advent season and read bible stories that go with students' ornaments.

Classroom News: In order to promote classroom community and positivity during this holiday season, students have made "Compliment Stockings". Throughout the month of December, all students are encouraged to write a compliment or nice note to their peers. Once a day, each student will receive a classmate to write to and the note will be placed in his/her stocking. Students are also encouraged to write throughout the day when they feel like it.

Reminders:

- Spirit Wear is being sold right now - place your orders by the 12th to have it in time for Christmas! (Orders will be accepted through Jan. 20)
- Read to Succeed logs went home today - They are due February 24th!

- Santa's Workshop will be set up in the library next week

- There will be a $1 Christmas dress down Friday, December 9th

- Scholastic book orders are due Friday, December 9th - let me know if you are ordering presents for Christmas!

Have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns!

- Miss Rizzo

Friday News

Happy Friday! Here’s a look at what we did this week!

Math: We finished up Unit 3 and spent the week reviewing. When students return from Thanksgiving break we will start multiplication!

English: We have moved on from nouns and we are now focusing on verbs! Students played verb charades this week and started learning about the different tenses of action verbs.

Science: After finishing our astronomy unit, we have started our chemistry unit in science! Students have started learning about the periodic table of elements, molecules, and compounds. We will have a mid-unit test on Monday.

Social Studies: In social studies, we have been moving through our communities textbooks learning about different immigrants coming to the United States. This week we focused on sharing culture through different stories and talked about some of our upcoming holiday traditions!

Religion: Religion this week was focused on the gift of the Holy Spirit. We discussed the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and how the Holy Spirit guides the Church. Students made posters with the different names of the Holy Spirit and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Reading: Our story in our reader this week was Moses Goes to a Concert. The reading strategy that we focused on was main idea. We also finished up our first read-aloud of the year, Matilda! A permission slip will be going home in Friday folders today to watch the movie next week. Students will have a chance to compare/contrast the movie with the book. We will continue on our author study of Roald Dahl this year with our next read aloud, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Reminders:

• Report cards will be sent home on Monday
• Dismissal Tuesday will be at 10:30am
• Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday 11/22
• Eve of the Eve will be on Tuesday night
• Thanksgiving Mass will be Tuesday at 8:30am with honor roll for the older students at 8:20

Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns. Have a great weekend

- Miss Rizzo

Friday News

Happy Friday! Here's a look at what we did this week in 3rd Grade:

Math - Students are working through their addition/subtraction unit and are now on to subtraction. They have learned multiple strategies to do both, but we are focusing our efforts on making sure they have the standard algorithm down.

Reading - This week, we read the story "Spiders at Work". Our reading strategy was important/non-important information. We focused on finding the main idea of a text and then figuring out which information is important and which is not. We are also continuing to work on comprehension and restating questions. Students are getting very good at restating questions!

English - In English, we have been focusing on nouns. Students have learned about common nouns, proper nouns, plural nouns, irregular plural nouns, and soon possessive nouns. Next week we will review and have a noun test at the end of the week.

Science - In science, we wrapped up our Astronomy unit. Next week we will visit the Planetarium and start our next unit.

Religion - We finished chapters 1-4 in our religion book. This wraps up our religion unit 1. We have spent the week reviewing, and next week Monday we will have our unit 1 test.

*Halloween* - Students may dress down in Halloween costumes on Monday. Costumes must be age appropriate, no masks, non-violent in nature and please leave accessories at home. Students may also bring treats to pass out to their peers, but they must be wrapped, peanut free, and they must have enough for all 24 students in the class. If you need suggestions on what to bring, let me know and I will gladly send you some! We will also be having a Halloween parade around the block at 9:00am, weather permitting, to showcase our Halloween costumes.  Parents/Grandparents/Friends are welcome to come watch our parade! (In the event of inclement weather, we will be parading throughout the school and end in the gym).

NEXT WEEK IS SPIRIT WEEK!
Monday - Halloween Costumes
Tuesday - Team Spirit Tuesday: Wear BCA Spirit Wear or the school colors!
Wednesday - Wacky Hair Wednesday: Come to school with Wacky Hair and dress down!
Thursday - Dress up as your favorite Superhero
Friday - Hawaiian *3rd grade will dress in GYM uniforms for field trip

Notes/Reminders:
- Gym days next week will be on Thursday and Friday November 3rd and 4th
- We have a field trip to the Planetarium on Friday, November 4th - students must bring a SACK lunch and wear GYM uniforms
- We are still looking for Trivia Night donations!!!

Let me know if you have any questions/comments/concerns!

Have a great weekend!
- Miss Rizzo