Past Updates

5/20/20

HAPPY LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!

I am so sorry to make a change at the last minute, but I JUST found out that the yearbooks have not yet arrived! Their shipping got delayed due to COVID and they won't arrive at school until Tuesday. I am going to have to wait until Wednesday morning to drop off the student materials.

I am going to switch the planned activities for Tuesday and Wednesday (which I told the kids about this morning!) - So we WILL have AM meeting on Tuesday where we will play Guess Who? and Wednesday students will sign virtual yearbooks while I deliver student material. Thanks so much for your understanding!

I told the kiddos I would email you and let you know also that:

  • I will be wearing a mask, and
  • if (after I drop supplies off and have moved off the porch) they want to say hi they are welcome to, or they can wave from inside if they'd like, but I can't give them a hug or anything
  • Since we have a LOT of houses to hit, and not all of them are in CV, we can't stay for longer than a minute.
  • And Penny will stay in the car ;) (it was asked!)
  • Finally, If you have any supplies that need to be returned to school (library books, etc.) you are welcome to leave them on the porch with a note and I will drop them off for you!

​So, No school Monday, AM meeting on Tuesday as always, ​and material delivery on WEDNESDAY! (Unless, heaven forbid, something happens to the yearbooks!!)

There is no school Monday. Wednesday students will be "signing yearbooks" digitally. There will be an instruction video posted on Wednesday morning for that activity. There will be no AM meeting Wednesday since I will be delivering student work between 9-11 on Wednesday.

The rest of the week we will be playing games and doing fun activities during AM meeting. One day we have a scavenger hunt, another day we will be playing a guessing game, and the last day of school we'll be having a zoom talent show. Students are encouraged to share a talent with the class! If they'd like me to show a video of their talent please email it to me and I will play it during the meeting! Students do not have to perform in the talent show!

SHH Don't tell!! -I will be giving the students something in their work bags that I will ask them to bring to AM meeting on the last day so we can do one final activity. Please encourage your child to attend every AM meeting Wed-Friday if it is possible as these are our last days "together"!

Also, we just finished our final read aloud, so there will be no more 2pm google hangout.

5/15/20

Well parents, the end is in sight! This upcoming week is our last week of regular school work! The last week of school we will be having zoom meetings in which we do fun activities, but there will not be assignments. I will post some fun activities if you are looking for something to do, but there is not going to be a schedule of work as we have had for the last... two months?! Isn't that wild??

Thank you to those of you who answered me about student work drop off. If you have not yet filled out the google form please do so (I emailed you if your family did not yet fill it out!) If you said yes that I can come & drop off your child's work I will be coming the morning of Tuesday, May 26, hopefully between 9-11! If not, you can pick up your child's work at the school during your assigned time for the school-wide pickup.

As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do to support you, your child, or your family in this difficult time. There are a myriad of community resources that I can connect you with!

5/8/2020

This week I have tried to make the google classroom a little easier to navigate. In trying to make things as simple as possible last week I think there were too many folders. Now, in the classwork for this week students will see one folder for each subject area. Hopefully this will help them stay on track and know where to look for each assignment! :)

This week we're reviewing multiplication and division and doing some story problems. We're also learning about area and perimeter which we will continue next week and culminate our year with an area & perimeter project. Students will pick THREE reading activities, and one writing prompt for the week. There are a variety of other bonus activities as well!

It was amazing to see so many of you at last Monday's reverse parade, it really recharged us teachers and motivated us to keep going the last few weeks of school! Thank you to the kind messages, pictures, and gifts that many of you sent for teacher appreciation week. I feel like I should be appreciating you right back for all your hard work helping your student succeed!

I will be in contact with you more about the end of the school year. The final Tiger Tales gave information about school item pickup/drop off, and I am hoping to add specific details for our class as soon as I can!

5/1/2020

This week we have a new format for student assignments. Students will have more choice, and flexibility in when and how they complete their work. Assignments will be due on Friday each week, but there will not be daily "due times" or days. This will allow you to schedule your week as you see fit, and allow them to be responsible to create their own schedule. HOWEVER it will require them to actually schedule their time, which is hard!! I recommend creating a planner to make sure that they complete all their assignments. Here is a blank weekly planner in case it is helpful for you! I have also put together a sample schedule for students who need a little more support!

The most important items this week are 1. our final book club meeting, 2. creating their board game and testing it out as a family, 3. math lessons/quiz 4. writing. These should be the top priorities in getting their work done! The next 3 weeks will follow this same format, and then the final week will be more interactive than academic.

I hope you're able to make it to Monday's reverse parade, it's going to be an adventure!

4/24/20

Happy Friday! We've had a great week wrapping up our unit on graphing, and discussing the first half of our book club books. Many students are getting burned out (and I'll bet you are too!) So we are going to be making changes beginning the week of May 4. This video describes the way the week's organization will be changing.

Next week students will begin designing and building their game boards. I gave them over a week to complete this so that they can take their time to be creative and do an amazing job! Our hope is for them to bring these games to the beginning of fourth grade as a fun math review and celebration of their learning during distance education! We are also starting our final math module!

4/18/20

I hope you all had an amazing, restful spring break and were able to take a break from the craziness that is our every day (home)school routine! I know I needed the break!

By now you've seen the updates regarding report card grades. Clearly we cannot cover as much at home as we do in school, so we've narrowed our focus down to this trimester's 4 essential standards:

Reading

  1. Discuss how characters change over time, and how that teaches the author's message
    • We do this through book club discussions which is why it is essential that every child attend his/her book club meeting prepared!
    • Reading every day is the only thing that helps students become better readers!

Writing

2. Craft and edit a piece of opinion writing (speech, letter, essay, etc.)

    • We have been working on this with our "should students do school from home?" writing, and will continue to work on a variety of persuasive essays.

Math

3. Memorize multiplication facts 0-10

    • This is why I ask them to do xtramath EVERY DAY

4. Solve a variety of 1- and 2-step word problems

    • This is review of all the concepts we have learned this year including using all 4 operations, graphing, area/perimeter, measurement, fractions
        • We practice this on Zearn, prodigy. Our math board games ask students to reflect and review all they've learned this year.
    • We assess through exit tickets, quizzes, and math moments.
        • We cannot possibly assess ALL that we have done this year, but we are trying to expose students to a large variety of review that we would typically do both before and after SBAC testing.

What does this mean for me?

Students have a variety of activities each day. The MOST important things your child can do are read, practice persuasive (opinion) writing, and do multiplication memorization activities and review. Everything else is just bonus work that you are welcome to replace/skip if you feel it is too hard/not beneficial to your child/not realistic in light of your living situation. I am trying to give activities for students who are able and need extra activities to go above and beyond, but don't want to overburden you if you have enough on your plate already!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

4/3/20

Spirit week

Next week we are having a spirit week! The list of spirit days is above, have your child wear/bring each item to morning meeting so we can take a photo "together"!

Journals

We're changing our daily journal starting next week. As the third grade teachers were collaborating I saw what Mrs. Goett is doing and I love it! The students will be writing a "Diary of a third grader: Coronavirus in the Bay Area". Here are the instructions they will receive:

  • You are now a historian. Starting April 6th, you will start a handwritten diary of your experience during the Coronavirus pandemic. You will write one entry each day that we are home (except weekends and holidays).You may write about anything you'd like, but think about answering some of these questions: what have you been doing? who is with you? what is the mood in your house? what emotions are you feeling? what is different than last week? have you had to leave the house? what is open and what is closed in your neighborhood, etc.
  • To keep an accurate and detailed historical record, please write the date before each entry and write at least 4 sentences. You may choose to type your entries into a google doc, or you may keep a handwritten diary. Each week I would like you to share one entry with me. You can take a photo and post it to seesaw if you'd like to share it with the whole class, or you can email me a photo or type it up.

I believe this will be a much more valuable activity for their emotional well-being during this time, and still allows them to work on their writing skills. It also allows students to work off the computer, which is something I've been striving for as well! This is something that I hope your family invests in as a momento to share with future generations to use as a primary source document that details life amid a global crisis! I can't stop thinking that Diary of Anne Frank was not written to be published, but was just a source of outlet for a child going through the unthinkable. I hope that your child can find support through writing during this time as well.

AM/Closing Meetings

Morning meeting will be at 9:15 every day beginning TUESDAY, April 7. Since I had scheduled book clubs prior to the parent survey we have to keep Monday's AM meeting at 8:15. Please make every effort to have your child attend this meeting as we will be going over the day's activities but also doing some lessons at this time as well! AM meetings will happen on Zoom.

Closing meeting will be at 2:00 M-Th, 11:45 on Friday. It will have a topic listed in the weekly schedule (ie read aloud, high/lows, sharing). This happens on Google Hangout.

Book Clubs

Next week we will be having our first book club meetings. Here's a list of the meeting times/days:

Meetings will be on zoom, using the above links which are also posted on Google classroom. I can't wait to talk about the books with the class!

Extra Math Help

I also posted some links to math videos on the distance learning page for students who need some extra support with zearn. I recommend watching the video before doing the zearn lesson if they're struggling!

3/27/20

Meetings

We have been using Google Meet for our Morning and Closing classroom meetings, but after a lot of experimentation we have discovered that Zoom has a lot of benefits that will allow us to facilitate discussion and support student learning.


We will be switching to Zoom

FOR MORNING MEETING ONLY

starting on Wednesday!


I understand that this will require additional time and energy from you, but I appreciate your assistance in ensuring that your child can at least attend our daily morning meetings. This way I will be able to teach more in these meetings, and facilitate small group discussions and lessons. My hope is that by keeping the afternoon hangouts on google meet that students can still chat with one another, and if there are those who can't access Zoom they can still stay connected.


AM meeting

Our zoom link is https://zoom.us/j/7130886100

Meeting ID: 713 088 6100

​Closing Meeting​

Our google meet link is https://meet.google.com/_meet/pzn-nabj-vto


​We will be meeting at 8:15 next week for AM meeting. I have received responses from about half the parents on my AM meeting survey and the responses are split 50/50 (which is NOT helpful! haha) I will decide next week what we will do for future meetings, but for next week AM meeting will be at 8:15 as usual.

Resources/Family activities

  1. Mr. Demaio is a teacher with a youtube channel that the kids love (he makes a LOT of silly/potty jokes... check out his video on Uranus!) He made a video about Coronavirus. It's NOT a typical video of his- he is serious, but also provides information that appropriately leveled for children. I am not sharing it with the class, but I recommend watching it with your child.
  2. It's a 4-day weekend. Here's some family disney-inspired activities to keep you busy (and sane!)
  3. Prepare for the parkeology challenge on April 4 where you will recreate disney rides at home!


Thanks so much and have a great weekend!

3/26/20

Good morning! As I'm sure you've read by now, the new projected return to school date is May 4th. Although I am sure we understand the reasoning, it is totally expected to feel saddened and frustrated by this announcement! We have all been working so hard, and students are doing a great job, but they're ready for a break! Luckily, they have a 4-day weekend this weekend, and next week's schedule will look different. I am mixing up our activities, starting book clubs, and taking a break from Zearn. Students will be beginning the process of making a math board game, which will continue over the next several weeks. They, and I, will need your help with this! Each day that they work on the board game they will be writing and solving third grade math problems. (Multiplication/division within 100, addition/subtraction within 1000 and more!) Please read through their work and check their math (feel free to use a calculator!). They need to keep their all math work together in a safe place, as each week they will transfer them to "game cards" that will be a part of our finished product. At the end of the review they will build a physical board game, create rules, and practice playing with you! The goal is that we will bring our games together in May and play them as a celebration of our learning! Thank you so much for all your support during this time. Please know that I am doing my best to create work that does not rely on students using the computer all the time, although this is made difficult by the fact that not every child has the same resources available at home! Thank you so much for your feedback on the google forms, closing meeting will be at 2:00 Monday-Thursday, and 11:45 on Fridays (as required by the district that instruction is completed by 11:45). I am going to send out one more one-question survey about AM meeting now that I have more direction and since the responses were almost exactly 50/50! If parents choose 9:15 as the meeting time I will likely ask that journals be completed before AM meeting.

3/20/2020

  • We've had a great week this week! You all deserve a weekend to rest, relax, and as best you can, retreat! :) After trying things out for a week I am going to make some adjustments to my schedule: I am not going to have office hours from 1:30-2:00 each day. I will be on my computer available for meetings, to answer emails, and answer any questions you have from 1-2, but not in a Google hangout. The reason for this is that though I've been on office hours all week, but have only had one or two students ask questions. More often what's happening is students are showing up to hangout and those who need help aren't able to get it. (Many of them seem to feel embarrassed and don't ask questions when other people are around!) I am also available at other times throughout the school day to video chat and help students if they need it, or to answer your questions if you have any!
  • If I had sent home a conference notice I will be following up with you later this week to schedule a google hangout/phone call. We will not be conferencing Monday and Tuesday as planned, as I am back logged trying to get the students set up and learning!
  • Many students are having google hangouts with each other (kind of like recess!) This can be great, but I want you to be aware that the only time I am supervising these is during morning/closing meetings and scheduled appointments. They are not supervised during other hangouts.
  • We're taking a break from fractions in order to move on to graphing. We will continue to review fractions, and I encourage you to try out these fractions at home activities!
  • Students will need to access Epic on Tuesday. On Monday I ask them to log in and see if they can access it. Please let me know if you need help with this!
  • Here's the instruction video for navigating this week's schedule
  • FInally, next week I have 2 set "due times" instead of dates for 2 assignments - Daily journals should be turned in by 10am, and Zearn should be completed by 12:30pm. I will release each day's journals at 3pm the day before in case you need to do it early. There will not be consequences if student work is late, this is to just help me grade in a timely manner. Students keep asking me if they're done with all their work at closing meeting and I am frantically trying to compile and check all at once! Hopefully this will help them (and me) structure their learning a little better so that I can support students who need some extra work!

3/18/2020

Whew, it seems like today went more smoothly than yesterday! I still have a few technical difficulties that I'm working with various agencies to correct. Some quick updates and news:

  • The tech department says that students should now be able to access google hangouts using their school accounts. (This was a feature that had been disabled for elementary, but has since been re-enabled).
  • If you have a technology issue that I've been working to address and it gets resolved please let me know!
  • I have realized that not having assignments due at specific times means I have to do ALL my grading IMMEDIATELY upon waking up and then I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day (just kidding! I have been working non-stop! But, I have had to scramble to grade.) So starting next week I will have "due times" instead of due dates. This way I can grade throughout the day and check in with kids on an as-needed basis. Be on the lookout for that as I figure out how to schedule next week.
  • I began a class dojo to track student work, participation, and to give out rewards for those who go above and beyond. They are working REALLY hard and deserve tons of praise for all they've been doing these past couple days! Please help them by making a big deal out of their Class Dojo points!
  • Students are welcome to join morning meeting and closing meeting. It is not required, but it is a really great time for me to get to check in and see their faces, and for them to get to chat with each other. I highly recommend it for a sense of connection and "normal" amidst this totally unnatural situation!
  • Please take time for yourself to have some connection- schedule a google hangout with friends, take time to make a phone call, or join a live workout class on YouTube. You've got to take care of yourself to be able to help support your kiddos during this time!!
  • Finally, I have not received any updates about the length of time that we will be doing distance learning. Whenever Mrs. Paratore receives an update she passes it on to us, and at the same time you receive an email from either the school or district. We are working to ensure that whatever we know, you know. At the same time I am also hearing the news, and answering your kiddos questions about "will we have school again this year?" All I can say is that at this time I've been told we'll be doing distance learning until April 7, and if that changes I will let you know!

Update 3/17 2:30pm

Well, what a day!! Here's some updates for you all:

  • Many students have realized that it's easier to click "log in with google" to sign in to Prodigy.
  • I sent an email to the class at 2:45, here's what it said:
    • It is 2:45 and I'm starting to check students' work from today. I have 17 students who turned in their journals, but only 9 who completed the exit ticket! Make sure you turn EVERYTHING in every day. If you need extra time on an assignment (if you want to finish your work after 3:00) that's fine, but let me know so I can check your work off in the morning. All assignments are due the day listed on the schedule. I hope to see you all at our AM meeting at 8:15! If I didn't receive any work from you or I didn't hear from you today I will be checking in with your family tomorrow. Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow!
  • AM meeting will be 8:15-8:30 tomorrow
  • Please contact me if you're having technical difficulties. I never thought I'd work in IT, but I'm getting along pretty well (except for one Dreamscape issue...weird!)
  • Tomorrow's office hours will be 1:30-2:00 support, 2:00-2:15 closing meeting
  • Students have learned that they can chat, email, and play games online with their friends. PLEASE monitor your child's computer usage. I had a VERY long video chat with some students today just because they were "hanging out" (which was fine!) but I will not be present in every video chat. I wasn't able to get much grading done ;) Just because school is 7 hours long doesn't mean your child needs to be on the computer that long. Please take advantage of brain breaks and other offline activities!

Update 3/17 9:00am

Here's a video that shows how to access work in google classroom. Also- some students have realized that if they're logged into chrome, or using a chromebook and are logged into their school email account that they can just click "sign in with google" to play prodigy the same way they do at school! The code I sent out wasn't working for them, but signing in through google worked just fine! I'll be in my google hangout all day. If the screen is black just say hi to me and if I'm in the room working I'll turn my camera on to answer your questions! (I'll try to leave the chat if I run out to eat lunch or something, but I might forget! :) )

Some logistics:

The first day our course load is going to be light. Mostly I want students to check to see that they are able to login to all of the websites that we will be using. Starting Wednesday, there will be an increase in student work. Most days there will be a form students fill out when they've finished the day's activities. It will include questions about what they finished, what they learned, and what questions they have.

I will be checking my email throughout the school day (8:15-2:50) but I will not be at the computer 100% of the time. I will be checking and responding to emails by 9:00am and again by 1:30pm each day. I am planning on having daily meetings on google hangouts (I had my first one today, I'm learning so much!) We'll be having our first meeting tomorrow morning from 8:00-8:30. If your child is able to join me (and whoever else attends) for any/all of the meeting I think it would be a great time to check in and say hi! I will also have daily office hours 1:30-2:15 (google hangout) in case students are struggling/have questions/need help/just want to check in, but that will happen beginning in a few days. My schedule is posted on the distance learning tab along with some helpful links.

**If you didn't see it on our website: Katerina's mom asked me to announce to families who received birthday party invitations for Katerina's birthday that the celebration is to be postponed.

Important Dates

March 16-31 -No in-class instruction

March 23 & 24 - Spring Conferences phone & by appointment

March 30 & 31 - No School

April 25 - Earth Day Cleanup at Chabot!

April 30 - Ag Day Field trip

Thank you for donating to our classroom through our

Amazon wish list!

March 14, 2020

At an emergency board meeting this evening, the Castro Valley Board of Education voted to suspend in-classroom instructional operations, starting Monday, March 16, 2020 through March 31st, 2020, during which time students will be supported through distance learning. (Please note March 31st is designated as Cesar Chavez Day and sites will be closed for staff or students.) In-classroom instruction will resume on April 1, 2020.

On Monday March 16th, teachers will be preparing for distance learning. On Tuesday, students will be able to come to school to check in and pick up materials if needed. More specific directions will be emailed to you from your site principal.

*Katerina's mom asked me to announce to those who received invitations to Katerina's birthday party (3/28) that the celebration will be postponed until a later date. More information to follow once school has resumed.


March 13, 2020

Happy Friday! It's been quite a week, students have had a lot of questions about COVID-19 and we've had quite a few discussions about it, as I'm sure you've had at home as well!

In their Friday folder students are bringing home a letter from the district regarding COVID-19. Students are also bringing home report cards today. In their report card envelope you will find a few forms. The most important is the "are you returning to Chabot?" form. We need this form from every child, please return it in the envelope on Monday! There is also a form for you to complete if you have any questions about the report card (this is optional). Some students will receive IEP progress reports, or conference notifications. Spring conferences are only for students who are not meeting or at risk of not meeting standards. This is why we have less time for spring conferences, as not many students qualify. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to fill out the T2 question page and return it to me! Thanks so much!

Have a great week!

Book Recommendations - Many parents have asked for book recommendations for their child (gender- or genre-specific). Please add any book/series that your child enjoys so that we can share resources!

March 9, 2020

We had an amazing read-in on Friday! We have been spending a lot of time reading in class, because one of our goals is for every student to read at or above a level P. In RTI we are doing levelled book clubs in which students are reading chapter books at (or slightly above) their reading levels. Check out the information about our April 25 Earth Day cleanup.

March 2, 2020

Happy Read Across America Day!! Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. We're starting a school-wide reading contest today. Students will be keeping track of their time spent reading over the next week and a half, and those who read the most will earn prizes! Additionally we will be doing a bunch of reading activities this week, and will celebrate all our accomplishments in the first two trimesters by having a Read In on Friday. Students are invited to wear their PJs, bring one blanket and stuffed animal, and as many books as they would like on Friday for a reading celebration!

We had an amazing field trip led by some super stellar parents last week! The kids learned SO much about local Native American history, culture, and tradition, as well as a ton about our local geography and how it's changed over time! I highly recommend visiting Alviso Adobe Park in Pleasanton, and Augustin Bernal Park as well! This week we have 1:10 early release on Wednesday and Thursday for grading.

February 24, 2020

We've got a great week ahead of us! We're going on our Ohlone field trip on Thursday to Alviso Adobe Park in Dublin Pleasanton (oops!). Please be sure your child brings a backpack to carry his/her water bottle, lunch, and sweatshirt. We're continuing our study of fractions and beginning to explore fractions on a number line! We're also wrapping up our second trimester and working on end of trimester assessments.

February 14, 2020

Happy Valentine's Day! We are having an AWESOME day learning about the history of Valentine's Day and doing math review with some candy hearts! We're also writing friendship poems. It's a lovely day!! Tomorrow is the Pancake breakfast!

We had a visit from Alameda County's booklegger program today. Here's a list of the books our booklegger recommended:

  • The Prairie Thief - Melissa Wiley
  • Bermuda Triangle - Andrew Donkin
  • Recess at 20 Below - Cindy Lou Aillaud
  • Escape from Planet Yastol - Pamela F. Service
  • Animals by the Numbers - Steve Jenkins
  • Take Me Out of the Bathtub - Alan Katz

I have requested the books from the library, but you can go check them out as well!

Have a great LONG weekend!

February 10, 2020

This Friday is Valentine's Day. Students are invited to bring in Valentines to share if they would like. There is a basket to store them in our classroom if they would like to bring them in early. They are not required to bring in Valentines- but if they do they should bring enough for the whole class.

We have started our study of fractions, and we have started our exploration of East Bay Native American tribes in preparation for our field trip on February 27. I will be confirming with chaperones this week. Thanks for those of you who offered to chaperone!

February 3, 2020

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a SUPER weekend! :) We've got a great week ahead of us! We're just wrapping up our unit on Area and we're going to be starting fractions. Understanding fractions can be a difficult concept for third graders, and I ask that you make a conscious effort to notice when you're using fractions and talk about it with your child. Some ideas include: while cooking/baking, noticing that the gas tank is 1/2 full/empty ;) doing laundry, woodworking/other building trades, going on a walk... the options are endless as long as you're looking for them! We're also beginning our study of the Ohlone Tribe and other Bay Area Native Americans, and working on writing our very own chapter books!

January 24, 2020

Next week is Kindness Week! We'll be having different spirit days to celebrate kindness. Check our important dates for more info! We've been learning a TON about frogs, and are learning how to take notes and organize information in order to write structured informational texts. We'll be writing our own chapter books! We're also continuing to study area (you may have seen our rectangles on the blacktop!) and trying to solidify the concept of area before we begin calculating perimeter. It's going to be a great kind week!

January 21, 2020

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a great 4-day weekend! Thanks to those of you who returned field trip permission slips and donations! Please send them in if you haven't returned them yet. We are just finishing our animal adaptation unit in science, and are excitedly awaiting the next stage of our butterfly life cycles! Math mid-module assessments went home Friday. We will continue working on area in math, and reviewing other concepts from the beginning of the year. It's going to be a great (short) week!

January 13, 2020

Happy Monday! We've got a great short week ahead! There is no school Friday or Monday, and students get out at 1:45 on Thursday. We've been studying caterpillars with our very own "pet" butterfly larva. We will continue to watch these over the next few weeks as they (hopefully) move through the stages of their life cycles and eventually become butterflies. We are also studying frogs, and learning about how to read informational texts. Students have also been reflecting on their past behaviors and setting goals for the remainder of the school year.

Field trip permission slips are going home this week, along with envelopes for donations. You are not required to pay for your child to be able to attend any field trips, all students will be permitted regardless of donations. That said, the trip would be paid for with a donation of $6.65 from every child would pay for the field trip. Please consider donating that much or even more! All donations are tax-deductible and receive a receipt. Have a great week!

January 2, 2020

Happy New Year! I hope you are all still enjoying your winter break! I am sitting here setting goals for the new year, surrounded by curriculum, piles of lists, calendars, books, colored markers, and so many ideas that I can't keep them all straight! I am so sad that we will be coming back after break to one less teacher, but I am so excited to be starting fresh in a new year! This month and next we will be focusing on informational reading and writing, we will also be studying area and perimeter and how they relate to multiplication. In science we're doing double (and sometimes triple) duty- wrapping up the life cycle unit that we've been piloting (we've got caterpillars coming in the mail!!!), wrapping up an awesome unit on weather, and finishing up a study of animal adaptations that all the classes have been exploring in the lab! In the next couple weeks we will also be starting a study of East Bay Native Americans that will prepare us for our field trip at the end of February. This field trip costs money, I will be sending out a request for donations soon.

You are not required to pay for your child to be able to attend, all students will be permitted regardless of donations. That said, the trip would be paid for with a donation of $6.65 from every child would pay for the field trip. Please consider donating that much or even more! All donations are tax-deductible and receive a receipt.

Enjoy your last few days of break! Keep an eye out for stray library books, we have library on Monday morning! :)

December 16, 2019

Happy Monday! We've got a PACKED week this week! We've been working really hard on our holiday hats. Today is our last day in class to work on the hats, so students may be bringing them home to finish them, unless they're wrapping up at recess this week. I have added a couple photos of student hats below. Students should also be practicing their speeches nightly. The goal is that they will have their speeches memorized (although they will be allowed one notecard "cheat sheet").

On Friday we'd love to have you visit our holiday hat living museum! We'll be in P1 from 8:45-9:15. We also invite you to help us make blankets from 12:45-1:45 in our room. We typically donate the blankets to local homeless shelters, however if anyone in the class has a connection to a hospital or another site that would appreciate a donation of 10 blankets please email me and we can definitely consider an alternate donation site. After the blankets we will be making cards and then maybe watching a movie if we have any extra time. It is also Ms. Foran's last day so we will be celebrating her as well!

December 9, 2019

We're covering a lot this week! Students have been doing an awesome job researching their holidays and starting to work on their Holiday Hats. They are welcome to make their hats at home or to bring in supplies and make them at school. They can bring them in early to store in class, or they are due next Friday, December 20. We will be having a "living museum" in which students memorize information about their holiday and share it in a museum format. You are invited to join us, but our time is still to be determined. (We are trying not to conflict with other grade level celebrations if possible!) We are also wrapping up Module 3 and taking our end of module assessment this week. We are continuing to take our ninja math tests daily!

December 2, 2019

I hope you all had a restful, relaxing, fun-filled Thanksgiving break! We have a great week ahead of us! Our math module is centered on helping students be able to quickly solve multiplication problems, which is why we've also begun Ninja Math. If your child needs extra help with Ninja Math, there are printable flashcards on the resources page. If you would like me to print them for you, or send home a fact ring for a specific belt I am happy to do so! This week we're practicing 2-step story problems, learning some 9s tricks, and discussing place value with our 10s facts (lessons 11-15, 18-19). We're also starting a fun holiday research project in which students will study a winter holiday that they are not familiar with, and present their learning by making a holiday hat which we will share just before winter break. This is my favorite project of the year, and I can't wait to get started!

November 18, 2019

Happy Monday!

We're off and rolling already this week! Students have been doing an awesome job learning about inherited and environmental traits, and are putting that knowledge to the test by doing a performance assessment in which they explore and explain the traits of Ecuadorian wildlife! It's pretty amazing what they know! We're also well into Ninja Math. If you're not sure what's happening with Ninja Math please be sure to read this parent letter. Report cards come home on Friday, and there's no school next week!

November 11, 2019

I hope you all enjoyed your three-day weekend! This week we have 1:10 early release on Wednesday and Thursday so teachers can grade and complete report cards. Book orders are due Friday! If you are giving books as gifts please let me know and I will email you to pick them up when the order comes! During our very short week in math we will be reviewing module 2 concepts with students in RTI groups, and diving into module 3 which is all about getting fluent at multiplication facts by memorizing them. We introduced Ninja Math last week, and will begin taking our tests this week. If your child brings home a green ninja math folder it is his/her job to practice with you out loud. Please help him say his/her facts ("two times three is six") not just the answers! There's more information about ninja math as well as printable flashcards on the resources page.

November 4, 2019

I hope you all enjoyed sleeping in an extra hour over the weekend! This week we are wrapping up the trimester, completing some end of trimester assessments, our math module 2 assessment (measurement, and word problems using all 4 operations), and doing a fun research project on heroes. We're also continuing to study animal adaptations and selection in science, and we'll be introducing NINJA MATH! It's going to be a great week!

October 24, 2019

Happy Thursday! I'm getting a jump start on next week's announcements because there's so much to share! :) Tomorrow (Friday) night is Shriek-a-rama from 5-8pm. We'd love to see you there, and you're all welcome to dress up! This is the only time students can wear costumes to school, as there are no costumes allowed at school on Halloween. Also, as Halloween approaches please remember that candy is not allowed at school. This is not a snack/food that helps students brains to function at their best capacity. Please do not pack candy in your child's lunch.

Ms. Foran told the students about an art collage we'll be doing soon. If you have old magazines that you're willing to donate to the class please send them in with your child! He/she can also print pictures at home and bring them in for their collage. I can print one sheet of images per student, but I cannot print in color. If you would like me to print pictures for your child please compile them onto one page of a word document or .pdf and email them directly to me. Thanks so much!

This week we worked on measuring, solving word problems, and took and reviewed a mid-module assessment in math. Next week we start rounding and then ninja math!!!! We've been studying poetry with Ms. Foran, and are working on our small moment stories. In science we've been learning about inherited traits and selection in plants and animals. We will continue to learn about how different traits are passed down from generation to generation next week. Students have been presenting their genius hour projects as well! We've had a PACKED week, and are going to do a ton next week as well!

October 21, 2019

Happy Monday! We've got a great week ahead of us! Ms. Foran is in the heart of her student teaching and together with the students they are mastering solving word problems using measurements of weight and volume. We are taking a mid-module assessment this week and will then move on to rounding. In ELA we are studying poetry and working on our small moment writing stories! In science we are studying classifying plants and animals into families based on inherited traits. It's going to be a fun week! Hope to see you all at shriek-a-rama on Friday!

October 16, 2019

Happy Wednesday! Whoops, I'm a little late on this week's announcements! I got to go to a science training yesterday, for the next science program we'll be testing out. I'm excited to get started soon! We've begun our unit on poetry, and are working on measuring weight this week. Next we'll be practicing adding weights and measuring data. In science we did a fun experiment exploring invisible forces using magnets! Tomorrow is California's Great Shakeout. It's a great time to talk with your family to make sure you're prepared for a natural disaster and everyone knows the emergency plan!

October 7, 2019

We had SUCH a great time on our field trip last week! I hope your child (and you) slept well afterwards, I know I did! Thank you SO much to all the parents and grandparents who were able to join us. I tell the kids this all the time, but they are some of the most creative, hard working students I've ever had. I had SUCH a great time watching them learn from one another and share what they know with you! I hope your child was able to teach you something that he/she learned!

This week we will be learning about calculating time passing, working on our small moment stories and adding dialogue into them, and wrapping up our redwood unit! We've got a lot going on it's going to be a great week!

September 30, 2019

I hope you all had a great long weekend! I spent my work time on Friday completely rearranging our classroom. I hope it will help our students to stay focused and ignore distractions during the school day! This week we have our redwoods field trip. I am still waiting for paperwork to be cleared (poor Mrs. Elkaim has 3 field trips this week that ALL have paperwork coming in, so it's been a bit much!) I will continue to check in with chaperones as I need more info.

September 23, 2019

We've got a packed week this week, and not too many minutes to get all of our work done! We have a 1:10 release time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and no school on Friday. We're studying point of view in reading, working on our personal narratives, having our first visit to the science lab with our new teacher, and taking an end-of-module math test and reviewing multiplication and division!

Today students added their genius hour planning sheets on Seesaw. We posted these so that you will know what topic and questions your child has chosen to research. They will be doing their research in class, but are welcome to bring in any books/other resources they get from home as well to help answer their questions! After they've done their research students will be presenting their learning to the class in a method of their choice (oral presentation, writing a kids' book, making a poster, etc.)

Our field trip is next Thursday, I am still checking parent paperwork. We've got a ton of volunteers to chaperone, so thank you!! I will send home a flyer later this week about bringing in ingredients so students can make their own trail mix to take for snack!

September 16, 2019

We've got a great week ahead of us! We are continuing to work on understanding how to write and solve both multiplication and division story problems. We are beginning to work on writing personal narratives, and continuing our study of fairy tales by looking at a newspaper set in the Hidden Forest, a land of fairy tales! Thanks to those of you who have signed up for conferences, I look forward to meeting with all of you! If none of the times posted work for you please let me know so we can make alternate arrangements!

August 30, 2019

Happy Friday! This week we did a great job! We worked on understanding what multiplication and division are, and examined how an author's word choice changes based on the setting. In science we examined balanced and unbalanced forces, and we started learning about the coastal redwood forest!

Next week (in only 4 days!) we will analyze arrays to solve problems using 2s and 3s facts, we will be practicing some paragraph writing, and practice reading newspaper articles. If you like to read newspaper articles, it would be a great time to send in a video about the importance of learning how to read an article! We will continue our exploration of forces and the redwood forest. Be on the lookout for a permission slip and signup for our October 3 field trip to the redwoods, with lunch provided by Oakland Police Department!

Thank you SO much to everyone who has donated through our Amazon wishlist! Not every item comes with a packing slip, so if you donated and didn't hear from us, THANK YOU!!!!!!


Some people have been asking about extra math practice. Here's some links to printable and for purchase flashcards for math fact memorization:

August 26, 2019

We had a great week last week! We started working on multiplication and using our math books for homework and classwork. Students are learning how to take care of their materials and bring them back and forth every day!

Apparently I didn't format the google survey correctly for back to school night, so not everyone was asked if they would like to be a co-room parent. If you are interested please email me and I will add you to the list!

This week we are continuing in our math by making sure all students have an understanding of what is multiplication, and what is division, before we start learning strategies to help us memorize our facts. We are also continuing our study of the redwoods that we began last week, as well as looking at how setting affects a story in our examination of The Cowboy and the Black Eyed Pea.

Updates:

August 19, 2019

It was a pleasure getting to meet you all at back to school night last week! I included a link to my powerpoint presentation, as well as links to the volunteer paperwork for chaperones above. We had a great week last week, and are ready for another awesome week this week! This week we will beginning our fairy tales unit by studying The Princess and the Pizza. We will spend a few more days reviewing addition and subtraction strategies, as well as how to explain our thinking before diving in to our first module on Thursday. This means we won't have standard math homework until Thursday. We are also continuing our study of force and motion in science, and beginning our study of the redwoods!

It's going to be a great week! Parent-teacher conferences are the week of September 23, but I am happy to meet earlier if you'd like! Just send me an email and we can setup a time!

August 13, 2019

Welcome back to school and welcome to our website! This is where I will post information, news, and announcements pertaining to our class. I am so excited for this year and cannot wait to get to know everyone!

We have quite the week ahead of us for our first week: we will be spending a lot of time in the upcoming days and weeks learning how our classroom is run. This will be different from what the students are used to, we will be introducing a new seating style called flexible seating, which will be a big transition, but I know it will be very successful!

I am looking forward to getting to meet you all at back to school night on Thursday, and introducing our student teacher! This year is going to be amazing, I am so excited for it to start (so excited that I'm actually writing this letter in JUNE!) I know it's going to be an amazing year and I just can't wait to get started!

One thing I always like to say at the beginning of the year is that third grade is a huge developmental milestone for kids. Between ages 8-9 they go through a ton of changes that you can't see, but you can see the effects of those changes! Kids who have been super responsible their entire lives will start forgetting their library books or seeming like they've lost their minds, but don't worry, they'll get through it (and so will you)!! I had a parent come to me the first week of school a couple years ago and say "I didn't believe you about that whole development thing... but all of a sudden in the middle of summer everything just clicked! It's like we have a brand new kid!" I hope you'll be able to see that growth and change in your child this year!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! I am reached most easily by email: mfesmire@cv.k12.ca.us

I hope you all had a safe & relaxing summer and are excited for the new year, I know I am!