Weekly Update-January 27

Announcements

Thank you to everyone who returned a conference form. Your confirmation form containing your day and time of the conference will come home in next week's Friday folder. Please let me know as soon as possible if something has changed and you will not be able to make it. It is a school-wide expectation to have 100% face-to-face attendance for conferences. Please help me make this goal!

Your third grader should have brought home a note about Valentine's day on Monday. If students are bringing in Valentine cards, please have them use the class list sent home to make sure they have one for everyone in the class. They are also welcome to make a mailbox or container to receive their Valentine cards, but this is optional.

Please make sure to initial homework spirals each night. This lets me know that students completed their reading. Thank you!

Our classroom is in need of #2 pencils and notebook paper. Any donations would be greatly appreciated!

In the Classroom

In math this week, we finished our contextual unit of multiplication and began focusing on the facts. We studied the factors of 2 and 5 this week. Each student is making a personal set of flashcards that will be used in the classroom and sometimes sent home to practice for homework.We will continue studying the factors next week.

In writing this week, students finished their first drafts of their expert books. We studied the rubric they would be graded on and started revising their books. We will continue revising next week, and then begin publishing!

Our focus in reading this week was to identify the main idea and supporting details in a text. We used the non-fiction book, Mysterious Magnets to do this as a class. Students were also practicing this skill in their reading groups by using different non-fiction texts.

In Geography this week, we finished our study of maps and map skills by discussing latitude and longitude. We also practiced locating objects by using a coordinate grid. Students used real maps of Columbia and even got the opportunity to design their own map and incorporate the items we have been studying. 

Upcoming Events

February 6-No School, Teacher Workday

February 9-Bookapalooza

February 14-Valentine's Day Room Party, 2:15-3:00
February 16-17-Parent Teacher Conferences

February 17-No School

February 20-No School, President's Day

Weekly Update-January 20

Announcements

Conferences forms are in the Friday folder this week. Please try to return these as soon as possible so I can begin scheduling. Thank you!

Literacy Night:  Bookapalooza 2017!

Bookapalooza 2017 is Thursday, February 9 from 6- 8 pm.   We’ll have cheap books, good food and fun!  We’ve planned a kids’ poetry jam, a used book sale, book-themed raffle baskets created by our own PKE teachers, cool guest readers, pizza $1/slice, and more. 

We are currently collecting children’s books, DVDs, and magazines for the Used Book Fair.  If you have donations, please bring them to the Paxton Keeley office.

Watch for more information in the coming weeks.   If you have questions or would like to volunteer for Bookapalooza, contact Jill Varns at jvarns@cpsk12.org

 

We’ll see you there!

In the Classroom

In math this week, we met a new friend named Antonio. We knew that Antonio was 4 feet tall, but he
wanted to find out how tall and wide other objects were in his city. Students were asked to find the measurements of these things without using a ruler. It was very interesting to see the different strategies they used! We related this to multiplication by making observations such as, "That building is 8 times as tall as Antonio, so it is 8 X 4 or 32 feet tall."

We also practicing skip counting by making cube trains and measuring strips for various factors. We used the strips to compare different factors and analyze the relationships. For example, the 6 strip is double the length of the 3 strip.

In writing this week, students were busy drafting their expert books. Most students completed a rough draft of the first few chapters, including the introduction. We will continue to draft next week, as well as start researching to fill in any gaps in our sections.

In Geography this week, students explore maps. We used the maps that were brought in on Tuesday to do a gallery walk. While we were exploring, we created a padlet to keep track of our noticings and observations. 

We also studied directions and compass roses. On Thursday, students created collage compose roses!

Upcoming Events

January 9-23-Shakespeare's Frozen Pizza Fundraiser

January 26-Family Movie Night at 6:00, The Lego Movie

February 6-No School, Teacher Workday

February 9-Bookapalooza

February 14-Valentine's Day Room Party, 2:15-3:00

February 16-17-Parent Teacher Conferences

February 17-No School

February 20-No School, President's Day

Weekly Update-January 13

Announcements

We have a lot going on here at Paxton Keeley! Please make sure to check out the upcoming events at the bottom of the post.

In the Classroom

In math this week, students used stamps to practice efficient math strategies. As we looked at different sized groups of different valued stamps, students skip counted, added, multiplied, and manipulated numbers to find the totals. 

At the end of the week, students also designed their own stamp sets and calculated the totals.

In writing this week, we started organizing our non-fiction expert books. Students color-coded their list of facts to group them and then gave categories names. Finally, we formed our Table of Contents. We also explored non-fiction books to learn all about the text features.

In reading this week, students were administered a reading test. We also spent time discussing Martin Luther King Jr.

We began our Geography unit this week. Students discussed where in the world they would want to visit. We also used Google Earth to go on a scavenger hunt. Students were able to enter the White House, use their address to see their house, and find the Eiffel Tower.

Upcoming Events

January 9-23-Shakespeare's Frozen Pizza Fundraiser

January 16-No School, MLK Jr. Day

January 26-Family Movie Night at 6:00, The Lego Movie

February 6-No School, Teacher Workday

February 9-Bookapalooza

February 14-Valentine's Day Room Party, 2:15-3:00

February 16-17-Parent Teacher Conferences

February 17-No School

February 20-No School, President's Day

Weekly Update-January 6

Announcements

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break. I loved hearing stories about the fun activities your families did over break. The students and I have used this week to get back into our routines and review expectations. We worked in groups to design posters of what it looks like to be a Paxton Keeley student and a student in our classroom.

Please check with your third grader about supplies. I have many students saying they do not have any more pencils. Some students have also lost their scissors and are using class-supplied pairs. As we still have many months of school left, it would be helpful for your third grader to get additional supplies if they need them.

As it is getting very cold out, please see the policy below regarding going outside for recess:

These are guidelines only and not meant to be a substitute for professional judgment.

WINTER

32 degrees to 90 degrees – comfortable for outdoor play

10 degrees to 32 degrees – use caution. May be necessary to decrease outdoor time.

10 degrees or below - children should not go outside.

**Temperature includes wind-chill 

See below for a note from our PTA President, Kristin Eastman:

Hello PKE families!

We hope everyone had a wonderful winter break! We have had a few new faces at our meetings, which is so exciting. We hope many more come out for our meeting on Jan. 9^th at 6:30pm. PTA has been busy planning exciting events that are coming up in these next few months!

Please add these events to your calendars!

·         Jan. 9 - 23 Shakespeare’s Frozen Pizza Fundraiser

·         Jan. 26 – Family Movie Night 6pm showing The Lego Movie

·         Feb. 9- Bookapalooza

·         April 28 Color Fun Run

We are asking for volunteers to help with the Shakespeare’s Fundraiser. This is an EASY ONE! We are in need of 1-2 people to enter the orders on the Shakepeare’s order form and 1-2 volunteers to help with delivery. The delivery should only last 30-45 minutes. If you can help in any way, please contact PTA President, Kristin Eastman at pkepta01@gmail.com.

Thank you again to all of our families in supporting your child through PTA! If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the playground, we’ve broken ground! YAHOO! This is all due to your hard work!

WAY TO GO COMETS!

PKE PTA

In the Classroom

In math this week, we started a new unit called Groceries, Stamps, and Measuring Strips. This is a contextual unit which will provide a real world application of the early multiplication concepts we covered before break.

In writing, we continued our work with the non-fiction unit and our expert pieces. Each student made a list of what they already know about their topic and we started organizing our facts into categories.

We used these three days to finish our book club book and practice independent reading. We also read a Scholastic News Magazine.

We finished our science unit on Force. Students explored the force of magnetism by doing the floating pencil trick. We also defied gravity using our magnets!

Upcoming Events

January 9-23-Shakespeare's Frozen Pizza Fundraiser

January 16-No School, MLK Jr. Day

January 26-Family Movie Night at 6:00, The Lego Movie

February 6-No School, Teacher Workday

February 9-Bookapalooza

February 14-Valentine's Day Room Party, 2:15-3:00

February 16-17-Parent Teacher Conferences

February 17-No School

February 20-No School, President's Day