Room 17 Wilmington Manor

Wow! It is hard to believe that we are almost to the end of the fourth marking period.  We have finished Theme 4 in our reading series and have begun taking our End of Theme Assessments.  We will begin our new story on Thursday, February 26th.  In math we are also winding down our multiplication and division book.  Please continue to work with  your student on his/her multiplication facts.  It is imperative that each student knows these facts by fourth grade.  We will continue to revisit them throughout the rest of the year.    In science, we have wrapped up our water unit.  The students had a blast creating a working water wheel on Friday the 20th.  I will be posting pictures in the hallway of the water wheel experiment.

Our class will be working with the University of Delaware over a 3 week period by allowing a few students join our class to gain teaching experience.   The two students are Ms. Schussler and Mr. Coppock.  They will be joining our class on Thursday, February 26th and stay with us for five full days.  We won’t see them again until March 23-March 27th and then again in May.  The two of them will be required to teach lessons during their time here, either with the whole class or in small groups.  The class is very excited about having them join us.

Have a great week! 

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are only a week away from Winter Vacation!  We are working hard in Room 17.  As the vacation gets closer the more excited the students and I become!  Our last day of school is Friday, December 19th.  We will reopen on Monday, January 5th. 

We have been continuing to work on our weekly reading stories.  Some of the students have moved reading levels and they are ecstatic about where they are.  It is fun to see how nicely the group works together during small group work.  The class really loves meeting at the small group table and the groups are usually very enthusiastic while working with me. 

In math, we are wrapping up another unit.  We will test on this unit tomorrow.  We will begin unit four on Monday of next week.   The students are getting better at finding strategies to help them solve problems if they aren’t efficient at using equations. 

Social Studies is also wrapping up tomorrow.  We will be working on the quiz and then begin science on Monday.  We will spend next week as a preview week for science.  When we return on January 5th, we will officially begin our Water Kit.  The kids are excited!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday.  Thank  you for all of the support each and every one of you give your student!  It makes teaching sooo much easier!

Dear families,

It was a pleasure meeting with all of you this week to discuss your child’s academic progress.  Please know that although conferences are over, my door is always open.  I encourage you to contact me about your child’s behavior and education whenever needed. 

On Monday, we will take our trip to the DuPont theatre. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time.  We are on a very tight schedule that morning and will not be able to wait for students that are not here.  If your student misses the bus, he/she will spend the morning in a different classroom completing work until we return.

The students only have school on Monday and Tuesday of next week.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We will be back on the first of December.

Have a great weekend!

Hello Families,

What fun we have had this week during Spirit Week!  Our class received several compliments for having the most spirit in third grade.  We tied with Mrs. Zimmerman a few of the days.  This week made coming to Wilmington Manor a lot of fun!  We can’t wait to have Spirit Week again!

I am sorry I haven’t posted any notes in a while.  We have been very busy in Room 17.  We are wrapping up our second reading theme.  We finished this week off by taking a theme test today.  The students also took another spelling inventory to try and move up to a different word study group.  Please don’t be alarmed if your student comes home with a new group listed at the top of his/her word study cards.

Next week is conference week. I have heard from almost every student.  Due to conferences, I will not be sending home Friday reports on the 21st.  Please make sure you have arrangements made for your student as we have half days on the 18th-21st. 

We were approved for our field trip to the DuPont Theatre on the 24th. Your child has taken home the permission slip today.  Please return the money and form as soon as possible.  We are sorry for the short notice but it took longer to get approved.  Thanks for your immediate attention to this form.

Have a great Weekend!!!

Hello Families,

The children were very excited to report there was frost on the ground and it was “Freezing!” outside this morning.  I just wanted to take the time to remind you that we will go outside every day unless it is raining, snowing, if snow is on the ground or if it is 32 degrees or below outside.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately and has the right outerwear for recess.

In reading, we have continued working on our weekly stories.  I have started working with every student in a small group.  The students enjoy coming over and reading a story that is designed specifically for their level.  When students are at the small group table the rest of the class is busy working on center activities that are designed for their level.  The class is doing a good job getting all of the work done that is assigned to them for this independent work time.

In math, we are wrapping up our second unit. We will have an end of unit assessment on Wednesday of this week.  The students have enjoyed making bar graphs, line plots and doing measurement activities.  

We have been learning a lot about the human body in science.  This week, we are working on our last investigation which is all about coordination.  Our end of unit assessment will be given on Friday, October 24th. 

I have slowly started posting grades on eschool.  Please be patient as I find the time to get them into the system.  If  your student has a blank space, this means he/she hasn’t turned it in to me.  If your child has an NG in the space, this means your child wasn’t assigned that specific assignment.  The NG means “no grade” and this will most likely occur in our reading class.

Please join us on Thursday, October 23rd at the Hares Corner McDonald’s.  I will be there washing tables from 4:30-5:30.  Hope to see you there

Hello Families,

We are finishing up another great week in Room 17.  We are just about to finish our fifth reading story for Theme 1.  The students are excited about reading this week’s story as a play.  Today in reading, we split up into three teams and had certain parts that were assigned to us.  Every group worked really well together.  At the end of next week, we will be taking our End of Theme 1 Assessment.  This will review all of the topics we have studied during Theme 1. 

In math, we have begun our second unit on Surveys and Line Plots.  The students enjoyed playing Guess My Rule and then representing the data on a bar graph.  Some students are very good about describing the data they see on a bar graph. I have commended many students on how well they challenge themselves to write a good response.  Keep it up!

In science, we have wrapped up our Investigation on Bones and are working on the Investigation for Joints.  The students got to understand what it is like if we did not have opposable thumbs.  Ask them about having their index finger and thumb immobilized and then needing to do certain activities that require us to use them.  They found simply every day activities to be a challenge for them.

Almost every student has taken the math test on Success Tracker, which is on the computer.  If your student has time at home, they can che

Hello Families,

Thanks to all of the parents that were able to make it to Open House on Tuesday. It was nice to meet you.  I can’t wait to meet those parents at conference time that weren’t able to attend.

I have started working with students in small groups this week.  I have begun to work with students that are working below grade level at this time.  My goal is to be working with the other groups by the start of the second marking period. 

In math, we have wrapped up our first unit and tested on it on Friday.  We will start unit 2 on Monday!  Look for the test in your child’s academic folder on Monday. 

We have begun our science kit on the Human Body.  The kids are so excited and are very eager to learn all that they can.  Ask your child this weekend about our owl pellet experiment. 

Academic folders will go home on Monday.  I thought I could get them done by Friday, but I had a busy week at home and was unable to do so.  The marking period is quickly winding down so this will be the last academic folder until after the marking period is over. 

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Hello Families,

We have been working very hard in our classroom this week.  We have wrapped up our first Social Studies unit on Communities and are VERY excited about starting science on Monday.  The first science kit will be on the Human Body.  The students can’t wait! 

I want to thank everyone for sending back the academic folder back promptly.  I read all of the comments and hopefully answered most questions via the homework notebook.  I hope to get another academic folder sent home by next Friday (9/26).

Next Wednesday, I plan to be working with one small group each day.  I will start off with the group that is working below level as they are the ones that are struggling.  I will then begin to add the students that are working on grade level, and then pull the students that are above grade level.  I hope to send home a note on Tuesday letting you know which group I have placed your student in.  The groups have been determined based on the STAR tests and how your student did on last year’s DSTP, as well as, how they are currently working in the classroom this year.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the placement of your child once I send it home. 

I hope to meet many of you at Open House on Tuesday, September 16th at 7:15. 

Have a great weekend!

We have had a great week!  We have wrapped up our first story in our new reading series and have begun story number 2.  On Tuesday, we took the test that goes with the story.  I have discussed this test with the students and have given the class some new strategies to try for our next one. 

On Monday, September 8th, I will be sending home a folder that has some of your child’s graded work in it.  Please review this work and send the entire folder back to me .  Inside the folder should be a signature page stating that you received it and reviewed the contents.  I will keep this work until May and then send what I don’t need back to you.  If you need to keep the folder for an extra night, please write me a note in your child’s homework notebook. 

The blue math folder your student took home on Thursday needs to remain at home in a safe place.  This folder should store the math games that get sent home throughout the year.  The only items that I would need back would be the recording sheets. I apologize for not sending home the 100 chart your child needed to play the game Capture 5.  I have since sent that home so please try to play Capture 5 over the weekend.  The 100 chart will come in handy so please place it in the math folder. 

Have a great weekend! 

 Wow! What an awesome start to the new school year!  I am pleased to say that every student  has remembered to turn in his/her homework each night it was assigned.  Keep it up!  We have begun all of our first units in each curriculum area.  The kids have been working hard both independently and with partners.  I have enjoyed listening to all of the discussions happening during our math groups.  Each student has really taken to heart our “STAR STUDENT” attitude.  We have already earned 4 compliments and are on our way to our first goal of 10.  I am very proud of how well the class is working as a TEAM. 

Thank you again for filling out ALL of the paperwork you have received.  I promise it will soon diminish.

Please remember to always email, call, or write me a note regarding any questions or concerns.  I always tell my class, if you don’t ask, I can’t help.