Science Fun!!!

A note from Scientist (Miss) Argall:

 

In science our first unit focuses on Earth Materials. Last week we got to pretend to be geologist and study our own “Mock Rock.” We had to use different tools to look closely at all of the properties a rock has such as: color, shape, size, texture, and weight. The students are so excited to start breaking their rocks apart to see what truly makes up a rock.  Stay tuned for more pictures of our geologists at work! J

 

What a week it has been!

Here is a look at some of the things we did this week:

Cursive! The students are SOOOO excited to be learning cursive. Our goal this year is to learn how to form all the letters correctly and be able to read cursive fluently. Even though we aren't expected to master cursive, I anticipate that cursive will end up to be easier and neater for several students than printing. So far--so good! The students have been responding well to it! Almost every night, I will send home the sheet that we worked on that day (or the previous day).  Feel free to do more practice at home with your child, as we only allot about 5-10 minutes to this skill per day!

Characters & Setting! We've been digging deep the past few weeks looking at different ways of thinking about the characters and settings in all of the books that we are reading!  While you are reading with yo ur child at night, ask them more about the characters and the setting in their books!  I hope you will be impressed at their responses! We've also been drafting stories in writers workshop--using characters and setting as our foundation for our PERSONAL NARRATIVES!

Other topics we studied this week: how illustrations support the words in a story, words that end in -ing, 4 kinds of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory - yes, we used those words!), telling time on an analog clock (one with hands), measuring with inches and centimeters, and using tally marks and bar graphs to study data.

The coupon book fundraiser is in full swing! Westside will benefit $10 from every book sold!!! That's amazing!!! The students are very excited about the opportunity to earn money for their school and to earn prizes for their efforts. We talked about polite, safe, and strategic sales strategies and prepped the materials. Please consider purchasing one and helping your son or daughter to sell a few more. The coupons inside are FABULOUS, so I'm sure it won't be hard to "get rid" of them! **I'm gearing up to use one of the many coupons that Cherry Berry has included!

 I've been asking the students almost daily and our current classrom count is at 65--over half way to earning a pizza party! As a classroom, if we sell 100 books, we earn a pizza party. 

Hope your work week is wrapping up well. I'm looking forward to celebrating my 4 year wedding anniversary with my husband tonight! As for the weekend--I hope to have plenty of walks to the Shadowwood Park near our home and lots and lots of relaxing!

Thank you for sending your children everyday! I am enjoying getting to know each of them better!  They keep me on my toes and keep me laughing! 

 

Everyday Math & Raz-Kids

I hope you all had a restful weekend!  I was able to spend the majority of the weekend away at Fish Lake with some family.  I finished up the binding on a quilt that I have been working on for our new baby due in November!  I also enjoyed watching my husband learn how to sail in his uncle's sailboat--very interesting with the wind we had! :)

On Friday, our class spent some time in the computer lab getting aquainted with two educational websites that are available to them for curriculum support. I taped the internet login information into their home folders so they can access the websites at home as well as at school.

Everyday Mathematics:  everydaymathonline.com
Raz-Kids: raz-kids.com

During the next week, I will also be giving each of the students access to Book Adventure.  Hundreds of books in our school library have reading levels and quizzes aligned with them.  Each of the students can choose to check those books out to help improve their independent reading comprehension.  After a student finishes reading a "BA" book, they can log-in and take a quiz to earn points!  You can find this website @ bookadventure.com

Please e-mail or call if you have questions about any of these things!

Student Council Candidates & Scholastic Book Orders

Today our student council candidates were selected.  Each class--grades 3-5 is able to send 2 students to be a part of the Student Council.  Yesterday, we did an interview session with 12 out of the 24 total students in our classroom!  I am thrilled to have so many students interested in participating in Student Council--HALF OF OUR CLASS!

After our interviews, we did a classroom vote.  I also reviewed all student council applications (Thank you parents & community members for taking time to help your 3rd graders get those filled out) yesterday and this morning for those who were still finishing them up.  I talked to previous teachers as well as specialists throughout the building and adding everything up, I am happy to announce our 2 Student Council Members:

Katie & Aidan!!!!  Congrats!  We look forward to having you represent our classroom this year!

Every month or 2 I will be sending home Scholastic book orders!  This is an opportunity for students to build their home library + help build our classroom library.  Our current book order is due tomorrow-Friday, August 30, 2012.  Please view the website:  https://orders.scholastic.com/KWYLK if you would like to make an online order!

What an awesome day!!

Today was such an awesome day in 3rd grade!  The day started with Math!  Our math curriculum is all about learning through everyday experiences and today we were able to talk about where we see numbers!  (See homelink 1.1 in your child's home folder tonight for their homework assignment.)  There is also a "Unit 1 Family Letter" for you to hold on to throughout the Unit.   It will give you more information about the curriculum. Vocabulary, routines, and a homework key for the entire unit are also included in the family letter.  Please keep that as a guide to help you better understand the work that is coming home with your child each day!

We also started Cursive writing today--we practiced the Undercurve.  The students were really excited about it!  You will see cursive pages come home every few days!

We had a "Life Skills Behavior" Assembly today where all of the students in the building reviewed 2 of the 10 skills we have been working on!  Tonight--ask your children about the Life Skills of "Following Instructions" and "Listening" as they were practiced and reviewed today!

Lastly--I want to recognize a few students who showed OUTSTANDING behavior today: Andy, Dalyn, Elle, Tara, Travis, Nate S., Kylie, Peyton, Dante, Ulaini, Jack and Katie!

The following students also earned PAWSitive tickets for having a GREAT DAY: Calvin, Aidan and Katilyn!

Way to go GRADE 3!

Wow...what a day!

Whew, we made it!  Today was quite the whirlwind of a day!  Your children worked so hard, listened alot, moved alot, talked alot and even danced like animals!  Thank you for giving them the opportunity to learn!  I am so excited to dig into math, writing and reading next week! 

Just a few reminders...
Your children will be bringing an agenda home with them each night.  At the end of each school day, we will write the homework for the evening.  There will be a few things we ask for you to do each night--reading for 20 minutes is one of them!  We haven't started our literature groups yet, but once we do, I will be sending books home with them.  We also won't have our library time until next Wednesday, so watch for books to come home then as well!
Your children will also bring a home folder in their backpack each day after school.  (It is the same folder that Back to School information was sent in. This folder should come back each day to school. It's the easiest way to transfer papers and keep them organized.

In the home folder tonight:
Student Council information--only sent home with students who were interested in this opportunity. Please go through this information with your child and work with them to decide if they would like the opportunity.
Book orders--for those who weren't at back to school night, I also sent hom Book order forms. I received a few more in my mailbox today that will be sent home Friday 8/24/2012.  All book orders for August are due next Friday 8/31/2012!

Last, but not least!  We have gym this Friday, so please remember to have your child bring tennis shoes!

Have a great one!

Meet Mrs. Steinbrink

Thank you so much for visiting my classroom blog and being involved in your child's learning! I believe that by communicating openly between home and school, and by parents supporting academics at home, we can create an optimal learning experience for each student throughout the school year.

Let me introduce myself! I graduated from the University of North Dakota in May of 2008 with a B.A. in Elementary Education. That fall I began my career at Jefferson Elementary in Fargo as the YMCA before and after school program coordinator.  While in this position, we had our beautiful daughter, Emma!

In 2009, I accepted a traveling position between Lincoln Elementary and Bennett Elementary in Fargo as an English Language Learners teacher. In 2010, I made the move over to Westside Elementary and was the English Language Learner teacher here for the past two years.  I am very excited to begin a new adventure in 3^rd grade with a great team of teachers!

I've been fortunate to work with great families and staff, and have gained a wealth of knowledge through my work on the district's Report Card Committee and completing a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Minnesota State University-Moorhead in 2010.

My husband Elliot and I met in Grand Forks and were married shortly after graduation. Elliot owns an up-and-coming construction business –Steinbrink Construction. He is also a project manager for Holly & Company Classic Homes. We have been blessed with our daughter Emma, who is currently 3 1/2. Our family is expanding—with another little girl early this winter!  Our family loves to be outside running around our neighborhood, doing projects around our house, trying new recipes, and reading books. Emma knows just as much, if not more about tools than I do as she loves doing projects with daddy. I love to organize and decorate my home, do different craft and sewing projects and search Pinterest for new ideas!

Some of my favorite things are Starbucks, fruit smoothies, fabric and books.

I look forward to working with you!!

Mrs. Steinbrink