December+10

=December 10=


 * Attention Parents: If you email one of us regarding changes in your child's dismissal procedure and you do not receive a reply acknowledging that we received the email, please call the office and have Soni notify your child of the changes. Our email has been known to go down, and sometimes we have subs that are not able to check our email or phone messages. Therefore your child may not find out about the change of plans. The safest route is to just always let the homeroom teacher //AND// Soni be aware of any important messages for your child. Thanks! **

// No homework packets until after Christmas! Merry Christmas from us! :) //
= We enjoyed a visit today from Kristie Gardner, mom of Alexandra Dickinson. She told us about her job in the construction business, and reminded us that ANY person can do ANY job if they just put their minds to it! Thanks, Kristie! We learned a lot!! (And we love those cool, flat pencils!) =

**// We have guest speakers, or other activities, scheduled until Christmas vacation. //**

 // Please consider joining us on a Friday in January or February! //
= =

 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Friday, Dec. 17....Your child's gift exchange book is due. Please have it wrapped, with a "to and from" gift tag attached.

Friday, Dec. 17...Kids' Club, 2:00

Wednesday, Dec. 22...Last day of school before Christmas vacation (full day)

== Please be sure your child is appropriately dressed for cold weather recesses! ==

__Math:__
Please encourage your child to practice their basic addition and subtraction facts. ===**We are continuing to work on chapter 2 which covers time, money, and calendar skills. ** ===

 __Social Studies:__
We are getting geared up to start our Flat Friend project. The flat friends were due last Monday. Please encourage your child to finish his/her friend if they haven't already. Please send in an address by Tuesday, as we are addressing our envelopes for our 'flat friends' then.

 __Science:__
= The students worked in small groups to write and illustrate "desert couplets" this week...they are on display on the bulletin board outside Mrs. Merical's room. We also visited two new habitats this week...the grasslands and the polar regions. It sounds like we may soon be experiencing some polar weather of our own! =

 __Language Arts/Writing:__
Our third graders continue to write their fiction stories. It is very exciting to listen to all of their ideas. We also have been working on organization of our stories and expanding our sentences. We also wrote letters to Santa!

 __MISC:__
==== //**Want to help our students become life-long learners? Then become a model for life-long learning by sharing! The third grade teachers are looking for individuals to share their passions, talents, and/or careers with our students. We would love for you to volunteer to come in and share with our third graders. If you are interested, or know of someone who would be willing to share, even via skype, please contact your child's teacher.**// ====

==== Please remember to send birthday invitations through the mail if the entire class is not invited. Also, the school requests that presents, sleeping bags, etc. be taken directly to the birthday girl/boy's house instead of coming to school with the students. We want to avoid hurt feelings. Thank you for your cooperation. ====

==== **//The town bus and bus 3 (Ruth Erdman's bus) are full. These buses are not able to take many extra students home. Please be aware of this when requesting bus passes for extra students to come home with your child.//** ====

=== Mrs. Comer has been working on a 2nd and 3rd grade art wiki - website to showcase project information, student examples, etc. Please feel free to check it out! http://vmelem-art-comer. wikispaces.com ===

==== **//The students are starting to practice keyboarding skills in computer class. You may access this link so your child can practice keyboarding at home!!//** __[] __ ====

 __Mrs. Volk:__
Your child may have brought home a skills packet or two in the past weeks. They may need your help with this. There is not a due date on this packet. I simply wanted to send home some practice skills that may go along with the goals they set after viewing their MAP scores. Please feel free to work on the packet during times that are convenient for your family. Also, your child is able to access Skills Iowa from home. This program will also help them with reading, vocabulary, math, and language arts. Please see a few paragraphs down for further information on the Skills Iowa Program.

I send an email to all the Christmas party volunteers. If you believe you signed up and haven't yet heard, please let me know.

The book order has arrived with the exception of one book.

Please visit my personal site to view our Best School Year Ever powerpoint. Thanks!

We have been using a computer program in school called Skills Iowa. This program allows students to work through specific skills in reading, math, language arts, and vocabulary at their own pace. Your child can access this program at home by typing in ac.corek12.com or by clicking on the SkillsTutor link on the Van Meter Elementary Voice and Tech site. The students have been given a personal username and password to use.

Wish list: sidewalk chalk, hula hoops, other small prizes to use for our PBIS rewards, dusting clothes, and an age appropriate game that addresses vocabulary words/skills. Thank you to those of you that have already donated! We appreciate it! Thank you to Greta and her family for donating colored paper, colored card stock, sidewalk chalk, air fresheners, and Lysol wipes. We very much appreciate it! Thank you to Audrey and her family for donating colored card stock and silverware! We were excited to receive them!

Our class will be participating in the Scholastic reading program this year. Students are encouraged to read at least 10 books this year at their level. Once all the students in our room have met the 10 book goal, Scholastic will donate books to needy schools in all 50 states. Information about this program came home with your child recently. Please continue to encourage your child to read, read, read! Remember to also keep track of the minutes your child is reading and record them on our reading calendar. Thank you to everyone who donated to Miss McIntire's going away gift. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.

 __Mrs. Skahill/Miss Stephens:__
**Please remember that your child has drawn another 3rd grader's name in our Christmas book exchange. The Scholastic order has been placed and I received word on Thursday that it's on its way! We are asking that all books be wrapped with a "to and from" name tag attached, and brought to school by Friday, December 17. Thanks!**

On our wish list: <span style="font-size: 1.1em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">//Ream(s) of colored copier paper; HP black ink cartridge #98 and/or color #95.//

===<span style="font-size: 1.1em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**<span style="font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">__Mrs. Schenck:__ ** === === ** I have placed the Scholastic book order and will send it home with your child when it arrives. If you stated that these were a "surprise", I will give you a call when the order arrives. Please remember to have the gift for a classmate wrapped with a "to and from" tag. Have these placed under our tree before Friday, December 17th. ** ===

I will be placing another order on Monday, if you forgot to send it to school with your child. (These should still arrive on time.)