November+4

=__**NOVEMBER 4**__=

**Don't forget to FALL back an hour this Saturday night!**

Tues., Nov. 15...2nd-3rd grade Music Program; Report at 6:45 p.m. to your child's homeroom; Wear red, white, and blue!
(Preschool fundraiser pasta dinner before concert in cafeteria. Free will donation.)

Wed., Nov. 23-Fri., Nov. 25...NO SCHOOL! Thanksgiving Vacation.
Please remember to collect and return the money for the spelling challenge. Money was due on October 31st! Thank you for supporting our school through the VMEPC!

** //Don't forget about the BOOK IT! program!// **
** //The new November calendar has been sent home. Read, read, read!// **

One of our annual, and favorite, assemblies every year is The Old Creamery Theater's Young People's Tour. It is always packed with fun skits and songs, based on a theme. ==== The theme this year is "The Very Best Me". They are looking for original stories, poems, or songs that focus on characters striving to do their personal best by using one or more of the pillars of character. ====

It would be fun to announce a winner from our school when The Old Creamery Theater visits us on April 16!
//** Parents: Just a reminder that after 3:00, you should pick up elementary students through the cafeteria door entrance. A new state law requires bus and parent pick-ups to be at different entrances. Once the buses start lining up at 3:00, parents should NOT use the front entrance to pick up students. You may park in the pick-up lane in front of the cafeteria door, or in parking stalls on the east side of the building. Please wait in the cafeteria at the end of the day for students. If you wish to visit with a teacher, you are welcome to come down to the classrooms after students are dismissed. **//

=== //In the mornings, the front of the elementary is for __student drop off only__. If parents are wanting to come into the building in the morning, please park in stalls along the north or east sides of the building.// ===

===** Your child has been introduced to the Skills Iowa computer program. This is a computerized program that your child can access at home. S/he can work on a variety of reading, vocabulary, math, or language arts skills. You will find the link on the Van Meter Library and Tech site. S/he has been given a username and password, which should be written on the front pages of their planner. Please feel free to investigate at home. Thanks! **===

=== Both homerooms will have a "Homework Club" each quarter. We will keep a chart in our rooms, tracking which students return their homework packets on time each week. Students who consistently return their packets each week will be rewarded at the end of each quarter! ===

=== //We have been informed that the kitchen can no longer store items that need to be frozen or refrigerated. You will need to provide a cooler if your child is bringing treats that require refrigeration. Thank you for your cooperation.// ===

__**LITERACY:**__
Please check out the link below to follow our Roald Dahl 50th birthday celebration activities. @https://sites.google.com/a/vmbulldogs.com/van-meter-technology/author-and-book-news/3rd-grade/follow-that-peach We are introducing organization in the 6-Traits of Writing. In reading, we will make predictions and connections. We will use context clues, identify main events, question, and infer. Please encourage your child to read at home.

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This chapter will focus on place value--specifically reading, writing, and identifying place values of digits in whole numbers through hundred thousands. We will round numbers through four digits, compare and order numbers, and analyze and solve problems using skills and strategies. ===== Please continue to practice the basic math facts. Many of the errors we see with addition and subtraction of greater numbers are errors in our basic facts, not errors in the process.

__SCIENCE:__
We just //had// to celebrate Halloween on Monday with a "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" game involving dice and drawing a skeleton! On Tuesday we practiced different ways of writing science reflections. In 3rd grade, each students keeps a science notebook, which is a valuable resource of information learned in each unit, as well as a glossary of important vocabulary words. In addition, for 2nd quarter we are also adding the component of written reflections to our notebooks. The reflections are an assessment tool for me... //and// a way for the kids to reflect upon what they've learned, to ask questions, to make comments, etc. But, it takes practice to learn how to write a "reflection" and not just spout off a list of facts! So this is something we'll be working on for the rest of the year, and then science notebooks and reflections will continue to be used in 4th and 5th grades. On Wednesday and Thursday we began a new unit on "Changes". We discussed the properties of liquids and solids and did an experiment that involved mixing one particular solid (Alka Seltzer!) with a liquid (water). The kids are learning to use descriptive words to explain what they're seeing (for example, the solid was chalky, smelled like vinegar, crumbly, etc. and the liquid was clear, pure, fluid, etc.) So in addition to our observations during the experiment, we worked on good vocabulary and descriptions as we wrote up our experiment results and reflections.

= __**SOCIAL STUDIES:**__ = ==== We are continuing to look for a volunteer to help us turn the paper design into a fabric flag. The flag isn't due until the end of the year when we host our country potluck. If you are interested in helping us with this project, please contact Ann Volk. ====

Please remember to send in an address for our Flat Friend Project.

We will be starting our unit on the Hopi, Iroquois, Jamestown settlers, and Salem. We will be discussing how resources were used, the problems the colonists had adapting to the new lands, and how the Powhatan helped the settlers. We will also be inviting Living History Farms in to teach us about the Ioway Indians, which will be compared to the Hopi and Iroquois. ==== Check with your child about Daily Detective. The purpose of this project is to not only help the students learn about the countries of the world, but also to help them research. Each day a new clue will go up on our 'detective board'. The students will be able to write the clue down and bring it home so that you can, if needed, help your child to identify the country. The clues start out very broad and as the week goes on, get more specific. Please ask your child about Daily Detective and each daily clue. ==== Congratulations to Lucy for solving the Daily Detective last week.

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Congratulations to our entire class. Everyone was able to participate in the Fax Gilbert success chart celebration today. Keep up the good work and good behavior. I am proud of the class! =====

Please encourage your child to read at home. Our goal, again this month, is 400 minutes. The participating students read a total of 6,370 minutes in October! Let's try to beat that time and have everyone participate. Please feel free to visit with your child about their reading. I sent home a list of questions that may help you facilitate a reading conversation with your child. Thank you for your continued support at home.

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Thank you to all our Halloween volunteers. The treats were delicious and 'fairly' healthy, which is hard to do at Halloween! :) LOL You are important to us and the success of our parties. We can't do it without you! =====

We are still looking for some helpers. Please let me know if you are interested in signing up for any of the following spots: We are needing someone to bring in a drink item for the Christmas party, and another person to bring in a non-edible treat for the Valentine's Day party. Please let me know if you are interested in helping with any of these areas!

Book orders are due on the 9th of November. They should arrive before we leave for Thanksgiving break. If you would like to order books for a gift, simply place your order and then let me know that it is a secret and I will contact you when they arrive. If you look on line there are many more choices as well as a sale book list. Thanks

Congratulations to the students who were members of our 'homework club' in October. These students successfully turned in their homework on time every week or only missed one week. Let's work to have 100 percent participation in November!

**__MRS. SKAHILL/MISS STEPHENS:__** ====** Thanks SO much to Phyllis Jones for chairing our Halloween party, and to her wonderful assistants Autumn Morrison, Lisa Hulscher, and Staci Braun! We enjoyed great food and fun games, and I so appreciated their wonderful planning! The kids had a blast! **====

**During Nov. and Dec., please let me know if you want something ordered and kept secret for a Christmas gift!**
====** Please have your child read for Nov. Book-It. This month's goal is to complete 250 minutes of reading time AND the book report printed on the back of the calendar. I'd like to see 100% participation from our class this month! (It's a great excuse to go to Pizza Hut!!) **====

** Congratulations to the following kids who met the October Book-It goal: Lily, Kennedy, Emma, Dylan, Josie, Gavin, Claire, Connor, Jaeden, Zach, Sydney, Kaleala, and Brandon! **
**And...congratulations to ALL the kids (and you parents!) for being members of the 1st Quarter Homework Club! Every single student either returned their homework packet EVERY week, or only missed one week! Keep up the good work for second quarter!**

**WAIT...THERE'S MORE...one more congratulations to ALL! Everyone earned at least 85% of their success chart points during the first quarter, and were able to attend our all-school celebration this afternoon! Fax Gilbert presented a fun program of magic with an emphasis on displaying good character.**

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Just a reminder: Spelling word lists are handed out at the //beginning// of each unit so they can be studied in preparation for the cloze test. Watch for the word lists glued into the planner. As mentioned previously, we won't be taking a cloze test every week...we work up to tests as we go through the word/phonics lessons in each unit. =====