MAY+23

=**MAY 23**=

==** Madeline Beschen's grandpa, Ron Brown, is a commercial fisherman on the Mississippi River. He visited us today to talk about his job, and then we went outside to see the huge nets (which he makes himself!) and some very big (dead!) fish! There was lots of squealing, but lots of curious fingers touching the scales and gills! What a neat and fun presentation! We are SO glad "Grandpa" made the special effort to visit us here in Iowa! :) **==

__NOTE:__ School will be dismissed at 1:30 on the last day, June 6.

__IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:__ **Monday, May 30**...**No School.** Memorial Day **Monday, June 6**...__**Last Day of School! DISMISS at 1:30!**__ **Third grade awards are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on June 6 in the activity center.**

We continue to hear from our friends' adventures. Please ask your child what states and/or countries we are hearing from.
=== We are finishing up our unit on the Native Americans and Newcomers, Moving from Farms to Factories, Immigration, and The Age of the Automobile. WE will be TESTING over this unit next Wednesday, the 1st. A study guide has been completed and should be coming home with your child so that they can study. We have finished our research and your child will be writing their report in Language Arts with Mrs. Smith. ===

Thank you to Mrs. Rhoads for volunteering to create and assemble our Country Cookbooks! All students will bring home a cookbook at the end of the year. Thank you to those that have contributed a recipe.

We enjoyed some delicious food at our Country Potluck. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. For those of you who were unable to join us, please feel free to try some of the recipes once you get your cookbook! ENJOY!

** __Science:__ **
==We learned about the phases of the moon on Monday. On Tuesday we were outside using //our// bodies to understand the revolution of the //planetary// bodies around the sun! On Wednesday and Thursday we worked in small groups to go "planet hopping", as we read and then wrote information about the four inner planets on one day and the four outer planets the next.==

** __Language Arts/Writing:__ **
Students have been working to complete their "country" reports.

Encourage your child to bring home their author's notebook to share a few of their stories with you. Just remember to bring it back.
= ** __MISC:__ ** = = 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! =

Some students are stopping to play in the creek on the way home. We have had some parents concerned about the dangers of playing in the creek, especially without adult supervision and without parents' knowledge. Please remind your child that he/she should not stop to play, but instead head straight home.

//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 has just completed their final homework packet of the year EXCEPT for multiplication practice sheets. Those will continue to come home periodically. PLEASE, PLEASE continue to work on those facts over the summer. Please also encourage your child to continue to read, through the rest of the year AND all summer.

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.

www.multiplication.com is a great site to help your child practice math facts. My math class visits this site in school and they love it.

I have signed the class up on a numeration website called SUMDOG. Your child has been given a username and password. They are welcome to access this at home.

Our class is 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. 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.

Our class blog can be found at: [] e

Please help your child to remember to have their success charts signed weekly. We have students missing stamps and points because the chart is not signed. I remind them almost daily in class, but sometimes a reminder from home works better. Thanks

We recently had an opportunity to do an activity that required students to write down their home address. Many students did not know their address. Please check with your child to be sure that they know their home address, home and/or cell phone numbers. This is an important piece of information that your child should know. Thanks!

Please look over your child's homework packet before he/she returns it. We are seeing a number of careless errors. Our goal with the homework packets is to encourage responsibility by (1) having the packets returned on time and (2) having them accurately completed. This is the year when it's okay for mom and/or dad to help with the homework packets. Don't do it for them, of course, but do help your child learn to proofread and correct mistakes.

** __Mrs. Skahill/Miss Stephens:__ **
O ur end-of-the-year wish list:

**Ream(s) of colored copier paper; HP black ink cartridge #98 and/or color #95.**
= ** __Mrs. Schenck:__. ** = I have signed your child up for a website called Sumdog. The students have user name and password.

Continue reading and working with your child. Parental support at home plays a large role in the success of your child here at school.