October+28

=__**OCTOBER 28**__=

= __** ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING DATES :**__ =

** //The October calendar is due on Monday or Tuesday, and a new one for November will be coming home// __ //!// __**
= AND...Don't forget about our VMEPC "Spelling Challenge" Fundraiser! = = Mon., Oct. 31...Pledge envelopes and money due back at school =

And here's another chance to write:

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.// ===

=== Each grade level is needing a representative to the Van Meter Elementary Parents' Committee (VMEPC). This person will attend the VMEPC meeting each month (every third Thursday, usually at 7:00 p.m.) to represent your child's grade level. You will help make decisions regarding the elementary fund raisers, money usage, and teacher support. The VMEPC is a great way to be involved and to meet other parents! Please let us know ASAP if you are interested in serving as the rep from either Mrs. Volk's room or Mrs. Skahill's/Miss Stephens' room. Thank you! ===

=== ** 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 had lots of fun and lots of cool learning experiences this week with a website devoted to monarchs and their migration. The Mac Cart came in and each child had their own laptop with which to enjoy activities, migration maps, mystery photos, slideshows, and exploration. They would like to share it with you at home too:[| learner.org/jnorth] We now have two older laptops that will stay in the classroom so we can continue to track our monarchs' progress to Mexico, their wintering, and then their return north next spring!

= __**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. ==== Social studies tests have finally been completed and will be returned next week. We have started our Flat Friend Project and we are needing addresses. I sent home the informational letter on Wednesday and the addresses are due on Friday the 4th. Thank you for your help with our 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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**PLEA for HELP: My family adopted a Cockatoo and a Quaker from the Parrot Rescue. (CRAZY, I know) We are looking for cardboard egg cartons because the cockatoo loves to shred. :) Please send any egg cartons to school and drop them off in my room. We know he loves to play with and destroy them. Thanks for your help!** =====

Thank you to everyone who signed up to help with our parties this year. 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 those areas!

Thank you for attending parent/teacher conferences. I enjoyed visiting with you! If you were unable to make it, please let me know if you would like to schedule a time to meet. Also, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that arise during the year.

** __MRS. SKAHILL/MISS STEPHENS__ **
==== 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. ====