October+21

__**OCTOBER 21**__
====** Unfortunately, we had a few random acts of thievery in our third grade rooms today. Mrs. Volk had her childhood 'blankie' stolen and Miss Stephens/Mrs. Skahill had a green frog stolen. Fortunately, Judge Walton (AKA Mr. Thomas Walton) visited today and was able to preside over our court proceedings. Since the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty our classrooms were made up of prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, witnesses, a jury, and a defendant. Please ask your child if the defendant was proven innocent or guilty! **====
 * Thank you to Tom for coming back again this year to provide this experience for our third graders! Thank you also to our third graders for being such good sports and playing the part! **

** __Please return your Parent-Teacher Conference Slip if you have not already done so! Conferences are next week, and we look forward to seeing you on Oct. 25 or Oct. 27!__ **
**Monday: WE WILL TEAM UP AGAINST DRUGS!** **Tuesday: WE WILL STOMP OUT DRUGS!** **Wednesday: WE ARE RED-Y TO SAY "NO" TO DRUGS!** **Thursday...WE DON'T MESS WITH DRUGS!**
 * Next week is Red Ribbon Week, a week when the entire country pays special tribute to the value of living a drug-free life. In addition to "public service announcements" on the intercom each morning, and a special guidance lesson and bulletin board activity, each day will have a special theme: **
 * (Wear your favorite team shirt.)**
 * (Everyone will get "stamped" with this message!)**
 * (Wear red...the color that symbolizes being drug-free.)**
 * (But Mrs. Skahill has a "mess of stuff" to give away, and eveyone will get a bookmark, wristband,**
 * tattoo, ribbon, eraser, or sticker!)**

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

==== **//Halloween Parties will be held on Monday, October 31st. All parties must be held in the afternoon. The school is encouraging each classroom to have a 'healthy' Halloween party. Please consider bringing healthy snacks. Also, we are asking parents to bring light colored drinks so as to avoid stains on the carpeting. Students may wear their costume for the party but may not wear make-up, scary or incredibly violent costumes in school. Weapons must be left at home. Thanks!//** ====

==== ** There's a lot at stake in addition to just collecting pledge money! If we as an elementary, K-5, can spell 4500 words correctly, everyone gets 10 extra minutes of recess! 6500 correctly spelled words earns everyone one full extra recess! 8500 words spelled correctly will result in an all-school ice cream party! ** ====

Do you like to write? Consider entering Mrs. P's (Kathy Kinney, AKA Mimi from the Drew Carey Show) writing contest. Please visit the following website for information.
@http://www.contest.mrsp.com/

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 the 6-Traits of Writing and will be focusing on the trait of IDEAS. 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 concluded our unit on coordination and stimulus/response this week with some more activities to test our response times and abilities. We even measured responses in 100ths of a second, and we talked about factors (such as illness, fatigue, practice, etc.) that can affect our response times. We ended the week by writing a science reflection which you will see next week at conferences. Students even gave themselves letter grades on their work and their behavior!

= __**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. ==== Our social studies test is scheduled for Monday, the 24th. Your child was given a study guide on Thursday. This guide is not one that needs to be completed. It is simply a sheet to help them review. Please feel free to help your child study. We did completed a chapter review and played Bingo in class to help us study. 'How' to take the test will be reviewed before the test is given. Students will also have the option of having the test read to them. We will be starting our Flat Friend Project. We will be needing addresses. Please check with your child after next Tuesday as an informational letter will be coming home. ====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 Isaac 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!

** __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. ====