Mrs. Payne's Grade Three Class: March 2014

It is time for Mrs. Payne to buy a new computer! Sorry it has taken a while to get this posted, hopefully you have relied on the hard copy that came home in mail boxes to tied you over. My old laptop is not running blogger very quickly so I am forced to blog from the school after hours! It's a little tricky with the new set up but I think we've got it dialed in! Thanks to everyone who has signed up for the celebration of learning Thursday night 5:30-7:30pm. The kids have been working like crazy to make all kinds of things to show you! See you soon!

Important Dates!

March 4:Home Hardware fieldtrip

March4,11,18,25: After school skate at Nicholas Sheran 3:30-4:30

March 7,14,20,28: Spelling test days

March 17:Spirit Assembly @12:30 WEAR GREEN!!!!

March 13 Celebration of Learning 5:30-7:00PM

March 14: Report Cards come home!

March 20 & 21: Usborne book fair

March 20:P/T evening interviews/regular classes

March 21: No classes P/T interview

March 25: Hot Lunch Day

Science

We are continuing our building unit in science and the kids are starting to use terms like materials, tools, and fasteners! Each project we build is designed to help the children choose materials wisely and understand that everything they make has a purpose and a function. This unit ties together nicely with our Fairytale unit as we will test our bridges to see if they can support the weight of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff and will see if our houses from the Three Little Pigs can withstand an earthquake or windstorm! The kids are encouraged to talk about their projects afterward and decide what materials worked best and what designs they would modify and try again. Thank you again to our parent volunteers who helped out with Scientists in School Day! Another exciting part of our building unit is the trip to Home Hardware where we actually get to use the drill press , hammers, and nails! The kids will paint their pencil holders in Art when we get back! Can’t wait to set them on our desks and actually use them!

Fairytales!

We have so many things to do and learn this month and they all revolve around Fairytales. We are starting out with Jack & The Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Three Billy Goats and will be meeting The Three Little Pigs plus a few more over the next few weeks. The kids will be writing some fairytales of their own and our focus is making sure we have all story elements character, setting, problem and solution!

Report Cards

Report cards will be coming home on Friday March 14. We are having a Celebration of Learning on Thursday March 13^th from 5:30-7:00pm. You will be able to schedule a 20 minute slot using conference manager. This is an evening where your child can show what they know and update you on their latest projects and progress! Hope to see you there!

Math

Our new Geometry Unit in Math also ties in nicely with our Science Building and LA Fairytales! One of the big ideas in the geometry unit is that 2D items are called shapes and 3D items are called objects. The kids learn to use geometrical language and to describe, sort, and compare both 2D shapes and 3D objects. And of course, we get to build by replicating a design that is given and by problem solving the best way to fit pieces together. And of course we continue to reinforce the basic skills of number operation and number sense every day during our morning calendar time.

¬ Words Of The Week

March 3-7   too, soon, good, who, have

March 10-14 when, where, who, what, once

March 17-20 brown, brick, bring, pretty, from

March 24-28 daddy, mommy, funny, any, every

Usborne Book Fair

March 20 & 21

Times: 8:30-8:00pm Thurs

8:30-11:45 Friday

Payment of cash, cheque made out to Michelle Conrad, visa or MasterCard will be accepted March 19-21. The majority of the books will be ordered and delivered to your school in approximately 3 weeks. There will be a small selection available to purchase and take home from the fair. Your purchases will earn your school library 25% in free books!!! Come support your school and your child’s literacy.

All students will be entered to win the $25 FREE book draw that will be made March 21.

Conference Manager Instructions

Step 1

You can Pre-Register at https://mikemountain.schoolsoft.ca (DO NOT include “www” in the url)You can set up a Parent Account by following the link below. Click the REGISTER NOW button and complete the registration form. Your login credentials (email and password) will remain in the system to make it easy to access the Conference Manager in the future.

Please note that in order to enhance functionality and security, the Conference Manager requires you to use Internet Explorer 7 (or above), Firefox 3 (or above) or Safari 4 (or above). If you are using an older browser, the Conference Manager will automatically prompt you to update your browser and provide you with a link. This is a one-time process and only takes a couple of minutes.

Step 2 – Conference Manager Opens to Parents – Monday, March 10th at 6:00 am.

You can access the Parent Login Page using the link in the Confirmation Email. If you do not receive a Confirmation Email, you can login by going directly to https://mikemoutain.schoolsoft.ca

Step 3 -Book Your Time

Select the teachers of the classrooms you want to visit. You will see each teacher’s schedule. After booking your appointments you can print off your schedule. You will also receive an email containing the teacher name, time and location of the visit. You can log into the system at any time to view your bookings, print, cancel or re-schedule your “Celebration of Learning” time. You have the option of submitting comments or questions to the teacher as part of the booking process.

Important Dates

Monday, Mar. 10:

Conference Manager opens at 6:00 am

Thursday, Mar. 13: Conference Manager closes at 4:00 pm

If you do not have Internet access, you are welcome to contact the office and we will schedule your conferences on your behalf. If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact the school at 403.381.2211