First, I would like to thank all of you that helped make our class Halloween Party such a success, especially to our room moms, Mrs. Gibbons and Mrs. Milliner. We all had a great time playing games and munching on yummy pizza. Secondly, I would also like to share with you how grateful I am to work with such loving and well-behaved children. When I returned to class last Wednesday morning after a very stressful week, the kids greeted me with hugs and smiles that lifted my heart and spirits.

Last week we started reading a new book, Bunnicula, please look for it to come home. We have also started multiplication and it would be helpful if the kids had flash cards to use at home to practice with nightly for about 5-10 minutes. We will be working on 2’s through 10’s….

Conferences start November 17th and there are still a few of you I haven’t heard back from about the scheduled time…I’ll be sending reminders to all this Friday. I have scheduled each conference for 25 minutes and I have lots to share, but this is also your time to ask me questions so please bring your concerns too

The man who does not read good books

has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Mrs. Jones

Thank you to those who volunteered to drive to down to San Rafael last week to visit the puppies at Guide Dogs. What a wonderful day, I think most of us wanted to leave with a puppy! There are still 3 more driving field trips, so please get your paper work in if you think you might want to drive. Next trip, Dec. 5th, out to Pt. Reyes.

This week there will be no spelling list or test, but I will be sending home another “Making Words” sheet that will be due on Thursday, Oct. 23rd. We will be having daily DOL sheets and the test on Friday.  We are starting a math unit about “time” this week. After time, we start multiplication, it is not to to early to start working those flash cards, we start with 2’s & 5’s. On Tuesday, I will be at Lawrence Hall of Science at an all day workshop and Wed. I will be going up to Washington to attend my mother-in-law’s memorial service…returning the following week.

Our room moms have a fun Halloween Party planned for the 31st, don’t forget the parade is early in the morning…see you then.

Mrs. Jones

“It takes each of us to make a difference for all of us.”

Jackie Mutecheson

New England vs Denver, Monday night

There will be no DOL this week. Please read below about field trip on Thursday.

Mrs. J

Whooo, the weeks are zipping by….

Just a reminder, on Thursday we are off to San Rafael to tour the Guide Dog facility. We will be leaving Rancho around 9:15 and will return for lunch. However, please pack a sack lunch for this day, just in case we are not back in time to buy lunch. Please dress the kids in layers (no shorts today), we will be outside the entire time. Thanks to all the many volunteers that offered to drive…remember we still have 3 more driving opportunities this year

The kids turned in their moon observations last Friday and we will spend time Monday afternoon talking and sharing those observations. I attached another moon log last week just in case you wanted to continue the experience with your child. ( not required, extra credit ) Over the course of the year I will be sending home other “family” homework, if for some reason you are unable to work with your child just send me a note and I will not hold your child responsible…I understand that things come up in our busy lives.

Last week I put together class book bags for each student. I used my fluency assessment and the leveling of AR to determine the reading ability. The books I put in their bags were pulled from different genre, books I thought a student might not be familiar with or pick out themselves. Each child will be responsible for reading these books in class, having a short conference with me on each book before trading a book.

Tomorrow we will be heading to the lab for extra time working in small groups of 4-5 students learning the ins and outs of “Word.” Misha’s brother will be helping us in the lab. Later that day, we will head back to the lab at our normal time and review taking test using AR. The kids will then take a quiz on the book we already read this year, Mouse and the Motorcycle. The Boxcar Children is another book the kids can test out of soon. When we were in the library last Friday, kids were told their level and asked to check out at least one AR book. We had our first “Mystery Reader” last Friday. Thank you Kristen’s mom, Ms. Irelan…we had a great time. There are still many dates open, and if you would like to come in more than one time, that is okay too!!

Also tomorrow we will be having an additional 30 minutes of PE. Mr. Gardner will be working with us and Mrs. Garaventa’s class till the end of the year. (9-9:30)

Busy in room 10.

Mrs. Jones

Purdue not looking too good…Patriots, without Brady not nearly as exciting, but watching my all time favorite quarterback, Drew Brees with the Saints is fun.

PS. Scholastic book order going in on the 15th, it was Science & Math books…

Happy October…

On Friday I sent out conference schedules, please look for them. If the day you signed up for no longer works for you, there are a few open spaces and wiggle room to move conferences around. I think many of you would agree that the work coming home in the Friday Folder is becoming more difficult and expectations for completion is more demanding. With that said, please understand we have a lot to cover this year before the high stakes of testing in May, and for some students the pace I set is difficult. On Monday, I plan to have a class meeting and explain my expectations and also explain how all students can be successful, but in the end it is the responsibility of each student to work at their own potential and ask questions when they need help.

I also sent home in the Friday Folder science homework for the week. The weather forcast looks good so I hope you will be able to get outside after sunset and observe the moon and write your observations for the week. I put an extra sheet in there in case you wanted to observe for two weeks. The kids will also be ask to read a chapter a night in BoxCar Children. Each day in class we sumarize the chapter read and then predict what we think will happen next. The kids are also answering comprehension questions in class for each chapter using the skill of turning a question into a statement giving detail to explain their thoughts.

This month’s character word is “Responsibility.” We will be talking a lot about this word in class and what it might look like in action. You might want to take a few minutes and speak to your child about their responsibities at home too

A few words from Eleanor Roosevelt on “Responsibilities”:

Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.

Curiously enough, it is often the people who refuse to assume any responsibility who

are apt to be the sharpest critics of those who do.

(1884-1962)

Make it a great week, don’t put away those summer clothes yet.

Mrs. Jones

The weeks continue to zip by, hard to believe it is almost October. In class today we wrote a Fall Cinquain poem and I’m ready for the warm jackets and the smell of burning leaves. There are no spelling words this week, however, look for “Making Words” and a spelling packet both due back on Thursday morning. I will also be sending home on Friday a note about science homework for the following week…observing the night Moon. At that time, it will be changing from a crescent Moon to a gibbous Moon….let’s hope we have no fog!!

Thank you for all the kind words given to me and for my family…turns out the memorial service will not be until Oct. 25th so I will be leaving a few days before this date…

Have a great week…

Mrs. Jones

FYI….Patriots play the 49′ers on Sunday

Another beautiful weekend, but where did that rain come from on Friday? In class we are continuing our exploration with the phases of the moon. Have you noticed that the moon can be seen during the day? Ask your son or daughter to explain how this can happen. Last week we spent the Wednesday morning talking about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I know this is not what you would expect in 3rd grade, but all students nationwide spent Constitution Day discussing the importance of this very special document.

Tomorrow I will be sending home permission slips for our upcoming field trip to San Rafael to learn about guide dogs. If you are interested I still need at least 2 drivers depending on the amount of seats your vehicle can transport. I also sent a sheet explaining what you need to do to get DMV clearance…the office has the forms or I can run it off for you too. Please take the time now if you think you might want to drive on future trips…it takes about 10 days to clear.

I also wanted to share some sad news that pertains to my family and hope you will understand my absence in the next week. My mother-in-law who has been in my life since I was 14 passed away Sunday afternoon. The family knew her life was coming to an end, but it is still always sad when a loved one leaves you. Unfortunately, she lives in Washington so I have a bit of a way to travel. At this time, arrangements have not been finalized so I will be at school tomorrow for sure…please know I will leave detailed lesson plans for my sub to follow to make sure “our” kids will not suffer because of my absence.

Mrs. Jones

Patriots 2-1

Just a thought:

When I play with my cat-who knows? She may be amusing

herself with me more than I am with her.

Michel De Montaigne (1533-1592)

September 14, 2008

What a beautiful weekend it was, starting with the Family Dinner. It was good to see so many smiling faces Friday night, I was tempted to try the rock wall, but thank goodness sanity prevailed! As you know the Family Dinner is one of the big fund raisers we have each year to help support the extra programs that our kids get to experience at Rancho, so thanks for coming and spending your valuable time with all of us.

All is well in room 10, we are making good progress in math with rounding. We will start observing the moon and discussing its relationship with earth this week. In social studies we are learning about California’s natural resources and how it impacts our lives and will then move forward and start learning about the first people of Marin, the Miwok Indians. In language arts we have been reading stories about friendship, what it is like to have a friend and how to make friends.

We have our first field trip coming up next month, so please get those pesty DMV forms completed if you want to drive. Also, I have received only 8 signed technology forms back…these were the ones in the Back-to-School Night packet, giving me permission to post your child’s picture on the class blog. We also  have many desirable dates still open for the Mystery Reader. If you have any questions about any of these items please just give a call or email me. Lastly, I’ll be sending in the Scholastic Book order on Thursday, so you still have a few days if there were books you wanted to order.

“The only way to have a friend is to be a friend.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Mrs. Jones

PS Patriots 2-0…

We are off to a great start! We started our study in science this week by tracing shadows on the playground and recording our predictions about the path of the sun. After much discussion we concluded the sun doesn’t move in the sky, but we are the ones moving. Next concept, rotation and revolution and how the moon is involved. As of now we have learned the c, d, a, g, and q in cursive, we push on to the i, j, and u. On Monday we start working on rounding numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand. I hope you have had a chance to take a look at the work coming home in the Friday folder, there is no better way to follow your child’s progress than going over the daily work. At times I send home papers that need to be corrected and returned to school on Monday.

I’m looking forward to Friday night and the Family Dinner, hope to see all of you there. Our class basket is coming along, only a few more days to donate, remember our theme “Loving Books.”

“I cannot live without books.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

What a great week! It was very nice to make new and renew acquaintances at Back-to-School Night last Thursday. I hope you have had a chance to look over the materials presented and have filled out your request for a “Mystery Reader” date and your “In a Million Words or Less” sheet. The first “Friday Folder” was sent home and maybe you have even had a chance to go through the work and get a feel for what is to come in the future. I was very happy overall with the first math test and spelling test. Speaking of the spelling test, I neglected to mention at BTSN that if your child scores 100% on the spelling pretest she/he is excused from the Thursday test, however, they are expected to do the spelling worksheets/homework during the week. As you go through the Friday Folder work please look out for papers that say “Correct and Return.” Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in class for your student to make corrections so I send it home for weekend review.

This week we will be starting our first science unit: Sun, Moon, and Stars. One of the activities we will be doing is watching the night sky and the changing moon…however, this might be a problem because some bedtimes come before the moon is high enough in the night sky for kids to see. In social studies we will be looking at the geography of California, and discussing the different regions comparing and contrasting these attributes and how it relates to our lives. This week we will also start to work on writing skills, mainly writing the “One Perfect Sentence.” Math is the continuation of place value to the ten-thousands place and rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. Whee…we have a few busy weeks ahead of us!

As I mentioned at BTSN, I want to hear from you as questions or ideas come up during the year so please don’t hesitate to call, email or stop by the classroom.

On ability and talent:

Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Have a great week!

Mrs. Jones