Week 37: May 29th- June 1st

Week 37:  May 29th- June 1st

Happy Last Week of School!

It's hard to believe we are starting our last week of school together.  Thank you for all your love and support you've shown your child as well as us this year. We are truly grateful for you all!  We wish you a happy, safe, and fun-filled summer!  

Please see below for the last few events we have together as a grade level: 

Monday, May 29: SCHOOL HOLIDAY

Thursday, May 31:  Talent Show in Cafeteria from 9:20-10:20pm and 4th Nine Weeks award ceremony in Discovery Center from 1:45-2:15pm. 

Friday, June 1:  Last Day of School!!  End of year celebration and pizza in our classrooms. This is an early dismissal day.  

Week 36: May 21st-25th

Week 36:  May 21st-25th

We have a BIG week coming up!  Please see below to read the happenings of third grade this week...

Please join us for the following this week...

• Monday, May 22nd:  Publishers Picnic at 11:00-11:30am in our courtyard
• Please make plans to join your child in the third grade courtyard from 11:00-11:30am.  They will share with you much of their work from this school year.  It's a great time to see the growth they have made this year and celebrate their success.  Because this is a school wide event, you will want to get here early.  
• Tips on things to bring that will make the time more special:  smiles, a blanket or chairs to sit, a lunch with your child's favorite things, and plenty of water as it is to be hot and humid.
• We're asking that your child remains at school after Publisher's Picnic as we are finishing up end of year MAP testing and data collection. 
• Thursday, May 25th:  Join us for the 3rd grade Chariot Races from 8:30-9:00am  on our field.  You won't want to miss this short, but fun experience!    

• Friday, May 26th:  Join us the next day at the Winds of Time school-wide parade and celebration 8:45-10:00am.  Students will be parading around our hallways and participating in a final Winds of Time celebration on our hardtop. 

Week 35: May 14th-May 18th

Week 35:  May 14th-May 18th

STAAR Testing is this week.  Your child will take the math STAAR test on Monday and the reading STAAR test on Tuesday.  

By working together, we can make your child’s test experience positive and successful.  Here are some suggestions and reminders to help your child succeed:

-  Make sure your child gets a good night’s rest.

-  Have your child eat a healthy breakfast at home or in the cafeteria at school.

-  Make sure your child arrives at school on time.  We will be starting very soon after the school bell rings.

-  HCE will be providing one, clean snack on Monday and one on Tuesday.  Your child can bring their own snack as well. Let’s avoid bringing snacks that are sticky, liquid-based, and messy (e.g. Cheetos).  We will also be providing a water bottle each day. 

- We highly encourage your child to bring a jacket or sweatshirt.  The AC will be on and it gets rather cold in our class and testing rooms.

- Per TEA, students are not allowed to bring or WEAR devices during testing.  We are asking that your child leave smartwatches, Fitbits, and phones at home on Monday and Tuesday.

- Continue to build your child’s confidence through the weekend!  Please reiterate that they have learned everything they need to know for the test.  We have practiced strategies to help them be successful test takers.  We are ready and prepared!

Thank you for continued support and help in making Monday and Tuesday test days run smoothly.

Other upcoming HCE events...

• Monday, May 22nd:  Publishers Picnic from 11:00-11:30am in our Courtyard
• Please make plans to join your child in the third grade courtyard from 11:00-11:30am.  They will share with you much of their work from this school year.  Since this is a school wide event, you will want to get here early.  
• Tips on things to bring that will make the time more special:  smiles, a blanket or chairs to sit, a lunch, and plenty of water as it is to be hot and humid.
• We're asking that your child remains at school after Publisher's Picnic as we are finishing up end of year MAP testing and data collection. 

• Thursday, May 25th:  Join us on the field for the 3rd grade Chariot Races from 8:30-9:00am.  You won't want to miss it! 
• We're still in need of wagons for our chariot races.  Please lend us your wagon and ask your neighbors to help us out, too! The following SignUp Genius will help us keep track of what is coming. Thanks for your help!  Chariot Wagon SignUp

• Friday, May 26th:  Join us for the Winds of Time school-wide parade from 8:45-10:00am in the hallways and hard top area. 

Language Arts:  We will be working on our Unit project for Ancient Rome after STAAR this week.  After spending a few weeks researching and note taking, your child will be writing an Ancient Rome nonfiction book to show all that they've learned during unit time.  

Math:  We're studying Roman numerals for the remainder of the week. 

Social Studies/Science:  We will spend our short week preparing for our upcoming chariot races.  Your child will be choose a team name inspired by ancient Rome and create a shield for the big race. 

Week 34: May 7-11

Week 34:  May 7-11
Reminders:
5/9 - Bike to School Day
5/10 - Gallery Night @ 5:00
5/14 - Math STAAR
5/15 - Reading STAAR
5/21 - Publishers' Picnic @ 11:00 - 11:30
5/24 - Chariot Races @ 8:30
5/25 - Winds of Time Parade @ 8:45 
5/28 - Memorial Day (No School)
5/31 - 3rd-5th Talent Show 

Winds of Time is just around the corner. In third grade we study Ancient Rome and take part in our own version of the chariot races that entertained Romans all over the empire. We need wagons to transform into chariots. Please lend us your wagon and ask your neighbors to help us out, too! The following SignUp Genius will help us keep track of what is coming. Thanks for your help!  Chariot Wagon SignUp


Please note that Publishers' Picnic has been changed to Monday, May 21 from 11:00-11:30. We hope to see you there to share what your child has accomplished this year. Bring a picnic lunch and a blanket and meet us in our grade level courtyard. 

For the rest of the year, third grade will be piloting a new schedule that will add a few interesting segments to our day. Students will participate in Morning Meetings that build community, valuing the thoughts, feelings and accomplishments of all students and helping students feel included in our community. We aim to develop students as empathetic collaborators who work successfully in teams. During Office Hours, students will further develop executive functioning skills such as organization, planning, study skills, self-regulation and flexible thinking. In Unit Time, we will begin our study of Ancient Rome as an interdisciplinary unit of discovery with students' questions guiding their learning and collaborative problem solving.

Reading:  We will teach our lessons in small groups to reinforce previously learned concepts.  Being a week away from the STAAR test, we will celebrate our year-long growth and learning as a community of readers. 

Writing:  We will continue to take a creative approach within our writing workshop this week.  We will be wrapping up our pieces from last week as well as working on something special.  Moms/Aunts/Grandmothers:  Be on the lookout for a special surprise from your child this coming weekend.  

Social Studies and Science:  Now that research and note taking expectations are established within our Unit Time (explained above), your child will continue to research topics of interests related to Ancient Rome such as architecture, entertainment, landforms, history, and aspects of every day life.  A few of our guiding questions for our unit of study include: How does Ancient Rome have an influence on our current day communities and world?  Why did the Roman Empire collapse?  What factors led to the disintegration of the Roman Empire? 

Math: We will continue to be devoted to a targeted review of all skills covered this year. We have spiraled reviews all year and for these weeks before STAAR we will challenge our students to focus and work more carefully than ever before... remembering to use strategies we have taught, know when you need to figure out a multiplication fact you are not sure about and NOT GUESS!  We will not have a warm up this week as we will be discussing the importance of slowing down, reading the problems carefully, and showing their thinking in their work. Please continue to encourage your mathematician to show their thinking in their homework as well. We will also have our usual FFF quiz. We are so proud of their hard work & dedication!