Week of March 31st through April 4th

Hello! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend! Please see below for important reminders for the week ahead.

• Book-It calendars are due this week. March is the last month that we will do Book-It. If your child participated in Book-It faithfully he/she will be invited to our class pizza party sometime in April. 

• In addition to Book-It calendars, fitness calendars are also due for Mr. Heyer. Please remind your child to send this to school ASAP.

• A new book order will be going home this week. This will be due on April 11th. This is the second-to-last book order--time is running out to take advantage of the great deals offered by Scholastic! 

• Please see this week's spelling words below. We are continuing to focus on everyday words. 
• from
• their
• could
• been
• its
• too
• around
• different
• home
• large
• form
• feet
• land
• side
• without
• boys
• there
• these
• find
• little
• know 
• another
• left
• something
• thought
• house
• once
• animal
• life
• enough
• took

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at school. Have a great week! 

Mrs. Martinez

Week of March 24th through 28th

Hello! Good news! PAWS reading and math testing is over with! Not so good news! We will be having the Student Assessment of Writing Skills (SAWS)  mandated state test in a few weeks. (Ugh!) But as for next week--there's NO testing going on! Please see below for important announcements for the week ahead.

• Where has March gone?? Book-It will end this month. Please remind your child to bring his/her Book-It calendar early next week (by Apr. 1st). Also, right along with the Book-It calendar is the fitness calendar that Mr. Heyer has been sending home since September. This calendar will continue to go home for the remainder of the school year. 

• A pizza party for those students participating in Book-It will be scheduled sometime in April. Please look for a letter in your child's blue folder. 

• I realize that students are beginning to get excited about the upcoming summer break. Please remind your child that school is not out until May 23rd. There is plenty of school left--therefore, plenty of learning left! Rules/procedures/expectations still need to be followed. I will also remind students of this at school. 

• Please see this week's spelling words below:
• what
• there
• each
• write
• right
• around
• another
• help
• always
• show
• asked
• world
• going
• want
• school
• important
• which 
• their
• more
• first
• because
• again
• went
• great
• until
• form
• food
• keep
• children

I realize that a lot of these words have already been spelling words in the past couple of weeks. Some students still have a difficult time with those repeated words. Therefore, repetition is one way to help with this. Please don't hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions or comments. Have a great week!

Mrs. Martinez

Week of March 17th through 21st

Hello! I hope you had a nice weekend! Thank goodness we're halfway through PAWS testing! The good news is that everyone was present and no makeups are necessary for the reading portion we did last week! Thank you for your help with ensuring your child was at school. :) Please see below for important reminders for the week ahead.

• Our Math PAWS testing will begin on Tuesday, March 18th. Please see below for testing dates/times:
• Math Sessions 1, 2, & 3 PAWS: March 18th, 19th, 20th from 8:30-10. 
• Plenty of rest and a good breakfast will help ensure your child does his/her best.

• Leprechaun traps are due on Monday, March 17th. The students will be showing and explaining their trap to students in kindergarten through 2nd grade at 12:30.

• Report cards will be going home with your child on Wednesday, March 19th. Please be on the lookout. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns concerning report cards--please don't hesitate to contact me (347-4662--East Side).  

• Please see below for this week's spelling words. Just a reminder, these words are everyday words that third grade students need to be able to spell correctly each and every time they are written down.  Some of these words may be a repeat from last week. This will happen from time to time. 
• there
• their
• about
• out
• very
• know
• too
• because
• found
• read
• might
• few
• those
• always
• show
• large
• they
• what
• said
• many
• over
• our
• think
• also
• often
• together
• asked
• house
• don't
• There will be NO extra words this week. 

Have a great week! Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Mrs. Martinez

Week of March 10th through 14th

Hello! Thank you for your understanding with the lateness of this blog post! What a busy time it is!
Here are some important reminders for the week(s) ahead.

• PAWS testing begins tomorrow. Our testing dates/times will be as follows:
• March 11th, 12th, & 13th (Reading sessions 1, 2, 3) from 8:30-10
• March 18th, 19th, & 20th (Math sessions 1, 2, 3) from 8:30-10                                   ***Plenty of rest and a good breakfast will help to ensure your child does his/her best on these state-mandated assessments.*** 

• The 3rd quarter will end on Friday, March 14th. Report cards will be sent home next week. As always, if you have any questions regarding your child's report card please feel free to contact me. 

• Book orders are due this Friday, March 14th. 

• Leprechaun traps are due on Monday, March 17th. This is NOT an optional assignment. Students will receive a grade for creating his/her own leprechaun trap. 

• You will notice a bit of a change in your student's spelling word list. I have noticed many careless errors in students' everyday writing. Due to this, I have decided to work on ensuring that students know how to spell everyday 3rd grade words. A blue letter was sent home today with your child regarding this new spelling list. These words will be easy for some, but tough for others. In April, when students take the state-mandated writing test, students will be marked down if they cannot spell common 3rd grade words. Please, remind your child of this important message: If you can spell a word right for a spelling test then that word should be spelled correctly for LIFE. Please see this week's spelling words below. 
• with
• one
• there
• would
• been
• little
• think
• because
• great
• small
• never
• along
• while
• might
• next
• sound
• from
• their
• said
• could 
• first 
• back
• right
• help
• between
• below
• saw
• something
• thought
• both
• There are NO bonus words this week (or for the next few weeks). 

Have a great week!
Mrs. Martinez

Oops!

Hello!
I just realized that I left my spelling word list at school! I want to apologize--I will have to post my blog *tomorrow evening* (3/10/14) instead of tonight. I do want to mention, however, that PAWS testing will begin Tuesday at 8:30. Once again, sorry this blog won't be complete tonight. Please check back tomorrow--thank you for understanding!
Mrs. Martinez

Week of March 3rd through 7th

Hello! I hope you stayed warm over the weekend! Spring is upon us, right?!? From here on out there will be a lot going on at East Side. Testing is upon us. Please read the following note from the office of Mrs. Anderson regarding our upcoming PAWS testing. (This note was sent home with your child on Friday, Feb. 28th.)

Dear Families,

I want to let you know that the PAWS (Performance Assessment for Wyoming Students) window for testing is from March 3rd through March 28th this year.

This is a very important test for both student and East Side. As a school we look at school wide results and develop action plans to improve instruction and curriculum. At a student level we use the data to develop Individual Learning Plans for those students who may need extra help. It is very important for your student to do their very best work.

Please be mindful of the testing dates and make sure your student is at school. We also recommend that students get plenty of rest during the testing period and have a good breakfast.

If you have any questions please contact your student's teacher or the office. We will be glad to assist you in any way possible.

Sincerely,

Linda Anderson
Principal

For my class, testing dates will be on the following days: 

• March 11th, 12th, 13th from 8:30-10: Reading parts 1, 2, 3
• March 18th, 19th, 20th from 8:30-10: Math parts 1, 2, 3

Once again, it is VERY IMPORTANT that your child is at school on these days--as any missed PAWS testing must be made up. 

Please see below for other important information regarding the week ahead.

• Due to staff development, there will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, March 7th. 

• P.E. fitness calendars and Book-It reading calendars are due at school on Tuesday, March 4th.

• A new book order will be going home on Monday. This book order has a coupon attached to it that will allow you to receive one free book (up to $5 in price) with the purchase of $10 in books. These book orders will be due on Friday, March 14th. 

• It's time to think green!! St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching. All third graders are required to design/create a leprechaun trap. Tips and ideas for how to create this leprechaun trap will be sent home on Monday. (It will be a green sheet.) This leprechaun trap will be due on Monday, March 17th. On that day students will have the opportunity to show their traps to fellow classmates as well as East Side students! 

• Please see this week's spelling words below. We will be discussing the suffixes '-er', '-ly', and '-ful'. Please keep in mind that due to no school on Friday the spelling test will be on Thursday and contracts will also be due on Thursday. 
• singer
• loudly
• joyful
• teacher
• fighter
• closely
• powerful
• farmer
• quickly
• careful
• friendly
• speaker
• wonderful
• truly
• hopeful
• safely
• listener
• calmly
• Extra spelling words:
• sincere
• managed
• loaded
• loveliest
• terror
• conversations
• inspired
• reunion
• currently
• pleasure

If you have any questions about any of the information above please don't hesitate to contact me at school. Have a great week!

Mrs. Martinez