Week of April 28th through May 2nd

Hello! April is about ready to be gone in a blink of the eye! I hope you had a great weekend! Please see below for important announcements regarding the week ahead.

• On Monday, April 28th our class--along with the other 3rd grade classes in the district--will participate in Worland's annual Arbor Day celebration. This will be held at the Community Complex at 12:30pm. Students NEED to bring a cold lunch--as we will be eating lunch at the Complex prior to the program. All are invited to attend! It should last no longer than 30 minutes. (We scheduled it over the lunch hour so possibly more parents could attend.)

• Forget spring, it's testing season. With PAWS and SAWS behind us--it's time to look ahead to MAP testing. This testing is done every spring and fall. The nice thing about MAP testing is that results are immediately available. This week the students will be doing the MAP Reading test. This will be on Wednesday (30th) at 9:30am. I will be letting your child know what he/she scored in the fall and what his/her goal is this time around. If students meet their goals in 2 of the 3 testing areas (Reading, Math, Language Usage) then a root beer float will serve as the reward. It is very important that your child is at school--as this test MUST be made up--which will require your child to miss regular class time for make ups. Please let me know if you know your child is going to be absent--as it might be possible to have your child complete the testing prior to his/her absence.

• This week is Bike Safety Week. Please encourage your child to always wear his/her helmet when riding a bike---this is important every day--not just during Bike Safety Week! 

• A new book order will be going home on Monday, April 28th. I'm sending it home a little early to ensure that the orders that are placed will arrive in time before school gets out. Therefore, this book order will be due on May 9th. 

• Just a reminder: There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, May 2nd. This is a teacher inservice/workday. Enjoy the long weekend! 

• See below for this week's spelling words. Mrs. Zimmer and I have decided to stick with the 3rd grade words--even though the SAWS testing is over. It is so important that your child is able to spell these common everyday words. 
• what
• were
• your
• their
• now
• through
• think
• because
• place
• something
• don't
• until
• without
• paper
• hard
• near
• sentence
• better
• there
• said
• then
• would
• could
• very
• know
• why
• air
• never
• world
• best
• across
• during
• today
• however

Have  a great week!

Mrs. Martinez

Week of April 22nd through 25th

Hello! I hope you and your family had a wonderful and restful spring break! I, for one, will be glad to get back into a routine. Please see below for important announcements for the week ahead.

• This Friday, April 25th, there are 5 students who will be joining me for a Book-It pizza party at our regular lunch time. These students brought back each and every Book-It calendar from October through March. If your child is one of the participating students he/she will receive a parent letter tomorrow. Great job and keep up the reading! 

• This week the students will be completing the last two SAWS (Student Assessment of Writing Skills) prompts. These prompts will be completed on two separate days. We will start at 8:30 on Wednesday and Friday. It is important that your child is at school on these days (and everyday) as these tests MUST be made up if they are missed.

• Starting NEXT week the students will be taking the MAP test in the areas of reading, math, language usage, and science. I will let you know the exact times on the Sunday, April 27th blog post. I will be letting your child know what his/her Fall 2013 test scores were (for reading, math, and language usage only) and also what his/her goal is this time around. My goal is for each student to meet their goal on 2 out of 3 subject areas (or all three). If students do this, they will be rewarded with a root beer float party at the end of the testing. 

• Also next week, on Monday, April 28th, the students will be taking part in the district-wide 3rd Grade Arbor Day program. This will be taking place at the Community Complex. A letter will be going home very soon with more details. I do know that STUDENTS WILL NEED TO BRING A SACK LUNCH on this day. 

• Please see this week's spelling words below.
• there
• first
• people
• new
• around
• off
• house
• don't
• world
• without
• almost
• earth
• light
• night
• picture
• being
• study
• second
• they
• been
• through
• write
• again
• together
• important
• above
• began
• year
• soon
• story
• since
• white
• ever

Once again, I apologize for not posting to the blog last week. Things got busy and hectic! Just a little side note: There are only 22 1/2 days of school left--and a lot more to learn and do!  Have a great short week!

Mrs. Martinez

Sorry!

My apologies! I'm out of town on a family trip this week and forgot to post my blog this past Sunday. I'm sorry! I know some of you have come to depend on the blog. I will resume this week on Monday, April, 21st. Thank you for understanding. Have a great spring break!

Mrs. Martinez

Week of April 7th through 11th

Hello! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend! Please see below for some important reminders for this coming week and also the weeks ahead.

• Book orders are due by April 11th. Please send the order form along with the money to school by that day. Or, you could also order online. 

• Mark your calendars for these important dates! 
• Monday, April 28th--District-Wide Arbor Day celebration--all third graders in the district will take part in this Arbor Day program at the Community Complex. This will take place over the noon hour. A letter will be going home--also, I will post specifics on this blog as the date comes nearer. All are invited to attend! 
• On Wednesday, April 30th, Wednesday, May 7th, Friday, May 9th, and Thursday, May 15th the students will take part in [district-mandated] MAP testing. MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. This test will provide immediate feedback as to how much your child learned in 3rd grade. Students completed MAP testing last fall and those scores will be compared to the scores they will receive on the dates mentioned above. Exact times will be given on this blog as well as in a letter that will go home as the dates come closer.
• The Student Assessment of Writing Skills (SAWS) testing window opens April 14th and closes the first part of May. In addition to MAP testing, students will have to complete this SAWS test (state-mandated). Once again, I will let you know exactly when this testing will be.  
• Fun times are ahead! Our class, along with Mrs. Zimmer's class and the other third grade classes in the district, will be going to the Worland Aquatic Center for swimming on the morning of May 21st. Once again, I will let you know more when I know more. I do know that even if you have a membership to the Aquatic Center your child will still have to pay for entry to the pool. (This has been an issue in the past.) Please call the Aquatic Center if you have any questions. 

• Please see this week's spelling words below. We are still working on everyday words. 
• were
• there
• been
• use
• long
• also
• around
• air
• might
• show
• large
• often
• took
• four
• head
• above
• kind
• began
• first
• through
• new
• too
• another
• because
• different
• off
• always
• without
• life
• almost
• live
• page
• got
• earth

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Have a great week! 

Mrs. Martinez

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