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Today, March 5th, we will participate in World Read Aloud Day! The purpose of this day is to stand up for every person's fundamental right to read. Today we join many thousands of people in this advocacy. The big idea is that children who grow up as readers become engaged citizens of the global world, and every child deserves that right to read. Students will hear a special presentation by author Margaret Chodos-Irvine and have the opportunity to listen while three different teachers or adults around the school read aloud an exceptional story. They will be in mixed groups giving them the chance to learn with kids of all ages! Tonight, ask your child: -What is the purpose of World Read Aloud Day? -What great books did you hear today? *Finish strong today by reading a great book with your child :) Home Study SupportI am working with students to raise the quality of their Home Study Reports. At QAE, we share the common, research-based belief that elementary students don't reap significant academinc benefits from a load of homework. However, upper elementary students can benefit from developing a homework habit in preparation for the work load to come. We also know that 30 minutes of reading at home is critical for growing readers and learners. This is why 3rd grade chooses to use our Home Study Reports. The Basics: -Due every Monday -Only REQUIRED homework is a minimum of 30 minutes of reading -I do expect students to turn them in, even in if they are late or incomplete *Our routine right now is that students are self-selecting 5 high-frequency spelling words to study each week. * I am assigning one multiplication times table a week to encourage and enable students to GET THOSE FACTS MEMORIZED! Why? -To help our students develop and build responsibility for routines and habits -To report work they are doing at home that supports their learning here at school I'm asking all parents to help make sure their child is completing their Home Study Report NIGHTLY, and completing it well. Here are some expectations that I have shared with students: -Correct capitalization and spelling of book titles -Neat, clear handwriting (Pencil or pen only) -To earn a rubric score of 3 (the highest level) students must write in the notes section. They can write about what they read, tell me how any math study went, write about a unique place they read in, who the read to; anything related to their work at home! :) -Complete Sentences Thank you in advance for helping support our students in raising the quality of their Home Study Reports! | Save the Date : Monday, March 17th @ 9:30 AM What: Students will be performing their song "Perseverance" during the Monday Morning Meeting *Please help your student remember to wear a BLACK SHIRT (They can change in to green St.Patty's wear after!) We had the opportunity to spend 5 hour long sessions with musician and artist, Connor Desai. During their time together they explored many different music genres and co-wrote a song based on our writing theme of "Perseverance." Students gave rave reviews about their experience: - "Amazing. 5 Stars. I loved how my teacher made up a song with us that was actually GOOD!" (Ari Melmon) -"It was a new experience for us. We all got to, like, sing together. We listened to a lot of music and we learned about how Beethoven listened to the vibrations of his piano after he went deaf. We all got to be in an ensemble. That is when everybody works together." (Lily Gums) -"Amazing. Connor was great because she included all of our ideas in to the song." (Scarlett Davis-Hall) -"All of us learned a lot about singing and everybody learned a little bit of rhythm, especially Markus because he is the drummer." (Emilia Bertrand) -"Well, music was awesome because I think we all had fun and it was a great experience because we hardly ever have music class. We got to dance every day at the end of class and it was awesome." (Markus Nicholson) -"Music was extremely fun because the song was very well-written and I just really liked it." (Duncan Gallagher) -"It was fun because I got to see Markus go out of his mind when he got chosen as drummer." (Nat Reed) -"I learned that music is feeling." (Charlie Phillips) Here are the song lyrics: PERSEVERE BY: 3RD GRADE QAE VERSE 1: Maybe you have started running And just got your first foot Maybe you couldn’t swim breast stroke But stuck it out, until you could CHORUS: And if you want to walk like Martin And to ride like Paul Revere And to teach like Helen Keller My friend you’ve got to persevere VERSE 2: Maybe you were lost or lonely And had to trust you’d be okay Maybe you got birthday presents And writing cards took up your day CHORUS VERSE 3: Maybe you learned to build fire And got a badge to show your skill Maybe you love unicycling Remember now how much you fell? CHORUS (A cappella): And if we want to walk like Martin And to ride like Paul Revere And to teach like Helen Keller My friends we’ve got to persevere XtraMathI have changed each student's program on XtraMath. All students are now working on multiplication. While addition and subtraction fluency is critical (and should be continually practiced), it is time for 3rd graders to really master their multiplication facts in preparation for 4th and 5th grades. The upper grade level teachers have shared this as a high priority. I also did this as a big motivation to get kids back in to the routine of using XtraMath at home! *Another wonderful app I suggest using is Quick Math! |