Happy Summer!

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Welcome, Summer!

Parents, you are wonderful and have raised the most wonderful children. I’m so blessed to have had them in my life this year and cannot wait to watch where they go in 4th grade and beyond!🙂

I will forever be your child’s cheerleader, supporter, and encourager, and am so very thankful for each and every student I had in my room this year!

Read on for a few final updates.

1) Class Play Dates: These are 100% optional and 100% parent-involved 😉 On the following dates, I will be at Hager Park at the wooden playground from 11 am – noon. You are welcome to join with your child for a play date! Please plan to be present the entire duration of your child’s time at the park. Thanks so much!
  • Thursday, June 24; 11 am – noon
  • Thursday, July 22; 11 am – noon
2) Summer Learning: To keep those brains fresh and ready for 4th grade, PLEASE focus on two areas: fact fluency with multiplication and reading every day. Your child is still able to log into Clever and access any of the math games there, log into our Google Classroom and play any of the math games I have posted there, or work on MobyMax fact fluency at home. Thank you for building these regular routines into your summer schedules — your child and their 4th grade teacher will thank you for it! 🙂
3) Summer – Free Meals for Kids: Please read the following message from Mary Darnton, the HPS Food Services Director:

Hello!

Food Service is gearing up for another summer of FREE meals for students in our community!  Summer Meal Distribution will begin on Wednesday, June 9

If you ARE interested in picking up meals for your children, help us plan by completing a VERY short survey HERE.   This is NOT a pre-order, you’re helping us plan!

Any child aged 18 or younger is eligible for meals (also special needs students aged 26 or under). Click HERE to see the menu!

Each Wednesday we will offer a 7-day Meal Pack for each child. Each pack will have 7 days of breakfasts, 7 days of lunches, and 1 gallon of milk.  Pickup time is 11:00am-12:30pm.  Parents can designate another person to pick up meals for their families.

Wednesday June 9
Wednesday June 16
Wednesday June 23
Wednesday June 30
Wednesday July 14
Wednesday July 21
Wednesday July 28
Wednesday August 4
Wednesday August 11

Please contact foodservice@hpseagles.net if you have questions.

4) Report Cards: Report cards are due to the office by June 11 and will be postmarked for the mail shortly after.

5) Class lists: These will be communicated home to you at a later date this summer. Thank you for your patience!

Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, June 24 – Class Play Date at Hager Park; 11 am – noon

Thursday, July 22 – Class Play Date at Hager Park; 11 am – noon

Monday, August 23 – First Day of School

Last Week of 3rd Grade

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Happy Last Week of Third Grade!

THANK YOU, parents, for a wonderful year! As crazy as it was for SO many different reasons, I was always thankful to have such fantastic students and their support systems as teammates🙂

Wow. Another year wrapping up this week. I am beyond proud of your child and how they have grown over this past year, I will miss them dearly, and am SO excited for them to continue to grow and thrive in 4th grade!

Read on for a few updates.

1) Library Books: Please consult with the list of missing books your child took home last week to be sure all GES  library books are returned, or monetary reimbursement is sent in by this Friday. Thank you!
2) Countdown to Summer: Don’t forget, this Friday, June 4th is our last day of school. It is an early release — you will have a brand new 4th grader in just a few short days!
3) Talent Show: Our class did an incredible job in our talent show a couple of weeks ago! Mrs. Bretz is working hard to get those video recordings out to classroom teachers so that we can send them onto parents. Thanks for your patience!
4) Class Auction: The last full day of school, Thursday, June 3rd we will have a class auction. If you would like to send in any trinkets or treats to auction off, please feel free to!
5) Summer – Free Meals for Kids: Please read the following message from Mary Darnton, the HPS Food Services Director:

Hello!

Food Service is gearing up for another summer of FREE meals for students in our community!  Summer Meal Distribution will begin on Wednesday, June 9

If you ARE interested in picking up meals for your children, help us plan by completing a VERY short survey HERE.   This is NOT a pre-order, you’re helping us plan!

Any child aged 18 or younger is eligible for meals (also special needs students aged 26 or under). Click HERE to see the menu!

Each Wednesday we will offer a 7-day Meal Pack for each child. Each pack will have 7 days of breakfasts, 7 days of lunches, and 1 gallon of milk.  Pickup time is 11:00am-12:30pm.  Parents can designate another person to pick up meals for their families.

Wednesday June 9
Wednesday June 16
Wednesday June 23
Wednesday June 30
Wednesday July 14
Wednesday July 21
Wednesday July 28
Wednesday August 4
Wednesday August 11

Please contact foodservice@hpseagles.net if you have questions.

5) Curriculum Updates/Report Cards: We are wrapping up all learning in math, language arts, and social studies. Report cards will be mailed to parents, post marked June 11.

6) Class lists: We are working on finalizing class lists (as much as we can finalize them three months in advance of school starting!). These will be communicated home to you at a later date this summer. Thank you for your patience!

7) Locker/Desk Cleanout: Each day this week we will send some materials home so as to not totally overload kids the last day of school. If your child would like to, they may bring in a large bag (think: reusable grocery bags) to help with this instead of trying to cram it into backpacks.

Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, June 3 – Class Auction

Friday, June 4 – Last Day of School (Early Release)

Home Stretch!

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Happy Last Monday of Third Grade This Year!

So many feels this time of year — I’m so proud of your child and all their growth, excited for them to move onto 4th grade because they are READY, sad to see these students who have become so dear to me ready to go…in short, it’s definitely the end of another school year! 🙂

I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for you, parents. You have been wonderful teammates and supporters of your child’s learning. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Read on for a few updates.

1) Body Safety: Please remember that tomorrow morning we will have the Body Safety Presentation for all 3rd grade students.  In your child’s Take Home folder there was an informational letter about the Body Safety Presentation. An electronic copy can be found here.. Thanks so much!
2) Countdown to Summer: As a third grade team, we have started a 10-day countdown to 4th grade and summer! This Friday, May 28th we will be having a Red, White, and Blue day (the kids do not know this yet). Please keep that in mind for clothing choices for your 3rd grader on Friday!
3) Birthday Party: Wow, parents, you really showed up for our classwide birthday party last Friday! The kids had so much fun celebrating each other on one of their last Fridays together as 3rd graders. What a fun, tasty way to celebrate birthdays! Thanks again.
4) Class Auction: The last full day of school, Thursday, June 3rd we will have a class auction. If you would like to send in any trinkets or treats to auction off, please feel free to!
5) Summer – Free Meals for Kids: Please read the following message from Mary Darnton, the HPS Food Services Director:

Hello!

Food Service is gearing up for another summer of FREE meals for students in our community!  Summer Meal Distribution will begin on Wednesday, June 9

If you ARE interested in picking up meals for your children, help us plan by completing a VERY short survey HERE.   This is NOT a pre-order, you’re helping us plan!

Any child aged 18 or younger is eligible for meals (also special needs students aged 26 or under). Click HERE to see the menu!

Each Wednesday we will offer a 7-day Meal Pack for each child. Each pack will have 7 days of breakfasts, 7 days of lunches, and 1 gallon of milk.  Pickup time is 11:00am-12:30pm.  Parents can designate another person to pick up meals for their families.

Wednesday June 9
Wednesday June 16
Wednesday June 23
Wednesday June 30
Wednesday July 14
Wednesday July 21
Wednesday July 28
Wednesday August 4
Wednesday August 11

Please contact foodservice@hpseagles.net if you have questions.

5) Curriculum Updates: We are reviewing the main concepts from the 3rd grade math curriculum, and working on two-step story problems a bit; we will create a Google Slides presentation on the animals we have been researching as a final project.

Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Friday, May 28 – Red, White, & Blue Day

Monday, May 31 – No School (Memorial Day)

Thursday, June 3 – Class Auction

Friday, June 4 – Last Day of School (Early Release)

Missed Last Week’s — Oops!

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To put it lightly, this spring has been crazy (all three of us have been constantly sick, grad classes, state testing…woof!). I’m so sorry I never realized my blog post last week just saved as a draft and never published until I went to type this week’s. Thanks for your patience and grace!

I’m glad to say our M-STEPs went quite smoothly, our last couple friends are finishing theirs up and they are in the books! The kids did incredibly well, demonstrating grit, self confidence, and strong work ethic. I’m so proud of them showing what they know.

Between our M-STEP, a mini Tulip Time celebration, and Nature Day all in the last two weeks, I was reminded time and again how wonderful your children are. Thank you, parents, for sharing them with me everyday!

Read on for a few updates.

1) Body Safety: Please check your child’s Take Home folder for the informational letter about the Body Safety Presentation all 3rd grade students will have next week, May 27. An electronic copy can be found here.. Thanks so much!
2) Early Release: Don’t forget our final  early release will be on on Friday, May 21. Dismissal is 12:15 pm – thank you! This will be the date of our class wide birthday party. If you would like to send in a treat or favor for the class, please be sure to have them in by this Wednesday, May 19th. As a reminder, we have a peanut allergy — while I will have plenty of snacks that are safe for all our kids, please be sure all snacks or candies are safe in our room!
**Remember, this is totally OPTIONAL! No need to send in snacks, treats, or favors, but they will be happily enjoyed by all if you choose to!**
3) Summer – Free Meals for Kids: Please read the following message from Mary Darnton, the HPS Food Services Director:

Hello!

Food Service is gearing up for another summer of FREE meals for students in our community!  Summer Meal Distribution will begin on Wednesday, June 9

If you ARE interested in picking up meals for your children, help us plan by completing a VERY short survey HERE.   This is NOT a pre-order, you’re helping us plan!

Any child aged 18 or younger is eligible for meals (also special needs students aged 26 or under).   Click HERE to see the menu!

Each Wednesday we will offer a 7-day Meal Pack for each child. Each pack will have 7 days of breakfasts, 7 days of lunches, and 1 gallon of milk.  Pickup time is 11:00am-12:30pm.  Parents can designate another person to pick up meals for their families.

Wednesday June 9
Wednesday June 16
Wednesday June 23
Wednesday June 30
Wednesday July 14
Wednesday July 21
Wednesday July 28
Wednesday August 4
Wednesday August 11

Please contact foodservice@hpseagles.net if you have questions.

5) Curriculum Updates: We will be wrapping up our final full unit in math with triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons before reviewing the entire geometry unit this week; we will continue wrapping up the second half of our ELA units on researching animals.

Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Friday, May 21 – Early Release and Class Birthday Party

Monday, May 31 – No School (Labor Day)

Friday, June 4 – Last Day of School (Early Release)

Welcome, May!

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I’m not sure how that happened, but we are headed into our last full month of 3rd grade! 🙂

I am so beyond proud of how each of these students has grown this year. I can’t wait to finish the year strong with them!

Read on for a few updates.

1) Early Release: Don’t forget our final  early release will be on on Friday, May 21. Dismissal is 12:15 pm – thank you! This will be the date of our class wide birthday party. 
2) M-STEP Thursday: Third grade will be taking the M-STEP May 6 and May 13. Please be sure your child is at school on those days if at all possible, and is well-rested and has a good breakfast! Can’t wait for your kiddo to show the state what they know 🙂
3) Heritage Research: Next week we will be (briefly) looking into the countries that make up our heritage! I introduced the Netherlands today with a short video, looking at it on Google Earth, and reading a short book. Please talk about your family’s heritage this weekend — your children are just fascinated by other parts of the world!
4) Hot Lunch Menu: Here is the May/June hot lunch menu. Please note that this coming Monday, May 5th, there is a slight change due to the kitchen’s inability to get their hands on particular ingredients. It will be mozzarella cheese bites instead of pizza bites. Thanks! May-June_2021_Elementary_Menu
5) Curriculum Updates: We will be continuing to work on area, perimeter, and shapes next week in math; we will move into the second half of our ELA units on researching animals.
Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, May 6 – M-STEP for 3rd grade

Thursday, May 13 – M-STEP for 3rd grade

Friday, May 21 – Early Release

Monday, May 31 – No School (Labor Day)

Friday, June 4 – Last Day of School (Early Release)

Middle of April Already!

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We made it through our first full week of April as 3rd graders! I missed your kiddos over spring break, and we have dived right back into hard work this week! 🙂

At the end of this post I’ve included pictures from our blanket making before spring break. We had so much team work, fine motor skills, and perseverance going on in our classroom with that portion of our service project — I was SO proud of each of my students! Thanks for raising some of the best kids out there, and for sharing them with me everyday!

Our unit we just completed in math is very short – only 8 lessons long. This means that it is time for our unit assessment already! Next week we will be taking our Unit 7 math test on fractions. Watch for extra optional practice coming home to help your child prepare; I would strongly encourage you to have your child complete at least part of each of these!

Read on for a few updates.

1) Early Release: Don’t forget next week is our next early release on Friday, April 23. Dismissal is 12:15 pm – thank you!
2) Mileage Club Starting: Our wonderful P.E. teachers will be starting the Mileage Club at GES. Here is a message from Mrs. Neinhuis and Mrs. VanKoevering regarding how it will be run (no pun intended ) this year.
1.  We will be doing this on Monday/Wednesday/ and Friday lunch recess.  Teachers are welcome to take their class out at other times.
2.  Each student will be responsible for taking their card outside if they are running. 
3. Students will get a “dot” on the foot for every lap they complete and when they have four dots they have completed a mile.  They will then bring their card on their PE day and we will “X” off that mile and hand out prizes.
4. The most miles they can earn is 15 this year.  We will run it for 3 weeks finishing on May 12.
3) M-STEP Window: Third grade will be taking the M-STEP May 6 and May 13. Please be sure your child is at school on those days if at all possible, and is well-rested and has a good breakfast! Can’t wait for your kiddo to show the state what they know 🙂
4) Disinfectant Wipes: We are (as always, these days) running short on disinfectant wipes in our room! Thank you for considering sending a canister or two in with your child in the near future.
5) Snacks Reminder: We have had quite a few kids forgetting snacks lately. Please make sure your child has a snack packed, whether they get school lunch or bring lunch from home, as it takes quite a bit of instructional time to hand snacks out to each child (we’re having upwards of 5 or more each day lately!) Thank you for your help in this.
6) Curriculum Updates: We will be testing our learning about fractions in math next week, and will continue building on our literacy skills with research clubs in reading and in writing. They have rocked that this week!
Thanks so much, parents.
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Friday, April 23 – Early Release

Thursday, May 6 – M-STEP for 3rd grade

Thursday, May 13 – M-STEP for 3rd grade

Friday, May 21 – Early Release

Happy Spring Break! Pictures to Come…

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We have made it, parents! If you are headed on vacation, enjoy! If you are headed into a week of your kiddos being home, good luck! 🙂

We have worked SO hard this week to get as much learning (and FUN) in as we can before spring break. I’m having issues getting photos to upload right now, so I’ll just have to photo dump sometime either over spring break or the following week. We’ve been doing so many fun things in our room lately, I’d love to share them with you!

Read on for a few updates.

1) SPRING BREAK: Don’t forget next week is our spring break which begins tomorrow, Friday, April 2! We will return to school Monday, April 12. Thank you!
2) Harbor Humane Society Service Project:Wow, what a cool experience that was for the kids and for me! We collected over 100 food items, created 22 blankets, and have boxes full of leashes, toys, collars, and more for Harbor Humane Society. Pictures to come! Thank you SO MUCH for your generous donations — the kids had a blast organizing it!
3) M-STEP Window: Third grade will be taking the M-STEP May 6 and May 13. Please be sure your child is at school on those days if at all possible, and is well-rested and has a good breakfast! Can’t wait for your kiddo to show the state what they know 🙂
5) Curriculum Updates: We will continue learning about fractions in math, and will start research clubs in reading and in writing. Can’t wait to see your kiddos back in a week!
Thanks so much, parents. Have a great break!
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Friday, April 23 – Early Release

Friday, May 21 – Early Release

MY BLOG IS BACK!

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Wahoo, miracle of miracles, my blog just started working! The tech doesn’t really know what happened, but I’ll take it!

What a week — we took our Unit 3 test, started fractions, began learning about fairy tales, and reviewed what respecting each other, our teachers, and ourselves looks like at school! In the middle, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and March is Reading Month…I’m ready for the weekend! 🙂

I have a number of reminders and announcements, so please read on to know what we’ll be up to in “Our Neck of the Woods” next week!
1) SPRING BREAK: Don’t forget next week is our last full week, before a four-day week the following. Spring break begins Friday, April 2!
2) Harbor Humane Society Service Project:In combination with our units of measurement in math, we are going to be doing a class service project in partnership with the Harbor Humane Society in Holland! We talked about what a shelter does, what it means to foster, and why some animals might need to be adopted. Don’t forget, donations are due this coming Wednesday, March 24th!
3) M-STEP Window: Watch for an informational email from Mr. Waldie later today about when we will be taking the M-STEP (May 6 and May 13). Please be sure your child is at school on those days if at all possible, and is well-rested and has a good breakfast! Can’t wait for your kiddo to show the state what they know 🙂
4) March is Reading Month: Don’t forget to have your child bring in his/her reading log for the month on Monday morning so they can be entered into a raffle for a prize! 20 minutes/day for the entire month of March is our goal for 3rd graders…wahoo!
Next Friday the dress up day will be “Jeans and a Big Belt” — aka, all the Western gear you’ve got! 🙂
5) Curriculum Updates: We will be learning about fractions in math, fairy tales in writing, and building our stamina and smart test-taking skills when reading long, difficult passages in reading. Don’t worry — we’ll continue to try to fit some fun in the middle of all that! 🙂
Thanks so much, parents. Have a great weekend!
Katrina
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Upcoming Dates:

Friday, April 2 – Sunday, April 12: Spring Break

Friday, April 23 – Early Release

My time with this amazing class is almost over!

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My last day in Mrs. Deters’ class is Friday, February 5th.  I will truly miss seeing these wonderful faces every day and having the support from their fantastic parents!

Writing:

Information books are finished!  They have worked so hard to write everything they know about their topic.  I have learned so much from these experts!  Some of them wanted to donate them to the school library so others could learn some new information!  They will bring them home next week.  Mrs. Deters would love to see them, as well, so please return them when you are done reading.  🙂  Up next is literary essays!

Math:

We have finished Unit 4 and are getting ready for the Unit test.  We started the review on Friday.  These were sent home.  Please look the review over and have them finish any problem if they are able.  We will finish the review on Monday and take the test on Tuesday.

Please continue practicing their multiplication facts each night.  Thanks for your help!

Reading:

We finished our unit on nonfiction.  Many students realized they enjoyed reading biographies more than they thought they would!  We will start character studies with Because of Winn-Dixie as our read aloud.

Report cards were sent home!  Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for the disinfectant wipes and snacks for the classroom!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Joy Lopez

 

Happy New Year!

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It’s been great seeing the students back in school after break!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

What we’ve been working on:

Writing:

We are finishing up our informational books.  They have been very busy and are excited to share what they are experts on!

Reading:

Our Reading unit ties in with our writing in that we are reading informational texts.  We have been talking about finding the main idea and supporting details while reading.

Math:

We are adding three digit numbers using equations, word problems and getting information from charts.

Their Unit 2 tests were sent home last week.  They did well!  Thanks for reviewing and studying with them!

Keep practicing math facts.  Once they pass 1-10 multiplication facts, they can practice 11s and 12s for extra learning.  Only 1-10 needs to be mastered for 3rd grade.  After everyone has passed, we will take tests on mixed facts to keep their fluency high.

Classroom Supplies:

We could use Lysol wipes as we are almost out.  We could also use classroom snacks such as graham crackers and goldfish crackers.

Have a great rest of your week!

 

Your students will record their green screen videos on Tuesday, January 19.

They are welcome to bring props and dress up!
Thanks for your help, they are so excited!!

Mrs. Angela Totten

STEAM Studio Teacher
Georgetown Elementary