What a fun week that was…although I’d be okay with no more indoor recesses in the middle of a classroom transformation day the week before conferences and Halloween!

Thank you so much to those of you who contributed to today’s Array Bakery, and for sharing your wonderful kiddo with me. I love my job, and much of that is thanks to the hard work YOU put in with raising my students!

I did include some photos at the end of the post from today, and look forward to doing the same of our Halloween party next Friday.

Thanks so much!

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Moving onto Timed 9’s This Week

When you see your child’s Unit 1 Test in the conferences packet (coming home next week Tuesday), you might see some great multiplication strategies at work, but a wrong answer and lost points because of miscounted tally marks or miscounting when skip counting (GREAT strategies to understand what multiplication means, but time intensive and prone to little errors).

This is a prime example of why we are working SO HARD on memorizing these facts in a snap with flash cards!

We will be taking our next timed facts test this week. We have all passed our 5’s now — hooray!

• Students who passed 10’s move onto 9’s (I mistyped last week; we will be taking 9’s this coming Friday, which the kids have been practicing at school this past week)
• Students who passed 2’s will move onto 10’s
• Students who passed 5’s will move onto 2’s

Thank you for your help diligently practicing with your child!

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Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for two nights this coming week:

• Tuesday, October 27th
• Wednesday, October 28th

A packet the following materials will be sent home with your child on Tuesday:

• A couple of self assessments completed by your child
• Your child’s Unit 1 Math Test
• Your child’s published piece of writing from Unit 1
• Reading materials on 3rd grade literacy/suggested booklists

Please be sure to sign into the Zoom link sent to you from Calendly with your child’s name in the title. This will help me to ensure I’m only letting in appropriate participants from the waiting room. Thank you!

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Halloween Party

Our Halloween party will be on Friday, October 30th.

REMINDERS:

• We will not be able to have parent volunteers or guests at this party 🙁 However your prayers, well wishes, good energy, positive vibes are all welcome as I facilitate this event alone at 39 weeks pregnant
• As you choose Halloween costumes, only school appropriate costumes will be allowed.
  • • Thank you for avoiding violent, gory costumes for the school setting
• Students will be able to wear their costumes to school this year! Yay!
• Thank you to those of you who have have contributed to the Sign Up Genius — my parents this year ROCK! 
  • • Please get all Halloween party supplies into school by Wednesday, October 28th so I have plenty of time to get them set. This will be especially helpful with conferences happening this week, too

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Substitute Teacher

A reminder that Mrs. Lopez will be in this week to observe, and also to teach a bit.

I am due November 8, but plan to work right up until Baby makes its debut.

I’m so excited to have Mrs. Lopez in our room — she is wonderful, and will be an excellent teacher for your kiddo, as sad as I am that it means I don’t get to be in the classroom with them for a while 🙁

Thank you in advance for your support of Mrs. Lopez, just like you’ve been so kind, supportive, and gracious to me in this weird year. You guys are the best group of parents out there!

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Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will begin our unit centered around mysteries this week. I can’t wait…the kids love it, and it is such a fun one to teach!
• Writing: This week we will continue Unit 2 of our Writer’s Workshop, “Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches”. This past week kids looked around them to notice noteworthy people, as well as issues they see at school and practiced creating a strong thesis, collecting convincing evidence, and “talking” directly to their audience in their persuasive speech flash drafts.
• Word Work: Students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took in September. This will be done through both small group and individual practice.
• Math: We will continue Unit 2, learning our remaining multiplication families and introduction to multi-step story problems. This is HARD for kids — we will really need to draw on our grit and growth mindset throughout this unit! Thank you for your reinforcement of this at home 🙂

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Upcoming Dates

• Monday, October 26: No School
• Tuesday October 27 / Wednesday October 28: Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences for MRS. DETERS ONLY!
• Friday, October 30: Halloween Party
• Friday, November 13: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)
• Monday, December 21 – Sunday, January 3: Holiday Break

 

Above: “Pastry school” (Bakers Work in the Community)

Tossing Caps!

Above: Video of 8 year-old “pastry school graduates” following their graduation ceremony

Above: Cookie Arrays…plus a snack when done 🙂

Above: We created our own colorful Donut Multiplication game boards!

Above: 18 mini bakers take a walk down the hallway…

 

Above: It looked different than in years past, but our bakers stayed at their work stations and did a LOT of activities there today! From culinary school, to graduation, to donut arrays, to lots of edible treats — they rocked their bakery!

Above: Bakers had to describe their array to me (“I have 3 rows of chocolate chips with 8 chocolate chips in each row”) before they could eat up their hard work. This was sticky, but delicious 🙂

Wow, your kiddo showed some serious grit this week!

Another week of hard work, and as I graded our first math tests (WAHOO! First one DONE!), I was SO pleased! Overall, our class averaged a 2.8 out of 3 for an overall grade. That’s HUGE! I know it was hard, I know it was exhausting, but those kids worked their buns off to prepare for their assessment and man, it showed.

I’m SO proud of all their hard work. They are rocking 3rd grade! I’m beyond thankful for such a supportive, gracious group of parents to work with this year…I see your hard work in parenting on display EVERY day with your amazing kiddos, and I’m thankful for all you have done — and continue to do day in and day out — at home. THANK YOU, parents!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and announcements, particularly regarding our Half Day Array Bakery…which is a SURPRISE to the kids! Shh!

Thanks so much!

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Moving onto Timed 10’s This Week

When you see your child’s Unit 1 Test in the conferences packet (coming home next week Tuesday), you might see some great multiplication strategies at work, but a wrong answer and lost points because of miscounted tally marks or miscounting when skip counting (GREAT strategies to understand what multiplication means, but time intensive and prone to little errors).

This is a prime example of why we are working SO HARD on memorizing these facts in a snap with flash cards!

We will be taking our next timed facts test this week. Students who passed 2’s will move onto 10’s; 5’s will move onto 2’s; students still working on 5’s will retake that test this week.

• • Because 10’s are typically pretty easy for kids, you can think about working ahead on 3’s (next week’s timed test).

Thank you for your help diligently practicing with your child!

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Unit 1 Math Test This Week – OPTIONAL Practice and Answer Keys

Thank you to those of you who helped your child work through the optional practice pages in preparation of this test. Especially on a couple of questions, it was very apparent when kiddos had gotten more practice with the concepts than just in class…thank you for your help and support of their academic success in this way!

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Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for mid-November, however I am planning to have a brand new baby that week 🙂 Because of this, I’m working on solidifying plans with Mr. Waldie to hold conferences on two nights later this month:

• Tuesday, October 27th
• Wednesday, October 28th

If you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet, please do so here. Thank you so much!

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Halloween Party

Our Halloween party will be on Friday, October 30th.

REMINDERS:

• We will not be able to have parent volunteers or guests at this party 🙁 However your prayers, well wishes, good energy, positive vibes are all welcome as I facilitate this event at 39 weeks pregnant 
• As you choose Halloween costumes, only school appropriate costumes will be allowed.
  • • Thank you for avoiding violent, gory costumes for the school setting
• Students will be able to wear their costumes to school this year! Yay!
• Thank you to those of you who have have contributed to the Sign Up Genius — my parents this year ROCK!

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Substitute Teacher Update

All is set with HR! I was able to meet with my long term substitute teacher, Mrs. Joy Lopez (currently a full time building substitute in another part of the district until Baby Deters arrives), this past week to finalize details and set a few dates for her to meet the kids. She will be in NEXT week to observe, and also to teach a bit.

I know that there is growing anxiety with some kids surrounding my fast approaching leave.

I am due November 8, but plan to work right up until Baby makes its debut.

We are going to have some conversation around that this week, but if you’re noticing your child bringing it up repeatedly at home would you please talk with him/her about how change is OKAY and part of life, and that all will be well? 🙂 Thanks so much for reinforcing healthy conversation around processing feelings of anxiety!

I’m so excited to have Mrs. Lopez in our room — she is wonderful, and will be an excellent teacher for your kiddo, as sad as I am that it means I don’t get to be in the classroom with them for a while 🙁

Thank you in advance for your support of Mrs. Lopez, just like you’ve been so kind, supportive, and gracious to me in this weird year. You guys are the best group of parents out there!

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Array Bakery 

I have gone back and forth on this because, to be honest, COVID restrictions make classroom transformations like this one much more complicated than normal…and they’re pretty intensive in planning during “normal” times 🙂

HOWEVER, the kids have been working their tails off and I’ve decided it’s time to do some fun, hands on learning even if it means finding new ways to safely do it at their seats and making individual work for each student instead of group work settings.

SO, that being said…I’ve decided to just go for it and hold an Array Bakery Day this Friday, October 23!

But shh…it’s top secret for the kids until the day before!

This will be done completely safely, with kids remaining at their seats and not sharing manipulatives or materials. I am looking for some last-minute supplies to pull this off! This is one of my FAVORITE days of the year, and I can’t wait to provide this fun learning memory for the kids…thank you for considering helping me do just that!

You can sign up for something to contribute at this link!

• Supplies purchased at the store can be dropped off to the office or sent in with your child this week. Please have them in by this THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND AT THE LATEST! (I apologize and take full responsibility for how last minute this is…I did not think I would be doing this activity this year, but I’ve just decided to adapt and MAKE IT WORK the best I can 🙂)
• The hats and aprons can be shipped to:

Mrs. Deters 

Georgetown Elementary School

3909 Baldwin St.

Hudsonville, MI 49426

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Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will wrap up our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”. We will also do a “launch” of our next unit (my favorite one!), “Mysteries”.
• Writing: This week we will begin Unit 2 of our Writer’s Workshop, “Changing the World: Persuasive Speeches”. I love this unit, as the kids have so much ownership of their topic and get to work on selecting something they are passionate about, creating a strong thesis statement, and developing strong, convincing evidence to persuade their audience to agree with them!
• Word Work: Students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took in September. This will be done through both small group and individual practice.
• Math: We will begin Unit 2, learning our remaining multiplication families and introduction to multi-step story problems. This is HARD for kids — we will really need to draw on our grit and growth mindset throughout this unit! Thank you for your reinforcement of this at home 🙂

——————————————————————————————–

Upcoming Dates

• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal) / ARRAY BAKERY — Shh!
• Monday, October 26: No School
• Tuesday October 27 / Wednesday October 28: Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences for MRS. DETERS ONLY!
• Friday, October 30: Halloween Party
• Friday, November 13: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Two FULL months of 3rd grade down this week!

What a week we had last week! The Associative Property of Multiplication, our first Writing Unit completed and hard work celebrated, and our first timed multiplication facts test! Geez Louise, if your kids came home tired yesterday…it’s because they EARNED IT! I came home with a pile of grading, and fell asleep in the middle of working through spelling tests…for the 3rd weekend in a row

What a big week for our little buddies! I’m SO proud of all their hard work. They are growing so fast!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and announcements, particularly regarding timed multiplication fact tests and test preparation for our Unit 1 Math Test.

Thanks so much!

——————————————————————————————–

Flash Cards / First Timed Facts Test (5’s) / Moving onto Timed 2’s This Week

As you may have noticed on worksheets/assessments coming home, the math curriculum in 3rd grade ramps up SIGNIFICANTLY — it is the bridge year from building block concepts of lower elementary math to higher level application demanded in upper elementary math.

Because of this, it is so important that kids know their multiplication facts REALLY well so they can move past getting hung up on basic recall of facts, to the much more complex tasks of applying and manipulating them.

A couple of parents have asked, “why are these timed?”

This is an excellent question. I am a huge advocate of NOT timing assessments, in general, so this seemed foreign to me at first, too…

• I recorded a video explaining why we assess facts in this way below. I tried to talk fast and speak both succinctly and thoroughly…hopefully it clarifies questions!
• I did forget to mention that when students depend on math drawings or strategies, there is a much higher likelihood of misreading their own work/writing and getting the wrong answer even if their strategy is appropriate for the operation.
  • • • This happens very often for kids who depend on strategies like math drawings or counting on fingers! Especially as their brains are exhausted from deciphering necessary operations and steps for the story problem, and silly mistakes or misreading tally marks/arrays happen often

We will be taking our next timed facts test this week. Students who passed 5’s will move onto 2’s; students who did not pass 5’s will retake them. Thank you for your help diligently practicing with your child!

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Unit 1 Math Test This Week – OPTIONAL Practice and Answer Keys Coming Home

This week we will be wrapping up our first unit of math, reviewing for the test, and beginning our Unit 1 Math test!

Last year I had a few kids ask for practice at home in preparation for the test, so I made practice packets and answer keys and sent them home with each kid.

*THESE ARE NOT REQUIRED! THESE ARE NOT GRADED!*

These review packets are purely optional and meant to provided added practice and confidence to kids who do not feel 100% about the assessment. I do ask that if you decide to do them with your kids, please send them back in when completed so I can keep track of who is doing additional practice for assessments. Thank you!

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Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for mid-November, however I am planning to have a brand new baby that week 🙂 Because of this, I’m working on solidifying plans with Mr. Waldie to hold conferences on two nights later this month:

• Tuesday, October 27th
• Wednesday, October 28th

Because I am conferencing  a couple of weeks in advance of the rest of the district, the sign up system being used districtwide for time slots has not been introduced yet. I will be able to get this out to you within the week!

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Halloween Party

Our Halloween party will be on Friday, October 30th.

REMINDERS:

• We will not be able to have parent volunteers or guests at this party 🙁 However your prayers, well wishes, good energy, positive vibes are all welcome as I facilitate this event at 39 weeks pregnant
• As you choose Halloween costumes, only school appropriate costumes will be allowed.
  • • Thank you for avoiding violent, gory costumes for the school setting
• Students will be able to wear their costumes to school this year! Yay!
• A Sign Up Genius with supplies for craft and snack will be sent out this week! Thank you for considering contributing to this

——————————————————————————————–

Substitute Teacher Update

All is set with HR! I’m meeting with my long term substitute teacher, Mrs. Joy Lopez (currently a full time building substitute in another part of the district until Baby Deters arrives), later this week to finalize details and set a few dates for her to meet the kids.

I’m so excited to have Mrs. Lopez in our room — she is wonderful, and will be an excellent teacher for your kiddo, as sad as I am that it means I don’t get to be in the classroom with them for a while 🙁

Thank you in advance for your support of Mrs. Lopez, just like you’ve been so kind, supportive, and gracious to me in this weird year. You guys are the best group of parents out there!

——————————————————————————————–

Reading Logs Turned In Monday

Don’t forget to send your child’s Reading Log in tomorrow; you will have a new one sent home as well to return the following Monday.

——————————————————————————————–

Turkey Trot 2020…Virtually!

Please be sure to head to this link to read what Mrs. VanKoevering and Mrs. Nienhuis have to share about our 2020 Turkey Trot!

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Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will continue developing our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”. We’ll work on strong evidence-based predictions, and will continue reading “Stone Fox” as our mentor text.
• Writing: This week we will take a break between units 1 and 2 of our writing curriculum to work on constructing responses to questions asked after reading a short story based on collecting evidence from the text.
• Word Work: Students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took in September. This will be done through both small group and individual practice.
• Math: We will wrap up Unit 1, reviewing for and beginning our Unit 1 Math test. PLEASE work on flash cards with students at home every night! Thank you for your help in this! We will take our next timed test for our Multiplication Challenge on our 2’s fact family; if 5’s were not passed, students will retake that test.

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Upcoming Dates

• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Monday, October 26: No School
• Tuesday October 27 / Wednesday October 28: Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences for MRS. DETERS ONLY!
• Friday, October 30: Halloween Party
• Friday, November 13: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)

Here we go, fire up for Week 7 of 3rd grade!

I hope you enjoyed that weather outside today — they say next weekend will be even nicer! I’m looking forward to another great week in 3rd grade. Your kids bring me so much joy, I’m loving seeing them laugh, learn, and grow each day!

Please read on for a variety of reminders and announcements. Thanks so much!

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Snacks / Wipes

I am in need of some snacks (graham crackers, goldfish crackers, pretzels are perfect) for kids when they forget their morning snack. If you’d like to contribute, please just send in a box of these snacks with your child. Thank you for considering giving!

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Flash Cards / First Timed Facts Test (5’s)

As you may have noticed on worksheets/assessments coming home, the math curriculum in 3rd grade ramps up SIGNIFICANTLY — it is definitely the bridge year from building block concepts of math to higher level application. Because of this, not only are kids expected to learn their multiplication facts this year, they are also expected to manipulate them in major ways; currently we are using them with:

• story problems
• area
• the distributive property of multiplication
• the associative property of multiplication
• the commutative property of multiplication

That is a LOT of high level thinking and manipulation of multiplication required! It is so important that kids know their multiplication facts REALLY well so they can move past getting hung up on the basic recall of these facts, and can focus instead on the much more complex task being asked of them in the application of the facts.

Thank you so much for your help in running these flash cards (or at least parts of them) every night! This is a great activity for car rides to/from sports practice, church events, or eating out!

We will be taking our first timed test of multiplication facts this coming Friday; it will be only on multiples of 5.

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Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for mid-November, however I am planning to have a brand new baby that week 🙂 Because of this, I’m working on solidifying plans with Mr. Waldie to hold my conferences with you the last week of October (Week of October 26th).  These will be held virtually.

Watch for further communication on this (hopefully) next week.

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Halloween Party

Yes, we will be having one this year! Yay! Please stay tuned for more details about what you can send in (including if your child needs to come in his/her costume or not) as we get closer, but the party will be on Friday, October 30th. As a reminder we will not be able to have parent volunteers or guests at this party. Thank you!

REMINDER: As you choose Halloween costumes, only school appropriate costumes will be allowed. Thank you for avoiding violent, gory costumes for the school setting!

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Reading Logs Turned In Tomorrow

Don’t forget to send your child’s Reading Log in tomorrow; you will have a new one sent home as well to return the following Monday. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST to encourage your child to read for a minimum of 100 minutes each week!

Important: When we want kids to do something, we know that intrinsic motivation is the highest indicator of their continued pursuit of the activity. For this reason, PLEASE do your best not to correct every little mistake your child makes when reading aloud (I know, I know, this is easier said than done 🙂)

By all means, help your child sound/stretch out hard words, have them back up to reread for understanding if necessary, etc, but please let your kiddo read…the more words they can consume, the stronger their reading will become in time. Thank you so much for your help in growing a love for reading instead of fear of mistakes in your child!

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October Lunch Menu 

Meals offered at school for the month of October can be found here.

Please check out the following message from the Jenison/Hudsonville Food Service:

Are school meals (breakfast and lunch) really free right now?  YES!! The meal itself is free.  Remember – each meal must contain a fruit or a vegetable to be qualified.  Students will still be charged for any other purchases like: milk only, bottled water/juices, additional entrees, etc. The USDA extended rules from this summer that allow us to serve free breakfast and lunch to students. This Extended Summer program will end on December 31, or until the USDA tells us to stop.  NO additional paperwork is needed to receive these meals. 

What comes with lunch?  Lunches include protein (meat/meat alternatives), whole grains, fruit, vegetable, and milk.  Students can select 3, 4, or all 5 items.  The meal must contain a fruit or vegetable to qualify as a complete meal. 

Free and Reduced Meal Applications:  We are still collecting Free/Reduced Applications.  Even though meals are free right now, when the Extended Summer program stops, an approved application MUST be completed to continue receiving meals at the free or reduced rate.  If you had an application approved in 2019-20, but have not renewed it for this year, it expires on October 7.  If you do not reapply, you will be charged full price when the Extended Summer program ends.

Did you know?  Approved Free & Reduced Applications help our school district!  School Districts receive money for Title I reading and math support based on our number of eligible students.  You can also qualify for discounts on athletic fees, AP testing fees, and college application fees.  You may also be eligible for discounts on your home’s cable TV or internet!  Apply anytime at www.lunchapp.com.

LOW and NEGATIVE BALANCE EMAILS:  These automatic emails will be turned back on on September 28.  If your child has a negative balance, this is left from the 2019-20 school year, and you are still responsible for paying the charges.  If you need purchase histories, just reach out to us and we can provide them for you.

——————————————————————————————–

Turkey Trot 2020…Virtually!

Please be sure to head to this link to read what Mrs. VanKoevering and Mrs. Nienhuis have to share about our 2020 Turkey Trot!

——————————————————————————————–

Curriculum

This week begins the first lesson or two in 3rd grade content and curriculum. I can’t wait to partner with you to help your child reach his or her full academic potential this year!

• Reading: We will continue developing our first Reader’s Workshop unit, “Building a Reading Life”.
• Writing: This week we will complete the first unit of our Writer’s Workshop: Crafting True Stories.
• Word Work: Students will be working on spelling patterns based on individual needs indicated by a spelling inventory we took in September. This will be done through both small group and individual practice.
• Math: We will continue working on multiplication and division, area, and will be introduced to the Associative Property of multiplication. PLEASE work on flash cards with students at home every night! Thank you for your help in this! We will take our first timed test for our Multiplication Challenge on our 5’s fact family this Friday.
• Social Studies: We will talk about how challenges, mistakes, and taking risks all help our brains to learn, stretch, and grow.

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Upcoming Dates

• Friday, October 23: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Monday, October 26: No School
• Week of Monday, October 26: Virtual Parent Teacher Conferences for MRS. DETERS ONLY!
• Friday, October 30: Halloween Party
• Friday, November 13: Early Release (12:15 pm dismissal)
• Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 28: Thanksgiving Break (No School)