May Newsletter

MAY this month make you smile at all of your accomplishments!

Student Led Conferences:

What a success!  I was so proud to watch the students take charge to share their learning with you!  Can you believe how far they have come since August 2011?  It is hard to believe they will be big 3^rd graders next school year! Congratulations!

MAP Testing: 

Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep each evening before our second round of MAP testing.  A full, healthy breakfast will also get those brains going before testing begins.  The schedule is as follows:

Sunday, May 7        8:00am-9:00am      Language Arts

Monday, May 8       8:00am-9:00am      Reading

Wednesday, May 10      8:00am-9:00am        Math

Mr. Dean:

You have probably heard this name during dinnertime each evening over the past few weeks.  We are sorry to see Mr. Dean finish his teaching practicum, but we really enjoyed the three weeks he spent teaching in our class!  It was perfect timing to have an Australian teacher as we learned about Culture and how it shapes us!   What an enriching experience!

Reading- As we finish our challenging Literature Circle groups, students will explore reading from different angles to wrap up the year.  We will revisit partner reading, Individual reading, Guided reading, Choral reading and Whole Class reading.  Using our CAFÉ strategies, students will choose which strategy they should work on and set goals to finish the school year. 

Writing- Wrapping up our unit on Culture has allowed wonderful writing connections.  Students are finishing up their All About Me Keynotes, Folk Tales and have published our class book, “Ami Dekhi”.  Some students will even publish a Math Story about how they spent a dollar.  Keep your eyes open for our end of the year PUBLISHING PARTY where students will invite parents to come enjoy some of their pieces from the year! More information to come!

Math- Students are now experts at adding and subtracting larger numbers.  We can regroup with ease and even subtract across zeros!  More importantly, students are learning different ways to explain their thinking and show their work using various methods.

Unit-
Wrapping up our unit on Culture leads us into our final inquiry-based theme: How the World Works.  Students will explore Simple Machines and how they work and make life easier for us all!  Don’t be surprised if you begin to see your student transform into a Mad Scientist or Inventor over the next few weeks.

Goodbye to Aryaman-

We are very sad to say that Aryaman will be leaving AISD this month.  His last day will be Thursday, May 17^th.  We will miss Aryaman’s sense of humor, leadership and problem solving skills.  Good luck in 3^rd grade Aryaman!