Week 5

Weekly Greetings!

With Monday off for moose hunting, this will be another short week. Even so, this week is the start of the fall MAP (Measure for Academic Progress) testing that we do three times a year. The testing will cover reading, math, and language arts over a three-day period. Since the students will be returning from a long weekend, I will be starting the testing on Wednesday and go through Friday morning. The test window will be a total of four weeks, so that will allow time for any make-up tests due to absences. Please make sure your child is at school and on time those days, as we will be starting first thing in the morning each day.

Also due to the MAP testing each day in the morning, there will not be a Spelling test this Friday. I will be sending the Unit 3 words home to practice, but we will have the same words next week so there is time to go through the Spelling workbook lessons during our normal schedule next week. The program that I am using is "Spelling and Vocabulary Words for Readers and Writers" published by the Houghton Mifflin company. It is the same series used in second grade last year. Unit 3 words will be long a and e words using vowel combinations.

Now for some highlights from last week! On Tuesday last week, the students in the afternoon STARS pod of Alaska Native and Local Culture made traditional Athabascan chokers. They all did a great job, and each one had a unique blend of colors and pattern.

With the STARS pod schedule, Wednesday is the only day I have all the third graders in the afternoon. Last Wednesday we concluded our look at healthy habits, and discussed good foods. Then we made a trip to the greenhouse to view all the fresh vegetables the students are fortunate to eat through the lunch program at Alaska Gateway School District. It was pouring rain, but we were dry and cozy as we enjoyed the tour.

After taking the Chapter 1 math test on Friday, it was time to celebrate. I will occasionally use foam Frisbees and music to acknowledge the class accomplishments. They had a blast tossing the soft Frisbees around the room, and I am sure we will do this again soon!

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors, and have an awesome week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown