Say Cheese! and other notes

We are off to a great start to our week. Here are some updates from our classroom.

Pictures:
     * Forms are due asap. If you are not planning to order, that is fine. We will still take your child's photo for the yearbook. Pictures are on Oct. 2nd (THURSDAY!).

Snacks:
     * Our snack cupboard is running low. If you would like to donate some snacks to our room that would be fantastic and greatly appreciated. Some items that work well are animal crackers, applesauce, crackers, granola bars or fruit strips. We use these snacks on Mondays for students who forget a snack and on days when we have a funky fruit or vegetable like peas, in which not too many students will eat them. My goal is to make sure that everyone has a decent portion to keep them going throughout the day.

Clothing:
     * As Mother Nature starts to figure out whether we are going to be cold or hot, please remember to send appropriate clothing with your child. It might be a good idea to get in the habit of packing a sweatshirt or coat and hat in their bag every day. You never know what you will get with North Dakota weather.
Also, it is a good time to start thinking about cold weather gear. With that being said, if at any time you are having a hard time getting any items, please let me know. From snowpants, boots, coats and even tennis shoes, if you are finding your family in a place that it might be financially difficult to buy these items, please let me know. I have some pretty good connections that might be able to help. :-)

Math Test:
     *  You might be asking yourself about the math test your child took last week. I am hanging onto them and will go over them at conference time. Which reminds me...

Conferences:
     *  You should have gotten an email to sign up for conferences. Please do so asap. If by some chance there isn't a time on there that works for you, let me know right away and I am very willing to work with you. I would rather be super flexible for you than not meet at all.

Wow! A lot more notes than I thought. Hopefully I remembered everything. One more thing...

     I have been having "Lunch Bunch" with the kids to get to know them on a more personal level and one thing I have been asking is what I can change to make 3rd grade better for them. I am opening the floor to you as parents. If there is something you would like to see me do that I am not currently doing, or if something I am doing is driving you crazy, please let me know. I am always looking to improve my ways and LOVE parent feedback, the good and the bad. So, please email me your honest (but kind) thoughts so I know how the year is going not only for your child, but for you as well.

Have a wonderful evening and enjoy the weather.

Mrs. Farkas

Rocking Mock Rocks

We are wrapping up our Mock Rocks unit. We became geologists and investigated what made a rock. We used picks (nails) to take apart our rocks, sort our materials and then we put the leftovers in a vile with water. We learned that we can breakdown the parts of a rock into minerals. So after giving our viles a good shake, we let them sit over night. After they settled we carefully poured ONLY the water into a circle tray. Some of us learned a really big lesson in following directions and how important it was to only pour the water. We allowed the water to evaporate and then were able to investigate what was left using a magnifying glass. Awesome learning!


Hopefully you can view the video. If not, I think I need to create a youtube channel. And of course, what is a movie without a little theme music courtesy of Queen, We Will Rock You.

Money, Money, Money.... MONEY

Today we discussed the difference between estimating and exact amounts. We talked about what it meant for an item to be on sale and why stores would put things on sale. (This was definitely a day I could share personal shopping experiences.) The students were asked to buy certain items and then determine if they had enough money or what their change would be.

Here we are practicing counting coins and using a calculator to add up the total amount.

 If you haven't been getting my emails yet, hopefully you will be soon. There are certain accounts such as Hotmail that have blocked our school accounts because they think it is spam. Our district has fixed the problem so hopefully everyone will be getting my emails.


Thanks for stopping by. Have an awesome night.

First Video... Hooray!

I am finally trying to be brave enough to send out video messages. Sometimes it might be easier for me to record myself or the students versus typing everything up. So... please enjoy.

Getting Caught Up

Wow! We have had such an awesome start to the school year. I have enjoyed getting to know your children and am so glad to finally break through their quiet, shy selves and see their true passionate selves appear. We have had so many amazing experiences together this year already, I can't wait to share them all with you (or at least some).

PTA FUNDRAISER:
We have been selling coupon books for almost 2 weeks now. Our class has sold over 70! Yes! We are almost to our goal of at least 100 to earn our pizza party. All books and money are due on September 23rd. So keep on selling.

SPEAKING OF PTA:

Please consider joining PTA. They are such an amazing organization that does SO much for our school, students and staff. It is only $7 to join. If you don't think you are able to make it to any meetings, no problem. There are ways you can help and participate without ever attending a meeting. Need more information, just let me know. I attended the last meeting and was so amazed at all the ideas and thoughts that were shared. I felt that no only as a teacher, but as a parent, I had a voice and it was heard.


*** And, my name was drawn for one of the door prizes and I won a Target gift card. Can't wait to use it! Thanks PTA!.


IT'S GETTING COLD OUT THERE:

PLEASE make sure you are sending warm enough clothes with your child. It is very cool in our room during the day, so a sweatshirt that they can keep in their backpack/locker would be great. Plus with the weather cooling down, students will need to start bringing a jacket and hat.

READING CHALLENGE:

Our yearly Book-it challenge has begun. We are striving to read 400 minutes each month. If a student reaches their goal each month, they will get a certificate for a pizza. Plus we will have a monthly drawing for prizes in our classroom for those that meet their goal. Record student minutes at the top of their agendas (on the Thursday/Friday side). They do not have to fill out the pages they have read, just the minutes.


TYPING:

We have started our keyboarding instruction. As soon as our kiddos finish up learning all our keys, their log in information will be sent home so they can practice there as well (if they have access to a computer).

HOME LINKS:
Home links will start to come home on Monday. Remember, it is a way for you to stay informed and a way for the students to practice what we learned in class. NO STRESS! :-)


UFF! I think that is enough information for today. Tomorrow is our first Westside Spirit Day, so wear your Wildcat t-shirt. Or GO BISON!