Mrs. Loppnow's News & Notes
Week of October 2, 2017
A Note from Mrs. Loppnow:
Happy October!
Today was Stinky Feet Friday! (You should be thrilled that this is not smell-o-vision!) I want to thank you all for the Birthday wishes I received this week! Third graders really know how to make you feel loved! I enjoyed the many cards, gifts, and email wishes!!
The students did a great job this week with not only one, but two different guest teachers. I was very impressed with the notes I received which stated how kind and respectful the kids were to the teachers. (All that with a FULL MOON, too?!?) Thank you!
Fall conferences are upon us! I will be meeting with half of you on Thursday the 12th, and the other half on Tuesday the 17th. I look forward to chatting with you, in person, to talk about my observations so far regarding your child's strengths and to set goals in your child's growth areas. I encourage you to BRING YOUR THIRD GRADER to the conference with you so he/she can be a part of the discussion!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I would love to hear from you! Let me know you are out there! :-)
I hope you all enjoy your weekend!
Mrs. Loppnow
A Peek into this week and next!
Writer's Workshop: This week's Paragraph of the Week was all about A Food We Do NOT Like! The paragraphs were hysterical and VERY descriptive. The students worked hard to write a topic sentence, 3 supporting details with "partner" sentences (explanations), and a closing sentence. My paragraph was about cooked carrots. Does anyone out there agree that they are too mushy and ruin the taste of other foods? We will continue with paragraph writing next week and will focus on adding vivid verbs and adjectives.
Content: This week we began our first Social Studies unit on Government. Students learned about the 4 local community services and created posters to show what they learned. Next week we will talk about the Three Branches of Government and will learn the role of each.
Reader's Workshop: Our study this week involved a folktale from our Junior Great Books collection titled Ooka and the Honest Thief. The concept is an interesting one...can you be a THIEF and be HONEST, too?? In our story, it was pretty clear that the character, Gonta, WAS honest, but he was ALSO a thief. When we applied that some logic to TODAY (not a folktale), our opinions were a little different. Students participated in a socratic circle in which they all shared their opinions about this tough concept. We had some very brave students who shared their ideas, although they were not the popular opinion. Others found themselves changing their opinions after gathering more information and participating in further discussion! It was amazing to see the students having a conversation based on evidence, opinion, and learning to respectfully disagree with one another!
STEM Bins
Keyboarding Camp!
REMINDERS & REQUESTS:
- PROJECT GO is on TUESDAY from 8:00-9:00. Please send me a quick email to know if a Grandparent will be attending for your child.
- WORD MASTERS: I am looking for a parent volunteer who would be willing to come in once a week to help students with WordMasters. This is an enrichment activity for some of the students who are ready for extensions in literacy. I am looking for someone to help out from 1:30-2:00 any day of the week. Please let me know if you may be available.
- BOOK LOGS: Rocky's Reading and Writing Club sheets are due on MONDAY! Please make sure you have recorded your minutes AND received a parent signature. Thank you!
Upcoming Events:
- 10-10: Project GO! 8:00-9:00 Grandparents are invited to join us!
- 10-10 to 10-18: Scholastic Book Fair
- 10-12 & 10-17: Conferences
- 10-19 & 10-20: NO SCHOOL
- 10-25: UNITY DAY: Wear ORANGE
- 10-31: Keyboarding Camp Celebration