News from Class 3
Newsletter #21
News from the Classroom
Oh, what a week we just had! First, the beautiful concert that the 3rd grade performed for us, then the amazing trip to the beach!
I was so proud of the students, as I watched their dedication and hard work pay off in their first strings concert. It brought tears to my eyes, as my heart sang. Your children are beautiful, and I am so proud of them. I am deeply grateful for Ms. Albers, as I feel she asked them to bring out their Higher Self, and they did!
The beach trip was a grand success! There was a lot of communication, team work, kindness and creativity as the two classes joined together to accomplish the task of building a shelter. The children were asked to create a shelter, and then to turn that shelter into a home. When I walked around and looked at each and every shelter, I could see the qualities that turned their shelter into a heartfelt, welcoming home. When I returned back to the classroom and asked the students what their favorite part of the experience was, they all agreed that meeting new friends was the best part of the day. Thank you to all the parents that joined us. It does takes a village to make sure these children experience the essence of life, in such a profound way! If you have pictures that you can share, we would all love to see them!
We have now completed our second block on shelters. The students were introduced to Long Division, and many are still processing how to work with this new skill. This will be put to rest, at this time, and I will revisit it again in a few weeks. Please continue to work on multiplication tables, as there is an apparent difference between those students who have been working on their tables, and those that have not put in the time and effort.
During this block, I finished telling the story of Moses. This long story allowed the students to feel the Israelite's constant questions about faith and following directions. There was always a groan heard in the classroom as, once again, the Israelites broke a commandment. These stories are helpful because they allow the children to live deeply into an experience of right and wrong. They felt the heartache of Moses when his people went against God. They felt discouraged when Moses' people continually disrespected and mistrusted God. Through the Moses stories, we came up with our own classroom commandments. The students all agreed on what was most important in our daily lives, and I will hang those in our classroom, as a reminder. The students are learning right from wrong, and learning about consequences. Stories such as these leave a deep impression on a child, as they transition into the 9-year change.
This week brings us back to a 3 week language arts block, where we will be working on grammar, sentence structure, and learning how to write a friendly letter to our new friends at Sunridge. I will begin to tell the stories of Joshua, from the Bible, and will pair that with the classroom reader of The Birchbark House.
All-School Assembly February 10th 1:30
This week the students will be performing in the All-School Assembly. I do hope you can join us! The Assembly begins at 1:30 pm, and all are welcome. The 3rd grade will be performing first! On Wednesday, we will be walking down to the Sebastopol Community center at 12 pm. The students will be picked up at the Sebastopol Community Center at 3 pm. Every child will need to say good-bye to me, before they leave. I will not let a student leave unless I have seen the person they are leaving with. Please make sure to communicate to any child care providers, so that your child is not worried about their pick up. Any students not picked up by 3:15 pm, will be taken to the Office at the Main Campus.
Thank you, in advance, to the Murnane family for helping with the instruments, and to Ana for helping me coral the students!
No Reading Groups this Tuesday
Valentines Day
On Friday, February 12th, we will celebrate Valentines Day from 12-12:40 pm. Each student is asked to MAKE 5 Valentines. They need to be brought into school on Thursday, so that I can make sure that every child will receive a special Valentine.
In keeping with our curriculum, I am asking that you have your child sew, bake, glue, knit, weave, felt, or plant 5 special valentines for their classmates. Your children are so capable, that now they can tap into their skills to create beautiful and heartwarming gifts for their classmates! If you have questions, feel free to ask. Pinterest has lots of neat ideas!
If our Thursday parent/student cooks would like to make a special treat for our Friday party, that would be wonderful!