Ms. Hemmesch

I must commend our third graders for being so responsible and independent this week.  We have come a long way!

We began Chapter 13 in Math this week which covers measurement in both the customary and metric systems.  Mrs. Kilroe, the 4th Grade Teacher and I have spoken in great lengths about what material our third graders need to cover in order to be prepared for Fourth Grade, which explains why we have jumped from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13.   As you may have noticed, the Spiral Review on the back side of your child's homework has gotten a bit more challenging for your student because much of the subject matter has not been covered as it was in Chapters 8-12.  I encourage you to guide your child through solving these problems (or, in some cases, learn the concepts together) because any exposure to the process of solving problems is always beneficial for the student.

In Science we are learning about Classification of Animals in Unit 7.  Again, we 'zoomed' through Chapter 6 because much of the material was covered in Mrs. Schofield's Food, Land, and People Curriculum.  We will be taking a field trip to the Key West Aquarium on June 6th to take a closer look at animal classifications.  We are so lucky to have so many interesting vertebrates and invertebrates so close to home!

In Language Arts we are continuing to write Persuasive Essays.  This week, the students are finishing up their essays arguing for or against changing the voting laws to allow 8 year olds the right to vote.  They have also had some wonderful public speaking practice in Mrs. Schofield's' lessons where students staged a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the Higgs Beach 10 Year Plan- it was truly impressive to see!

There will no longer be hot lunches served for the remainder of the school year.  Please pack a lunch.  However, on Wednesday the 30th, we will be having a pizza and ice cream party to celebrate our victory in the Registration Contest for the Mariners March 5K.  Additionally, pizza will be sold for Fridays through the end of the year, please bring in your money by Wednesday.

On Thursday the 31st we will have an all school assembly performed by the NED Show- Promoting Achievement Through Character Development.  Yoyo's will be on sale following the show.

Also on Thursday the 31st is the Basilica Designation Mass at 7:00 p.m. in the Basilica.

Our Awards Assembly for sports, academics, Green Team, Choir, Student Council, Altar Servers, Student of the Year, Teacher of the Year and 8th Grade awards will be on Friday, June 1st, 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria.  Parents are invited and encouraged to come.  See you there!

We have 1:00 dismissal on the 4th-7th, after care is available.  Friday the 8th we will be dismissed after 9:00 mass.  There will be no after care available on Friday so please make any necessary accommodations.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend!  See you on Tuesday : )

Congratulations to the Third Grade class for winning the Registration Contest for the Mariners March 5K.  The event raised over 18K for our school! Woo Hoo!

This week students completed Chapter 7 in Math.  Next week we will jump to Chapter 13 which covers measurement.  We will also integrate some fraction work into the Chapter as we look at quarters of an inch, half cups, etc.

In Science we are moving onto Unit 7 which involves classifying plants and animals. 

This week in Reading students began to work on the Reading Response Journals.  Each night, students are expected to respond to whatever it is that they chose to read for their nightly 30 min of reading.  Responses are expected to be a minimum of 5 sentences.  Please use the handout for suggested response topics/sentence starters.

In Language Arts we are continuing to work on Persuasive Essays.  This week students began to argue for or against lowing the voting age to 8 years old : )

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your child's education : )

I cannot believe that we only have 4 more weeks of school!  Time has flown by!

THANK YOU to all parents who helped out on our Field Trip to the Dolphin Research Center!  Our day would not have been such a huge success without all of your help as chaperones!

This week we reviewed what we have been learning in Science for Heat Energy.  Next week we will test on the material.

In Math, we will be taking our Mid-Chapter Check-Up on Monday to assess any areas of misunderstanding before we move on  in Division.  We will be taking our timed tests on Tuesday. 

In Reading, we will continue to explore the genre of Poetry for the month.  Our Monthly book reports are DUE on Monday.  If your child plans to record their Commercial at home to show to the class, you MUST save and e-mail me the file prior to Monday morning so that I can ensure the file can be played on the flat screen TV for the whole class to see.  We will nto view commercials off of personal electronics (i.e.-iPads, iPods, Laptops...)

DON NOT FORGET about the Mariners MArch5K on Saturday!  It is not too late to get in any last minute Registrants!!!

Mary Immaculate is hosting a student science fair on May 14.
Attached to this letter are the directions and guidelines to help you
participate in the science fair.
This project is to be completed at ho
me, although we may do a small
amount of guided research in class. Students will have the opportunity to
choose their project online at school but may need to finish the process at
home by printing out the information they need. The website we will use
for the project is: sciencefairadventure.com. Please choose a project from
the BIOLOGY or ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE categories from only this
website .

The directions and guidelines will be reviewed in class, but parents
will need to look over them as well. There is a link to an actual picture of a
completed science fair project to help guide you on TeacherWeb.com.
Parents, please take the time to look over everything with your child.
Students, start as soon as possible so that you have a great project.
Everyone will present their science fair project on MAY 14th 5:30 p.m. at
school.

See you there!

First of all,  THANK YOU to all parents who helped to make Field Day a success.  Third Grade could not have done it without the help of Mr. Levering (seriously).  THANK YOU, Rodger!

This week we began learning Division in Chapter 7 of math.  Students are working on forming equal groups and understanding the relationship between multiplication and division.

In science we have beet looking at Heat Energy in Unit 5.  This short unit was wrapped up this week with only 2 lessons.  Next week we will work on some hands on experiments followed by a review and test at the end of the week.

We have been studying poetry in Language Arts.  Students are currently working on concrete poems in the shape of objects they have chosen.  Poems will be finalized next week.

Don't forget...

BOOK SWAP on Friday 4/27

• Green team is sponsoring a Book Swap.  Please bring in any unwanted books to swap prior to April 27th.

MARINERS MARCH on Saturday 4/28

• Class with the highest registration wins a pizza party- recruit as many runners/ walkers as you can (we love pizza)!
• Please donate a case of water or Gatorade for the race.

Just a few reminders for the week...

1:00 DISMISSAL on Wednesday 4/18

FIELD DAY on Friday 4/20 9:15-11:30 ish .....

•  Parent volunteers welcome. 
  
• Students must wear team colors (RED TEAM: Jose, Gabe, Sam,Rochelle, Kelcie, Zander, Sebastian, Sarah, Cassee, Tony  BLUE TEAM:  Katrina, Gabi, Ceci, Mariangel, Colman, Ethan, Emily, Hannah, Max Jesse).  
• Please send in a HEALTHY snack (think soccer half-time treats i.e.- orange slices, water, Gatorade, etc.).  Please do not send anything that needs to be prepared at school.

SOCIAL STUDIES TEST 4/19

• Because of Field Day, the Social Studies test will be given on THURSDAY.  The test is true/false.
  

BOOK SWAP on Friday 4/27

• Green team is sponsoring a Book Swap.  Please bring in any unwanted books to swap on April 27th.

MARINERS MARCH on Saturday 4/28

• Class with the highest registration wins a pizza party- recruit as many runners/ walkers as you can (we love pizza)!
• Please donate a case of water or Gatorade for the race.