June 1-10 It's hard to believe the school year is coming to an end. Wow, how time flies when you are having fun! We want you to know how much we have enjoyed being your child's teachers. Watching your child grow physically, academically, socially, and emotionally has been the highlight for us. Their progress is outstanding and we are so very proud. We hope your child has enjoyed third grade as much as we have. Thank you for all that you have done at home to help your child be successful. We really do appreciate everything. You have made this year very special in so many ways. Thanks again for trusting us and sharing your child with us. Sincerely, Mrs. Bailey & Mrs. Jarrell Please continue to read with your child over the summer break. See the bailey blog on our website to keep us updated throughout your summer. This is your last edition of The Bailey Buzz. I hope you enjoy your last third grade updates for the year. In reading this week we will focus on the comprehension strategy to monitor and clarify and the comprehension skill of understanding fairy tales. Students will work to write their own fairy tale. Wednesday and Thursday students will participate in Career Day as parents share information about their particular career. The Parsley Fun Day is scheduled for Friday, June 5 from 8:45-11:00. Please dress your child appropriately for the weather on this day and apply plenty of sunscreen. Be mindful that students will participate in a variety of activities that may involve running, jumping, and water, so flip flops are not the best choice of shoe. Students will need a complete change of clothes, including shoes and underwear, as they will be getting wet. The rain date is set for Monday, June 8. Our class lunch schedule will be 11:41 on this day. Students are preparing for our End of the Year presentation. You are invited to join us in the computer lab on Wednesday, June 10 from 11:00-12:00 pm. We hope you can join us! Thank you in advance for allowing your child to participate in Summerfest 2009. Your child can register under the unique classroom identification number sent home at any time between now and June 22 at http://www.letterpals.org/index.php?m=parents&a=login Another resource to check out with your child this summer comes highly recommended by Mrs. Rizzo. At Aid To Children http://www.aidtochildren.com/ visitors choose a synonym for the vocabulary word shown. Each correct answer progresses to more difficult vocabulary. For every correct answer, the site donates .25 cents (that's a quarter of a penny) to the children in the most impoverished places around the world. Think of the discussion you can have with this kind of information. You could track your child’s progress and graph how your child is helping feed hungry children. Sites like these also help improve vocabulary. I continue to include this particular message each week because it really applies to all students in the class. All students need to continue to practice facts until they know these automatically, with no need for calculation. Practicing math facts at home will help your child become fluent. Go to www.mathfactcafe.com to customize facts assessment sheets for multiplication or division. Please, please practice over the break. Your fourth grade math teacher will be grateful. Students Encouraged to "Find-A-Book" This Summer (or anytime) The NC Department of Public Instruction is partnering with the Governor’s Office, public libraries and parent organizations in an exciting new effort to encourage students to use their Lexile scores to boost their reading skills over the summer. Check out the Find-a-Book Web site (www.lexile.com/findabook), an easy-to- use, free online tool that allows students to use Lexile scores to find books on their reading level that also match their interests. Students in grades 3- 8, as well as high school students taking the English I assessment, will receive a Lexile reading score with their end-of-year test results. Please find your child’s Lexile score on the End-of-Grade Parent Report that will be sent home with report cards. You can use this score to look up books on your child’s level and find these books at the public library.