Interactive Art Show-Monday 12:40-1:30

Dear Parents,
I wanted to send out a reminder that you are invited to join your child at the interactive art show. Tomorrow we will be in the MPR from 12:40 -1:30 for our art class. You can create your own art project or work with your child. Hope to see you.

Sewing, Sewing, and Sewing

We have been very busy sewing these past few weeks. We started out designing and creating our own stuffies. The class then created a questionnaire and Pic Collage design board to use while interviewing their first clients (kindergarten buddy). We met our buddies last Friday and gave them their own one-of-a-kind stuffy. 

I will continue to introduce new sewing projects and skills each month. My goal is to mix technology, building, coding and sewing crafts together to create a low tech to higher tech Maker experience. 

Valentine's Day

Our class will be celebrating Valentine's Day this Thursday in class. If your child would like to participate in giving cards to their classmates, they need to have a card for all of the children in the class. The class list is attached to their homework packet.

Room 22 News

Important Dates:

Jan. 17   Picture Re-take Day

Jan. 21   Martin Luther King Day/No School

Jan. 25   Field Trip to the Buck Center


In the Classroom:

Math: We are currently working on area and perimeter, measuring to the half inch, and math facts. In the homework your child should practice math facts that are a challenge for them. In class they are expected to know their facts up to 12 by the end of the 2nd trimester. We work on this in class most days, but they can also use Freckle or flashcards at home to help.

Writing: We continue to work on paragraph writing that includes topic, concluding sentences, and relevant details. Last week we were comparing how different characters solve problems that they encounter.

Science: The students will spend the next 6 weeks working with Mrs. Morgan on the science unit of The Environment and Survival.

Coding and Building: In Tynker we are on our 12th lesson, the students are incorporating loops, and conditionals into their code to become more efficient coders. In pairs, the students are building different examples of structures of bridges. This will culminate in a big final structure.

Sewing: The students will be bringing home small stuffed animals that they have designed and sewn.

Items that we need in our classroom: 
wine corks
champagne corks/cages
large scraps of cotton material
felt

Thank you for all of your support.
Katie Fisher

Update for Room 22

Schoolwide Pajama Day on Friday! You may bring slippers, but also bring shoes for recess and P.E.

3rd Grade Holiday Party. The entire 3rd grade will be celebrating on Friday, December 21st with a movie, PJs, and trail mix which the class will make beforehand.

Thank you for bringing in toiletries for our holiday drive. I have never received so many items before, I appreciate all of your help.

Today, we got into our Simple Machine building kits. The students will build gears, struts, pulleys, levers and arches. We will then go into more advanced structures.

Dear Families of Room 22,

I hope you all had a wonderful break last week. I sure did, but it’s always wonderful to be back with my students…the show must go on!

Here are a couple of quick reminders:

1.     Our class is responsible for Car Line during the weeks of 12/17, and 1/7 . Volunteer time is 25 minutes per time slot. There are still several spots available for those of you who are able to volunteer. This is a very important job that’s essential to keeping our students safe. Thank you to those of you who have already signed-up. Car Line Sign-up: 

2.     The Winter Chorus Concert is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11 from 12:40-1:10 in the multipurpose room. 3^rd and 4^th grade parents are invited to attend this special event. We hope to see you there!

3.     The Book Fair begins on Monday of next week and runs through Thursday. Daily hours are 8:00-4:00, ending with the Book Fair Café on Thursday, December 6.

4.     With the holiday season in full swing, I have discussed a specific community service activity with my class. It involves collecting sample size toiletries to donate to the Ritter House in San Rafael. They provide a shower for homeless men and women who will benefit from using these supplies. Please look under your sink to see if you have anything hiding from a past trip. We will collect and then bag items into individual give-away bags to donate. Ideally, each bag will include shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. Please don’t feel any pressure to go out and purchase items. We will take what we can get and make sure it is put to good use. Thank you!

5.     We had a great class discussion on Monday regarding technology use, specifically in regards to Google Drive. Students were reminded of the following agreement sent home and signed at the beginning of the year. Students were asked to “clean-up” their Google drive of anything that was not school related. The third-grade team appreciates your support in reinforcing this at home.

a.     The MVSD Google account is NOT private. It is a learning tool and teachers can view everything that is happening in Google Drive.

b.    Use of Google Docs is for classroom assignments only – not for personal use.

c.     Documents can only be shared with your teacher, unless a collaborative project is assigned and specific directions are given.

Phew! It’s hard to believe that this weekend marks the first of December. Wow! We’ll be very busy over the next several weeks leading up to Winter Break. Please read below for details and as always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Katie

Grants, Grants, and More Grants

Thanks to the Mill Valley School District and KIDDO! our classroom has received 3 grants.

• The Strategic Leadership Grant has awarded us $1700 for a STEM Lab kit. This includes materials and lessons for science, math, coding, robotics and multimedia projects. 

• KIDDO! has awarded us the money to buy Ozbot Robots for the Makerspace. These robots can be coded and will help us integrate our coding skills.

• KIDDO! also gave me the funds to buy 3 sewing machines, sewing project books and materials. I will be starting a sewing and crafting club at lunch.

I will also be looking for some help. Let me know if you are interested.