A Message From Coach Henry

Important message from Coach Henry:

• The Westchester iRUN program will begin this week for all K-3 students. The program will build running skills and endurance through fun games and activities. iRUN will run for six weeks in an effort to prepare students for participation in the Tour deCatur road race on March 14^th.  
• iRUN Westchester shirts are now available for purchase to all students and adults, regardless of intent to participate in Tour deCatur. Please show your support and purchase a shirt (or two)! 
• The link to purchase is below. The deadline to purchase is February 8^th.
• https://www.agpestores.com//pswear/groupproducts.phpprodgroup_id=4847&prodgroupbypass=true
• Latonya Henry
• Physical Education 
• Westchester Elementary & 4/5 Academy 
• lhenry@csdecatur.net

January is flying by....

Hello Friends,
  It's been a short week full of activity! Thank you for getting on board with Biblionasium! The students' reviews are awesome and I think they really enjoy tracking their reading electronically! We will have the laptops again tomorrow so that they practice using the reading log.

Curriculum Updates

Math: wrapping up area/perimeter and moving into Geometry. 
Science: wrapping up Rocks and Soil and moving into Social Studies 
Social Studies: We will continue with our Historical Figures. We still need to learn about FDR, LBJ, Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt, & Cesar Chavez. 
Writing: Non-fiction Booklets, then opinion writing.
ELA: Suffixes, Prefixes, Spelling Rules
Reading: Our read aloud book is The Mighty Miss Malone. We will be reading all about heat and magnetism for the next few weeks. 

* Curriculum Night is re-scheduled for Thursday January 29th from 5:30-6:30
Please join us to learn more about GMAS Testing and Compass Learning!


*We booked a field trip in March to the Dekalb History Center to learn about some of our key figures. We will be walking to Decatur Square for this trip and we plan to have lunch on the lawn after the presentations. More information will come your way soon.

DeKalb History Center's THIRD GRADE HISTORY DAY March 27, 2015 How were our rights and our freedom won? From the American Revolution to the Civil Rights movement Americans have struggled to make our country better. Join us at the Historic Courthouse in Decatur for a professional living history program about four great Americans: Paul Revere, Susan B. Anthony, Lyndon Johnson and Cesar Chavez. Also visit the museum's exhibits, especially our "Ranch House" exhibit which shows how people lived in DeKalb County when LBJ was president. (2 hours, $10).

Jenny Goldemund  Programs and Preservation Coordinator   404-373-1088, ext 20 goldemund@dekalbhistory.org www.dekalbhistory.org                                                                              STAY CONNECTED

Last week we determined the area of our feet and this week we practiced finding perimeter using paper clip chains. We also learned about how area and perimeter relate to one another.

We also practiced writing and spelling words with common suffixes. Next week we will work on prefixes as well as spelling rules for syllables and affixes. 

Today we talked rocks and soil and completed 2 experiments. We looked at how sedimentary rock is formed into layers using white bread, wheat bread, and Swedish fish. The students placed books on top of the "rocks" and stood on top of them. We also observed the attributes of three types of soil. 

Tomorrow we will shake up some soil and water and watch it settle and layer. 

  Thanks for being so supportive, you are fantastic! Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see on the blog! I will be overhauling it over the February Break....I think we need a new look! :)

Crazy Day!

Hello Friends,
  I'm sorry we didn't get to see each other at curriculum night tonight. Our agenda was set to include a short tutorial on how to access and support your child on Compass Learning, some info about Biblionasium (you should have received a letter about it in your child's folder), and Ms. Lofstrand was going to talk with you about the new Georgia Milestones Test that we will be taking this year.
I will let you know as soon as we re-schedule!

Biblionasium: Your child now has his/her own login. We spent time this morning navigating the site and learning how to add book to our personal bookshelf, recommend books to me and to friends, and write book reviews.

We are using Biblionasium in order help the children gain experience with typing, motivate and challenge them to read more, and write like real authors with an audience. This will take the place of weekly hand written RRJ's. Your child may also write in the journal if they don't have access to a computer at home. We will access the site in class weekly as well.

This week's challenge (I send them a challenge on the site...Ask your child to show you!) is to log what they read in the reading log and to write a book review of their choice. The review should be a  complete paragraph (5-7 sentences) with capitalization and punctuation.

In Math I'd like your child to work on Compass Learning Modules at least one hour per week. I will also send home a sheet or task occasionally.

Next Week:
Math: Geometry
Reading: Text Structures & Biographies
ELA/Writing: Spelling patterns of common suffixes and Non Fiction Booklets
Science: Soil, Fossils
S.Studies: Cesar Chavez, Mary Mcleoud Bethune

Here's a glimpse from this week:

TELLUS!

Thanks So Much for letting me teach your babies!