Zarotney's Zidbits

October 7, 2011

In the News...
Becoming Responsible
Ms. Schallmo, and I would like to thank all the parents who have been working with us to help your children become responsible students. We really appreciate your help in having your child complete their math homework and study their spelling words. We can already see progress in responsibility, and can tell we're going to have a great year. Thanks!

What have we been up to?

Language Arts: Our first unit in language arts is
People and Places. We are working on Theme 1 Community Spirit in reading. During read aloud, Ms. Schallmo, and I have been reading, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. The students have been working hard on making connections, working on short vowels spelling, learning new vocabulary words, and the writing process. They have also started the process of writing stories about their Big Zoo experiences.

Accelerated Reader
A requirement for our third graders this year is going to be taking AR tests each marking period. For the first marking period each child will need to take two AR tests at his or her Just Right Level. Ms. Schallmo, and I will help each student find a book during library on Monday. They must score 80% or better to pass the test. They should be working on an AR book every week. We suggest having your child read his or her book a couple of times before taking the test.

Math: The students will be bringing home the Chapter 1

study guide today in their assignment books. Please go over the study guide this weekend to prepare for the test on Monday. Ms. Schallmo will be starting Chapter 2: Addition and Subtraction Number Sense on Tuesday. In this chapter the students will review addition and subtraction concepts. They will also use mental math strategies to learn their basic facts. Finally, they will be estimating sums and differences using overestimates and underestimates.

Science: The students will continue their Big Zoo

studies and start to learn about plants. They will be comparing and contrasting plants/animals.

Student Government
We held our Student Council Elections in our classroom today. Our candidates were Teresa Ashbrook, Lily Blake, Parker Dennings, Nathan Schluckebier, Jordyn Shipps, Nate Deppen, and Paige Smith. All the students did a fantastic job giving their speeches. We want to congratulate all of our students as it took a lot of courage to give a speech in front of the entire class. Our Student Council Representative is Paige Smith and the Alternate is Jordyn Shipps. Congratulations to both of you!

Important Dates:
Oct. 10 Oct. 11 Oct. 12 Oct. 15 Oct. 18 Oct. 31 Nov. 2 Chapter 1 Math Test MEAP Reading Day 1 11:00-12:25 MEAP Reading Day 2 11:00-12:25 Spelling Test MEAP Math 11:00-12:30 Brown Bag Lunch/Halloween Party Picture Day

Halloween Party/Brown Bag

On Friday, Oct. 31, 2011, we will be having a Brown Bag Lunch at 12:25-1:00 and then our Halloween Party 1:00-1:50. This is our first Brown Bag Lunch of the year. Ms. Schallmo, and I would like to invite family members to join us in Room 20 for lunch. We all eat together and enjoy the company of our family and friends. Parents can bring their child a special lunch or send them with cold lunch. We will not be going to the cafeteria during lunch time. The boys and girls will be changing into their costumes during Brown Bag after they eat and wearing their costumes for the remainder of the day.

Big Zoo
Wow! What an amazing week we had at the zoo. Thanks to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedules to help us. Mrs. Waterson, Ms. Schallmo, and I couldnt have done it without your help. The children were able to see a number of surgeries, go behind the scenes at the Rhino and Penguin Exhibits, and meet many animals in the classrooms. These are wonderful experiences that theyll never forget. Thanks again for supporting the Big Zoo Lesson!

Scott School -P.O. Box 800 DeWitt MI Office phone: 668.3400 Classroom 668.3420 e-mail Zarotney@dewitt.edzone.net