Monica Ros School

February 24, 2010

Dear Parents,

I can hardly believe we find ourselves at this point in the school year.  The Wax Museum is just two weeks away on Tuesday, March 9.  The Art Auction will follow on Saturday, March 13.  Lastly, preparations for the Science Fair have begun!  Save Wednesday evening, March 31, to enjoy the science projects throughout the school.

 Please drop off items for our class baskets for the Art Auction anytime.   The last day to contribute to them is Tuesday, March 9.

 It was all about hearts and candy on Friday, February 12 just before our week away.  I want to thank Amber, Joanna, and Tami for hosting our Valentine’s party.  We decorated cookies and played a fun game of Valentine’s bingo!  Sorry about sending home sugar-filled children!

 Our fabulous camp-out is just three months away!  The Cornwell and Wachtell families are hosting our next barbecue this Friday, February 26.  Let us know if you are interested in hosting a barbecue in the next few months.

 Wax Museum!  The children have begun to write out their speeches on index cards in class.  The cards will begin to come home on Thursday to be memorized.  The cards need to travel to and from home in your child’s home folder each day.  We know this may be a tricky task!  Thanks for your help.  We will keep a copy of the cards at school just in case any pets are hungry!  

 The speeches should be memorized by Friday, March 5!  Costumes are due in class on Monday morning, March 8.  We will have our dress rehearsal on Monday, March 8 at 11:00 a.m.  Our final performance will be on Tuesday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m.

Science Fair! I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about the upcoming Science Fair by now!  The children have begun to organize themselves in groups.  We will finalize the groups in class this week.   There is no need to decide on a project right now.  I want to encourage the kids to explore the many possibilities before making a final decision, hopefully by the beginning of next week.  Please find the list of Internet sites with many wonderful ideas.  We will also do some exploring in class. The most important thing to keep in mind is to choose a project that is testable at home and in class.   More detailed information will follow next week.

 Math! We have been learning about various graphs in class over the past few weeks.  We will put those skills to work by plotting the weekly high and low temperatures in the U.S.  we’ve been recording since September.  Keep practicing those math facts a little everyday.  We will continue to have math quizzes twice a week through March.  All the children should be working on their 7’s and 8’s by now. 

 Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Mrs. Buddhu and Mrs. Kirkmire

Third Graders provide lunch for kindergarten through gradeschool students.  Should you choose to participate, the cost is $5.00  Funds raised at the BBQ contribute to the end of the year Third Grade overnight campout.

The third grade class will travel to the Getty Center in Los Angeles.  Mythology in European Art:  A Renaissance Perspective.  We will depart from school at 8:30am.  Arrive at the Getty at 10:30am. have an early lunch, and tour the gardens.  Meet the guide at 11:30am; tour until 1:15pm.  Return to school thereafter.

December 9, 2009

Dear Parents,

We had a wonderful field trip to the Reagan Library last week. I want to thank Connie, Bill, Sandra, and Tami and Doug for transporting everyone. Some of the favorite exhibits at the museum were Air Force One, The Berlin Wall, The Oval Office, the Christmas trees, and Nancy Reagan’s dresses! I was delighted to read all the facts the children wrote down in their museum packets!

Our recent barbecue came off without a hitch thanks to the Curwen, Mazzola and Moses families. We appreciate your hard work and generosity. Please make sure you’ve changed the date for the camp-out to May 28th and 29th.

We are thoroughly enjoying our new books from the Scholastic Book Fair. Thank you to Dylan, Madeleine, and Cassidy’s families for purchasing them for us.

Language Arts

 Our language Arts’ plate is full during this brief and busy month of December. We continue to enhance our skills in grammar and parts of speech. Recently, we have enjoyed (I think!) learning about the art of diagramming. Actually, it is a learning tool that fell out of favor years ago and I never understood why. It helps the children see clearly the purpose and placement of the parts of speech. So along with modern techniques we visit the rites of ancient teaching methods! It pleases me to see that the children have developed a love of literature. Their reading skills have developed to the point that all kinds of wonderful books are now their’s to enjoy. I hope that during our break the children will spend time with a special book.

December 3, 2008

Dear Parents,
I hope you had a good holiday week, and the chance to relax and enjoy family and friends. My boys have officially declared, “No more turkey and sweet potatoes!”
I must say, your children know how to put on a play! I am so proud of all they accomplished. What a joy it was to watch them come alive on stage.
It’s official! Hayden E. is here to stay in third grade! He and his parents, Paula and Brian, are a great addition to the group. I have their contact information so we can all update our phone and email lists.

I have many of you to thank for helping out with the play and other class events:
Reagan Library Fieldtrip – I want to thank Kris, Sage, and Joe for transporting kids there.
Halloween Party – We had a fantastic Halloween Party thanks to Linda, Elizabeth, Staci and Kris, complete with grape eyeballs, almond sliver nails, cupcakes, crafts and swinging donuts!
November Barbecue – I want to thank Linda, Sage, and Staci for hosting the barbecue on November 12, and Debbie, for lending a helping hand.
Our class play – I appreciate the time and effort it took all of you to help your child with his or her script, and to put together costumes. I especially want to thank Wendy for making the sailor shirts, and supplying props for the stage, and Jackie, for creating a festive atmosphere for the State Party.

I can’t thank you enough for you time and generosity!

Math
It’s all about multiplication at the moment. I’m sure you have noticed your child’s math whirleys by now. It is my hope the children will practice with the whirleys for 5 or 10 minutes everyday. Keeping them within reach in the car during transit time makes the practice time fairly easy. Please encourage your child to bring them back and forth from home. We will practice with them in class as well. There are also many great websites to make multiplication practice interesting. Funbrain.com is one. I will send along other websites this week. The class will take timed math quizzes every Tuesday and Thursday for the next three weeks. Many of the children are working on 2’s and 3’s now. My goal is for everyone to master the math facts through 5 by December 19. Automatic recall of the facts is what we’re after. Each child will progress at his or her own pace. So, the sky is the limit!

Language Arts
We continue to meet in our literature circles three times a week to read, and talk about the setting, plot, characters, point of view, and practice our dictionary skills. We are also looking at different types of poems in class, and writing our own free verse poems about our pets, washing machines, cowboys, the sky, and believe it or not, a glue stick! Lastly, the children have begun planning creative stories about reindeers, sleighs and candy canes.

Social Studies
The children are busily typing and coloring the last of their state reports. The reports will be ready to come home just after the holiday break. It is a joy to hear them sing the songs to the play while they work!

Science
The classroom was a flurry of activity on Monday morning as we completed our study of owl pellets with bone sorting, and the comparison of rodent bones to human and cow bones. Your child’s rodent bones will come home today. The children will keep a moon journal over the course of the next three weeks, sketching the moon’s phase each Monday and Thursday evening. The moon will be at its closest to the earth when it’s full on December 12 since 1993, and not again until 2016! It should be a fantastic site! Last but not least, we will study a bit of chemistry when we make our crystal ornaments.

Noticias de la clase de español
Students have been working with and practicing question words such as qué, quién, cómo, cuándo, dónde, and por qué. Practice and reinforce concepts at home by pointing to family photos and saying, “¿Quién es?” (Who is it?). Or, “¿Dónde es?” (Where is it?). For things around the house say, “¿Qué es?” (What is it?) or “¿Dónde está?” (Where is the__?). We are also practicing los vocales (the vowels) and their pronunciation in Spanish, which will lead us to the Spanish alphabet in the New Year. Leading up to Winter break we will learn about the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas and other Latin American cultural traditions. Next Wednesday a special guest will visit 3rd grade for lesson in tamale making!

Please Note!
HELP! I am in need of large wide-mouthed Mason jars for our crystal ornaments! Please bring in any you have by Monday, December 8. Thank you!
Adopt a Family – Please drop off items in the classroom by Wednesday, December 10.I look forward to seeing you all at the holiday concert on Thursday evening, December 18.
Holiday Concert – I look forward to seeing all of you on Thursday evening, December 18 at 7:00 p.m. for the grade school holiday program. Please join us afterwards for refreshments in the classroom.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Buddhu

Click on the following link to hear our gradeschoolers sing the German version of Ode To Joy from this year’s Holiday Program.

Ode An Der Freude