And, That's a Wrap!

As our school year comes to a close, I want to thank you, one last time for all of your tremendous support this year. Your child's success in Grade 3 is a direct result of the work WE have all contributed collectively.

When I think back over the year and all of the progress each and every child has made, I am just so proud of our class. Truly. It's remarkable, actually. And, as I mentioned at our end-of-year party, I love reflecting on the huge gains that were made in so many areas: academically, behaviorally, emotionally, socially, and in their individual character. It's always such a delight to a teacher's heart to see that maturity right before our eyes and it's a sweet reward for our labor.

So, please know that you were and are a big part of that every time you read to your child or listen to him/her read to you, ask about his/her day at school, help with homework, encourage independence and responsibility, organize play dates, check the blog, believe in your child, and about 100 other things. YOU are definitely part of the magic of learning and I couldn't do it without you. So, thank you. Thank you for everything.

I will miss every darling in our 3LN class family and feel so blessed to have had the privilege to teach each precious soul.

For those who are leaving DAA, please know that though you are leaving the UAE, you could never leave our hearts. We will really miss you. Perhaps the best way to put it was how Andreea stated it today in a note she gave me today:  

(Well, part of it, anyway.) 

With that, I wish you each a very happy, refreshing, and beautiful summer. I look forward to seeing most of you in just a few weeks! 

Adieu to you, and you, and you...and I love you! 

PS. Here are a few links you might enjoy: 

• Staff Dance 
• Grade 4 Innovators' newspaper 
• Grade 5 Lip-dub

With Gratitude...

I want to thank you for coming to our End-of-Year Party and Talent Show on Sunday! It was so nice being together, one last time, as a whole class family. The talents presented or performed were truly impressive and I so enjoyed watching your sweetheart in action. (I was actually so mesmerized that I only took a few pictures, unfortunately. Thankfully, Mikyung was with it!) 

Please view this wonderful short movie that Mikyung made for us. She continues to shine as our photographer and videographer!!!

Here the students who presented, if you didn't get a chance to come to the party...

Happened LIVE in class: 

• Lamis--danced professionally to a cha-cha song 
• Taylor--sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (acapella!!) 
• Lyn--demonstrated tae kwan do
• Emre--played the guitar 
• Almera--showed her artwork (painting)
• Gavin--showed magic tricks with cards

You can view these:

• Rakaan--playing the piano
• Gabriel--playing the piano and sketching (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
• Nia--sketching 
• Eita--performing Japanese martial arts 
• Andreea--showed her skiing pictures 
• Hafsa--made a short movie (Thank you, sweetie!!) 

I would also like to thank you, dear parents, for giving me the gorgeous Swarovski chain and pendant. It is really so elegant and I so appreciate your generosity! The flowers were also such a treat, especially here in the desert, where they are so pricey. So, thank you very much. Everything was so special. And though she couldn't join us for the party, Ms. Csilla is also very grateful for her gifts, as well. She was very touched.

Lastly, I want to thank Birey, Mikyung, and Fadia one last time for all of their tremendous help this year as our class mothers. They truly lightened my load, eased a good deal of stress, and were such a joy to work with.  Ladies, please know, once again, that all of your precious time, picture-taking, organizational efforts, and planning was a true gift to me. I really don't know how I would've done it all without you, ladies, so thank you, again!!!!!   

PS. To see more pictures from other events in May and June, please click here. 

Missing Library Books

It's that dreaded time of the year when we discover how many library books are missing! Actually, four is not so bad; however, we'd still like to recover them, if possible.

These are the titles we are looking for, so kindly ask your child about them, since we used these for our research book clubs:

LIBRARY MATERIALS

"Caring for your cat"
  Call #: 636.8 RIN
  Barcode: T 6051

"Music & art."
  Call #: 700 MUS
  Barcode: T 461

"World War I"
  Call #: 940.3 ROS
  Barcode: T 103366

"Germany"
  Call #: 943 GRA
  Barcode: T 8537

✵ Summertime Rules ✵

Dear Parents, 

I saw this and thought it was really fantastic; however, I'm not so sure that your child would agree! 

Only 2.5 more days to go, then they are ALL yours! :) 

Symbaloo of web resources

The ES Student Support Department hosted an interactive parent workshop in May to share a Symbaloo of web resources  that students can use to maintain or advance their skills over the summer.  The resources span across all content areas and also include summer reading lists.

Ms. Rashmi has emailed this resource to the parents of all of her ELL students and has also showed her students how to navigate through it.

If you would like to utilize the same great resource for your child or other siblings, please feel free! 

Talent Show Participation?

We are all getting excited about our upcoming Talent Show on Sunday, June 19! 

Please indicate your participation by clicking here, even if you are not going to be performing. This information will help us know how much time to allow and if there is time for other activities. 

Thank you so much! 

PE during Ramadan

 Please note the following message from the ES Admin: 

While we prefer that students who are fasting do not participate in PE, if you prefer that your child participates in PE classes while they are fasting, please send a signed note to your child’s teacher. Please ensure the note explicitly states that you are aware that your child is not eating or drinking, but that you would like to them to continue to participate in PE activities. Your child’s classroom teacher will pass the note to their PE teacher.  Thanks so much for your support. 

News to Note

• Please mark your calendars for our End-of-Year Party on Sunday, June 19, from 12:15-1:30 in our classroom. The theme will be "3LN Has Talent" and an opportunity for our cuties to showcase their unique gifts and abilities. So, start preparing, students! Singing, acting, dancing, paper plane flying, impersonations, story-telling, fashion, drawing, comedy, horse-riding, tennis? What can you do well?! 

• If you have a talent that is not easily performed in the classroom, please pre-record it and send it to me as a file or on a flash drive by June 18, so I can have it ready without any glitches. 
• Please be cognizant of the time and keep talents to less than 4-5 min. max. 
• Children may do an individual talent, as well as a partner/group one; however, please limit it to two maximum due to time constraints. 
• Also, if there are any who do not wish to participate, that's no problem. We want to make your party as fun and stress-free as possible. :) 

• Library books and textbooks: The time has come for us to return all of our beloved borrowed books back to their homes. This includes both library books and the Everyday Math Student Reference Book. Most of these SRB's have been kept in the classroom, however, please note that these books must be returned in order for students to end the year with a clear account and receive their report cards. Please send the book in with your child as soon as you are finished with it, if you happen to have yours at home. Thank you in advance!

• As we starting to have more indoor recesses these days, we are starting to enjoy a fantastic series called Wild Arabia by BBC. We started watching the first one a few weeks ago, since we studied so much about the Bedouin this year (as well as animal adaptations, climate, weather, and dependent relationships in ecosystems), and the class was mesmerized. Here are the episodes if you'd like to view them at home: 
• Episode 1: Sand, Wind, and Stars 
• Episode 2: Jewel of Arabia
• Episode 3: Shifting Sands 

Academic News: 

• Reading and Writing: We have just finished our Reading for Research and Persuasive writing. Overall, the class did a very good job and I'm pleased with the amount of time, effort, and accuracy that has been put in these two last literacy units. For the last two weeks, students will be reading fiction books, doing Reader's Theater, and preparing for debates (using their newly gained persuasive writing skills).

• Math: Unit 10 is now complete, so we will be working through our last unit, which is Unit 9, Multiplication and Division. Students will continue to have homework throughout the next two weeks, just to keep a sense of normalcy. 

• Science: Our unit on Extreme Weather has now concluded and we will move into doing some hands-on engineering activities in our remaining time.

I think that's it. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful support. With only about 2 weeks left, I'm really starting to feel sad about saying good-bye to "my" precious children! 

PS. This is a pretty funny article, which describes how a few of you may be feeling right about now. I was thinking one of us teachers should write one from our perspective. :) 

Student Council News

The year is quickly coming to an end; however, we still have two important agenda items to share with you: 

1. We will have our final dress down day on Thursday, June 23. This will be a White T-Shirt Day. This day was created to make everybody feel like a somebody by writing kind messages to each other at the end of the year. On this day, students should wear (or bring) a white t-shirt and have friends, teachers, and even our principal and assistant principal, sign their shirts. At the end of the day, you will have a reminder of the many friends you have made this year.

2. As you know, it is the holy month of Ramadan. There are many people in Dubai that cannot afford to have Iftar or Suhour. Student Council is hosting a food drive for Ramadan to collect the following food items: 

• rice
• chickpeas
• lentils
• pasta
• flour
• sugar packets
• bottles of cooking oil
• margarine
• tomato sauce
• dates

You are invited to please bring these items to your class and student council members will collect them. Thank you and Ramadan Kareem!

Thank you for your continued support, 

Dana Connors on behalf of Student Council