Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school! I hope you each enjoyed a wonderful spring break. It was interesting to hear reports from the children about all the fun they had. Holidays do a world of good for us, don't they?

It's obviously taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things, so please forgive the delay. I've been communicating everything to your darling at school, but have neglected our class blog. I'm so sorry...

My sister and I had a fantastic time together in Australia and the South Pacific! We met in Sydney on Friday, Mar. 24, then boarded a cruiseship (right across from the Sydney Opera House!!) on Sunday afternoon. Our cruise took us to the stunning islands of Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia and had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming. The beauty of this little corner of the world is just incredible! We snorkeled, hiked, explored, swam, read, shopped, rested, met locals, and so much more. Here's one picture for now, but I'll post some more soon:

Arriving on the little island of Tivua, Fiji! 

Now, that we are back in school and in our final stretch of Grade 3, I wanted to touch base about a few things: 

• ASAs began last Sunday, April 9, and seem to be going smoothly. 

• Pizza Day is on Thursday, April 20. (Thank you for sending in your money.) 

• There will be no school on Sunday, April 23, on the occasion of Israa & Miraj. 

• MAP testing is coming soon. Here are our specific dates, if you want to make a note: 

• Wednesday, May 3, from 8:10-9:40 ~ Math 
• Monday, May 8, from 8:10-9:40 ~ Language Usage
• Thursday, May 11, from 8:10-9:40 ~ Reading 

• A second round of Morning News will resume soon. I'll be posting a new schedule next week. Start chatting with your child about what he/she might like to share. Students learned so much from each other, while further developing their public speaking skills. Well done! 

• Don't forget to purchase your tickets for Pinocchio! (I'll post all the details in a separate blog post.) The Grade 5 students have worked so very hard to make this performance stellar! 

• And, finally, here is an overview of what we're learning at the moment: 

• Reading: We have wrapped up on our character unit and are starting a new unit called "Research Clubs." Students will be working in groups to research various animals and become experts on them. After surveying the class, we have formed the following groups, which are based on interest: cats, dogs, penguins, snakes, frogs, and whales. (I will finalize the groups by the end of the week.) Please continue reading every night at home for 20 minutes and log what was read. Students may read fiction or non-fiction (or a combination of both) during this unit. 

• Writing: Last week, I allowed the class to finish publishing their fractured fairy tales. Now, we are reading to dive into our last writing unit, which is called "Changing the World." This focus of this unit is knowing how to write persuasive speeches and essays. Students will use what they learned about opinion writing in Grade 2 to strengthen their thoughts, feelings, and arguments. 

• Math: We are continuing to work through Unit 7, Multiplication and Division. Students are learning various strategies to solve complex story problems, estimate the cost of things using extended multiplication and division facts, learn more about factors, products, square products, as well as products of tens. We are currently on Lesson 7.7 and will have a test on Unit 7 on Tuesday, April 25. 

• Social Studies: We are nearly finished with our unit on International Trade and Globalization. I will be sending home an assignment tomorrow, which your child should have complete by Tuesday, April 25. Thanks so much for your support at home with this. 

Lastly, I want to thank you, again, for all of your wonderful support. I am so very thankful to have such loving, helpful, and encouraging parents.  :) You make my job so much easier!!