SBAC TESTING

    
This Thursday morning, March 30th, the third graders will begin SBAC testing.  Please help your child prepare for SBACs by getting a good night's sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, and coming to school on time.  

You can remind your child to do his or her best, and to take their time time responding with thoughtful answers.  

If your child will be absent, please connect with us so we can plan a time for your child to make up the testing.  The tests are between 45-90 minutes in length.  The testing will take place once each day, morning and afternoon times vary.

Our testing schedule:
Thursday 3/30
Tuesday 4/4
Wednesday 4/5
Thursday 4/6
Friday 4/7

Friday News

Two snow days certainly make for an interesting week!  We've done our best to get as much accomplished this week as possible.  Putting on all our snow gear again has been a bit disappointing, but the wonderful snow does make for more recess choices!  Hopefully next week will be a bit calmer!

Conferences
Today, your child is bringing home his/her Student Led Conference confirmation. It has the day and the time on it, so please be on the lookout in Friday Folders.

SBAC Testing
Due to weather, our 3rd grade SBAC testing window has changed a bit.  We'll be testing in CC~3 on April 4, 5, 6, and 7.  Each day there will be one assessment which will last approximately 45-60 minutes depending on the child.  Please mark your calendars with these dates, and try to avoid any appointments.  IF you know your child will be out one of these days, please let us know in advance so we can try to make accommodations.

Sharing 
Next week's sharing is all about Spring, as we will welcome this change in season on Monday!   Let's hope it is actually a SPRINGY day!  Students should bring in, or be prepared to talk about something that makes him/her think of Spring!  We continue to work with many students on "presentation voices".  Please encourage your child to practice his/her sharing at home using a presentation voice.

Literacy
In reading and writing we've finished up our nonfiction units.  In reading we're working on story elements, plot and theme.  We've read a couple of great books together to get these conversations started.  Ask your child to tell you about, The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins by Lester Laminack, and My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig.  The big question we are addressing in regard to theme is, "What is the bigger message the author is sharing in the book" or "What is the life lesson?"  We're also doing some small group work with retelling and plot.

In writing, most students have finished or are putting finishing touches on their own informational books.  These will be ready to share at conferences.  Our next unit will be on opinion writing.  For 3rd graders this is a really fun unit, as it is all about persuasive speeches.  We'll get going on this unit once students have their reflections for conferences complete.  

Have a great weekend!

Reminders and Team Project PhotosTeam

Important Reminders:

• All students have sharing due tomorrow, March 13th!  Students should have their Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Posters complete and ready for sharing.  The posters will be sent into the contest on Monday tomorrow afternoon!
• Please return the blue Parent Conference Forms tomorrow (they were sent home last Wednesday). We're trying to coordinate multiple factors for these student led meetings, so your help in letting us know what will work for you is really necessary. 
• Snow is expected again this week, last week students were ready for SPRING, and many wore outdoor clothing that reflected that.  Please remind your children that we've still got winter weather to contend with and they need to come prepared.

HERE ARE OUR FABULOUS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT TEAMS!  

Students did a terrific job with this project.  Goals that were met including reading and interpreting non-fiction text, sequencing with a timeline, expanding vocabulary and team collaboration.

The Martin Luther King Team

The Nelson Mandela Team

The Mohandas Gandhi

The Harriet Tubman Team

The Abraham Lincoln Team

The Rosa Parks Team

Welcome Back and March Kindness Project

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you all had a terrific winter break and are ready to join us again tomorrow. We look forward to seeing all of our students,we have a busy three days planned!

CC~3 March Kindness Project and Week of March 13th Sharing

Each year Casella Resource Solutions has invited third grade students to participate in a Casella Calendar Art Contest. The purpose of the program is to encourage students to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.  We thought it would be fun for us to participate in the project this year as one of our year long kindness projects.  We all want to be sure to be kind to our environment, so thinking about how we can do that and sharing our ideas with one another is a great way!  

Students should create a poster that is due on Monday, March 13, 2017.  All posters will be shared by students during their normal sharing day that week. The deadline is important, as submissions must be mailed out to Casella by Tuesday, March 14, 2017.  (If students would prefer to not have their poster submitted to the contest, that is fine, but the expectation to create one for sharing still exists).

Poster rules:

• Artwork must relate to the environment, recycling, the re-use of materials, reduction of waste, landfills or trash.
• Drawings must be horizontal on 8 ½ x 11 paper.
• Crayons, colored pencils, markers, or paint may be used.
• Student’s name, age, school and teacher’s name must be written on the back of the poster.   Sample:   Janey Doe-Age 9

    East Montpelier Elementary School

    Mrs. Christiano & Mrs. Christy

On Wednesday, March 8, we will have a class discussion about this project and students will be given paper to bring home to create the posters.  Here is a great link for ideas to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We can’t wait to see what wonderful, creative posters kids come up with.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  Thank you!

Christine Christiano & Kathy Christy

Friday, February 24, 2017

Congratulations to all our students on a fantastic Celebration of Learning evening.  Their Civil Rights projects and science journals about weather were amazing.  If you were not able to make it last night, ask your son or daughter about these topics.

This week we began our new science unit on magnetism.  This unit will take us through March.  We had fun discovering how and why magnets repel and attract.  Stay tuned for more updates about magnetism discoveries in March.

We are not sending Friday Folders home this week.  We will keep them here ready for the week we return.  The only paper you will want to look out for is a Girls on the Run form if they were interested in taking one.  If you would like more information about Girls on the Run, you can contact Mrs. Zeilenga.

Students cleaned out their cubbies and hallway lockers today so they can be washed over vacation.  Students are encouraged to bring back those extra snowpants, shoes, and clothes after break to keep in their cubbies/lockers in the event they are wet and muddy.  You never know when you will need those extra pants or socks! 

We will not have sharing the week we return from vacation.  We will send a new sharing calendar home that first week back.  

Have a wonderful winter vacation, 

see you Wednesday, March 8th!

FOOD DRIVE,SPIRIT WEEK & CELEBRATION OF LEARNING!

We are still collecting canned and boxed food for the East Montpelier Food Shelf.  Food will be delivered by our EMES Student Leadership Team next Thursday, February 23rd.

Next week is our annual SPIRIT WEEK!  Here is the list of the special days.  Please help your child plan ahead so he/she can participate.

EMES SPIRIT WEEK!

February 20-24, 2017

Show your school, spirit by participating in these special days! REMEMBER all clothing choices, hairdos, hats, etc. must be examples of safe, respectful and responsible behavior!

“When in doubt don’t wear it out!”(Or to school!) :-)

Monday : Class Color Day- Show your class spirit by dressing in the color your class picks out of random choices!  

OUR CLASS COLOR IS PURPLE!

Tuesday : Crazy Hat and Hair Day! Choose a safe, responsible, respectful way to show your spirit with a crazy hat or  crazy hair!

Wednesday : Clone Day! Partner up with as many people as you like, dress like a CLONE of each other!  How well can you match up?

Thursday : Colorful Clash Day! Show us what you can put together that clashes! Who will have the craziest style of mismatched clashing clothes?

Friday : Comfy Cozy Day! - It’s your day to be comfy cozy!  Wear what is comfortable for you!

 Pajamas, sweats, jeans, what will you choose?

EMES CELEBRATION OF LEARNING

Our annual Celebration of Learning will be next Thursday, February 23rd. The evening will begin with a presentation by the EMES School Board in the gym at 5:30. Students and families will visit classrooms to celebrate all the great learning that goes on at EMES from 6:00-7:00 p.m. In our classroom you'll be able to see Civil Rights Projects, Weather Journals and a few other tidbits!

It's February!

The month of February has arrived, and although a shorter month, it will be packed with lots of exciting happenings in CC-3 and at EMES.  Please read on for important dates and information!

Winter Wellness Tuesdays~February 7, 14, 21. 
All students will be participating in our EMES Winter Wellness Tuesdays.  These afternoons begin at 12:45 and last until the end of the school day.  It's important for students to remember any and all gear they need to make the most out of his/her chosen activity.  At the end of each Wellness Tuesday, students will be dismissed by their Wellness leaders, so we won't see all of the kids at the end of the day, therefore "go home" plans for Tuesdays are especially important.

Sharing Calendar
Here is our February Sharing Calendar.  We have also given students a paper copy of the calendar and discussed the different topics and expectations. Please help your child come well prepared to share on his/her day.  We have very few expectations for homework so this is important.

February Book Orders
Book orders for the month went home today.  Orders are due Monday, February 13th.  Our classroom code at Scholastic is DXCXK.

February Kindness Challenge
As you know, each month our class has completed a kindness project.  For the month of February, we're asking students to challenge themselves by completing as many different acts of kindness as they possibly can.  We've given them a list of ideas, but the possibilities are endless.  We'll be discussing kind acts throughout the month!  Here is a link for The Great Kindness Challenge.


EMES Food Drive~February 6-17
We'll be collecting food items for the local East Montpelier/Calais Food Shelf.  If you can, we'd love you to help our class make a great contribution.  Canned and boxed food is welcome.  Items such as : peanut butter, tuna, soups, pasta, etc. are greatly appreciated.

Valentine's Day~Tuesday, February 14th
This is also a "Winter Wellness Day", so we've decided to have a little classroom celebration at lunch time on this day.  We will have lunch with students in our classroom and a few Valentine's Day treats. Students are welcome to bring in cards to exchange with classmates, we will send home a class list for cards.  Sharing cards is totally optional, we just ask that if students choose to give cards, that there is one for each classmate.  IF you'd like to send in a treat, please let us know.

I Love East Montpelier Day~Wednesday, February 15th
It has become an annual tradition at EMES to have a day right around Valentine's Day to celebrate the great community that makes up the town of East Montpelier.  We will have a special lunch on this day, and guests are welcome to join students.  You do need to make a lunch reservation by contacting Susan in the kitchen at solander@u32.org or calling 223-7936 ext. 306.  Meals for adults will be $5.75.  There will be chicken stew and other wonderful goodies.  Here is the schedule for lunch times, in case you want to try to coordinate or plan for others. Students are invited to wear red/pink, etc. on this day to celebrate!
11:15 - 11:50      PK, K, 1
11:50 - 12:25      2, 3, 4

12:25 - 1:00        5-6

Spirit Week~February 20-24th

The EMES Student Leadership Team is sponsoring "Spirit Week", which will be held the week before our winter break. We invite students to plan ahead and participate in this fun week.

• Monday: Class Color Day- Show your class spirit by dressing in the color your class picks!  (We'll let you know next week what our class color will be!)
• Tuesday: Crazy Hat and Hair Day! Choose a safe, responsible, respectful way to show your spirit with a crazy hat or  crazy hair!
• Wednesday : Clone Day! Partner up with as many people as you like, dress like a CLONE of each other!  How well can you match up?
• Thursday: Colorful Clash Day! Show us what you can put together that clashes! Who will have the craziest style of mismatched clashing clothes?
• Friday: Comfy Cozy Day! - It’s your day to be comfy cozy!  Wear what is comfortable for you!  Pajamas, sweats, jeans, what will you choose?

EMES Celebration of Learning~Thursday, February 23rd

This is an annual EMES event. Students in all grade levels invite you to attend as a family and see all the exciting learning that takes place throughout our busy days! Our students will be sharing Civil Rights Projects and possibly a few other goodies. The evening begins at 5:30 in the gym with a presentation by the EMES School Board, this will be followed by time to visit classrooms from 6:00-7:00 p.m. We hope all students and families can join us!

EMES Winter Break

Our winter break begins on Saturday, February 25th and goes through Tuesday, March 7th. Students return to EMES on Wednesday, March 8th!

WHEW! We've got a busy month ahead, let the games begin! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine & Kathy