Multi-Ethnic Dinner night, Ms. V Gets an Award, and Choice and Consenquences Assembly

Phew! Lots going on this week. Let's start by talking about Multi-Ethnic Dinner night. This will be on Thursday night-- on the 23rd. It's a fantastic time to mingle with other parents, catch a first glimpse of the classroom, and-- sign up for a parent conference in November. Personally, I'm looking forward to all the fantastic food that will grace F Pod that evening. :)

On Tuesday, I will be receiving an award from the American Legion for the work that the fifth grade class did last year in regards to their pen pal, Cpl. Paul Craddick, who was serving at Camp Ramadi in Iraq last year during the surge in troop levels there. The award will be presented in Ballard at the VFW on Tuesday at noon. I wish I could take the kids!

We had a marvelous time at the Momix dance performance at the UW's Meany Hall on Friday the 17th. the kids were amazed with the Multi-media performance, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking them.

Lastly, by now all students have taken pictures in their community regarding health issues. We'll be printing out those pictures this week and the students will get to discuss the issues they found with their colleagues. Also this week, our unit two math test will be on Tuesday. Congrats to the Math Breakfast Club who came early on Thursday morning and worked on their math skills.

That's all for now! Don't forget to sign your Choice and Consequences permission slip form so that your child can go to this worthwhile assembly :)

Taking Pictures in the Community and Finishing off the week in Style!

This week will be a VERY fun week here in F3. Kids will be finishing up on their camp brochures and taking on their community photography this week. Students will be sent home with a digital camera and they will be asked to take pictures of places in their community that remind them of community health issues. Students will only have one day after school to take pictures.

Also this week is our Momix field trip at the University of Washington. Students will need to bring a sack lunch to eat at school when they return on Friday after watching an amazing dance performance. Also on Friday, Ms. V will bring in some cupcakes to celebrate her birthday with the kids :) You are welcome to bring in cupcakes or any snack for the kids to share on their birthday this school year. :)

What else? Kids are truly becoming experts on the election. Students now know what the electoral college is and which states are the key battleground states for November's election.

Next Thursday will be our Multi Ethnic Dinner. I am hoping all of you can make it. This will be the first opportunity for you to choose a date for parent conferences. If you can't make it for that evening-- feel free to give me a call that next day.

Take care and have a GREAT week ahead.

Community Health, the Math Breakfast Club, and Politics this Week

Some examples of community health public service announcements

On Monday (Yes, tomorrow!), all of the community health interviews should be done and answers should be written up. It would be awesome if in addition to the interviews, students also brought in pictures of the people they interviewed.

At some point this week, students will get a digital camera to take home for a night. With this camera, students will get to take pictures of places around the school and their own community that make them think of important community health issues. Later on in the month, students will get the camera for another night-- at that point they will take pictures of things around their house that keep them healthy or remedies they take when they get sick. All of this work will culminate in a PSA (public service announcement) produced by each student on a health issue of their choosing.

In math, students are focusing on estimation, and various ways to add, subtract, and multiply two and three digit numbers. As you already know, your child should be coming home with math homework Monday through Thursday evenings. It is critical that they do their math homework independently as it is nearly identical work to what they already learned in class. If they need extra help with the homework, that is good information for me to know, and you can let me know by calling or sending me an e mail.

Help has arrived for students who may be struggling :) It is called the math breakfast club. I started this club last year in early January for students who were struggling with math. Due to the huge success of last year's club, I am starting earlier this year. I will send out invitations this week to students who I think will benefit from some extra help. The only catch is that you will need to bring your child to school on Thursday mornings at 8:20. It's called a breakfast club because last year students took turns bringing in breakfast treats for the other students. If your child does not receive an invitation and you think they may need some extra help with math, please contact me.

As the election is a mere 30 days away at this point, students will begin to learn about the process of electing someone to the highest office. Your child will become an expert on the electoral college, and be able to name their state and federal representatives. Do not be surprised if they stay up late on election night to watch the results come in :)

That's all for now! Cheers!
-Ms. V