This 'N That

There is a LOT going on right now at KE - please read the info below to make sure you're up to speed. :) (There are also quite a few new posts on the blog this week - be sure to scroll down and read them all).

• KE School Spirit and Pride Fundraiser

The KE Boosters are supporting our school through t-shirt fundraiser.  

Shirts can be ordered by check, debit/card card (NO cash please!), or ordered online. To order online go to- http://www.spiritandpride.net  Scroll done and click on the “click here to purchase items” link. Our school’s ID is- 179275. If you need another order form please contact your child’s teacher.Although the order sheet says orders are due Friday, October 28^th, we will accept orders through Wednesday, November 2^nd. We will have them back in plenty of time for the holidays.  If you’d like your order for Christmas presents please send a note to your classroom teacher (even if you order online). When the orders come back I will make sure the Christmas Orders are not given to the classroom teacher, but rather kept in the office for you to pick up (if you send your email address we can let you know when it comes in).

• Spaghetti Supper/Book Fair

Wednesday, November 9^th from 5:00-6:30 P.M.

Come for the FOOD stay for the BOOKS!

To show our gratitude we’d also like to offer each family a $1.00 off coupon, to be used the night of the dinner, toward the purchase of a book at the Book Fair. Kalona Elementary Boosters are sponsoring a FREE WILL DONATION spaghetti dinner in conjunction with the KE Library Book Fair! Carry out available, so invite your family, neighbors, and friends too!

• Little House on The Prairie books needed

We're staring a novel unit in reading class and are in need of extra copies of the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  If your family has a copy to share, be sure it is clearly marked with your child/family's name and send it to school on Monday.  Thanks!

• Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up!  

In today's Friday folder you will find a note indicating your scheduled conference date and time. Please return the lower portion of the note to confirm that you'll be able to attend, or to request another date.  We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress in third grade!

• ITBS Testing begins October 31

Please be sure your child gets a good night's rest each night, and that he/she eats a healthy breakfast each morning - this will be especially important during our 2 weeks of testing so that students are reading to do their best thinking. :)

Friday! {Stations}

TGIF!  It's Friday, and time for stations! This week students worked on their planet brochures for science, read Time for Kids magazine, caught up on math assignments, and completed some practice tests in preparation for Iowa Assessment (ITBS) testing next week.

(Check out all of the RED clothing, worn in honor of Red Ribbon Week and saying no to drugs!) :)

Foreign Language at KE {Spanish}

We're learning the months of the year and the days of the week in Spanish class with Senora Lundberg.  Today students practiced the months of the year to the tune of the macarena - and even did the dance while singing!

They also played a memory game in which they matched the days of the week in English and Spanish.

Math and Science

Math and Science has been missing from the blog the last couple of weeks as the kids have been doing a lot of work on the computers for science, and we have been reviewing for our Chapter 2 test.

In science the kids continue to work on their brochures.  With any luck, we should have them finished by conference time - wish us luck!

For math, we finished up our Chapter 2 and have begun working on our next unit.  This one will deal with measurement.  This week we were measuring to the nearest inch, 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch.  If you have a ruler at home, have your student practice measuring objects around the house.

Since we have Iowa Assessment next week, there will be no homework the week of Oct. 21 - Nov. 4th.  (Good time to practice measuring, basic facts or perhaps work on some of those unfinished math box pages.)

Reading with Miss Flynn/Mrs. Hartsock

Don't forget - OCTOBER READING LOGS are due on MONDAY.  Our goal for the month was for each student to read at least 200 minutes.  Please help your child to meet his/her goal, and to remember to turn in his/her reading log folder.

The shared reading story in our anthology this week was Grandma's Records. Our associate, Miss Laura, brought in a record player and a record so that we could see what a real record looks like! :)  

Our story also included a sketch book, so a student brought in his sketch book to show the class:

One skill that we worked on related to the story was categorizing.  Students worked with a partner to categorize elements of the story.

Language Skills

Spelling words this week included a list of words with the long o sound, as well as a list of words that are frequently misspelled.  We continue to study nouns in grammar, and students learned to identify Proper Nouns.  

Students also got to publish their compare and contrast papers this week - they are becoming pros at using the word processing application on our laptops!

Social Studies

Students got to step into the shoes of a US immigrant this week!  Miss Flynn helped us to understand what it might have been like to be an immigrant in the early 1900s through an immigration simulation activity.  

Boarding the "train" to travel to the ship that would take them to the US

 The train ride . . .

Prior to boarding the ship to travel to the US, immigrants had to fill out paperwork/legal documents . . .

Students discovered it was very difficult to fill out immigration paperwork in a "different" language (webdings!)

Traveling by ship to Ellis Island

Wrapping up the lesson via a Smartboard activity

Little House on the Prairie

We are going to read and do a novel unit on the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder as an extension of our social studies curriculum.  We plan to read and study the book for the next several weeks as part of our reading groups, and then will have a special Laura Ingalls Wilder Day in December (more information to come soon about this fun event for which we'll need several parent volunteers).

We have several copies of Little House on the Prairie at school, but could use a few more. If your family has a copy that you'd be willing to lend us, please make sure it is clearly marked with your child/family's name, and send it with your student to school.  We will begin reading the book next week.

Thanks!

Did you know . . .

 . . . that Mid-Prairie has a website to showcase newsworthy events in the district?  Check it out at
http://www.mid-prairie.org

In addition, you can follow Mid-Prairie on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/#!/Mid_Prairie

Mark Your Calendars {Spaghetti Dinner}

Wednesday, November 9^th from 5:00-6:30 P.M.

Come for the FOOD stay for the BOOKS!

Kalona Elementary Boosters are sponsoring a FREE WILL DONATION spaghetti dinner in conjunction with the KE Library Book Fair!

To show our gratitude we’d also like to offer each family a $1.00 off coupon, to be used the night of the dinner, toward the purchase of a book at the Book Fair.

Carry out available, so invite your family, neighbors, and friends too!

School Spirt and Pride Apparel Fundraiser

Below you will find more info about our current fundraiser from KE Parent Booster, Denise Busch.

Each family should have received an order form for Kalona Elementary T-Shirts. KE Boosters are using this order as a fundraiser for our children’s classrooms.

The t-shirts are made by Glidden, which is a nice fabric and holds it color really well. These are a great shirt, since they also have the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk on them! They are great for adults too, not just kids. I have a WE one that I wear to MP sporting events. A couple years ago I bought the KE shirts for my kids’ grandparents to wear to our kids’ ballgames.

Shirts can be ordered by check, debit/card card (NO cash please!), or ordered online. To order online go to-  http://www.spiritandpride.net

Scroll done and click on the “click here to purchase items” link. Our school’s ID is- 179275. If you need another order form please contact your child’s teacher.

Although the order sheet says orders are due Friday, October 28^th, I will accept orders through Wednesday, November 2^nd. We will have them back in plenty of time for the holidays.  If you’d like your order for Christmas presents please send a note to your classroom teacher (even if you order online). When the orders come back I will make sure the Christmas Orders are not given to the classroom teacher, but rather kept in the office for you to pick up (if you send your email address we can let you know when it comes in).

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me! dbusch@mid-prairie.k12.ia.us

Thanks!

Denise Busch