Friday Stations

A peek at stations . . .

Learning about the plains indians using the Smart board

Catching up on math

 Making teepees

Playing "beat the calculator" (math multiplication game)

Reading/Stations

In reading we are taking a break from our anthology to read an exciting novel called The Legend of Jimmy Spoon.  Based on a true story, it is a fictional story of a young man living among the Shoshoni Indians.  We will have lots of adventures to talk about, along with discussing the views of the pioneers and Native Americans.

To get ready, we began by making tee-pees in stations today.

Sharing Stories on St. Patrick's Day

Lots of green today!  Kids had a great time sharing their stories they published with Mrs. Hartsock.

Science

-We continue working on our brochures down in the computer lab.  Most of Mrs. Hartsock's class have them complete.  We ran them off on a colored printer and they look great!  Hopefully we will get them sent home within the next two weeks.

-The eagles continue to be a topic of conversation.  It has been fun watching the mom and dad eagle with their housekeeping chores!  Yesterday mom brought back a huge stick to add to the nest.  They seem to be building it up in anticipation of the eggs delivering. (Week of March 30th - hopefully!)

-Mrs. Benders class finished up their moon phases and began working on craters.  Many of the kids didn't know that a crater had been formed on earth.  We went online to see a movie about how craters are formed and what the crater looks like in Arizona.  Lots of questions to be answered!

Math

We finished up Chapter 7 in math this week.  Keep working on those multiplication facts!  A lot of the kids are still using their multiplication charts.  Fourth grade teachers like to have the times table memorized.

We then began our next chapter on fractions.  Working on the bottom number (denominator) means how many groups and the top number (numerator) is how many is shaded.

From the Art Room

The art fundraiser is here! Students will be coming home with a packet that

will include their art, a brochure, a letter explaining the process of

ordering and also includes prices of items, and an order form. If you plan

an ordering something have your child return their artwork along with

payment and order form to their classroom teacher no later than March 25!

Another reminder for everyone to attend the FIRST ANNUAL ART SHOW starting

at 6:30 p.m. on March 24th before the spring Music concert located in the

high school gymnasium.

- Ms. Hovey

This 'N That

• Spring pictures are in your child's backpack tonight!  Please return payment if you wish to keep the photos, and return the photos that you do not wish to purchase.

• There is a packet of pre-sale Fun Night Raffle Tickets in your child's Friday folder.  If you wish to purchase raffle tickets, please return the tickets you would like to enter in the raffle AND payment (50 cents/ticket) in the attached envelope.  An email has also been sent to families with an attachment of printable raffle tickets if you would like to purchase more than those sent home.

• There will be a Mini Concert on Monday at 8:05 in the gym.

• An invitation for our Donuts for Dads event on March 25 (yellow paper) is also in today's Friday folder.  If you would like to donate a dozen donuts for this special activity, please fill out and return the bottom portion of the page.

• We continue to request garden items for our "gardening" theme baskets for Fun Night.  Seeds, watering cans, decorative stones, etc. would be welcome donations.

• A note regarding the treatment of head lice was sent home to third grade families this week.  Please be aware that lice needs to be treated to prevent spreading it to others.

• There is no school on Friday, March 11

Partytime Fundraiser Continues . . .

Students brought home Partytime Fundraiser packet materials Wednesday, February 23 after our all school assembly showcasing many of their fine frozen food, desserts, candies, gardening and novelty products. Sales will continue through Tuesday, March 15! All proceeds will benefit the Kalona Elementary Playground Project to complete the safe surfacing for the final phase of this ongoing project since Fall 2006. All products will be delivered to the KE gym on Tuesday, April 19 from 3-6p.m. just in time for Easter! Thank you for supporting the Kalona Elementary Playground Project to provide a safe play environment for your children!

More about the Eagles

As many of you know, we have become hooked on the Eagle Cam!  In reading some of the comments, many suggested watching a PBS special on Eagles. I just Google PBS American Eagle to find it. (www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/american-eagle)  It is an hour long, but very informative.  There are some "gross" scenes in the episode so I really don't want to show it here at school.  I would suggest parents previewing the show, and if you think it is appropriate for your child, it would be great for them to watch it.  It talks about the Eagle couple from Decorah, this is actually his second mate.  It also shows Bob, the director of the camera, up in the nest.  You really get a good picture of exactly how big this nest is and pictures of the fish hatchery.

Friday Stations

As is our tradition in 3rd grade, we wrapped up our week with Friday afternoon stations.  This week 3H students created ceiling art and worked on their planet brochures in the lab with Mrs. Bender, while 3B students rotated through ceiling art, match catch up, buddy reading, laptop, and smartboard stations with Mrs. Hartsock.

Making clover sun catchers (ceiling art)

Match catch up

Homophone memory game on the smartboard

Buddy Reading

Working on science brochures in the lab