December 8, 2014 Newsletter

 We hope everyone enjoyed their first day of track out. Thank you again for your support this semester. Over track out we hope the students enjoy their time off, however it is important that they keep their skills sharp. We strongly encourage the students to use TenMarks and Xtramath (math computer programs). We will make changes to any Xtramath programs if the student finishes a level. New assignments have been added to TenMarks. On Lexia, the students should have level 13 completed before we return. Levels 13 & 14 are the third grade levels. All of these websites are on our Blog/Website. Students will receive extra Dojo points for time spent and levels passed.  

  Parents, please make sure your child returns in January with new school supplies. Many students do not have scissors, glue sticks or colored pencils. We have a very limited supply for them to use. We are also short on working headphones. Please ask your child if their headphones are working. The supply list is also located on our Blog.

Happy New Year and see you in 2015!

Important Dates:

Jan. 5 Return to school

Jan. 13 Spelling Bee 3-5 9:30 AM

Jan. 19 Holiday No School

Spelling Bee Results

Congratulations to Arjun Kavde for winning our class spelling bee and to Justen Taylor for being the 1st runner up! These students will be advancing to the school spelling bee in January. I am sending the words home to study. I want to congratulate all students that participated. We have some mighty fine spellers!

On another note, thank you to all the parents that helped make our learning experience a success yesterday. The students had fun.

Be on the lookout for a newsletter with suggestions for activities to keep skills sharp over track out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Looking ahead to next week...
Case 21 Reading and Math Monday and Tuesday
Learning Experience Fun on Tuesday afternoon 2:00
Spelling Bee (optional) Dec. 3rd
Track Out Dec. 5- Report Cards go home

Nov. 19 Newsletter

November 19, 2014 Newsletter

Reading:

We are continuing to read informational text. They are determining the main idea of the text and identifying the supporting details. This can be a difficult concept. Please help them at home by asking your student to identify the main idea and details that help them learn more about the main idea. The students are also determining the meaning of vocabulary specific to content we are studying. They are using glossaries, dictionaries and using context clues to aid them in their understanding of new words.

Students are continuing to develop their opinion writing by writing book reviews on their favorite books. Please continue to monitor their writing homework for organization, spelling and punctuation. Neatness is important too.

Math:

In math we are graphing data using bar graphs, pictographs and line plots. The students will also be finding area and perimeter of rectangles. The students should continue to practice their facts. You will receive a note when your child is stuck on a particular fact set. This is typically after 4 quizzes. We will continue solving two step word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and using the properties.

Science:

Mrs. Emerson’s class finished up the moon webquest and studied star patterns and constellations. We will be looking at other planets and comparing their landforms to ours here on earth. A study guide will come home next week for homework for the students to to study for our unit test.

Social Studies:

Mrs. Masteller’s class continues to work on the history of Wake County. The students researched the Tuscarora Indians, the original inhabitants of Wake County, and shared their information. We will be discussing how the Railroads, the Civil Rights Movement, and The Research Triangle Park changed Wake County.  

Important Dates:

Nov. 27-28 Thanksgiving Holiday Break

Dec. 1 & 2 Case 21 Reading and Math. This is the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Dec. 3 Spelling Bee in class to determine the two finalist for the school Spelling Bee

Dec. 5 Report Cards and Track Out

Jan. 5 Return to school

Carolina Hurricanes' Reading Program

Your child will be bringing home a reading card to track their minutes spent reading each night and a bookmark. This is an optional reading incentive program put on by the Carolina Hurricanes. When the six weeks is up, I will remind you to send in your child's card. I turn the cards in to the Carolina Hurricanes and the students will get recognition for participating. There is information on the back of the card they are bringing home today in more detail. Have a good day! Remember...NO SCHOOL TOMORROW. Happy Veteran's Day!

Spelling Bee

In today's Wednesday folder you will find a list of 3rd and 4th grade words for the Spelling Bee. This is optional. If the students wish to participate they should study the words given. We will have a class Spelling Bee on December 3rd before we track out. The top two spellers will move on to the school wide Spelling Bee in Janurary. 

Please remember we have an early release on Friday at 1:15 and no school on Tuesday, November 12 for Veteran's Day.

October 29, 2014 Newsletter

Interims/Progress Reports are in today’s Wednesday folder. Please sign and return.

Reading:

We are reading informational text and learning about text features (headings, subheadings, table of contents, glossary, index, graphs, maps, bolded words) and how they are helpful.

Students are learning how to use the dictionary and the parts of a dictionary entry.

In writing students are reading an article in Time For Kids and producing an opinion piece about the article. They are using the OREO organizer. O=opinion, R=reasons, E=examples, O=restate opinion

Math:

In math the students should continue to practice their facts. You will receive a note when your child is stuck on a particular fact set. This is typically after 4 quizzes. We will be reviewing and applying  the properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide. These will include the commutative, associative and distributive properties. They will also be solving two step word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Science:

Mrs. Masteller’s class is completing our Objects in the Sky unit. We will be working on at study guide and taking a test Friday. Please help them review their study guide Thursday night for assessment on Friday.

Social Studies:

Mrs. Emerson’s class will be completing their unit on The History of Wake County. On Friday they will have a quiz. The students will be using their notes from class to complete the quiz.

Important Dates:

Nov. 7 - Early Release 1:15

Nov. 11 - Spirit Night PDQ Falls of Neuse

Nov. 14 - Movie Night

Nov. 27-28 Thanksgiving Holiday Break

Dec. 1 & 2 Case 21 Reading and Math. This is the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Updates

Wednesday folders are coming home today. In the folder you will find the scores for the Cognitive Abilities test. There is an explanation letter with the scores. If you have any further questions, Patty Carr the AIG teacher will be able to assist you.

Tomorrow is the timed multiplication test. Please ask your student what fact they are on to help them study. Websites are on the blog to assist. Have a nice evening.

Oct. 16 Newsletter

Reading: Students will be comparing and contrasting books to examine theme, plot, setting and characters in stories. We will continue to learn about idioms and prefixes and suffixes. We’ve had a lot of fun learning about idioms. Ask your child to tell you some of the idioms they know.

In writing we will be sharing their story they did with Miss Kelly, the Writer in Residence tomorrow. We will continue to work on elaboration in their writing. Please continue to check over their responses to their reading questions. Encourage them to use details and answer all parts of the question.

Math: Everyone is working hard to pass their multiplication quizzes each Tuesday and Thursday. Check with your child regarding which fact they are on. We will be charting their progress in the classroom. We will notify you if your student is struggling with a particular fact set. They should be practicing facts using flashcards and Math Magician (link on the Blog).  We have been discussing variables in word problems as being the unknown number in the equation. It can be a symbol or a letter used to represent the unknown part. The students will be discussing square numbers and identifying arithmetic patterns.

Science:

Mrs. Masteller’s class is finishing up a moon webquest with a partner to observe the phases of the moon. We will be looking at other planets and comparing their landforms to ours here on earth.

Social Studies:

Mrs. Emerson’s class will continue studying the history of Wake County and its inhabitants. The students researched the Tuscarora Indians ( the first inhabitants of Wake County) and made posters to share with the class. Next we will be learning about Raleigh, and why the capital was moved here. The information learned on our trip to Historic Mordecai house and the Raleigh Trolley will be reviewed in this part of our unit.   

Important Dates:

Oct. 17 - Early Release 1:15

Oct. 13-22 - Fall Book Fair

Oct. 20 Spirit Night Marco’s Pizza

Field Trip and Other Updates

Good afternoon! We are going on our field trip Friday, Oct. 10 to Mordecia Historic Park in Raleigh. We will be leaving at 9:30 so please have your child to school on time. We will be having lunch when we return. We did not preorder lunches because the cafeteria will still be serving. There are still a few families that haven't sent in money for field trips. The total cost for trips is 34.00. There is a reminder note in Wednesday folders for anyone that has not yet paid.

October 1, 2014 Newsletter

Reading:

Welcome back! We hope you all had a wonderful track out. It was so amazing to see how many students kept working over track out to keep their skills sharp. Both classes got a “shout out” from Mrs. MacWilliams about our progress on Lexia.

Students are super excited about the start of book clubs this quarter. They are meeting in small groups of 3-4. Groups will be working collaboratively to discuss plot, character traits, and settings. Members of the group will be assigned “jobs” to complete and share during the meetings.

Students are writing elaborative segments to describe story critical characters or objects. We will also have a Writer in Residence come and share experiences in writing with all of our third grade classes. How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to learn how to improve our writing from a published author! Please be aware that the guest writer will be assigning some writing homework. Regular reading homework will not be assigned that week.

Math: The students continue to work on multiplication and division. We have introduced the properties of multiplication, commutative, associative and distributive. The students will continue with the following math vocabulary: factors, products, repeated addition, repeated groups, and equal groups, dividend, divisor and quotient. The first multiplication timed (1min. 20/22 correct) quiz will be given tomorrow on the zero and one facts. 2’s facts will be given on Friday. Starting next week they will be quizzed each Tuesday and Thursday. Check with your child regarding which fact they are on. We will be charting their progress in the classroom. We will notify you if your student is struggling with a particular fact set. They should be practicing facts using flashcards and Math Magician (link on the Blog). There is an excellent app on the ipad called Flash to Pass. This is a free app.

Science:

Mrs. Masteller’s class will begin a study of the earth, moon, and sun. We will recognize the major components and patterns observed in these systems.

Social Studies:

Mrs. Emerson’s class will begin studying the history of Wake County and its inhabitants. We are looking forward to our field trip to the Historic Mordecai House.

Please remember to send in your field trip money or pay online as soon as possible.

Important Dates:

Oct. 3 Case 21 9:30 AM

Oct. 10 - Field trip to Historic Mordecai

Oct. 10-16 - Writer in Residence

Oct. 17 - Early Release 1:15

Oct. 13-22 - Fall Book Fair

Important Read to Achieve Information

Good morning! You have already received or will be receiving a letter about Read to Achieve and Good Cause Exemptions. It is very important that you read this letter carefully. There will be an information meeting designed for parents of children who have not yet met an exemption on Wednesday, October 1 at 6:00 PM in the Learning Commons. If your child is exempt, you are still welcome to attend to hear the information. Than you in advance. 

Fall Conferences

Please be on the lookout for a Sign Up Genius email from me to sign up for a conference time. If you do not receive one please let me know.

A strange looking caterpillar has been found on the playground. It is a very furry caterpiller called the furry puss caterpillar. I am not kidding :). It looks interesting but can give you a sting. Read the article below which includes a picture of the little guy.

Toxic "Toupee" Caterpillar

Spanish Website

I hope you all are having a great track out!

Senora Lipetsky wanted me to pass this website link on to our families. Please visit to see all the wonderful things going on in Spanish. 

Senora Lipetsky's Website

Wow! I'm so impressed with the great work on Lexia this track out! Over half of the class has logged in and worked on Lexia. Congratulations to Justen, Monica and Eilish who have all completed a level since track out and earned a certificate on our Lexia Wall of Fame! Keep up the good work! 

Don't forget to practice Xtra Math to increase fluency of math facts. We will start right in with multiplication when we return. 

See you soon! 

Mrs. Emerson :)

September 2, 2014 Newsletter

Reading:

It is hard to believe we are heading into our last week of quarter one. Over track out, we will be expecting all students that are not on level 13 or higher to work on Lexia reading assignments. We encourage all students to spend some time on Lexia each week to keep skills sharp and we look forward to logging into Lexia and seeing progress! :)  We hope you will also enjoy a good chapter book over trackout too.

We have had a busy week learning to determine the lesson and moral of a fable, myth, or folktale by looking at the important events and what the characters say and do in a story. Students have had opportunities to practice in small groups and independently.

Math: The students will continue the unit on multiplication and division. The students have learned to use a variety of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems such as arrays, equal groups and skip counting.  The students will continue the following math vocabulary: factors, products, repeated addition, repeated groups, and equal groups, dividend, divisor and quotient. The first few multiplication fact sets will be introduced in this order 0,1,2,10,5. You may begin practicing these with your child using flashcards and Math Magician ( link on the Blog). The students will begin bi-weekly fluency quizzes after track out.

 The students need to be fluent in their subtraction facts. Quite a few are below the 70% mastery level in XtraMath.

Please have your child do XtraMath daily over track out. We will be monitoring their usage. If any students passes the subtraction program, we will change their program to multiplication.

Homework Next week:

We are not assigning written homework the last week. We are asking that students all spend time on Lexia and Xtra Math each night. We will check progress online, so no need for notes or emails to verify homework.

Conferences:

We will be sending out a Sign Up Genius to set up Fall Conferences when we return.

Important Dates:

Sept. 3 Case 21 9:30 AM

Sept. 5 - Report cards and track out and early release 1:15

Last Day!

Today is the last day to let me know if you wanted to be a volunteer for the Walkathon Friday, August 29. I have to have names turned in by the end of the day today. Thanks so much!

Box Tops Collection Competition

Please continue to clip and send your Box Tops for Education coupons in with your child. We are in the lead for 3rd grade. The class isn't even concerned about the prize. We just enjoy seeing our class in the first place slot on the bulletin board! :) So, ask your family members and friends to collect Box Tops for Brassfield. Thanks for your help!

Field Trip Permission Form

Parents,
Field trip permission forms are in your child's homework folder to be filled out and returned as soon as possible but before Tuesday. We have an in house field trip on Tuesday the 26th. I will need your permission before they can participate. Soon, there will be a form sent home as to the costs for the field trips this school year.
Thank you and have a great day!

Aug 20,2014 Newsletter

Reading:

We finished our novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. We have so enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book and writing about them.

During the next few weeks we will continue to learn about base words and the meanings of the most common prefixes and suffixes. Students will be reading fables, folktales and myths and learning to retell the story using the important details. Students will use these details to determine the message or moral of the story.

Language/Writing:

We started a new theme in writing. They are enjoying writing, reading and learning about castles.Students will be focusing on organizing details in their writing to support a main idea in an informative piece. They will practice identifying general or specific information in writing and practice elaborating to describe a critical character in a story.

Math: The students are beginning the unit on multiplication and division. We began today by looking at patterns in numbers. We will then move into understanding that multiplication is repeated addition. Students will learn to use a variety of strategies to solve multiplication problems such as arrays, equal groups and skip counting.  The students will be using the following math vocabulary: factors, products, repeated addition, repeated groups, and equal groups.

The first few multiplication fact sets will be introduced in this order 0,1,2,10,5. You may begin practicing these with your child using flashcards and Math Magician ( link on the Blog). The students will begin bi-weekly fluency quizzes after track out.

Science:

We have been learning about the skeletal system. Students know that the important functions of the skeletal system is to support, protect and provide movement. They have been investigating the different joints in the body and the type of movement they provide. I’m sure they were excited to tell you all about the owl pellet dissection. They enjoyed comparing the bones in the pellet to bones in our own skeleton. We will be going to the Learning Commons to research the muscular system.

Social Studies: The students in Mrs. Masteller’s class are studying the three branches of government, local, state and federal. We will conduct a mock City Council meeting. The students  will argue their opinion for or against a new WaterSlide Park in a community, with partners the students will complete a citizenship webquest.

Important Dates:

Aug. 19-21 CogAT Testing 9:30 each day

Aug. 20 Fall Pictures

Aug. 25 Spirit Night Zaxby’s (2 locations)

Aug. 26 In House Field Trip Science is Fun

Aug. 29 - Walk - A -Thon

Sept. 1- No School/Labor Day

Sept. 3 Case 21 9:30 AM

Sept. 5 - Report cards and track out and early release

Xtra Math and Lexia

Good afternoon! Your students are not assigned a math homework sheet tonight because we will be going over an assessment on quadrilaterals we completed on Friday. (They did a great job on this!) However, I did ask them to practice their math facts on Xtra Math (link to the left on my blog). It is very important that they master addition and subtraction facts before we start multiplication facts. They work on Xtra Math in class as well.

Also, we have three weeks until track out.  Students are encouraged to work on Lexia at home. It is most important for students that have not reached level 12 or 13. 13 is the beginning of third grade skills. Your child knows their level because we keep a chart in the classroom. Also, as they pass levels they are put on our "Lexia Hall of Fame" in the hall along with other rewards. Thank you for your support.

Ident-A-Kid

Reminder: Ident-A-Kid tomorrow. Send money if you are interested.
Pictures on Aug. 20

Aug 6, 2014 Newsletter

Happy Hump Day! Please see students’ Wednesday Folders for Progress Reports for the first quarter and mClass reports.

Reading:

Students will be working on character traits and their motivations. We will be looking at characters in our read aloud, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and learning to describe their feelings and motivations in the story. We will be looking at events from the character’s point of view. How does a character’s actions move the story along or change events in the story? Also, students will be working on looking at root words as clues to understanding the meaning of unknown words.

Language/Writing:

Students are writing a narrative story based on a prompt. We will be looking for good sentence structure, organization of the story (beginning, middle and end), elaborative details and interesting verb choices. In upcoming lessons the students will be focusing on informative writing having a central topic with 3 main ideas with facts/details supporting or relating to this topic. We will also learn to identify and use characters,setting, problems/adventures, and conclusions as part of writing an entertaining narrative story.

Math: The students are reviewing rounding. We will begin geometry this week. The students will be studying shapes and their attributes. It is important that when they answer their journal prompt homework they use the correct vocabulary.  Thanks

Please, Please have your child practice their subtraction facts. They will be taking timed quizzes. I have websites they can use up on my Blog. They need to be fluent in addition and subtraction facts before they can begin multiplication.

Science:

Mrs. Emerson’s class will begin their Science unit on the Human Body. We will be studying the skeletal system and muscular system.

Social Studies:The students are finishing the study of government, local, state and federal. We conducted a mock City Council meeting. They did an excellent job arguing their opinion for or against a new WaterSlide Park.  They are finishing their citizenship webquest.

Important Dates:

Aug. 4-8 - Interim Reports go home this week

Aug. 13 - Ident - A - Kid

Aug. 19-21 CogAT Testing 9:30 each day

Aug. 20 Fall Pictures

Aug. 29 - Walk - A -Thon

If your student would like to participate in the Brassfield Running Club please follow the link below for sign ups.

http://brassfieldesrunners.blogspot.com/2014/08/fall-running-club-starting-on-august.html

July 23, 2014 Newsletter

I hope everyone is beginning to adjust to being back at school and getting into the routine of a new school year.

Your students have been busy the first 3 weeks of school.

Reading:

We will continue learning about QAR (Question-Answer Relationships) in literature and nonfiction. Students are distinguishing between “In the Book” questions and “In the Head” questions. Ask your child about these types of questions.Students will be decoding multisyllabic  words using phonics.

Language/Writing:

We are learning about the 3 genres of writing in third grade; Narrative, Informative and Opinion. Students will be studying elements in good narrative writing. Students will continue writing narratives and adding elements to their pieces to make them better.

Math: The students are reviewing multi-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. Please go over your child’s homework to be sure they are solving the equations correctly. Some students are still drawing models and using expanded form. While these are great strategies, they are not the most efficient way to solve a problem. We are practicing the equations in class to help facilitate this transition.

We will begin rounding to the nearest 10 and 100 on Friday. We will be working on this for about 2 weeks.

Please, Please have your child practice their subtraction facts. They will be taking timed quizzes. I have websites they can use up on my Blog. They need to be fluent in addition and subtraction facts before they can begin multiplication.

Science:

We will begin wrapping up our science unit on the human body learning about the muscular system, skin and response to stimuli.

Social Studies:The students are finishing the study of government, local, state and federal. We will be conducting a mock City Council meeting this week. Then they will begin citizenship and a webquest.

Homework:

Most of the students are doing a great job on their math responses/explanations to nightly practice work. However, please check over reading responses to questions for accuracy, spelling,punctuation, and complete sentences. We are working on these skills in class and want them practicing them at home. Please encourage them to be responsible to follow morning procedures on the board and make sure they have what they need to complete their homework each night. Thank you for your support in encouraging responsibility.

Important Dates:

July 23 - Spirit Night at Goodberry’s (Harvest Plaza)

Aug. 4-8 - Interim Reports go home this week

Aug. 13 - Ident - A - Kid

Aug. 29 - Walk - A -Thon

      BOG TEST TOMORROW 9:20

Please be aware that Tuesday, July 22, 2014 will be the Beginning of Grade 3 English Language Arts/Reading Test. We will start promptly after attendance is taken. Students will not be permitted to enter the room after testing has begun. Thank you!

Room Parents

Hooray! We have two volunteers to be Room Parents!
Pratima Kavde, Arjun's mom and Petra Quan, Monica's mom.
Thanks for volunteering to help ladies.

One more thing, if you have not returned your yellow information sheets (with emails and transportation info) or the yellow locator cards, please do so ASAP.

Welcome to Track One 3rd Grade!

Newsletters/Communication

Visit our class websites by going to the Brassfield website at http://brassfield.wcpss.net/pages/Brassfield_Elementary.  In an effort to be more “green”, I will email our class newsletter and post it on the class website.  Our school/class website is a great source for information.

Snack

Please send a nutritious snack with your child each day. Peanut products are not permitted in the classroom especially since we have students with allergies. Our lunch is at 12:15. We will have our snack in the afternoon.

Homework

We will have homework Monday-Thursday.  Your children are busy learning at school each day but they must practice at home to master our standards.  Homework will be posted each week on the website. Students  are responsible for copying their homework assignment in a spiral notebook each morning.

Your child is expected to spend a minimum of 20 minutes of pleasurable reading each day  One night a week there will be a reading comprehension passage with questions. Math homework will be a real world problem to solve and give an explanation showing their work when possible.   Additional problems may be assigned as needed. It is Brassfield’s intent that homework be purposeful and aligns with the Common Core Standards.

Volunteers

We would love to have you come visit our classroom as a volunteer. We will need assistance from time to time with projects, learning experiences, field trips, etc… Please remember it is WCPSS policy that all volunteers re-register each year on a school computer. The registration window opened July 1.

Added Reminders for Third Grade

1.  Buses begin arriving at 8:45.  All students should be in the classroom as soon as possible to unpack copy and collect homework for that night and get started on their morning work.  Our instructional day will begin promptly at 9:15.  The students are dismissed at 3:40.

2.  Put your child’s name on all personal items so there is no question as to who it belongs to.  (jackets and book bags especially)

3.  Please send money in an envelope with your child’s name, the amount of money, and what the money is for.

4.  State law requires that a note be sent to school explaining a student absence upon their return to school.  Otherwise, it will be recorded as unexcused.  

6.  Money can be added to your child’s account before school or online. Even if your child usually brings their lunch to school, it is helpful to have money in their account in case their lunch is left at home.  

7. A special form must be filled out by your doctor and filed in the office before any medicine can be given at school.  

7. We must be notified in writing of any changes in your child’s transportation plans from school.  If you plan to pick your child up in the afternoons, please be sure you obtain a carpool number.

8. Please let your child wears comfortable clothes to school.  Long dresses, flip-flops, and clogs are not appropriate for P.E. days and outside activities.  If your child gets cold easily, please leave a sweater at the school.  

9.  Please do not allow your child to bring valuables, make-up or toys to school unless requested for a special occasion.  

10.  Please note that we are not permitted to send in homemade goodies and all items must be store bought for special events. Also, treats from home for birthdays are not allowed.

11.  On Wednesday of each week, your child will bring home a “Wednesday Folder”.  This will contain your child’s work from the previous week. Please return the folder ASAP.

Daily Schedule

8:45-9:20   Arrival and Morning Procedures, unpack, copy down homework, attendance, morning work, Bearly TV

9:20-11:25 ELA (Reading, Writing, Grammar & Daily 5 Rotations)

11:25-12:10  Specials

12:15-12:45   Lunch

12:50-1:50  Math  

1:50-2:30   Science/Social Studies

2:30-3:00    Recess

3:00-3:30    BEAR Time/Strategy Groups

3:30-3:40  Daily Closure: Pack-Up, Tidy up, and Announcements      

We look forward to working with you this year and helping your child grow as a productive learner.  It is important that we keep the lines of communications open and we are  willing to help in whatever way we can to ensure your child’s success in school.  

Brassfield : 870-4080

Pam Emerson

Email: pemerson@wcpss.net

Nancy Masteller

Email: nmasteller@wcpss.net

Let’s have a great year!