1. Whats Up? … *Rules/Respect *Rights/Responsibilities *Listening/Following Directions *Procedures/Routines *Problem Solving Skills *Manners/Courtesy *Cursive *Prefixes/Suffixes *Main idea/supporting details *Cause/Effect *Drawing conclusions *Adjectives *Sequencing/time order clues *Fact/Opinion *Writing summaries *Writing narratives *Multiplication *Division *Elapsed Time *Counting Money *Discrete Math/Number combinations *Logical problem solving/critical thinking *Amazon Rainforest *Trading/Bartering Our Class News No.31 4/23/4/27 Spelling Words bloomingsettledstamping leavinglikedtaking gettingfilledswimming rolledhopingused hurryingbuyingworried BONUS WORDS: harvestbargainsupport tradingpulp What’s coming! 4/23…..Midterms come home today 4/24..... AIMS Writing Assessment 4/24… Choir Concert, 6:30pm MPR 4/27….Arbor Day; City of Mesa Arbor Day Celebration for third graders (Falcon Hill Park) 4/27…..Spirit Day: Crazy Sock Day 4/30…..Talent Show auditions begin 5/4…..Spirit Day: Twin Day 5/4….Jamba Juice ---$3.00 5/6….Falcon Hill Round-Up! 9:00-11:00am Bring your friends and neighbors to see what is happening at our school. Visit classrooms, take a campus tour….get to know Falcon Hill! 5/6….Talent Show auditions continue Vocabulary Words schoonermacheteharvest bargainsupporttrading pulp ! Keep Reading!

2. A note from me… Here is a little ditty that expresses our feelings, now that last week is behind us. It probably won’t make the Top 40, but try singing it to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching.” AIMS is over, hurray, hurray, hurray, hurray AIMS is over hurray, hurray, hurray, hurray Ask your child and they will say, “They tested our brains out everyday, And now it’s over-------let’s go out and play!” Because of their hard work during testing week, those students who truly took their time, showed their work, and did their best earned the privilege of participating in our AIMS Celebration Day at Falcon Hill Park Friday morning. Most of our students honestly worked hard and did their best, but it was very frustrating as I walked around to monitor and observed the careless mistakes that were made by not reading carefully, going back to look up an answer, showing work on mathematical problems, or highlighting key words. These are strategies we have practiced and stressed all year long. This week we complete our state assessments with the writing portion on Tuesday. A big thank you goes out to Ms. Cangialosi for bringing in new pencils and erasers for everyone last week! We appreciate your thoughtfulness! Another big thanks to all of you who provided treats for the students to enjoy before and after testing last week. We sincerely appreciate your generosity. Just because AIMS is over however, does not mean third grade is over! In the remaining month of school we will be focusing on lots of science/social studies activities relating to our study of the Amazon Rainforest. This unit will be incorporated into all aspects of our curriculum for the final weeks of school. Students will be involved in writing animal reports as well as creating projects for the culmination of our year. Stay tuned for more information! We will continue to work on increasing reading fluency and comprehension, and solidifying math facts in all areas. We will also spend a considerable amount of time on critical thinking and problem solving skills. Things do not slow down this last month, but they really pick up speed as this becomes somewhat of an accelerated “boot camp” in preparation for fourth grade. The final midterm for the year came home today. Due to AIMS last week, Monday Message folders did not come home---there was nothing to fill them up with! Please sign the midterm and return it to school with your child. Boot camp is the mystery word. We saw a drop in some grades, due not only to the increased rigor, but for some due to a lack of attention and/or effort. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” As the weather become warmer, we remind parents to please refer to our dress code for appropriate school dress. As always, flip flops are not appropriate for PE, and can be a hazard just in general. We often have rubber flip flops breaking, which present a whole difficult situation for a student. It doesn’t ever hurt to have an extra pair of shoes in a backpack if an emergency occurs! “Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority. ~~~ Vince Lombardi