Weekly Update: January 31, 2020

Happy Friday 3B Parents!

Students were super excited for Catholic Schools’ Week! The week started with a rad 80’s Day and continued with a relaxing pajama Student Appreciation Day!

Students enjoyed an amazing field trip to CatholicTV Studios and did a wonderful job at Mass!

I felt very appreciated today with flowers, gifts, cards, and a special luncheon! Thank you! I am one lucky teacher!

Math: We have finished working through Topic 6 and continue to give daily assess students on their multiplication facts. Next week, we will begin Topic 7 which introduces division. Please continue to make sure your child is studying their facts nightly.

Students continue to circulate through math rotations. Here is a sneak peak into one of their favorite centers: Hands On (math games).

Reading: This week we continued learning how to draw conclusions. I read Officer Buckle and Gloria to the class. There were numerous conclusions that readers could draw from clues throughout the text. Students, were asked to choose one of the conclusions they made through the text and explain the clues left by the author that helped them.

From there, lessons shifted focus to cause and effect, a concept that will continue into next week. Students learned that cause is why something happens and the effect is what actually happens.

As an introduction activity, students were given a card with either a cause or an effect written on it. They had to circulate the room looking for the classmate with their matching card. Students had to present their match to the class, determining if they were the cause or the effect.

We then read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and repeated the matching cause and effect game using specific examples from the book.

Weekly Update: January 24, 2020

Happy Friday 3B Parents!

Important Upcoming Events:

• Progress Reports will be coming home today.
• Next Week---Catholic Schools’ Week (see below for schedule)
• Wednesday, January 29th---Topic 6 Math Test
• Thursday, January 30^th---Field trip to CatholicTV
• Friday, January 31^st--- Noon Dismissal

Catholic Schools’ Week Schedule:

·  Monday 1/27 – Celebrate your Community Day! 

Students can dress in their best 80’s attire!

Monday is also the day we show appreciation for the amazing BSS parents! Administration will be hosting a Parent Appreciation Coffee Hour. Parents are invited to the cafe at 8:15 for a coffee hour to show our appreciation for all they do for BSS. There will be coffee, treats, and conversation.

·  Tuesday 1/28 -  Student Appreciation Day! 

To show appreciation for our amazing students, we will have a Pajama Day. Students and faculty will wear their favorite PJ’s for the day. Students will also receive a special dessert at lunch.

·  Wednesday 1/29 - Faith and Nation Day!

There will be a presentation of the St. Francis Awards at Morning Assembly as well as the Power of One Scholarship.

BSS will host an Open House from 9-11am. Please spread the word!

·  Thursday 1/30 – Celebrate Vocations Day!

To show some school spirit, any clothing that represents the school may be worn instead of the uniform.

We will be having a Rebel Fundraiser where students will be asked to bring in $1 to support Rebel, our amazing WPD service dog! We will also celebrate our clergy with thank you cards!

*This is also the morning that 3^rd grade will be travelling to CatholicTV Studios to celebrate Mass. Students are asked to dress in their uniforms but may bring spirit clothes to change into upon returning to school.

·  Friday 2/1 - Faculty Appreciation Day

The BSS School Song will be sung at Morning Assembly and we will have an early dismissal at noon. Faculty will enjoy an appreciation luncheon (a big thank you to the PC)!

Math: We have continued working through Topic 6. This topic continues to focus on strategies to help the students memorize basic math facts. 

Students learned the associative property of multiplication which states that factors can be grouped in any way and the product will be the same. They practiced this by multiplying 3 factors.

They will be having their Topic 6 test on Wednesday.

Reading:  This week, students have been learning how to draw conclusions as they read. They learned that authors don’t explain everything that happens in a story. Readers can use story clues to figure out what is NOT said.

First, students watched a short, humorous cartoon that led viewers to believe that the character was fired after being caught playing video games at work. Without officially knowing what happened to the character at the end, students were able to draw conclusions that he was fired based off of a number of clues in the video.

Next, we read The Mitten Tree. In this story, an old woman named Sarah notices that children standing waiting for the school bus at a stop near her house weren't wearing mittens. She decides to knit them mittens and hang them on a tree. at the bus stop. Day after day they find new mittens hanging in the tree. The children have no idea who keeps making them. One day, the old woman is surprised to find a basket of yarn on her porch. She thought no one knew that she was the one making the mittens. The author never gives away who put the basket of yarn on Sarah's porch.

After reading, students used clues from the story and illustrations to draw conclusions about who left the basket. Students met in groups to discuss their ideas and then wrote who they believed was leaving the yarn and provided evidence to support their thinking. 

Phonics: This week, students have been introduced to v-c-e syllables. It is made up of a vowel, followed by a consonant, and then a “magic” e. It is important for students to remember that the e is silent and is “magic” because it makes the vowel long (or say its name).

Religion: Lessons this week focused on the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Students learned about the Apostles’ Creed and what it means to profess our faith. Students also learned about social justice and how as humans made in the image of God, we have certain rights.

Writing: Students worked hard this week to finish drafting and begin editing and revising their writing pieces on why they love Blessed Sacrament School. As we move into the second half of the year, students are taking responsibility of finding and correcting spelling and grammar mistakes. They’ve been learning how to use a dictionary to find words they can’t spell by tapping out the sounds.

After editing, students typed their work and we’ve displayed them on our bulletin board: We Love BSS ‘Snow ‘ Much!

Book Buddies: Students and their book buddies practiced writing summaries on their picture books! Check out pictures of the 3B boys with their book buddies!