Service: On Wednesday I sent home a note asking for chaperones to our March 29th field trip to Feed My Starving Children  in Aurora.  This is the trip for which I was awarded a Target Grant.  We need a 1/3 adults to children  ratio to be able to participate, so please consider joining us on this very worthwhile trip.  It was brought to my attention yeaterday that the woman, Mona Purdy, who founded the charity, Share Your Soles, which we just supported with our fantastic shoe drive and donation, has lost everything in a fire.  There is a website  collecting donations for  her in case you  feel like helping her out since she has spent her life helping others.

Reading:    This week we read and worked on activites with the novel, Ramona.; Age 8 by Beverly Clearly.  Next week we will return to our text.

Language Arts: We continue to practice language/ phonics skills daily.  Most everyone understands the  skills.  However not everyone uses them in their writing.

Math:  We just began the new math chapter of probability.  We will also continue to work on our multiplication facts until they are quick and automatic.  Please help at home to also increase accurancy and speed in your child’s ability to memorize the facts. There will be a SS math quiz on Tuesday.

Social Studies:  The President mobiles were all presented this week.  I was pleased that everyone  was able to learn about a particular persident and then share that information with their classmates. The mobiles looked great!  In our text we are studying why people move and intermediate directions.  The chapter 3 test  will be  on Wednesday or Thursday.

In Science we  will be starting chapter 7; Forces That Shape Our Land. This includes landforms, weathering, erosion,  floods, earthquakes, volcanoes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

• Science chapter 7 test will be Wednesday, February 8th
• Math chapter 7 test will be Friday, February 10th
• Third grade will attend 8am Mass on Friday, February 10th
• Room 111 will present Biography Reports on Wednesday, February 15th at 1:30pm 
• Please let me know if you are interested in chaperoning for our field trip on March 29th.  We will be working for the Feed My Starving Children Foundation, packing food for those less fortunate.
• A big Thank You goes to all who helped organize activities for Catholic Schools Week.  The entire week was lots of fun!
• Fun websites to practice Reading  skills
• Main Idea 
• Drawing Conclusions

  A wonderful  Catholic Schools Week has arrived.  We started off with a great Mass and Open House on Sunday.  I was delighted to see so many families, prospective families and former students.This week we are doing Faith Trivia every morning. Tuesday there is a CSW Mass at 10:30 am hosted by both 1st grades, Mrs. Grusecki’s 4th grade, and my third grade class. On Wednesday everyone gets to wear pajamas to school for Student Appreciation Day.  No tests will be given on Wednesday or written homework for that day.  We do have a science test on Thursday.  Students voted that that would rather have it on Thursday than Tuesday, so a few minutes of review might not be a bad idea on Wedneday.  We are reviewing in class and I announced this date last week.  Thursday is  scheduled for a movie, a rare treat! Friday is the Red & White volleyball game. Third grade plays at 10:20 to 10:40.

Our Service project Shoe Drive for Share Your Soles was a tremendous success! Thank you to  everyone who donated shoes, supplies, cash donations , and labor to this project.  Third grade collected nearly 500 pairs of shoes, and  $116.22 for the charity.  The third grades cleaned and polished the hard shoes. Several moms  helped by assisting on our shoe cleaning day, washing the gym shoes, and /or delivering the clean shoes to the Share Your Soles Warehouse in Alsip. The students did a wonderful job and seemed to enjoy being able to help the less fortunate.

Many Social Studies President Mobiles have been completed and turned in.  I am anxious to hear more from the students about what they learned as they researched their president.

Wednesday, February 15th is the scheduled third grade biography presentation.  Parents and grandparents are invited.  We will be meeting in a room upstairs either at 8:30 am or 1:30 pm.  We will get the time settled soon depending upon our special classes for the day. Information for the written part of this resport was passed out to students last week.  I hope you will be able to attend this special event.

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Carol Reckwerdt

• Come kick off Catholic Schools Week Sunday, January 29th!  Mass is at 9:30 followed by Open House at 10:30
• Student Appreciation Day is Wednesday, February 1st!  There will be no homework or tests that day, and students can wear their PJs to school!
• President reports are due on Monday, January 30th.  Reports that were turned in early look fantastic!
• Religion Ch. 10 test will be Friday, February 3rd
• Biography reports are due on Wednesday, February 15th.  Students will be presenting their reports that day as well.  Look out for the time Room 111 will be presenting, student invitations will come home this week.

• Thank you to those of you contributed donations to the Share Your Soles Foundation.
• Parent volunteers are needed to drop off the cleaned shoes at the donation site in Alsip.  An e-mail, with more details, will be sent later on this week.  If you are interested please feel free to send me an e-mail!  
• English Ch. 6 test will be on Wednesday, January 25th
• Join us to kick off Catholic Schools Week on Sunday, January 29th.  Mass will be held at 9:30 am and Open House will follow from 10:30 to 12:30.  Hope to see you there!
• Math Ch. 6 test will be on Thursday, January 26th
• Social Studies Ch. 2 test will be on Friday, January 27th

Sorry for your inconvenience.

The check from Target arrived for our other service project field trip for which  I won the grant.  Yea! I will now finalize plans. That March trip is to Feed My Starving Children’s packaging center in Aurora.

In class this week we acted out the Pecos Bill play…Enjoy the  photos.

Next Wednesday we will be having a Social Studies test on chapter 2, types of communities. A summary went home today for review.  Our next project is a presidential mobile.  Each child has a different president to research.  The mobiles are due Jan. 31st ( Third quarter grade ) but can be turned in early.   I have numerous books and informational cards/posters for the children to use  as they research. Many students took some wonderful resources home with them this weekend.

In religion we are learning about types of prayer.  Next Tuesday there is a school Mass.

I am excited that so many children are understanding the many math concepts that we study. They are doing great in their Simple Solutions program.   The other part of math includes memorization of our basic facts.  I need your help with this.  Every child MUST know their mulktiplication facts.  A few minutes of daily drill with flash cards or reciting them in the car on the way to school would be very beneficial.

In Science we are working on Earth Science.  It is  so interesting to know what is in our earth.   enjoyed making their amber fossils in Lab.

The end of the quarter is next Friday. 

Have a wonderful long  & safe weekend. Enjoy the snow!

• Continue to donate shoes for the Share Your Soles service project, if possible.
•  Please bring in supplies to clean the donated shoes: Lysol and shoe polish would be greatly appreciated. 
• Book orders are due on Wednesday, January 18th
• TLC test on Wednesday, January 18th
•  Spelling test on Thursday, January 19th
• Science Ch. 6 test on Thursday, January 19th
• Religion Ch. 9 test on Friday, January 20th
• 2nd quarter ends Friday, January 20th

• On Tuesday, December 20th there will be a Spelling test
• On Wednesday, December 21st we will have our Math Ch. 9 test
• Students need to be practicing their multiplication facts every night.  They will be expected to know facts 0-9 for our test on Wednesday.

Third grade will be collecting shoes for Share Your Soles  in January.  If you get new shoes or boots this winter please save your old ones if they still are in good condition for our shoe drive.

Next Thursday is the Christmas program so please plan on being here to enjoy it.

Please spend a little time practicing math facts with your child.  We are learning multiplication, but the addition and subtraction facts must also be memorized.

Have a wonderful weekend!