Mark your Calendar

• Tuesday, September 9th - Picture Day
• Thursday, September 11th- Third Grade Field Trip Santa Cruz County Fair 
• Thursday, September 18th- Back to School Night

                     Kindergarten-3rd grade        6:00-6:25
                     Principal's Message             6:30-6:55
                     4th grade-6th grade             7:00-7:30

Charlotte's Web

by E. B. White

The Third Graders are in the middle of reading Charlotte's Web. This classic will be our inspiration for the first set of Third Grade writing standards. We will begin by writing a summary of one of the chapters.   The students will also write a letter to a character in the book, Mr. Zuckerman, persuading him to save Wilbur the Pig. We will also focus on character and plot development, along with the many enriching vocabulary words and thought provoking reading comprehension. 

Rhymes 'n' Times is a multi-sensory multiplication program we are using in Basic Skills to help students conquer their multiplication facts. Ask your child about the silly rhymes.

4 x 7              28 Spiders are Webbin’

7 x 8              Golly Gee, 56 Dollars- All for Me!

6 x 6              36 Lollipop Licks

7 x 7              Bugs in a Line, Creeping and Crawling- All 49

9 x                 Use your fingers...

3 x 6              Pick up 18 Sticks

4 x 6              Count Those 24 Kicks

8 x 8              Clips Fell on the Floor, Pick Them Up- All 64

3 x 7              Spin 21 Tops, Watch Them All- Till Each One Drops

0                    Zero Is Always the Hero

1x                   The “other number” is always the answer.

2x                  Count by two’s when multiplying by 2!

5x                  Count by five’s when multiplying by 5!

3 x 3              9 Cuts on My Knee

4 x 8              Bubbles are Fun, Pop 32- Then You Are Done

3 x 8              24 Flies on My Plate

4 x 4              I Heard You Snore, 16 Times and Not 1 More

3 x 4              12 Knocks on the Door

6 x 7              Rings for You, Put Them on-All 42

The Marshmallow Challenge... 

We had a GREAT week in Room 24. Ask your child about the Marshmallow Challenge, Reading Buddies, Arrays, Charlotte's Web and our cursive "dance moooves."

Students will receive their first weekly homework packet Monday, due on Friday 8/29. This homework packet includes a spelling list, reading log, math and grammar page. Students are responsible for reading twenty minutes every night. In addition to this homework packet, there is nightly math homework that is due the following day. This week's spelling is a list of commonly misspelled words. Students are to practice these words at home for homework. Their first spelling test will be on Friday 8/29.

In math, your students will begin our Rhymes and Times curriculum this week. This program helps children learn their multiplication facts. There is a fun activity that goes along with learning each fact. Then we recite the facts together as a class each morning. We will also be continuing our Engage New York curriculum for multiplication. These are the pages that you will see coming home for the nightly math homework. We will begin our Friday math centers this Friday.  If anyone is available to come in and volunteer for math centers on Fridays at 10:30, please let me know.

Our first field trip to the Santa Cruz County Fair is on Thursday 9/11. The permission slips will go home Monday, to be signed and returned. If you would like to drive/chaperon,let me know and please make sure your TB test, auto insurance and fingerprints are on file with the office. 

You may sign up for a Parent Volunteer time here on this Google doc:   https://docs.google.com/a/pvusd.net/document/d/1nzJ1ixp3TSf1YILepwIArMkVltsMTZx191guslaF7Bg/edit 

I look forward to another awesome week. 

Welcome Back to School

Welcome Back to School

Welcome back!

Every year, the first day of school gets me as excited as when I was a child.  I pick out my clothes, get my lunch ready and wake up super early. I remember one year getting new purple knickers to wear on the first day of school. I couldn't wait for the the year to begin. Things haven't changed much since then (except no purple knickers). I'm ready for a wonderful school year and a positive learning environment.

I look forward to communicating early and often with you this year. The easiest way for me to make sure you see the blog is to send you an occasional e-mail when the blog has been updated. I will include a link to make it even easier to get there. There is also an option to Subscribe to e-mail updates. Signing up for this will ensure that you get an e-mail notifying you that the blog has been updated.

Please take the time to send me a quick e-mail (virginia_nosky@pvusd.net) so I can start making a list of all your e-mails. Please include your child's name as well as yours.

I look forward to meeting each child and seeing their special talents.

First Day of School August 18th

Optional School Supplies-not required

• 1 table top (hard plastic) pencil box
• 1 dozen sharpened Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils for the class to share
• 1 box of 16-24 count Crayola crayons
• 1 package of glue sticks (Avery or "jumbo" preferred)
• reusable water bottle-labeled
• 1 homework folder-labeled front
• 1 marble composition books
• 1 12"X12" canvas board (flat canvas on cardboard, no wood frame involved)