Sunrise/Sunset

I'm posting the sunrise/sunset and national high/low here so we can record it once we get back to school. I hope everyone is having a relaxing break!

High/Low for December 27
High: Boca Raton, FL = 84 degrees
Low: Grants, NM = -9 degrees
Difference: 93 degrees

Sunrise/Sunset for December 28
Sunrise - 7:31 a.m.
Sunset - 4:33 p.m.
Amount of Sunlight - 9 hrs. 2 min.

Six Flags Read to Succeed

Yesterday the students were given a form for Six Flags Read to Succeed. Students need to read 360 minutes before February 24, 2012. They will need to fill out the form attached with the Six Flags information, but this can be the same reading time as we use for our monthly reading calendars. The new component will be filling out the Six Flags form along with the reading calendar. If they turn it in they will get a free ticket to Six Flags. More information is available here: Six Flags - Read to Succeed

Good luck and have a great break!

Winter Solstice

We have been tracking the sunrise/sunset every Wednesday in math. This year the shortest day, the Winter Solstice, lands on a Wednesday.

When we started keeping track of the sunrise/sunset at the beginning of September we had over 13 hours of sunlight. Today we have just 9 hours of sunlight with the sunrise at 7:29 a.m. and sunset at 4:29 p.m.

Star of the Week

The last Star of the Week of the Year!

Cool Toy

This is fun little activity to try at home. It doesn't go along with what we are doing in class, but it's a pretty neat idea. Not everyone will be able to do this, but it is really cool if you have all the tools. Augmented Reality is becoming the new thing in technology. There is a Lego sample below with directions.

1. You need a webcam. Most laptops have one and desktops may have one too.
2. Go to this website - Lego.com Atlantis
3. Choose one of the products.
4. Print the Icon (Legos Icon)
5. Press Start
6. Place printed icon in front of the webcam.

Hope it works for you!

Island Christmas

No weekend game, but a cool video from the Christmas concert. If parents would like a picture you can e-mail me and I'll send them to you. Please let me know which pictures you would like as it'll be difficult to send them all.

Sorry, I wish the audio was better though!

Updates and Short Week Info

- No homework tonight. It will be busy enough with the Christmas concert and we don't have math today anyway because of the rehearsal.
- Math test next week. We have two lessons left before our next test, and we'll finish those up on Friday and Monday. That will give us Tuesday to take the test and Wednesday to review them.
- Spelling Test on Wednesday, Dec. 21. We are going to push the spelling test to next week. The grammar part is difficult. I will be giving the words in random order for the test. It is too easy to memorize where the apostrophe goes instead of learning when to use one.
- Half day on Thursday, Dec. 22. Just a reminder that the last day before break is a half day. We'll have our Christmas party that morning.
- Finish Moon, Earth and Sun. We'll also finish our science unit before break. When we return we'll return to social studies to learn about Antarctica.
- Concert tonight! Please have your children here between 6:30-6:45.

Christmas List

Below is the list of Christmas items going on in class. It's a crazy time of year!

Christmas Concert
- The Christmas concert is on Thursday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m. Please drop your students off at our classroom between 6:30-6:45. The doors to the gym will be opened at 6:25 for families. After the concert is over please pick you students up at our classroom too. The third grade will be located in the lower left hand corner of the risers. A letter from the Mrs. Quam and the music department is coming home tonight with more information.

Christmas Dinner
- If you haven't donated money yet and would like to there is still time. We will put together a menu and draw names to see who goes shopping with me on Friday, Dec. 16. We will do the shopping on Tuesday, Dec. 20 as that is a day when Mrs. Belken can deliver the food. The food will go to a family in need in our school district. As I have mentioned before, please donate to this cause instead of getting me a gift. Thank you.

Christmas Party
- Our Christmas party will be in the morning this year since we have a half day. We will exchange gifts, have treats, and play a couple of games. The party committee has already met to plan the festivities. For the gift, there is a $5 limit and boys should buy a gift for boys and girls for another girl.

Spelling/Grammar List

This week's spelling words are a bit different than usual. Not only do they have to spell the words correctly, but they also have to get the apostrophe in the correct place. We have spent some time working on possession and for the words this week they'll have to listen to the sentence and decide if the word is plural (no possession), singular possessive, or plural possessive.

Here is the list:
1. brother's
2. brothers
3. uncle's
4. uncles
5. sister's
6. sisters
7. sisters'
8. man's
9. men's
10. child's
11. girls
12. girl's
13. girls'
14. mine
15. yours

Star of the Week

for Dec. 12-16

Weekend Game

Here is a challenge game. All the lights need to be connected to the tree without any loose connections. It will be a challenge even for parents!

Christmas Tree Light Up

Report Cards

Report cards are being sent home tonight with your child. You can keep the report card, but please sign and return the envelope that it comes in. That way we can use it again second trimester.

There is also a note in the comments, but there is no grade for geometry because we haven't had a unit on it yet. That is way I left it blank.

If you have any other questions about the report cards you can call me at 608.943.6313 ext. 1048 or e-mail me at avanovermeer@igs.k12.wi.us.

Star of the Week

for Dec. 6-9

Notes

- Don't forget no school on Monday, December 5. Teachers have an in-service and teacher work to day to get grades done.

- If your child is switching buses, not riding the bus, or staying after school for any reason they need a note. There has been some confusion in the office as to where kids are after school and as you can imagine that is very stressful for the secretaries and parents. You can write a note to send with the child or call in to the office.

- The students will have their Unit 2 language arts test next week. We won't have a new story next week because of this. We'll work on the test a little bit each day next week instead of doing it all in one big chunk.

- No spelling next week. Because we are taking a unit test we won't have spelling words next week. We'll review a few of the commonly missed spelling words from the unit however.

- We go to the Christmas Store on Thursday, December 8th.

- No Weekend Game. Sorry, but I overloaded last week. :) There are plenty of multiplication games to still choose from on the games page.

November Reading Calendars

Congratulations to the following students for turning in their November Reading Calendars. Great Work!

Jaiden
Avery
Ryan
Luke
Mason
Marissa
Josh
Isaiah L.
Jalen
Elly
Lauren
Colin
Olivia
Nic
Courtney
Brena
Austin
Grace
Brynna
Isaiah Z.