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Today at explore time students were asked to think about the question how far can you go, these were the results. image image image imageimage image image image image image image image image image image image image image image

Hello Families

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We are moving right along here in Room 25. We have mastered our daily 5 routine, moving quickly through our 2nd grade math review and we have started our personal narrative writing through our work with courageous problem solving.

Daily 5
Daily 5 is the reading program that we use CSS from kindergarten through 4th grade. It is a system that allows students to make their own choices about improving their reading and writing skills. They get to think about what they need to work on, what they want to work on and who they want to work with. Since they have been doing this for many years now they have just jumped right in. They are empowered to improve their own reading and a writing skills as well as have some fun reading and writing. For me as a teacher I get to evaluate each student individually and work with them personally to give them exactly what they need. I also get to spend time with each student personally, which is really special because one on one time is tough to come by. As we get further into the year students will get to be part of book groups to allow them to share their enjoyment together.

Math
In the beginning of our year we are really working on solidifying our second grade skills and setting up our independent math time. We are focusing on our addition and subtraction strategies. We discovered yesterday that subtraction really isn’t as hard as we thought it would be. Also this month in number corner we are working with money. You can support our class time by allowing them to work with and keep track of money. The grocery store is a great place to practice and think about money. How much do we need? How much will be left? Head to the Math Learning Center for the bridges home connection. They are broken up into units and we are in the middle of unit 1.

Courage Writing
As a whole school we are exploring the idea of Courageous Problem Solving as a part of our school mission. We are thinking about how we can be courageous and what we can do to solve hard problems in our community. Students have created a courage journal about a time they were a courageous problem solver. They are hanging outside our classroom. These pieces of writing are meeting for 2nd grade and now we are moving them on to a piece of writing that is aiming for 3rd grade expectations. They are starting off really good and they will be ready for back to school night.

In our snack/free choice times are coming alive with creation of he yarn variety. Special thanks to the Buchholtz family for finding those awesome knifty knitter looms at a yard sale. They have really had a good time making scarves and hats.

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Bella and Emily with their 1st scarves!

A Message from our Lovely Librarian

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reading
A message about Third Grade Library…
Welcome back to CSS! Below you will finduseful information regarding the Library:
Students will visit the Library twice a week, on Thursdays and Fridays.They will check out books with their class on Thursday, and the Library will be open before school to provide additional check out time from 8:20-8:40 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings starting on September 16th. Students check out two books at a time. They can keep their books for two weeks and items can be renewed.
In Third Grade Library, students will:
-become independent users of the library by learning to use call numbers and the OPAC (Library online catalog)
-be introduced to the Oregon Battle of the Books program, and participate if they choose to do so
-learn about the different features of nonfiction text, enabling them to become better users of information
-study folktales, with an emphasis on fables
-participate in Reader’s Theater
I also want you to be aware that PPS has purchased a subscription to World Book Online for the district’s students, families, and staff. It is a fabulous resource that you can access from home. Of note for third grade students and families is the resource World Book Kids, which includes reference articles on a variety of subjects written at a second/third grade reading level. There is even a feature which will read the text aloud to students. To visit this resource, go towww.worldbookonline.com. The user ID is portpps and the password is worldbook.
My hope is that your child is excited to come to the Library, and that their love of literature and reading grows because of their experiences here. If you ever have any questions or concerns, I would be happy to discuss them with you. Please feel free to email me at mkleiner@pps.netor call me at 916-6431.
Sincerely,
Maria Kleiner
CSS Teacher Librarian

First Day of School!

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First day of school

Things are changing for you guys.  Your little kids are now big kids in the big kid hallway.  If you have younger ones I recommend that you drop off your 3rd grader first,then take your younger child to their class.  

On the first day of school I will ask you to come at the end of the day to pick up your kiddo.  They will come home with their homework journal and an assignment inside to make a plan withyou about what you are going to do after school.  You can have them stay in the class until you arrive to pick them up, they can meet you at a siblings classroom, they can meet you on the front lawn, or a personal favorite of many parents, they can run across the playground and meet you out back so you don’t have to deal with the crowd at the front of the school.  From the 2nd day on, 3rd graders will be responsible for following through with your family plan after the 3:00 bell.  

See you on Wednesday!