Final Newsletter of the Year

Dear Families,

This is always a bitter-sweet time of year. I am looking forward to resting my ankle and seeing my family, but I will miss working with your students. I am sending home a folder on Thursday, May 25th, with letters for your student. They are written by their peers, highlighting admiral traits and examples of when your student demonstrated these characteristics. They are very sweet and range from humorous to tear-jerking. Out of the mouths of babes...  I ask the class to set them aside and read one from time to time, on a rainy day, or if they are having a hard day, to remember how wonderful and how loved they are. I hope you might enjoy reading them as well and hearing what you already know, but in other people's words. Your students truly are unique and wonderful. I also give the students a letter and I encourage them to keep in touch. I hope to hear from them this summer. I'm including a copy of my letter below. 

We will have a fun Friday morning. Please note it is an early release and students will be dismissed following our clap out at 1:00. Students will not need backpacks on Friday. Our class parties will take place at 10:00. Thank you in advance to all of the families for planning and donating to this end of year celebration. Please see Mrs. Nolan's detailed parent email from last Friday for important end of year information. 

I hope you have a wonderful, adventure filled summer. It has been a pleasure serving your student and you this year. 

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Dear Friend,

       It seems like it was just last week that I was welcoming you to third grade and we are now saying our summer goodbyes. Your third grade year is finished, but I hope you will carry much of what we learned for many years to come. Of course, I mean the reading, writing, mathematics and science, but more importantly, being kind and being part of a community, something bigger than ourselves as individuals.

       As a fraction of your life, this summer will be the fastest summer you’ve had. (It always comes back to math doesn’t it?) Make the most of it! Read a lot. Then read some more. Choose rainy day books, tree house books, vacation and pool books, and lie on your lawn and read under the sky books. Make a plan to read a specific number of pates each day. Read different genres. Try books on science and other cultures. Soak up as much as you can, especially great vocabulary words. Terrific words will never let you down.     

       When you aren’t reading, I hope you’ll fill your time outside, even on rainy days. Climb trees and crawl through the bushes. Swim in pools and, even better, lakes and streams. Splash in puddles and chase fireflies. Take someone on a hike or even on a walk around the block. Stay up late and watch the full moon. Get up early and watch the sun rise. Camp in the woods or your back yard. Turn off the TV and the computer. (You knew that was coming.) Play music: ukuleles, guitars, banjos, pots and pans. Sing and dance. Play board games. Make up your own games. You will never have this summer again. Make the most of it.

       Write me a note or a postcard and I’ll write you back. Let me know what you are reading and exploring. I’ll share too. I’m already looking forward to staying up late and playing music with my friends. Then I’ll grab another book from my summer stack .

       I’ll never forget this year. You have grown so much, as a student and as a friend. I have learned so much about you (and about myself ad I have tried to be the best teacher I could for you). I will remember the break through moments in your learning as well as the sing-alongs, film canister rockets, poetry and the wonder of watching a young person eager to learn. Keep learning. I will close with a few of my favorite quotes from Wonder, by R.J. Palacio.

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”

With great admiration and optimism for your future endeavors,

Mr. Hudson

2240 Pinebrook Rd

Upper Arlington, OH

43220

Newsletter for May 12, 2017

Important Dates & Reminders

I will highlight changes and new dates in red.

A Days: No specials (Science, Social Studies, Technology rotation)

B Days: Music and PE

C Days: Art

D Days: Library

E Days: Music and PE

May 18 - Device collection - Students should bring their device with the protective case on, keyboard, charging "brick," and power chord. CORRECTION - The most recent information I have received indicates you DO need to return your carrying case. If this is wrong, I will simply have your student take their carrying case home. Devices will be inspected and fines may be assessed if there are damages. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or concerns.

May 22 - Field Day, Please apply sunscreen before your student arrives at school and feel free to send students with water bottles, old athletic shoes that can get wet, and swimsuits under their clothing. This will be a fun, but hot day. Please click on the following link to volunteer for one of our sessions: AM 8:30-11:05 or PM 11:30-2:30.
  

May 26 - Town Hall Meeting 8:25am

May 26 - Last Day for Students; End of third trimester     

May 26 - Early Dismissal 1pm  

Newsletter for May 5, 2017

What We Learned This Week

Word Study
The current units of study are complex, introducing multiple word features, so I have extended these units and have broken them down into smaller lessons to focus on individual features. 

We are also continuing to work on our cursive. We have learned lower-case i, u, w, t and j as they all build off of the i shape. 

Reading Workshop
I assessed all of our students using the Developmental Reading Assessment. This is a fantastic diagnostic assessment that looks at engagement, fluency, and comprehension. I will include your student's results in their final progress report. I am very pleased with the results. Students have made a lot of meaningful growth. 

The greatest challenge, as we head into summer reading, is exposing students to a wide variety of genres and getting them to explore books beyond their familiarity, while ensuring they are reading just right books, which may seem easy to them, but are ideal for independent reading (without help). Students tend to find a series or genre and stick with it, but just like having a diverse and healthy diet, I try to get students to read different genres. 

Writing Workshop
Students are continuing to write letters to each other. This has been a great authentic writing exercise. With a meaningful audience, I'm seeing students produce more and they are writing some very insightful and heartwarming letters. 

We continue to celebrate what we are grateful for each day in our Gratitude Notebooks. I have seen students develop more awareness of kind acts, both given and received. 

We are continuing with our play writing for reader's theater. The biggest challenges are balancing the speaking roles (including the narrator) and relying on our voices and lines, rather than props and acting. This is a very challenging project, but they are doing a fine job. Students are also learning how to work together and how to divide a project into smaller, achievable goals.

Math Workshop
I am revisiting fractions as they are the most challenging math concept we learn in third grade. We are using fractions to solve story problems (e.g., 2/3 of 24 students have freckles. How many students have freckles?), adding and subtracting fractions with common denominators. The entry point for any fraction problem is the denominator as it tells us how many equal groups our whole is shared into. We will continue with fractions for the remainder of the year. 

I cannot stress the importance of mastering fact fluency enough in preparing for fourth grade. It will really make a world of difference and I strongly recommend mastering them over the summer if your student is not achieving in all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

ScienceStudents continued sharing what they observed and learned from our year-long Tree Trek using Book Creator, an app on their iPads. 

We are also coming to the end of our design challenge with our fifth grade friends. Student groups will be randomly drawn over the next three meetings to try their marble runs. The group that uses all of their materials, keeps them all on the table and has the slowest time will get to do the ice bucket challenge on the teachers - very motivating. 

Important Dates & Reminders

I will highlight changes and new dates in red.

A Days: No specials (Science, Social Studies, Technology rotation)

B Days: Music and PE

C Days: Art

D Days: Library

E Days: Music and PE

Mrs. Hemelgarn led our Lunch Lady Day celebrations at Windermere by serenading Francie. 

May 9th through 11th - students will eat in the classroom due to the 5th grade musical.
May 15 - 19 Diagnostic Writing Assessment

May 18 - Device collection - Students should bring their device with the protective case on, keyboard, charging "brick," and power chord. You do not need to return your carrying case. Devices will be inspected and fines may be assessed if there are damages. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or concerns.

May 22 - Field Day, Please apply sunscreen before your student arrives at school and feel free to send students with water bottles, old athletic shoes that can get wet, and swimsuits under their clothing. This will be a fun, but hot day. Please click on the following link to volunteer for one of our sessions: AM 8:30-11:05 or PM 11:30-2:30.
  

May 26 - Town Hall Meeting 8:25am

May 26 - Last Day for Students; End of third trimester     
May 26 - Early Dismissal 1pm