It's beginning to look a lot like......

Last week, our parent volunteers helped students leave their mark on our class tree. After the handprints were dry, I assembled the tree, added lights, and surprised them with personalized snowflakes ornaments hanging from the lights. Students get to start their day with a beautifully "hand" made lit tree!

Adding to the festive decorations is a shining compass rose on the ceiling. We continue to work on Cardinal (N, S, W, E) and Intermediate (NW, SW, NE, SE) directions. The snow flakes and shimmer just make it more fun!

Writing through the seasons!

In science we are learning about the weather and in writing we are writing about it and the seasons with poetry! Our first poem style was the cinquain. After brainstorming nouns, adjectives, and gerunds for each season students wrote about Fall. The class then honed their keyboarding and collaborating skills on the Chromebooks when they typed up their poems and shared them via GoogleDocs with me. Finally, students took their publication to the illustration stage. We used leaf shapes and colored pastel chalk to add beauty to our poems!

As you can see, together their poems make an impressive and beautiful display!

Our next poetry style was acrostic. Students wrote acrostic poems for Winter. Look for pictures soon!
Currently, students are in the process of creating diamante antonym poems with the seasons as their topic. Students brainstormed word banks for related nouns, adjectives, and verbs (not just gerunds). Many students have already taken their first diamante poems to the publishing stage. By next week, all students should have them in the illustration stage. We will illustrate with winter themed shapes and colored chalk pastels.

Math decorations-learning is fun!

Third grade has had a lot of fun decorating with their math knowledge! Students used poinsettia shapes to show off some of the ways they can demonstrate their understanding of multiplication. Ways used included: simple multiplication equation, arrays, groups of, repeated addition, addition tapes, and number bonds. They make a beautiful addition to our pillars of success vine! Two classes chose to use the poinsettias and one chose to use holly leaves-what a cheery way to show math knowledge!

Math Happenings......

Students worked in pairs to show groups of as part of our multiplication learning.

What a fun way to work on math and get ready for the holiday season!

It has been a tremendously busy two months. Each day goes by so quickly with so much to learn and do. Before conferences students went through the writing, editing, rewriting, and publishing process when they wrote about their families. The difference in the before and after writings were amazing-many students surprised themselves. These will head home soon!

Upcoming events...

Crater Fun Run!

Thursday October 9th our class will run/walk/skip at 1:40. Our class color is BLUE! Come cheer your child, join in the run, or see if volunteers are needed to make this blockbuster event "run" smoother. 

http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/antoniacrater/crater-fun-run

Field Trip!

November 4th is our field trip to Franz Bakery. We can take several parent volunteers. Look for information coming home soon.

Volunteers in the Classroom

Volunteers are always appreciated and can be a great help. Opportunities include behind the scenes work and working with students one-on-one. Email me or call to reserve your time.

Thank you for entrusting me with your children. I am just loving learning alongside them.

          Welcome to October!

September flew by quite fast! On to October and many exciting events.

Speaking of time flying...we continue to work on telling time skills. Students continue to work on telling digital and analog time. We are also building skills in telling how much time has passed between activities or until the next activity. This is a great skill to build at home. Last week’s homework included a T.V. Guide worksheet and keeping a log similar to this at home will help students become more aware of how time is kept and practice in tracking its passage. In reading we’ve left Boom Town behind and moved on to imagining what it would be like If You Made a Million. This continues to tie into our work in math building on addition/subtraction skills and fluency with money terms and amounts. Have your child practice adding amounts by keeping track of purchases while shopping or practice naming the coins or practice fluency by counting your pocket change. The more experience with counting money, the more fluent your child will become adding and subtracting it.

We have had the opportunity to try out the new Chromebook mobile lab. Most students were able to sign on and start work on All the Right Type. Your child’s experience with this program and with MobyMax will be enhanced by being able to hear the sound effects. Our three classroom computers have their own headphones, but we do not have any for the Chromebooks. Students may bring earbuds or small headphones (I got mine from the Dollar Tree) to use with our computers. This would be a great way to avoid head lice-this is not required, but I do recommend it. Students may practice keyboarding at home, but a parent should be with them to make sure they are using the correct fingering.

Coming up:

Fun Run: October 9th. The third grade is scheduled from 1:50-2:10.
No School: October 10th, State In-service day.

Book order: Our September book order will be here anytime. The Scholastic Book club flyer for October will be coming home soon and the last day to order is October 17th.

Volunteer opportunities are available, let me know if you are interested in helping out.

Have a wonderful month!

Mrs. Soumokil

soumokilm@newberg.k12.or.us

wherewearewildabout3rdgrade.blogspot.com

Heading into week 3....

Here we are at the beginning of week three already. Students have had a practice partial week of homework and last week had their first full week of actual homework. Just like I outlined in my welcome letter homework will mostly consist of reading every night for at least 15 minutes, practicing math facts, studying the weekly spelling list, a math page for the week, and a reading page for the week.

In the classroom, students are busy learning and growing as community members. This is a brief outline of what we are doing in the different subjects:
Math: Addition facts fluency, reviewing money, time, and place value. We are working towards rounding to the nearest 10.
Reading: Finishing up Boomtown and moving on to the next unit. The overarching theme is money which also ties into our work in math.
Language Arts: Grammar work includes nouns, pronouns, and verbs. We are enjoying School House Rocks! videos to help us keep in tune with our learning. Spelling work is focused on the "h" brothers (th, sh, wh, ch). We are also studying text features and how they can help us in our reading.
Social Studies: Communities is our theme. We have focused on what it means to be a Safe, Respectful, and Responsible member of the Crater Community. We will move into our larger community for our studies, but will continue to revisit our role as Crater Community members.

How can you support your child's growth at home? Have your child study their math facts fluency, sign them up for a free account at Xtra Math (https://xtramath.org/) for practice, read with your child and ask him or her to give you a quick retell of what you both read, have your child identify text features to you, play School House Rocks! Grammar videos (YouTube), and practice those spelling words in fun ways (look at the ideas sent home in their Homework folder).

The first Scholastic Book order went home last week. The last day to send in money for this one is September 23rd. Remember this is voluntary and not required.

Most of all, I am thoroughly enjoying your children! Every day ends with a smile and each and every one of my students are responsible for putting that smile on my face.

Here's a peek at our first day of school. 

This first picture is the poster on our classroom door. It is an adaptation of a saying that is currently burning up the internet with its use-popular, but also speaks volumes about how to empower a child. I added in some ideas from my students.

 This second picture is our "We Are" poster. Each student wrote what they are, or wanted to be, on a Post-It note. Everyone has a voice and everyone's identity is important. I also want to help expand how they see themselves. Between the door poster and their "We Are" poster, I want them to see that they can be and are everything!

 Math time gave us a chance to chart out how each of them got home. Some great observations were made. Included in the picture were: "Most students go home by bus," "The number of people to get picked up plus the number of people who walk or ride their bike is about the same as the number of students who ride the bus!" and "Nobody goes to C.A.R.E.!" We had an opportunity to discuss puns when one of the students said, "You mean nobody C.A.R.E.s?" I think this will be a very pun-ny year!

This fourth picture was the result of a Lego listening activity. Yes, a Lego listening activity! Each student was given a bag with 6 Legos in it. I built a shape out of 4 of the 6 and hid it in the box. As I described my creation, the students had to make the same creation as I described it. This gave us the opportunity to do a little language building as well when some words needed defining-like base. The students were challenged to help define these words and I think some very kid friendly definitions were created. After this mostly successful lesson, we moved to describing what a good listener is/has/does and then what a good speaker is/has/does. This is a very perceptive class!

One of the most important things we did today was to clarify why students are assessed. This will not be the last time this is covered. I believe that it is imperative that students know the why behind testing in order to de-scarify the process. Many reasons were suggested and after discussion the big answer was:
So the teacher knows what to teach and knows if what I think I taught, is what they learned.

Much more happened today. There are so many routines to put into place and important information to share. Don't forget to ask your child what happened at school today. See the page link (How was their day?) above for ideas on how to get your child to share his or her day at school.

Welcome to 3rd Grade!

Where we are wild about learning~Let the learning rumpus begin!

3rd grade is a year full of transitions. Students take on more responsibility for taking care of, and organizing, their materials and time. Students will show growth and maturity as they leave the primary grades and enter the intermediate grades. It is exciting to be a part of these changes.

Home/School folder

Your child will take this folder to and from school and home daily. This is where you will find homework and handouts from the school and community. Please take a minute and check it each day. Hopefully, this will prevent the dreaded pile of papers in the bottom of the backpack.

Birthdays

I do several things in the classroom to make birthdays special. Due to a variety of allergies: nuts, gluten, red dye, etc. please do not send birthday food treats to school. If you really want to send something, consider pencils, bookmarks, or stickers.

Snacks

Students may bring a quick and healthy snack to eat during our morning/afternoon break. Ideas: grapes, banana, carrots, crackers, cheese sticks, apple slices.

Water Bottles

Standing in line at the drinking fountain can waste a lot of time. I encourage students to bring a water bottle to school. They should take the bottle home on Fridays to wash.

Homework

Your child works hard at school. I believe that children should have time to enjoy being a child, exercise, play, help with chores, and spend time with family. Newberg’s policy is that 3rd graders should have 30 minutes of homework a night. If something is frustrating or taking longer, please write a note on the homework page.

Homework goes home on the first day of the week and is due on the last day of the week. This allows flexibility on busy school nights. For example, if a student knows that Wednesday is a busy night then more can be done on Tuesday and/or Thursday night. Remember that Homework is the student’s responsibility-he or she may try to convince you otherwise. Here are some strategies to help the process:

• Initial Homework everyday
• Have a set Homework time
• Have a place for keeping Homework and a system for making sure it is returned on Friday (keeping it in the Home/School folder may be helpful)

At the start of the year, homework will mostly consist of reading, spelling, and practicing math facts.

I look forward to an exciting year full of learning with your child!

Maureen Soumokil

soumokilm@newberg.k12.or.us

wherewearewildabout3rdgrade.blogspot.com

Contact Information

My email: soumokilm@newberg.k12.or.us

Antonia Crater Office - 503 554-4650

A little about me....

Welcome!
Let me introduce myself......
     I am Maureen Soumokil and this will be my 14th year as an employee with the Newberg School District. I was also a classroom volunteer for a few years before I came to work for the school district. I started as a kindergarten classroom education assistant at Mabel Rush then moved to working as a Title One Reading assistant for a few years. My longest and final stint serving students as an education assistant was with the Learning Resource Center, also at Mabel Rush.
     In 2008 I realized that I loved serving students and liked who I was around them, so I went back to school and graduated with my BSEd in January of 2012. I had the privilege to do my final full-time student teaching with Mischelle Rierson who is part of our grade level teaching team here at Crater. I am currently pursuing my master's degree from George Fox University with endorsements in Reading and ESOL.
     While working on my BSEd and after graduating, I continued working as an education assistant part-time and substituted as a teacher half-days. Last year I had the privilege to be part of the ELL teaching team at Mabel Rush with the teacher I started my education assistant career. This year I am excited to have my own classroom!
     I have also served at various levels for the Mabel Rush parent group while my daughters were attending school there. From parent classroom volunteer,  as education assistant, as parent group co-president and volunteer coordinator, and as a teacher I have had the privilege to see public education and how it can serve our children from many perspectives.
     I am excited to get to know each of my students and start this year's learning journey! I believe that every child can achieve. Learning is a life-long journey and what we can achieve is a matter of having a Learner or Growth Mindset and asking the right questions. I look forward to question asking and learning alongside my class.