Fall Fun(d) Fest

Hi everyone! Just in case the note I sent home today (Friday) does not make it home, here is the exact note again! Please know that it is not required to donate, but all donations are appreciated. Fun(d) Fest brings in a lot of money for our school for supplies and items we may not otherwise be able to purchase. Thank you in advance for your generosity. I do not mind shopping, so please feel free to send a monetary donation if you don't want to brave the stores! You can check the sign up sheet outside the door anytime, and if you have any questions please let me know! 

Fall Fun(d) Fest

Silent Auction Basket

3^rd grade will be putting together a Fall Harvest Basket for the Fun(d) Fest this year. I am looking for donations for our basket. The theme is fall harvest, so anything that has to do with Thanksgiving or the fall season will be great. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated!

Examples: decorative cloth napkins, placemats, napkin rings, harvest decorations, pot holders, seasonal coffee, wine, cookbook, candles, meats, cheeses, Hugo’s gift cards, etc.

If you do not want to do any shopping, but would still like to donate, I will take monetary donations. With these donations, I will purchase any other items not donated that we would like to add to the basket.

I will put a sign up sheet outside my classroom door. If you would like to sign up for a certain item, please do so. You can e-mail me your preference as well at jenny.steele@sendit.nodak.edu, and I will add it to the list. This will help us get a variety of items.

Items and monetary donations can be brought to the classroom on or before October 5^th.

Thank you in advance for your help and generosity!

Mrs. Steele 

Parachutes!

We are beginning our science chapter of Technology and the Design Process. To introduce the chapter we did an experiment in design and teamwork yesterday. I put the class into groups of 2 or 3. Each group was given string, a plastic bag, paper, aluminum foil, a metal washer, a ruler and tape. From their materials I told them to design a parachute. Once they completed their designs, they had to test it by dropping it from a height of 2 meters. Another member of the group timed the drop with a stopwatch. They each did 3 trials on parachute #1 and then had to start the whole process over to see if they could make one that took longer to fall to the ground. 

First of all, they did an awesome job! Second of all, I think they had a great time doing it! I saw some pretty neat designs and a lot of groups really learned by trial and error what type of material worked the best and which did not. They also learned how to correctly time the falling parachute. They kept track of their trials in a result chart and had to draw a diagram of their parachute. Feel free to ask your child about the materials they used and how their two parachutes were different. 

Here are quite a few pictures to document our fun science morning. 

Mass

Thank you to everyone who made it to our 3rd grade Mass last Thursday. The class did an awesome job for their first one as 3rd graders. Our next two Masses will be on October 25th and December 6th. We hope you can join us for those ones as well.

Remember that the 2nd Tuesday of every month will be Rosary in the church. Your child may bring his or her own rosary on those days. Another reminder that Fridays will all be regular uniform days unless you get a notice from the office or it is written in your child's planner.

Planners are a great way for you to check for what your child did in our classroom for the day. You will see all the subjects we completed for the day. I do not need you to initial or sign the planners, but I would like you to get into the habit of checking them. I will have them write any changes to upcoming days and any other notices that come from the office in the blank section at the far right of their planner. As you have noticed their spelling list is listed in their as well. Please be sure to have your child study the words for each Friday's test. Homework for each day should be starred as well. If you have any questions about the planners, please let me know.


The St. Michael's Bridge Builders Breakfast will be this Sunday. The children's Mass will be at 10:30am. Please make sure your child wears Mass uniform (black pants and red shirt). I hope you can all make it.

I unfortunately will not be there on Sunday. I am an officer in the St. Mary's Altar Society and we have our annual fall dinner that day. I get to be in the kitchen there all day! If you really don't want to cook at all on Sunday, head to the St. Mike's breakfast and then come to the St. Mary's dinner later. We'll be serving until 2:30pm! Have a great week everyone!

Uniforms and more...

A few reminders and updates:

Thursday- Mass uniform required, red shirt, black bottoms
Friday- this week will be Spirit Day for Potato Bowl. Your child may wear any UND apparel or any other team sport items they would like. Hats/caps are also allowed this Friday, however if they become a distraction in the classroom, I will ask them to keep it in their backpack. 
Wednesday Sept. 12- 3rd grade's first Mass of the year!  Please join us if you are available. 
First Friday of every month- Father Pfeifer will be having reconciliation for 3rd graders every 1st Friday of the month. The second Friday of the month we will pray the Rosary in the church. Father will also do reconciliation for 4th and 5th graders on the other Fridays. 

We will be having our 1st math test of the year tomorrow. We reviewed a lot of the place value problems in class today and I am hoping they all feel confident. 

While we are still getting used to being back at school and being responsible for our own things, please help your child remember to bring homework, folders and planners to school everyday. As we move on through the year, I will remind them less and I ask you to do the same. I want them to be responsible for their own belongings and homework. 

We had a class visitor today....Levi's frog! All of the class got the chance to see or hold the frog. It was a fun way to start our afternoon. We used up all the paper towels in our room with all of our hand washing! 

I hope the start of the year has been great for you all. As always if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail, write a note, or call. I am enjoying getting to know all of these wonderful students.