Chicago Wolves Game Pics

We had such a blast at the Chicago Wolves Game!    Our class would like to thank Mrs. Kurak and Mrs. Saviano for helping us to chaperone our fun event.   Enjoy the pictures from the game!

Chicago Wolves Game Field Trip on Wednesday!

This is just a reminder that we will be attending the Chicago Wolves Hockey Game at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont this Wednesday, December 19th!     Unless you pre-ordered a sack lunch last week, all students need to be sure to bring a non-perishable, disposable sack lunch and drink that they will be able to eat at the game.    (Please be sure to put the lunch in a bag that can be thrown away!).

The following students in our class pre-ordered a sack lunch and do not need to bring one to school on Wednesday:

David C.

Jeff C.

Libby D.

Jack I.

Also, the buses will be leaving Westgate for the trip at 9:30 am.   Please make sure that your child is on time for school so that they don't miss the bus!    Our class will be returning by 2:30 pm.

Get excited for our field trip on Wednesday!

Classroom Snapshot for December

Wow!   It's hard to believe that we're already well into Trimester 2!   The kids have been working so hard and are starting to get deep into the routines of being 3rd grade learners.   

We hope that you can join us at our Curriculum Snapshot this Friday, December 14th from 2:45-3:30 pm in our classrooms.   We also invite you all to our All School Holiday Sing next Friday, December 21 from 3:00-3:30 pm in the Commons.   Have a wonderful, safe, and restful Winter Break with your family and friends!   

Here's what has been happening in our class:

Literacy Time:

Over the past month, we have been working on the CAFE comprehension literacy strategies of asking and generating questions throughout our reading, voracious reading, summarizing, distinguishing between fact and opinion, and determining the author's purpose when we read.  Additionally, our class has been focusing on the reading fluency strategies of rereading text when we don't understand the meaning of what we read, adjusting and applying different reading rates to match text, and using punctuation to enhance our phrasing when we read.  

Grammar:

The students have been working with distinguishing between common and proper nouns, the rules of making a noun plural, and the rules of making a noun possessive.

During Daily 5 time, the students had fun practicing these skills with the following web pages. Click on these links to view and play the web site games at home:

• Rats! (Common Nouns)
• Plural Girls
• Irregular Plurals
• Exploring for Possessives

Writing:

Our class is nearing completion of our Personal Narrative Unit in writing.  During Writer's Express (WEX) time, our class continues to work hard learning about the important elements to include in a personal narrative. Together, our mini-lessons have been focusing on writing our paragraphs in a more logical and organized manner. In addition, we are continuing to make sure that our work focuses on a single moment in time. Our lessons have also been stressing the importance of having a logical structure that focuses on one event, utilizing strong verbs, good sensory detail, and proper sentence mechanics in our writing.  

Currently, the students have picked a final piece from all of their daily writing that they would like to perfect and enhance.   As a result, the students are typing their pieces into Googledocs. Afterwards, they will conference with me for suggestions of corrections and enhancements.  Our goal is to have our final pieces finished by break.  

Math:

The students just finished Unit 4 in math that focused on introducing multiplication and division fact strategies, using arrays to demonstrate the meaning of multiplication, working with multiplication and division word problems, determining the area of rectangular shapes, and collecting data to discuss the topic of probability and chance.

The students have been doing a spectacular job of practicing their math facts on Xtramath.org! I have certainly noticed quite a difference with quicker recall and memorization of their facts because of this practice.   I appreciate all of you parents making sure that they are practicing their facts at least 5 sessions a week.  Our goal is to have the addition and subtraction facts mastered over the next couple of months so that students can begin to memorize their multiplication and division facts.  Your student is welcome to practice their facts over Winter Break, but please know it is not a requirement.

Social Studies:

Last week our students started a new Illinois Unit.   Currently, the students have been put into Native American groups.  During this time the students are online researching and recording notes in Googledocs about a specific Native American tribe that lived in Illinois.   Afterwards, the students will be using their research to create a project that will present their informational findings to the class.

We hope that you received our invitation to view our research process at our Curriculum Snapshot Event this Friday, December 14th.   Please stop by our room anytime between 2:45-3:30 pm to watch the learning process in action!

Science:

The students are continuing to learn about the Solar System during Science time.   Throughout the past couple of weeks the students have been recording, discussing, and analyzing the moon's phases and the causes of the phases.   In addition, we have been discussing and looking at star constellations.  

A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all of our parent classroom volunteers!

We would like to thank Mrs. Birenbaum, Mr. Lemancik, Mrs. Marchetti, and Mrs. Ingemunson  for coming in to assist with our Reader's Theater groups for the month of November.  

A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Vittore and Mr. Lemancik for coming in to assist with our Box Top Pizza party last month!

I also greatly appreciate for Mrs. Marchetti, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Kurak, Mrs. Hall, and Mrs. Ingemunson for coming in to do all of our copying over the past couple of weeks. We greatly appreciate your time!

We would also like to thank Mrs. Vittore and Mrs. Hall for coming in last week for a spectacular Art Appreciation lesson about mosaics. The students had a blast making their own mosaics that will be displayed in our hallway. 

Enjoy some pictures from our Art Appreciation event:

Curriculum Snapshot this Friday!

When:  December 14^th

Time:  Stop by anytime between 2:45-3:30 pm

Place:  3^rd Grade Classrooms

     We would like to invite all parents to come and take a “glimpse” of our Illinois Unit in Social Studies.   This is an opportunity for parents to actually view the process the students takes part in when researching, recording, and developing their curriculum findings. We hope to see you there!  

Enjoy our Thanksgiving Break Pics!

 Emma enjoyed dancing with her dance team Spectrum at the Arlington Heights Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Cole celebrates Thanksgiving with a table of 36 family members!

Lucas enjoyed having a hockey tournament with his Uncle Nicholas on Thanksgiving Day at his Grandparents' house.

Kayla had fun with her family on Thanksgiving.

Snapshots of Gianni having fun over break!

Ethan and his family made a beautiful swag (door hanger).  After each Thanksgiving meal, his family has a tradition of always making a holiday art project together.  

Payton has a blast at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells!

Peyton and her family drove all the way to Texas to visit her relatives on Thanksgiving.   This is a picture of the beautiful sunset they saw in Oklahoma on their road trip down. 

Peyton and her family recovering the day after Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Hynek's family took their first ever trip to Disney World over Thanksgiving Break.  Below are some of our fun adventures at the Magic Kingdom.  

Music Concert on Tuesday December 11th!

Our winter music concert is coming soon! The date of the concert is Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Our students are excited to be performing songs about winter fun! Classes involved in the concert are: Mrs. Danley & Ms. Redmon, Mrs. Hynek, Miss Lambert, Miss LaFalce, and Mrs. Jensen. Please carefully read the concert information below, which includes concert etiquette, expectations, and volunteer opportunities. Thank you!

Student arrival time: Students should arrive at 6:45 p.m. and report to the LMC for line-up and final instructions. We need at least one parent volunteer from each class in the LMC.

Student Dress code: Students should wear a white or light blue top, and dark pants or skirts on the bottom. The stage tends to be very warm, so we would suggest that students not dress in heavy clothing.

Volunteers needed: Family members are needed to help with video taping, taking pictures, copying the programs, handing out the programs, and LMC chaperones. Please email or call Mr. Berger by Friday, December 7th if you are willing to help. Thank you!

Concert etiquette: Prior to the concert, please speak to your child about proper behavior while on stage. Remind him or her to smile, have fun, keep talking to a minimum, and to follow the director. If they can do these simple things, our concert will be great! Thank you for your help with this important area of performance readiness.

Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Mr. Berger at: gberger@sd25.org or call (847) 506-6999, ext. 7433.

Canned Food Drive

Westgate's Student Council is working with SERVPRO of Arlington Heights and the Village of Arlington Heights to collect non-perishable food items for local families in need.     If you would like to help donate to the cause, please have your child bring in any canned good and other non-perishable goods to school this week.

Thanks for your generosity of helping our community members in need!

Our Halloween Party Was a Success!

Wow! What a great time we had at our Halloween Party and Parade in Room 116 last Wednesday!

Our party certainly could not have been a success without all of our background planning and help from our parent volunteers! We would like to thank Mrs. Birenbaum and Mrs. Hickey for all of her hard work in helping to plan, organize, assemble, and execute all of the Halloween activities and stations at our party. We also appreciate Mrs. Saviano, Mrs. Marchetti, and Ms. Chicaiza for helping us out with running the games and activities.   A big thanks also goes out to Mrs. Vitorre, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Saviano, Mrs. Davenport, Mrs. Kurak, and Ms. Chicaiza for supplying the food, drinks, plates, and napkins. This event could not have gone on without all of your help and support!

Please enjoy the pictures from our event: