Welcome to the 12th month, but really our 4th month. Regardless of what number it is, it’s a big month. A crazy month. Sorry for the long post but we have A LOT coming up in December. If you’re going to read anything, please read these first three items!

1. On Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. Paul, one of our educational assistants, will be coming in to our class to present about her life when she lived in India, and the cultures and traditions she celebrates. To help connect this to our students, she has also kindly offered to draw henna hand designs on our students. This will be a temporary design and will wash off after a week or two. If you do not feel comfortable with this, or if your child does not wish to receive any henna, they can opt out.
2. We are inviting our grade 3 students to participate in sharing about a family tradition. This is connected to our Social Studies curriculum as we explore how identity is reflected in the traditions, celebrations, stories and customs that connect people to the past and to each other. Beginning Monday, December 9^th, students will have a chance to share a story and/or artifact on their assigned day that connects to a tradition that is special to their family or culture. In the past, children have shared traditions such as family game night, a traditional dance, the story behind a family ornament, baking with family members, the story of Hanukah, a special bedtime story, a photograph from a celebration, attending a special event such as the festival of lights or Nativity Pageant, an annual family trip, etc. This tradition could be holiday related, but does not need to be.Whatever tradition is special to your child and family is welcome. This is meant to be a ‘low pressure’ opportunity to speak in front of peers. Some children may choose to speak for only a couple of minutes and that is ok! Students selected a day to share this morning, and I have included the dates below. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need to switch the sharing date. We are flexible! Thank you in advance for your support at home. We are looking forward to learning more about each other and discovering the connections we have with each other.
   • Thursday, December 5: Anshuman
   • Monday, December 9: Brody, Ezra
   • Tuesday, December 10: Izzac, Noel, Tolu
   • Wednesday, December 11: Cam, Payton, Maddyn
   • Thursday, December 12: Delilah, Khadijah, Valentina
   • Friday, December 13: Dominic, Kelly, Nyrie
   • Monday, December 16: Erlis, Sofiya, Valerie
   • Tuesday, December 17: Dallas, Garner, Joanna
   • Wednesday, December 18: Jeremy, Kari, Sheynn
3. We are collecting recyclable/reusable materials for an upcoming science project. If you have any of the following items, or anything similar, please send them to school by Monday, December 9^th: cardboard tubes, cardboard boxes (various sizes), tin cans, glass bottles (with labels peeled off if possible), plastic bottles, balloons, plastic/metal lids, elastic bands, string, yarn, etc.

Important Dates

Thursday, December 12 – Crazy Sweater Day and Fun Lunch

Friday, December 13 – Carol Singing (11:15-12:00)

Monday, December 16 – Choir Tech Rehearsal (1:15-2:30)

Wednesday, December 18 – Choir Presentation (morning & afterschool)

Thursday, December 19 – Class Winter Break Party (am)

Thursday, December 19 – Last Day of School before Winter Break (12:15 dismissal)

Tuesday, January 7 - Classes resume

Curricular Information

Language Arts

We are having a quick read of “Sideways Stories from Wayside School” and will finish it prior to winter break. This book is a classic, with 30 stories about the wacky kids from Wayside School. We will also be working on persuasive paragraph writing throughout December. Our first paragraph was convincing our parents we deserve a new pet! Good luck saying no to these arguments!

Math

We have finished up our Data Analysis unit and we began our unit on Patterns yesterday. This unit will have students learning about increasing, decreasing, and repeating patterns, using both shapes and numbers. This will also be the unit where we practice skip counting, which will come in handy when we begin multiplication and division in the new year. Please have your child continue to practice their addition and subtraction basic facts at home, as well as skip counting. Since it is a new month, we will be having our December Fact Frenzy in the next few days.

Science

We have started a new science unit on Hearing and Sound, and had a delightful time at Studio Bell, playing with instruments and learning about pitch and timbre. We also had the chance to make some instruments at Studio Bell, and will make more at school. Students will be learning about elements of sound, as well as how our ear works in conjunction with the brain to make sound. I have shared many links, resources and videos for reference and support on the Science Resources page.

Social Studies

We are nearly complete our study of India, and will be finishing by having a visit from Mrs. Paul, writing a post card from India, and learning about the sport of cricket. Our next country of study will be Peru. Please take a minute to explore some of the links, information and resources on the Social Studies page for both India and Peru.

Have a great week and as always, please let me know if you have any questions.