October 1, 2007

Dear 3^rd Grade Parents,

It feels so great to be in school working with your children. We have a great group of excited learners and we all look forward to a wonderful 3^rd grade experience. We will be having Drama each Thursday from 9:30-10:30 until Dec. Break. I will be discontinuing a signature for giving your child a spelling test Thurs. evening. I would still encourage you to still do so and copy and say any words they missed.(PLEASE E-MAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU GOT IT VIA E-MAIL and if you prefer a hard copy (deremeri@issaquah.wednet.edu)

Upcoming Ev ents:

October 2^nd Art with Pam Savore

October 3^rd Student Council Permission slips due

October 4^th Pictures day if not taken before school started

October 4^th Gift Wrap sales ends

October 4^th Speeches and Elections for Student Council

October 5^th Special Presentation for Salmon Field Trip

October 6^th -7^th Salmon Days in downtown Issaquah (check for salmon)

October 8^th Extra Curricular Costs for Fall/Winter due- $38.25 October 19^th Salmon Field Trip to Cavanaugh Pond – (9:00 parents arrive)

October 19^th PTSA Math Game Night

October 22^nd Story boards due for 1^st Book Celebration ( Oral Presentation list at the end of this newsletter)

October 22^nd Bring in flattened leaves for poetry frame

October 24^th – 31^st Secret Pumpkin Pals – They will draw names on the 23rd

October 24^th Salmon Prints and Salmon Dissection with Kate Poaster

October 25^th Salmon dissection with Kate Poaster

October 26^th First class auction,

October 31^st Halloween Party 9:15-10:30

• Let me know if your child would like to attend Homework Club. It is every Wednesday before school at 8:00-9:00. Students can work on Wed. homework, get assistance on math concepts and play math games to reinforce skills taught in Everyday Math.
• What we have been doing…

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Reading/Science:

We just completed reading the story Muggie Maggie and the students have just completed a storyboard similar to the Book Celebration that is due October 23^rd. In our reading series we will be reading a variety of stories dealing with the theme of journeys. We will also be reading short stories about salmon. The stories tie in nicely with our salmon studies since the children are learning about the wondrous journey involved in the cycle of a salmon’s life. One such story is Come Back Salmon, a story about elementary students who returned the salmon to Jackson Creek. Another is Sockeye’s Journey Home a story about a pacific salmon’s journey through the Columbia River, Lake Washington, Lake Union, and into the Pacific Ocean and back. The students are currently learning about the stages of the salmon’s life cycle and the parts of a salmon. We will also be learning how people, the region, and their habitat affect their survival. We started this unit with the water cycle and watersheds.

Salmon Days: The Issaquah Salmon Days Festival celebrates the annual return of the salmon to our streams and downtown hatchery. If your child goes to this event, please have him/her bring something back (flyer is fine) from it, and he/she will receive extra credit in science effort

Special Events:

We have three wonderful events planned to supplement our studies in the classroom. Kate Poaster, a local science specialist, will visit each 3^rd grade classroom performing a salmon dissection. She will dissect a salmon from the Issaquah Hatchery, explaining all of the main parts of a mature salmon.

Our second event is a presentation and field trip organized by the Seattle Aquarium. A science docent from the Seattle Aquarium will come to Cascade Ridge to share a slideshow about salmon, their life cycle and our region on Oct 5^th.

This presentation will serve as an introduction to our third event, a field trip to Cavanaugh Pond/Cedar River in Renton on October 19^th. On this field trip we will observe salmon in their natural habitat during their spawning stage. This is a wonderful field trip to attend. The students will need to bring a lunch on this day. We will return to Cascade Ridge around 12:30 p.m. and eat lunch in our classroom. Parent chaperones will need to be at school by 9:00 a.m. so that we may load the bus by 9:15. Everyone has brought back his or her permission slip.

If you are a chaperone for the salmon field trip on Oct. 19^th, you will be receiving the names of the students you will be responsible for and things you might want to remind your group about in your child’s BPC this Friday.

Book Celebrations/Reports:

The students will be preparing a practice presentation for homework this Wednesday. The purpose of this homework assignment is to give the students practice with oral presentations in order to prepare them for their Book Celebration presentations. The practice presentations will not be graded.

Our first Reading Celebration is due Monday, October 22^nd. A packet was sent home last week explaining in greater detail what the expectation is for the Storyboard/Presentation. The students completed a Storyboard in class based on the book Muggie Maggie. This should give them the foundation necessary to turn in an exemplary project that they can be proud of. They will be required to share an oral presentation as well as the project they created.

The students should be finishing their chapter books, so that they are able to put the appropriate time and effort into this project. The students had free choice on a topic for their chapter book this month, but if you are looking ahead to the month of November, students will be required to read a mystery chapter book for their oral report. Please try to find one that is within their STAR reading range that was sent home. If they choose an A.R. book, they can take a comprehension test on the computer. You can find a list of AR books on our school website under library.

Math:

Starting this week, the students’ math homework will usually be 2-sided. On the back side of the HomeLink sheet will be computation or problem solving. (This week is just attached). Also this week, we’ll be finishing Everyday Math unit 1 and taking an assessment. The Unit 2 letter was included in the paperwork you received on Curriculum Night.

I have added the Everyday Math web links (including math games and the Student Reference Book) to our classroom website for easy access. Go to the district website, Ms. DeRemer, Kids websites, student login. From there you need to type in my complete name (Ilene DeRemer) and your child needs to type in their complete name. They put in the code that was sent home and they should be in. We have been accessing this site during computer centers in the classroom, playing on line games. I will show them how to access the site from home in the computer lab on Wed. A good at home idea would be to open our class website and add it to your favorites.

Journal Writing/Writer’s Workshop/Centers:

We are using the writing process with the focus on the six traits of good writing. Currently our emphasis is on conventions, self-editing and word choice. We will also be writing poetry throughout the year. In the weeks to come, students are going to make frames using dried leaves, acorns, pinecones, berries, and other fall foliage. I need your help collecting enough items to cover an 8” by 10” frame for your child. Please collect items no larger than the leaves on this page. When you collect leaves, put them in a magazine or book so they will dry flat. The more you can send, the better the selection will be for designing a border for your child’s frames. Please send the items to school by October 22^nd . Thanks in advance for your help with this project.

Sample Size of Leaves:

Secret Pumpkin Time:

What is a secret pumpkin? Beginning on Wednesday, October 24th, each student in our class will draw names and be a secret pal to another student in the class. Each day secret pals are to bring a short letter of kindness that will build self-esteem and foster friendships. This is a secret so try to encourage creative ways to accomplish this task. The goal is to have fun while developing appreciation for fellow students. Their hidden identities will be revealed the day of our Halloween party. Our Halloween party will take place on Wednesday, October 31^{st and} can wear their Halloween Costumes.

Our First Auction:

Our first class auction will be Wed. Oct. 31^st in the afternoon. The students have been working hard earning classroom stars, which convert into classroom money on Friday. They then deposit their money into their checking accounts and are responsible for keeping their balance. They certainly are looking forward to spending this much earned money. If you have something you would like to donate to the auction, please send it in with your child or bring it in before or after school. Toys, candy, games, puzzles, color by number, gift cards, and baked goods are always a big hit. I have also purchased items for the auctions. All donations are appreciated.

Computer Lab:

On Wed. morning you can find us in the computer lab from 10:00-10:40 John Hsia will help out in the lab. Just a few of the topics we will start the year off with are keyboarding skills, word processing, and salmon researching. PLEASE SEND IN A HEADPHONE TO USE DURING COMPUTER LAB if you haven’t already.

Student Council:

If your child would like to run for Student Council Representative, the form must be turned in by October 4^th. Elections will be held October 5^th. Your child will need to give a speech on why they would make a good Student Council Representative and strengths that they would bring to the position. Note cards encouraged.

Eager Reader:

Cascade Ridge’s Eager Reader Program will be beginning soon. It is a reading program encouraging students to log their reading minutes and set monthly goals for reading. Prizes can be earned for reaching grade level goals. Your child is already keeping track of reading minutes through our Coyote Reader program, so keeping track of Eager Reader minutes will be very easy. Information will be coming home from the Eager Reader Committee explaining the program in more detail. Our representative is Linda Yee.

Halloween Party:

Our Halloween party is approaching on Oct. 31^st from 9:15-10:30. If you would like to help, please e-mail our party coordinators Patty Pelkola (pattypelkola@comcast.net) or Tina Sypher(jtsypher@comcast.net).

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter, as it contains important information about our upcoming month. If you have any questions, please contact me at 837-5555 or deremeri@issaquah.wednet.edu

Sincerely,

Ilene DeRemer

3^rd Grade

Extra Curricular Costs

For Fall/Winter 2007

Dear Parents,

We have five special activities/events we need to collect money for at this time:

Costs are as follows:

Oct. 12^th Salmon Field Lab-Field Trip $10.00 Students will see wild sockeye salmon spawners, investigate salmon in their natural habitat and learn how we share the river with the fish through a guided exploration of Cavanaugh Pond in Renton.

Oct. 25^th Salmon Dissection with Kate Poaster $3.75

Kate Poaster is a local scientist who will conduct lessons with our students throughout the year. Our first lesson with Kate is a Salmon Dissection presentation. Kate will teach the students about the different parts of a salmon as they observe the various organs and attributes of the fish. Students will also be able to make fish prints with the salmon.

Nov. 19^th & 20^th Ronn Wilson Presentation $12.00

Ronn Wilson of ‘CEDAR and SALMON’ will conduct a two-day workshop at our school. Students will participate and be involved with Native American arts and crafts, story-telling, history, dance, customs and traditions during this workshop. They will also silkscreen t-shirts.

Oct. 2^nd, Nov. 15^th, Jan 29^th Art Lessons w/Pam Svore $9.00

Pam Svore is a local artist who teaches art classes to students in the Issaquah School District. She will work with the 3^rd grade teaching students how to develop their drawing skills and how to use watercolor and oil pastels mediums.

Jan. 10^th Eye and Light Lab $3.50

Kate Poaster will supplement our science unit on light with a lab designed for students to explore what light is through hands on activities and experiments. The activities in the lab will show how light travels and how light affects our environment among other things.

TOTAL COST: $38.25

We are asking for the above amount to be paid in full by Monday, Oct. 8^th. Please do not send cash. Your check should be made out to Cascade Ridge. If a scholarship is needed please let us know.

Thank you for your support, The third grade teachers