Newsletter
05-21-11
If you would like to view some pictures from our trip to the NW Historical Village, please go to Miss Haley's Classroom Chatter and click on pictures. Between the two of us, she is the computer wizard. I hope to be able to download my own pictures by the next century!
The class did a great job reciting their own poems for Poetry and Snaps. They are a talented bunch of kids! I am very proud of how they have advanced this year. They are truly almost ready for 4th grade!
I could certainly use your help at this time of the school year. We have almost 2 full weeks left and we still have a lot of material to cover. I do not ever let the class think that they can slack off the last 2 weeks of school. Your encouragement in keeping your children focused is really appreciated. Have a great weekend. It has been so nice today to be able to get outside and get some yard work done!
05-12-11
I'd like to give a few reminders about next week. Wednesday is our Field Trip to the NW Historical Village. The students are to dress in uniform. I suggest sending a jacket in case it's chilly, especially in the morning. We go in and out of the buildings. Please pack a lunch for your child. If it's nice we will eat there at their picnic tables. If not, we will come back to school and eat in the classroom. If you are chaperoning, just meet us there around 9:30 with your $3.00. It is located right in downtown Hilliard, next to the Franklin County Fairgrounds. Thanks!
Thursday from 1:15 to 2:15 is our Poetry and Snaps. This is where your children will be reciting original poetry to you and the rest of the class. It is held in our classroom and you are welcome to attend. Please remember that we cannot allow siblings from the school building to attend. We hope to see you there!
Thank you to all my wonderful students for your gift of books! Michener has always been a favorite of mine and I can't wait to dig in! I hope my love of reading has rubbed off on my class at least a little!
Have a good weekend! Mrs. Shipley
05-05-11
Miss Lang would like us to pass on some important information about Monday, May 9th. Due to a funeral at the church, the times for Monday have changed. The VIP Assembly is now at 10:30, the May Crowning is now at 11:30, and you must return your child to school by 1:30. Thanks for following this new schedule.
Your child may have come home today and told you the Religion test is now on Tuesday. They are correct! Due to the fact that we did not adequately review today, I moved the test on Chapter 16 to Tuesday: one more day to study!
In Language Arts we are now studying the various forms of Poetry. The class is reading as well as writing poetry. Our culminating activity will be "Poetry and Snaps" on Thursday, May 19th in our classroom. All parents are invited to hear their children read several of their original pieces of poetry. We regret that we cannot allow siblings from other grade levels to attend. This would just be too disruptive for the other classroom teachers. I'll send another reminder next week in my newsletter. I did explain to the class that not all parents will be able to make it because of jobs and other committments. So, I believe they will understand if you cannot make this.
Interims will be mailed on Tuesday, May 10th. If your child receives one in the mail and you would like to discuss it, please email me.
I sent home the permission slips for the field trip on Wednesday, May 18th. Please look for this in your child's Friday Folder. If you would like to chaperone, please read the bottom of the slip carefully. Everything is clearly detailed there.
Finally, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to my class and their parents. You were very generous to me with your birthday gifts. Two things I can honestly say I enjoy: any spa treatment and coffee. I think the students can testify to the coffee addiction!! Thank you for making my birthday special. Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday! Mrs. Shipley
04-15-11
I hope you are all enjoying this nice weather today! It is a challenge sometimes to keep the students focused, but we have a lot of learning yet to do, so I will keep them busy!
You may notice a few more "Ns" coming home in Language Arts. Not to be alarmed! This is our first novel study this year (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and they are struggling a bit with the activities that go with it. Let me assure you that I do go over each and every paper with the class to help them understand it. This is only one part of their Language Art's grade. When we finish with this next week, we will go back into the Treasures Reading Book. Next week will be the last Spelling test from the Treasure's program, but not the last test of the year! I will be coming up with my own lists, such as days of the week, months of the year, etc.
Next week will be a busy one for us in Religion, the holiest week of the year! Please see Miss Lang's "Week at a Glance" to see the times for all of our prayer services which you are most welcome to attend.
We are moving full speed ahead in Math. The students are actually studying measurement and division at the same time and are doing a great job on both.
In Social Studies they are working on a group project and should be finishing this next week. I believe they are learning a lot about our community's history.
Have a great weekend! Sincerely, Mrs. Shipley
04-01-11
Your child will be bringing their Progress Report home today. Please review it carefully and email me with any concerns. We have one quarter left to prepare for the 4th grade. Let's make it a good one!
Next Friday we will have the last multiplication facts' test. It will be on the 8s. We will be covering division, but not with a weekly test as we did with multiplication. We also will be covering geometry and measurement in the 4th quarter.
Mrs. Hawley will be continuing with her unit in Guidance. She will be in our classroom for the next 3 weeks. Be sure to ask your child what these sessions are about. Conversation at home is so important!
In Social Studies we will be starting a unit on the history of NW Columbus. During this time we will be visiting the NW Historical Village in Hilliard. I am in the process of reserving a date for this, hopefully in mid-May.
Next week we begin a novel study of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The class will be reading during school time and also some reading at home. This can take the place of their 15 minutes of reading each night.
Have a great weekend and stay warm! Mrs. Shipley
03-18-11
Next week is the last week in the third quarter. Time is flying by and we are so busy! Thank you for all of your help with the multiplication tables. Next week's test is on the 6s. Remember it will be on Thursday, along with the spelling test because students do not have school on Friday.
We are wrapping up our unit on Fairy Tales today with a collection of plays performed by the students. They always have a great time with this! Next week we will start a short unit on Folk Tales. We have already introduced this coincidently in Social Studies. It's great when our curriculums overlap!
Of course in Religion, we are concentrating on Lent, The Three Days, and Easter. I have stressed how important it is that they are working on improving themselves as good Christians, not just giving up something! They have been so understanding in helping me out with prayer for my father. His Lymphoma is currently out of remission and they have so readily responded to my request that they shower God with prayers for him. Thank you to you and your children!!!
A reminder to those students in the Invention Convention: they must have downloaded the journal from the website. If they have not done so, you need to check the papers they brought home and make sure they are doing everything required. The Invention Convention is Wednesday, March 23rd. The whole class will have an opportunity to view all of the inventions.
I'm looking forward to Spring and a fantastic 4th quarter! Have a great weekend! I hope to be watching some basketball, how about you?! Mrs. Shipley
03-04-11
Good Morning! It's amazing that we only have 3 more weeks left in this quarter! We are as busy as can be learning and reviewing all kinds of things.
In Language Arts we have started our study of Fairy Tales. This is a favorite unit of the students and we will be doing many different activities, not necessarily just reading some stories! I hope to have the students writing some fairy tales also!
In Religion we will be studying Lent, The Three Days, and of course Easter. During this special season, the school has many wonderful liturgies that we hope you can attend. Keep an eye out for announcements about these. Also, Mrs. Hawley will be starting a new series of instruction. She is concentrating on RESPECT and the many ways we can show it. I am so grateful to her for her help in this area!
In Math we are continuing with multiplication. Next week it will be time for the 3s! I also throw in some other review work along the way. We continue to work on Math Story Problems. It is so important the students understand Math is a part of their everyday life.
We have started a unit on Culture in Social Studies. We will be learning about the culture of some cities around the world, but also about our own city of Hilliard. We started this week talking about folktales, which tell so much about the culture of our early settlers.
Remember that next Tuesday is our field trip to The Symphony. A big thank you to Kathy Smith for arranging this. The students will eat lunch when we get back so please remember to send a packed lunch to school on Tuesday.
I would like to thank all of my students for their prayers for me and my family as we mourn the loss of my aunt. This class is so compassionate! Have a nice weekend! Mrs. Shipley
02-18-11
We are almost ready for the Wax Museum! The students have worked hard and are so excited about next Wednesday! I'd like to repeat just a few reminders. The students will need to bring their costumes to school. We will begin to get dressed at 1:15. If you think your child needs extra help, you may come in at that time to assist them, but usually, Miss Haley and I can handle it. The Wax Museum will be spread out between the cafeteria, the cafeteria annex, and our classroom. There are no set spots for the students. I'm sure you will find your child! The actual Wax Museum starts at 1:45 and ends at 2:45. Then you are invited back for cookies and juice for a few minutes. You will not be allowed to sign out your child to go home early. Since most parents will be here, your child can go home with you at the regular dismissal time for car riders or they can go on their normal bus. Thanks for all your help!
Our Math facts for next week will be the facts of 10. The assessment will be Friday, but we only have 4 actual school days to practice because of the holiday on Monday. I'm sure they can be studying over the weekend and on Monday. You probably notice I am not going in numerical order for multiplication. The process I'm following makes much more sense because they can use the skip counting that they already know!
Have a great extended weekend! Mrs. Shipley
02-11-11
Good morning! To those of you who have already looked at your child's Agenda, I discovered as I started planning for the week ahead that I need to make some changes. I will of course tell the students on Monday, but I am giving you a heads up! Just 2 changes! The Math Assessment on Friday will be on the facts of 5. This follows a better transition for the students. They already can count by fives, so multiplying by 5 will be easier for them. The Religion Assessment for Chapter 9 will be on Tuesday, February 22nd. Next week we have a Saint Presentation on Monday and Liturgy on Wednesday, so I would be rushing them to finish the chapter and I certainly don't want to do that! Thanks for your patience with me! Mrs. Shipley
02-10-11
Next Monday, February 14th, for Valentine's Day, the students are allowed to wear red, pink, white, or something expressing love (with those colors: red, pink, white, or shades of that color). However, if your shirt is blue with a heart on it you are still allowed to wear it. You may also wear jeans with your top. No sweatpants please, only jeans.
Also, students need to create some kind of Valentine's box or bag and bring it to school on Monday, February 14th. It does not need to be fancy. It could be a brown paper bag; they just need something to put their Valentines in that they receive.
Thank you for all that you do! Mrs. Shipley
02-04-11
I hope you are all keeping warm and safe during this icy weather! Be careful out there!
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Jeanette and Christopher Canyon today. What a pair of special people! Their presentation was interesting and entertaining. I think the children learned a lot and also were entertained along the way.
Multiplication continues! Next Thursday I will assess the class on their facts of the number 2. So, please be practicing those this weekend. We are off and running with our Multiplication Rock CD. On Fridays I even let them dance!
We are done with notetaking of the Biographies and next week will write the 3 paragraphs. As I mentioned before, you may be asked to edit these paragraphs. Thank you in advance for your help!
Have a great weekend! Don't forget to sign up for Parent-Teacher conferences if you would like to meet with me. They are not mandatory in grade 3, but I am very happy to meet with you.
Sincerely, Mrs. Shipley
1-28-11
Welcome to the new quarter! Progress reports will be distributed on Monday. That is also the day that you can begin signing up for parent-teacher conferences. The sheets are usually posted in the computer room hallway. Conferences are Feb. 10th from 4:30 - 7:00 and then on Feb. 11th from 9:00 - 12:00. Hope to see you then!
Yesterday I attended a convocation at Ohio Dominican University. The topic was St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast day is today. I was also fortunate to attend a Mass presided over by Bishop Campbell, which went along well with our Religion Chapter! I haven't graded the tests yet, but I hope they all remembered to study the names of our Pope and Bishop!
Mutiplication has begun! This week we have been learning about the connection between addition and mutiplication, but next week will be the start of actually memorizing the facts. I have told the students that memorizing the facts is the way for them to be successful in this area. Some of the ideas I gave them to help are: buying flashcards at the dollar store, making their own flashcards (making sure the answers are right before memorizing!), downloading worksheets from the internet, playing games on the computer, or getting a CD that has the facts put to song. I will let them know in advance when they will be tested. These tests will not be timed. I found last year that too many students are anxious during timed tests and it was affecting their grades. If I see that your child is spending too much time taking the test, then further instruction will be needed.
By now you should know that the Biography Unit has begun! Most of the work for this is done at school as I am teaching them how to write a report. You may be asked occasionally to correct some paragraphs for mechanical errors. They of course are extremely interested in the dressing up part of the unit! I have told them not to demand that you go out and spend a lot of money on an expensive costume. Whatever you have around the house or can borrow is fine. The culmination of this unit will be the Wax Museum which happens on Feb. 23 at 1:45. You will be receiving more information about this later.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the J.O.I.N. offices and dropped off 6 boxes of toiletries that our third grade had collected. What a great service project this turned out to be! I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year. So, moms, keep us in mind when you get those free make-up bags!
Have a great weekend and stay healthy! Mrs. Shipley
1-7-11
Happy New Year! I think the students did a great job this week getting back into our routine. Tuesday was a little tricky considering the OSU game day excitement, but it was fun to see them so enthusiastic!
In Religion we are currently working on a booklet explaining the Church Seasons of the Year. We have covered Advent and Christmas, next week we will study Ordinary Time, and then Lent, the Three Days, and Easter will be studied at the appropriate times.
In Language Arts we have finished Volume 1 in the Treasure's Reading series. Next week, the students will be getting a new Treasure's book. This is always exciting for them!
In Math I hope to complete the unit on time. If your child was struggling with any part of this, I took them aside and had a minlesson with them. As always, the internet has a multitude of worksheets you can copy for your child to practice at home.
In Social Studies we are starting the Economics Unit. I have a series of wonderful tapes that explain this in an easy-to-understand way. We will be discussing this concept as it relates to our own community.
BREAKING NEWS
Next Friday is our field trip to the Fire Museum. Because of limited space, we can only have 3 parent volunteers, as I explained on the permission slip. I will personally call the first 3 parents who volunteered. If you do not hear from me, thank you for volunteering, but we will not be able to use you this time. However, in the Spring we do a field trip to the NW Historical Village and all parents will be able to come to that. Thank you for your understanding!
Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Shipley
12-21-10
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! To my students and their parents: I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and come back refreshed for the new year and ready to learn more wonderful things! If any of you are traveling and can pick up some extra small size toiletries, we will be completing our service project in January. And moms and grandmas, if you receive any free makeup bags, we could sure use those to give our service project an extra special look! Thank you for all of your help!
Sincerely, Mrs. Shipley
12-17-10
What an exciting week! We spent each morning working in the Bible doing worksheets on the birth of our Lord. I think by today they should be able to share a lot of knowledge with you! I believe it is so important for them to be able to know how to find things correctly in the Bible. We will continue to do this throughout the new year.
Interims for the second quarter will be mailed today. Some of the students will be receiving these. I tried to be very specific in my comments so that you understand where their difficulty lies. If you have any questions about an interim, please let me know before Christmas break. I think we need to address the problem before the students are away for the long break.
We had some extra special activities this week! Miss Lang came in on Tuesday and read The Crippled Lamb, a Christmas story, to the class. This is an annual treat for the students that they always enjoy. Today we had some OSU students in to do some research with selected students. These students were pre-selected when you previously gave permission for them to be part of a study. Last, but not least, we are meeting with our 6th grade buddies this afternoon to share some Christmas activities. We made Christmas cards for them this morning.
Next week we will also have some special activities. Monday afternoon we will have our Christmas Party. Thank you to everyone who is sending in items for this. On Tuesday, we start out with Christmas carols lead by the Middle Schoolers. Then we have a Prayer Service at 9:30 which you are welcome to attend. In the afternoon, the Auction Committee will be working with the class on making our Auction item. This is always a great time! Please feel free to continue sending in small or travel size items for our Service Project. We really appreciate your contributions! Ladies, if you happen to receive any make-up bags for Christmas (that you don't need of course!) we would love to have them.
Have a great weekend. Stay warm! Mrs. Shipley
12-10-10
We have had another busy week of school learning lots of new things! During Religion time on Monday, Mrs. Hawley continued her lessons on Friendship. This couldn't come at a better time, as I have been seeing some of our childen NOT practicing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. I often receive notes in the "Top Secret" jar about students saying unkind things to each other or about each other. I'm hoping that with your help at home, we can all learn about being friends to everyone in the class and doing what Jesus would like us to do.
We are now finishing up with addition and subtraction of 2-, 3-, and 4- digit numbers. I find that most of the class has mastered this skill. As with any other skill, it can easily become rusty if not practiced, so if you could possibly do some worksheets at home once in a while on this, that would be greatly appreciated! There is a good website called Math-drills.com that I use often that you might want to visit and download some of the worksheets for practice. Thank you!
I have to tell you that I think this class is going to have some beautiful cursive writers! They are so excited to get out their Handwriting books each day. We are really moving quickly on this because by the start of third quarter, we require that they write only in cursive (except for spelling tests when we need them to be extra careful on accuracy.) I know some of them are anxious to be writing only in cursive, but I ask that they wait awhile until they learn how to correctly form all the letters.
In Social Studies this week, we worked on some Skills and Methods. We talked about how to find state capitals and identify state bounderies on a map. Did they tell you my wonderful joke about the capital of Kentucky?! Ask them if they can remember it! We also discussed how to make a table and read the information correctly. This class is so inquisitive! I love how they really enjoy talking about a subject and discovering everything they can about it.
In the Friday Folder you will be receiving a letter about the Holy Childhood Association Christmas Artwork Contest for 2010-2011. This is not a class activity I do here at school, but you are welcome and encouraged to do this with your child at home. If you choose to do it, please make sure you follow the directions carefully.
Have a great weekend! Mrs. Shipley
12-02-10
It's hard to believe that December is upon us already! We continue to be very busy learning wonderful things in the third grade. Your children are such energetic learners, I hope they show as much enthusiasm at home as they do here at school.
This week in Language Arts, we read a few stories about riddles. Along with this, we learned about setting and plot. Plot can sometimes be difficult for third graders to understand, but I think they did very well with it. We also studied Haiku and they had a chance to practice this form of poetry. We continue to write in our composition books twice a week.
In Math, as you know from the homework, we are learning how to subtract with 2-, 3-, and 4- digit numbers. 2- digit numbers were a breeze for most of them, but the problems get a little harder each day! I know some of them are struggling with subtracting across zeros, so we will continue to practice this skill.
We are almost finished with our study of local government for this quarter. After doing a small project in class to assess what they have learned about local government, we will begin the study of the Economics of our community. Every couple of weeks, we also do some social studies skills or methods.
From now until our Christmas break begins, we will be studying the Advent and Christmas seasons in Religion class. It seems we talk on a daily basis about how they can prepare their hearts for the coming of our Lord. I hope they are following through at home! Also, on Mondays of this month Mrs. Hawley is doing guidance lessons on Friendship. We welcome her expertise!
Thank you for the travel size toiletries you have been sending in with your children. We are all very excited about this Service Project! We will continue to collect items until Tuesday, December 21st.
Have a nice weekend and please email me with any concerns you have! Mrs. Shipley
11-12-10
As we are finishing our 12th week of school, you will be receiving your child's Progress Report. If you have any questions at all, please email me. I will be happy to email you back or even schedule a conference. I believe the class did a great job overall. If I indicated an area your child needs to improve upon and you would like to help them in that area, I can give you some additional ideas.
I would like to send out a huge THANK YOU for many things! Your contributions to our Sports Auction Basket, Market Day Pie Sale, and Manna in the Morning are greatly appreciated. I think our students learn a lot from their parents about being good disciples of our Lord by watching you!
This next week should be a relatively calm one with little interruptions. (I say that now, but something always seems to pop up!) Let me give you a brief overview. In Language Arts we will be reading Stone Soup, which is a great example of a Folk Tale to lead-in to Thanksgiving. In Religion we continue our study of the early Church. In Math I am introducing addition of -2, -3, and -4 digit numbers. In Social Studies we are learning about how our local government works. I am introducing some names of our local leaders so that they can recognize them in the news.
Have a great weekend! Sincerely, Mrs. Shipley
11-5-10
As I finish my Progress Reports, I am pleased with how the students did this 1st quarter. This class is hard-working and conscientious about their studies. I hope they continue this trend into the 2nd quarter! I would love to see more of them try to do some enrichment activities. Along with Math and Writing, I have added a Language Arts Enrichment Activity. I will be explaining this on Monday, so you may want to ask them about this and the other enrichment activities. I know this class is up to the challenge!
Starting Monday, the whole school will be hearing about Red Ribbon Week. There will be specific items of clothing they can wear during the week. On TUESDAY they can BRING silly slippers to school and wear them throughout the day. On THURSDAY they can wear a silly tie. On FRIDAY they can wear crazy socks. During Red Ribbon Week, the primary grades concentrate on keeping our bodies healthy.
In their Friday Folders, your children should have showed you a slip of paper explaining Manna in the Morning. If not, please ask them to show you. On TUESDAY we will be preparing sack lunches to be taken to those who are less fortunate than us. Each student has been assigned a food item to bring on Tuesday. It is very important that they bring in their specific item. We depend on these items to be able to make 20 lunches. If your child has lost their slip of paper, please email me and I will tell you what they were to bring. Thank you for helping your children to be disciples of God!
On Friday we will have a guest speaker. Mrs. McGivern, a parent of a 4th grade student, will be talking to both 3rd grades. She is a member of Hilliard City Council and will talk to the students about the things that go on in our local government. She came in last year for the first time and it was a great success. The students have great questions to ask and learn about our government from a primary source. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity.
I would like to thank those of you who have contributed to our Auction SPORTS Basket. The committee is asking for our help to FILL this basket! I know it is just one more thing I ask of you, but it is fun to see what OUR class contributed when they display the baskets for all to see. Go Dolphins!
I'm looking forward to another great quarter. Please email me with any concerns. Sincerely, Mrs. Shipley
10-28-10
We had a very busy week! On Monday it was our class' turn to tidy the church. We go over in the morning and straighten up the books and pick up any papers that might have been left around. The children did a great job of cleaning while still being reverent! On Wednesday we went over to the Grotto and said the Rosary. I was so impressed with how focused they were even though we were right next to the traffic on Dublin Road. On Thursday we were invited into the Haunted Workroom. The maintenance staff decorated their workroom in a Halloween theme. The kids had a blast! We are so lucky to have such caring staff at St. Brendan. Of course, Friday was the most exciting day of the week because of the Halloween Parade and Party!
Next week we will have two Prayer Services at St. Brendan. Please know that you are welcome to attend either or both! Monday is the All Saints' Day Prayer Service at 9:00 in the Multi Purpose Room. Then on Wednesday is the All Souls' Day Prayer Service at 8:45 in the Multi Purpose Room. We are so fortunate to be able to worship in this special way!
Thursday, November 4th is the last day of the First Quarter. Your children have been hard at work in both their studies and trying to do their best following our class rules. Maybe they have told you that they earned a reward for filling the marble jar! Their choice was to have a movie/pajama day. So, on Thursday we will have our reward! I have a few movies in mind that go along with our curriculum. The students may wear their pajamas to school for the whole day. They may bring slippers to wear in the room, but they must wear regular shoes to school They cannot wear shorts and the girls cannot wear spaghetti straps. If your child is not comfortable wearing pajamas, they may wear casual clothes. Any questions, send me an email!
The Auction Committee is still accepting donations for our class basket. Our theme is Sports and you may send in any items you may have for this until November 12th. Thank you so much for your generosity!
The October Pizza Hut Book It will be over for this month on Sunday, October 31st. If you have been initialing your child's calendar each day, just send it in to school and they will receive a certificate for a free pizza. I will send the November calender this week in their Friday Folders. You can count their 15 minutes of reading each night for this also.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Shipley
10-15-10
Our 8th week of school has been a busy one! We prepared this week to take the In View and Terra Nova Tests on October 18-22. I assured the students that they cannot study for this kind of test. It is just to show us the kinds of things they already know. What can you do as parents? Please have your children get plenty of rest and eat a good, healthy breakfast. You will need to send a small, healthy snack with them each day. I will have a bag of pretzels here in case you forget one day. If they must leave for an appointment, we ask that you schedule it in the afternoon when the testing is done.
Miss Lang has reminded the students during announcements to please remember to start wearing jackets to school for recess. A St. Brendan sweater or sweatshirt is just not always warm enough. We want them to be comfortable during recess because they need that fresh air each day!
Thank you to those parents that email me when their child is going to be absent or tardy. However, you need to also let the school know. St. Brendan's policy of attendance and absence is in the school handbook. It is greatly appreciated when you follow these policies.
I would like to say thank you for your support of our Book Fair. Not only are you encouraging your child to read more, but you are helping earn materials for our teachers and our media center. A special thank you to those of you who purchased a book for our own classroom. You are so generous!
Have a wonderful autumn! Please call or email me with any concerns!
Mrs. Shipley