I hope the children enjoyed the Y as much as I did! Even though we had our field trip, we will continue to do the lessons that go with the Y5210 program. Thank you for helping support your child with the activities. 

The high-frequency words this week are began, live, page, got.

Our Holiday Party will be Tuesday, Dec. 22 from 2-3. We do not do a gift exchange. We will have snacks and play some games. 

We will be finishing unit on Book Series this week and starting Thinking Like a Scientist for literacy. 

We will also have our celebration for our Bird Reports on Thursday, which they will share what they learned about their birds with their classmates. We will move on to Opinion/Persuasive writing on Friday. 

If you see decorated bags or wrapped up things in your child's backpack, please encourage them to take them out and put them under the tree or in a special place. 

We have a busy week ahead of us.
High frequency words this week are: four, head, above, kind
We are trying hard to finish our bird reports and typing them for a final piece of writing.
Friday is our field trip to the Neenah-Menasha YMCA. The cost of the bus is $1. Parents are welcome to join us at the Y from 1-2:30. If your child did not give you the sheet about the field trip, please contact me and I will send home a new one.
We also have members of the Lion's Club that will be visiting us on Wednesday afternoon and giving us a special gift.
Book orders are due Wednesday, Dec. 9. If you want the book(s) to be a surprise, please let me know and I will either hold it for you to pick up or I can wrap it up in a brown paper bag and send it home.
We will also be working on some "Top Secret" projects the next couple of weeks.

Wow! The last day of November. Where did the time go?
Please continue to help your child with their sorts as well as practicing how to spell their words. The high frequency words this week are: once, animal, life, took.
We are finishing our research about our birds and we will start to write our draft of our bird report this week.
We are starting Unit 3 in math so your child may have a different teacher for math. We will be working on measurement, time, and graphing.
We are continuing to work on our book series in reading.
We will be finishing our unit in science. We will be starting Exploring a Community in Social Studies.

This week is going to fly by with only 3 days!

I hope you all have a very relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

There are no spelling words this week. 

I still want the children to read and practice their facts this week and record it on their R/F sheet so it can be returned on Monday, Nov. 30.

We will also have a Y5210 this week dealing with portion sizes. I swear, I did not plan that for this week. 

A full week of school! We haven't had one for a while.
Happy Birthday Tiara on Nov. 15!
Happy Birthday Jacob on Nov. 16!
We will have our spelling test on Friday. The high frequency words this week are feet, land, side, without.
We will not have spelling words next week, since we only have 3 days.
We chose our birds for our bird research and started to look through some bird books. We worked on using the index to find the right page that our bird is on. We also discovered that some books are better than others. We will be using iPads to do research, but not this week.
We will be pretesting Unit 3 on Friday so if you know your child won't be here on Friday, please let me know so I can have them take it on Thursday. We will be post testing Unit 2 on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

I really enjoyed meeting so many of the grandparents/retired friends on Friday.
Happy Birthday Ayden! We will celebrate his birthday on Monday. (Today)
We are starting the second semester. We will be starting our informational writing this week. We will also be starting our learning about book series as well. We are continuing in Unit 2 in math.
We don't have school on Friday, November 13.
Spelling test will be on Thursday, November 12. The high frequency words this week are: important, form, food, keep. 

I want to thank all the parents for coming to your child's conference. I really enjoy working with all the children!
We will have our spelling test on Thursday, November 5 this week. If you forgot what the high frequency words for the week are, they are: asked, don't going, world.
The end of the first quarter is Friday, November 6 so there will be an 11:30 dismissal. Remember Grab and Go lunches are available on early release days.
Also Friday is Grandparents' and Retired Friends' Day. In order for your child to leave at 11:00 with their grandparent, they or their grandparent must give me the permission slip. If I don't have it, your child must stay with me until the 11:30 dismissal.
Just one more reminder: When your child has homework, please have them do it in pencil and not pen. We use pencils at school so please have your child use pencil on their homework.

There will not be a spelling test this week. Your child will bring home their words to sort, but the test will not be until Thursday, Nov. 5.
The high frequency words are: asked, don't, world, going
We are reading nonfiction books as we work on our Information Expert unit in Literacy. We are comparing and contrasting 2 informational books and noticing what is the same and what is different about the texts.
We are also going to start publishing our personal narratives that we have been working on.
Please remember to return both parts of the Y5210 and to sign the sheet. Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the information!
I look forward to seeing all of you on Wednesday or Thursday for our conference!

The Book Fair needs volunteers! 

Please consider volunteering a couple hours of time. It really needs the help! I've only got one volunteer signed up (and it's not me!) This fair simply cannot function without volunteers! 

Visit the PTO link on the Spring Road Web site. Look for the Volunteer Spot flower in the upper right corner. http://www.neenah.k12.wi.us/schools/springroad/pto.cfm

Tell your friends! 

Thanks in advance! 

Linda

Congratulations Joshua! Joshua won the Smoke Detector Contest and he gets to spend most of the morning with the fire department.
There are a lot of fun activities planned for the week to get ready for the Monster Book Fair. A flier is coming home today of all the activities and ways to help raise money for books for the school.
Monday is Monster Monday. Students are encouraged to bring in their pennies to donate and decorate a monster for their lockers.
Tuesday is Terrifying Tuesday. Students are encouraged to bring in their nickels and wear a favorite hat.
Wednesday is Weird Wednesday. Students are encouraged to bring in their dimes and wear weird or wacky clothes.
Thursday is Thrilling Thursday. Students are encouraged to bring in quarters and wear crazy socks.
Friday is Freaky Friday. Students are encouraged to bring in any coins and dress up as a non-scary monster.
Also this week we are starting Y5210. This is an exciting program through the YMCA to promote healthy habits, healthy living, and healthy lifestyle choices. Each week we focus on a new topic. We learn about it and we make sure we exercise at least twice during the week in the classroom. An activity sheet is sent home on Monday and we ask that you help your child do the activity and sign the sheet. The sheet needs to be returned by the following Monday. If all three third grade classes get 80% of the activities done each week, we will be able to go on a field trip to the Y! More information is coming home today along with the activity.
Continue to help your child spell and sort their spelling words. This weeks high frequency words are: few, those, show, often.
Today we will take the Unit 2 Pretest. This will help us decide which group your child will be in for math. We will take the Unit 1 Post test on Tuesday. We will start our new groupings for Unit 2 on Wednesday.

Thank you to all the parents and children who were able to attend the Open House on Thursday! It was fun to watch the children show their parents around the room and many of the activities that we do. I also enjoyed talking to many of you. I am so lucky to have a great group of children!
We made it through our first full week of Words Their Way spelling activities. I was very pleased with how well many of the students did this week with the activities and on the test. Please continue to help your child with the sorts and practice spelling the words, including the high frequency words. This weeks words are:
saw, something, thought, both
It should be a pretty normal week this week. We moved our desks so the students should be excited about their new groups/tribes along with their new names.
We are finishing up our first unit in math. We will be taking our post test next week. Please help your child practice their multiplication facts. We have learned the following facts: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10.
We are also finishing our unit in literacy called 'Caring About Characters.' We have been learning about character traits, how characters change from the beginning to the end, and how we can learn lessons from the characters we have read about.
You should have received your conference time on Friday.  Please return the conference form ASAP. I look forward to seeing all of you then.
Upcoming Events:
Picture retakes are on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Conferences: Wednesday, Oct. 28 4-8pm
                       Thursday, Oct. 29 12:30-8pm
11:30 Dismissal on Thursday, Oct. 29.
No school on Friday, Oct. 30.

Today is our first day of word sorts in their color groups. Your child will bring home a colored sheet of paper with their words. They should practice these words every night. Look for the letter and different sorts to come home as well. Also, they will have 4 high frequency words to learn each week. These should be written in their planner, but if your child did not write them down, they are:
along, might, sound, below

Tuesday, (10/6) we have fire safety.
Wednesday, (10/7) is our last Walk to School Wednesday until the spring.

We had so much fun Thursday afternoon with Activity Day!
We have a busy week ahead of us though. Please help remind your child to hand in their weekly Reading/Facts (R/F) sheet EVERY Monday. This is their homework and I hate having to put zeros in the grade book, because they didn't hand it in.
This is also our first full week, now that we have many of our routines and the schedule in place. We are also doing our last week of practice with Words Their Way spelling. Next week we will start in our groups. Watch for spelling words to come home  and a letter explaining what I would like them to do each night to practice next Monday.
Monday, Sept. 28, we have STAR testing.
Tuesday, Sept. 29, we have our first practice LockDown Drill from 2-3.
Wednesday, Sept. 30, it is Walk to School Wednesday. It is also Neon Dress Day.
Thursday, Oct. 1, it is Star Day.
Friday, Oct. 2, it is Red and White Dress Day.

We are starting our Guided Reading Groups this week. Your child will be reading a book that is at their level and completing follow up activities.
Continue to have your child practice facts. If you need any practice sheets, please send me an email, call or write me a note and I will send some home with your child.
On Friday, your child brought home a Fall Conference sheet. Please fill it out and send it back ASAP.
We started our Box Top Challenge, Please either attach them to the sheet that went home on Friday or just send them in and I will place them in our class container.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 is Walk to School Wednesday.
Thursday, Sept. 24, we will have Activity Day from 1:00-3:00. We will be outside doing many fun activities. Please send a water bottle with your child.
We do not have school on Friday, Sept. 25, because the teachers and staff have a Professional Learning Day (PLD).

We have our first full week of school this week!
We are starting to get into a routine and the students are catching on to the routine. We started to switch for math based on their Unit 1 Pretest and how they did on the Beginning of the Year Inventory Test. Some children have Mrs. Devlin, some have Mrs. Jensen, and some have me. Our first unit we start with multiplication and division with 5s, 2s, 0s, 1s, and 9s. We have done a lot with 5s and 2s so any practice would be greatly appreciated.
In Social Studies, we are talking about community and belonging.
In reading, we are learning about the expectations what good readers do. You will see a Reading/Facts (R/F) Sheet come home today (9/14) with a letter. Please encourage your child to read at least 20 min. a day and practice facts 10 min. This can include math homework. They can practice with flash cards, practice sheets, iPads/computers, or just verbally when riding in the car or cooking dinner. If you need practice sheets, please let me know and I will send some home with your child.
Monday and Friday we have wellness. Please make sure your child has a pair of gym shoes that can be kept at school.
Important Dates:
Tuesday, Sept. 15 Picture Day
Thurs., Sept. 24 Activity Day If you can help with this day, please read the newsletter on how to volunteer.
Friday, Sept. 25 No School (Professional Learning Day)

Wow! We finished our first week of school. I have really enjoyed meeting the students and getting to know them.
Reminder:
Please return the composition notebooks on Tuesday, Sept. 8 along with the Topic Chart.
Also, please make sure your child has gym shoes that are to be left at school. We have Wellness on Mondays and Fridays.
I am in the process of trying to update my blog from last year so be patient. I am not tech savy.
Ignore the spelling portion for now, because we are not doing Rebecca Sitton Spelling this year. We will be doing Words Their Way, like many of the children did last year. I am new to this program so I may do somethings differently than your child's teacher did last year.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing the children on Tuesday!

Mrs. Barrow decided that the students will NOT run the mile tomorrow, because of the cooler weather. They will hopefully run in on Tuesday, May 26.

Tuesday the students have the mile run in wellness. Have your child wear something that they can run in.
Friday is the Fun Run/Bike Safety Program from 9-11. We will start with the Bike Safety Program first and then we will run at 10:00.
Remember that we have an 11:30 dismissal on Friday for PLD. Also there is no school on Monday, May 25, because of Memorial Day.

Unit 30
tree
course
front
American
space

Challenge Words
picnic
weird
search
hurdle
health
guess
achieve
declare
ocean
polite

Don't forget to have your child dress for the weather for our field trip on Tuesday, May 12. Also wear old shoes, because we will be walking outside and it may be muddy.
Our last library checkout was Thursday, May 7. All library books are due Friday, May 15.

Unit 29
ground
cold
really
table
remember

Challenge Words
thumb
knight
science
problem
reign
debt
chapter
feather
prairie
scarce

We have our monthly 5 minute timings this week so you will see a 2 minute sheet come home each day to help the students focus on what the timing will be on the next day. Please have your child do it, but it does not need to come back to me. Monday will be addition, Tuesday will be subtraction, Wednesday will be multiplication, and Friday will be division.

Unit 28
run
book
gave
order
open

Challenge Words
women
stood
meant
wrote
kept
drove
sent
lost
felt
caught

The Badger Exams went very well. The students worked really hard!
Tuesday, April 28 is Opera for the Young so remind your child to wear their best clothes or as one of the characters from the opera Beauty and the Beast.
In math, we will be taking the pretest for Unit 7 on Monday, and taking the post test for Unit 6 on Thursday. Please help your child review for the Unit 6 post test on area and perimeter. I will remind students to take their math books home every night.
Just a reminder that Friday, May 1 is the deadline to order the Summer Math Skills Sharpener Book.

Unit 27
living
black
eat
short
United States

Challenge Words
champion
package
sickness
clever
capture
quarantine
market
question
quiet
stomach

I am so proud of the improvements that the students had on their 5 minute timings this week! Keep up the hard work!!!
We are starting the Badger Exam today (Monday, April 20). Please make sure your child has a good breakfast, is well rested and ready to work hard. A healthy snack would also be great, because we will be going to lunch 15 minutes later on Monday and Thursday.
Tuesday is Spring Road Spirit Wear or Red and White day.
Wednesday is Earth Day so students are encouraged to wear colors like blue, green, brown, or anything that would reflect Earth, such as a T-shirt with Earth on it.
Also next Monday (Apr. 27) ends the Timber Rattler Reading Incentive. As of Friday, April 17, eleven students had completed reading the 800 minutes required to earn a free ticket!
Unit 26
true
half
red
fish
plants

Challenge Words
movie
hockey
friendly
imaginary
medley
startle
marvel
weary
lunar
ache

We will be doing some practice for the Badger Exam this week. Again, please check with your child to see if they need new headphones. It is really important that they can hear the parts of the test and directions that are given orally.
If your child is still on subtraction or multiplication in Rocket Math, they will have a page of facts to practice Monday-Thursday. This needs to be done each night and handed in the next day. If it is not done, they will stay in at recess to get it done. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me.
We will have a practice tornado drill on Wednesday.

Unit 25
face
door
cut
done
group

Challenge Words
athletic
hamburger
handsome
belong
gasoline
carpenter
wealth
guarantee
department
schoolwork

Can you believe we are in the fourth quarter and we only have 43 days left of school? (Not that I'm counting!)
The Badger Test will be the week of April 20. Please ask your chid if he or she needs new headphones. The Badger Test is done on the computer/laptop and it is important that they can hear directions given. You can send some from home or send $4 to purchase them here.

Unit 24
upon
family
later
turn
move

Challenge Words
discontinue
rearrange
unfamiliar
redecorate
dislike
reread
disorder
unload
disappoint
unplug

Can you believe March is almost over?
We have a short week this week with an early dismissal on Thursday for PLD and no school on Friday for Good Friday.

There is no spelling test this week, but your child should have brought home their words to study for the test next week. I will post the words next week.

Happy "almost" Spring!
We have a busy week!
Tuesday: Wear green for St. Patrick's Day!
Thursday: Young People's Concert 9-11 am at Pickard, SPELLING TEST!
Friday: 5 min. timing, Career/Hobby Day 9-10:30, End of the Quarter-11:30 dismissal
No school March 23-27

Unit 23
didn't
car
morning
I'm
body

Challenge Words
aren't
we'll
that's
they've
we'd
should've
wouldn't
won't
afternoon
evening

Our Spring Concert is Tuesday, March 11. Please drop your child off around 6:00 pm in the cafeteria. Take your child's coat/jacket with you. We will meet back up in the cafeteria after the concert. From what I have heard and seen, it looks like it will be a wonderful concert!
Also, Fang's Reading Club started on Friday, Mar. 6. Unless your child read 200 minutes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, they will not be able to hang up their Fang until they do. Most will hang them up next Monday when after they hand in their weekly Reading/Facts sheet. I keep track of how many minutes they read each week so even if you forget to send the Fang cut-out, I will have it written down who achieved their 800 minutes.

Unit 22
five
himself
usually
money
seen

Challenge Words
amazing
fancied
defending
parenting
scaring
narrated
likely
finally
really
carefully

It was really nice seeing everyone for conferences! Thank you for all you help and support.
Can you believe we only have 3 weeks until the end of the third quarter? Yikes!

Unit 21
learn
point
city
play
toward

Challenge Words
repaint
rebuild
unpack
distrust
displease
unlucky
rewrite
unusual
disappear
refinish

There won't be a spelling test this week. The test will be next week so they have plenty of time to study the words so they can ace the test on March 6:)
I will write conference times in your child's planner tomorrow just as a reminder of when we will meet.
Remember we have an 11:30 dismissal on Thursday and no school on Friday.
I look forward to seeing everyone for conferences!

We have an 11:30 dismissal on Friday for our Professional Learning Day. We are learning about the Badger Test that the students will take in April.
Next week, there will not be a spelling test. We will be doing some reviewing of skills. Remember, conferences are Thursday, Feb. 26 and Friday, Feb. 27. I look forward to seeing all of you!

Week 20
room
sea
against
top
turned

Challenge Words
commute
attitude
tissue
vaccine
possible
hello
beginning
bubble
suddenly
sunny

Remember students can start bringing in their Valentine boxes on Tuesday. Our party is on Friday, from 12:45-1:30.  Thanks to all the parents who are donating food for our party and for helping!

Unit 19
example
heard
several
change
answer

Challenge Words
rite
write
seam
seem
ate
eight
peace
piece
break
brake

It is a new month which means monthly 5 minute timings. Tuesday is addition, Wednesday is subtraction, Thursday is multiplication, and Friday is division. Please help your child practice for these timings.
Friday is also dress as your Favorite Book Character. I'm thinking I might come as Miss Viola Swamp. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!


Unit 18
young
sun
thing
whole
hear

Challenge Words
nickel
special
decimal
industrial
rascal
travel
handle
swindle
rival
hive

Kindness Week is Jan. 26-30

All week we will be collecting food to be donated.

Monday: "Kick it into gear and help someone near" so wear different socks or shoes.

Tuesday: "Caps for Kindness" so students can pay $1 to wear a cap. 

                  The money will be donated to Best Friends.

Wednesday: "Score points for helping others" so wear sports gear.

Thursday: "Dream of Kindness" so wear pajamas.

Friday: "Spring Road kids are kind kids" so wear Spring Road attire or red and white. 

Unit 17

sure

knew

it's

try

told

Challenge Words

modem

second

hazard

filter

disturb

excellence

treatment

awful

vibrate

abrubt

Welcome to the 3rd quarter! You will notice the reading minutes have been increased to 30 min. a day. By this time of the year, the children should have the stamina to read for that long. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Unit 16
best
across
during
today
however

Challenge Words
slowly
course
enormous
fellow
jealous
tomorrow
powerful
famous
bought
mower

Unit 15
paper
hard
near
sentence
better

Challenge Words
dancing
wrapped
dimmed
smelling
phoning
fainted
urged
breathing
speckled
crooked

Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a wonderful break.
With the cold weather here, please have your child bring a book to read in the hall when they get here in the morning so they have something to do.

Unit 14
soon
story
since
white
ever

Challenge Words
slumber
teacher
garden
parade
harvest
neighbor
daughter
peculiar
earnest
solar