Christmas Break is here!

Here are your holiday updates and reminders:

• I spoke with Mr. Dykstra today and it is becoming regular occurence where grade three students do not have proper footwear. I think all students should have a pair of gym shoes at school, especially girls who like to wear dress shoes or boots. If you choose not to do this, please make sure your child comes to school on PE days with proper athletic footwear. Also, every PE class there has been at least one student who does not have PE strip. Please make sure your child has gym strip on Wednesday and Thursday. I try to send all gym bags home over the weekend, so they can be washed and sent back Monday or Tuesday in time for gym.

• Homework: I have sent home some "Holiday Homework" to keep the students sharp over Christmas. Also, remember to keep reading and recording! Book reports and reading logs will be due January 3rd, the day we come back to school.

• If you are interested in volunteering next year, I will have a sign up sheet on the bulletin board inside the portable. If you have a certain day or time that works best, and is not listed please do not hesitiate to contact me.

• Scholastic Oders will be due the Friday after we get back (January 6th).

I wish you a MOST WONDERFUL Christmas, and all of God's Best in the New Year!

Mrs. Thiessen

Next Week December 12 - 16

• Bring canned/boxed food items for the Food Bank by Tuesday, December 13. The grade with the most food wins a pizza lunch!!!

• IF you have small, fine tipped paintbrushes (like the kind you get with a kid's paint set), please send them LABELLED next week by Wednesday, December 14. You do NOT need to go out and buy one, just send in whatever you have and we'll make do.

• Thursday morning, Bonnie Brown is coming in to decorate cookies with the kids. If you are available to come help out from 10:50 until 11:50, please let me know! :)

• We will be having a Christmas party on the last day of school, so feel free to send some snacks/treats - don't feel obligated, only if you would like to! Also, I think we'll make hot chocolate again, so send a mug to school on Friday as well.

• Dress up days:
• Monday - Present Day
• Tuesday - Ski Day
• Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day (with uniform)
• Thursday - Pyjama Day
• Friday - Red/White/Green Day

December 5 - 9

Well, here we are, in the last two weeks of school before Christmas break! :) Here are some tidbits for this week and next:

• Tomorrow, Tuesday Dec 6, is the WRCA Elementary skate day! Grades 3 - 5 will be leaving at 12:15pm to head down to the ice rink. All students MUST wear a helmet to be on the ice, so please bring one, or let me know if your child needs to rent one. At this point I am assuming no one will need one as I didn't have any permission forms come back with that request. All other info is on the blue sheet you have at home. We should be getting back to the school around 2:15. IF you are planning on taking your child from the rink, please let me know so that I can pack up their planner, etc ahead of time.

• The Elementary Christmas concert will be this Thursday at 7pm. Please have your child come to our classroom by 6:30. Students are to be in full uniform, which means the boys must wear their sweaters, and girls should be wearing tights (not socks). Please also send your children in black dress shoes (not boots or runners, etc).

• If you were wanting to donate a coat for charity, the last day to do so is Friday December 9th

• There will be chapel this week and next. This Friday is the grade 4 class and next Friday we will do an informal Christmas carol sing-a-long.

• The highschool is currently fundraising for the Guatemala Field Trip by selling bags of coffee from Guatemala in the foyer after school. They are selling several different roasts at $10 for 3/4lb. For more information, please see last week's warrior.

• Early dismissal next Friday, December 16, at 1:10pm.

Oops!

I forgot to mention one last reminder: Scholastic orders are due December 2nd!!!

Last week of November

Hello parents!

First of all, thank you so much for the parents who helped out on the field trip - you were an integral part of making it a success! I'm pretty sure everyone learned more about our amazing universe and had fun doing it!

Secondly, I can't believe it is almost December! The school year has flown by so far! Last week was a crazy week, due to the power outtage, field trip, and end of term! I hope this next week will be a little less busy. Here are some important dates and reminders:

• Book reports and home reading minutes are due Wednesday, November 30. Make sure your child's duotang (including 1 visualizing and 1 anchovy report) comes to school that day so I can count minutes and move bikes.

• This Wednesday we are doing a "Buddy Lunch" with our big buddies. The plan is for everyone to eat their own lunch, but also to bring a special treat for their buddy. Big buddies will bring a treat for the little buddy and vice versa. So please pack a small treat in your child's lunch this Wed, Nov 30.

• The WRCA elementary skate day is Dec 6th this year, and permission forms are due Thursday December 1st. All important info is in the packet sent home on Friday.

• Report cards will be going out this Friday, December 2nd. If you would like to discuss anything on your child's report card, please let me know and we can arrange a time to sit down and chat.

Enjoy your week,

Mrs. Thiessen

Field Trip Week!!!

Hello everyone!

Last week was a busy week and I'm afraid this week will be even busier! We are wrapping up term 1 this week, and I will be working hard on report cards to get them out to you on December 2. We also will be having choir practices intermittently until the Christmas concert on December 8. This week is also exciting becauase we will have had Teddy Bear Christmas and the book fair on Monday and Tuesday, and then our Field Trip is on Wednesday! I can't believe it is finally here!!! Here are a few points to note regarding our field trip:

• It will be a uniform day, so please send your child dressed as they normally would be for school.
• Car seats! If you child usually rides in a car seat, you need to send it to school with them on WEDNESDAY for our field trip.
• Please pack fully disposable paper bag lunches and perhaps a napkin, or some moist wipes for a quick and easy clean up after.
• If you are driving, we don't actually need to leave until 9:15am so if you could please arrive at 9ish, that would be great! Also, please bring your admission in cash if possible as I might have to pay for the adults as a group. It is pay parking and the meters take Visa, Master card, or cash. I will have driving directions, etc for you! :)
• If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

I am REALLY looking forward to it, I think it will be a really great time!!! :)

Mrs. Thiessen

Hello everyone,

• I am sure you are all well aware that this Friday is Remembrance Day, and thus we have a day off! In lieu of Remembrance Day we are having an assembly tomorrow, November 9th at 10:15am.

• Just a reminder that scholastic orders are due tomorrow, November 9th

• Our class has decided to participate in the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gift program. I have two shoeboxes, one for a boy and one for a girl age 5 - 9. It would be greatly appreciated if you could go shopping with your child to buy a couple of the items listed. You could probably get many of the items at the dollar store, or superstore! I have assigned which children will bring what - boys will shop for the boy and girls with shop for the girl. If you do not wish to participate, that is no problem as I will be finishing up the boxes at the end and making sure everything we need is in them anyways. I would like to have all of our students items into the boxes by next Monday, November 14th (so you have time to shop over the weekend). Here is the list as follows:

• School supplies (pens, pencils, pencil crayons, notepads, stickers, etc): Joshua, Caleb, Wyatt, Alyssa, Statia, Eliza
• Personal Hygeine (bar soap, toothbrushes, combs, brushes, socks etc): Harrison, Nate, Brad, Mira, Naomi, Ashley,
• Toys and other gifts (stuffed animals, small musical instruments, hair clips, toy jewwelery, and hard wrapped candy): Jacob, Nathan, Brenden, Payton, Jacob, Angelica, Ella, Lauren, Georgina

• Items that are not allowed are toothpaste, food, crumbly or chewy candy, decks of cards, liquids or items that could leak, melt, freeze, or break like lip balm or shampoo, mirrors, glass, etc, as well as war-related toys.

• THANK YOU so much for your participation in this!!!! Like I said participation is voluntary, however your small act of kindness will make a child's Christmas!!! Let me know if you have any questions!

Mrs. Thiessen

PS I have started a parent volunteer schedule and have called a few parents. If you have not been called, do not worry, I will let you know when I need you! Thanks to the parents who have helped out so far! :)

Happy Dress Fest Day!

Even though by the time you read this, Dress Fest will have come and gone, I just have to say Happy Dress Fest Day! :) It looks like this will be an exciting week!

• Aside from Dress Fest, we also have grade 3 chapel day on Friday, November 4. Parents of course are welcome, so please come if you wish! Our chapel will focus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We will be doing a montage of skits/interview/reciting verses/etc., and everyone will play a part!

• We are also beginning our science unit on Space, and last week I announced that our first field trip will be to the HR McMillan Space Center! We will need parent volunteer drivers, so please look out for a parent consent / volunteer sign up for coming home this week.

• I will be keeping the Home Reading duotangs over night to count up the minutes and mark book reports, and on Tuesday your child will come home with new book reports and more reading logs (if you need) to keep you going throughout the next month!

All God's Best this week,

Mrs. Thiessen

Updates and Reminders

• Early dismissal Thursday at 1:15 (or a few minutes before!) Parent teacher interviews to follow. Please arrive on time for your appointment, as you only get 15 minutes before the next appointment begins.

• Just a reminder that the church/pastor update forms are due asap so that WRCA can know where are students attend regularly and can invite pastors to an appreciation luncheon.

• Dress Fest is this Monday! I am definitely looking forward to this event! I will be dressed up as a book character! Please, no violent or scary costumes. Also, please do not send too much candy in the days after Halloween, maybe only 1 or 2 treats for at lunch. The days after Halloween are known among teachers as notoriously crazy, so let's try to keep sugar highs during school hours to a minimum so that we can still have a productive week at school!!! :)

• Home reading logs and book reports (2) will be due October 31st. Students will put a note in their planners Friday night to send duotangs to school on Monday. If you can, it would be very helpful for me to add up minutes for the month of October. If anyone is still confused "book reports" are just the sheets in the students' duotangs. They will be different every month. So whatever 2 new sheets you find in there are the 2 "book reports" that are due for that month (I know they aren't formal book reports but they assess reading comprehension in some form).

Have a great week and I will be seeing many of you tomorrow! :)

Mrs. Thiessen

Happy Weekend!

Hello everyone,

Wow, with so many recent long weekends, next week is going to feel extra long spending 5 days at school! Fortunately, Thursday, October 27th will be an early dismissal(1:15pm) due to parent teacher interviews. If you wish to meet with me, I will put a sign up list outside of the portable door on Monday morning (October 24th). I have 15 minute appointments available from 1:30 until 4:45 and from 5:30 until 7:00pm. If this day does not work for you, please remember I am always available after school to discuss any questions or concerns.

If any of you have been wondering, I have been working on a parent volunteer schedule will be contacting you shortly. I have had a great response from many who are willing to help out, now I just need to figure out when and what I need help with! :) For those of you who are willing to paste items into scrapbooks and have mentioned you have small children, I will provide the option of bringing work home. Thank you so much for your patience thus far!

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend, and I will see you on Monday!

Mrs. Thiessen :)

Week of October 11 - 14

Hello everyone,

Did you enjoy your extra long weekend? I enjoyed my time at the teacher's conference and got some great new ideas to try out in the classroom this year! :)

This week is a short, but exciting week! We have Michael Mitchell coming for a concert here this Friday, October 14. It is also Fire Prevention Week, so we will be doing some fire safety activities as well as sending some information home.

Here are some friendly reminders for this short week:

Due October 14:

• Mad Science forms
• Michael Mitchel cd order forms
• Scholastic Orders

These forms are NOT mandatory, but are due Friday if you are interested. :)

Hello everyone,

I hope you all have had a great weekend! I just wanted to comment on the new book reports I sent home today. The first one is based on what we have learned in school about making connections to what we have read. Parents, please read the first side as you will be reading, connecting, and writing this book report with your child. I have been telling my students that we make connections to EVERY book we read, whether it is remembering our own past experiences or the experiences of others around us, we usually can find some element in a book to identify with. However, obviously some books will lend themselves better to this activity than others, so try to choose a book that will evoke some connections for you and your child. If your child is reading a chapter book, perhaps you could base this activity on one or two chapters in that book and read them together. If you have any questions, please ask!

I have told the class that they don't have to do the book reports in any particular order, as long as both are done before the end of the month (and preferably not the night before!).

Some reminders:

• No school this Thursday or Friday, WRCA staff will be at a convention those days
• Please send in permission forms for Rip Stick and Skateboard PE Day by Wednesday
• We will be writing our memory verse for this week (Matt 4:4) on Wednesday (I will send home duotangs tomorrow).

Thank you and enjoy this short week! :)

Mrs. Thiessen

Hello all,

It has been mentioned that I wrote wednesdays when referring to rip stick and skateboard day. I did not mean to put that extra S there, I just meant Wednesday September 28. However, our PE class went so well that I think I will do it again next week and give the class some more time on the ripsticks and skateboards. Especially since it is so good for developing the skill of balance!

Another mistake I have made is that I forgot to have the students write in the planners to study their Bible memory verse which we will say tomorrow. I did send home duotangs and gave a verbal reminder, so hopefully everyone will come prepared and ready to say the verse this week (Matthew 3:17). This week we learned about Jesus baptism and a little bit about why being baptized is important. Please ask questions and discuss this important topic with your child! :)

One last reminder, tomorrow is the last day of September, which means reading minutes and book reports are due! Please send your child's home reading duotang to school tomorrow! I will move bikes and award prizes tomorrow!

Enjoy your weekend! :)

First Post!

Welcome to this years grade three blog! :) I am very pleased to (finally) have it up and running! I will try to use this blog instead of paper notices that I would usually send home. I will hopefully post every few days, just to keep parents informed on what is happening in our classroom. If I post an important notice or annoucement I will have students write in their planners to check the blog. But otherwise, please stop in every few days, just to stay informed on what's upcoming in our class.

Here are some heads up for this week:

• Cops for Cancer this Friday - please bring your toonies to help find a cure for cancer!

• Bring in permission slips for Wednesdays PE day regarding rip sticks and skate boards. Also remember to send your child's rip stick or skateboard (IF they have, if not its fine) as well as a HELMET and knee, wrist, elbow guards. Every student must have a helmet to participate.

• Home reading book reports due this Friday. Please send in your child's home reading duotang on Friday so that I can count up minutes and mark book reports over the weekend. I will move student's bikes to the next province on Monday! Just a note regarding home reading duotangs: students can keep them at home until the end of the month. That way they are alwyas at home for recording minutes in and it prevents damage from the journey to and from school!

Wow, it looks like its going to be a fun week!!!

Mrs Thiessen :)