Good Morning, we will begin our end-of-year district assessments this week. Today-Friday students are taking their District Reading Benchmark Test and then next Tuesday-Thursday they will take their District CCRSM Math Assessment. We will start each assessment at 9:45 and finish by 10:45. It is important for students to be present for all testing days, to maintain their normal testing environment and routine. This will alleviate stress caused by testing in an alternate make-up location, with another teacher.

Last Day of School

Have you ever had the feeling where you wanted something (aka summer) to come and then it does and you feel sad about it?  Well, I had that feeling again today.  Just like the kiddos, I've been looking forward to summer.  As we sent the kids off and I returned to my room, it felt so empty.  Gone were the giggles, wiggles, laughs, talking, and the constant "Mrs. Nassar"!!  As I packed up my room, I came across papers with kiddos names on it and found something funny about each one.  The memory of DF dancing to a Kidz Bop song or TR giggling uncontrollably and making us all laugh, or ZH telling a funny joke (which I admit I sometimes did not get).

Each child has left an amazing impression on my heart.  I will miss them all and look forward to seeing them next year.  If they are not returning, I hope you will keep my school email and this blog address to stay in touch.  In our lifestyle, we often lose touch of each other, so we rarely get to see how incredible our kiddos become as they grow.

Thank you for entrusting your baby to me this year!  I am always humbled by the support and love you give your child and me. Your support has been amazing and appreciated!

Have a fun and safe summer!
Love Always!!

5 More Days!

We officially are down to five more days left of this school year.  We have completed all of our learning standards for the year.  Students celebrated Monday when we completed our last Math topic, to include the assessment and our reading assessment.  It was a mad dash, especially with all the time we missed this year due to weather.  We are now wrapping up our year with completing our learning journals. Their math journal is complete and we are finishing up our interactive language arts journal.  It's a great review and a resource for students to use next year.

As we approach summer vacation, please keep in mind that it is very important for students to read over the summer. Research shows that students who do not read over the summer can lose up to two months of reading achievement. (See http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/03/stopping-the-summer-slide/http://www.ed.gov/blog/2014/03/stopping-the-summer-slide/).   The same applies to practicing math concepts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).  To help your child, I've included some activities students can use to help maintain their learning achievement.  Just spending two hours a day reading and practicing math, will help your child begin next school year with confidence.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Busy Week

This is not only a short week, but a busy week in our classroom.  With having Monday off, we have to squeeze math into 3 days, so that we will be ready to run/walk for the Eagles Run on Friday.  I know the kiddos are super excited about Friday's activities.  Eagles Run is always a blast and so much fun wrapping our year up with a family picnic and festivities.  

We also have the NFL Play 60 camp on June 5th.  Permission slips went home on Friday.  Students must have a signed permission slip to participate.  This camp is run by the Carolina Panthers, therefore, they will not allow a child to participate without the form signed. 

Lastly, we only have 12 school days left!  I cannot believe how fast this year went by!! I know the kiddos are ready to be done and become 4th graders and I agree with them, but I'm going to miss them.  The next 12 school days will be busy, but fun!!  Have a great weekend.

End of Year Assessments

I cannot believe it is already end of year assessment time! Thursday we started our end of the year math assessment. This assessment measures DoDEA 3rd Grade Math Standards that your child is required to learn.  With 47 problems, I break the test up to about 10 problems a day until we finish it.  This way students do not tire out. So far, I'm very pleased with how they are doing on it.  Each day, I grade the page they finished so that on the last day I can immediately give them a final grade.  It is my expectation that your child score a 85-100% on this assessment to show 3rd Grade Math Mastery.  With daily lessons, Daily 5 Math, homework, and one-on-one teacher time, students should reach this expectation.

This week I also start testing students on the Benchmark Assessment System (BAS).  This is our reading assessment that measures students comprehension and fluency. Students in 3rd grade take this assessment twice a year- beginning and end.  Third grade students should end up on a Level L-P.  Most students are already within this range or higher.  I've included a BAS Text range below for you to use once I have tested your child.  

We also have our Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) test to take before June 5th.  This test measures your child's reading comprehension.  The SRI provides a lexile score for the student to use when selecting "Just Right" books.  

Once all assessments have been completed, I will send home a report with the scores for the whole year so that you can see your child's progress over this school year.  This report is something that I do and is not required by the school or district, but I feel that you need to know exactly where your child is and how much progress they made this year.  I plan to have all reports ready to send home by the last day of school.  Report cards will be mailed home by the school. 

Have a great weekend!!

BAS Text Levels

No More Homework!!

I sent out an email to all parents letting them know that tomorrow is the last day of homework for the year. After looking at the calendar and all the events we have coming up, there are going to be several interruptions to our instructional time.  Because of this, I will have to be creative with our lessons to allow for the fun we will have.  This will cause problems to scheduled homework, so it's easier to go ahead and wrap up the year with no more homework.  

As always, please have your child continue to read 15-20 minutes each night.  They also have access to IXL so they can continue working on the 3rd grade concepts.  So, there are several options for nightly work.  Enjoy!

End of Year Wrapup

3 days left!  We've had so many exciting things going on the last couple of weeks.  Our school-wide Eagles Run was a huge success.  The turnout was amazing.  Heroes does have a wonderful, involved group of parents.  Check out the Photo Gallery for pictures from the Eagles Run. 

We also ended our year with a 3rd grade performance.  I have pictures, but from where I was sitting, they did not turn out good, so I'm not including them in the Photo Gallery.  The performance was fantastic and I'm so proud of each and every one of my students.  Several had solo parts and they did an amazing job of memorizing their lines.  Thank you parents for helping out with everything!!