Hope everyone saw their child's mid-term report.  Again, thank you for all your help.  Please sign and return the report.  Thanks.

Tomorrow and Wednesday your children will be taking the Learning First Test.  The reading test is tomorrow and the math test will be Wednesday morning.  These tests, again, give us some idea of how your child is doing in third grade-again, it is one test.  The tests also help with test taking and preparing for the ISAT's.  Each test is about 55 minutes.  They should relax and do their best.  The tests will be given again in the winter and in the spring.

Thanks for the field trip money coming in.  I need all the money and forms signed and returned by this Friday.  Thanks.

Next Friday, as tradition has it, in celebration of Halloween, your child can dress up as one of their favorite characters from a book.  They can wear their outfit to school.  Next week's Language Arts Homework will focus around this.  (Writing a description of their character.)

Language Arts:  We will be giving the Learning First Tests for 2 days.  Our focus this week is writing.  Looking through their journal, your child is re-writing a page of their choice by beginning each sentence with a different word.  This was challenging.  Ask your child about it.  We will work on this throughout the week.

Homework:  Your child will have reading homework-they should read at least 30 minutes each night.  In connection with their book, your child should write at least one question that they have in mind about their book.  Any question.  (i.e.  Could I have read this book last year?  I wonder how many pronouns are on each page? etc.  The questions should be listed and turned in on Friday.  Please have your child put the title and author of the book on their homework.  How have you and your child liked the Home Journals?  Encourage your child to read their classmates work and remind them that others are reading their work!  The kids are having wonderful comments to me about these journals!!  Again, three journals are circulating so your child will get a journal about once every 10 days.

Math:  Lessons 2.8-2.10 will be completed and the Unit 2 Test will be on Thursday.  Homework sheets for lessons 2.8 and 2.9 will be Monday and Tuesday.  Math Journal 1 will go home Wednesday evening for study and review.  The Test will be Thursday.

Art:  Colors and Feelings--In expressionism, artists may paint (or crayons) in colors that express their feelings rather than in true-to-life colors.  They will discuss slides by Matisse and Picasso.

Social Studies:  Discussions will focus around Halloween and traditions that we (and other cultures) might have.