Phone: 919-857-7676 Homeroom Homework B1 Homework B2 Homework |
Ms. Kowalski's Class Website Parents, Thank you so much for the gifts. You are all so very thoughtful! We had a blast at the Writing Celebration before break. Students were able to read their poems and create a gingerbread house to go along with their poem. As the New Year begins, so do our units of study. We have begun a writing unit on a research paper. Students are researching two different animals. They are gathering facts about what they look like, eating habits, sleeping patterns, and young. Students will be compiling this information into an alike and different paper. Time permitting, students will also be able to complete a PowerPoint presentation. Please look for dates for our next writing celebration in early February. We will also be staring a new Social Studies unit on Now and Then. This unit focuses on the changes that occur over time in a community. We will look at changes in clothing, transportation, homes, jobs, chores, and even games/toys. Later in the year we will be visiting the Mordecai house to experience some of these changes in person. The COGAT (Cognitive Abilities Assessment) will be given to all third grade students the week of January 25-January 27. The COGAT is an assessment of your child’s cognitive ability. The outcome of this assessment will not impact your child’s grades. It is one of the tools used to identify students for the academically gifted and talented program. If you have additional question pertaining to this assessment I encourage you to contact Sally Chamberlain, our school’s AG coordinator. Lastly, the COGAT will take place in the first thing in the morning. Please make sure your child is on time to school. As with all assessments, your child will need a good nights rest and a good breakfast! Thank you, Sheila Kowalski
Updated Supply List for Gingerbread Houses
November 29, 2010 Parents, I hope everyone had a relaxing fall break. As we move closer to winter break, we will be wrapping up several of our units. In science we have been analyzing the moon and how it appears to change over time. We have also begun a mini-unit on the sun and shadows. We will have our unit test on objects in the sky on Friday, December 17. I will be sending home a study guide in the next week to assist students with preparing for the assessment. In writing we will be concluding our unit on poetry. To celebrate students will be sharing their gingerbread poem and one other poem from their collection. Students will then be building gingerbread houses as described in their poem. Our celebration will take place on Tuesday, December 21 from 11:00-12:30. Please join us in celebrating! In addition if you are able to donate any of the materials needed for the gingerbread house, please let me know on the attached page. I have begun conferences with those parents who requested on the report card envelope. If you cannot attend the date given, please let me know ASAP. The calendar is filling up quickly and knowing ahead of time allows us to reschedule and use the available time for another conference. If at any time you are interested in a conference, please let me know and I am more than happy to set one up for you. Lastly, we are beginning to run low on a few classroom supplies. We are in need of loose-leaf paper, a pencil sharpener, and color copy paper. If you are able to donate any of these items, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Upcoming dates: Thursday, December 2 – Picture Make-up day Friday, December 3-Early Release Friday, December 10- Field Trip- Please fill out and send back forms Thursday, December 16 at 11:30 Spelling Bee (for those who registered) Tuesday, December 22- Gingerbread poems and houses Wednesday, December 23-January 4 No School for Winter Break
Gingerbread Houses
As a part of our poetry celebration, we will be creating gingerbread houses. We will be needed several supplies to make this a successful and fun learning activity. If you are able to donate any of the following, please let me know and send it in. I am going to keep an update on the materials sent in on the website, www.hunterthirdgrade.yolasite.com . Please check there to see what has been brought in thus far. Thanks in advance for your help!
Item
Quantity Needed
Quantity Received
Graham Crackers
3-4 boxes
We have received enough! White Frosting
6 containers
3 containers Plastic Knives
25 knives
We have received enough! Paper plates
25 plates
We have received enough! Gallon Size Zip-loc bags
25 bags
None received M&M’s
3 large bags
1 bag Gum drops
3-4 bags
1 bag Peppermints 2-3 bags
None received Liquorish
3-4 bags
None received Butterscotch
2-3 bags
We have received enough! Peppermint patties
1-2 bags
We have received enough! Small candy canes
2-3 bags
We have received enough! Marshmallows
1-2 bags
We have received enough! Small lollie-pops
1-2 bags
None received Red Hots
1-2 boxed
None received Lemon Drops
1-2 boxes
None received Gingerbread cookies
1-2 boxes (enough for each student to have 1)
None received
November 8, 2010 Parents, Enclosed is your child’s report card. Please keep the copy of the report card for your records. Please note that your child’s teachers have initialed comments given for the subject area in the comment section of the report card. If you would like to request a conference please check the box next to your signature. Sign and return the envelope to me ASAP. I will begin conferences with those who requested it on the report card. We will do our best to have the conference include your child’s reading and math teacher as well as myself. When you request a conference, you will receive a note in the Monday folder. This letter will include the date and time. Please sign and return the bottom portion of the conference letter. As a team we will do our best to accommodate you with your conference time. Most conferences will be held in the morning at 8:00 and 8:20 or after school at 3:40 and 4:00. Each conference is 20 minutes long. If you cannot meet on the date requested in the Monday folder, please let me know so I can find a new date and/or time. Lastly, please make sure to show up on time and honor your 20 minutes. On average each teacher has 60 students (between homeroom and reading or math classes) to meet and hold a conference with, should you be a no show to the conference we cannot guarantee another conference until next quarter. Thank you, Sheila Kowalski
I am also cancelling Pumpkin Day for this Friday. See below for more info. Parents, It is hard to believe that we are beginning the second quarter of the school year. We are working hard in writing. We are in the middle of our poetry unit. We are analyzing poems for poetic language, word choice, and rhythm. We will be working on this unit for about 3 more weeks. We have also begun our unit on Objects in the Sky. During this unit students analyze the Earth, Moon, Sun, and stars. As a part of this unit students will be asked to complete a moon calendar. Please assist your child in locating the moon each night and document the time and shape seen. I know there maybe times when it is cloudy or rainy and this may not be possible. If this occurs please use the newspaper, information from the Weather Channel, http://stardate.org/nightsky/moon , or http://www.briancasey.org/artifacts/astro/moon.cgi . If you need more information or an extra copy of the moon calendar please click the link to the left for this week's homework! Please have your child bring this calendar back-and-forth to school on a daily basis, as we will be tracking it in school! I am also cancelling Pumpkin Day for this Friday. I inadvertently double booked myself during this time. I apologize for any of the inconvenience I have caused. I am hoping to have a Poetry Celebration at the end of our writing unit in place of Pumpkin Day. I appreciate your understanding in advance. Lastly, we ran out of time on Friday to properly understand this week’s grammar homework. I am not going to assign grammar homework this week because of this as well as students having the moon calendar to complete. We will pick back up next week with the grammar. Thank you, Sheila Kowalski
Welcome to 2010-2011! I will be your child’s homeroom teacher. That means that I am responsible for teaching your child writing, science, and social studies. This year your child will change classrooms for reading and math. More information is to come regarding your child’s placement for reading and math. I was born in Indiana and went to college at Indiana University. I am currently pursuing my masters at Elon University. I hope to graduate in August 2011! I have lived in Raleigh for 7 years so I definitely consider this home. This will be my fifth year at Hunter Elementary. I previously taught two years at Forestville Elementary and two years at South Elementary. I am excited about this school year. I look forward to getting to know your child and working together to have a very successful third grade. -Ms. Kowalski |
