Happy Spring!

Dear Parents,

There's lots of learning going on in Third Grade. We are exploring food chains and habitats, multiplying 2 digits by 1 digit numbers, completing a book study, and writing about a memorable first. So proud of our 3rd graders. They are almost ready for 4th Grade.

Robolab was so much FUN! Thank you to our awesome parent volunteers and to Dr. Jenn Smith for facilitating this amazing program.  The kiddos had a blast building and programming a car that drove itself to Home Depot and Target!

In preparations for our upcoming Fishing and Camping Day, we need your help! If you are interested in volunteering for our Fishing Day and/or loaning a tent for Camping day, please click on the links below to sign up. I truly appreciate all your support!

Thank you for reading your third grader’s classroom newsletter each week.  Hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring weather and the long weekend!

Gratefully,
Mrs. McDonald

                          THIRD GRADE AND CCE CAMPUS NEWS

Character Trait for March: PATIENT

THIRD GRADE CAMPING DAY AND UNIT
We have so many memorable activities planned for the end of the year!  Third grade has a tradition of ending the school year with a camping unit. The objectives will include students researching a Texas state park and planning an imaginary camping trip to that park, but we will do much more than that. This unit will involve all content areas: Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, and Science.  

This unit is always a highlight of third grade. To plan their camping trips, the children will need advertising circulars from grocery stores as well as flyers or catalogs from outdoor recreation stores. Each student will pack a "suitcase" with pictures of all the items they will need for a 5-day camping trip. Each group of 4-5 students will plan menus for 5 days. They will need pictures of the grocery items. So, don’t recycle ads from HEB, Target, Academy, REI, Sports Authority, Cabelas, etc. Many of the stores have circulars available as you enter their store. Please grab several copies. Thank you so much for helping us gather materials.

Below is a list of days when we will need parent volunteers and sign-up links. Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you!

Thursday, May 16th: “Fishing Day” at Trailhead Park from 9:30-12:00. 
​All activities are planned. Each class will need 3 parents to help at the stations. You can sign-up here to volunteer: Fishing Day Sign-Up

Friday, May 17th: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Field Trip. All parents are welcomed to attend and/or volunteer to be a chaperone. Information/permission slips  will go home in this week’s Tuesday folder regarding our fun field trip. 

Monday, May 20th: Campout Day
Parent chaperones are not needed, but each class will need four tents pitched outside CCE. Please fill out the following form if you have a tent that we could borrow, and are willing to put it up that morning before school.   Tent Set-up

VOLUNTEER BREAKFAST
Mark your calendars for the CCE Volunteer Breakfast on May 7th from 7:10am to 8:00am in the library.  If you have volunteered at CCE this school year, please join the third grade teachers for breakfast on us!

THIRD GRADE SHOWCASE
The third grade students and teachers are excited to invite you to come by your child's classroom on Thursday, May 9th, from 7:20- 7:45 am for our Third Grade Showcase.  Your favorite third grader will be ready to show you some of the great work that he/she has been doing this year! Please come to cheer your child's hard work and show your appreciation for all he/she has learned in Third Grade.  We look forward to seeing you here!

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!
The CCE Singing Stars Choir will perform the National Anthem Sunday, April 28th at 1:05 p.m. at the Round Rock Express baseball game. We have reserved a large block of infield reserved seat tickets in Section 113 for the game at a discounted rate of $12.00 per ticket. (There is an extra charge for parking at the stadium) Sundays are Kids Days, so there are several activities at the stadium geared toward kids. The RR Express uses Groupmatics for group sales now so your ticket purchases will be easy and online. To purchase tickets go here. We hope to have a large CCE presence at the game! 

We were told by the Express staff that CCE Singing Stars Choir is the only group that has performed the National Anthem ALL 20 years of their existence! Quite a tradition!

HOMEWORK
Planners are completed daily.  Please check and initial your child’s planner nightly.

Students are required to read for a minimum of 20 minutes per night and record a quick response on their reading logs. Signed logs are DUE every Wednesday. Book Bucks are earned with every 100 minutes read. Students can “purchase” books from our “Book Buck Libraries” with 10 book bucks.

Nightly reading is crucial to your child's overall reading success. Reading should be an interactive process, so please remember to initial or sign your child's log before turning it in on Wednesday.

Students should practice math skills 10 minutes nightly.  This could be anything from Education Galaxy, to flashcards or even a series of problems written by a parent. 

Each FRIDAY students will receive spelling lists and work. Practice spelling the words correctly and complete the homework packet due each THURSDAY. Spelling Tests will be administered on Fridays.

UNITS OF STUDY for April 22-26 , 2019
Math -  2-Digit X 1-Digit Multiplication 
Reading -  Book Study: Cleary and Clements 
Writing -  A Memorable First - Personal Narrative
Spelling - Unit 23
Social Studies - Community Changes Over Time
Science - Structures and Functions of animals and plants

IMPORTANT DATES
Friday April 26th - Visit from Austin Pets Alive
Sunday, April 28th--CCE Round Rock Express Day
April 29th-May 3rd--CCE Book Fair
Tuesday, April 30th--Kona Ice after school, Book Fair open until 6:00 pm
Tuesday, May 7th--PTA Meeting, 6:00 p.m. Followed by Gr 1 Musical Performance
Thursday, May 9th--3rd Grade Showcase @ 7:20 a.m. - 7:45 a.m.
Monday, May 13th--3rd and 4th Grade STAAR Math Assessment
Tuesday, May 14th--3rd and 4th Grade STAAR Reading Assessment
Thursday, May 16th--3rd Grade Fishing Day and Visit from KVUE Weather Forecaster, Jason Mikell
Friday, May 17th--3rd Grade Field trip to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Monday, May 20th--3rd Grade Camping Day, Visit from the Reptile Guy
Tuesday, May 21st--Annual CCE Field Day
Thursday, May 23rd--Last Day of Third Grade and End of Year Breakfast party hosted by our awesome Room Moms