Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

Happy Hump Day!  We are halfway finished with a hectic week of student-centered conferences.  Thank you to everyone that has carved time out of their busy schedules to meet and discuss student progress.

Tomorrow is Parent Involvement Day, so show your support by joining us in the library at 9:30.  Breakfast, childcare and a brief introduction will be offered free of cost (bring in some canned goods for our food drive instead).  Then you will be able to spend some time in your child's classroom(s).  Finally, you will return to the library for a Q and A session on the Common Core State Standards.
Since the Torrey Pines field trip has been postponed to January (date TBD), so I really hope to see you tomorrow.

Finally, Friday is a day of celebration.  The students in B3 have been reading a variety of texts about Thanksgiving, and we have recently finished The Island of the Blue Dolphins.  The culminating projects will be presented by individuals and groups beginning at 10:30am. After recess we will commence the group project presentations.  Then to wrap it up B3 rockstar-style, we will be feasting.  Please bring in a traditional family dish for the class to sample that is commonly served at your family's Thanksgiving.  I have found a bakery that is willing to donate cupcakes, and I plan to bring pumpkin pie, a Maggard family staple.

If you have any questions, please email me at:  dmaggard@sandi.net.

Scholastic Book Clubs

Scholastic Book Club ordering can be done online:  https://orders.scholastic.com/HRVNG

We should be receiving this month's order soon along with next month's catalog.

3D Printer

This 3D Printer will soon be one of B3's tech toys!  In only one day, the bundle (worth over $2600) was fully funded on donorschoose.org.

Looking Ahead...

           The upcoming week is conference week, students will be dismissed at 1:25pm daily. 
 If you have a conference after school and your child rides the bus, please be sure to notify 
the office staff that he/she will not be riding the bus home on that day.  I look forward to
 sitting down with you and your child to discuss their performance so far this year.  PLEASE 
remember to bring your student along, it IS all about them, so they are a key component of
 the meeting.
            Thursday 11/21/13 we will be going to Torrey Pines for our second field trip.  Parent
 volunteers are ALWAYS welcome, but if you can't join us, you can still help out.  This 
Thursday is also National Parent Involvement Day, and the PTA is hosting an event.  They 
are asking that parents come to school at 9:30 to learn more about the newly adopted Common 
Core Standards and visit classrooms.  They are supporting the school-wide canned food drive 
by asking parents to bring in some nonperishable food item that will be donated to The Salvation
 Army.  Students will be brining home a flier for further details or you may contact the PTA 
directly to RSVP for childcare/translation services at:  
  cbobryk-pta@san.rr.com.
        Friday is also another big day on our campus.  We will be concluding out unit on
 Thanksgiving, as well as celebrating it with a classroom feast.  The presentations of The 
Island of the Blue Dolphins project is scheduled to begin at 9:30, while the feast will take 
place during our normal modified day-lunch time at 12:00.  Please send a dish that is
 commonly served on your family's table to share with the class.  You are also invited to join us!  
With the variety of cultures represented in our classroom,
 I anticipate we will have quite a cornucopia of food.       

 Finally, Friday is also the final day of the Food Drive.  Please peruse your cabinets and
donate any canned goods to help feed less fortunate families in San Diego during the holiday season.  
We can also have pizza at our feast if we collect the most cans than the other classrooms.

 

Thanks in advance for your support!

This Week in B3

Hello students and parents,

Here is a link to our classroom's donor's choose website, where I have posted projects for materials needed to support our classroom.  http://www.donorschoose.org/msmaggard

Also, please don't forget to check out mybigcampus.com daily.  Here I post links to articles we are currently reading in class, post discussions for students to comment on, and assign schoolwork assignments.

Next week, the 4th graders (and hopefully the 5th graders in my class) will be going on their 2nd field trip of the year, Torrey Pines State Reserve.  These off-campus experiences are invaluable ways of engaging the kids in the learning process.  Please be sure that you (or your child) has his/her permission slip turned in ASAP.  In addition, I still need parent volunteers to join us on the geology walk.

Here are a few of the photos from last week's trip to Olivewood Gardens.  It was extraordinary!  Thanks to the parents that donated money to cover the cost of the bus and/or who donated their time to chaperone our visit.

Thanksgiving?  What is the true story?"

http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/