Hello Families!

Sorry for the delay on this week’s message.  Poor Mrs. Long has the flu, and will be out all week!  So, the other teacher’s and I have been running around helping her get prepared for the week.  I’m happy to say goodbye to the cold of February this week, and I’ll be really happy to say goodbye to the flu this season!

This week the kids will tackle Unit 5, Week 2 in Reading.  The theme of the week is recycling, and we’ll read a number of stories about the importance of recycling.  We will have a Reading Homework assignment, as well as a spelling list.

In Math, we’re about half way through Unit 5.  This week the kids will continue practicing perimeter and area, as well as revisit fractions.  This will be a good time to reteach a few of those tougher concepts from the Unit 4 Test.  In my Math class, we will not have homework Monday or Tuesday (the provided homeworks were way too confusing!).  We will have an assignment Wednesday and Thursday (I’m 99% sure!).  We’ll play Friday by ear.

It sickens me to say I will be gone from school Wednesday afternoon.  I haven’t missed a day in about 8 years!  But, as part of the mentor/mentee training program for our new 3rd grade teachers, we are mandated to go observe a teacher in another school for half a day.  I’m sure your kids will be fine while I’m gone, but I don’t think I can handle it!  🙂

Well, I hope your family is avoiding the flu and looking forward to Spring!

Eric Wachter

Good Morning Families!

This week is Spring Conference Week…yes I say Spring even thought it’s cold!  🙂  Attached to the email is the conference schedule, and you can also find it on the conference tab of the class web site.  I’m really looking forward to visiting with you, as I have so many great things to share about your amazing kids.

This week we’ll begin Unit 5 in Reading.  You can expect a spelling list and a reading homework to come home this evening.  We have also started Unit 5 in Math.  We’ll spend the week exploring geometry, and continue finding the perimeter and area of shapes.  You can expect a homework to come home on Wednesday and Thursday if your child is in my Math class.  We may have one Friday, but I’m not sure yet.

Wednesday is “Wacky Wednesday” at school.  The school has earned an amazing 30,000 coupons in all, and your child is welcome to wear wacky clothes or sport a silly hairstyle tomorrow.

Have a great week and I hope to see you at conferences!

Eric Wachter

Good Morning Families!

This week, your child’s classroom will be taking their Unit 4 Reading and Math Tests.  The reading test is spaced out over three days, and the math test will take two days.  Because of all this testing, there will be no spelling words this week.  I’ve also decided give the kids a break and not assign a reading homework this week.  I think their little brains will be on overload enough, and they can use the week off!  🙂

You might have heard about our field trip last week to Morrill Hall.  We had a great time, and learned a lot about dinosaurs, fossils and what it’s like to be a paleontologist.  Thanks to all those parents that took time out of their day to join us on the trip!

I have taken A LOT of pictures from our Embryology Unit and the Morrill Hall trip.  I plan on sharing all of those with you via a link to Dropbox.  I just need to get them organized, and I hope to do that this week.

This week we will begin a new Health unit.  A guest teacher from the UNL Extension office will visit this week and next, and teach two lessons about exercise and proper diet.  We will also practice a number of lessons on our own to help promote healthy lifestyle choices.

Just a reminder, conferences are coming up next week.  Your child will be bringing home a conference time reminder sheet this week (probably Tuesday).  I’ll also attach it to the weekly email, and it’s posted on the class web page, as well.  I have so many great things to share about your kids and I’m looking forward to next week!

Thanks for reading, stay warm, and have a great week!

Eric Wachter

Good Morning Families!

This week we will do our best to return to normalcy, as our little chickadee friends have returned to the farm.  We had a great week enjoying them, and your kids were amazing!  Everyone shared time playing with the chicks, took turns, had fun…it was very heartwarming to see everyone enjoying the special week.  When I get organized, I will send you all a Dropbox link that has all the photographs I took during the week.

We are finishing up Unit 4, and will tackle the skills in week 5 this week.  You can expect a literacy homework and spelling list to come home this evening.  A big focus of the week will be figurative language.  We’ll practice alliterations, idioms, metaphors, onomatopoeias, similes and imagery over the course of the week (and into next week).

In Math, we’ll switch our focus to various types of graphs.  It’s hard for me to predict what nights we’ll have homework, as I’m squeezing a couple of lessons together due to the snow days.  My Math class will not have homework Monday, and will likely have an assignment on Tuesday.  The rest of the week we’ll play by ear.  By the end of the week we’ll begin reviewing fractions and telling time in preparation for our Unit 4 Math Test next week.

While most of the week will seem normal, our first field trip of the year is upon us!  On Thursday, the kids will get to tour Morrill Hall during the morning, and become paleontologists for a day.  You are more than welcome to join us, but unfortunately there is a $7 fee for any parents that want to attend.  You can click on the “events” tab of the web site, or read the attached note to the weekly email for more details about the trip.

Thanks for reading and for all you do to help your child succeed in school!

Eric Wachter