Thank you!

          I want to thank all of you for your many gifts, treats, and acts of kindness in my honor.  I have honestly never felt so appreciated, so loved, or so overwhelmed.  I kid you not – I think that there was less fuss made about me on my wedding day than there was during Teacher Appreciation Week.  Thank you all for making me feel so special!

          My students have asked what was my favorite part or day of the week.  It’s really hard to narrow it down.  It’s no secret that I love a sweet treat with my morning coffee and I was certainly overloaded with those.  A fresh flower or two is always a way to brighten a day and our classroom certainly shone with the many filled vases.  It was a wonderful surprise to have an early release on early release Wednesday.  Coincidentally, this break was timed just perfectly with the need to select a backsplash tile!  And, who can or would ever want to forget Orioles/Orange Day in our classroom?  What a very special way to recognize my passion for baseball and to share it with my “minor leaguers”.  Finally, my week concluded with a homemade and delivered meal that was extra special as it was shared in my newly completed kitchen.  All of this, in addition to the many favors being offered to the bigger teaching community, really created a lasting and meaningful memory.  Thank you!

          I wish all of you a restful weekend.  I will be unpacking dishware and setting up cabinets.  By Memorial Day weekend I hope to be moved into my new space and cooking up a storm of new recipes.  Fortunately, I have my own copy of the Third Grade Healthy Cookbook to get me started!

Sincerely,

Ms. Coffman

SOL Testing Starts Tomorrow!

I can honestly say that we've worked as hard as possible to continue learning new material while still reviewing previous content.  My team is more than ready and will be "taking the field" tomorrow.  Tests for our crew start just after lunch at 1 pm.  Please be sure that we are bunking down early tonight and packing a healthy and filling lunch.  I also suggest a hearty breakfast and extra snack just to be sure that energy levels are high.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts and encouraging words.  SOLs here we come!

Success in the Savanna, 5/14/12

There are simply no words to express my appreciation for all that you did last week to make me feel special.  I honestly felt more loved and more showered with appreciation than I did on my wedding day or any other day of great significance in my life.  In fact, I began to feel almost embarrassed by your generosity and many kindnesses.  I truly come to school each day excited and eager to share time with your children.  To be given such an extraordinary amount of recognition for doing something that I love seems unfair.  But, that being said, thank you so much for all that you did.  I will never forget “Orioles/Orange Day” in the third grade.  What a treasure of memories you have created for me!

As for our learning this week, the weather enabled us to get outside for our Soils Day activity on Friday.  The children moved through five stations to learn about what makes up soil, how soil is made, layers of soil and how we can protect our soil, and the nutrients in the soil.  It was a very fun and informative morning of learning. In addition to this program we started a number of new units included Famous Americans, the US Government, and Geometry.  In our spare time we are practicing for the SOLs and reviewing earlier units.  On Wednesday, we had the glorious opportunity to take in the fourth grade concert.  I’m sorry that we missed the opportunity to see our fifth graders in concert.  However, in order to accommodate our large audience, the concerts were split for our viewers. 

This week we are formally practicing for the SOL tests that being on Friday.  Each afternoon we will work on the computers getting familiar with the test procedures and tools.  The first actual test will be on Friday afternoon (5/18) and will continue Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.  Should your child miss any of the testing days there will be make-up sessions on Thursday, May 31st and Friday June 1st.  The content review and paper practices the children have been doing in class have helped to calm much of the apprehension and gain confidence about what will be asked of them. To be ready for the tests each day, I would like to ask your help to make sure the children get a good night sleep, and to eat a good breakfast each morning.  The children are ready and I am confident all will go well.

If you have any additional questions about anything I touched on in this note, please drop me an email or note.  Happy Belated Mother’s Day wishes to all!

Sincerely,

Ms. Coffman

                                                           

May 18-23- SOL Testing

May 19^th- House and Garden Tour

May 23- Volunteer Breakfast

May 28- Memorial Day-No School

House and Garden Tour: May 19th!

Tuckahoe Elementary School's 12th Annual Home & Garden Tour is Saturday, May 19th, 2012 from 12-5. Mark your calendars, grab a friend, tell your neighbors and get ready to tour some wonderful renovations in your neighborhood! The tour will take you through 7 beautiful properties including one that won a DESIGNArlington 2011 Award.

There will be various styles of homes for you to enjoy along with some beautifully designed gardens. You'll also have the opportunity to gather ideas for your own future renovations and meet many local talented builders, contractors, architects, landscape architects and designers!

All proceeds from this annual event benefit the Tuckahoe Elementary School's Discovery Schoolyard, a nationally recognized outdoor learning curriculum. Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased by visiting, http://tuckahoetour.org/. Tickets will also be available the day of the tour for $25.

Success in the Savanna 5/4/12

Dear Parents:

          We have had a good week.  The children are finishing their units on Explorers and Matter.  There is a test on Tuesday on Explorers.  We are doing an in-class project on Matter and will have a short quiz on Wednesday.  We will spend a few days on US Government before starting Economics next week.  In Math, we are learning about Decimals and will have a unit test on Fractions and Decimals toward the end of next week.  In Language Arts, we created a Tapestry of Tales (see it in the hallway) and are finishing our second of three literature circle reads.  On addition to all this, we have started our content review in preparation for the SOLs later this month.  Overall, I am pleased with the preliminary results of the practice tests that we are taking in class. 

          Although this seems like we are just days away from the close of school, we are still busy and have lots to accomplish before the end of the year.  I encourage my students to keep doing their best work and to be diligent about homework assignments, fact review, journal entries, projects, assessments, and more.  I know that it’s logical to want to take a step back after working so hard all year but we are not done!  Thank you for keeping a watchful eye on your child’s level of responsibility and encouraging them to keep aiming high.  I’d like to all students to leave third grade with the best and most glowing quarterly performance of all.   They can do it and your continued support and reinforcement of this message is greatly appreciated.

          I was out of town last weekend but hope to stay close to home through the end of May.  If I have not attended any game or any event of your child this year, please let me know if such opportunity will exist before the end of the year.  I think that there is only a limited of students who I have not seen outside of the classroom.  Please let me know if there is a way that we can make this happen before the end of the school year.

          The coming weeks are full of various events.  Below are just a few to put on your calendar.

         

May 9- 4^th Grade Spring Concert- 7:00 pm

May 11- 5^th Grade Spring Concert- 7:00 pm

May 12^th- Family Fitness Day

May 18-23- SOL Testing

May 23- Volunteer Breakfast

May 26- House and Garden Tour

May 28- Memorial Day-No School

Enjoy the weekend!

Ms. Coffman

Explorer's Test 5/8

Explorers Study Guide

To prepare for the Explorers test and project on Tuesday, May 8th, here are the major ideas or materials that you should review and know:

1. Names of the four explorers we have studied. (Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Cartier and Newport).

2. For each of these explorers know:

Where they sailed from and who supported their exploration

When they sailed and how long they explored

Where they sailed to and what they were in search of

What they actually discovered and its impact on our world

3. Review all the study guides and assignments that we completed in class or at home about each of the explorers.

4. Review any quizzes and pages 36 - 47 in the Social Studies text. 

5. Locate Spain, France, England and Canada on a world map. 

6. Locate where each of the explorers landed on a map.

7.  Explain the significant contributions made by each of these explorers.  How is our world changed because of their exploration?  Complete the attached study guide/chart as extra practice.