High Touch High Tech

Hope You Had a Great Thanksgiving!

We will start back on our normal schedule tomorrow. Before we left on break, though, we had a little turkey fun in our classroom, and celebrated Mrs. Polk's last day in the classroom. Thank you to all who sent in items for her gift basket and food for her party. We certainly surprised her! A special thank you to Kayla's aunt for helping in the festivities (and braving the monsoon to do so!) Here we a few pictures!

Spelling Bee

I made an agreement with the class today: If as a whole we had good behavior, we could do a class spelling bee in place of their spelling test. They earned their green ticket, and on the way back from lunch, got a compliment on their line from Dr. Small, so spelling bee it was!

Everybody did a great job on this week's words, so we moved on to next story's words, which proved to be a bit more challenging. Congratulations to our winners:

From left to right: Jazmin: Second Place; Zach: First Place, and Jennifer: Third Place

Great job!

Dress For Success

Mrs. Owen's Class on Springwood in the Morning

Dress For Success

Tomorrow is "Dress for Success" Day at Springwood! Dr. Small is asking that all students wear dress attire.

Also, don't forget your canned goods for the food drive. The website says they are due tomorrow, but Student Council is extending the deadline to Friday.

Science Review

Don't forget we have a science quiz tomorrow on animals and habitats. An email went home earlier today with specific topics that will be covered. A study sheet will go home tonight.

We had a great review today. I definitely think they are ready for tomorrow!

Animals and Their Habitats

Yesterday, the class presented their science research projects. The class was to work in a group to research a habitat, as well as an animal that would live in the habitat they chose. He are a few pictures of them with their projects.

AR Party

Students who made their AR Goals (both points and a percentage of 85% or higher) got to make a sweet treat yesterday! Check it out!

School Happenings!

We have been VERY busy since the last time I updated the blog! We have been studying "Animals and Their Habitats" in our reading unit, and are on our LAST STORY of Unit 2. We will have one week of Junior Great Books next week, and then move into our reading unit all about "Money".

In math, we are continuing to work on multiplication skills. Our scores on our Chapter 3 test were phenomenal, and I expect the same for Chapter 4. We are looking at the different strategies that can be used to solve a multiplication problem. Although I am all for using different methods, such as arrays, pictures, number lines, etc., I would also like to see MEMORIZATION as on of our strategies as well. Knowing multiplication facts is imperative to the rest of our math curriculum, and will be an important skill for our students to possess as they continue into life.

On a side note: Congratulations to all of our students recognized at the Honor Roll Assembly this morning. I am hoping to see more students on that stage after the second nine weeks!

Just a reminder: NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY! 

Happy Veteran's Day!

Junior Great Books

This past week, we finished our unit on Friendship in our Imagine It reading series. At the end of each unit, we will take a break from Imagine It, and will do a week-long lesson from Junior Great Books. The purpose in Junior Great Books is to enhance higher order thinking skills in our students. The series is designed to foster discussion between students about the story, and to help them with text dependent writing (a big part of our new Common Core State Standards).

We started our first lesson today. We read the story, "The Banza", and took some time while reading to record questions we had about the story as we read along. The questions the class generated were AMAZING! The story is a Haitian folktale, and we were able to cover some of the more common questions about the story (vocabulary questions, and general questions about the story). The class has some great questions about Haiti, so we took a break to do a little map lesson. We also had a question asking if "banza" was actually a Haitian word, and decided we will do some research on the word to see. Using the context clues in the story, most agreed it probably was a Haitian word, but then we discussed how there are words we use here in America (fiesta for party, for example) that did not originate here. I saw A LOT of deep thinking going on today, and was very impressed!

Please note, there are still spelling words this week, and we will take a spelling test as usual. However, there will be a text dependent writing assignment, versus the traditional  Imagine It assessment you are accustomed to seeing. We will resume Imagine It next week, beginning our unit on Animals and Their Habitats.

Survey Link

For your center today, please click on the following link to take a survey.

http://www.advanc-ed.org/survey/public/0861147

When you are finished, get on FCAT Explorer.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

I have been enjoying getting to know each of your children in the past two weeks. I can tell we are going to have a great year together.

We have started our Imagine It Unit on Friendship. Our first story is "Rugby and Rosie." We will take a test on this story Friday, along with a spelling test. Please note: Our first Imagine It Test will be a paper pencil test. All other tests throughout the year will be completed online. 

In math, we are studying place value. As you have seen on the homework, the book sometimes refers to thousands as "crates", hundreds as "boxes", tens as "stacks," and ones as "pieces". This is to help the students envision a real life example of what we are discussing. (For example I used an example of, if I ordered 100 T-Shirts, I would want my hundred T-Shirts delivered to me in a box, rather than each individual T-Shirt delivered piece by piece because it would be too many.) We have been working on different ways to express numbers, as well, and will continue to do so throughout the week, as we lead into addition with regrouping.

Please remember to check the agenda book nightly (and to sign it saying you have seen it). Your child should have his/her homework copied down in the agenda book each day so you are aware of what they are to be working on each night.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Join our Text Alert!

Parents,

We will be utilizing a text messaging system this year for IMPORTANT updates (changes in homework, reminders about field trips, or emergencies that may occur.) I will still primarily update you about our class on the blog or through email, but if anything comes up that may need immediate attention, I will send a reminder via text.

If you have not done so already (or if you tried at Orientation and got an error message) please text @mrsowencl  to (352) 449-1340. 

Welcome to Mrs. Owen's Third Grade Class! 

I am looking forward to a wonderful year! The purpose of this blog is to give students a place to show off work, while also giving parents "eyes" into our classroom. Please be sure to check the blog frequently to see the great things we are working on in our class.

Outstanding Owl

Congratulations to Darell Williams, our Outstanding Owl for the month of May!

Darell won the Outstanding Owl Award for "Confidence."

Hmm...

Mrs. Owen gave us the task of building a balloon powered car. This is Cameri's groups' car. Cameri is now pondering how the car is going to move. Stay tuned to find out!

Congratulations to Keiron Major, our Outstanding Owl for the month of April!

Keiron won the Outstanding Owl Award for "Kindness."

In 25 Years...

Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Owen will be retired beach bums.

Here are our replacements 25 years later:

Oh My Goodness!!!!

Keiron keeps us laughing!!!

Tree Ceremony

Yesterday, we celebrated 25 years of Springwood with a tree dedication ceremony. Our original plan was to plant the tree in the memory garden, but due to the weather, we had to postpone those plans!

Our assembly honored our "Silver Owls" (faculty and staff who have served at Springwood for 25 years or more) and we had a special spotlight on our four original owls: Mrs. Kathy, Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Barnes, and Mrs. Morris. 

It was wonderful to learn some Springwood history, and to feel the love of all of our Springwood students for our veteran teachers.

Thanks to all of YOU for sending in cans. We collected 52 pounds of cans as a school, and were able to use that money to purchase our tree!

 Springwood Assembles for the Tree Dedication.

,

 Dr. Small makes introductions.

 Our honorees.

Dr. Small with our four original Springwood Owls: Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Kathy, and Mr. Barnes.

Reading Homework

Due to our Ramona reading assignment taking longer than expected, we did not get to read our fairy tale as planned. Therefore, I am not assigning reading homework. 

Your child still has math homework tonight.

Edible Aquifers

We have been learning a lot about recycling the past few weeks. Yesterday was Earth Day, so we learned all about the Water Cycle, and how it affects our planet. We learned not all water evaporates, but some is stored under ground in an aquifer. To expand on this, we made "Edible Aquifers" today in class.

If you would like to try it a home, here is what you need:

• Oreos and chocolate chips to represent the bedrock (sand/gravel)
• Clear soda (Sprite or 7 Up) to represent the groundwater
• Ice Cream to represent the confining layer (the part that protects the groundwater from contaminants)
• Sprinkles, more Oreos, and chocolate chips to represent the top soil.

After building the aquifer, we put a few drops of food coloring (or pollution) into our creation. We noticed the food coloring sat on top of the ice cream. This showed us how well the confining layer of an aquifer works

We then "dug a well" by putting a straw in our aquifer, and "pumped" the well by sucking on the straw. We noticed as the water table went down, the contaminants also went further into the ground! YUCK! We then "had a rain shower" by pouring more 7 Up into the cup. The contaminants sunk down even further!

What we learned: Even though we have a confining layer to protect our groundwater, pollution can still seep into the water we drink. Yet another reason to "Think Green and take care of our planet!

Thank You, Ms. Stephens!

Thank you to Keiron's mom buying pizza for our class to celebrate the end of FCAT!

Congratulations to Kendrick Simmons and Symaria Randolph, our Outstanding Owls for the months of February and March!

 Kendrick was chosen for "Determination and Perseverance"

(Kendrick was absent from school for almost a month due to illness and made all A's and B's on his report card upon returning!)

Symaria was chosen for "Responsibility"

Cans for a Cause

Please collect your aluminum cans and bring them to school! Green S.T.E.M. Club is sponsoring a can drive to purchase a tree for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Springwood. The tree will be dedicated to our "Silver Owls" (those teachers who have been teaching at Springwood for 20+ years.)

Rock the FCAT

Our classes have worked super hard this year. We are ready to "Rock the FCAT" next week! We took today to review test taking strategies, and to celebrate all we have achieved so far this year.

You all are going to do wonderful next week! Mrs. Williams and I are both very proud of all of you!

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

FCAT Is Coming!

I hope you all are enjoying your Spring Break and are having a nice relaxing time.

When we return from break, we will only have three instructional weeks until FCAT!!!! We will test on April 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, beginning promptly at 9:00. PLEASE BE SURE YOUR CHILD IS AT SCHOOL ON TIME THESE DAYS!

The Plan for Reading: Our class has suspended Imagine It for the next three weeks. There will be no spelling words, no vocabulary, and no Friday tests. We are working on test taking skills, reviewing the reading skills we have practiced throughout the year, and are taking a few more FCAT Practices before the big week arrives.

Be sure you are continuing to work with your child nightly on both reading and math skills so they are fully prepared for FCAT week! Over break, a great way to practice would be to get on Think Central for Math, and FCAT Explorer for Reading. Remember, if you finish (and correct) all your planets in FCAT Explorer, you can move onto the fourth grade section!

A Few Field Day Pictures!

Congratulations, Dr. Small!

If you caught the news tonight, you probably saw Dr. Small received the Glenn Howell Distinguished Educator of the Year Award!

Every year, an educator from each school receives the award at the school level. Five finalists are then chosen out of those who receive the award. Then one educator wins the top prize out of all the schools in Leon County. Dr. Small took home the top honors today, and we are all very excited for him!

We made signs and cheered in the hallways after Superintendent Pons surprised Dr. Small. It was a great celebration. Later, the Godby drum line stopped by to carry on the celebration some more.

If you want to view the press releases, click on the following links. I spotted our very own Jaylen Graham in one of the pictures on the WCTV website.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130307/TLHLOCAL09/130307005/Springwood-Elementary-School-principal-honored-Glenn-Howell-Award

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Springwood-Elementary-Principal-Named-Glenn-Howell-Educator-of-the-Year-SLIDE-SHOW-195923931.html

Fun on the Bus

Ms. Baker sent me this fun picture of our class on their way back from the Challenger Center. I missed being with them, but am glad they had an awesome time!

See You Tomorrow!

I went on a test run today around town, and I am good to come back to school as planned! I'll be sporting a little extra equipment, as you can see, but I am excited to be back at work and to see my wonderful class! I have missed you guys so much!

The Beauty of Technology

Well, if I can't be at school in body, at least I can check in via FaceTime! I had a nice little visit with our class today. It was great to chat with them and see their smiling faces! Hope to be back to see you all in person next week!

Mr. Comedian

Shareed keeps us pretty entertained all the time, but he was really cracking us up today when he came back from Mrs. Williams' class sporting some interesting new sunglasses!

Happy Friday!

Congratulations to Jada Andrews and Bryson Hartsfield, our Outstanding Owls for the months of December and January!

Jada won the Outstanding Owl Award for "Self-Control."

Bryson won the Outstanding Owl Award for "Respect."