Welcome to Third Grade!

Dearest Third Grader,                         

Welcome to third grade! My name is Ms. Senecal and I am thrilled to be your teacher. It is sure to be a year of learning and adventure!

I can’t wait to meet you, but let me tell you a few things about myself. I grew up in Upstate New York (not the big city) and had fantastic teachers which made me want to be one. After college, I spent a year living on the Mississippi River, rebuilding houses in New Orleans, and digging trail in Illinois. Before I came to Montana, I taught fourth graders in Virginia. I love to hike, travel, and read.

This summer, I had a lot of visitors who I took rafting, hiking, and biking. Here are a few pictures. I hope your summer was full of adventure.

Third grade is a very important year. You will become an aviator, a mathematician, and an author! Are you ready?

Love,

Ms. Senecal

Last Week

Wow, we are on our last week of school. These past few weeks have been BUSY and FUN! 

We finished our work with the Missoula Writing Collaborative and our resident Ms. Laurel. She put together an amazing website to show the students work. Click on the link below to check it out. She also created poetry anthologies which were sent home last week.
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/528229445606047745

Our class voted to have a final show and tell for each student. Our schedule for this week is below. 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
Show and Tell for students with #1-10	Show and Tell for students with #11-20 Field Day @ 1:00	Show and Tell for students with #21-28	Last Day Dismissal @ 11:05

Please send students to school in tennis shoes and with sunscreen on for Field Day. Most student supplies will also be sent home on Tuesday.

Weekly Update 5/19/14

We had a naturalist from MPG Ranch visit our class. We learned all about the ranch and checked out 2 osprey cameras! Click below to check on the osprey.
South Camera
North Camera

Communication Arts
Story: Love That Dog
Skills: Literal and Figurative Language
Spelling: Individual Lists - see the back of your reading log
Writing: Poetry

Math
Unit 13: Measurement

Social Studies
Wildlife Discovery with Ms. Becky from Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge

Mark Your Calendar!
5/19/14 Wildlife Discovery with Ms. Becky in class
5/20/14 Writing Poetry with Ms. Laurel in class
5/21/14 Poetry Festival at C.S. Porter 4:00-6:00: students can read their poems!
5/23/14 Writing Poetry with Ms. Laurel in class
5/26/14 No School - Happy Memorial Day, Happy Birthday Brock!
5/27/14 Field Trip to MPG Ranch - send a lunch if you did not order one
5/29/14 Literacy Luncheon

Weekly Update 5/5/14

Communication Arts
Story: Elena's Serenade
Skills: Illustrations
Spelling: Related Words - Click to Practice!
Writing: Poetry with our Visiting Poet Ms. Laurel through the Writing Collaborative

Math
Unit 13: Measurement

Social Studies
Montana's Natural Resources

Mark Your Calendar!
5/5/14 - 5/9/14 Walk and Bike to School Week
5/6/14 MAP - Reading
5/7/14 National Bike to School Day - wear your neon shirt!
5/8/14 Flagship Ends
5/9/14 Ms. Wolf's Last Day

Weekly Update 4/27/14

**This week students need a swim suit and towel Wednesday and Friday! Lessons have been a splashing success so far!

Communication Arts
Story: Two Bad Ants
Skills: Illustrations
Spelling: Vowel Sounds in Tooth and Cook - Click to Practice!
Writing: Opinion Writing - The Best Restaurant

Math
Unit 13: Measurement

Social Studies
Montana's Natural Resources

Mark Your Calendar!
4/28/14 No School for Students - You lucky ducks! Enjoy!
4/29/14 Visiting Author through the Missoula Writing Collaborative
4/30/14 Swimming Lessons at the YMCA
5/1/14 Smarter Balanced Math Class Activity
5/2/14 AM: Smarter Balanced Math State Assessment
                PM: Swimming Lessons at the YMCA!

Weekly Update 4/21/14

**Students need a swim suit and towel Monday and Wednesday! Goggles are optional. Please send their swim gear in a bag. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help!

Communication Arts
Story: Talking Walls
Skills: Illustrations
Spelling: tion, sion, ture - Click to Practice!
Writing: Opinion Writing - The Best Restaurant - Ask your third grader their opinion on this topic. We will be mailing our finished pieces to local restaurants!

Math
Unit 13: Measurement

Social Studies
Montana's Natural Resources: Ms. Wolf has some great activities planned for Earth Day!

Mark Your Calendar!
4/20/14 Happy Easter
4/21/14 Swim Lessons at the YMCA
4/22/14 Math Smarter Balanced Assessment
4/23/14 Swim Lessons at the YMCA
4/24/14 Hawthorne's Spring Social 5:30-7:00
4/25/14 Writing Collaborative begins
4/26/14 Happy Birthday Johnny!
4/26/14-4/27/14 Hawthorne Outdoor Learning Community Installation Weekend!

Weekly Update 4/14/14

Oops, the blog took an extended Spring Break. Sorry for the lack of post last week. I was so impressed and appreciative of the great attitudes and learning behaviors students returned from Spring Break with. It made the transition back smooth.

Communication Arts
Story: Happy Birthday Mr. Kang
Skills: Literal vs. Figurative Language and Illustrations
Spelling: Schwa - unstressed vowel - Click to Practice!
Writing: Opinion Writing - The Best Restaurant - Ask your third grader their opinion on this topic. We will be mailing our finished pieces to local restaurants!

Math
Unit 12: 3D Figures
Unit 13: Measurement

Science
Science of Flight: We completed our final launch last week. Students worked hard to design, build, and launch gliders that would carry supplies into an area after a natural disaster. Pictures to come!

Social Studies
Montana's Natural Resources: Our student teacher Ms. Wolf, is working hard to develop this unit. She has some special activities planned for Earth Day.

Mark Your Calendar!
4/14/14 Art!
4/16/14 Happy Birthday Tory!
4/16/14 and 4/17/14 Smarter Balanced Assessment*
4/21/14, 4/23/14, 4/30/14, 5/2/14 Swim Lesson at the YMCA - students will need to bring swim suits and a towel. Goggles are optional.

*Smarter Balanced Assessments are the new state test we are participating in this year. This year is a field test. We are testing on the following dates. 4/16/14, 4/17/14, 4/22/14, 5/1/14, and 5/2/14. Please make sure students are well rested and encouraged on these days.