after the play

In our writing workshop kids are writing a narrative about their experiences in the play and I just had to share this with you.

Theo read his writing and said that as he was walking down the aisle of the cafeteria he could not stop smiling.  He tried but he couldn't.  A chorus of other kids chimed in and said the same thing happened to them!  One girl said that she tried to cover her teeth with her lips but they "kept popping out" because of her smile.  Many others agreed that they felt the same way.
Just one example why this is one of my favorite days in third grade.  These guys know that they accomplished something yesterday and they are filled with pride.  I get to take it all in and share it with them.  What a job!

Yours,
Valerie

Play Information

I'm sending home a paper copy with every kid today:

Dear Families,

Here is the information about the play.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we have a dress rehearsal at 9:15.  Kids come to school in their first costume change.  They bring any other costumes AND regular school clothes in a grocery bag.  The best bags are the reusable ones.  After the dress rehearsal, they’ll change into school clothes and take their bag home and we’ll do the same thing on Wednesday.  We will give our morning performance at 9:15 (I know I had said 9:30 but, I was wrong).  Again kids will change and take their costumes home.  Wednesday evening we have many parents coming to help set up the chairs for the performance.  This is a good time to grab a seat for your family members- the reward for setting up and staying to take things down.  Kids come to the classroom at 6:00pm.  Please keep an eye on them before that time, they can’t be upstairs or in hallways unsupervised.  The performance begins at 6:30pm.  What fun we’re going to have!  Kids, teachers, volunteers have worked really hard but, especially the kids.  As a result there is NO homework this week.  Let’s focus on our lines and our costumes and celebrate our efforts.

All the best,

Valerie McKenzie

Michelle Sweeney

Jeff Wilebski

Third Grade Play in Two Weeks!

Hi Everyone,
Kids are working very hard to learn lines and dance steps for our production of Portland:  The Musical.  Our classes will present the play on Wednesday, March 9.  They will have two performances, one for the student body in the morning and another in the evening for parents.

While we have some costumes for tap dancers and top hats for our city's founding fathers, most of the costumes come from home.  Tomorrow we'll get the costumes out and go over ideas with kids.  That gives you two weekends to pull something together.  No need to over think this.  The suggestion of a fur trapper or a society girl is all we need, not an expensive head-to-toe get up.

We are all looking forward to our performance, thanks to all the volunteers for their help.

Valerie McKenzie

Family Math Night Tomorrow, Valentine's Day Card Sharing on Friday

Just a reminder that Family Math Night is tomorrow, Thursday, from 5:30-7:00 in the cafeteria.  It promises to be a lot of fun with prizes and math games and even food!

Also, we will have a Valentine's Day Celebration in our classroom from 2:15- 2:50.  Kids will share cards and have a sweet treat.

Thanks,
Valerie

Peacemakers Homework project is in the Google Classroom

February 8, 2016

Dear Families,

I put the Peacemakers project in the Google Classroom.  It is due February 12.  While it is in the Google Classroom, it could, instead,  be written by hand OR typed on a Google doc and shared with me at my pps address:  vmckenzie@pps.net
Whatever works best for you and your family.

I look forward to seeing their Super Heroes!

Valerie McKenzie

Valentine's Party on Friday

Oh my, the calendar is getting away from me.

We will exchange cards and have a treat on Friday the 12th of February.  I have talked to the kids about their mailboxes representing Portland in some way, roses, Big Pink, Timbers, etc.

Also, we were really successful last year having a NO Candy valentines celebration.  My experience is that kids toss the valentine messages on the floor and eat the candy.  I want to slow them down and appreciate the thoughtful gesture of a Valentine.

I have someone bringing juice and a cookie, if your kid needs an alternate treat, please send it to school on Friday.

Thanks and have a great weekend.
Valerie McKenzie

Homework assignment and Family Math Night

Today I sent home a school wide project.  It is a writing assignment that combines our character work this year and the upcoming auction theme.  Students will also create a drawing or a collage of their superhero to put up on their lockers.
We have done some of the pre-writing in class.  They have good ideas!
I will put the assignment in the Google classroom and the kids can work on it in the classroom when there is time. But most of the work should be done at home. The deadline for the project is Friday, February 12.

Family Math Night is Thursday, February 11th from 5:30-7:00 pm.  We'll have a variety of Math Work Places (skill games) from grades K through 5th.  There will be food and prizes and a lot of mathematical fun!  I would love to see a lot of my third graders at the event.

Thanks so much,
Valerie McKenzie

Another play meeting on Friday in Mr. Wilebski's room

Hi friends,
Another play meeting is scheduled in Mr. Wilebski's room on Friday, after school.  We need volunteers for reading lines with kids, practicing the bucket brigade and other stuff!  I'll send some info home tomorrow if you can't make it to the meeting.
Thanks,
Valerie

Parent meeting for third grade play tomorrow

January 26, 2016

Hi folks,

There will be an informal meeting with Mr. Nelson to go over some of the volunteer opportunities and logistics of the play -3 o'clock -Room 21.

These include helping set up and take down chairs for the show, running lines with kids during the school day, teaching the tap dancers, happy days dancers and bucket brigade the dance routines, etc.

This year is different from the 2nd grade play in that kids/parents pull together the costumes.  We have some things; the tap girls outfits, some Lewis and Clark gear, top hats and railroad hats, and such.  But most costumes are pulled together from thrift stores or your closet and held together with safety pins and spit!  It is all good and tremendous fun to see what the cast looks like at the performances.

If you cannot attend the meeting and want to help, send me an email and I'll schedule you.

ALSO

Report cards go home on Friday.

Thanks for all you do,
Valerie

News from Room 21

December 12, 2015

Dear Families,

We have been working hard in Room 21.  The weather has been a challenge for these active kids but, the work we’ve been doing has been amazing.

We have created beautiful designs based on snowflakes, using Rotational Symmetry.  We have compared two texts about snowflake scientists.  We have been reading about the Statue of Liberty in our 3rd grade anthology and taken a virtual tour of Lady Liberty.  In math class we are finding the perimeter and area of polygons.

I’m sending home some of the typical work we do in math and literacy.  Please spend some time with your student reviewing the work they are doing.  We’ve gone over all of it as a group or one to one.  Ask them how to figure out the area of a quadrilateral OR the perimeter of an irregular shape.  

We’ve also been talking about Peace, learning how to say the word in 28 languages!  Each student is an expert on one way to say “Peace”.  They can find the country on a map and express their own ideas about peace in our “peace quotes”.  Look for our work to decorate our hallway next week.

Thank you for sharing your kids with me,

Valerie McKenzie

News from Room 21

November 25, 2015

Dear Families,

We have been very busy scholars in Room 21.  For the past week and a half we been researching the Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag People.  We have summarized Virtual Field Trips to Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. .  We have compared and contrasted the lives of Plymouth pilgrims and Wampanoag children. We have read closely a couple of fictional narratives that tell the story of “modern pilgrims” from diverse cultures and built an essay around the notion of the search for freedom to think and live independently.  We have “gotten into it!”.   When writing an essay about the two books we read and citing evidence from the text that showed they were “modern pilgrims”, one student insisted that there are no modern pilgrims “they are immigrants!”.  I asked him to write his essay about the differences between the two and he dove into his writing.  

Kids will bring home a folder containing all their scholarship this weekend.  Please take time to talk with them about their work.  They put in a lot of effort on material and strategies that are new to them.  I am proud of them.

I want to wish you all a very happy, peaceful, and loving holiday weekend.  Our little family is together this weekend and I know there will laughter and full tummies!  I am very grateful for all your support.

Thank you,

Valerie McKenzie

I’ve included photos of kids working on their thankful poems.  Enjoy!!

We are more than halfway to our goal!

More than halfway to our goal!   We’ve raised $977.00!!  $944.00 to go.

Students in Room 21 using Chromebooks in the Writing Workshop!

 

Dear Families,

In just a few short weeks we are halfway to our goal!  If we can gather the additional support through our community, we can have a group of chromebooks in the classroom, all day, every day!  Already students are motivated and learning.  This week in their Google classroom, they have worked on an Opinion Writing Essay, compared and contrasted life for Wapanoag children and Pilgrim children.  They have access to the virtual field trips we took to Plimoth Plantation and the Wapanoag homesite.  

If you haven’t made a donation, please consider it.  If you have, thank you so much.

Take a look at my project, share it with anyone you think might be interested in supporting us. This is great for kids!  

The links below will take you directly to the website and my classroom project.

In partnership,

Valerie McKenzie

DonorsChoose.org,

Chromebooks In The Classroom for Writing and STEM Projects

Art Project this afternoon

Hi all!
I have a gap in my schedule (Mr. Nelson won't be here for a rehearsal) and want to do an art project with the kids -one I've done every year of my career.
We'll start after PE at around 1:45 and go for a good 45 minutes.
It runs better with some extra help.  If you can be here, come on in.
Thanks,
Valerie McKenzie

Field Trip Next Friday

Dear Families,

Oh boy, today went too fast!  I meant to put together a notice about an upcoming field trip.

Next Friday, we'll have a walking field trip to "find Klickitat Street".  This will be our celebration for finishing our Book-based storyline:  Henry Huggins' Neighborhood.  We'll find Beverly Cleary's home and the houses that we think belong to Henry and Beezus and Ramona.  Afterward, we'll have lunch at Grant Park, near the tennis courts where Henry went looking for Night Crawlers.  

We'll leave Friday after our Grandparents/Special Friends Day, around 10:15.  It is a long walk and we'll return to school between 1:00 and 1:30.  I need some parents to bring up the rear, four parents is ideal but, I can manage with three.  If you are available, please let me know.  

Students should dress for the weather (we'll reschedule if it's too rainy) and the long walk.  

Kids really enjoyed reading, writing and creating around the Henry Huggins story.  Now it's time to show them that such a wonderful author lived in a neighborhood just like theirs.  Maybe someday they'll write a story about growing up in Portland, too!

Have a great weekend,

Valerie McKenzie

vmckenzie@pps.net

A Great Way to Start the Morning

Dear Families,

    What a great surprise, this morning,  to see that families had begun to contribute to our class project through Donors Choose.  You are amazing!
     Find my classroom project at:

                  Chromebooks In The Classroom for Writing and STEM Projects

     Thanks so much for supporting our classroom and students.

                                                                                    All the best,
                                                                                    Valerie McKenzie

Donors Choose -My students need your help!

My students need your help! Hi Friends, I want to make sure my students have the materials they need to succeed. So I've created a classroom project request at DonorsChoose.org, an award-winning charity. I'm asking for donations of any size to help my kids. Until November 4, any donation you make to my project will be doubled (up to $100). If you know anyone who is passionate about education, please pass this along. Your donation will brighten my students' school year, and you'll get photos and thank yous from our class. Here's my classroom request: Chromebooks In The Classroom for Writing and STEM Projects To have your donation matched dollar for dollar, enter the promo code SPARK on the payment screen. This awesome match offer lasts through November 4. My students and I greatly appreciate your support. Ms. McKenzie

Re: Carnival

Hello Laurelhurst Families!

We are 4 days away from the Laurelhurst Carnival and we are eliciting one final plea for Volunteers! This is a super fun family event and an institution for our school.  The only way we can keep this event fun, successful and safe is by pulling together as a community and helping out.

On the sign up, each classroom is assigned to an activity within the carnival. We would love to have parents associated with a classroom to sign up for the corresponding carnival activity. Classrooms who have yet to complete their sign up include: Dixon, Heinrich, McAdams, Vigna, Zimmer and Hart.  We also need assistance for security, Teen Soda Lounge and Dunk Tank.

Parents: Sign up using the link below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4dafa82ba3f94-parent

Students: Sign up using the link below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4dafa82ba3f94-student

Thank you for considering this request.  We look forward to seeing you.

Shannon Browning

Carnival Volunteer Coordinator

Conferences

October 20, 2015

Dear Families,

Conferences begin tomorrow and I am very excited to share your student’s progress with you.  Conferences for me are a very emotional time.  I spend the weeks ahead thinking about your kids, holding them up and asking some important questions.   I wonder about how they are “fitting in”, are they making friends, are they comfortable with the routines of the classroom?  I have goals for them, academic and social.  I’m figuring out how to help them achieve them.  I want the best for them, just as you do.  I know that I have taught third grade many times but, it is your child’s only year in third grade.  I want it to be memorable, challenging, and ultimately satisfying.  

When we meet we’ll go over a fair amount of data.  We’ll look at reading scores, math scores and what their writing looks like.  I’ll show you the tools we use to reinforce the skills they are acquiring.  But I want to take time to hear your hopes for your student, what you think they need this year.  While I’m sure that we will agree about most things, there may be some we have to figure out together.  Above all, our goals are the same - we both want your student to thrive at Laurelhurst.

One of my former students wrote a poem that began,

Mrs. McKenzie’s really great,

She doesn’t like it when we’re late.

Please be on time for your conference, I want to honor our time together.

Thanks for all you do,

Valerie McKenzie

Welcome to the Class of 2015-2016!

Today, I am welcoming a new group of families to our classroom blog.  Thanks for joining us!  We'll have an exciting and learning filled year together!  I have about 14 families signed up.  It would be great to have a full roster.  Please let others families from room 21 know about this opportunity to get classroom news in a timely and paperless way!
Valerie

September. 11, 2015

Dear Families,

Whew!  Eleven days of school under our belts.  Students are on their way to a great year third grade.

Our focus the first couple weeks has been centered around our learning community.  We have been establishing routines, building stamina and assessing strengths and areas for growth.  Your students show a willingness to attend, to learn and to share.  It is a great group of kids.  

In the Reading Workshop we are engaged in a “Storyline” around the book, Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary.  Students are closely reading the text for character traits, the setting and problems and solutions that come up in every chapter.  Now we are creating “Friends of Henry”.  Each student has created a character that lives in Henry’s neighborhood.  As we progress through the storyline, we’ll ask questions about the decisions Ms. Cleary made in her writing, we’ll write a couple opinion pieces drawing from actions within the story and we’ll begin the habit of citing evidence within the text to support our ideas.  Big stuff for eight and nine year olds!  Our storyline will culminate with a walking field trip to the Hollywood neighborhood, to Beverly Cleary’s childhood home and Klickitat Street.  

In the Math Workshop we are building a “toolbox” of strategies for subtraction.  We are estimating and measuring in inches and we are graphing data.  Kids will be routinely assessed on their basic facts knowledge.  This is a timed quiz with 30 facts.  The expectation is that third graders can finish 30 facts in a minute and a half.  Meeting the benchmark is a 25/30 score.  I have stressed to students that this is one part of a bigger picture and not to put too much pressure on themselves.  At the same time, these facts are the cornerstone of math to come.  They need to be practiced.  I showed them a website through our curriculum that they can access at home:http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/families  You scroll down to third grade then scroll down to Math Magician.  They drill kids on 20 facts in one minute.  Kids get to pick the level they need to work on.  We’ve tried it out in the classroom, try it at home.  I’m sending home the first addition fluency checkup.  The kids finish all they can in 90 seconds with a regular lead pencil, then get another 90 to finish up with a colored pencil.  That gives the kids that can’t finish in a minute-thirty a little more time and a little more confidence.    Timed testing can be stressful for some kids and we try to be as supportive and encouraging as we can.  

Kids have been thinking about their reasons for reading and are using them to decorate their book boxes.  They’ve added quotes about reading and favorite first lines from books.  It’s fun to see how they balance the need to read for information with the pleasure of a fun read.

That is a taste of life in Room 21.  I look forward to meeting and visiting with all of you at Back to School Night on the 24th.  That is the time to get the total lowdown and to sign up for conferences.

Thanks for all your support,

Valerie McKenzie

vmckenzie@pps.net