Planetarium Activities for Families

Good Morning Everyone-

I wanted to pass this information about the Planetarium on to you.  It sounds like a fun activity if you are looking for something to do this Saturday evening.

There are shows running Sat. at the Planetarium from 6 pm and beyond.  Tickets can be found (free) at the Friends of Planetarium website.  There are likely to be astronauts there to offer lectures and answer questions. They love to have kids in the audience and I'd love for those kids to be Tuckahoe All Stars!

http://friendsoftheplanetarium.org/  - visit here to register for free tickets to shows.


Mrs. D.

January 11, 2013 Savanna

Dear Parents,

         We spent this week getting back into the full swing of school.  We took some time to review school and class rules, as well as to talk about expectations for the coming months.  Academically, the children participated in the first Continental Math League competition, learned about food chains and energy pyramids, patterns, and groups, prefixes and suffixes.   We also celebrated all the children who participated in the Reflections contest.  We are so proud of our contest winners Anne, Sophia and Katie!  Overall it was a busy week.  

         We have begun our unit on Multiplication. In this unit, the children will learn their multiplication facts from 1-12. To help with this unit, each child will need a set of multiplication flash cards at home to help with the daily review of these facts. I am assigning an additional 10 minutes of practice of facts each night as part of the daily homework.  This practice can be with the flash cards, a computer game, or with an app on a hand held device.  A great resource for computer games is the Tuckahoe web site.  Under the “Links” tab there is a list of Math sites.  One site the children enjoy is both AAA Math, and Gamequarium.  If you and your child find a site you particularly like, please share it with me and I will pass it along to the others in the class. 

In the Friday Folders you will find a permission slip for our week of swimming at Yorktown pool.  This is part of our PE curriculum and a fun week for the children.  I would like to ask that these slips be returned no later than Tuesday January 15^th.  We do need some help with this activity.  We need a couple of parents to meet the bus at Yorktown at 10:30, and then again at 11:45 to assist the girls in changing in the locker room.  This task can be shared between individuals throughout the week.  If you can help with this, please let me know. 

Below are a couple of important dates to put on your calendars:

Friday, January 18- End of 2^nd Quarter

Monday, January 21- Dr. King Holiday- Schools Closed

Tuesday, January 22- Teacher Workday- No school for students

Friday, January 25- Disco Dance-7pm

Wednesday, January 30- Tuesday February 5- Swimming at Yorktown Pool

        

         As always, I appreciate your help and support.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 

 

                                                               Sincerely,

                                                               Mrs. DiNardo

Savanna 12-21-12

Dear Parents,

This week has been a whirlwind of activity in Third Grade.  The children have completed several units of study with unit tests, shared their cooking talents, and created some beautiful Brass Rubbings.  It has been a lovely way to celebrate the upcoming holiday break.  I appreciate all the additional help you have offered to help make these activities happen, both at home and here at school. 

As we look towards the coming weeks, I would like to ask again for basketball, or other winter team schedules.  I was able to catch one of the games last Friday evening and it was fun seeing the boys play, as well as to see two former Tuckahoe students working as referees. 

I hope you and your family are able to relax, and spend time with loved ones during the break.  I would also like to ask that we all keep the families, friends and community of Newtown, CT in our thoughts and prayers as we celebrate during this holiday season.

        

Enjoy the holiday break.  I look forward to hearing about vacations when we return on Thursday, January 3, 2013.  Thank you for entrusting your children to me each day. 

                                                               Peace

Talking about Tragedy

Good Morning Everyone-

I wanted to let you know that I am taking my lead about talking about the events that transpired at Sandy Hook Elementary School from the children.  I know that some of the class has been shielded from the details of this horrific event, while some have been told about it.  Please know that when we met in our daily circle yesterday morning, the topic did not come up, so we moved on with our day.

In the coming days and weeks should the topic of this shooting be brought up, I will do all I can to listen closely to the concerns and fears of the children.  I will do all I can to answer the children's questions simply and honestly.  I will do all I can to assure your child that they are safe at school, and that I am there to help them stay safe.

Thank you for entrusting your child to me each day.

Mrs. D.

Class Activities this Week

Dear Parents-

I wanted to let you know about the two events coming up this week.

As you know we will be celebrating the holidays with our Healthy Food Feast on Wednesday.  You should have received your invitation from your child this afternoon.  The festivities will begin about 11:00 am in our classroom. If you will be joining us, you may bring your child's dish to school at that time.  Please be sure to include serving utensils with your dish.  I have all the paper goods covered.

On Friday we will be having the London Centre for Brass Rubbing come to school for a demonstration of how these pieces of art were made.  The children will be able to complete their own rubbing during the morning.   There will be several other holiday activities for the children to enjoy as well.

I hope you will be able to join us for one of these activities.

Mrs. D.

Savanna 12-14-12

Dear Parents,

The excitement surrounding the holidays continues to build. Monday, we were treated to the sounds of the season by the 4^th Grade band, orchestra and chorus with their annual holiday concert. This concert gave the children a small taste of the music programs they can participate in next year.  Several of the students have been sharing their Hanukkah traditions, and we have been hearing about all the strange places the “Elf on the Shelf” is hiding at home.

Even with the excitement of the coming break, we have been able to finish our study of Ancient Greece in Social Studies, learn and create many different types of graphs in Math, discuss healthy foods in Health, as well as continue to learn about animal habitats in Science.  Yesterday we created our own version of “Stone Soup” after reading the folktale earlier in the week.  It has been a good week.

On Wednesday December 19th we will be having a “Healthy Food Celebration.”  This is a class luncheon with the foods the children would like to make and bring in to share with their classmates.  It is fun to see the pride the children take in presenting their dish and talking about how they created it.  If your child will be bringing in their dish to share with the class, please bring enough food for 6-8 people.  If you are able to join us for this special lunch, please let me know.

Friday December 21^st brings the London Centre for Brass Rubbing back to Tuckahoe.  This in-school field trip affords the children the opportunity to learn about the history of brass rubbing and to create their own replica of a rubbing.  There is a fee of $7.00 for the children to participate in this program.  This hands-on morning of learning does require many hands to make it go smoothly.  If you are able to help for any part of the morning, please let me know. 

I appreciate those of you who have let me know about your children’s concerts and performances. While I can’t always make them all, I do like the opportunity to talk to the children about their outside interests.  I know that Friday Night basketball has begun, and would like to have team schedules.  If your son or daughter is playing this winter, please forward me their schedule. 

Below are a couple of important dates to put on your calendars;

        

         Wednesday, December 19th- Healthy Food Feast 11:00 am

         Friday, December 21^st- London Centre for Brass Rubbings 9:15-12:00pm

Monday December 24 – Wednesday, January 2 - Winter Break

         Thursday, January 3- School Reopens

        

I hope the weekend is fun for everyone. 

                                                               Sincerely,

                                                               Mrs. DiNardo

Savanna 12-7

Dear Parents,

We are at the end of another good week of learning.  As you know, we are finishing up several different units of study, which has meant a good amount of review in class.  In Science the children are just about finished with their study of different ecosystems and habitats.  We will be testing out this unit next Friday.  In math we finished our mini-unit on angles last week and have been learning about rounding and how to use it to solve word problems.  Our study of Ancient Greece continues as we have been discussing art and architecture, daily life and trade and interdependence.  We will finish this unit prior to the holiday break in two weeks.  In Health we have finished the unit on our body, and will begin our study of healthy foods next week.  This is a fun unit for the children as we learn about the food plate (formerly known as the food pyramid) and healthy food choices.  Coming home today will be information about the healthy food project. This project is intended to be fun and a way for the children to become aware of what they are eating.  I am excited to see all the yummy foods they choose to try.  We will culminate this project with a “Healthy Food Feast” on Wednesday, December 19^th.  More information about this “Feast” will be coming home next week.  As you can see, we have covered a lot this week.

On Friday December 21^st we will be have the London Brass Rubbing Centre come to demonstrate the art of Brass Rubbing to the children on This is a long standing Tuckahoe tradition for the third grade and we will need extra hands to help the children with the rubbings.  The program will begin at 9:30 with a 30-minute explanation of the art of brass rubbing and who would have had a rubbing made for them.  From 10-12:00 pm  all the children will have an opportunity to make their rubbing as well as complete several other craft projects.  If you can lend a hand for all or part of this special project, please let me know.   Thank you for considering volunteering during this busy time of the year.

         With the basketball season in full swing, several of the kids have asked me if I can come to their games.  I would enjoy the opportunity to fit some of these in, but will need schedules to coordinate the dates.  If you would be kind enough to forward me your child’s schedule, I would appreciate it. 

Below are a couple of important dates to put on your calendars;

         Monday December 10^th- 4^th Grade Winter Concert- 7pm

Wednesday December 12^th- 5^th Grade Winter Concert- 7pm

                  Wednesday December 19th-Healthy Food Feast/Early Release

Friday December 21st-London Brass Rubbings- 9:30-12pm

Monday December 24th- Friday December 28th- Winter Break

                  Thursday January 3, 2013- School Reopens

         Have a nice weekend.