Thrilling Thursday

OK, the parents in our room are AMAZING!!! Mrs. Kelly and I cannot say thank you enough for your wonderful acts of kindness this week. Wednesday we were surprised with both lunch and dinner. Then we found out that lunch is being delivered every day during testing with dinner coming again on Monday evening. I want to thank Mrs. Toper for organizing this special treat for us. Like I said, you are all amazing!

So far so good with testing! The kids have all been to school on time every day. We have had some wonderful snacks and surprises each day to help celebrate each section being over. I am very pleased to watch the kids take the test and finish telling me that I was right, "It is all review Miss McArthur". That makes my heart swell with pride. We have successfully created a stress free environment and that was my goal. These five days should be the easiest days of the year for them. Make sure they get to relax and enjoy the weekend, but don't forget we do test on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Mrs. Toper sent home a classroom calendar today with upcoming dates for our classroom. I will also list the major ones here for your benefit. Again, thanks for the surprises this week for the kids and teachers. Hugs to all!

Dates to Remember:
April 23-29 CRCT Testing
May 1st - Mrs. Toner (5th grade teacher) retirement party in media center 3-4:30
May 5th - Ford Talent Show
May 6th - Volunteer Tea
May 6th - Environmental Fieldstudy trip to CATO Center "Nature's Neighborhoods"
May 7th - Evening in the Garden
May 8th - Multiplication Ice Cream Sundae Celebration 1:15-2
May 12th - All student books due to the media center. Prize for classes who have them all turned in on this day. WE CAN DO IT!!!
May 13th - 3rd grade field day
May 13th - MATH BUSTERS dinner - only for those who pass Math Buster challenge 6pm at Golden Corral on Barrett Pkwy.
May 16th - Hawaiian Day
May 23rd - Last day of school

**For those of you going to Pickett's Mill ~ There will be an Open House for you to tour the school before the end of this school year. It was voted this week at the charter PTA meeting that we are the "Pickett's Mill Pirates" and our school colors are red and black.**

Terrific Tuesday

Hello to all! Here is the long awaited testing schedule:
* Wednesday - Reading
Snacks/Treats: John, Taylor, Andrew, Teo
* Thursday - English/Language Arts
Snacks/Treats: Griffin, Shaydimon, Annie, Katelyn
* Friday - Math
Snacks/Treats: Ben, Bryce, Natasha, Micah
* Monday - Science
Snacks/Treats: Samantha, Lauren, Jordan, Chandler
* Tuesday - Social Studies
Snacks/Treats: Steven, Megan, Alex, Justin

Remember there will be no homework whatsoever during the testing time period.

I reminded the kids this morning that the next 5 days should be the easiest five days of the school year for them. They are just showing what they know and playing a game of "Are you smarter than a third grader!" Thanks for all of the treats coming in to help keep our brains motivated. Can you believe only 4 1/2 weeks left of this school year? Boy time flies when you are having fun!

Are you smarter than a 3rd grader?

This Wednesday we will start the CRCT testing. I should have a complete schedule after our overview meeting on Monday to share with you all. I do know for sure that the READING section will be on Wednesday. A testing strategies sheet will be sent home Monday to remind you of the important things to do before testing. We want this week to be as stress free as possible. Last week I sent home a note about testing snacks and surprises. Please send in your donation on the day your were assigned. There will be no homework and/or spelling lists for the next two weeks. We will be testing every morning and then doing many "learning experience" activities in the afternoons. The children have reached another goal in the classroom for their behavior so on Thursday we will be celebrating their achievment with popcorn and a movie in the classroom. They will be able to bring a soda to school if they would like to have it at the same time. PLEASE make sure your child gets lots of rest, eats a good breakfast, and gets to school on time every day for the next two weeks. This is extremely important!! Be ready for a great week.

PS~ It was great to see so many of you out having fun at the Spring Fling on Saturday. What a great afternoon of weather for the event!

Spring Break Week

Hello to all! I hope that you are enjoying Spring Break. I know I am. I am half way through my first book, spending lots of time with my niece Cassidy, and getting lots done around my house yet it is only Monday night. I'm being productive and it is scary. HA! I went to a Gladiator's hockey game on Saturday night with Mr. Brown and his family and ran into Alex and his dad. You never know where you will run into your teacher. :-)

I meant to share this info with you on Friday and remembered tonight so I thought I'd get it out now. Enjoy the rest of your week off. We start back Monday running with only one week to go before we play "Are you smarter than a Third Grader". Some people call it the CRCT, but we like our name better.

Sitton Words: run, book, gave, order, & open
Challenge Words: conduction, convection, temperature, thermometer, & insulator

These words will be tested on Thursday, April 17th. The following week there will be no words and/or homework other than reading logs due to testing.

Math: Double digit multiplication and division
English: Review of skills
Reading: Testing strategies
Science: Heat & Energy
Social Studies: Georgia Habitats & Regions

Be sure to check out the new link I added tonight on Georgia Regions. Great review!

Enjoy what is left of Spring Break.