By Colleen Vaughan on 2/24/2008

Vaughan's Voice - February 25, 2008

THEME: We are beginning a new community service project called "Children Changing the World: Read to Feed." Beginning today, the students will be asked to get relatives to sponsor them for any amount of money per book that is ready by the student from Feb. 25th to March 21st. Please do not go door to door - just ask close friends or relatives to be sponsors. The money raised will be pooled together and used to buy animals to give to families in poverty-stricken areas of the world. The charity organization is called "Heifer International." The students will vote on the type of animal they would like to "buy" depending upon how much money is raised. Some examples of the animals that can be donated include cows, goats, chickens, ducks, and llamas. Information will be sent home in today's Monday folder. In addition, see Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 2/18/2008

Vaughan's Voice - February 18, 2008

Theme: CSAP testing for third grade students will be on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 20th and 21st. Please make sure they have had plenty of rest.

The test for the skeletal system will be this Friday, Feb. 22nd. Your child should have brought home a study guide last Monday. If you need another copy, see "documents" on my blog. We will be finishing the owl pellet dissection this week. The students really enjoyed this activity even though some of them were a little grossed out. (Mostly the boys, what's up with that?)

We have booked the Denver Zoo for our overnight field trip. This will be on May 23rd. Please mark it on your calendar. The theme is the Rain Forest and we will be tying it into activities for Earth Day.

Please send in Box Tops until February 22nd. We are trying to win a pizza party.

... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 2/10/2008

Vaughan's Voice - February 11, 2008

A huge THANK YOU to Dr. Bach for visiting our classroom! The students really had fun and learned some great things about the skeletal system. They enjoyed looking at the many x-rays he brought in -especially the ones where someone had swallowed a bottle cap, another who swallowed a fork, and one more who had driven a nail through his finger.

I have sent home a list of students in our class for Valentines. If your child has them finished, he/she may bring them in at anytime this week. Also, we have decorated bags but if your child wants to bring in his/her own decorated box, they are welcomed to do so.

This week in theme we finished up our experiment using chicken bones. The purpose of the experiment was to show the importance of having a good diet including calcium to keep our bones healthy. Ask you child what happened to the bones that were soaked in the different liquids (vineg ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 2/1/2008

Vaughan's Voice - February 4, 2008

It's already February! I will be sending home a list of the students in my class for Valentine's Day cards in the Monday folder. I will have some paper bags for the students to decorate for their Valentine's Day cards, but if they would rather decorate a box or something at home and bring it in, they are welcome to do so.

We finally have a full week coming up. In theme, we are continuing to work on the skeletal system. Last week we had two experiments. For the first one, we proved that because our bones have a cylindrical shape, they are stronger than if they were square. Ask your child how many books they were able to stack on the cylinder versus the rectangular-shaped paper. We had a great discussion on if this is true, why are buildings built with corners rather than round. The other experiment we began was to prove that calcium makes our bones strong. We put chicken bones in vinegar, Coke, Sprite ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 1/28/2008

Vaughan's Voice - January 28, 2008

Hope everyone is getting back in the swing of things after the holiday break and conferences. Just some things to make note of:

Book orders are due tomorrow, Tuesday, January 29th.

Third grade reading CSAP testing will be on February 20th and 21st. Please make sure your child is here that day. The rest of CSAP testing will be sometime around the two weeks before Spring break in March.

Next Tuesday, February 5th, is Spirit Day. The students can dress in purple and gold and have crazy hair. There will be an assembly at the end of the day with prizes to some of those showing their school spirit.

There is no school on Friday, Feb. 1st. It is a teacher work day.

I will not be at school on Thursday, Jan. 31st. I will be attending a conference for gifted differentiation.

THEME: Last week we learned about the parts of the bone and did a ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 1/20/2008

Vaughan's Voice - January 22, 2008

Last week in theme the worked with partners to locate and correctly place human body bones on a poster. The bones were then labeled with their common and scientific names. The best part was naming the skeleton. The students came up with some very creative names such as Mr. Phlat, Mr. Funny Bones, and Skinny bones.

This week we will be doing an experiment showing how the skull, vertebrae, and the rib cage protect vital organs. Also, the students will learn what bones are made of and their structure.

 

 

By Colleen Vaughan on 1/13/2008

Vaughan's Voice - January 14, 2008

Please remember that this is a short week due to conferences. Students will be released at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 14th. There is no school on Thursday and Friday.

This week in theme we began our unit on the human body. We are studying the skeletal system first. We talked about how many bones the average adult has in his body (206). We also learned the scientific and common names of some of the major bones. Ask your child what bone is the largest and smallest. This week we will make a skeleton and label it. In addition, depending upon time, we may do some experiments showing how the skull (cranium) protects the brain.

Ms. Zelinger's class (states): The final test on the northwestern states is on January 22nd. Also, the "Spotlight on the City" travel poster is due on January 22nd. If you need the study guide for the test or instructions on the ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 1/3/2008

Vaughan's Voice - January 7-11, 2008

Hope you had a wonderful holiday! I would like to thank everyone for the fantastic gifts - I truly do appreciate them.

Thank you so much for all of your help during the economics unit. It was a huge success - everyone (kids, parents, grandparents, and teachers) enjoyed the final projects. It was a lot of work and fun, but what a great way to learn about economics and such things as advertising, slogans, demand, supply, scarcity, earning money, interest, and product research and surveys.

Well, I guess it's time to get back to work and let you know what's coming up the next couple of weeks. So here it is:

In science we are starting a new unit on the human body. We will be studying the skeletal, muscular, and digestive systems. One of the exciting projects we will be doing is dissecting owl pellets (don't w ... Read More »

By Colleen Vaughan on 12/14/2007

Vaughan's Voice - December 17, 2007

We have a very busy, exciting week coming up! The students will be selling their products on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, their stores will be open only to other third and fourth grade students. On Thursday, parents are welcome to come in and buy some of the students creations from 8:30 to 10:00. Please go to your child's homeroom teacher and he/she will give you some of our currency.

Please remember to help your child study for the economics test which is on Thursday, December 20th. (Sorry, last week I incorrectly said that the test would be on December 18th.) If you need another study guide, please check "documents" under 3/4 team.

Ask your child what we did in economics this week and last. We have made store fronts, advertisements, designed money, explored what is on a dollar bill, figured out how much money we earned, signed a rental agreement, and a bank loan.

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By Colleen Vaughan on 12/7/2007

Vaughan's Voice - December 10, 2007

Well, we're getting closer and closer to Winter break and everyone is getting antsy (including the teacher).  Monday is our field trip to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) in Boulder. Please have your child  bring a sack lunch and dress warmly. Also, we may be taking a hike while we are there, so please have them wear appropriate shoes for the snow.

In Economics, we will be selling our products on December 19th and 20th. They may begin to make their products at home. This week we began making our advertisements and store fronts. Ask your child the name of his store and product. The final economics test will be on December 18th. A study guide was sent home today. If you need another one, please look under documents for the 3/4 team.

We will begin a new states rotation this week. My homeroom students will be studying with Ms. Zelinger for the next six weeks.

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