Mrs. Alexander's 3rd Grade Class

May 22nd: Virtual “Field Day” – This is our last day of school.  Students will meet with me on Zoom from 10:00 – 11:00.  During this time we will be making ice cream in bags and eating it all together and doing other activities.  Here is the ice cream recipe we will be making.  I have made this ice cream so many times, and I highly recommend double bagging the ice cream mixture, and the ice (so you will need two zipper close sandwich baggies and gallon baggies).  The recipe link has alternatives if you don’t have the traditional ingredients.  Please have your ice cream mixture ready for “shaking” when our Zoom meeting starts at 10:00.  We will be shaking and eating the ice cream together!  

This is our last week of school.  This is our testing week so our schedule will be different than normal.  Students will be taking the i-Ready diagnostic test.  For this test, students will need to login to our Zoom meeting at specific times (see below) and I will need to monitor them while they take the test. Because this is such a long test, I will not have any other required assignments this week. I will have a few optional activities that will be pre-recorded and posted in our GOOGLE CLASSROOM that the kids can choose to do each day. For those activities please check this week’s Learning Schedule.
Please help your student by creating a “testing environment” that will allow them to focus with minimal distractions. This test is important because it will complete the “portrait” of their 3rd grade growth. They are allowed to have a pencil and paper, but that is all.

WE’VE GOT THIS!!!  I just cannot believe how amazing you all have been throughout this entire experience.  We have 1 week left of our regular schedule and then we will be following our Testing Schedule. I sent out an email with information about your child’s testing time. If you did not receive the email or you have any conflicts with the scheduled testing time, please let me know. Here is our WEEKLY LEARNING SCHEDULE   Please do not hesitate if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do to support your child and me throughout this incredibly difficult time!!! You are all AMAZING!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CLASS PLAY: Okay- I think we can do this. It is going to be necessary for students to record their parts at home and email them to me. We tried to record over our live stream last week, but the lag is just going to make it very choppy. I will discuss with the kids what needs to be recorded and how. Recordings can be done on your phone, and emailed to me at: aalexander@questac.org Please help your child with this. They have been looking forward to this play all year, and having a recording of it will be a wonderful memory!

TESTING NEXT WEEK: May 18th-21st is our end of year Testing Week. In a normal world, 3rd Graders would be taking the RISE test for the first time this year. But, NOTHING about life right now is normal so we will be using the i-Ready program to gather end-of-year data. Please discuss the importance of concentration, effort, and not rushing with your child. It is important for students to show a true picture of their level of learning. As much as we want to help our children with things that are hard, please DO NOT HELP them with this test. The software is adaptive, meaning that questions that are asked are dependent on the answers entered for previous questions. Helping your child answer questions they do not know the answer to on their own places them at a developmentally inappropriate place in the program.

*** EXTENDED: Sign up for Quest’s virtual talent show! Click here to access the virtual talent show website. The talent show will be available to watch the week of May 18th! All video submissions are due May 11th, so get out your phones and start recording your talented kiddos (please ensure recordings are less than 5 minutes)! Though you’ll be able to upload videos from your computer, you might find it a bit easier to do so from your phone. Here is a short recording to show you how to do this.  I know I have talent in my class! Let’s show the rest of the school!

***Quest Jr. High annual “I MADE THAT!” Game Coding Competition is going on now.  We need everyone’s help. Please go to this site https://bit.ly/gamecodingcomp  Play the games on that site and rate your favorites. Your votes will determine the winners.

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE???  This is crazy that we are in the last month of school.  There are a bunch of announcements this week so please make sure that you read through the blog carefully, and check if often.  Here is our WEEKLY LEARNING SCHEDULE   Please do not hesitate if you have any questions or concerns.  You are WONDERFUL!!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
*** MONDAY, MAY 4TH @ 1:30 – POQA (our parent organization) is sponsoring Quest’s Teacher Appreciation Parade this upcoming Monday, May 4th, at 1:30pm. We’d love to have you drive through our parking lot to say hello! Your teachers might even be tossing students a few treats through your car window as you drive by! In order to maintain social distancing standards, our educators will be spaced along the school—elementary teachers will be along the curb in the front of Q1, and jr. high teachers will be along the carpool lane in the back of the school. If you have students in both the elementary and the jr. high, feel free to make two trips around. If you are able to make it, we ask that students with last names beginning with letters A to M come between 1:30pm and 2:00pm, while those with last names beginning with letters N to Z come between 2:00pm and 2:30pm. To ensure social distancing standards are followed, please don’t exit your vehicles. Do, however, feel free to honk, cheer, and tell your teacher how much you appreciate them.

***Sign up for Quest’s virtual talent show! Click here to access the virtual talent show website. The talent show will be available to watch the week of May 18th! All video submissions are due May 8th, so get out your phones and start recording your talented kiddos (please ensure recordings are less than 5 minutes)! Though you’ll be able to upload videos from your computer, you might find it a bit easier to do so from your phone. Here is a short recording to show you how to do this.  I know I have talent in my class! Let’s show the rest of the school!

***Quest Jr. High annual “I MADE THAT!” Game Coding Competition is going on now.  We need everyone’s help. Please go to this site https://bit.ly/gamecodingcomp  Play the games on that site and rate your favorites. Your votes will determine the winners.

***Monday, May 18th thru Thursday, May 21st – End of year i-Ready diagnostic testing – Starting Monday the 18th  the school will be giving students an end of year diagnostic test for i-Ready reading and math. This is all that will be done during these days. I will be in touch with you soon with more details about the Diagnostic Testing soon!HomeLearningTemplates 5:4

Parents-
Please read the message from Dr. Dave below. We are going to do everything we can to continue with as many end of year traditions as possible, and the Talent Show is one of our most loved. The awesome thing about this format is you can even submit a previously recorded recital, skit, or video clip of your child being the awesome, amazing, spectacular child they are. You have until May 8th to submit your video. Watching the talent show from home would be a wonderful activity to enjoy with your family!

Hello, Quest Families!
We are so excited for our first VIRTUAL talent show–RAMS GOT TALENT!!! Click here to access the virtual talent show website (Thanks for creating it, Jen Jones!). The talent show will be available to watch the week of May 18th! All video submissions are due May 8th, so get out your phones and start recording your talented kiddos (please ensure recordings are less than 5 minutes)! Though you’ll be able to upload videos from your computer, you might find it a bit easier to do so from your phone. I’ve provided a short recording to show you how to do this. RAMS GOT TALENT is for ALL Quest students, so we expect to see submissions from kindergarteners, 9th graders, and EVERY grade in between! See you on the virtual stage!
Quest Administration

Last Friday was so much fun!! Thank you for letting me come to your homes and drop items off for you child.  I loved seeing their faces, and talking to them.  I really miss seeing all of my kids everyday and I wish that we could be at school. But I know that this is helping keep everyone safe and healthy.  Parents, you are all doing amazing jobs and I am so grateful for you.  I know that this is not the easiest thing to be going through right know but you are killing it, for sure!  So many of you have commented on things that you’ve heard about how other schools are operating during this time. While it breaks my heart that so many students are enduring this with such a separation from their peers and teachers. I’ve always known that Quest is the BEST, but we have been able to be SO successful at e-learning because of the way everyone has stepped up and committed to our goals. You are all too incredible for words, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough. I am here to make things easier for you, so please let me know if you have any concerns, struggles, or questions.  I hope you’ve all be able to read the note attached to the lemon that I delivered to your child. Let’s keep up the hard work, and let’s KEEP MAKING LEMONADE!   Here is our WEEKLY LEARNING SCHEDULE for the week.  

Hello wonderful parents,
I have put together all of the student’s remaining things from the school, along with some extra art supplies that we will be using for our art times. This Friday I would like to come by and drop these off to the kiddos. With 30 students I will have to be quick, but if your child wants to I’d love to have a quick chat- me from my car and the students from their doorstep. I would love to be able to tell you when I will be dropping off these items, but our school does not have any boundaries and everyone is spread out.  I will start delivering at 10:30 and continue going until I am done. If you are not home when I drop off the items I will just leave them on your front porch.   If you feel comfortable with me coming to your home please fill out the google form attached below. If you are not comfortable with that please email me and let me know and I can tell you other options for pick up.  During the last week of May, I will have student portfolios finished and at the school for pick-up. This can be done when you come to return any Chromebooks that were checked out from the school. If you didn’t check out a Chromebook, I will be in touch with you to arrange a time for you to get your child’s portfolio. Thank you for all you do!

Friday Drop-Off

***THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  A huge shout out to all of you awesome parents!  I have the best students in our class and the best parents.  This whole online learning is tough but you are killing it and I really appreciate it. We have a great week planned full of learning, so please check out our WEEKLY LEARNING SCHEDULE. Keep it up, and let me know if you need anything!

WE MADE IT!!! I want to thank you for all that you have done and for all of your support. I admire you all for what you are doing to help your child. I appreciate everyone sticking with our class and being patient with me as I try to create the best possible way to teach your child during this e-learning experience. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 
****Students will be using the GREEN CLOCKS that were sent home in the student packet.  Please help them put this together.  Cut the clock out and attach the 2 hands with the brad that was sent home.  
****BABY PICTURES!!!  Parents, I am doing an activity this Thursday with student’s baby picture.  Will you please email me a photo of your child from the ages of 1 year to 2 years old?  Thank you!!!

I want to let you know that I have mades some adjustments to our learning.  I hate to change things up, but my hope is to make my time with the kids effective and for this to be easily navigated and managed for you
The first thing that I would like to change is how we are doing our math.  With e-learning students are struggling to really understand concepts that are being taught with any depth.  What we can get done in a week in class is SO much more than we can get done virtually.  I am going to slow down the pace of math, add more opportunities to practice new skills and make sure that students have activities to help enrich their learning. 

The second thing that I am changing is the math assignments.  I have made Math Slides for the assignments just as I have the Wonders  slides.  Students will go into the Math Slides everyday from our Google Classroom and find the day’s work.  This is where they will enter their math work for the day and then they will submit on Friday.  I will be checking everyday if work has been completed.  I am hoping that this will simplify everything that is showing up under the math tab and it will be less confusing. 

The third item that I would like to change is how tutoring is done.  It has been open to anyone to come but now I will be inviting students to come.  I will send you an email and a BLOOMZ message inviting your child to come, so please look for those to come. 

The last thing that I would like to change are the student trackers that I have sent you.  I hoped that these trackers would be a one-stop-shop for you to quickly see what your child has and has not finished throughout the week. However, these trackers are very time consuming for me, and I just can’t continue to stay up until 2am every night.  So from now on I will send an email if your child has NOT accomplished any work for the day.  This includes Reflex, i-Ready Math and     i-Ready Reading.  Please make sure that your child is completing their work. Because of this situation, I have to depend on you to help hold your child accountable for their work.  You can find all of our work for the week on the Daily Agenda Slides below.  Please print these out for your child and look over it with them.  If you have any questions about the slides please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Click here for the Weekly Schedule

Welcome back from Spring Break! Well, kind of…
Our lives have been dramatically simplified over the last few weeks, but I recognize that Social Distancing comes with its own set of challenges. Let’s keep working together as an amazing team and make the best of this situation for this group of INCREDIBLE kids!

A few reminders as we start this new week:

• We are starting earlier than the last 2 weeks!
• Students should be logged on with all materials, ready to work NO LATER than the scheduled class.
• Students need to be dressed, sitting up, in a well-lit area with as few distractions as possible.
• Breakfast should be finished! If anyone needs a snack, we have a break at 10:00.

Also, to help you stay informed about how your child is doing, I am going to be sharing a Google Slide with you. The slide is specific to your child and will be updated daily. It includes a daily breakdown of attendance, Reflex, I-Ready Reading and Math, as well as our daily assignments. If there are any questions- AT ALL -please let me know and I will be happy to help you out!
Below are the Daily Agendas that specify what students are going to be doing each day, as well a reminder sheet about the tasks that are to be done by each student, every day.
Let’s make this an incredible week.  Stay home, stay healthy!!!