Newsletter

January 22, 2016
Hello Awesome Parents!
                Just one announcement today! This Thursday, January 28th will be a Late Start day. Pick up will begin at 10:20 and school will start at 10:40.

Social Studies-We have been studying more about Cowboys and Cattle Drives this week. We’ve looked into the different cattle trails in Oklahoma and at the invention of barbed wire. Today we had the privilege to listen to a storyteller talk about the Oklahoma Land Runs, pioneer life, and Native American Territories. The students loved listening to him recite poems and sing songs on his guitar! We will be looking into statehood next week as well as the Dust Bowl.

Reading-We started new book clubs this week! For rotations at my table, I introduced them to the books they will be reading and the rules and expectations for book clubs. Each child is responsible to read certain chapters by a specific time. For example, some groups have to read three chapters by Monday. I give them plenty of opportunities to do their book club work during stamina reading and at other parts of the day. We meet together as a club, discuss the characters, events, settings, etc. in the book, read aloud, and sometimes do activities that go along with what they’re reading.
                  We also have continued our work with Poetry this week. The students read a few poems, picked out figurative language, thought about the deeper meaning behind the poems, and have pointed out the main idea in poems. There will be poems and follow up questions on the OCCT in April. We are trying to prepare them as much as we can before then!

Writing-This week the students focused on writing a Persuasive Letter. They chose either something they want to see changed at school or in the community of Jenks. We focused on giving good reasons why they wanted something instead of saying the usual “It would be fun” or “because I like it.” They will be writing their final draft today!

Math-We have been working with fractions and probability this week. The students are really loving playing math games on the Alexandria Links page. They have many games that deal with decimals, fractions, multiplication and division, and almost anything you can think of! If you need help accessing Alexandria at home, please email me and I can get you hooked up! Right now, our Post-Test for fractions will be Friday, February 5th. I will let you know if that changes as soon as possible.

                As always, let me know if you have questions or concerns! Have a great weekend! J

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


January 15, 2016
Good Afternoon Parents!
                Here are a few announcements before an update from the week!
1)      There is NO SCHOOL this Monday, January 18th for MLK Day. Enjoy your three day weekend!
2)      Scholastic Catalog orders are due Tuesday, January 19th! You may order online at scholastic.com/readingclub, our code is P9FBW, or fill out the form and turn in to me at school. Remember, every time you order from the scholastic catalog I get points to get free items from scholastic for our classroom!
Social Studies-We have been learning so much in Social Studies this week! We reviewed the Indian Territories and the Trail of Tears, discussed the Homestead Act, and the Oklahoma Land Runs. We learned who Boomers and Sooners were, as well as learned about cowboys and cattle drives. We will continue learning about the cattle drives next week and hopefully start our journey towards statehood!

Reading-The students have absolutely LOVED reading, writing, and learning about poetry! We have discussed the different pieces of figurative language (alliteration, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, idioms, and imagery). These skills will be on the OCCT test in April so I would encourage you to do some work with these at home. I also introduced the students to Spelling City this week. It’s a great website to practice spelling words with. You can take spelling tests and play games with our spelling words. This would be a great option to add to our menu!

Writing-The students had the opportunity to begin writing their own poems! It’s been so fun watching them become little poets! They also worked on a Persuasive Paragraph during our Writing Block. They were able to choose one thing they would like to change in our classroom and try to persuade me to agreeing with them. Ask what they wanted to see in our classroom! It’s pretty amusing J

Math-We finished our work with decimals this week and took our test today. I will be sending the tests home with them next week. We will begin to work with fractions soon so you might want to look at them at home before Tuesday.  
                As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great three day week!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


January 8, 2016
Good Afternoon Parents!
                Welcome Back!! I truly hope you all had an amazing break! I so enjoyed my time off which was spent in Tennessee! So grateful for the chance to visit home J One reminder before a summary of what we have been up to in each subject since we’ve been back!
1)      Report Cards-I sent report cards from the second nine weeks home on Thursday. Please look over these, sign them, and send back with your child as soon as possible.

Social Studies-We have picked back up with Social Studies this week and have been introduced to Spanish and French explorers in the Oklahoma region. We have had some great discussions about European settlers in the New World and how that affected Native Americans.

Reading-Having two weeks off from school, I decided it was best to practice procedures, go over school and classroom rules, and practice reading rotations this week. We have been building up our stamina reading and have taken the STAR test again. We reviewed Word Work, Book Clubs, and other components we work with in reading (summaries, inferencing, FQR, etc.) Looking forward to our new unit of Poetry next week!

Writing-Just like stamina reading, we have practiced stamina writing this week. I am trying to get the students familiar with writing again. We also have done work with commas in our Skills workbook. Next week we will discuss Opinion Writing as well as writing poetry!

Math-We have been heavily working with decimals and place values this week. I introduced the tenth, hundredth, and thousandth place. Please, in anyway, be working on decimals at home! We will have a test over decimals next Friday the 15th.

As always, have a great weekend and let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


December 18, 2015
Hello Parents!
                A HUGE “thank you” to the volunteers who helped with our Holiday Party! It was a major success and the kids had a blast!
                We took our Geometry test yesterday and for the most part it went well! Geometry is pretty difficult for them at this age but I am so proud of how hard they worked! We also finished up our Endangered Animal essay! Some of them even had some time to make a Google slideshow about their animal!
                The owl pellets were a huge success! They absolutely loved seeing all the little bones. I think overall the kids have really enjoyed our new science curriculum! It makes me all the more excited for next semester.
                I truly hope you all enjoy your break and make many wonderful memories with family and friends. I would encourage you to read with your child and have them read every day over the break. Working on multiplication and division tables aren’t a bad idea either! J
                FYI: The PTAG gave them a gift this year! Each child got the book titled “Fish” and I gave them a copy of “Charlotte’s Web.” So they definitely have reading material!
                Thank you all for making my first semester at Jenks so amazing. It’s so wonderful to have all of your support through this crazy time of life for me. I love your kids and will miss them over the break!
                Happy Holidays!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


December 11, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                A few quick reminders and requests before our update!
1)      I am still looking for a DVD copy of “A Muppets Christmas Carol.” I am reading an abridged version of the book next week and would love to show the movie Friday before our party. Please let me know if you can help me out!
2)      Our Winter Party is a week from today! It will be from 2:00-2:45. Thanks again for all the help in bringing supplies! I am greatly looking forward to it!
3)      Winter break will begin Monday, December 21st and go through Friday, January 1st. School will resume on Monday, January 4th. I hope you all have an incredible break!
4)      Help with Word Work-I have attached a volunteer request announcement concerning Word Work at JWE. These Word Work packets will help support spelling patterns and also some specific test prep skills. Please email the contacts listed at the bottom as soon as possible if you would like to help out!

Science: This week the kids have dove into the study of Food Chains and have done a fabulous job! We have had some great discussions about what would happen if the food chain is interrupted or changed in various ways.

Reading: I have completed Running Records for all my students this week as well as the BEAR Spelling test. Every student improved in their spelling test this quarter and many jumped RR levels! We also focused on determining importance while reading. At this age, it is hard to distinguish between what they think is important in a text to what the author deems as important.

Writing: The students have finished researching their endangered animal and have been in the midst of the writing process. We have done our first draft and some are still revising and editing while others are writing their final draft today. We also had the amazing opportunity to have a parent come in and talk about Hanukkah this week! The students loved learning about the history of this holiday. They even got to play dreidel! Thanks for coming in Mrs. Schwartz!

Math: We have continued our work in geometry this week. We are learning about polygons, symmetry, and angles. We will have a test over our geometry unit next Thursday! Please keep working on multiplication and division facts at home as well!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a great weekend!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


December 4, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                One quick reminder!
1)      Our Winter Party will be Friday, December 18th from 2:00-2:45 in our classroom. Our homeroom mom and another family are working hard to plan a fun time for our students. I would hate for any student to miss out on the fun! This is for students only.
Science-This week we have continued discussing animal adaptations and habitats. The kids really enjoy learning about the different habitats, their landforms, climate, animals, and plants. Today we had a great time with a visual thinking strategy called “Tug of War.” I made a statement that people affect the survival of endangered animals and the students had to decide one where they stand on the issue: either that they believe humans have a positive impact on animals or a negative impact on animals. We discussed the pros and cons of each side. Over the next two weeks, the students will be able to research evidence to support their opinion and add it to our Tug of War whiteboard.
Reading-We continued with FQR charts this week and reading rotations. The students had the opportunity to get on a comprehension strategies website called “Into the Book.” There, they are able to do activities that deal with inferencing, summarizing, visualizing, making connections, etc. I also sat with them at my teacher table and discussed how to write note cards for research papers. We practiced paraphrasing and how to set up good note cards. We also took the STAR Reading test again. Today they had fun doing a Scholastic News catalog with the whole group. These catalogs are great preparation for the OCCT in April.
Writing-We watched a Brain Pop video about 5 paragraph essays on Tuesday and the kids have been researching endangered animals. They decided what animal they were going to write about yesterday and are starting their official research today.
Math-We have begun the exciting journey of Geometry this week! The kids seem to really enjoy drawing rays, triangles, and angles. I would still work on multiplication and division facts at home!

                As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


November 20, 2015
Good Afternoon!
                Just a few announcements!
1)      Thanksgiving break is this upcoming Wednesday-Friday November 25th-27th. School will resume Monday, November 30th.
2)      I sent home a Math “Pre Assessment” that we did today as a review for their test next week. Please look over it and review these concepts with your kids this weekend. Continue to practice multiplication and division facts at home!

Writing-We began our habitat paper this week! The kids have really enjoyed doing research! We learned about plagiarism and paraphrasing (BrainPop) and have been focusing on that while we research. We started our first draft today and am hoping to finish the paper before Thanksgiving break!

Reading-We have been blessed with our representative from Junior Achievement, Mrs. Cox, this week! She has come in twice this week to talk to the kids about the importance of banks, savings, tax, and other life skills and lessons. The kids played a really fun game about savings, withdraws, and deposits. So thankful she has taken time out of her day to come help me teach! Other than Junior Achievement, we are still working with inferencing, FQR charts (Facts, Questions, Response), and meeting with our Book Club! It’s been a fun week!

Science-We finally got the crayfish this week! The kids have so enjoyed observing them! I am hoping they do not die over the weekend (fingers crossed). Other than observing crayfish, the students have been investigating different animal adaptations, habitats, and have enjoyed playing the science games on FossWeb.

Math-We really focused on math facts this week through Fact Monster on the chromebooks, bulls-eye math, and flashcards. We will have a test over multiplication and division next Monday or Tuesday. Please review with them this weekend!

Read Aloud-We finished our Peter Pan book today! Even though some of it was hard for the kids to follow, I think they appreciated it and enjoyed some of the details that were left out of the Disney film. I am looking forward to showing them the movie next week to compare and contrast!

                As always, please e-mail me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a great weekend!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


October 9, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                I hope you all have had a great week! I wanted to give you a few announcements before I share what we have been up to in our class this week.
1)      Fall Conferences are next week! If you have not already, please go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4ba9af23a4f58-fall  and sign up for a conference with me. If none of those times work for you, please let me know and we can schedule a separate time.
2)      Reminder—There is no school Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday next week (October 14,15,16). Enjoy your fall break! School will resume Monday, October 19th.
3)      Field Trip Permission Form—I am sending home a permission form for our field trip to the Cherokee Heritage Center on Friday, October 23. Please send these back with your child as soon as possible. If you are wanting to chaperone with us, please let me know! You will have to drive yourself and the cost is $7.50. The kids will need to bring a sack lunch. Bus pulls out at 8:00am sharp so please drop your students off between 7:30 and 7:55 that morning. The kids will have a normal pick-up that day.

Science—The students have been observing several different types of seeds this week. We have allowed them to sit in water and have been amazed at how quickly they are sprouting! We created a diagram of the different parts of a seed and have discussed many vocabulary words such as cotyledon, embryo, seed coat, and reproduce.

Reading—This week in Reading, we have been studying some of the different Native American Tribes that reside in Oklahoma. Reading Rotations are in full swing and have been going well. The students have been tracking their thinking and have been practicing their spelling words.

Vocabulary—This week, we focused on the words impatient, appliance, appropriate, and mumble. We are taking our first vocab quiz today!

Writing—We have been talking about summaries this week. We have been practicing with the questions Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. The students have really enjoyed reading a text, answering these questions, and then transforming that information into a paragraph. We will continue to work on this in the coming weeks!

Math—We have been heavily learning about multiplication and division this week by using arrays and pictures. We have also been practicing Math Rotations. I encourage you to work on multiplication and division this weekend as we are having our Unit 2 test this coming Tuesday. We will review on Monday!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. You’re kids are amazing!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary

October 2, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                Good Afternoon Parents!
                I hope your weekend is off to a great start! I have just one quick announcement before we get into our week:
Fall Conferences sign-ups started last Friday! Please sign-up online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4ba9af23a4f58-fall  Each conference should be around 15 minutes and we will discuss your child’s progress so far and how we can help them be successful this year. These will take place in my classroom. If none of the dates/times work for you, please email me and we can set up another time.

Writing—We have been focusing on dialogue and action this week in writing. We have also introduced science notebooks and been practicing taking notes like a scientists.
Reading—The first week of Book Clubs was a success! The students are really enjoying reading the same books as their friends and then getting together to talk about their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. We have also practiced reading rotations this week and will be continuing with this next week. As always, the kids are so enjoying their library time.
Social Studies—I introduced a comprehension strategy called Visual Thinking this week and the kids really got into it. I showed them pictures of some Indian tribes and some paintings that deal with Native Americans. The students recorded what they saw, what they thought, and questions they had about the picture. We also wrote down the purpose of the picture, for example, why someone took the picture or why the artist decided to paint the picture. I loved seeing their thinking build as we discussed.
Math—This week in math we took our pre-test for Unit 2. We then began talking about multiplication and introducing the concept of arrays. I think the students really liked drawing pictures for math! We will continue with multiplication next week and even introduce division.
Science—We have been focusing on seeds this week. The students were able to dig through fruit and separate different kinds of seeds. They were able to tell how seeds are alike and how they are different. We have also been using our Science Word Wall to introduce new vocabulary words that are related to science.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a great weekend!


Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary



September 25, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                I hope your weekend is off to a great start! Just a few quick announcements before we get into our week:
1)      PICTURE DAY IS THIS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th!
2)      Jog-a-Thon is this Thursday, October 1st!  Please send all Jog-a-Thon money to school by Thursday.
Our class code is P9FBW. You can also send in the catalog and money with your child.
4)      Fall Conferences sign-ups are starting today! Please sign-up online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4ba9af23a4f58-fall  Each conference should be around 15 minutes and we will discuss your child’s progress so far and how we can help them be successful this year. These will take place in my classroom. If none of the dates/times work for you, please email me and we can set up another time.

Writing—We have been finishing up our Personal Narratives this week. We have been working with the Writing Process and really focusing on Revising and Editing this week in our Writing Groups. The kids have really enjoyed sharing their writing with their groups!
Reading—We finished our beloved Van Gogh Café and have been reflecting on the book in many different ways. We also started practicing spelling words! I introduced the students to staircase writing and we have been reviewing ABC order. The students will get new words every Monday to work on throughout the week. They will be listed in their agendas if you ever want them to practice their words for a menu item! We have also been busy starting up our Book Clubs! I introduced the students to their clubs today and they had the chance to look through the book they’ll be reading the next few weeks. How fun! I cannot wait to get started next week with rotations!
Social Studies—WOW! I was really impressed with the projects this week! The students seemed to really love working on their projects and were so brave sharing with the resto of the class. I will take pictures and post them on to my blog soon! Thanks for all your support through this!
Math—We have been reviewing all week and finally took our Unit 1 Post-Test today. We will start next week by taking a pre-test for the next unit. The kids take the pre-test before I present the material to them. This allows me to see what we really need to focus on before they take the post-test. Just wanted to clear that up!

Next Week…
Science—We are starting our first Science unit! I am very excited for the students for what is to come in the next few weeks. We will investigate seeds, grow plants, raise crawfish, and really learn what it means to be a scientist! We will be focused on life cycles of different beings and doing several hands on projects. Your children are going to love it!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Have a great weekend!


Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


September 11, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                Here is your weekly update!
                WritingThis week, we have been reviewing a lot of strategies and concepts we learned the second week of school. We have expanded our knowledge of timelines, stretching small moments,  and strong leads. We read the book “Owl Moon” and made a timeline of the events as well as added the more interesting details. I modeled my own story for the students which they absolutely loved! Today we discussed strong leads and I had the students find examples from books in our own library. They found some amazing leads!
                ReadingWe finally took the STAR test this week! We busted out our Chromebooks and learned how to use them (we are still in the process of learning). The kids had a lot of fun taking the test on a laptop! The kids were able to go to the library for the first time this week so they’ve been reading their new books during our stamina reading. We also started a book club this week. The students are really getting into it! We discussed what book clubs should look like and sound like and my expectations for them when they start their own clubs. We all sit in the floor in a big circle and I read to them as they write their thoughts and questions into their Reading Response Journals. They talk with a partner about their ideas and then we share with the whole group. We are reading “The Van Gogh Café” and the students are loving it! It’s about a magic café that use to be an old theater. They love the mystery! We will continue with our book club next week.
                VocabularyWe have been looking at our Learner Profile words during vocabulary. We finally finished all ten words! We are doing our best to implement these words into our daily routine. The words are: Inquirer, Caring, Communicate, Principled, Risk Taker, Open Minded, Reflective, Knowledgeable, Balanced, and Thinker. Please let me know if you hear your students using these words at home. I would love to know and so would Mrs. Kittelson!
                Social StudiesWe have been looking thoroughly at the Oklahoma map this week. We have been locating important cities as well as Oklahoma resources. I am going to assign an *optional* Social Studies project to be due Wednesday, September 23. I will send a follow up email giving more details about the assignment. This is not required but it is a really fun project for the kids to do at home.
                Math—We tried math rotations for the first time this week. We still need to work on our transitions and our behavior while at stations but I believe they will get the hang of things soon.
                Announcements— 1)Just wanting you to be aware, I will be absent from school on Friday, September 18th AND Monday, September 21st. My best friend is getting married in Tennessee and she has asked me to be in her wedding. I am very excited to travel home for a few days to spend time with family and friends. I will have a sub for both the days I’m gone but please do not hesitate to email me with questions. I will do my best to answer them from Tennessee. The Thursday before I leave, I will go over expectations with the class for days there is a sub. We have great teacher’s assistants and subs here at JWE and I know for a fact that your kids are in good hands.
                                                                2) I am in the process of figuring out Typing Pal. I think I finally got it and will send a follow up email. Sorry for all the confusion with these usernames and passwords! If only life was simple…  
                As always, please feel free to email me if you ever have questions or concerns! Have a great weekend!

Katie Jones
Third Grade Teacher
Jenks West Elementary


September 4, 2015
Good Afternoon Parents!
                I just wanted to let you know that we have had a pretty great week in 3rd grade! The students are warming up to me and each other and it’s been awesome to see their true colors! They seem to really enjoy their homework menu and love to tell me what they decided to do the night before. They also seemed really pumped about the Scholastic Catalog! This is such an exciting time of the year for them as they are in a new environment, meeting new friends, and finding their place “up the hill”.
                Math—We have really been working on subtracting this week in Math. We played a subtraction game the other day on the Everyday Mathematics website and they really got into it!
                Reading—We are continuing to work on tracking our reading by using reading codes while we read. We discuss almost every day why it is important to have an inner conversation while we read a text. It makes us engage with the material and helps us understand what the author is trying to get across. We read two articles from NEWSELA this week and the kids loved it! One was about scientists figuring out that background noise make it hard for some to read and one about a strange bug from Australia which was found in Florida!
                Read Alouds—I finished reading a Magic Tree House book to the students a few days ago and just started a new book from the Junie B. Jones series. They loved the adventure and mystery the Magic Tree House books have to offer.
                Writing—We are still working on our Personal Narrative stories. We are going to use next week to review some of the strategies we’ve learned hoping they will apply these to their stories.
                Social Studies—We have been focusing on latitude and longitude in social studies. I have been calling out cities in Oklahoma and they are giving me the latitude and longitudes by writing them on white boards. They are really getting into it! Next week, we will be looking more into the Oklahoma map and adding vegetation and regions.
                Please remember that the Scholastic Catalog orders are due on September 30th. You can order online or send in the catalog with cash or a check. The kids can’t wait until we get enough points so I can get free books for our class library! The more books we buy, the more free ones we get!
                There is NO SCHOOL on Monday! Enjoy your Labor Day with family and friends! I know I will!
                As always, please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns.



August 28, 2015
                I finally figured out how to make this work (hopefully)! Sorry it took me forever but I have attached the power point presentation I showed last night. Please look it over and let me know if you have any further questions about IB, our schedule, or the curriculum for this year.
                I asked about spelling words for 3rd grade and there is a list of words they need to have mastered by the end of the year. We are having a staff meeting about this on Wednesday and I will send more information then.
                If you would like to keep up with my blog, here is the address: anoklahomajourney.blogspot.com. I will be posting homework and fun things we are doing in the classroom. I will also post updates and eventually academic links for the students.
                I will be sending follow up emails later today about homework and other things I sent to you last week but that only I received (ha!)

Have a great weekend!

Katie Jones
Jenks West Elementary
3rd Teacher 

August 21, 2015 
Happy Friday Parents!
    Now, I am not sure if I am doing this right (I am still getting use to this e-mail and the Jenks system) but I wanted to give you a quick update about how the first three days of school went!
    So far, we have had a fantastic time in the classroom! We have read books together, have had many class discussions, and have done a lot of get-to-know-you activities. We have such a wonderful class this year!
    The students love writing each other notes to put in buckets! They always ask when they can have free time to encourage one another.
    We have been working on stamina reading where the students sit around the classroom and read for as long as they can without talking or looking around the room. Right now, our class stamina reading is 7 minutes and 44 seconds!
    We have also been talking about the difference between a watermelon story and a seed story (ask your child and see if they know!) We have been writing in our writing journals, preparing lists of subjects to write about for our first big writing assignment coming up soon.
    We have also been taking some pre-tests in math and spelling to see how much we know and remember from last year. This allows me to know what we need to work on as a class.
    One event I want to remind you about is our Back to School night. This will be on Thursday, August 27th at 6:00pm in my classroom. Here we will be further discussing procedures and expectations for you and your students for this school year. It should be around 45 minutes to an hour.
    Also as a reminder, I do have a blog for our classroom where I try to post every day (or every other day) about good things happening in our classroom. I have also been posting homework and I plan on posting other things as the year progresses. Here is the link if you are interested:
                anoklahomajourney.blogspot.com
    Please e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to a great year!

Katie Jones


No comments:

Post a Comment