Thursday, March 24, 2016

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Dear Parents,

The 3^rd graders will be taking the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) tests starting Tuesday, March 29 through Thursday, March 31 and resuming on Monday, April 4. Friday, April 15 is a make up day. The tests will start promptly at 9:30 each day. 3^rd grade parents please send your child well rested, well fed, and relaxed and ready to do his or her best. We won’t have spelling tests or homework for next week due to the 3^rd grade testing.

Here is an updated list of our scheduled field trips. On Friday, April 1 we will be taking a bus to UAA to see a musical production of “The Wizard of Oz” from 9:15-12:30.  Chaperones please meet in Room 177 by 9:00. Tuesday, April 19 we will be visiting the museum from 9:45-2:00. Wednesday, April 20 we will be going to the U.S. District Court to be part of a trial and possibly visit some jail cells from 9:45-12:00. Thursday, April 28 we will walk to the Pioneer School House for a tour from 12:30-3:00. Thursday, May 12, we will make our final museum visit from 9:45-2:00. The last day of school, Thursday, May 19 we will have our annual Primary Wing Barbecue at Valley of the Moon Park from 10:00-2:30. Put these dates on your calendar and we would love to have you join us if possible.

I have sent third quarter report cards home in today’s folder. Please take a few moments to talk with your child to celebrate his or her accomplishments and discuss some areas he or she needs to improve. Teaching your children how to set goals is an important tool and gift that you can give them.

The students have settled back into a nice work cycle this week. We have been studying capitalization, word analysis, numbers and operations, math operations and facts, grammar, writing, spelling, writing friendly letters, animal and continent research, and more. In addition the 3^rd graders have been taking AMP practice tests to familiarize them with the format. It’s been a great week!

         If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org or call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Thursday, March 10 we will walk to the Anchorage Museum to see the new exhibit “Near the Bear”, watch the planetarium show “River of Bears”, eat lunch; explore art exhibits, the Discovery Center and the Spark Lab. We will leave at 9:45 and return at about 2:30. Chaperones please meet in Room 177 by 9:30. Please remember to pack your child a lunch and drink that day unless you ordered a lunch from the cafeteria.

Here are some more scheduled field trips we have planned. On Monday, March 21 we will be walking to the Performing Arts Center to see Junior Theater’s “Dino –Light: A Glow-In-The-Dark Adventure”. We will leave the school at about 11:15 and should return by about 1:30. On Friday, April 1 we will be taking a bus to UAA to see a musical production of “The Wizard of Oz” from 9:30-12:00. Monday, April 18 we will be visiting the museum from 9:45-2:00. Thursday, May 12, we will make our final museum visit from 9:45-2:00. The last day of school, Thursday, May 19 we will have our annual Primary Wing Barbecue at Valley of the Moon Park from 10:00-2:30. Put these dates on your calendar and we would love to have you join us if possible.

Tonight, Thursday, March 3 the 3^rd grade parents are invited to meet the intermediate teachers and talk about the developmental characteristics of the 9-12 year old child in the Denali Montessori Library at 5:30 p.m. This is a great way to meet our wonderful intermediate teachers and have any questions you may have answered.

The homework I have sent home in today’s folder is due Friday, March 25. We have a short week next week and will not take a spelling test. The students will be tested on these words when we return from Spring Break.

         The students have been studying measurement, language usage skills, quotation marks, descriptive writing, math facts and operations, spelling, reading skills, friendly letters, working as a team, and more. We have also started a continent study of Europe. I know several students have been to Europe and I encourage them to bring pictures and artifacts that they could share with the class. The students will share them in small groups of students at a time. I also invite any parents that would like to share their cultural background or visits to Europe as well. It has been an action packed week.

         If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org of call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Our field trip to the Alaska Public Lands Information Office on 4^th Avenue where we will participate in a scavenger hunt and watch a film on Alaska animals and afterward we will watch the start of the Fur Rondy Sled Dog Championship race on 4^th Avenue is tomorrow! We will leave at about 9:30 and return at about 12:30.  Chaperones will need to bring a driver’s license to enter the federal building. Please meet in Room 177 by 9:10.

Thursday, March 10 we will walk to the Anchorage Museum to see the new exhibit “Near the Bear”, watch the planetarium show “River of Bears”, eat lunch; explore art exhibits, the Discovery Center and the Spark Lab. We will leave at 9:45 and return at about 2:30. On Monday, March 21 we will be walking to the Performing Arts Center to see Junior Theater’s “Dino –Light: A Glow-In-The-Dark Adventure”. We will leave the school at about 11:15 and should return by about 1:30. I have sent home the permission slips for these two trips in today’s folder. Please return them as soon as possible.

Next Thursday, March 3 the 3^rd grade parents are invited to meet the intermediate teachers and talk about the developmental characteristics of the 9-12 year old child in the Denali Montessori Library at 5:30 p.m. This is a great way to meet our wonderful intermediate teachers and have any questions you may have answered.

         The students have been studying measurement, language usage skills, apostrophes, descriptive writing, math facts and operations, spelling, reading skills, friendly letters, working as a team, and more. It has been nice to get back into routine this week.

         If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org of call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Our next scheduled field trips are Friday, February 26, Thursday, March 10 and the Monday after Spring Break on March 21. On Friday, February 26 we will walk to the Alaska Public Lands Information Office on 4^th Avenue and do a scavenger hunt and watch a film on Alaska animals. Afterward we will watch the start of the Fur Rondy Sled Dog Championship race on 4^th Avenue. We will leave at about 9:30 and return at about 12:30.  Chaperones will need to bring a driver’s license to enter the federal building. Please meet in Room 177 by 9:10. Thursday, March 10 we will walk to the Anchorage Museum to see the new exhibit “Near the Bear”, watch the planetarium show “River of Bears”, eat lunch; explore art exhibits, the Discovery Center and the Spark Lab. We will leave at 9:45 and return at about 2:30. On Monday, March 21 we will be walking to the Performing Arts Center to see Junior Theater’s “Dino –Light: A Glow-In-The-Dark Adventure”. We will leave the school at about 11:15 and should return by about 1:30. I have sent home the permission slip for next week’s field trip with students on Wednesday. Please return those as soon as possible.

The children are raising money for our sister school in Malawi, Africa.  This is the Malawi Children’s Village.  It is a place for children who were orphaned in Africa.  We have added to the building of a school, latrines so the girls could go to school, books, chairs, and paper.  This year we are raising money to build teacher housing on campus.  If you would like to donate (certainly not required) please send donations in an envelope marked MCV.  

I have sent homework in today’s folder. The spelling test will be next Thursday, February 25. We will be gone on Friday and won’t have time to do the test as normally scheduled.

         If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org of call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Thursday, February 11, 2016

            Tomorrow is our trip to West High.  We will be taking a bus to see West High’s musical production of “The Little Mermaid” We will leave the school at about 9:20 and return at about 12:30. Chaperones please meet in Room 177 by 9:10. This should be an entertaining event.

Our next scheduled field trips are Friday, February 26, Thursday, March 10 and the Monday after Spring Break on March 21. On Friday, February 26 we will walk to the Alaska Public Lands Information Office on 4^th Avenue and do a scavenger hunt and watch a film on Alaska animals. Afterward we will watch the start of the Fur Rondy Sled Dog Championship race on 4^th Avenue. We will leave at about 9:30 and return at about 12:30. Thursday, March 10 we will walk to the Anchorage Museum to see the new exhibit “Near the Bear”, watch the planetarium show “River of Bears”, eat lunch; explore art exhibits, the Discovery Center and the Spark Lab. We will leave at 9:45 and return at about 2:30. On Monday, March 21 we will be walking to the Performing Arts Center to see Junior Theater’s “Dino –Light: A Glow-In-The-Dark Adventure”. We will leave the school at about 11:15 and should return by about 1:30. I will send permission slips home as these trips approach.

            Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, February 17 and Thursday, February 18. The conference scheduler is available for you to schedule conferences right now. Follow this link …https://share.asdk12.org/support/conference-scheduler/SitePages/Home.aspx and it will take you to the scheduling page. When it gives you the options for grade level, choose mixed and my name should appear in the choices. If you have any troubles, please email me and I can enter a time for you. If you can’t find a time that fits your schedule, please let me know and we can arrange an alternate time. I love conference time and talking about your children and all the wonderful things they are doing.

Tomorrow we will have a valentine exchange and snack in the afternoon. If your child wishes to participate in the exchange, he/she must bring a valentine for each student. I have provided a list of Room 177 names on the back of the newsletter.

            This week the students have been working on learning about the continent of Australia. We have also been studying prefixes, spelling, penmanship, reading graphs in math, counting and doing money word problems, practicing math facts, reading, writing friendly letters, prepositions, journaling, geometry, reading comprehension and activities and more. It has been a busy and wonderful week!

            Nest Tuesday, February 16 we will have a Read-In in honor of first grader Matt. He is moving this month and has requested a Read-In before he leaves us. Students may wear pajamas; bring favorite books, pillow, blanket, and stuffed animals to enjoy at the Read-In. I will be serving waffles and juice that morning as well. We will miss Matt and will have a “Good-bye and Good Luck” ceremony before he leaves as well.

            The students are very upset, but there will be no homework next week due to the abbreviated holiday, conference, in-service schedule next week. Remember that Monday is Presidents’ Day and there is no school. Wednesday and Thursday students will be released at 12:30 for conferences. Finally there is no school on Friday. We are having a Montessori conference that day.

            If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org of call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Valentine Class List Room 177

Ajae

Annaliza (Annali)

Cora

Julia

Lucas

Matt

Sage

Victoria

Annie

Finn

I’aulualo (I’a)

Kendall

Ketch

Riley

Robert

Adriana

Brianna

Jamie

Marcus

Michael

Samantha

Sarah

Svea

Paxson

Mrs. R

Mr. Moyer

Important!

Important!

Our field trip to West High is Friday, February 12 from 9:20-12:30ish. I need permission slips by tomorrow so we can make our final payment and I know who is going! I have only10 permission slips and 23 students. I have sent home extra permission slips with those that have not returned them. Please return them tomorrow! Thanks.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Thursday, February 4, 2016

            Thank you to all our chaperones that made the trip to “Alice in Wonderland” possible. The time of the trip was changed at the last minute due to plane troubles for the actors. I appreciate your flexibility and time. We can’t do these learning experiences without you.  

            Our next scheduled field trips are Friday, February 12, Friday, February 26 and the Monday after Spring Break on March 21. We will be taking a bus to West High on Friday, February 12 to see West High’s musical production of “The Little Mermaid” We will leave the school at about 9:20 and return at about noon. On Friday, February 26 we will walk to the Alaska Public Lands Information Office on 4^th Avenue and do a scavenger hunt and watch a film on Alaska animals. Afterward we will watch the start of the Fur Rondy Sled Dog Championship race on 4^th Avenue. We will leave at about 9:30 and return at about 12:30. On Monday, March 21 we will be walking to the Performing Arts Center to see Junior Theater’s “Dino –Light: A Glow-In-The-Dark Adventure”. We will leave the school at about 11:15 and should return by about 1:30. I will send permission slips home as these trips approach.

            Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, February 17 and Thursday, February 18. I will also offer conferences the week before on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings of that week from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. The conference scheduler will be available for you to schedule conferences on Zangle beginning on Wednesday, February 3. Follow this link …https://share.asdk12.org/support/conference-scheduler/SitePages/Home.aspx and it will take you to the scheduling page. When it gives you the options for grade level, choose mixed and my name should appear in the choices. If you have any troubles, please email me and I can enter a time for you. If you can’t find a time that fits your schedule, please let me know and we can arrange an alternate time. I love conference time and talking about your children and all the wonderful things they are doing.

On Friday, February 12 we will have a valentine exchange and snack in the afternoon. If your child wishes to participate in the exchange, he/she must bring a valentine for each student. I have provided a list of Room 177 names on the back of the newsletter.

            This week the students have been introduced to the continent of Australia. We will be studying its animals, culture, land and water forms, and people in the next couple of weeks. If you have any artifacts, pictures or experiences you would like to share with the class, please let me know. We have also been studying prefixes, spelling, penmanship, reading graphs in math, practicing math facts, reading, writing friendly letters, prepositions, journaling, geometry, reading comprehension and activities and more. It has been a busy and wonderful week!

            Thank you to Mrs. Hollingsworth for the lesson on dental health. We learned about the parts of the tooth and the importance of brushing, flossing, and eating healthy foods that help protect our teeth. She also gave each student a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a flosser. Thank you for your time and expertise!

            If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at moyer_craig@asdk12.org of call or write me a note.

Sincerely,

Craig Moyer

Valentine Class List Room 177

Ajae

Annaliza (Annali)

Cora

Julia

Lucas

Matt

Sage

Victoria

Annie

Finn

I’aulualo (I’a)

Kendall

Ketch

Riley

Robert

Adriana

Brianna

Jamie

Marcus

Michael

Samantha

Sarah

Svea

Paxson

Mrs. R

Mr. Moyer