Congratulations!

Congratulations, Haley!

Haley is the newest member of the 100 point club!

Please note: The last day to take AR tests in Friday, May 7th! Be sure to get your tests in if you're close to a new point club!

A Visit to the Pond

On Tuesday, April 27, as part of science week at Gilbert, we visited the pond and the Bug Mobile. At the pond, Mrs. Long taught us about food chains and food webs. While we were there, we noticed a new face at Gilbert. We saw this white bird! He showed up on Monday. We think he may be someone's pet as he seemed very comfortable around people. He let me walk right up to him to snap his picture. In my pictures, it appeared he only had one leg. However after talking with Mrs. Sandow, we discovered he's fine. He just had the other one hidden. My students were worried about the little guy! We also observed the Koi and gar fish that reside in the pond. We tried to spot the turtle we had heard that's moved in recently. He proved elusive! Check out our photos!

Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate Earth Day, we paused for a moment to reflect on what we can do to help our Earth! Students came up with some wonderful ideas! What will you do to help our planet?

Congratulations, Mason and Heather!

Math-a-Thon Congratulations!

Congrats to Heather and Mason!

 Heather received a certificate for her hard work!

Mason earned a certificate, a t-shirt, and a pass to Six Flags!

Both students participated by completing math problems and collecting donations for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Our school raised over $1,000 for this worthy cause! Thanks guys!

P.S. Sorry for the mirror image photos! Mrs. Richardson forgot her camera today!

AR Congratulations!

Way to Go!
Congratulations to the following point club earners!
25 Point ClubKaitlyn Brackett
50 Point Club

Mason Coots 
75 Point Club

 Joshuwa Burse

  Ethan O'dell 
William Sainthill

How I Spent My Spring Break.... Part 3

How did you spend your Spring Break?

Bryce played lots of baseball!

Dallas read some great books and watched T.V.

Taylor went to her dad's house. She learned to play a new game, Phase 10 Twist. Sounds fun!

Ethan said he enjoyed his time off but didn't do much. He did tell me he fell out of a tree! Be careful, Ethan!

Mason went to play Goony Golf with his family! Any hole in ones, Mason?

Brianna went to her Grammy's house out in the country. She helped prepare the garden. She help Grammy plow. Sounds like hard work!

How I Spent My Spring Break.... Part 2

How did you spend your spring break?

Farrah got to visit with her sister that she hadn't seen in a while. They got to ride bikes, play, and have fun together. Farrah and I also saw each other at CVS during Spring Break!

Heather went to the Lake in Alabama! She had a great time and was a big help to her parents.

A.J. celebrated his birthday during Spring Break. His birthday was April 10th! Happy birthday, A.J. He got to go skating for his birthday! Sounds like fun, A.J.

Royce traveled with his mom to take his Grandma to another city in Georgia. He says he had fun. He got to go to the beach and get wet!

David K. went camping with his family. He also got to go fishing. He caught six fish! I never catch anything! Way to go, David!

Trash Can Basketball Anyone?

To help us get a better understanding of decimal fractions, we played Trash Can Basketball! We divided up into pairs for this activity. Students had to predict how many paper "balls" they would get into the basket. Next, student one took her shots while student two used tally marks to keep up with how many baskets scored. Then, the players switched roles. Once both were finished, students had to convert their fraction of baskets into a decimal and create a sign or poster to display their results when sharing with the class. What a great way to have fun and learn about decimal fractions at the same time!

If I scored 6 shots out of 10, my fraction is 6/10 (six tenths).
As a decimal, I would represent my shots as 0.6.

Easter Bunny @ Gilbert?

Easter Photos

Field Trip Photos

Ruby Falls Field Trip Photos

As you can see, we had a wonderful time. Other than being a bit rushed through the caverns, I thought this was a great field trip! Our class was well-behaved and very inquisitive. A couple of our questions baffled our tour guide. He didn't know the answers! If you haven't been to Ruby Falls in a while, we invite you to go back and visit again. You'll enjoy it!

How I Spent My Spring Break....

How did you spend your Spring Break?


Kyli

During our break, my boys and I took my 3-year-old niece, Kyli to the park in Fort Oglethorpe to play on the playground. As you can see, she had a great time! She ran the three of us in circles all over the playground. We had so much fun!

My family and I also traveled to Nashville to watch our first ice hockey game. The Tennessee Predators won the game and will now be in the playoffs. Hockey is a very fast paced and exciting game to watch!

Haley got to visit Six Flags in Atlanta!

Joshuwa went to Mississippi!

William read the entire first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series!

David V. and his family went back to Ruby Falls!

April got her hair cut! Really cute!

More to come soon....

CRCT Study Guide Available

Greetings students and parents,

I finally learned how to make files available for you guys to download. Thus, I'm now able to post a link that will allow you to download a copy of the 3rd Grade CRCT Study Guide.

It's a rather lengthy document and it just isn't possible for me to make a copy for each student. However, you can download it to your computer. Once it's there you can view the document and have your child write his/her answers down on paper or you may print a hard copy of the file which would allow your child to complete each page. Either way is great practice for your child!

Just click on the link below to get the study guide!

3rd Grade Study Guide

Happy Studying!

How Can Parents Help Prepare Students for the CRCT?

How can I help my child do his/her best on the CRCT?

Please make sure that your child arrives to school on time during test week (April 19-25). Testing will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. each morning. Students arriving after testing has begun will not be admitted to class, as the testing session cannot be interrupted. These students will remain in the office or other location under the supervision of a school employee. Students who are late or absent during testing will be given a make up test. Keep in mind, children usually test best in a familiar environment, so it is important for them to take the test in their classroom with their teacher and classmates.

Check outs for doctor or dentist appointment should be avoided if possible. If not, please schedule them for the afternoon, as our testing takes place in the early morning.

Be sure your child gets a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast before each day. Students should get between 7-8 hours of sleep each night in order to be well rested. Numerous studies have shown the importance of eating a healthy breakfast. If there's not time at home, consider allowing your child to eat breakfast at school. Breakfast is served in the cafeteria beginning at 7:15a.m. each morning.

Students are usually nervous and apprehensive about taking the CRCT. When you talk to your child about the importance of the test, try to encourage him to do his best without creating too much much anxiety. A relaxed, confident child will perform better than one who is anxious.

Tips to Help Reduce Anxiety

• Discuss the test openly and in a positive way.
• Emphasize that the test is only one measure of academic performance.
• Emphasize that test scores do not determine a person's worth.
• Encourage your child to do his or her best.
• Ask your child each day how he/she thought the went for the day.
• Try to keep your home routines as normal as possible. Sometimes busy schedules and sudden changes cause students to become anxious.
  

It's that time of year!

CRCT Testing April 19-23
It's almost testing week for Gilbert Gators!

In an effort to prepare but not stress students, we will complete practice tests each morning this week. In the afternoons, we will learn tips and strategies to help us do our best. We will also play the Choice is Right, Trash Can Basketball, and other fun review games.

I want to give students the opportunity to experience testing conditions as close to the actual experience so they will know exactly what to expect. I am only allowed to read the directions for testing. Third grade students must read the questions, mark an answer sheet, and progress through the test on their own. I cannot help with words, clarify test questions, or provide any other assistance. This is a huge change from first and second grades in which teachers were allowed to read the questions and most answer choices.

The practice tests are shorter in length, as we will only complete one section. The practice tests were created using the Georgia Online Assessment System and Study Island. I will try to score each test by the day's end so students and parents can see how things went.

I am nervous and excited at the same time when it comes to testing. I have enjoyed my time teaching your children. I have observed great gains in reading and math for all students in our class. I'm excited to see just how far they have come! I believe each and every child will succeed if he or she tries his/her best!

Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Mrs. Richardson :o)