Important Dates to End the Year

Here are some important dates/times for the next few days:
Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 30) is a NORMAL start time of 8:20. It is also a normal release time.
Thursday is a normal start time, but an EARLY release of 2:25. ALL CHILDREN MUST BRING A COLD LUNCH AND DRINK ON THURSDAY.
We will be having our END OF THE YEAR ASSEMBLY on Thursday at 12:45.

I have had a great year with your child and I am sad to see it come to an end. Have a great summer!

Electrical Energy

Recently in science we have been learning all about the different types of energy. We have been learning about light energy, heat energy, and electrical energy. Today students worked more hands on with electrical energy. Students were given a battery, a flashlight light-bulb, and a piece of foil (that acted like a wire.) They were also given a piece of paper that had many different ways the battery, light-bulb, and foil could be put together. They first had to guess whether they thought the light-bulb would light and then they had to work together in a small group to see if they could get it to work. They did a great job of working together and had a great time. Above is a picture of one group working together!

We Say Good-Bye to a Great Friend

Tomorrow, March 23rd, will be Angelina's last day with us. It will be a sad day, but a happy day at the same time. She is going to a new home and a new school. We will miss her dearly. Good-bye Angelina!

City Hall Tour

On Tuesday, March 6th, both third grades from Washington Elementary and the third grade from Libertyville Elementary got the opportunity to visit City Hall and hear the Mayor speak. We also got to hear from our City Administrator, Jeff Clawson, and our new Fire Chief, Scott Vaughn. They got to see one of the city's fire trucks and hear about some of the equipment the department uses. It was quite a treat for the kids. The kids learned about what it took for them to get involved in public decision making. They all got a turn sitting in the city council seats and got to take part in a motion. Below are two photographs of two of our classmates sitting in these seats. We had a beautiful day at City Hall. Thank you Mayor Malloy, City Administrator Clawson, and Fire Chief Vaughn!

Conferences: Tonight and Thursday

Just a reminder that conferences are tonight, February 21st, and Thursday, February 23rd. If you are unsure of your time feel free to contact me at lani.smith@fairfieldsfuture.org or call the office at 641-472-2110. Thanks and I'm looking forward to seeing all of you.

Conferences Round 2

Just a reminder that conferences are again next week, February 21st and 23rd. If you haven't already signed up for a time please go online or call the office and do so as soon as possible. If you don't get this done, a time will be assigned to you and be sent home by the end of this week. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's education.

Let the Testing Begin

Next week, February 6-10th, we will begin the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Please make sure your child gets a good nights rest, eats a good breakfast, and gets to school on time these days. We will be testing first thing in the mornings.

Halfway through the testing time each day we will stop and have a snack. I am looking for parents that would be willing to donate snacks for the class. Some examples would be: crackers, granola bars, fruit, or cereal bars. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would be interested in helping out.

Family Fun Night Success

Family Fun Night was a success! The kids had a blast and we had a great turn out. It was a lot of work by the parent group, but I think it was worth it. Attached is a slide show of some of the pictures from the evening. Enjoy!
2011-2012 Family Fun Night on PhotoPeach

Family Fun Night

On Tuesday, January 17th, we will be having a Family Fun Night here at Washington Elementary. This event will be from 5:30-7:30. We hope you and your family will join us. There will be food available to purchase and fun games and activities for your family to enjoy. Admission will be free.

At this event there will be baskets from each classroom available to bid on in a silent auction. The parent group has asked each classroom to come up with a theme for a basket and donate items to put in their basket. Our class' theme will be chocolate. We are asking that you donate anything chocolate themed to include in our classroom basket to be auctioned off. Please nothing homemade. If you would like to make a monetary donation I will take all of those and get a gift certificate from The Chocolate Cafe here in Fairfield. They offer a wide variety of desserts that any family can enjoy. Thank you for your support! Please have your donations to school by Wednesday, January 11th. Please be creative!

Polar Express Day and Happy Holidays

On Wednesday, December 21st, we will have Polar Express Day here in 3S. Please allow your child to wear their pajamas to school that day. They can bring slippers to wear also, but make sure they have shoes to wear outside please. We will have treats throughout the day and do lots of things focused on The Polar Express.

Your child will not have a reading log this week or over break. They have worked so hard this year with their reading that I feel they deserve a break. We will get back into the swing of things when we return after break.

I would like to take this time to wish all of you Happy Holidays! It has been a wonderful first half of the year and I look forward to the second half. Safe travels to all of you and Happy New Year!

Miss Smith

November Assembly

On Monday, December 5th, we celebrated the month of November at Washington elementary. We held an assembly to recognize all students that had perfect attendance and one student from each class that excels with the Habit #3 Put First Things First. The student Miss Smith recognized was Samara McLain. Towards the beginning of the year she was really ill and missed quite a bit of school. She did everything she could to get her work made up. To me that showed that she put her schoolwork first. Below is a picture of all of the award winners.

Music Concert Tonight

Just a reminder that our winter music concert is tonight. Please have your child at the Sondheim (civic) center by 6:30 tonight in the side room. It would be off to your right when you walk in the front door. Have them look for your child's teacher. Please pick your child up there tonight after the program also. Please have your child wear red and green if you want and bring an elf hat if they have one.

Book Order

Your child should be bringing home a book order today. These are due back by December 6th, so I can ensure we will get them back before Christmas Break. Books make great gifts. If you find something you would like for your child you can drop off the order in the office, or you can order online and shoot me a quick email that what you ordered is for Christmas. When the order comes in I will contact you to swing by and pick up the order in the office at your convenience.

Veteran's Day Assembly

On Friday, November 11th, we celebrated Veteran's day here at Washington Elementary. We all got together for a wonderful assembly. Jeff Crile from the Iowa National Guard was our guest speaker. He is the father of one of our third graders. It was a great honor to have him take time to come and speak to us. We also got to hear the fourth graders sing a very nice song honoring soldiers. It was a very nice program and helped our students learn a little more about this holiday. Below are some pictures from this assembly.

Monthly Assembly

On Wednesday, November 9th, we celebrated the month of October here at Washington Elementary. Many kids were honored for perfect attendance throughout the month. We also identified a student in each grade that exemplified Habit #2...Begin with the End in Mind. Nathan Whitney was chosen from Miss Smith's room. He is constantly doing his best and working at helping others. Congratulations Nathan!

Conferences and Book Fair

Just a reminder that conferences are tonight and Thursday from 5-8:30. You will receive your child's Quarter 1 report card at your conference. Hope to see you all there.

Also the book fair is going on in our library this week. It will be open during conferences tonight and Thursday night. We will also have a time on Thursday when the kids can go buy stuff if they bring money.

Our Trip to Jefferson County Park

Jefferson County Park Fall 2011-2012 on PhotoPeach

Jefferson County Park on Monday

Just a reminder that we go to Jefferson County Park on Monday, October 17th. Please make sure your child has a cold lunch (with drink) and wears appropriate clothes. Long pants and a jacket or sweatshirt would work as it is supposed to be cooler next week. Please make sure they have good walking shoes also as we will be out hiking most of the day.

Pastries for Parents

Tomorrow, Friday, October 14th, is Pastries for Parents. Please join us in the gym for breakfast with your child. Rolls, juice, milk, and coffee will be provided. Donuts will be served from 7:30-8:15.