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End-of-Year Activity Sign-Up

Families,
Thank you for your support throughout the year. We have many special activities for Alta Sierra Third Graders in the final weeks of the school year. If you are able volunteer to help our and/or send in donations, we appreciate it. I will update the lists as activities draw closer, dates and times are firmed up, and needs become apparent. Thank you for your support of our third graders.

Art, Math HW, & more!

Hi families,
If you haven't yet worked through problem #8 on today's math hw (432A), it is a bit confusing & asks kids to draw lines and a line plot on a separate paper. This is similar to the work we did together in class today (pg 431). That said, feel free to skip it. Some of the kids working in HW club this afternoon finished side A and moved on to 432B - an option as well!
Art with Ms. Tiffany
Tomorrow we'll have Ms. Tiffany in the classroom to lead us in painting a canvas - you may have art from previous years' visits on your walls! The paint we'll use will be hard to get out of clothing - please help your child plan his/her outfit with that in mind.
Rally 'round the Flag
Tomorrow we'll start the day with an assembly - special recognition and drawings will happen for students who earned a golden ticket last month, as well as grade-level drawings - kids have entries for each on-level AR test passed. Thank you, Mrs. Alonso and the Higgins Lions club!

Spring Begins!

Hello Families,
It was great to see Room 8 students at the reading night yesterday - thank you PTC for so many special events to support our students and families. Some of what we've been and will be working on, and how you can support your child at home:
Measurement
This week, we continue our unit on fractions and move into measurement. There are great ways, in addition to the homework support you provide, to support your children with "real life" experiences. You no doubt do this, but here are a few ideas:
cooking - fractions and liquid measurement - you might even have your child figure out how many scoops to use if you need 1 1/4c. flour and the 1c. measuring cup is in the dishwasher. How much milk do we usually pour at dinner...
time - an analog clock would be a great idea, if you don't already have one in the house. It's a great idea to ask kids questions like:
   "How long until we need to leave for soccer?"
   "These biscuits bake for 17-20 minutes. When do we need to put them in?"
   "Grandma will get here in an hour and a half. Do we have time to _____?"
length - consider a fun project at the workbench or kitchen table using a ruler or a tape measure - a good chance to practice executive functioning and the old adage "measure twice, cut once"!
multiplication/division - continued practice is invaluable. Use this in real life, talk about how it relates to area (upcoming), and consider the Jump games the kids really enjoy in the classroom (feel free to donate them to Room 8 when your household has grown out of them! The link to order can be found on our wish list)
Science/Writing: Animal Projects
You've probably had conversations with your excited children, and more information will come home next week. Students will each choose an animal to research and report on. We'll go through the writing process here at school and utilize the S-P-O (single paragraph outline) graphic organizer as we plan our writing. Your at home encouragement and support will be invaluable. For now, that might just be brainstorming possibilities and offering a trip to the local library (maybe even order a book or two). We want the kids excited for this project, so the basics are simple - to be approved, the animal must be...
  • interesting to your child
  • wild
  • local
  • researchable (at least one book appropriate for 3rd grade)
Kids will also have the opportunity to complete a related at-home project. For some, this might help decide between a few top choices. Again, very open to ideas, but ideas range from the traditional diorama to bluebird or barn owl boxes that will later be used in the yard, illustrated picture books, slide shows, poster presentations, canvas paintings...the list goes on!

Square 1 Art Fundraiser

Coming home to you soon will be your child's custom catalog for the Square 1 Art fundraiser. Get a head start, and start ordering keepsakes and gifts featuring your child's art online NOW, if you like! NEW - *Ship to Home FREE. (*Customer pays a small processing fee at checkout and order ships to home.)
 
Simply search for your child's art using Art Search, and enter state, school name, and your student's name. Your student's art and code will appear, and you may order!
 
Order by:  4/14/2026
 
Upload additional art if you like, using Art Upload!
 
If you have questions, or need anything at all, contact customer care online .
 
Thank you for supporting our school!
 
Erin Heyl
Square 1 Art fundraiser coordinator
Alta Sierra Elementary School

Wrapping up 2025 in Room 8

What a week for third graders...with more to come next week!
We've continued to learn about Nevada County's Golden history, including the legend of the tommyknocker, taught primarily by our own special visitor "Tommy!" Next week's lessons will include hardrock mining (you'll hear about "Cousin Jack") and the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. This will all culminate with our Cornish pasty lunch on Friday. Thank you for all the sign-ups that will make this possible. We have everything accounted for to make the pasties, but still need to have them baked! If you'll be here to help kids make their pasties from 8:15-9:30 and can then take pasties home to bake, we'd sure appreciate it (and if you can do dishes while they bake...an added bonus!).
Speaking of donations - the cider and cookies were a hit today, and such a special way to celebrate our writing - today the kids wrote the final copy of their introduction! Three paragraphs to recopy next week, and we will be able to practice reading the speeches before the kids bring them home to present to the family - you are in for a special experience!
We started the day today with our Kindergarten Buddies and ended it with Mrs. Paz (PRSD School Board President) as our Mystery Reader.
Enjoy your weekend!
I know it's busy, but thank you for prioritizing our canned food drive as you shop. In these first weeks we have collected 135 cans! If you're shopping this weekend, please consider including items for the less fortunate in our community. Can we double it? Hit 300? THANK YOU!

Tahoe Flyer
An event for families hosted by Ranger Farrah, who presented Animal Superpowers to our third graders on Tuesday.

Winter Wishes is Coming!

PTC Needs YOUR Help! To make this year’s event magical for our students, we need all volunteer spots filled. Whether you can help with setup, cleanup, work a shift, or donate sweet treats—your support makes a huge difference. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084EABAD29A2FE3-60775996-winter

 

Gingerbread House Competition

Show off your family’s creativity in our festive Gingerbread House Competition! Enter your gingerbread masterpiece for a chance to win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place prizes. Complete the entry form below—rules and details are included. Entry forms are due by Monday, December 8: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFqZlw1PPCDxY9EDIpZeCpekgMEZbSmrlsCLOhppc1bdIYdg/viewform

 

Mistletoe Mall (During Winter Wishes!)

A fun, affordable way for families to pick out special gifts for the important people—and pets—in their lives!

How It Works:

  • Kids and parents are welcome to shop
  • All gifts are brand NEW and start at just $0.25 (most items range from $1–$6)
  • Free gift-wrap station available
  • Gifts for Mom, Dad, siblings, grandparents, friends, and pets
  • Located in the ELO-P play lab (next to the big playground on the blacktop)
  • Cash & cards accepted

This special tradition depends on VOLUNTEERS—thank you in advance for helping make it possible!

 

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town!

Santa arrives at 5:50 PM and you’re welcome to take photos with him from 6–8 PM in the MPR

 

Holiday Caroling

Join us for festive caroling in the MPR at:
5:15 PM | 6:15 PM | 7:15 PM
Songbooks will be provided to follow along, color, and take home!

 

Warm Wishes,

AS PTC Board 

 

Math Games

Families,
Your children practiced their math facts today in an enjoyable way. In groups of three, they played one of our Jump card games. I was asked by a student where they came from - how great to see the desire to have a home copy of these games, and the fluency with math facts that will come with their use! If you're interested, I've added an Amazon link to these games on the wish list in the sidebar of this site if you'd like to purchase a set for your home (or the classroom - if so, thank you!).
Have a great weekend.
Thank you, Veterans and those who currently serve our country from our community and your families.

Halloween Fun at Alta Sierra

Sign-up Slots still available:
It sounds like many families had memorable fall breaks! Your children used their experiences to complete an SPO (this is the graphic organizer we talked about at conferences - a Single Paragraph Outline).
Halloween excitement has certainly returned with our students! We will start the day on Friday with the annual Halloween Parade (8:15 or so - please join us and take pictures!). We'll have festive learning activities throughout the day in Room 8. If you're available to stay for the first one after the parade, the more hands available to help students, the better! It will also be the time when students are asked to remove costumes - if you're here for the parade, perhaps you can bring the costume home to keep it safe for Trunk-or-Treat or other evening fun.
Whether you are able to join us in the morning or not, we do have some items on a sign-up that would help us out - thank you for your generosity.
 

Thursday Envelope & Conferences

The Thursday envelopes are filled (thank you, Mrs. Richardson), but in our busy minimum day schedule, did not get distributed. I will plan to hold onto them, rather than send them home on a Friday before a break! As we said at our conferences, they would have been fairly light this week, since most of the materials were sent home with you after we met. On that note - thank you for being here to meet about your child's progress and plan for success.
Enjoy your Fall Break - it sounds like many families have exciting plans.