Ms. Vodehnal's Class

Valentines

2012-02-06T14:07:00.002-06:00

Just a reminder that students can bring their valentines with store-bought candy (if you want) anytime this week. We will have our Valentine Party, Tuesday, Feb. 14th!

PLC Day!

2012-01-30T17:08:00.001-06:00

Just a reminder that Tuesday, January 31st is PLC Day. Students will be dismissed at 2:18.

Just a few things!

2012-01-17T13:38:00.002-06:00

This week is Maintenance Week for spelling, so we will be studying words from the last 5 weeks. The words were sent home last Friday. Let me know if your child needs a list. Today, we took the Theme 3, Incredible Stories, reading comprehension test and will begin Theme 4, Animal Habitats, on Wednesday. This one the favorites in third grade because we also begin our Animal Research reports in writing. We love animals!!! Hopefully, your child continues to practice their multiplication/division facts, as I will be testing them for speed and accuracy. In Science, we are studying Simple Machines and will be building machines with our Lego Kits.

Welcome Back!!!

2012-01-07T20:27:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures during the break and look forward to seeing you on Monday, January 9th!

Winter Break

2011-12-22T08:47:00.002-06:00

Winter Break begins Friday, December 23rd! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season spending time with family and friends! Third quarter begins Monday, January 9th.

Math Flash Cards

2011-12-05T22:35:00.003-06:00

Since our focus in Math is knowing our multiplication and division facts and learning different strategies to find the product and quotient, I sent home flash cards today. I hope our third graders will find time every day to study their facts for speed and accuracy. They may want to organize their flash cards by fact families. Soon, I will begin to do time tests which consists of 40 problems, 0-10 multiplication and division facts (not mixed), and they must pass 36/40 in 4 min. by the end of third grade. At times, I let them use their multiplication tables on their desks, but they should not use them to do homework problems. I will send home a list of the different strategies that we use in the classroom to help parents know other ways to find answers until they've learned their facts. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Blue Ribbon Assembly

2011-11-28T16:55:00.001-06:00

Come join us!!! Our Blue Ribbon Assembly will be Tuesday, Nov. 29th at 9:30 in the gym!

Country Presentations

2011-11-23T13:17:00.002-06:00

You can view your child's research presentation on the Riley Media Center website located at the bottom of our Riley homepage. On the left side, click on Vodehnal Country Projects. Enjoy! They did a fabulous job!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

I hope you enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends! We do not have school on Wednesday as it is a plan day for teachers. Enjoy your Thanksgiving break!

Country Research and Culture Grams

2011-11-21T20:48:00.002-06:00

Mrs. Smith helped students use Culture Grams to research a country of their choice. They took notes and then wrote a short script about their country. Then on Friday afternoon, she videotaped them sharing their report. You can watch them on her website. They did an outstanding job for their first report!

ITBS Tests

2011-11-07T21:48:00.002-06:00

This week, November 7-11, 3rd graders will be participating in the Iowa Test of Basic Skills tests. There will be a few tests given every day so please try to schedule appointments at another time if at all possible.

Trip

2011-10-18T18:56:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to inform you that I will be gone on a trip from Oct. 21-28. My good friend, Sharon Mohatt, will be subbing for me. She and I taught together for many years and she is an outstanding teacher. My class will love her. Please feel free to contact her at school with any concerns that you might have. I will be back in school on October 31.

CogAt Testing

2011-10-18T18:52:00.002-05:00

Hopefully on Friday, you received the letter about the testing for this week. This test will take a lot of concentration, so please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and starts their day with breakfast.

Fall Walk and Parent/Teacher Conferences

2011-10-09T19:53:00.002-05:00

We had a great time sharing conversations and companionship on our almost 2 mile hike up and down the bike trail! It was a perfectly windy fall day!! You might have heard from your child that Kyra wasn't feeling well during the walk and had to go to the hospital after school. Please reassure them that she is fine. We had a lot of caring third graders that were very concerned!

Thank you to those parents that attended Parent/Teacher Conferences last Thursday night. It was wonderful seeing you and sharing your child's progress. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of you on Tuesday night.

Conferences

2011-10-04T19:48:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder that Parent/Teacher Conferences are Thursday, Oct. 6th and Tuesday, Oct. 11th. Please contact me if you need to reschedule. I'm looking forward to seeing you and sharing your child's progress.

Student Serve Day

2011-09-29T10:28:00.002-05:00

Student Serve Day is Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9:00-11:00, and you can register online. Our last Friday Folder Facts gave more information about this PTO event. Beginning at 9:00, Anita Martin will be working with students to make bandanas and homemade treats for the animals awaiting adoption at the Capital Humane Society. Students must be accompanied by an adult.

Plum Creek Literacy Festival

2011-09-29T10:16:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Plum Creek Literacy Festival in Seward last Friday. It was a fabulous day for a field trip! Both authors/illustrators, Grace Lin and Brian Pinkney provided great insight into their world of books. They were amazing and really inspired all of our third graders. Our kids were able to participate and asked them wonderful questions. We were surprised when Lance, a reporter from Ch. 1011, asked us to share our thoughts about the Festival on T.V. Liam and Lina did a very nice job representing Riley third graders!

Brian Pinkney and Grace Lin

2011-09-19T21:16:00.003-05:00

Brian Pinkney will be visiting Riley on Thursday for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Then all third graders are going to the Children’s Literacy Festival in Seward, Nebraska, on Friday, September 23. The festival will be held on the Concordia College Campus. Students are attending the presentations by two amazing authors and illustrators: Brian Pinkney and Grace Lin. If your child chose to bring their lunch, make sure they have it on Friday. Otherwise, students can pick up their lunch Friday in the cafeteria. It's going to be a wonderful trip! Make sure they pack their cameras!

Star Changes

2011-09-19T16:31:00.000-05:00

Please note the changes in our schedule. Thanks!

Star of the Week Changes

2011-08-30T16:13:00.001-05:00

Please note some changes in our Star Schedule since a few students moved to different schools.

Thank you!

2011-08-25T19:57:00.002-05:00

Thank you for the great attendance at our Curriculum Night on Tuesday! We truly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to learn more about your child's education. As we mentioned, there are many ways for you keep informed and involved. If you were unable to attend, I sent a packet home with your child in there homework folder. Please contact me at any time with questions and concerns. I'm really looking forward to working together.

First Week/Curriculum Night

2011-08-21T12:59:00.002-05:00

We're off to a great start! We spent most of the week going over routines, schedules and expectations...but also spent a lot of time getting acquainted with our new classmates. Since several students in our class are new to Riley, we made a special effort to make them feel comfortable.

There was a lot of information sent home Friday in their Friday Folders. Please sign the envelope and return it on Mondays.

Curriculum Night is Tuesday, August 23rd and we will share information about third grade. There will be two sessions, 6:00-6:30 and 6:30-7:00, so we hope that one of them will fit your schedule. Feel free to bring any questions you might have.

Thanks!

Open House

2011-08-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks for taking time to come to Open House. It was great to meet all of you and hopefully it relieved some anxiety for your child. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday as we begin an exciting new school year!

Welcome!

2011-08-03T10:44:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Third Grade!